Hot mamma in the mud! So after Kristen's Bridal shoot we had to trash the dress. Things started off tame and by the end of the night we had her rollin in the mud and putting on her dirt "war" paint. Actually the dress only has a few spots on it. Kristen, you up for a few more shots???

For those of you that don't know about Trash the Dress ... where have you been?!!!? It's been all in the media recently. Here is a good explination of what it is and here is my take.....

Trash the Dress is meant first and formost to be a fun event, its about not worrying about a dress that you will no longer need, and it is seen as a commitment to your husband. It's about setting out to create amazing art without regard for the dress. There are just some places you wouldn't want to take your dress before the wedding day. So after the flowers are gone and the cake is eaten, you break out that dress again. Lets face it ladies, 30 years from now your daughter probably won't want to wear your dress. What good does it do to keep it vaccum sealed in a plastic box?

(Yeah i see it too, but i love this one)








Chris and my wonderful wife Allison.



































notice the dirt war paint.


Few quick shout outs....

Thanks to Kristen for being a real trooper. Thanks to Chris for your dilligent efforts and not complaining too much about me always being in your shot. Thanks to Center Stage Formals of Clinton. As always a big thanks to my wonderful wife Allison, who is always right there next to me.

I have really been pushing to get things rolling with my business and these past two weeks of workshops and time off really made me reevaluate where I was forcing it. I have been trying to force myself down a path that really isn't true to what I want to create. I have been trying to appeal to a wide audience and neglecting my own style. This isn't just a thought from the workshops, every book I have read in the past few months, and every person I have met has made me realize its this attempt at mass appeal that will be my downfall. Only when I allow my own unique style to show will I really have a shot. Expect many new things, but most of all expect to start seeing images that take my style to the extreme.

see the next few posts for a recap of the past two weeks............

Finally back in the game! So I thought I would get to make blog posts while out of town, WRONG! If we weren't running, we didn't have an Internet connection. There were a few nights at Disney that my feet hurt so bad I couldn't make myself walk to the computer. Once finally back in town we had one day to run errands and then it was back on the road to second shoot with the amazing rock star photographer Mark Eric.

I will have the blog updated with the past 2 weeks worth of events within the next few days I promise!

Don't forget to scroll down as I update things it might not be in order.

Saturday I got to shoot with the rock star photographer Mark Eric. For those of you who don't know Mark has been on the forefront of the "Trash The Dress" movement. Mark has had a slew of media coverage in the past few weeks, from the New York Times, Entertainment Tonight, and Good Morning America.

Here are just a few from this amazing wedding. Rock star photographer, model quality bride, amazing Catholic cathedral, coolness museum reception, and oh the dancing.

OneLight Workshop -
First of let me just say Zack Arias is the freakin MAN! I got the pleasure of being partnered with Zack during the "shoot out" at Elevate. Seeing him work was a great experience, he takes vision to reality with a seamless motion. Zack, is a very open and passionate person. Working with him and hearing him speak really made me wanna just get up and shoot.

Susan Stripling - it must be tiring to rock so hard.


Tom Flint - watch out for this guy, hes gonna take the industry by storm!
Some how we talked Tom into the sauna for a few shots. Of course I made Tom wear his signature Converse shoes. If hes gonna wear em to a wedding, I'm gonna make him wear them in the sauna.

Kurt Littlecott -
I had to make a little special post about Kurt Littlecott. While at Elevate we took a field trip to his studio, WOW! Kurt's studio is a direct reflection of himself and his style; its punk, high fashion, and eccentric. Its the kinda place some people go "OH MY GOSH!" and some people go "HECK YES!". While Kurt's images blew me away it was his style that captured me the most. He has capitalized on being true to himself, doing what he wants and loves.

Elevate -
What an amazing experience this was!! I got to meet so many amazing photographers! I left with a renewed since of self and a new direction. I left with anticipation for things to come and angst that it was ending. I can't thank Garret and Joy enough, nor can I begin to thank everyone that attended!

For everyone that doesn't know I am on "vacation" for the next two weeks.

What does a photographer do on vacation? You ask.

Go to a workshop of course! I will be attending Garrett and Joy Nudd's Elevate2 workshop in Orlando. I feel strongly, when you offer a creative skill based service; you must continually grow and expand your craft. This is a time for me to expand and grow, both business wise and creatively. Plus it's what I love to do! But my plane leaves at 6 AM, that I'm not so happy about.

Hopefully this will also be a time I can get some feedback on my latest project, Foto-F-ex!. This is a set of Photoshop scripts to help photographers speed up their workflow. It has been an immense help in speeding up my workflow and hopefully being around so many world renowned photographers will give me chance to get some additional feedback.

My wife and I will also be going to Disney World for a week. Which I am very excited about because I have NEVER been to Disney! It will also give us some much needed quality time. With all the projects we have going right now a break sounds very nice.

I'm going to attempt to blog while at the workshop and Disney so check back!