Engagement Session At Hammonds Ferry

Hello all,

I finally got to have a photoshoot at the beautiful location of Hammonds Ferry in North Augusta with Chris and Jen.  Whenever a client books a session with me I truly want to give them a unique experience.  I always suggest a new location because not only does it provide my client with a different scenic backdrop, but it always sparks my creativity and forces me to think of new ideas.  I was very pleased that Chris and Jen wanted to capture their photos at Hammonds Ferry and I believe my creativity came out in full swing with their images.  Chris & Jen were a pleasure to be around.  They were willing to try anything I asked of them, no matter how silly it may have seemed.  They completely trusted my judgement and I believe it shows in the images.  If you're ever in Hammonds Ferry for a photoshoot go grab some dinner at Manuel's Bread Cafe or Larder, thank me later!  Without further Ado.....here are some of the images we captured that day!

 

Wedding at Sacred Heart Cultural Center Augusta, GA

Daniel & Celine's Wedding

 

Daniel and Celine were married on February 9th at the historic Sacred Heart Cultural Center in Downtown Augusta, GA. The church was built in 1897 and held its first mass in 1900! Unfortunately, due to a number of factors the last mass was held in Sacred Heart on July 3, 1971. The building was reopened in 1987. The structure now serves as a unique venue for social and cultural events such as art exhibitions, theatrical events, an annual Garden Festival, choral concerts and is rented continuously throughout the year for celebrations, and civic functions. 

This was my first time photographing any event at the Cultural Center. It was absolutely beautiful and a great location to have a ceremony and reception for your wedding. Daniel and Celine are currently living in Taiwan and this would be their second wedding for Daniel’s family and friends here in Augusta, GA. They were both so easy going throughout the day, it really helped bring out more of my artistic side. Usually a wedding has multiple locations with time restraints, this brings common pressures as a wedding photographer which I have come to expect and work well under. However, there was little to no pressure during the Eyrich Wedding and I couldn’t have been more appreciative of it.

One take away during the wedding was when I began getting family ready for portrait shots, I was told there were 11 siblings in Daniel’s family! Posing them all in one big shot was a challenge but I think I knocked it out of the park. Also, his family can really dance! They were doing many coordinated dances as you will see in the photos below. I really enjoyed being a spectator to this.

I want to wish Daniel and Celine many years of love and companionship. No matter where they are their love will shine bright to those who know them and are touched by them.

Here are some photos of their day:

Engagement at Pendleton King Park!

Hello all!

Just a few weeks ago I got meet the sweetest couple and captured their engagement session.  Rob & Chelsee are getting married in September and I am honored to be capturing it.  Here are a few fun facts about Rob & Chelsee.  Chelsee's favorite show right now is Heartland and Quantico; Rob really loves Hawaii Five-O.  Their favorite date night is a night at home cooking comfort food and making a dessert together.  Followed by relaxing on the sofa with their dog watching Disney classics.  That sounds like my kind of night!  When asked if a movie or show of their love story were made; what channel or platform would it air on?  She said it would be a Netflix Original Series showcasing them being their silly selves in their lab with their soon to be mini-horse St. Bernard.  Let me add that to my watchlist! ;-)

Here are some of the photos from their engagement session!

Christmas Family Photography Session!

Seasons greetings everyone!

When Destiny reached out to me inquiring if I would be interested capturing her family photos for her Christmas card/Family portraits I was thrilled at the opportunity.  Because I am still a newb in the C.S.R.A and have a lot to learn in terms of scouting interesting locations for photoshoots; I am always looking to try new places.  I had heard of Brickpond Park by many photographers in the area who go there for sessions with their clients.  I personally have never been there.  So the day before my session with Destiny and her kids I decided to scout the area.  When I got there I was a bit thrown off.  While it was a very picturesque, it did have have a warning marker throughout.  A marker that really doesn't go unnoticed.  Beware of Alligators!!!  Do not attempt to feed or harass if encountering one.  *Gulp*

As I walked through the area getting ideas for the session, I kept my eyes on the water......just in case.  Toward the end of my scouting throughout the park I decided to head on back.  As I walked back across one of the many ponds I peered out into the distance and notice something still and staring at me.  It was an alligator alright!  About 7-8 feet.  I noticed a stray dog in the area just moving along the edge of the pond.  The alligator didn't seem to be interested.  It just stayed there minding its own business.  After all that, I still felt that it was safe enough to have the photos taken there.  Worse case scenario I could just beat it with my gigantic Canon 70-200 lens ;-p

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On the day of the photo session, Destiny bought her very photogenic kids Pierre, Carter and the newest edition to the family baby Salih!  Pierre was very helpful throughout the session helping me and his mother out with anything we needed to capture the best photos we possibly could.  Carter is just full of personality and kept us laughing throughout.  Baby Salih did what most newborns do.....sleep hahaha.  However, she did wake up from time to time just to give me a look. All in all, I believe I captured some of my best photos that day and it will definitely have a home in the IMP portfolio body of work.  I would like to thank Destiny for supporting and trusting me with photographing her family.  I look forward to photographing her family again in the near future!

 

Deepika & Prashanth with Baahu

I met with Deepika and Prashanth and their lovable American Bulldog Baahu on June 24th.  After going over a few locations for their family photo shoot they choose to go with Brick Pond Park for it's rustic wildlife visuals and unique bridge.  Deepika shared with me that they would be moving to a new location where American Bulldogs are outlawed.  They will have family watch over Baahu while they complete their time at the new location.  Deepika expressed her vision for these photos and what they will mean for her and her husband Prashanth.  My job that day was to create a memorable photo session that will carry them both through this hard separation from their family member Baahu.  Although my dog Tobey is not very cooperative when it comes to taking photos, Baahu was a complete trooper!  He was very cooperative, considering how hot and humid it was that day in the Georgia sun.  Here are a few of my favorite photos from their photo session!

Kelley Family Portrait Session

Heather contacted me just days into the new year asking if I was available to capture her maternity/family portraits. She was 34 weeks into her pregnancy and really wanted some memorable photos she can cherish with her family. I was honored to be asked and was excited to capture this special time in all of their lives.

We began our photoshoot at the nature filled Brick Pond Park, I really love having photoshoots there! It has such a rustic feel to it and I always come up with new ideas, it’s never a dull moment there. Heather bought along her husband and her two energetic and well behaved sons. We all had so much fun during the shoot and her sons agreed to take any type of portraits their mother requested as long as they could take some fun silly shots. As you will see below they are quite funny! I especially like the “Bieber” impression photo hahaha.

In closing, I want to wish the Kelley family many blessings during this time and hope to capture their new addition to the family when the time comes.

Here are some of the photos we captured that day!

Kevin & Natalie's Engagement!

While in NJ visiting family I had the opportunity to perform an engagement session for my lovely cousin Natalie and her hulk of a fiancé Kevin.  Natalie and Kevin are getting married in July 2017 and have chosen me to photograph their special day!  I couldn't be more excited about this and can't wait to celebrate with these two lovebirds.  The photos were taken in Flemington, NJ and the Jersey shore.  Here are the photos.....

Baby Kaleb has arrived!

My last blog entry covered my experience capturing Heather’s maternity session with her beautiful family. Heather told me once the baby was born she would like for me to capture lifestyle and portraits of the baby once it came into our world. Now, I do not specialize in newborn photography. But I love challenging myself as a photographer. I don’t turn down opportunities to grow and learn. There are many people in my area who only photograph newborn photography and their work is absolutely phenomenal. I researched as much as I could so that I would be able to recognize the best conditions when working with a newborn; to make sure they are safe and comfortable……this of course is the key to success!

Baby Kaleb was amazing, he was very photogenic and ready to take photos….as long as we kept him warm. His two older brothers had me laughing throughout the session once again. I had them release all the silly energy they had to offer before we got down to serious poses and it worked like a charm. I truly appreciate Heather trusting me to capture this special time in her family’s life and that she appreciates my work. I never take for granted when a client tells me how much they love what I do behind the camera.

Here are a few photos from the day including the blooper/silly outtakes!




India Day!

Hello everyone!  Back in Mid-August I was hired to photograph the India Day event at the Augusta Maxwell Theater.  Anyone who knows me well knows that I am not only a professional photographer but also an IT professional.  I have found these fields both share a central truth; the learning never ends!  Just when you think you've mastered one area of photography, you quickly realize there is another to learn.  I think that is what keeps me going.  I am not sure I could do something that couldn't provide change or growth.  

 

Capturing the performances for India Day would be an event the like of which I had never done before.  I couldn't use flash and the auditorium lighting would be dim and constantly shifting for the various performances.  I planned for this event in detail: ...what will my camera settings look like the day of the event? ...how will I know which parts of the performances will be the most relevant? ...how many photos do I need to capture?  Much like shooting a wedding, it's great to have a plan but nothing can fully prepare you for a new experience.  You simply have to be focused and locked in; like a musical instrument, you must know your camera inside out.  

 

I made many mistakes and learned a great deal with this event.  One takeaway from India Day that will help me going forward is shot selection.  I took way too many photos (almost a movie of each performance!) and the client only needed a few of each set.  Both dance and sports photography require anticipating key moments and working for clarity in difficult shooting conditions.  Clearly communicating with clients about what outcomes they desire from the photography will provide the ability to meet their expectations.  Tying back into what I love about photography, focusing on improvement keeps what I capture fresh and responsive.  The client was extremely happy with my photos and will be hiring me again to capture another event in the coming weeks.  

 

Without further ado, here are some of the photos....

Trip to Philadelphia

Hello all,  I finally got around to editing the photos I captured while I was in the city of brotherly love.  During my stay, I went to the Franklin Institute of Science.  What an amazing museum, if you're ever in Philly you MUST visit this museum.  No trip to Philly is complete unless you have a cheese steak sandwich at either Genos, Pats, or Jims.  I have been to all three and I really lean toward going to Jim's Steaks near South Street Seaport.  I closed out my trip with a 4th of July fireworks display in front of the Philadelphia Museum of Art with performances by Boyz-II-Men & the lovely Mary J. Blige.  My wife and I were greeted by a powerful but short thunderstorm that had us under our foldable chairs until it passed,  We weren't going to miss anything, so we hung it out and it was well worth it!  Here are some of the photos I took during my trip.....