Two Wedding Weekend

This past weekend I shot two weddings in a row on Friday and then Saturday. Generally, I don't like to do this because after the first day I go home tired and exhausted from giving it my all, and I'm not as on top of my game for the second day. However, this wasn't the case. My excitement for what I do and my drive to do the best possible work I can really kept me going! (Along with a protein bar hehe)

Friday was my friend Jeff's wedding. He's a videographer as well and it was an honor to be asked to film another videographer's wedding. However, he has just bought two new HD cameras and I had less than a 24 hours to learn the inner workings of them before shooting with them the following day. In the end, I was able to work through it and figured out how to work them. The cameras are INCREDIBLY versatile, and I think I want to get those same Sony camera models when I switch to HD. Mark and Christina of Hamilton Photography were the photographers and I'm so glad I got the chance to work with them! They are incredibly creative and a real pleasure to work with. Here are some of the shots they got.

And here's one of me getting in the way.

The following day I was in Leesburg, VA shooting a wedding for a bride who had no idea she was getting a videographer! Months ago, I met with her mother and father and they hired me for their daughter's wedding. However, they told me that it was a gift for her and was going to be a surprise. Therefore all my correspondence was with them and not her. I was very nervous about this because I wasn't sure how she would react to me being there, and I hod not established any kind of rapport with Kristen (the bride). However, when I showed up the day of the wedding to shoot bridal prep, her mother introduced me and Kristen had a big smile on her face, so I knew she would be fun to work with. Aside from the rain that started to come down right before the ceremony (which was supposed to be outside, but was moved inside), everything went great. The lighting on the dance floor was awesome, the ice sculptures were beautiful, and the bride and groom were just fun people to work with. The photographer was Rick Martin and he too was a pleasure to work with. We just clicked extremely well. I would help him out with my video light and it would result in some amazing images! Here's a few below

Its amazing what a shift in the direction of the light will do!

Spring Fling trip with 98 Rock and Baltimore Ravens Cheerleaders

So I just returned from my trip to the Bahamas with 98 Rock and the Baltimore Ravens Cheerleaders. This was the third year that the station has brought me with them on this shoot and I am truly grateful to have had this experience. What a week! We stayed at the Wyndham Nassau Resort where the management treated us like royalty. There were SO many things going on and I felt like I was running around like a mad man trying to capture it all. I wanted to step up my game this year so instead of just relying on the 98 Rock airstaff to supply me with footage from their Flipcams, I brought my own video camera and equipment down with me. I finally got a real chance to try out the Glidecam rig that I got for Christmas and I must say that I love it! It truly helped my footage to look incredibly smooth in situations where hand-holding the camera would have resulted in shaky footage. I was able to film cheerleaders on a catamaran that was bouncing around on the waves and still come away with a steady shot. While being driven around on a golf course, the Glidecam helped to eliminate the bumps along the course and the resulting footage looks like it was laid down on a professional dolly track.

Aside from the improved technical aspects on my part, the opportunities that the station created for moments to be filmed were plentiful and a LOT of fun! One of the highlights was the synchronized drinking that we staged on the final day of the trip. You can see it below. ENJOY!