So many people ask me why we picked Charlotte, NC. Well, I did online research about education, business, economy, but when it came down to it we just fell in love with the fact that we can be close to family, mountains, lakes, rock climbing and still live in a city with a good international airport

We are admittedly unfamiliar with the city, so I feel so fortunate to have clients/friends who will show me around! Nicole & Andy, whose engagement session and wedding I have already photographed, recently offered to meet me in Fort Mill, SC.

Andy easily pulls off the pink polo look This is an old retro diner, I most certainly want to go back to this location when I have more light and more time!

And right down the street an awesome red wall (shadow courtesy of Nicole).

Lastly, a grassy field by a park just down the block.

Thanks for showing me that quaint little town, Nicole! And Andy, thanks for tolerating yet another photo shoot Next time we shoot you maybe you’ll be racing!

-Liesl

Out for a bike ride from Neil Cowley on Vimeo.

 

 Out for a bike ride with Neil [3:47m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

So it’s been a while since I’ve discussed a picture, and I thought this would be a good one to talk about. I shot this image at a recent November wedding with it’s bride only counterpart. I enjoyed creating this image in an empty lot next to Christina’s (the bride’s) parent’s home where she prepared for the wedding. The enjoyment came from being able to create mood and style easily in the early evening that comes in November. The frame above was made at 5:03:22PM between the ceremony and reception. The early sunset gave me the chance to control the lighting in the image by using my strobes instead of relying on the mood of the natural light.

… Read more

.flickr-photo { border: solid 2px #000000; } .flickr-yourcomment { } .flickr-frame { text-align: left; padding: 3px; } .flickr-caption { font-size: 0.8em; margin-top: 0px; }

07-07 wedding090.jpg, originally uploaded by solecist.

Well I spent half the day today at Letchworth with Dee and Bill, reminded me again of this Letchworth wedding. There’s always a struggle to get something unique, vs. doing something our clients have seen us do before…..

We like pleasing you and all, but there’s something that can’t be repeated in every shot. In this one, Erica and Josh just stopped on the steps to do a little kissing before they broke out into plain sight again, and as they picked a perfect spot with the light streaming down through the leaves - I was able to capture it. And then I enhanced the feeling a little with some magical additions in post-production. I like the hidden feeling in this shot — not the clear big subjects that I am usually shooting.

Such is the fun of not repeating yourself, because the double whammy from the photographer’s perspective is that I judge myself on all the previous images I’ve shot at a given location too. When a client asks me to repeat this or that shot - I’m tempted to ask them ‘can you match that romantic gesture’ or that dramatic air that the previous couple created. Is that unfair to ask of you my subjects, if you ask me to do a similar shot you’ve seen before?

The Thakrar family held a sumptuous wedding for their daughter Upta.

I say sumptuous, but maybe I should say scrumptious - I like the three square meal aspect of Indian weddings!

And as a wedding photojournalist, so many allegorical ceremony elements gives me lots of action to capture.

Ok so here’s some of the characters, that’s Upda looking like a bride and giving someone a wink as she’s escorted in by the boys - Amish her brother is picture right in the blue.

… Read more