WPPI and GREAT NEWS for our family!

First off Great News (pt. 1), I just want to let you all know that Bray Bray is doing wonderfully! He is all better and happier than ever. He laughs more than any child I know. Everytime he giggles, it just makes me happy to be alive!

Secondly, I was away in Las Vegas for the WPPI Convention. I hooked up with some old friends and made a lot of new friends as well. We had such a blast and very little sleep. I am still trying to catch up! The funny thing about the trip is that, I had my camera, but NEVER used it!!! I only have memories and my friends' blogs to check. I was having too much fun to take any pictures... Thanks to all of my friends for making it such a great time, I feel truly blessed to know you all.

*Edited to Add* My friend Tiffany Aicklen was kind enough to send us all this hilarious shot from the SimplePhoto Booth. We broke the record for the most people in one shot. It was quite a squeeze!



We have been busy the past few weeks, I am really behind on blogging, but will catch up over the next week, I promise! Tomorrow kicks off our 2007 wedding season! We are so pumped to get rockin! It is going to be a beautiful day, so please stay tuned.

Lastly, but certainly not least.... The drumroll please.......

GREAT NEWS!!!



Check back in the Fall of 2007 for a new Baby Burke!!!

Bray Bray

Just wanted to have a quick post about our Bray Bray. He is not feeling well so I asked what would make him happy. He said, 'Blog.' haha Just kidding.

On a serious note, we found out that he has pneumonia. He will be fine, but prayers are welcome! He is still trying to be himself, but he is a little sluggish. I feel so bad for him :( He is taking some antibiodics and should be back to normal soon. Here are a few pics of him (happier times) over the past few months of our little dude.

Ben Roethlisberger and Damon

Saturday, my son Damon, had the awesome opportunity to hang out with Ben Roethlisberger for a mini-camp. Damon told me that Ben threw 3 passes to him, but he dropped the first two. He said that on the third pass, Ben said, "Go Deep Damon, Keep Going Damon!" So Damon ended up catching a 55 yard pass from Ben Roethlisberger! How cool is that catching a bomber from the Super Bowl XL Champion Quarterback? Once in a lifetime opportunity!

He told me that it hurt like crazy, when he caught it! Damon's uncle Nathan, was gracious enough to invite him to the mini camp. Thanks uncle Nathan!! Here is a shot that they emailed me.

Tomas Flint

Today's featured photographer and new friend is Tomas Flint of Rochester, New York! Tomas is a very cool cat that has a brand spanking new website and Blog. After the workshop in Newport Beach, Tomas had the opportunity to take another trip to the Bahamas for some R&R. Tough Life!!! See you soon Buddy :-).

Meet Tomas:
Formal:


Relaxed:

Priscilla O'Sullivan

Today's featured Photographer is Chicago's Priscilla O'Sullivan. She lives in Chicago with her husband and daughter. She also just started a blog! Check it out here. She also just made the switch to Mac!! As you know we adore Apple Products! Now if she would only switch to Nikon Equipment, she would be set! haha As you can see she is well on her way to success, building her business!

Meet Priscilla:

Corey McNabb

Slowly but surely I am posting about all of my new friends I made at the Mike Colón workshop.
Meet Corey McNabb! He is a great guy and a fabulous photographer. He resides in Asheville, NC. Corey and I met online through Mike's blog before the workshop. It was great to exchange some emails before we got there. It gave us both a chance to know someone before we arrived. hahaha

Corey recently won a bunch of awards with the WPJA. He is now a Gold Medallion Winner! Congratulations Corey!!

Check him out at Corey's Blog .

A serious pose:


The REAL Corey: :-)

Mike Colòn Workshop Pics

Hey all stop over to Mike Colòn's Blog to see some wonderful photographs captured by the attendees.

If you are a photographer, I cannot stress enough how important it is to invest into education and experiences. Workshops like this really open up many new doors and get you thinking like you never thought you could. The people you meet, learning , teaching (helping others), group interaction, fun, challenges, etc... are all priceless. You should make it a goal to attend 1 - 2 workshops a year. I would like to attend 1 per quarter. I LOVE to learn! I think when you get to a point where you think you know it all, you may as well hang it up and find something else to do. Always be open to learning. Another very rewarding aspect of workshops is that you may find in yourself that you can teach/help as well. As individuals, we all have strengths and weaknesses. It is a great feeling when you can help somebody else in an area where they may be struggling, but you may have it under control. Helping others brings me more joy than anything.

So, make it a priority to find a workshop that is a good fit for you and commit to it. You will not be disappointed.

I hope this advice helps you!

Element of Love!

Hello People... Thank you Heather and Joanne for a wonderful and creative learning experience! I had a blast and enjoyed my time with you and everyone else!! Thanks to Maria for being an awesome model!! Love, Bridget!!

Today, Bridget attended a wonderful workshop, thrown by two of our good friends, Heather Lahtinen and Joanne Bartone. Together, they created an experience called 'Element of Love'. EOL is a workshop that combines the talents of both of these wonderful artists, business savy, photographers. Bridget came home very energized and ready for wedding season. We are getting ready to kick off the season on March 31!! We are really looking forward to the many weddings we have scheduled.

Bridget met some great people and made some new friends. She said the workshop was filled with extremely valuable information, for the beginner, intermediate and professional. She HIGHLY recommends taking the Element of Love workshop the next time around. Joanne and Heather are very professional and passionate about what they do. They really want to elevate all photographers in all aspects of the business. I think that what they are doing is awesome! It is so nice to have a group of photographers together, sharing information and helping each other out. Gone are the days of keeping secrets from each other and being stingy with knowledge. Life is too short! Share what you know and you will end up learning a lot more than you ever imagined.

Bridget was working the Nikon like a Pro today! Didn't she do great??:










The Dynamic Duo Joanne and Heather

Archer - AJ

I just wanted to give a little shout out to Archer John! Archer (AJ) is the son of two of my very best friends, John and Terry. Archer was baptised this last Sunday and is just about 4 months old. He is such a cutie! Of course I had to bring along the camera and take a few shots. Check him out!

God Bless you little man!

David Burke - The Chef

When I first tried to register davidburke.com, it was already taken. At first I was kind of bummed. The domain was parked. Once in a while, I would check and one day it talked about David Burke the chef. Apparently, this David Burke Chef has done VERY well for himself! He is opening up restaurants all over. Check him out David Burke the Chef. Go David Burke the Chef!! I am happy the domain is going to wonderful use.

He has a new restaurant opening at the Venetian in Las Vegas. So this evening I received an email from Mike Colón's mobile phone. He said that he was impressed I was opening a new restaurant at the Venetian and that I was a man of many talents! He attached the picture below from his camera phone. hahaha This is a great way to get my name (our name) out there huh??? Thanks Mike!

Poll - Photographer's Preferred Processing Tool

Hi all! If you are a photographer or a photo enthusiast, I am curious as to which post processing tool is your favorite. In all honesty, I am just curious as to what everyone likes. After talking to many photographers, workflow seems to be such a roadblock for many. We are so lucky to be in the digital photography age right now, because there are so many wonderful tools out there to use!

I personally use Photoshop Lightroom 1.0, however I am learning Apple Aperture. There are Pros and Cons to each one. Lightroom has speed, speed and speed, but is not ideal for file management. Aperture is AWESOME at file management and also has some very cool UI (User Interface) features. The jury is still out on which application will fit my flow the best.

So, if you use either of these tools or something else, please take the poll (over there on the right, in my sidebar ---->).

Thanks!

Stephanie and Jeremy Engagement

Sunday I met with Stephanie and Jeremy for an engagement session. They are getting married on March 31! Just around the corner. This is also a special time, because Stephanie's brother serves in the military and just got home from Afghanistan. They planned the wedding around his leave, so that he could attend. I think that is so wonderful!

We met at their apartment to capture a few casual shots of how they relax at home. We then decided to go to Peter's Lake, which is where they got engaged. It was brutally cold and the lake was completely frozen! We did get a few snow flurries, but we were wishing for more. It was a great shoot and I can't wait for the wedding! See you soon!

Some Shots.

Donna and John Engagment

Saturday I headed down to Schenley Park to meet Donna and John for an engagement session. They are getting married this May! We had the standard overcast skies, which lend to beautiful soft lighting. We did get some sunshine for about 30 seconds and I was able to capture a few beautifully backlit images. Flat light is perfect for pictures, but I love different lighting that creates some shadows. It was snowing occassionally as well, which added some texture :-).

Donna and John are a great couple that is very much in love. We are looking forward to the wedding! Here are a few shots from the shoot.

Safely Home

If you follow our blog, you know our friends, The Sarniak Family. We have posted about them here and here. This morning we received the news that their son, Christian, passed away in the middle of the night. Words cannot express our feelings that go out to their family. News like this is never easy to absorb. Even though he was not expected to live a long life, the impact that his little life had was enormous. I pray that God comfort the Sarniaks and all of their extended family. I know that Christian is in a wonderful place and will always be with them.

When I lost my daughter, Jourdan, in 1998, this poem meant so much to me and helped me get through many difficult times.

SAFELY HOME

I am home in heaven, dear ones; oh, so happy and so bright! There is a perfect joy and beauty in the everlasting light. All the pain and grief is over, every restless tossing passed; I am now at peace forever, safely home in heaven at last. There is work still waiting for you, so you must not idly stand, do it now, while life remaineth– you shall rest in God’s own land. When that work is all completed, He will gently call you home; oh, the rapture of that meeting oh, the joy to see you come!

Re-reading this right now, brings back that comfort.

The Bazooka Lens

When we went on our shoots, I had the opportunity to shoot with Mike Colón's Nikon 200mm f/2G ED-IF AF-S VR Nikkor. It is no wonder why it is his favorite lense! Though, not the most compact lense, this thing is a MUST HAVE for serious shootin! It is by far the sharpest piece of glass I have ever used. I was shooting it wide open at f/2.0. I couldn't get over how tack sharp it is. The thing weighs 6.5lbs! You can only use it sparingly on a wedding day, but I cannot wait to get one and take this lense only on an engagement shoot. It will be well worth it!!

Here are a few pics of me using the bazooka (Thanks for giving me the first try for free Mike! hahaha Nikon Loves when you have these workshops!)
Image by Mike Colón


Image by Melissa Rich


Here is one of me shooting on the beach:
Image by Melissa Rich



This is one of Brittany Gebler, one of our beautiful models. Brittany is also a photographer attending Brook's Institute. Brittany helped us out sooo much during the week. She modeled at the beach, on the streets of Laguna and even jumped in the pool with her dress on! It was a blast. Thanks Brittany!! We started shooting her next to this Ferrari and the owner walked over and said, 'Would you like to get in?' This car was insane! Don't you love how she just Pops out of the image? The background goes milky... I love that! I shot this with the 200, 2.0 @ 1600/sec.

Friends

Last week I met fabulous people/photographers at the Workshop. I am going to do my best to post everyone on my blog so that you can meet them too. Today I have selected Mike Steelman and Kristin Shaparenko, both of which are in California.

Mike Steelman has businesses based around photography. One is ScriPics.com and the other is mikesteelman.com. ScriPics is what got him started. He creates images that speak to his heart and adds Bible scripture to the images that fit perfectly with the image. He is extremely talented in this area. When he first showed Bridget and I, we were blown away at the beauty and simplicity of the images. There was one in particular that really spoke to us. I told him that when we got home we were going to order the print. Being the giver that he is, on Monday a package arrived at our home with a gift from Mike. The gift was the image that we really loved, Matted and ready for framing. He also included a custom card with another fabulous image on it and very beautiful handwritten words to our family. Thank you Mike! It was great meeting you and I look forward to seeing you soon! Check out ScriPics.com to add some Light in your Lives!
Here is Mike:


Kristin Shaparenko is one of Mike Colón's assistants. She was crucial to the structure of the workshop and helped in so many ways. Kristin is also a photographer. Her site is Kristin Renee. Kristin is a wonderful person and photographer (see her site and you will know what I mean). Thank you so much for your hospitality, guidance, willingness to share and just being fun! It was great hanging with you all week. I'll see you in Vegas!
Kristin