Amber & Greg, LBI

So much time has gone by since my last real blog, I feel terribly guilty. Alas, I am one of those girls that loved the idea of having a diary when I was a teenager, but never made enough time to actually write in it. And I do love to write! My mother is a writer, for goodness sake! I think I have always been torn between the fine arts and creative writing. But they are both enterprises that take a great deal of your time and of yourself. I had to choose, and the visual arts won. I often think to myself that if something happened to me where I couldn't take pictures and paint in photoshop anymore, I would switch careers and become a writer. Not novels like my mother writes - (she has much more patience than I do. capricorn's are like that, lol) I would probably write short stories and essays. About what, or who would pay me for it, I have not the slightest clue. But it's a thought I like to indulge in from time to time. ;)

Relating to my photography, I have had oodles of stuff going on over the past months! Lots and lots of weddings that I have not posted on my blog (though you can find them on Facebook and Myspace). Over the next several days I'm making it my mission to get caught up!

Following are some of my favorites from Amber and Greg's wedding, which took place last year at Long Beach Island, NJ. They had over 500 photos, and there were so many great ones, it's hard to choose just a few to post! A more complete album can be viewed here

This shoe picture turned out to be one of my all time favorites. (after a little photoshop cross-processing magic, of course! ;)

Unfortunately the outside of the hotel wasn't exactly what you would call scenic. But it did have this pretty nifty brick wall. After I was home and editing the images I decided that wall was just too ucky to leave as-was. It's a sort of muddy orange color that really didn't do anything for the image. I asked Greg and Amber what their favorite color is, and blue was the winner! I used 2 different shades of blue to help give it some visual interest, and then overlayed a texture. I also pulled out her dress to give it more shape.

Amber's sisters are twins, and she was telling me how when they were younger people used to confuse them for triplets all the time. There are more twins in her family, and in Greg's family as well! Serena and I thought we were seeing doubles at the reception, lol. I'm anxious to see what happens when they decide to start a family! I always wished I was a twin when I was a little girl.

Then it was on to the beach for couples portraits! Troy snapped this next one while Serena and I were shooting the groom. Originally you couldn't see her veil well enough, so I added this one in from a different shot.

This next image turned out to be my favorite of the couple's portraits, and Amber's too. This was the image they chose for me to make the thank you card from. Originally when I shot this Greg had his eyes closed. (it was soooo bright and sunny, we had to take lots of multiples to make sure we got pics without the squint.) However, I was able to use another image from this set to switch heads so that now he has his eyes open. :) You can view a before and after of this image on my WanderingBohemian.com website - go to "featured galleries" and click on the Before and After Gallery - it's on the first page, 2nd image.

The reception was held at Sea Oaks Country Club in Little Egg Harbor, NJ.

Doing my artsy thing, as always! This next image of the glasses turned out to be a color junkie's dream, lol. Most of the colors that you see in my images are already there, just very faint. I have gotten used to looking at the world in a certain way, so when I edit the photos I can sniff out the different hues pretty quickly now. Think of it like Where's Waldo - except for colors. :p My fiance likes to say that I see more colors than most people. I don't know if that's true, but I certainly like the sound of it! :)

This next image was taken by Troy during dinner. Due to his ability to shoot at very low shutter speeds, he was able to capture the candlelight ambiance beautifully. This shot was taken at 1/10 of a second with no tripod. For all you shutterbugs out there, you know how hard that is. And his ability to do it is pretty consistent, he has a rock steady hand. I am so jealous, I wish I could do that!  Serena can go as low as 1/30 without any blur. The best I have been able to get to is 1/60. I think it's because my main camera that I use is heavier than hers, though we both have the disadvantage of having small hands. Having dainty hands is, of course, considered attractive when you're a woman. But quite frustrating when you're a photographer and all the cameras are made for larger grips.

These next images were a spontaneous set. It was right after dinner and Serena and I saw the happy couple enjoying a few moments gazing out the window at the sunset. We asked if they would like to go out onto the balcony for some quick impromptu couple's portraits and they were all about it. Being flexible with your photographer's pays off!

I love this next image, but there's a funny story behind it. I was just finishing editing it when Troy came downstairs. He stared at it thoughtfully for a moment and then said, "It's a really beautiful picture, but I can't help but think it looks as if there's an A bomb going off in the background." D'oh!  Leave it up to him and his love of war and apocalypse movies to make that connection! Now every time I look at it I can't help but see the mushroom cloud resemblance. lol

The wedding was held right after Michael Jackson died. (yes, I am that far behind in my postings) Amber's sister ran out and bought a bunch of these white gloves and brought them to the reception, where they played Thriller and a few other fav's as a tribute.

Chris Vito from Over the Top Entertainment had the joint rockin when he played the girls against the guys in a sing-off of Meatloaf's classic Paradise by the Dashboard Light. It was awesome!

This next one was not set up in any way, it was one of those "I just so happened to catch it" kind of pictures. I darkened the shadow a bit in photoshop to make it more prominent and edited out a piece of the chandelier and a wall switch. Everyone who saw this kept saying it reminds them of Alfred Hitchcock, so now that's what I think of it as - the Alfred Hitchcock wedding cake shot. ;)

And lastly, Amber and Greg on the stairs taken by Serena with the fisheye lens at the end of the evening. There were some people at the top of the stairs that I edited out, but her dress really was doing that poofy mushroom kind of shape. I think it turned out super interesting. Definitely not the usual couple's end-of-the-evening portrait! And after all, that's what Wandering Bohemian is all about - wedding photography that's creative and unique!