What a photographer does on his day off....

After taking several thousand shots of the Forest Festival, what did I do on my first "day off"?

Took more pictures....The fall colors were so beautiful I couldn't stay inside. Here are a couple highlights.

Craig Morgan and Lady Antebellum

Craig Morgan and Lady Antebellum performed at the Forest Festival Country Music show this year and here are a few of my favorite images from that show. Craig played alot of new tunes from his new album coming out this week.

I saw Lady A perform at the pregame show of the Steelers/Jags game last winter. It was freezing and the snow was blowing like crazy and they had to perform. I had never heard of them then but now they are all over the charts.

Forest Festival Begins Again

Been real busy lately. Lots of Seniors, lots of football and soccer kids. Last weekend we attended the PPWV fall convention in Princeton, West Virginia. I was one of the judges in the print competition, we had a great turnout.

Wow, I don't know where the times goes but its time for the Forest Festival to get started. In just the last few days the leaves have been changing quickly and the air just feels like fall. It will be a hectic week as usual. My job is to pretty much go to every event and document with photographs what went on. Its a great job this week when all I get to do is shoot but next week we will pay by spending days organizing and preparing the photo's for the albums.

Here are some shots from tonights Eddie Money concert. The blonde singer is Eddie's daughter Jesse, very talented.

Steelers win regular season opener against Texans

Its time to play football and the Steelers are starting out on the right foot.


Steeler QB Ben Roethlisberger gives some advice to his new backup QB and former Marshall star Byron Leftwich.


Former Mountaineer Steve Slaton makes his regular season pro debut playing for the Houston Texans. Its weird to see him in number 20 after being number 10 for WVU for so long. He played alot for a rookie but the big guys in the pros didn't give him much of a chance to take off down the field like he did at WVU.

Trip to Maine

Just got back from a mini-vacation to Acadia National Park in Maine. What a beautiful place, or as the locals would say "It's wicked gawjus".


Everywhere you look is another scene out of a travel guide. I really want to go back when I have more time to explore. I really wish I could have made the trip in about 30 more days to catch the foliage. The coast was still very green but on I-95 between Bangor and Augusta you can already see the change beginning.


Above is a shot of the Somesville Bridge, this is the WV equivalent of the Glade Creek Mill. All photographers are required by law to photograph it. I would love to shoot a bridal session on this bridge!

The Class of 2009

Elkins Senior Moriah-Brought some really great outfits, I had a hard time picking a favorite image. Doesn't she look like Eliott on Scrubs?

Elkins Senior Courtney- I've photographed Courtney since she was in pre-school. Man, I am not that old!!!! What a great smile!

BUHS Senior Tanner-I've taken his photo since he was in Little League. Super nice guy, I don't think he was real excited about the whole picture taking thing but by the end he found out it didn't hurt a bit and it was more fun than he thought. We did some fishing shots and football and he's coming back soon with his truck.

Harman HS Senior-Travis-He really brought the stuff! Snowboard, Baseball, Golf! This guy does it all! We got some great snowboard shots....indoors in the middle of August.

Every Wedding is Different....

Every wedding is different and this one sure was! A few weeks ago we shot the wedding of Elizabeth White who I've photographed for I don't remember how long and her new hubby Jason Ferguson. This wedding was not your average wedding. The colors were pink and orange which reminded me of sherbert ice cream. It doesn't sound great but it sure did look super! The bride and groom arrived at the reception in a little British car called a Moke followed by the rest of the bridal party in golf carts. The cake top was an acrylic statue made from a shot we setup at their engagement photo shoot. The brides parents made very realistic manequins of the couple using the costumes we used in the engagement session and made the faces from shots also from the session. The guests were invited to take photographs with the manequins and they certainly took advantage of that opportunity. The manequins even made it out to the dance floor by the end of the evening. The highlight of the wedding for me was the couples first dance. It was a show that the bride and groom had secretly choreographed together and it was a huge hit.

Talk about a Grand Entrance!

Talk about a Grand Entrance! This past weekend Greg and I shot the wedding of former WVU Mountaineer Mascot Derek Fincham and his bride Hannah Swecker. As the newleyweds were announced Derek fired his musket and the couple ran into the reception in true Mountaineer fashion. The crowd went wild!

The wedding was held on the gorgeous family farm outside Beverly, West Virginia. You couldn't have asked for a nicer day. The highlight of the day was the presentation by the brides father of a beautifully restored John Deere tractor as a wedding present.

This is the second Mountaineer wedding we have done. Greg and I shot the wedding of Scott Moore and Jennifer Hedrick a couple years ago. You can always guarantee a good time at a Mountaineer wedding!

What I've been shooting lately.....

The last month has gone by quickly! We've mostly been shooting big jobs lately baseball teams and individuals, prom, dance groups and last minute seniors but we have had a few other interesting studio shoots too.

Rachel Franks is the newest cast member of the American Mountain Theater. The Theater is a Branson-esque music theater that is taking our area by storm. Elkins is quickly becoming a major tourist area for West Virginia and the show is putting Elkins on the map.

Geno Austin is a very intersting and talented character. I shot him for the cover of his upcoming CD.

Alaynah is such a cutie and you might have guessed from the photo that she is six years old.

I also had a great bridal session with Ashley Clingerman who is getting married next month but I can't show the images until after the wedding. We don't want Marc to see her ahead of time.

Toughman!

What a blood bath! Photographed Professional Boxer Kenny "Mr. Opportunity" George last night and what a fight! It was a real close match but Kenny pulled it off. Both guys looked like they had been hit by a truck at the end. Both fighters and even the referee were covered with blood and the ring looked like someone had been butchering hogs.

I've got to give local EMT Robbie Howell a big thanks! He saw I was having a hard time finding a good vantage point to shoot and gave me his spot ringside. What a nice thing to do and I really appreciate it!

Lets learn a lesson from this and watch for opportunities during the day to do something nice for someone. That really made my day and made me think I need to watch for opportunities like that every day.

Wedding Weekend

Wow, It looks like I missed the blogging month of March!
March is usually not a hugely busy month but this one was. Maybe it was because Easter was early. We had some extra basketball leagues this year and the seniors have been coming out with the spring weather. Its been mostly guys lately that have been busy with sports all year.

This weekend was wedding weekend, Christie and I both had separate weddings. It was the girls against the guys. Christie and Casey (our newest employee and graphics designer) shot the wedding of Katrina Mullenex and Lee Groves in Elkins while my son Greg and I shot the wedding of Jasper Carpenter and Michelle Tippett in Buckhannon. I haven't seen Christies images yet but Greg and I got some great shots. Christie loves weddings and does the bulk of our wedding photography but this year everyone seems to be getting married on the same weekends so we are shooting in separate teams several times this year.

Here is a shot of Michelle and her sister/Maid of Honor. I won't tell anyone that her sister actually lost/misplaced the grooms ring. It was later found and presented to the groom in the receiving line. This is the kind of thing that makes a wedding special for the couple and they will be able to laugh about it together for year to come.

Whats been going on?

Been pretty busy and got behind on my blog entries. I've been shooting WVU Basketball games and some local basketball and wrestling leagues and we made a last minute decision to go to PMA in Las Vegas to look at all the new goodies. (PMA is the biggest photography trade show in North America....all the new cameras and lab equipment are announced at this show.)
We were looking at the new lab equipment and picture framing stuff to expand our framing department.

While exploring Vegas I ran across the gallery of one of my favorite nature photographers, Peter Lik and they were doing a charity event with another artist that featured some fantastic boxing art work and 'Gentleman" Gerry Cooney and Ernie "The Black Destroyer" Shavers were making an appearance. In case you don't know they are heavyweight boxing icons from the past. I lucked out and had my picture taken with them. They are both really friendly guys and very big dudes and look like they could still kick some butt.

We took a little side trip out to Death Valley and got a few decents shots but I made a huge mistake by leaving early and not waiting long enough for the sunset and missed some spectacular evening light that would have made some great images. Oh well, next time I'll bring some snacks so I won't be tempted to leave early.

Whats next? I'm speaking at the Professional Photographers of West Virginia spring convention being held at Lakeview in Morgantown next week so I've been working on my program and I'm the print chairman this year and have alot of responsibility for the operation of the print competition. If you are a professional photographer you really should try to attend. We have several great speakers (not me) that will be in attendance. Check it out at www.ppwv.com.

Mountaineers WIN FIESTA BOWL!!!!

Wow, what a week! We started out arriving in Phoenix last Saturday. Not many Mountaineer fans to be found until about Tuesday before the game. Usually the Mountaineer bowl experience includes the chant of LET's GO .....Mountaineers everywhere you go but not this time. It was unusually quiet and Oklahoma fans were everywhere.

Media day was alot of fun, the team was very relaxed and the stadium was state of the art. They are putting everything in place for the Super Bowl coming up in a few weeks.

Kicker Pat McAfee interviews Coach Stewart and Pat White at Media Day.

Then came game day.......the pre game tailgates were nice but we seemed to be way out numbered by the Sooner fans.

Brady Campbell fires up the crowd of Mountaineer fans before the game.

The seats filled up with a respectable number of blue and gold fans , the team took the field

and when time ran out the Mountaineers were victorius by 20 points in what I'm sure will

be called one of the top football games in Mountaineer history and certainly the most exciting BCS Bowl game this season.

One of several sacks on Sooner Quarterback Sam Bradford.

Darius Reynaud scores with no Sooners in site.

Coach Stu gets a ride after the game.

Coach Stewart celebrate the victory with his son and a few thousand of his new Mountaineer fan best friends.

Pat White and Reed Williams show of some new hardware.

Keilen Dykes and Noel Devine are all smiles at the post game press conference.

Coach Stewart makes his point after the game.

We are now in Tampa and will be attending Imaging USA this week.
The class line up looks good with plenty of Photoshop classes. I'm
looking forward the most to hearing Sports Illustrated photographer
Peter Read Miller's program on Tuesday.

More Steelers Vs Jaguars

Here are a few more images from the Steelers Vs Jaguars game.

Willie Parker makes a move down the field. Too bad Willie

broke his leg in the next game and is out for the season.

Tough day for Big Ben as he prepares to be sacked.

Santonio Holmes grabs one in double coverage.

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We are headed off to shoot the Fiesta Bowl on Saturday and then on to Tampa for Imaging USA the next week. I really enjoy Phoenix and Tampa, so it should be a great time.

Jags over Steelers

Jaguars quarterback David Garrard hands off the ball off to Fred Taylor for another Jacksonville first down.
Despite rough weather and tough field conditions the Jaguars broke the Steelers home game winning streak.

WVU Vs Pitt

We won't talk about the game, I think we all want to forget that as soon as possible.

But it wasn't a total loss. Ty Pennington from Extreme Home Makeover was at the game filming a segment for the family in Fairmont that are getting a makeover this week. And General Chuck Yeager was honored by the band at half-time.


WVU President Garrison and Ty film the part where WVU provides the
kids in a family a free education.


Below Ty takes time out to pose with the WVU Cheerleading squad.




Below General Chuck Yeager poses with Governor Joe Manchin and WVU Mountaineer Mascot Brady Campbell.

WVU Vs Winthrop

Joe Alexander works his way into the hoop!

Big East Champs!

Coach Rod accepts congratulations from the fans after a huge victory over UConn.
On to the backyard brawl and just maybe the BCS Championship!

WVU Blowout!

WVU Mens Basketball has begun and they completely blew out Prairie View in regular season game two. The team has really grown physically. The best part of the game was when Joe Alexander went into the stands to go after the ball. He actually hurdled the two rows of folding chairs that sit courtside including the people sitting in them and landed in the bleachers behind.

Nobody was hurt and I don't think he even moved the chairs!

Here he is going in for two under the hoop.

Pittsburgh Steelers Vs Cleveland Browns

Had a chance on Sunday to photograph the Steelers / Browns game and did I ever pick a good game to shoot. Above Big Ben rumbles down the field for his record breaking touchdown!

Willie Parker carries the ball and a couple of Browns too!