Ferguesons

This is the second time I've photographed this great family. My kids go to school with one of these tykes. It was a little chilly that day, but I thought that we got some great stuff. I used a couple of speed lights through umbrellas since we were shooting right in the middle of the day.

Rudolph/Jancewicz Wedding

An incredible wedding at the Andaluz downtown. It was a traditional Jewish wedding, with the ceremony beginning at sundown, so I leaned on my speedlights heavily, eventually finding a good groove with them. The bride was, as you can see I hope, incredibly elegant and beautiful, and brought her family in from Russia, which added something special to the night. I'm very proud of these images  -- things came together this night in a way that reminded me of my days playing soccer, when occasionally the game would slow down for me and start to really make sense. This was my first day with my new D700, and I'm a believer -- in the low light performance and focusing in particular. Great couple to work with from start to finish.  

Parq Central Grand Opening

David Oberstein and Marc Bertram had me come by to photograph the grand opening of the Parq Central Hotel this weekend. It is refreshing to see something of this considerable scale and importance be followed through upon in downtown Albuquerque -- to see the success of the Albuquerque High School project being built upon in our East Downtown. The venture has the support of the Huning Highland Neighborhood Association and the city of Albuquerque, and the investors deserve much credit for taking on such a project, and the associated risks that come along with it. Great pains have been taken to keep the historical signature of the building while evoking an air of comfort and sophistication that will be appreciated by guests for years to come. Many luminaries, including Mayor Barry, where on hand for the festivities. A highlight for me was running into Robert Reck, a decidedly top-shelf photographer and  a celebrity to those of us in the photo community that pay attention. Overall, this was another great opportunity for me -- the positive spirit of the opening showed on happy faces, and in combination with the beautiful setting of the hotel, contributed to many great images...

Nob Hill Bar & Grill

I love shooting here. Beautiful airy dining space with great window light and delicious food combine with a sleek and elegant back-lit bar. I used my speedlights for the drinks and reflectors for the food, which includes a warm duck-spinach salad, cranberry goat cheese chicken, a delicious apple and maple bread pudding with banana ice cram and an ice cream trio sundae

Calvin & Dionne

These guys are former UNM athletes (football and basketball) and recently married. Dionne called me to get some images for the family. We went to the park as the sun went down. It's hard not to get good photos with a good looking couple like this!

Sturges Wedding

This wedding was a new challenge. Middle of the day, not a cloud in the sky. I typically like to shoot natural light, but had to dial down the background and use on board flash a lot. After the ceremony in the mountains we went to the parents' home in the North Valley. The wedding was very relaxed and enjoyable, and the bride and groom were elated, so that made for some great images.

Mac's Steak in the Rough

I don't do a lot of fast food, but the fine folks at Mac's Steak in the Rough, a local institution to rival Blake's Lottaburger and the Frontier, contacted me through their agency and we did a day shoot on-location at the Village Inn on the westside (which they also own I guess). Anyway, the lighting had to be consistent and there were over 50 dishes, so my typical find-the-best-north-facing-window-and-set-up-reflector approach was not going to work here. Instead I used my speedlights and a monolight that fellow shooter Pat Massengale brought along with him. Because of the involvement of the owners, who were on hand, and the agency, I shot tethered to my imac so they could evaluate and contribute. I did this despite a much respected fellow photographer thinking the idea insane -- it could be helpful, but would more likely make the shoot miserable he argued. Luckily it turned out to be very helpful (though whenever the tether fell out Aperture loaded corrupted versions of files). I ended up tossing all the tethered shots and just using the images from the card.