Mason Jar Manifesto and Thoughts

Jonas Peterson recently re-posted his Mason Jar Manifesto blog post, and so I recently re-read it.

So many thoughts, here.

I think it extremely hypocritical to poo-poo on the industry that feeds you. That not only literally feeds you, but feeds your soul, and gives you room to perform a potentially amazing job like photographing weddings.

And yet, the more I think about it, the more I find myself in utter agreement. That's because this: the wedding industry does not cater to brides, grooms, and families who just want to get married. If you're recently engaged and dive headfirst into wedding planning, you're quickly ovewhelmed by people telling what you should do, what you need, what's trending, and perhaps more stressfully, what you should never do because people will think you're a terrible person, or worse, that you have no style. 

If you've decided you're going to have guests, you probably want them to feel like they're at a wedding (whoa, no way). So you turn to the wedding industry experts. Guys, what makes a wedding feel like a wedding? And they hear: Guys, what does a wedding feel like, and how can I convey that feeling with decor, favors, and cake? And suddenly you're avalanched in so much information that goes off in so many different directions, and you don't even know where to start.

That is the problem, or at least a problem. The brides and grooms or whoever is planning the wedding have every right to be concerned with the atmosphere of the party they're throwing. It's not that I have something against mason jars. But it is such a fine line we walk between running our businesses and advising the engaged couples about making their wedding day work, and then throwing everyone into hyper-wedding-planning overdrive. 

It can be frustrating for us on the inside to witness the transformation our own industry inflicts on some of these innocent people, most typically the brides, and that, I believe is where we can all take a lesson from Jonas' thoughts.


Somewhat related, I also recently read this article by Matt Mendelsohn, and it hit home really hard. If you want the short version, he contrasts a wedding day with an elderly friend receiving news of the death of his wife of 50+ years, and how the latter is what marriage is truly about (as depressing as that sounds!). 

My Gear: Lenses

This is what the gear bag is looking like at the moment! Don't they just look like a family or something?

Lined up in focal length order, of course. 70-200mm, 50mm 1.2, 50mm 1.4, 17-24mm. Why the two 50mms? Well, as you may observe, one has a nice red ring around the top. That means it's nicer. I just opened the box this week and I'm SO EXCITED to have upgraded. But of course, one can always use backups.

Above: the new 50mm vs old 50mm. I didn't know it would be so BIG.

Below: Old 50mm vs 40mm pancake lens. I adore the portability of the pancake lens and it's what I use most of the time for personal things.

 Below is the pancake lens, shot with the new 50mm at f 1.2 and f 2.8, respectively. Such depth of field.

Next in line will be a 35mm, and then I finally think I can justify a 40mm tilt-shift! But before either of those things comes a new camera body....

Adventure Log: DC Cherry Blossoms

Because yes, even though it's kind a normal thing to do around here, you never quite know what will happen when you brave the springtime crowds at the DC tidal basin. I guess I was lucky in that perhaps the only thing of note that happened was that I lost my hat. It was super beautiful though.
Freelensing with my 40mm pancake..

Rangers-Inspired Costumed Shoot

The Rangers is an independent film being made this summer, by some friends of friends of mine, from which Robin and I took our inspiration this almost-spring day in March!

It's almost as if we need an excuse to dress up and play outside with swords and cameras.

Goodbye, Snow

See you next winter, snow!

April 2014 Check-in

It's April and I feel the cabin fever setting in.

As such, I have a good handful of personal and professional goals.

-Start running. Which is a terribly strange thing for me to want to do, because running hurts my joints like mad, and that generally means I hate it. I've had an itch to run recently, though, and instead of fighting it I think I will simply invest in a decent pair of shoes.
-Spring cleaning. I'm moving in a couple of months and will have less space for all the things, so I've got to start getting rid of what I don't need!
-Upgrade equipment. It's time to get ready for the shooting season, and that means getting my hands on some better glass. Super excited.
-Experiment. With photography. I want to start prisming and freelensing a bit more. I will also remember to set my damn white balance before every setup. I will, I promise.

And here's my favorite frame from this week's fun times with Robin, dressing up and playing ranger/elven swordmaiden, inspired by The Rangers, an independent film being made this summer.

More garbed shoots, please.

Spring is Coming

We just had the time change and it's lighter later, and along with the warm days we've been having... I was feeling this early springtime cosplay shoot with Nicole I did last year. Even though it's freezing again and we might even get a bit more winter weather, my thoughts are with warm temperatures and thunderstorms. It's also interesting to take a look back on last year's work and see how far I've come in such a short amount of time.