Every year around November I have the honor of photographing Marine Corps units attending the Marine Corps Birthday Ball.  Don’t get me wrong, it is a lot of work and I drink a lot of monster while doing them, but these events are always among my highlights for the year.  This year I was able to photograph the MWSS 272 Ball at the Wilmington Convention Center.  There was nothing about the Ball or the venue that did not scream “Excellence”  From the precision of the Honor Guard to the staff working the event, each person knew their job and did it well.  For me, it was exciting to be able to photograph an event with close to 750 couples attending.  It was inspiring to see all 1500 people standing for the national anthem.  I was fortunate enough to have TK Edens helping me with such a large event.  And now for a few pictures…

For more information about Marine Corps Ball Photography, or to book us for your own unit’s Birthday Ball, please contact us.

For something fun to do, I decided that every once in a while I would run a contest where you have to guess what the picture is of.  The winner will receive $50 off a photography session as well as one of our popular coffee travel mugs. 

This week’s photo is something that almost all of us use and wear everyday, and can be found in jewelry stores.

Think you know what it is?  Great! Leave the answer in the comment section below.  The first person to guess will win $50 off a photo session and one of our travel mugs.

This week we are introducing our Executive Portrait campaign for business professionals needing an updated portrait.  From now until the end of January, any company that books us for executive portraits will receive a hundred dollars off when they mention this post.  For more information visit our Executive Portraits page, or contact us.

Wow, it is the end of 2011 already.  We saw some great things this year, and some not so great. Hopefully everybody had a great Christmas, and have plans for a great New Years.

Unfortunately I started this blog more than half way through the year, or else I would have a contest to see what photo was everybody’s favorite.  I still have a few events to blog about from 2011, so keep your eyes open for that.  Also we will be making an announcement sometime next week about a new service that we will be offering.

Thank you for all your support in 2011 and we look forward to working with you again in 2012.

While there is a need and a time for studio portraits, given a choice I will always prefer to photograph families and children on location instead of in a studio.  Maybe it is just me, or maybe I like being outside with a camera and people making memories.

As I am writing this at my desk I am looking at my favorite pictures of my daughter hanging along the wall.  Of all the pictures of her, only one is from a studio setting, and I only like that one because of the story behind it.

The one picture from a studio setting is one of the first times my daughter was photographed by someone other than me.  It is a picture of her being held by the Easter bunny, there is nothing special about the picture except the story behind the picture.  She was about nine months old at the time, and my wife told me to take our daughter to get pictures done with the Easter bunny.  So we went to the mall to find an Easter bunny we could get a picture with.  When we found the Easter bunny, my daughter was terrified of the bunny.  The photographer doing the pictures offered to let me borrow a spare bunny suit from the back room so we could do the picture without her crying.  So the picture is of me in the bunny suit, and my daughter on my lap.

The picture next to it was taken about the same time, only this time it was taken in my garage.  The reason this picture is special to me is that it reminds me of how she likes hanging out with me.  It is a picture of her in her walker wearing PJ’s and earmuffs, drinking a bottle while she is watching me make shelves for the kitchen.

A little further down is a picture of my wife and daughter, from the day we went picking apples in a local orchard.  They were playing, and running around the orchard chasing each other.  The picture is of them hiding under a tree, still laughing while looking at me as I took the picture.

There is an empty spot on the wall that is waiting to be filled, but it will not be empty much longer thanks to the hiking trip we went on Sunday afternoon.  It may have only been a two mile loop around the park, but it took close to five hours because we had to stop every couple hundred feet to look at something.  What made it even more memorable was when my daughter asked if we could go home to get some food, then go hiking again.

My point is that the pictures that mean the most to me are ones that remind me of good times I have had with my family.  I feel the pictures that I take for other people should remind them of something more than a trip to the local photography studio.  That is why I prefer location photography, and try to leave the backdrops in a closet unless I am doing event photography or business portraits where they are appropriate.

Contact us today to get started and set up your own photography session, done on location, the way it should be.

Kerri and Alex’s wedding was their own fairytale ending and new beginning. As the wedding photographer, the burden of capturing the essence of their once-in-a-lifetime day was on my shoulders. Throughout the bride’s preparation in the Hilton’s bridal suite, the ceremony held on the porch, and the reception in the ball room, my shutter never stopped snapping with each memory that bloomed. I know the pictures I took at their wedding will forever remind the newlyweds of the day they became one.

That is what my role is at every wedding. For Kerri and Alex, my contract as photographer promised them a record of memories that will enable them to relive the day they become husband and wife. It is a job that promises to re-gift them the memories of all the anticipation, excitement, and joy that they first lived on their wedding day. The photos I took at their New Bern Hilton Hotel wedding will flood their senses with the faces of loved ones who attended, the sound of shared celebration, and the happiness in the eyes of their new spouse.

A marriage will have its twists and turns, but the wedding day remains a pristine memory of young love and a hopeful future. The day of Kerri and Alex’s wedding at the New Bern Hilton is one they should never forget. The wedding photography I did for them ensures that they never will – from the pre-ceremony fluttering of bridesmaids in the bridal suite to the silhouette of the married couple en route to the getaway vehicle.

You know how life sometimes gives you unexpected surprises?  This wedding was like that for me.  It started on a Thursday morning with a phone call that went along the lines of “Sandra & Keith are getting married Saturday and we need a photographer.  Can you help?”  I replied yes, and Saturday afternoon I was at the Hilton for their Wedding.

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Senior pictures are a ton of fun, and this session was no exception.

So here are a couple pictures.

Where do I start?  The location was perfect, the couple a ton of fun, and the weather was beautiful.  Lets just say it was a great engagement session for Christina and Chase, and I can’t wait to photograph the wedding in April.

When I pulled in to the farm one of the first things I saw was this swing.  Immediately I started to think of “You know what would make a great picture…”

Did I mention a perfect field for doing engagement photos?

Contact Us Today to schedule your own photo session.

Every once in a while I get a chance to help out a charity that is doing some good in the community.  On the 29th I have the privilege of photographing at the Climb for Life event in Raleigh.

Join us Saturday October 29 for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation Climb for Life at the Wells Fargo Capital Center in Raleigh.  It is going to be a lot of fun, with registration starting at 9 am and the first wave starting at 10 am.  Visit the Raleigh Chapter of the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation for more details.