A friend of mine, Christina Winn, told me she was coming to town for Thanksgiving and asked if I'd be interested in shooting. I had told her I was interested in doing some type of vogue or high fashion set and she thought it would be a great idea as well. She actually did most of the work. She contacted a male model, Tim Weaver, to work with us. She had a makeup artist (MUA) lined up (who had to cancel at the last minute due to illness). She had the clothing, makeup and hair designs all figured out and even had picked one of our locations for shooting. All that was left was for us to show up and shoot.
The following images were all taken within one city block of where we met up in downtown Salt Lake City. The unique design of the art sculpture (the vertical bars stuck in the ground) in a location near Benihani's was to be our starting point and we went from there.
Each year the Taylor Andrews Academy of Hair Designs puts on a show. And last week was an amazing one. Lots of beautiful models, lots of excellent hair and makeup artists and some very creative artwork all put together to the theme of "Women in Music".
Below are some of my favorite captures of the pre-show and show. There are a lot more pictures than I will put here on the blog. Clicking any of the images will take you to a larger version of the image as well as the gallery in which it was found (show or pre-show) where you can explore further if desired.
Every time I pick up my camera I'm having fun. But often I am shooting for someone else (a wedding, a family portrait, senior photos, etc). Every now and then I get to just go out and have some fun. And that's what this was. FUN!
Morgan Leigh Newey and I had been talking about doing pictures for a little while and came up with the idea of doing some kind of ballroom dance type of photo shoot. And I love taking pictures of dancers! If you ever want to make a picture look good, try putting a dancer in it. It's like an automatic upgrade! :)
We got to talking about shooting at the Salt Lake City Library. I had shot some architectural pictures of the library almost 6 years ago and have been intrigued with it every since.
Morgan contacted Mike Hansen and asked if he would join us for the photo shoot. Mike is very experienced and was a wonderful addition to the photo session.
Below are a few of my favorite images from the session. Click any image to jump onto my web site to see the rest of the images.
Yesterday I had the honor of witnessing first-hand the marriage proposal between two good friends, Tyler Willey and Carolina Castillo.
But let's rewind the story a bit!
Back in August I needed a male model for a Trash the Dress photo shoot that I had scheduled with Carolina. The scheduled male model had to cancel and so I asked Tyler if he would be willing to fill in. And that is how he and Carolina met - all dressed up in Wedding Attire on their very first photo shoot! And to think that they later started dating and fell in love, I've never been a match-maker before and this is just cool.
Tyler let me know in advance that he was thinking of marrying Carolina and he asked if I'd be willing to take pictures of the engagement. But he wanted it to be a surprise and so he suggested that I present the idea to Carolina as a "modeling session" instead of an engagement session.
And so I did. I told Carolina that I had this idea for a "romantic getaway" type of photo shoot and that I needed two models and wondered if she and Tyler would be willing to help me out. She eagerly agreed and the hook was set. The three of us then began brainstorming what the photo shoot would be like, where and how I wanted it to be like a story.
I suggested going up to my brother-in-law's cabin (Big Cottonwood Canyon) where we could shoot some scenes outdoors in the mountains leading up a scene in the cabin. I figured the coldness of the mountain air would be conducive to the "closeness" that I wanted to see between them. But even I didn't realize how cold or that there would be several inches of snow on the ground. But the idea was to spend some time outdoors and then go into the cabin for a scene in front of the fireplace.
Tyler and I set up some code words that we could use to inform each other whether he was ready to propose or whether I was set and ready to capture the event in pictures. So after moving inside the cabin, I began setting up my equipment.
Trying something new... I set up one camera, a Canon 5D Mark II, on a tripod where I could use it to capture HD quality video. Then I set up my lights so that I could use my other Canon 5D Mark II camera to capture stills.
Carolina is still thinking that this is a modeling session and so I am directing the events. I had them over by a window where I told them to simply interact with each other. We got some great expressions as they are very obviously in love with each other:
And the stage was set. Tyler broke away for a moment, during which time I instructed Carolina to look at the window so that she wouldn't see what Tyler was doing (he was retrieving the box with the wedding ring in it). He returned to embrace her and she still hadn't seen it coming. I told her to turn around and face him and that's when things got under way.
Tyler spoke lovingly to her for a moment... and then, to her surprise, he got down on one knee. I was amazed at how quickly she realized what was happening. I love her response. You can see it captured in video here:
The sheer joy in her voice and the look on Tyler's face... the video and this picture tear me up each time I see them:
When then finished the rest of the photo session that I had discussed with them - utilizing the fire place in the cabin to showcase their love and romance for each other. Such genuine emotions, it was an honor to be there and to see them and take their pictures.
Here is a video slide show that I put together comprising the images and video from the photo session:
Congratulations Tyler and Carolina! What an honor to be present at such a tender moment in your lives. Thank you for inviting me. I look forward to your wedding day when you two will be married and sealed in the Temple.
