I photographed a destination wedding for a wonderful couple last weekend in New York.  Here are some of my favorite images:

The very first time 20-year-old Jason Heyward ever swung a bat in the major leagues he crushed a 2-0 pitch from Carlos Zambrano that landed about 450 feet away in the back of the Atlanta Braves bullpen for a 3-run homer to give the Braves a 6-3 lead.

Cubs fans: Shocked

The stadium: Rocked

Grown men: Screamed like school girls

53, 081 people saw it.  No one could believe it.

Heyward's first swing

DAVID ROSS and ERIC HINSKE (a.k.a. school girls)

Welcome to The Show.

Paula turned 21 the day before our photo shoot.  She contacted me (after finding me on Google) and chose me to be her photographer.  We spent about an hour walking around Marietta Square, shooting as we went.  I had scouted a few locations beforehand, and some locations were discovered as we walked around.  For instance, the stairwell location was just a happy accident.  We were just walking by as the owner was closing for the day.  We convinced her to stay open for a few more minutes so we could get a few shots.  I’m glad she did.  The stairwell shots are some of my favorites.  Another happy accident was the shopping cart.  Paula and I both knew it would be a good prop the moment we saw it.  As for the top of the fire escape, it took a little convincing on my part and a change of shoes, but it was well worth it.  Paula was thrilled with all the photos, as was I.  Happy Birthday!

For all of you swim team coordinators looking for a photographer for the upcoming season, here is a quick 30-second slideshow displaying just a few of my 2009 swim team photos.  As you already know, swim team season is a busy, crazy 5 weeks for everyone involved, including me.  So, it’s always best to schedule your photos as soon as possible.  Thanks and enjoy!

Scott

Just a few shots from a very fun photo shoot I just did at Marietta Square in Marietta, GA.

BIG GLOVES

The tables were turned on me in this one.  

Here is a short slideshow of a few fun pictures from a gymnastics team I photographed last week.

It’s that time of year again.  This year for our Spring Photo Day I have chosen Marietta Square as our location.  I’ve shot there a few times recently and feel that I’ve barely scratched the surface of possibilities.  Fountains, trees, gazebos, bricks, train tracks, old buildings, alleys…you name it, Marietta Square just about has it all.  I’m really looking forward to it!

I highly recommend that you register for your session quickly.  If this Spring goes like last Fall, sessions are going to fill up fast.  I happily did 16 sessions last Fall (in 2 days).  I have 8 spots available for the 17th of April.  Call or Email me when you’re ready to book your session.  The rest of the details are below:

If you’ve seen my website or have been a recent client of mine, you may have noticed my fondness for squares.  Most of my photos, by design, end up being cropped into squares.  The human eye is accustomed to seeing the standard 4×6, 5×7, and 8×10 photo sizes every day.  When a photo is cropped into a square, in my opinion, it immediately catches the eye of the viewer, whether they realize it or not.  Some clients have said their photos look more unique, important, and special cropped in squares.  All of my fully-edited proofs in my wedding proof books, one of my most popular items, are 5×5’s.  I want my clients and viewers of my work to feel like the photos are different, in a good way.  If cropping in squares is one way to improve their opinion of the photos, then I’m all for it.

My affinity for squares, however,  ends there.  I don’t go around collecting things just because they are square.  My DVR doesn’t record Hollywood Squares (is that still on?).  Outside of photography, squares meant nothing to me, until a few weeks ago…..

Super Bowl Sunday, 2010. At a party at the Guse’s house, like millions of others around the world, I randomly pick a few squares on a piece of posterboard that will later determine the winners of many wonderful prizes.  Little did I know that the most prestigious prize would fall into my lap at the end of the night.  Yes, my square ended up being the one that allowed me to take home the fine hunk of swine displayed below.  The OFFICIAL PIGSKIN of the Guse Super Bowl Party.  Each year the winning couple has their name, along with the year and score of the game, branded on the pig.  It is my honor and duty to keep this big pig until the next Super Bowl party, at which it must be returned.  But as long as I am in possession of the O.P., I’m thinking about taking it with me on a few adventures.  Keep checking (better yet, subscribe to) the ol’ blog to see where the pig goes next.

A few weeks ago, I got a call on a Thursday to photograph a small wedding the following Saturday.  Yes, just two days later. I was told that they saw my ad on craigslist, which was only posted a few hours before the phone call.  Also, I never expected to get business from the craigslist ad, I just wanted to see, through the use of Google Analytics, how many people viewed my website after seeing my ad on craigslist (10 people that day went to my site from the craigslist ad, by the way).

Back to the wedding.

I was told that it was to be a very small, secretive ceremony and that I couldn’t post pictures from the event on my website. The time and place of the wedding wasn’t even revealed to me until just a few hours before I was supposed to arrive.   Apparently, the couple was eloping and didn’t want news of their wedding to be made public.  I was available and intrigued, so I agreed.

The site of the wedding had many scenic outdoor spots that would have been great for wedding photos if it hadn’t of been about 35 degrees outside and very windy, which it was.  Plan B was to photograph them in the private room where the ceremony was being held.  It was possible to shoot in there, but not ideal.  Plan C came about at the last minute.  There was a very nice, well-lit, creatively-designed restaurant a few doors down that was catering the bride, groom, and 2 friends (the only 4 people at the wedding other than myself, my assistant, and the minister that was also found on craigslist).  So, all the bride alone and groom alone photos were taken in the restaurant, which wasn’t open for dinner, yet.

The brief ceremony included a few words from the 2 guests and a few tears from all 4 participants.  As I was photographing the ceremony, I kept wondering about the circumstances that led to such an impromptu event.  I didn’t even know the bride and groom’s name, yet. Would I ever know?

The bride and groom photos were taken after the ceremony and that was it.  The photos were briefly posted on a password-protected website, just long enough for the bride to choose her favorite photos for her wedding album.  The wedding album has been designed and submitted to her for her approval.

Have they told anyone they’re married, yet?  Will I ever get to show the photos to go along with this story?  Will I ever know their story?

We’ll see.  Maybe.

Scott

Scott Housley Photography