Nov 2, 2013

I had been simultaneously looking forward to and dreading today. I had the morning to prepare and enjoy a little bit of down time before heading down to the Port-O-Call Hotel in Ocean City to meet the bridal party for pre-wedding photos. I had the girls and family pose on the deck, inside, and next to the boardwalk. After exhausting all the shots I could think of I did some other solo shots of the bride and then moved on to meet the guys on the beach.

Guys are just inherently easier to work with and much more fun for me. I did some standard shots then we went out on the beach for some walking shots before I had them climb up on the rocks. These are some of my favorite shots I've done with groomsmen and in general. They did some other fun things on the beach before we headed back to the ceremony spot such as having the groom punch the ground and everyone exploding out around him. It was great.

The ceremony awkwardly began about an hour later, with the bridal party staggering slowly down the boardwalk ramp that led to the beach. It didn't seem as if anyone was perfectly sure what was happening. Once they all got up front everything smoothed over. I must say it was an absolutely perfect day for shooting on the beach: no wind, sunny with clouds, and 70 degrees. This made shooting much more pleasant. The ceremony went off without a hitch.... wait, just one hitch. The marriage, that is. They did a nice sand blending thing that I liked and there were no seats, just free-form standing for the guests.

After the ceremony we did family and full wedding party shots on the beach and we got the girls up on the rocks too! The bride wanted to stop by her grandfather's house on the way out to take some photos with him because he was too ill to make it to the wedding. After that we headed to the reception at Sandi Pointe restaurant. The place had a giant lobster on the roof. Seems to be a trend in shore towns. I set up and took some shots of tables while we waited for everyone to be ready for introductions. It took a little longer than expected because Kate got turned around on her way to the reception.

The reception went basically the way they all go. People danced, people gave speeches, people cried, people drank, danced some more, ate food, cut cake, took pictures, ate cake, drank more, and slowly filtered out. I know it's a big day for the guests of honor, but really almost all receptions are identical with different heads on dancing bodies. Sometimes the DJ is good. This was not one of those times. Regardless, the reception went pretty well and we were out of there pretty early.

After a quick stop at Passion Vines for a growler fill, we headed back to Kate's to have some beer. It was a nice bit of relaxation after standing up with my camera all day. After having a few I headed home to really relax and lie in bed watching Party Down until I fell asleep.

Oct 19, 2013

I headed up to the Asbury Park area to meet Quinny, the photographer I was second shooting for today. He seemed like a good guy and we got along well. We had a busy schedule for the day so we got started right away talking about the logistics, then I went to the groom's house to shoot the guys getting ready. Of course the guys are usually done getting ready when I get there for this part, but there's always the same problems like trying to figure out how to put the flowers on their lapel or how to fold their pocket squares. It's always funny to watch, and I still don't understand why they leave it up to the guys to figure it out. Despite this, we got some cool shots in the road and house, including one of my favorite shots I've taken with groomsmen. When he said, "Do you mind if we take a picture with the guns?" I had no idea this would happen.

The guys caught the trolley, stopped at the liquor store that the family owns, then headed over to the church. It was a while before everyone arrived and filled the pews so I shot around and watched the bagpipers practice. It was a proper Irish Catholic wedding. Once getting started the ceremony went quickly (for a Catholic service) and all went well. After the receiving line, we did grouped pictures with the family inside and outside with the wedding party and then it was off to the beach!

We went down to the Asbury Park boardwalk to shoot in the old Casino building and on the beach. Quinny has his routine down so much that he was going really quickly with each shot. I did the best I could to keep up, but not knowing exactly what he was doing each time made it harder.  I liked a lot of the shots he was doing and took a mental note of them for the future. I wanted to direct the group sometimes, but he was in the zone so I didn't interrupt. I suppose I should be more assertive sometimes.

Our next stop was Monmouth University. This place is beautiful. The inside has gorgeous lighting, marble staircase, arched doorways, and an awesome garden outside. We made use of all of these aspects. Quinny and his videographer got some really great shots here. It was a hard balance for me trying to shoot details and close-ups while also getting some wide portfolio shots of each scene for myself.

Finally it was time to head to the reception at a beautiful hall not far away. They had the cocktail hour setup outside on a deck. The food was decadent and seemingly never-ending. It started raining a bit which drove some people under the awning and pressured the people in charge to get things moving. The reception was very nice and classy. All the usual events took place and I circulated, taking photos of couples at tables and people dancing. We even got a tip from the bride that Quinny was nice enough to share with the videographer and me. I had a great experience with him and I hope to shoot a wedding with him again. I had a long drive home down the dark parkway, but my podcasts kept me company until I made it back to my bed.

Oct 12, 2013

 

Before doing anything I had to go to get my PPD checked by the doctor in Vineland. He was nice enough to open the back door before the place opened and sign off for me. My drive down to Wildwood in the morning started off very hopeful because the weather was great in Millville. The closer I got to the shore, however, the darker the clouds got. By the time I parked near the pier it was raining pretty good. I walked through the rain to meet Charles by the far pier where he was shooting. I had rigged a plastic bag to cover my camera and took my position near a jumping obstacle to catch the racers in the air.

The rain came and went, as did the runners. I made friends with zombies nearby and talked about the weather and the race. One cool thing was that they got to go down the big water slide that's part of the water park along the race. It seemed like it was probably a fun run. The last couple of hours seemed to go on forever and it was getting cold. I was happy when it was finally done. I gave Charles his card, he paid me, and I went quickly on my way home.

That night, Ian and I went up to Starland Ballroom to see AFI. Once again, they put on a crazy awesome show. Davey is such a fantastic frontman. During the first song's breakdown, he did a front flip into the crowd and went right on singing. Regardless of how much I enjoy most of their music, I'd go see them just for his theatrics. After the show we met two of Ian's friends and went to a diner on Rt. 18 for some post-show treats and conversation. We had a good time, but I was ready to gooooooo. I was so tired when I got home that there was no waiting before I laid down and passed out.

Oct 4, 2013

I went up to North Jersey to meet Nicole, the girl who hired me to second shoot a wedding. She gave me the wrong address so I ended up at the bride's house where she was. She gave me the right address, but the wrong spelling so I ended up at the wrong place again. Eventually I found the groom's house and got some shots of the guys getting ready. I still had plenty of time. They weren't really my kind of people, so I waited outside after I got the shots I needed. The bridal party came over for the first look and then they left together in the bus.

We went to a nearby park and took shots in front of the building, on the bridge, and in a field. It was strange shooting close ups and candids of people while someone else took the lead. I was trying to get good shots myself while finding good angles that Nicole wasn't shooting.

We went to the beach and took some shots outside with the palm trees. This place was really nice. They had the ceremony area set up outside and a separate dining room downstairs for the cocktail hour before going upstairs for the reception. The ceremony was very nice. It was short, which is always preferable.

During cocktail hour I had some food and took a few shots of people hanging around. I went upstairs to get ready for the reception and shot the details like the awesome cake toppers. I definitely liked the overall style that this couple went for.

The reception itself was more like a night club after dinner was over. The DJ was playing a lot of dance music and modern stuff rather than the hackneyed set list that most weddings are plagued by. That was a nice change of pace. I always feel strange sitting down or not shooting at a wedding, but Nicole made me feel much more comfortable knowing that there wasn't anything to shoot sometimes. I even had a chance to get a Sam Adams Summer Ale. Toward the end of the night I transferred the photos to my laptop and gave Nicole my SD card and then began the long drive home. I think I like second shooting weddings. No worry about editing a bunch now, I'm just done.

Aug 20, 2013

I woke up in the morning and just decided that I was going to ride my bike to Ocean City and back. It was an absolutely perfectly gorgeous day and I was not about to stay inside. I put some air in my tires, got myself ready, and headed out. The clouds were so nice, and it was warm, but it felt good. The ride there felt great. I was moving pretty quickly, and I felt like I could keep going. Biking past the grassy inlets was a beautiful sight. These things make me smile.

After crossing the treacherous bridge into Ocean City I made it to the beach. I parked my bike, ate my banana, and had a walk down to the water. The beach was crazy crowded. I always forget how popular it is. Once I'd seen enough shoreline littered with people I headed back, filled up my water bag and was on my way back. I stopped to shoot a picture at the sunflower patch that I always want to shoot but never remember to.

The ride home felt slower, probably because a bike seat gets uncomfortable after a while. I stopped for a rest about halfway home and had my Clif bar under the shade of a big tree. I was listening to a podcast about extreme athletes so that helped a little. I was so happy to make it home and not have to sit on my bike seat anymore. I did a total of 55.66 miles in just over 4 hours. I was happy with that. I don't have any time to beat or anything, but the distance seems good. I still want to do a city to shore ride one day. Once I got home I fell exhausted into my chair where I remained, watching TV, for the rest of the night except for a quick trip to Shop Rite for food.

Mar 2, 2012

After I worked at the Senior High in a science class Kate and I went down to Sea Isle with Jack. We went to Nathan's beach house and had a few beers from the River Horse sampler pack we got and then we took Jack out to the beach to throw the ball around. He really enjoyed the beach and I got some great shots of him going for it.

After we spent too long watching him run at full speed and stop in the sand, we went back to the house for some more beers and then headed home. We went over to Christie's later and watched a movie. It was a nice night to end the week.