Neil January 30th, 2008

I hesitate a little to bring this up, but I think it bears breaching the topic for conversation. First, let me introduce a few opportunities for free wedding photography from across the nation and the blogosphere.

New Traditions: response to the Celebrations Studio debacle

My friend and college Jason Groupp a photographer in the New Jersy and Manhattan area, is giving away one free wedding to a couple who was wronged by the closing and bankrupcy of Celebrations Studios. The Celebration Studios problem is big news in the wedding industry as there may be as many or more than 2000 brides who’s photographer will not be showing up at their wedding this year. That’s a big problem and if you’re looking for someone in the NJ or New York - Manhattan area we have a special rate for you up until June, so just contact us.

Vrai: You can make an impact!

Christina is a wonderful button of a photographer based in the Chicago Illinois metro area but willing to shoot a wedding anywhere in the US if you are choosing to make make the least impact on the environment and the most impact on the community on their wedding day. Sounds like a great deal to me!! The submissions begin now and end by 10 pm (CST) on February 10th, 2008. Submissions can be mailed or emailed (info at vraiphoto.com) and must include the plans already made or ideas to implement, a 5×7 photo of the couple sized to 300 dpi (1500 px by 2100 px), and your wedding date (must be no later than 12/31/2009), any other information is helpful in making final selections. (mailing address on her site)

A chance to show family and friends that social responsibility can still have style, elegance, and beauty! The online poll will begin no later than 10 am the next morning and voting will last until 11 pm (CST) on February 13th. The winner will be announced on Valentine’s Day.

Jessica Claire helps those who help

Jessica a photographer out of Orange county, has a nomination process each year on her blog, which you can read about in three parts. First the call for entries, second reading the stories of the entrants and finalists (I find this one most interesting), and third announcing the winner. Looks like a Louisianan couple who grew up together gets the free shoot.

I also google’d ‘free wedding photography’ and came up with Robin DePaula’s blog, Punam Bean gives a few shots, Gulnara Studios contest, Free photography in Madison WI from a beginner trolling on wedding bee, there’s of course Craig’s listings even including ‘retouching’, one free wedding a quarter!, Jason’s give back project, and photographers wanting to travel.

Ok ok, so onto me…..

In 2005 I shot a wedding in Thailand of a couple who was prohibited from marrying by the Chinese government.

I can show you the DJ I wish we had for the party:

Rock the hot pink eh - well shopping in Thailand is just a happier experience than in the US.

Well alas, I cannot actually show you any of the pictures from that wedding for fear of endangering the couple’s civil peace, and many of the guests at the wedding. So while the stories of the couples shared on the other blogs are nice - I’m not really sure they compare to someone who’s freedoms are being suppressed by their government.

Just in-case the story isn’t convincing, here’ s me in Thailand.

So if you know someone who has given their life to public service, and needs story told in images - ask.

Even if it’s not for publicity, I may do it.

That’s the Peoria Journal Star for Friday December 7th with the cover story about a couple who was ‘interested’ in each other in high school - in the 40’s! World War II, marriages and careers forced them apart. But six decades later, these high school sweethearts are back together. View the story photo gallery but google can’t find the whole text.

I guess a nose for a story runs in the family, cause my Mom tipped me off to the story of Annie and Tom. She could not tell me any details because of her confidentiality agreement with her students, you see she works at The Ester House which is a self committed program which addresses the needs of women whose shattered lives cannot be turned around by a short stay in a friendly shelter. Some women may desire to reclaim a life that has been ravaged by poor choices. Some women are trying to raise a child on minimum wage, if they can even find a minimum wage job. Many women have been rejected by their families, and have no other place to turn for love and support so the Ester house is a welcoming community of support and training for them.

Meet Annie

Annie was divorced by her husband because of the poor lifestyle and personal choices she was making in her life, one thing led to another and she was doing jail time. In those dark times Annie found a personal faith to bring her life into focus. The path out of prison is a difficult one, one she shared with the residents and staff of the Ester House. I’m afraid my pictures do no justice to this part of the story, but some things are better left forgotten.

As part of Annie’s journey to emotional wholeness and spiritual cleansing she wrote a letter to her former husband asking his forgivenss for the ways she had wronged him.

And he wrote back.

And braved a second time down the isle.

And said his vows.

Many tears held back.

Now I’ve covered some big weddings - all over the world as this post shows - and I don’t expect to be overwhelmed by the action of a small 30 person ceremony in the ultra conservative Peoria Illinois area. But again my photos fall way way short of the palpable emotion floating around this small chapel. We often talk about Love since it’s part of the business name around here - but I’m afraid that many of us haven’t experienced a love that overcomes divorce and years apart. I don’t mean Annie and Tom’s.

If love is like electricity, it can only flow between two charged poles. Thereby if a person becomes disconnected from their family, friends and loved ones - the love cannot flow. The Ester House staff spend their lives helping people to get connected again to the source of Love. Annie is one of their first graduates, and so this event was triple charged with a lot of Love energy that had been held back for a long time. I shot this wedding for free as part of the conduit system that will help Love take over the world. My I learned to offer this gift of love from my Mom as she offers greater gifts than mine every day when she goes to work.

Somehow the apples don’t fall far from the tree.

Each wedding I shoot is free.

Nobody can pay me to make the love flow through me into my pictures - but indeed that’s what you really want - and what it takes for me to make good pictures. There’s a curious kind of exhaustion from doing my job - it’s the exhaustion of carrying 1,000,000 Volts for a day. I can not put a value on the love and friendship your family and friends share, I only try and bottle a bit of it up in pictures for you.

‘Down and out’ is the title for the bears - ‘A season to remember’ sports header

And so what are you paying me for, if the shooting is free? Well, basically so I can live a healthy life and show up at your wedding. But, there is also a secondary consideration for you - I don’t get a second chance in my job, and I don’t get a second chance at capturing your event. I can’t likely shoot your wedding for free unless you have dedicated your life to serving others, or someone wants to sponsor the expenses. And since you are probably reading this considering whether or not to spend money to hire Liesl or I to shoot your wedding, when you could very well hire an amateur with a digicam, let me make one of two suggestions for you. First, hire us - you memories are important and we are great conduits. I was the only one there that noticed the significance of the paper’s title page meanings showing attention to significance among the details. Second, hire someone really cheap - but give the difference to a conduit of Love that cares for people and charge up those Love capacitors in the right direction.

Feel free to contact us if you would like us to consider telling your story weather it be something we can never show - or something you want told to the whole world loud and clear. I enjoy enlarging my capacity for electric charge, and will be excited to serve those who serve.

I guess I’ll share one last hope I have to shoot a free wedding. For someone I have not yet met, Mallamma Solapur in Adp Bijapur India. I probably have 8 or 10 years to invest and wait, but we sponsor her education and health through World Vision. Remember Love needs a connection to travel, so build yourself one small connection at a time.

We look forward to sharing our connection with you.