Shoot N Learn - February

Hey Everyone! I hope you all enjoyed the Steeler's 6th Superbowl win!!! I know that I have :-)

This is the time of year where (if you live in Pittsburgh) it is easy to fall into "Seasonal Depression", because it is so darn gloomy out there. It takes a little extra effort to be motivated and to stay focused. I think it helps to surround yourself with positive people and great relationships to keep going.

I would love for this month's Shoot N Learn to be just that. Let's have a round table discussion about everything and anything - (photography related of course ;-) ). Would you please join us:

• When: Tuesday February 24, 2009 @ 7:00 PM


• Where: Bado's Pizza Grill and Ale House (Click Here for the Map)


• Limit is 20 people, so please let me know ASAP david@davidburkephoto.com

I really look forward to these gatherings! We will all take new things away from this meeting.

Also, please stay tuned for my first Full Day Workshop I will be announcing soon!

Of course I cannot complete a post without an image. I had the pleasure of Second Shooting for Beth McHenry this past weekend. We documented an intimate ceremony and of course enjoyed ourselves. Keep your eyes out for Beth, as you will be hearing a lot more about her...

I love the anticipation of the Bride, peaking over her Matron of Honor's shoulder.


Hope to see you there!

Pittsburgh Makeup

If you are a bride looking for a fantastic makeup artist, meet Julie Marckisotto.

Julie is an amazing person as well as a makeup artist. We spent some time last week creating some head shots for her brand. We had an excellent time and really captured Julie's character. I think great head shots are very important for our business. Come to think of it, I need some new ones! First I better decide what I am going to do with my mop of a hair style right now. LOL.

I met Julie last year and can say that I am so happy that I did. She has been so great to Bridget and me. I am honored to help her take her business to new heights. She is getting ready to open her own studio for consultations and trial runs. Please look her up on the web if you would like to meet with her: Julie Marckisotto

Brittany and Josiah - the Wedding

Friday January 2 kicked off our wedding year with Brittany and Josiah. This was a special wedding because, Brittany is our Pastor's daughter. It was an incredible honor for me to document this event. Everything was held at our church South Hills Bible Chapel and was coordinated beautifully.

Brittany made a stunning bride, as you will see in the slideshow. Josiah too, made a handsome groom. They are both very fit and love to run. (Gave me incentive to exercise more!)

Beth came along for this one a big thanks to her :-)

Brit and Si, we had a great time on Saturday and can't wait to show you all of the images. Enjoy your honeymoon!

Enjoy the show.

Jessica and Grant - The Wedding

I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas! We had a blast with the kids. We are still enjoying everything :-)

Saturday, the 27th, I was honored to document the wedding of Jessica and Grant. It was a glorious December day in Pittsburgh. To the tune of 68 degrees and Sunny.... Unbelievable. It was a wonderful day. They were married at St. Winifred's Church in Mt. Lebanon and had the reception at Hilton Garden Inn @ Southpointe. I love the Hilton Garden Inn, because it is 5 minutes away from home!

I met with Jessica and Grant over a year ago, so it was nice to see the day finally arrive. It was a bonus Christmas present to be shooting this past weekend. My good friend and photographer, Dan Speicher came along to assist and shoot. Thanks for your help Dan!

Instead of posting a bunch of pictures I put together a slideshow. This is something that I have gotten away from, but am eager to get these rolling again. They are so much fun to make and more importantly for you to enjoy.

Thank you Jessica and Grant! Enjoy the honeymoon!!!

Happy New Year!

Catching up...

...is hard to do!

The past few months have been a whirlwind due to travel, weddings, shoots, business planning and lots of family stuff!. All of the excitement has taken a toll on my blogging abilities. I am so far behind blogging the many wonderful shoots I have had over the past few months. I am taking some heat from some folks, because they have not appeared on the blog yet (I will not name you... you know who you are! LOL!!!) Stay tuned, as I promise to get you all on here!

In all seriousness this year has been unbelievable for us. We have met so many wonderful people and have made so many friends. The work continues to come and we feel nothing short of blessed and honored to be a part in all of your lives. Thank you all! We have been smiling and groaning as we feel growing pains throughout our systems. We are working "on" these systems as much as we are "in" them, so going into next year we will continue to polish and improve. Thank you for being patient with us as we continue to work and improve everyday.

In the meantime look at this lovely image. I want to feel like this every day, don't you???

Courtney and Danny - The Wedding

First off, Happy Thanksgiving to all of you! It is hard to imagine that 2008 is almost finished!!! I hope you all had great day and a great night sleep after your Turkey induced Coma.

Onto the wedding of Courtney and Danny in Los Cabos, Mexico. I got connected to Danny and Courtney through my sister-in-law and her husband, Brooke and Michael (Thanks guys!). Kenny Kim (Kenny you are awesome! Thank you for all of your help and wonderful images. Goodtimes as usuals!) and I had a such a wonderful adventure to Mexico last week. We photographed for 3 days straight and can tell you that there was never a dull moment. The people, the surroundings, the music (man the music! I have to score some of those playlists!!), the details.... It was so much fun. Immediately we felt loved and part of the bunch. Everyone was so gracious and welcoming to us. There was a Welcome Party, Pre-Rehearsal Afternoon Party, Rehearsal Dinner Party and the Wedding Day. I don't think anyone stopped smiling the whole time.

So thank you Courtney, Danny, Family and Friends for creating such wonderful experience for us to document. We can't wait to share the images with you. In the meantime, here are a few from the wedding day. I also want to give thanks to Sergio and his team at Cabo Azul. If you want to have a destination wedding in Cabo, do not hesitate to contact Sergio.

Enjoy!
While the girls were getting ready, the guys played Volleyball.


A shot of the resort from the other side of the infinity pool.


The dress and shoes


Courtney getting her hair ready


Danny and Daylen chillaxing.


The veil


Finishing touches with the suit.


First Kiss


Little stroll on the beach, post ceremony


The Horse... (I have behind the scene footage of Kenny here! LOL)


Little off camera lighting look


The sky was gorgeous for this silhouette


David Burke Photographer - Wedding Los Cabos - Cabo San Lucas Wedding

Cabo San Lucas - Day 1

Kenny and I are in Cabo San Lucas enjoying the wedding festivities of Courtney and Danny. First I have to say what a wonderful couple they are! This is the first time we have met and they have made us feel as though we were friends forever. We shot for 2 days before the wedding and shot the wedding yesterday... I will blog more on this once I return home. One word = Awesome.

The wireless connection in our hotel is hit or miss, so I have been unable to blog as of yet. Kenny was able to, so you can check out his blog.

So now that I can finally post a few, Here are some from the first day/night. It was a "Welcome to Cabo" party that Courtney and Danny planned for early arriving guests. It was so gracious.

Enjoy!

Meet the couple (wait until you see the wedding images!)

Amanda and Lou - The Wedding

Wrapping up October 2008 with the wedding of Amanda and Lou. What a fantastic day they had! We started at the Omni William Penn Hotel for preparation shots and the rest of the day was spent at the Children's Museum of Pittsburgh. Originally the ceremony was to be held outside, however the weather was being a bit fickle so a decision needed to be made early in the day to move it inside. This did not damper anything. It was beautifully done! We did get a bonus after the ceremony when the Sun came out for a bit and we were able to use the light for formals and some portraits. It was a win win all around!

The Metropolitans provided the entertainment and they rocked it! This wedding was a perfect fit for my style of shooting. We were literally in the shadows just documenting the day. It was great because no one paid attention to us :-) We captured so many fantastic moments!! Week in and week out this year we have been blessed. Thank you to all!

Amanda and Lou thank you for having us along on your day. It was perfect. Enjoy Cabo and please let me know when you return, so you can give me some tips! My next wedding stop is in Cabo!

Enjoy some images from the day.
Emotions after getting into the dress.


Capturing the mood entering the elevator


Amanda's gown is gorgeous


Amanda and her father. Priceless.


Lou looking GQ


I love this image of Amanda's father :-)


Taking advantage of the few sun rays we had available


David Burke Wedding Photographer - Children's Museum of Pittsburgh Wedding - Omni William Penn Wedding

Kimberly and Jim - The Wedding

Ahhh, another fall wedding and more great times!

Kimberly and Jim were married last Friday during an evening ceremony. It was intimate and perfect. They held the celebration at South Hills Country Club and offered countless Hors d'oeuvres and desserts. De-Lish!

Because the ceremony would be held after dark, we started a little earlier at the country club, so we could get some images beforehand. Kimberly and Jim decided not to see each other beforehand though, which is awesome!

During our photoshoot with the guys we had nice even overcast lighting. When the girls arrived, however we were blessed with a little sunshine for some killer backlighting. We had a blast!

Thank you Kimberly and Jim for having us be a part of your day. Enjoy Mexico and see you soon!

The Guys


The Girls


Kimberly is great in front of the camera!


Post-Ceremony portrait


This image really captures the adoration these two have for each other. They smile like this all the time!

Patty and Adam - The Wedding

Last Saturday was another glorious day! Definitely the peak weekend here in Western, PA for the fall colors. Patty and Adam were blessed with this fall beauty. I had not seen them since their engagement session in April. It was great to finally see them again!

Patty and Adam are so sweet. They were so happy to getting married to one another. They chose to have their reception at Shakespeare's which was an absolutely gorgeous backdrop for us to photograph upon.

The wedding season is definitely coming to end for us, and I could not be happier with the way things are ending. It is always amazing to me that each wedding is so unique and each couple is perfect for each other. Meeting all of these wonderful couples and families is the highlight of my job. Being a part of it is truly and honor.

Patty and Adam, I hope you are enjoying your honeymoon and we will talk soon!

Here are a few from the day. A big thanks to Beth for assisting me on this one!

I love this image of Patty, her nephew and mother looking on.


A candid of Patty


The ceremony was in a very intimate setting


Mr. GQ!


The warmness of these colors are tasty!

Jessica and Ed - The Wedding

Friday October 10 was a gorgeous day for a wedding. Jessica and Ed were happy that this day was chosen for them!

It is not too often where we have a double wedding weekend, but to have both Friday and Saturday be PERFECT days, was incredible. I will be blogging Patty and Adam shortly. Can't wait!

So Friday we made our way to St. Vincent's and Greensburg Country Club for Jessica and Ed's wedding. My friend Greg assisted and grabbed some great images as well. It was fun because we both shoot the Nikon D3 :-). It made processing the files easy as pie too!

Jessica discovered me from a wedding that I shot a few years ago and told me "I knew then that I wanted you to capture my wedding someday." That was the sweetest thing she could have said to me.. So needless to say "She had me at Hello!" LOL! Thank you Jessica for finding me and including me in this Incredible day!

We had a great day and I look forward to sharing all of the images with Jessica, Ed and family. Here are a few favs. Enjoy!

The church


Jessica has the greatest smile and laugh!


Ed and his guys arriving


I love this moment ;-)


A portrait


First Dance

New Portfolio site.

Hi All,
I have a new Portfolio site that I am excited to share with you. I had not updated my main website in such a long time, because it was so cumbersome to update. I finally found a great solution to host my portfolio and could not be happier! It is so easy to update, so I will update often! I promise!

The actual site is hosted at http://davidburkephotographers.com but is accessible from http://davidburkephoto.com by clicking on Portfolio. I want all of my sites to be accessible from my main domain of davidburkephoto.com. It is still a work in progress, but we are getting there!

This new Portfolio will showcase my Wedding and Engagement work only. I may launch another site in the near future to showcase my other work. Since Documentary Weddings are my primary focus, they need to be separate.



Since my goal as a Wedding Photographer is to be Real, Classic & Timeless, it was important that my site be clean and simple. I did not want anything too flashy. I also decided not to use music. I always find myself turning the music off when I visit websites. What do you do? I would love to know. If you like music on sites, please do tell ;-)

I am working a lot on my brand and have a lot of things coming down the pipe so that I can continue serving my clients with the best of me. I look forward to sharing!