Party On, Garth...er I mean Lisa & Jeff

The ceremony went off without a hitch and nobody passed out from heat exhaustion or dehydration. The weather just didn't let up, the heat was terrible. The bride and groom had problems with the replacement trolly car and it broke down twice more on the way to the reception at the Zem Zem in Erie, PA.. Once everyone arrived at the reception it was party time.

Congrations Lisa & Jeff

I walked my daughter down the isle and with a slight welling of emotion inside me gave her hand in marriage to a fine man who I know will treat her well. Jeff is a great addition to our family and we are grateful to have him. We all wish him and Lisa the very best and a long and happy marriage. And, oh yes, that good looking dude in the top picture is yours truly.

Plan B

The big day is here. My daughter's wedding. We planned to shoot all the environmental portraits at the Watso Curtze Mansion before the wedding ceremony. The bridal party had problems with the trolly car over heating from the opressive heat and humidity so we had to cancel to mansion shoot. We met the bridal party at church and did bridal party pictures there before the ceremony.

The Preparations

After dinner we went to the Zem Zem, a banquet hall in Erie, PA, for the reception and helped with the decorations. It was a lot of work but everyone worked hard at it and the place looked great.

Friday Rehearsals

Friday evening we went to rehearsal at the All Saints Catolic Church in Waterford. The church was beautiful and had amazing accustics. I used this time to determine my exposures and angles I would use for the wedding ceremony the next day. They practiced the proceedings twice and we were set. Everyone was then invited by the bride and groom to dinner in town at the Sugar and Spice restuarant located in the Eagle Hotel.

Destination...Waterford, PA

The reason we went to Waterford, Pennsylvania was to photograph my daughter Lisa"s marriage to Jeff Englert. We met them in the park at the center of town the day before to take a few pictures and organize our locations for the wedding. The day was hot and very very humid. We shot a few at the park and then walked about Waterford to scout out locations. We found the Jacobson house very nice, but Lisa and Jeff decided The Watson Curtze Mansion in Erie was what they really had in mind. We made arrangements to meet the bridal party at the mansion Saturday at 11:30 am for photos.

Pre Bridal with Lisa Muth

This Saturday my daughter Lisa is getting married. She will be marrying Jeff Englert. This is a sellection from her per bridal portraits we did last month. She is a wonderful daughter and she makes me proud. We will be photographing the rehearsal and the wedding day for her and I will be showing more pics soon.

Infrared in Black and White

Infrared photography can be a fun way to spice up your B&W photography. When shooting greenery in the summer the foliage takes on a sureal wintery look. To do this I used a camera on a tripod because your exposures will be long. After composing and focusing the scene I add a dark red Hoya IR filter to the lens and expose the picture. Your exposures will vary greatly depending on the light. I usually start in bright sunlight at iso 1600 and us 20 seconds at f-8 then adjust up or down from there as needed.

What's New? ...Or, Maybe Old?

The Harris shutter effect was invented by Robert Harris while working at Kodak in the '70s. He took three images on a tripod of a scene with moving objects in the scene. He then took the red layer from one and the green layer from another and the blue layer from the last. Adding them together he makes a complete image. Anything in the scene that wasn't moving will come out normal and anything in the scene that moved would show the off setting layers creating a colorful effect. A quite interesting technique and could have some useful applications.

deGuehery - Briggs Wedding in Niagara Falls

Congratulations to Thomas and Brianna. They wed on Saturday at Prince of Peace Catholic Church in Niagara Falls. We later went to the Great Lakes Gardens in downtown Niagara Falls for environmental portraits. They celebrated their day with all their friends and family at the Frontier Fire Hall on Liberty Drive in the town of Wheatfield. We got some great images for this young couple to cheerish and enjoy for the rest of their lives. Congratulations and thank you for letting us photograph this wonderful day for you. All their wedding images are now online at our main site. The Portrait Gallery Niagara

Pre bridals... are they worth it?

Brianna came in for pre bridal portraits before her wedding date. This is a huge advantage for any bride. First it affords her some beautiful portraits without the time constraints of a wedding day. Second most girls change their hair style for the wedding and this gives her the opportunity to view herself in photos prior to the wedding in case this one isn't the right look. Third it lets her wear her wedding dress for a couple hours so if there are any flaws or defects she can get those cleared away before her big day arrives. Forth it gives the bride and her photographer a chance to develop a working relationship so pictures on her wedding day go much smoother. Brianna was very happy with this look and loved all her images from this sesssion. You can see all the images from this set at our main site: http://theportraitgalleryniagara.com