Single Shot Monday | Destination wedding St. Maarten

This image from a very recent destination wedding I photographed down in the Caribbean makes for a perfect dose of Single Shot Monday. The wedding of Kristina and Dan was on the Dutch side in St. Maarten and I was told they hadn't experienced the kind of weather we had in something like 20 years. I'm talking about serious rain storms. A huge advantage of my personality in regards to my photography is patience and flexibility. Be it commercial or editorial photography, headshots, architecture and especially weddings you have to expect the best but prepare for the worst :) You have to be adaptable and embrace what's in front of you, or else you'll either tear all your hair out and go grey or both. Thankfully Kristina and Dan were able to move the wedding day around and get the best day possible.

I think this image really works for quite a few reasons. First and foremost the light is amazing. I knew I wanted to do something around the pool and give a real sense of place to the image which means so much to the couple. When shooting I always like to move around and change my perspective whenever time allows and when I ran over to catch them walking along the very narrow path my jaw dropped. The light coming from behind them, the action, the clouds and the reflections. For me it's simply a gorgeous moment from a very beautiful wedding day.

Nikon D4
Nikon 24 - 120 f/4 lens @ 31mm
1/800 sec @ f/4
ISO 100
Processed with Adobe Lightroom

- Randall

Single Shot Monday | The power of photographs

A few things to get through before I actually get to what I want to say.
First, I know this isn't a Monday, but I wanted to use this image as one of my Single Shot Monday installments and it really only makes sense close to the proximity to Mother's Day. We'll all just have to deal with the chaos.
Second, a disclaimer that this obviously isn't an image I made. I wasn't even a glimmer in my parents eyes at this moment in time. I wouldn't come along for quite a few years. I know my Mom's father was interested in photography so he could have made this image, or a guest or the professional photographer they had that day. Unfortunately I can't credit anyone.

So, the power of photographs. I put this on my Instagram feed (https://instagram.com/rgarnick/) and on Facebook as well for Mother's Day this past Sunday. It also happens to be my parents anniversary and they would have been married for 45 years on Sunday. I say would have because my Dad passed away from a very aggressive brain tumor back in 2001. They met during their high school years, married and were very much in love until my fathers death. I consider myself lucky to have learned about the idea of love from my parents relationship. Something strong, intense, where you make some sacrifices along the way, but you stick with the other person in good times and bad. You take care of them, through challenges, through cancer. So when I found this image it made me smile. How can you not smile seeing the joy on their faces?

What makes this photograph successful for me is largely due its simplicity. It's pretty straight-forward in it's execution. But obviously the most powerful part is the emotion and happiness in the moment that you can see even in the small photograph and slightly crappy scan. I'm quite certain this is right outside the Martha Mary Chapel (here's a link to a wedding I shot there - http://www.blog.gmphotographers.com/2014/08/warren-conference-center-and-martha.html). There is a large lawn area in front of the Chapel and I would imagine this is immediately after the ceremony. This time can often be referred to as the magic 10 minutes. The newlywed couple have just finished the ceremony, kissed their first kiss as man and wife, and walked down the aisle looking at their family and friends. Then, they get outside and have a few minutes where they finally get to look at each other and the amazing reality washes over them like a flood. It's so intensely apparent and a moment of such sheer unadulterated happiness. That's why I always try and get all my couples a few minutes alone right after the ceremony. It's nice for them to be able to bask in that feeling, if only for 5 or 10 minutes. Once the family and friends rush over to congratulate them, the feeling wanes and it's on to 'what's next' or 'ok time to party'. I strive every wedding to make an image this emotionally charged. So people can look at it many, many years from now and still feel the joy. Pretty amazing job I have if I don't say so myself :)

Single Shot Monday | Boston wedding photographer

I've always loved this image. And I say always because this is an oldie but in my mind a great example of something I consider truly classic and timeless. As I was searching around on my computer over the weekend I came across a folder I created for potential photographs to hang in my home showroom. I get such enjoyment from going back through my old work. It's not only a learning experience, but I also get a sense of nostalgia and accomplishment with reliving those moments and favorite photographs captured.

This is from a wedding I shot in downtown Boston a few years ago and I have a beautiful 16x24 metal print of it hanging in my showroom. I'm not certain who's advice it was but someone once said that by printing and living with a photograph for a while, you can tell whether it will stand the test of time. Do you feel the same way about it you did when you first put it on the wall? Can you still feel the excitement or anticipation as when you had the idea, visualized the image in your mind and captured it?

We had a few minutes before the ceremony was scheduled to begin and also had this large room with floor to ceiling windows on two sides. Not really my favorite lighting situation, it was bouncing all around and didn't have a ton of direction to it. A strong direction of light can really help create depth, dimension and mood in a photograph. And in those situations I always try and simplify. Simple and striking images are always some of my favorites. I loved the view and had the idea of the bride and her white dress juxtaposed again the city view and a whole lot of negative dark space. We closed as many of the drapes in the room as we could, asked the bride to stand up on the small window ledge and this is the resulting image. Besides the obvious beauty of the bride I think it says a lot about her elegance, classic look and pure timelessness that weddings can be. Maybe it's my fine art background that loves simplicity but to me it doesn't get much better than this.

- Randall

Single Shot Monday | Rhode Island Engagement Photos

Alright, alright, alright. It's been way too long away from the blogging so to get back into it I'm starting with something new and that's 'Single Shot Monday'. This is simply where I will choose one image, from a recent or past shoot, wedding, engagement, commercial, portrait, architecture, etc. and try and dig a bit deeper into why I like the image. Why it works for me. What I was going for when I made the exposure. What I did to try and make that one particular image a success. Should be fun!

So for today's Single Shot Monday, here's a very recent image from an engagement shoot (click on the image to see it big).

First of all this is a spectacular location, so many opportunities in this one area. But one of the biggest and most interesting parts for me is the vast size of this structure. I love the massive Greek columns, all the marble, it's just so classic and elegant. So I knew I wanted to show off the entire, or most of, the building = wide angle lens. Next thing was the light. Lucked out to have the sun out and those dramatic clouds overhead. I walked around the entire building and instantly knew that back lighting my couple was the way to go. It's what gives that gorgeous edge light all around them, in Meg's hair, on Andy's face, on their clothes and what all that does is etch them out of the background. They are the subject so of course I want them to stand out and not get lost in this amazing scene. Next was my perspective. I choose to get low for a few reasons. It helps remove some distracting elements from the background, emphasized the size of the structure and even added a bit more drama to the overall scene. Lastly what to do with my couple? Again I knew they had to stand out from the scene so I framed them in the opening between two columns. But I also wanted some action, something fun so I prompted Andy to pick Meg up and swing her around and around. That's all it took for some genuine smiles to happen while I was shooting away and caught this perfect frame. And of course Meg's lovely red dress does help :) Love it all around.

For anyone interested in the technical mumbo-jumbo - shot with a Nikon D4, 16-35mm f/4 lens at 16mm, iso 200, f/8.0 at 1/1250 sec. Processed in Lightroom.

Hope you enjoyed this and please leave any feedback or questions, love to hear any.

- Randall