Photography and the Funeral Part 2 – The Photographer's Perspective

Photography and the Funeral 

Part 2 - The Photographer's perspective 

(This is is a follow on to Part 1 which was written for the family of the deceased. Part 2 is written for the photographer photographing the funeral. As before, this is written following the death of my father-in-law. My wife asked me to photograph his funeral as I had done for her mother and her older brother. This is written from the perspective of a traditional Visitation and Graveside service. As funerals take on many different forms, please feel free to read between the lines and adapt to your belief system and style of funeral.)

Part A

The Photographer who is part of the family. (Part B below will discuss the difference for the photographer who is not a member of the family.)

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OK, you have just been asked to photograph a funeral of a family member. Somebody thought it would nice to have photos of the people and all and they remembered you do photography. What should you do or say? It depends.

If you haven't read Part 1, there are several considerations.

1) First and foremost, will you be able emotionally to do it? If it is somebody particularly close, say no. You may not be able to handle the funeral and the photography at the same time. Being an old military officer, I got misty eyed at my brother-in-law’s funeral when they folded the flag and handed it to his family. It is hard to focus and compose when you start to get real misty eyed. Luckily I was a long ways away using my zoom. (More on that below). While I have been able to photograph my father-in-law’s funeral, I certainly would not have tried to photograph my mother or father's funeral. Know your limits.
Also, are you will to “miss the funeral”? If you are locked in behind the viewfinder, you will not really be there for the funeral. Emotionally you may not want to “miss the funeral”.
Saying no should not be a problem. Most people should understand.

2) Can you be objective? Many times, either consciously or unconsciously, family members will tend to focus on people they like and away from people they don't. Families are full of those situations. If you can’t be fully objective, don't do it.

3) Do you have the needed equipment? 

- Visitation almost always occurs in very low light, similar to a wedding if not worse. You really need low light shooting experience. If you don't, now is not the time to practice and find out. 

- Can you shoot with no flash (except perhaps discreetly off to the side out in hallways). (This means you need a fast lens. If you don't know what this means or don't have one, don't do it.)

- You MUST to shoot Raw format due to the lighting. JPEG just won't cut it.  Unless you are Joe McNalley, David Hobby, or the like, forget jpeg (which eliminates most Point & Shoots). (There were red light globes at each end of the casket that affected the images with a red tint. Shooting Raw allowed it to be fixed easily. Shooting JPEG (like a a Point & Shoot does) makes it extremely difficult if not impossible to fix.)

- Do you know how to adjust white balance in post production? Here is an example of an unedited shot other than cropping. Notice that the lighting is horrible. White Balance adjustment fixed it but overall the lighting is as bad or worse than a wedding. 

** Note all images below have been edited to not show the deceased. **  

Here in the first shot, you can see the scene is really red. In the second photo you will see why but the point is, you can NOT use flash unless nobody is there, which is why you want to get there early. (And that is difficult if you are part of the family. The closer the harder it gets.) I was able to fix this easily as I always carry my white balance card with my gear and I simply laid in on the casket and got a quick shot to balance other shots against. 

Here is why the shot above initially came out so red. Look at the two lamps at both ends of the casket. See the red tint of the bowls at the bottom of each?  Funeral homes call this atmosphere, photographers call it a nightmare. The second image has been white balanced a seen by the white on the casket. Another issue you see here is the apparent levelness of the image. If you are not exactly centered on the middle of the casket, the image will have a perspective issues as this one does. note that I can level the edge of the casket or I can level the mirror on the wall but not both as I slightly to the left of the center of the casket. Time was ticking and the family was there so I didn't have a lot of time for these shots. 

Here is the third image showing the smallness of the room and the lighting.  Here I am more centered on the casket so the mirror level also. 

- You need to be able to shoot at high ISOs without a lot of noise in the image. If your camera is an entry level DLSR or an older model that can't shoot at least ISO 800 without a lot of noise, don't do it.

- You need to have a long lens for photographing the graveside service from a discreet distance. I shoot a Nikon D300 which is a APS sensor size body which has a 1.5 crop factor. (If the camera isn't a Full Sensor body, it has a crop factor, usually about 1.6 for Nikon and 1.6 for Canon IIRC). This means my 200 mm zoom acts like a 300 mm lens. You will need it. You need to be real discreet. Wedding photographers have the advantage of being dressed in black in a low lit church. At the graveside, you will be out in the open in daylight usually. Long lenses work. BTW, don't even think of a tripod – Don't.

If you don't understand the discussion of equipment above and have what it takes, don't agree to do it. If you have shot a couple of weddings and similar events (nighttime baseball etc), think about it. 

Tips for Shooting: (We have to come up with a better word than “shooting” to describe photography.) 

- Leave your ego and master photographer self at the car. This is the funeral and unlike a wedding where you have some input and control at a few (precious few) points, now you have absolutely none. You will work around everybody and everything else. 

- Be prepared to explain very succinctly that the family has asked you to photograph the funeral. Believe me, there will be the looks. 

- Get photographs of the deceased and casket as early as possible. Before anybody gets there. 

- Take a grey card for some initial shots. It helps later in post-processing. 

- Shoot Raw. See above. 

- Take a lot of shots of the casket and deceased. The angles will be impossible as you won't be able to stand and see well if at all (the camera will be too high). Like weddings, there are no redos. You can crop and process later but get some good shots and do it early, its not too cool to have people watching you photograph the deceased and casket.

- Forget the light meter. You can't use it, trust me, this isn't the place.

- Don't bring lightstands, fong lightspheres, etc. For the times you absolutely must shoot flash. Bounce it off the ceiling or the wall behind you. You may not get great lighting but the circumstances will not allow it. Do the best you can but be as unobtrusive as possible. 

- Minimize flash. If you have to use it for key family members (“Please get a shot of us together”) go out in a hallway or a separate room. The further away the better. Don't go outside as there will be too many people out there. 

- Shoot high ISOs but don't go to the point you have a lot of noise. 

- Talk to people (beforehand if possible) and find out if there are special people to get a shot of. (“Oh, there's my Aunt Bertha or Sally my old high school friend I haven't seen in 25 years.) 

- Respect the family and their funeral. 

- Don't pose people or ask them to move. (other than in that infamous hallway.) After my father-in-law's funeral, I had to run go get my equipment after the graveside service so I didn't get a shot of the Navy bugler at the military part of the service. I did go ask them as they left (they leave quickly) to pose for a couple of quick shots. 

- DO NOT bring or pass out business cards. This is not a business opportunity, I don't care what. Period. End of discussion.

- Don't think about food or photographing any family reception afterwards. You are be through at the graveside.

What should you be paid? As a family member, you should be doing it out of love for the family. Consider it a time to sharpen your skills or whatever you want but money should not be a factor at all.

Giving them the photos – Assuming you are giving them a CD/DVD, be sure to put the photos of the deceased and the casket in a separate folder from the other images so the family can see the people without seeing the loved one until they are ready. Let them know you have done that. Try to label the folders so it will be obvious which is which. I know some friends that could not go in and view the body of their loved one. Perhaps years later they will want to look. 

Showing the photos on your website – You WON'T Period. My images are posted on my website in a section for funerals and each folder is locked up permanently with a password I provide the immediate next of kin. If they want to change the password, its changed. If they give it out accidentally, I will change it. But nobody will see those photos except the family and those they release the password to. That is why I allow the images to be downloaded, only the family will be there. 

Part B

The Photographer who is NOT part of the family.

- Everything above applies here with a few difference. Since you are not part of the family, it is important you find out who key people are the immediate next of kin would like a shot of. Usually this isn't a problem if you listen up for clues like “my old friend...”. Also there may be family members who can assist you in this. But be aware you don't know anybody.

- You don't have to worry about the emotion like a family member. 

- Be extra careful as people will be more forgiving if the photographer is a family member. As an outsider, you are living dangerously at best. Mind your manners etc. 

One last question that I hate to bring up but it has to be addressed. What should you be paid? Certainly not what a wedding photographer is paid. If they were family or friends, you should do it as a favor . If not, I don't know what to say but the expense of a funeral are so great that most people can't afford a lot. (This is one reason you don't see funeral photographers like you do wedding photographers.)

Keep out of sight. Minimize the equipment you carry, and be careful. Wedding are full of happy emotions (for the most part). Funerals are full of sad emotions at best and all too often, anger and deep routed resentments from years ago. It may not be your fault but don't be the one who provides the spark that unleashes an eruption. The one good thing is the problems usually don't start until after the funeral, then the fun really begins. 

Photography and the Funeral - Part 1 The Family Perspective

Photography and the Funeral

Part 1 – The Family

(This is written following the death of my father-in-law. My wife asked me to photograph his funeral as I had done for her mother and her older brother. This is written from the perspective of a traditional Visitation and Graveside service. As funerals take on many different forms, please feel free to read between the lines and adapt to your belief system and style of funeral.)

- First, do you have photographs of the person? If you have a loved one near the end, start pulling photos together. Why? Because today, many funeral homes or other means of service incorporate a large screen television to display those photos.

- Wait, they aren't digital! Most won't be if the person is older than 30. Digital cameras didn't really take off until about the year 2000 so a lot of those images will be prints or negatives and not digital. That's why I said that you need to start pulling them together now so prints can be scanned it. When my father-in-law passed away, I was shocked at how few pictures we had of him. When you take out the ones of him in his t-shirt around the house (in his later years). We had even fewer. Luckily I was able to crop images to provide some head and shoulder shots.

- Do they have to be studio formal shots? I know what I just said about the t-shirt but we had plenty of good shots casually dressed and some of the best ones were when he was looking away talking to somebody else.

- Old photos are GREAT! Some of the family found old photos of pop when he was in his 20s walking down the street smoking that infamous pipe he always smoked until his later years. I loved seeing his wedding pictures.

- Bottom Line, NOW is a good time to pull together photos of family members. Makes for some good family discussions and if you do it beforehand, you can get the stories about them from them. (Please don't tell them why you are gathering photos!)

- OK, now I have bunch of photos with old prints scanned in. What now? Well type up the stories behind them. The story of my great grand-father's gun (civil war shotgun) is an amazing love story of how my great-grandparents met but that's for another day. Type those stories down so others will have them and know who the faces are in the photos.

- Now for another question. A big emotional one. Do you want the funeral photographed?

- Why would you want a funeral photographed? Well, it preserves the memories of who was there. Images are one of the most powerful factors in memory behind smell.

- Isn't there a Guest Sign-In Book? Yes but a lot of people don't sign it for various reasons, they didn't see it, they felt like family doesn't need to or shouldn't, the list does on but for whatever reason, it won't be a complete show of who was there. Also, many may attend the graveside service and not be at the funeral home to sign the book. The photographs will preserve memories that you will want. I know some friends that could not go in and view the body of their loved one. Perhaps years later they will want to look. (I put the images of the casket and body in a separate folder than the guest images so the family can see the people without seeing the loved one until they are ready.)

- Should I ask a family member, “Uncle Bob” (inside photographers joke. Uncle Bob is the family member who often photographs weddings with a point & shoot or basic DSLR). To be blunt, No for several reasons.

- - Most family members may favor certain gusts and omit others.

- - Also, they most likely won't have the equipment and skills to pull it off, at least at visitation. Visitation almost always occurs in very low light, similar to a wedding if not worse.

- Family members do have one advantage, they know the family and know who to be certain to get shots of.

- Who should I ask? Find somebody with low light experience.
- - They will need to shoot with no flash (except perhaps discreetly off to the side out in hallways). (This means they will need a “fast lens”.)
- - They will need to shoot Raw format due to the lighting. (I had some shots that were affected by the lamps with red globes near the casket that through the colors off terribly. Shooting Raw allowed me to fix it easily. Shooting JPEG (like a a Point & Shoot does) makes it extremely difficult if not impossible to fix.
- - They need to be able to shoot at high ISOs without a lot of noise in the image.

- - They need to have a long lens for photographing the graveside service from a discreet distance.

- Now you are sitting there saying, “What is fast glass? What is Raw? And how high an ISO?” You don't need to really know but when you ask somebody, if they don't know the answer, they aren't the right person. (fast glass are lenses with an aperture of 2.8 or lower, useful for low light shooting. Raw is a format that allows a much greater deal of adjustment for photographing in difficult situations.) The person you are looking for will be somebody who may have shot weddings.

How will images be made available for everybody? I have mine on my website but they are permanently locked up under a password that I provide the next of kin. That part of the site will never be open for anybody but the family and whoever the password is given to by the family. If the family member wants photos removed, they are gone, no question asked. If the password leaks out, it can be changes. But the folder for the funerals will never be made available to anybody else for any reason. Period. If you want to see what my work looks like, go look at weddings or something else.

One last question that I hate to bring up but it has to be addressed. What should they be paid? Certainly not what a wedding photographer is paid. If they are family or friends, they should do it as a favor to you. If not, I don't know what to say but the expense of a funeral are so great that most people can't afford a lot. (This is one reason you don't see funeral photographers like you do wedding photographers.)

When you talk to them. Be sure to ask that the photos of the deceased and the casket be put in a separate folder from the other images.  

Part 2 The Funeral and Photography from the Photographer's perspective. 

Ten Guidelines for Shooting Fireworks

I just wanted to pass along some of the things I have learned and /or discovered shooting fireworks while shooting with the Raleigh Outdoor Photography Club. (http://www.meetup.com/ROPClub/)

1) Use a tripod if at all possible. I know some who handhold but the problem is the exposure has to be so long, you tend to move. How good a tripod depends upon how serious you want to be in your photography. For an excellent read on "how to buy a $2700 tripod, read this by Thom Hogan) http://bythom.com/support.htm You don't need to spend the $100 either but do get a good tripod. I bought a Bogen 3021 Pro model used and it works great.
    Bottom Line - Tripod is greatly preferred. a cheap one is better than none at all.

2) Use a Wide Angle lens but consider a telephoto. It all depends upon where you are at. In the photos shown in this post, I used my 17-55 as I was close. If you are shooting along distance, then naturally you want the zoom lens.

    Bottom Line - Wide angle is usually best. 

3) If you have a remote release, use it. The less you touch the camera, the less camera motion you will incur.

Settings:

4) You want to use a small aperture. Start with f/8 and if parts of the image are blown out (over exposed) then change your aperture to something smaller like f/11 or f/16.
    Wait you say, 16 is bigger than 8! No. Notice the slash between the f and the number. This is a ratio of the focal length to the lens opening (aperture).  Remember way back when in math that 1/2 is bigger than 1/ 4 and 1/8 is bigger than 1/16. Now you have it. The bigger the opening of the lens, the small the denominator. Thus a 2.8 lens really opens up (and really costs a lot). a lens opened to 22 has a small opening.
   So if the exposure is too bright, change the aperture setting, that is your main tool in this situation.

   Back to fireworks. The light will be really bright so how do you tell if the image is overexposed? Well one say if your camera has the option is to set the information screen to blink the parts that are overexposed, thus they are called blinkies. If your camera doesn't have this option, look for lots of white in the image when the actual firework burst had reds and blues and greens. The mixture of red and blue and green produces white. Now if the burst was white and the image is white, you are ok, don't worry. 

    Bottom Line - Start with small aperture ( 8 or 11) and work up. Near the end of the show, you may want to change the aperture to 22 as shows typically launch a bunch of fireworks at the end and it gets MUCH brighter.

5) "What about the shutter speed? Can't I use that to lower the exposure?" No! normally in photography you could  but in this case, if you shorten the shutter speed (i.e. make it quicker like from 1/60 sec to 1/100 sec) then you will make the time the burst is exposed while it is opening smaller and you will get a smaller burst. Typically you want to start with a 2 second exposure. If you can change it to "bulb" (a holdover term from the old days when the photographer squeezed a bulb to open the shutter and released it to close the shutter), then use the bulb feature. This is where you NEED the remote shutter release as you don't want to be bumping the camera in the dark trying to find the shutter release.

    Bottom Line - Slow shutter speed. 2 seconds or bulb.

5) About this time would be a good time to state the obvious. KNOW YOUR EQUIPMENT! Its one thing to know it in the daylight and you have all the time in the world but quite another when its dark and the firework bursts are going off one behind the other. You won't have time to "figure it out" you have to shoot now!
    Bottom Line -  Practice before hand. Don't think you remember it.

6) "But you forgot about the ISO is its too bright!" No I didn't. The matter is that you should be shooting at the lowest ISO you have that is "native" to the camera. Some cameras have a native ISO they can go down to and can go lower but it lowers the image quality. My Nikon D300's have a native ISO of 200 but can go down to LO 1.0 which is the equivalent of ISO 100. I shoot at ISO 200.
    Bottom Line - Low ISO.

7) Focus - Set it to manual focus and set it to "infinity" (that funny looking sideways 8 on the range finder). Infinity sometimes isn't all the way to the end but just back form that point a smidge. Why, that just the way some cameras are. This goes back to know your camera (#5).
    The problem with auto focus is its hard to lock onto the picture and the distance will be such that infinity is what you want. If you leave auto focus "On", then every time you press the shutter button half way, it starts to search for focus and that takes time you don't have and it may not lock onto the fireworks burst but the trees under them. (If you use the back button focus method, then you are ok. Set the focus to infinity and don't touch the back button focus button).
       Bottom Line - Manual Focus.

Let's see, anything else?

8) Bring a penlight or a small LED light. You will need it to (a) read the settings on the camera, (b) find that do-dad in the camera bag, (c) find that do-dad you dropped in the grass, (d) you get the picture. Why not bring that mag-light 3000? Well, the people around you won't appreciate it and beat you to death with that tripod and you will be night blind for a while and miss most of the show.

9) Bring a cover for your camera in case it starts to rain.It's that time of year when thunderstorms pop up suddenly sos best be prepared. You don't need  a fancy (read expensive) rain cover (unless you will be in a potential rainy environment a lot, then its worth it to get a good rain cover for the equipment) but a simple shower cap from the las hotel you stayed at will do in a pinch. ( You mean you din't grab one when you got the shampoo and lotion?) My backpack camera bag is water resistant and the bigger shoulder bag is an all-weather model that has a water-proof cover for the entire bag. But just in case I get caught short, I have the shower cap handy.

10) Get some shots of the things happening at the site rather than just the fireworks. It is all part of the story of the fireworks show. Photography is about bringing back emotions and smell is a strong emotion. Get some shots of the food. Get some shots of funny things (like police with blue tongues).

11) One more important thing. CHANGE THE CAMERA BACK to its normal settings when you get home! Many camera today have custom settings and if you changed anything, it will stay that way until you change it back. (Normally while shooting some big event and you wonder why your pictures won't come out.) Some of the settings may include the one that controls whether the shutter activates when you release the shutter or if it waits until focus is achieved. I accidentally missed several shots as the show started later than we thought and I turned to grab a few shots of the people I was with. I had changed my camera to (a) release when shutter pressed instead of when focused and (b) to manual focus. Net result, several photos of folks were out of focus until I realized the problem. Then I had to remember to change it back again for the fireworks.

(OK, some bright scholar has noticed by now that I went ver 10. I kept remembering ideas) 

12) "But I missed a bunch of shots and know better what to do next time!" WELCOM TO PHOTOGRAPHY!! That is a large part of photography. How do I fix them. Probably you can't. Enjoy what you have and wait till next year. That's why there is next year. (Unless you are a sports or wedding photographer and then your goose is cooked!)

13) Remember where the car is parked. We had had several storm cells come close by with warning form the event organizers to be prepared to leave as strong winds, lightening, and hail were possible. We were ok until the show started when they announced 5 minutes into the show, "5 Minute Warning, there is a storm in the vicinity!" The fireworks kept being shot so the photography group kept shooting. Then about four minutes later, they announced a "3 Minute Warning". At that time, I looked at a friend and they looked at me and we all decided it was time to pack up. Had fun finding the car in the dark even though I pretty much knew where I left it (a lot of people arrived after me). The remote unlock that flashes the lights helped. By the time I left the parking lot 25 minute slater, it had yet to rain but I enjoyed the end of the show without looking thorough the camera.

14) Have fun. Don't get so glued to the camera that you forget the family. When the kids are grown and gown, there will be time for sticking to the camera eyepiece.

See my website at www.HLDPhotos.com

Photos form the 2012 Garner Fireworks show.

  After I took the first photo, I spotted his blue tongue and asked for a second shot. He obliged. It is nice to see police with a good attitude as it really makes a positive difference with the crowds.

A kid playing in the dark. Hand held, 1 sec exposure, f/2.8 Iso 320, 28mm.

2 sec f/11, ISO 200 35mm

Camera aimed a little too low. MAybe should have had a wider lens opening so I could crop it later rather than try to get it to fill the frame.

Weird burst, Don't know why it did that. It was the only one like that.

Its been busy with SONC, a Wedding, and an Exhibition

Well its been busy to say the least.

Back in early April, I took some prints to a Frame Shop in Raleigh to be Dry Mounted. (You really should dry mount images 11 x 14 or larger. Please don't tape them. The tape will eventually give way and the artwork has to be remounted. I have seen examples of this.) When I drop the prints off, one of the ladies there looked at my sunset [picture and asked if I wanted to sell it? Sure. So it was sold on the spot. When I returned to pick up my dry mounted prints, she had already picked he mat and frame for it.

Some where about this timeframe, I con't remember when, I also had to get a framed print ready for an exhibit at Wake Med Hospital.

Also, back on April 22nd, I worked at AJ and Kyle Dunlap of AJ Dunlap Photography in Raleigh NC as a non-shooting wedding assistant, working primarily with the lights. They asked me back to work with them again on a weeding May 27th. It's nice when you are asked back and these folks are absolutely great to work with. Here is a link to their site. http://www.ajdunlap.com/index.html#/about/

In the meantime, I had been in talks with a local venue here in Rocky Mount, Via Cappuccino to host my first solo exhibit. In the past I have been part of the Cary Photographic Artists when they arrange an exhibit. display some of my landscape works. Initially it looked like the first opening would be in December or January. With that I settled back. Never settle back. Latter the owner, John, called and said I could have the month of May and June with a start date of May 7th (I thought he said)! He said I would have room for approximately 25 - 30 prints since I was using 16 x 20 frames. Oh the date is like April 15th so I still I have time to order the extra frames I needed and get the glass and mats, etc. Wrong! John called back to confirm I could bring my stuff in on May 2nd! What! I have like a week to pull this together, getting frames ordered and shipped. Drive to Raleigh to get mats and there is no good source in Rocky Mount. Also looking everywhere to get 14 pieces of glass. In the meantime I had found a good source for high quality canvas wraps (Not the wrapped paper prints like Sam's Club shows). With just a few days left, and materials in route, I began assembling the materials I did have.  Just as I finished working with what I had, the shipments arrived with the remaining materials. (Am I glad I took those prints to the frame shop to be dry mounted as that would be one less thing to do.)

Link to Via Cappuccino Exhibit http://www.hldphotos.com/Galleries/Competition-Show/Via-Cappuccino-Show-Photos/22798667_zQczhw#!i=1829124448&k=6r92VPx

Bottom line - I made it and put 26 prints on display, 23 11 x 14 prints framed in 16 x 20 frames and three canvas wraps. The canvas wraps are 16 x 20 and the image wraps around the edges. I love Canvas wraps and will probably do more.

I am excited because this is the first time my series of four railroad tracks (Curves of Life - Fall, Winter, Spring, and Summer) have ever been shown together. I am also excited as some had told me they usually didn't sell a lot there as they don't accept credit cards or debit cards, only cash and checks. Well, TWO sold by the end of the month. Curve in the Road and Fall at Umstead. (See link above) I am currently working with a local medical facility to host another exhibit there.

Then May 6th was National Train Day so I went to the Rocky Mount train station and got some shot there which the newspaper picked up 40 of my photos. Wish I had either had time to get the material for a story to accompany it or have somebody with me but I was rapidly running out of time to go to work.

Link to Rocky Mount newspaper photos. http://www.rockymounttelegram.com/content/national-train-day-celebration-1066689

The Saturday after working with AJ and Kyle, June 2, I was scheduled to shoot for the Special Olympics of North Carolina. This is something I have done for the past several years and look forward to it. In the past I have shot the softball and golf games so this year I decided to do something different. I started to shoot the Aquatics but I have this fear of the camera and the water meeting so I went with the Athletics and the Gymnastics events. Loved every minute of it. Took my son along to help shoot and he got some great shots.

Link to 2012 Special Olympics of North Carolina  http://www.hldphotos.com/Galleries/Sports/SONC-2012/23365744_qNgTq7#!i=1888989083&k=6VSCmhR

Then on June 9th, I got to shoot a wedding with Chris Nieto of Nieto Photography. (Here's a link to his site and the wedding http://www.nietophotography.com/Client-Galleries/Weddings-2012/Lauren-Sealey-June-9th-2012/20300025_vpDqMQ#!i=1906177455&k=NpNpvZx ).

My photos have just been released and on my website. The bride and groom were a blast to work with. If you look at the website in the wedding section, you will wee that on photo 4500, just as the minister says y'all are and the bride and groom kiss, the groomsmen pull out waterguns and start shooting the bride and groom!

Link to the infamous watergun shootout http://www.hldphotos.com/Galleries/Weddings/Sealey-Dail/23748096_9jwPcR#!i=1923448246&k=G8K4FSR

Later when we were shooting down by the lake, I handed the groom one of the waterguns (which he swears he knew nothing about1) and the couple took it from there. They played around and had a great time and I got some great shots.

Link to the Lakeside shots http://www.hldphotos.com/Galleries/Weddings/Sealey-Dail/23748096_9jwPcR#!i=1923540983&k=9fqkMN2

WHAT ELSE? Oh yeah, one more thing. Duke Hospital solicited local photography groups to submit photos to be hung in the hospital They wanted calm serene landscapes and flowers etc. I submitted some digital photos and they selected 7 to purchase! From what I have been able to determine, I am the only one who had that many selected. Back to the salt mines getting them framed and matted according to their specs. The prints were delivered last Friday and there will be a reception for the artists on June 28th.
Link to the Duke Hospital Photos. (The ones selected are the first seven)   http://www.hldphotos.com/Galleries/Competition-Show/Duke-Hospital-Show-Photos/22108716_tw6gg6#!i=1765893503&k=fkxLWFq


I think that's all besides the day job and other usual stuff (A/C not working on Pilot and temps are 96, so what else is new? )

Photographers are Terrorists in England too!

Well, if misery loves company, it t appears that photographers in England are being treated like those in America, suspect terrorists. Those that have followed events in English law and photography are aware that England passed laws a few years ago that if interpreted to the letter, could have visitors from other countries arrested for taking a snapshot of almost anything.

Wel at least in England they are taken to court and now some are being vindicated with financial compensation. In America, the photographer is usually threatened, taken in for hours of interrogations and then released with warnings of "Don't take any more pictures!" and threats of being put on watch lists.

The link to the news article about England is here: http://www.amateurphotographer.co.uk/photo-news/538834/amateur-photographer-wins-10-000-police-payout

Don't know how much 10,000 pounds is but I am sure it is a princely sum.

An associated case link is here: http://www.amateurphotographer.co.uk/photo-news/534399/amateur-photographer-wins-police-payout-update-5-05pm

For a downloadable copy of a abstract by Morgan Manning dealing with these issues go here:
http://ssrn.com/abstract=1857623

And of course there is my original post back in in Jan 31 2011 at http://www.hldphotos.blogspot.com/2011/01/photographers-rights.html

Beach Wedding - Top Sail Island NC

Wow, time flies. I had realized it had been so long since I posted, work and the holidays you know. Anyways, I wanted to post a few of the photos of the wedding. If you want to see the rest, to go http://www.hldphotos.com/Galleries/Weddings

The wedding was in the middle of September and the bride wanted a lot of beach shots as the priority over the formals ( a lot of couples are going this way lately). This fits my photojournalistic style well, shooting as it happens unscripted. This can also be a challenge as lighting and other things have to be taken into effect quickly as it happens.

Anyway, here are a few of my favorites.

  
The ocean the morning of the wedding.

The rehearsal dinner and a walk along the pier.

            

A little dancing. 

A quick rehearsal kiss. 

The wedding at last! 

Glad we rehearsed that kiss. 

The mother of the bride made the cake, she is a professional cake maker Find her at either http://sites.google.com/site/cakesbylizhunt/  or at https://www.facebook.com/pages/Lizzy-Cakes-of-Fredericksburg/374145592601755

This was one of my favorites. I don't remember if I asked her to look back or not, I don't think so.

A quiet walk along the beach and a moment alone after the wedding.