Gretchen and Bill: Abstracts

I have always loved abstract photos. By that I mean, an photo that is not immediately obvious in its subject matter. At first, you may even think it is an abstract painting, then your realize that it is, in fact, a photograph, and it sort of flips your mind around. I think they speak to the type of world we live in, help you see the same old world in a different light. Just like the minimalism movement in modern art, the idea is to capture an emotion with as little actual compositional elements as possible. Breaking a visual emotion down to its most basic elements, so we can better understand what it is about the visual image that is evoking feeling.

eh hem.

If your not into debating modern art, I think there is a very practical and very often unnoticed major plus to these images as well. I learned from my own wedding, that you often dont want super large photos of yourself hanging on the walls of your home -even super large photos of your friends and family can get a little weird. The thing that often looks best on the wall is... you guessed it, abstract art. The lines and colors of a good painting can really bring a room together in a way that no wedding photograph can, unless... it is a photograph like one of these. You can print these large and hang them on the wall, then you'll have a constant reminder of your wedding day that plays very well with the design of the room. And, even better, you'll know who the little girl in the red dress is, or who was the tiny head peaking over the stairs. It is abstract art that has a story and a memory associated with it, so it is really the best of both worlds.

IMHO

Gretchen and Bill in Denver

Here are few favs from the wedding of Gretchen and Bill in Denver last week. We had great architecture throughout the whole day, coming to a close at the immaculate University of Denver. The weather was amazing, and an early ceremony meant we had plenty of sunshine to play with. I think we made some great shots, and I hope to have more coming soon.

One Wedding: Rachel and Jay

I've just put up a new online gallery of images from the Wedding of Rachel and Jay last weekend. I had originally planned on making a blog slideshow, but I could not really find the right music. There were quite a few images, and I decided to go with a web gallery instead. The images just work so much better when they fill your screen. The new gallery can be seen here: AdamWelch.Net, then click on "One Wedding".

Totally Awesome Photo of Horse

Snapped this at a wedding last weekend up at the Stanley Hotel. This is Nick (I believe) from Tender Grass Carriage, who often give folks rides around the Hotel.

Obama-mama-mi-mana-fe-fi-fo-fama OBAMA!

Some ladies in my neighborhood celebrating on election day.

Third Quarter Entries - Rough Edit Slideshow

Those who follow this blog may be familiar with a few of my behaviors that are now united as one in this post.

1) I enter the WPJA quarterly contests fairly regularly.
2) I am frustrated with the process of editing down all my favorite photos to a small enough number to fit in a simple blog post, sample gallery, or contest entry.
3) I have been trying to make slideshows.

So, put all those together, and you have a slideshow of all the photos I have been considering for entry in the latest WPJA contest. I finally got my slideshow software to work, and this then, is hopefully the first of several slideshows I can post to the web. Here is the link:

3rd Quarter 2008 WPJA Possible Entries

You can think of it as something of a "Best of the Third Quarter 2008" only there are several portraits and other types of photos that would probably fit the "Best of" category, but not fit within the specific categories for the WPJA contests. If that is too complicated, just think of it as a bunch of photos I thought were good, put to music.

Which brings me to the Music. The song is "Human" by one of my all time favorite bands, "The Killers". Here is a link to buy the song.

"Human" by The Killers on Amazon

You should go buy it. Though I have taken some steps to procure the rights to this song, I have no idea if they are, in fact, the correct legal measures and I would be much more comfortable if everyone just went out and bought the song. Why not, you know you like it, and really, its only .89 cents.

WPJA - Brides Magazine Awards

Brides Magazine announced the winners to their 2008 Wedding Photojournalism contest. I was happy to see that two of my images did place in the contest. Follow this link to see them, and all of the winners.

4th Place "Bride and Groom"

6th Place "Kids"

All the Winners

I like to see Brides Magazine partnering with the WPJA for contests like this. The WPJA is really the only group (that I know of) that really sticks to the strict ethics and standards of newspaper and magazine photojournalism. The more press groups like the WPJA can get, the better. As people figure out that real photojournalism, at a wedding, is an absolutely amazing combination.

Denise + Phil in the Highlands

Here are just a couple shots from a small ceremony for Denise and Phil held in the heart of the Highlands neighborhood. The ceremony was actually a couple weeks ago, and I have been meaning to process more images from the day. It looks like I am not going to have much time to do that anytime soon, so I figured I'd go ahead and make the post. Dinner was held at Patsy's Italian Inn, only a block from the church. I am going to return for some meatballs someday soon.

Ann + Patrick in Denver

Here are just a few of my favorites from the wedding of Ann and Patrick --married earlier in the month at The Church of the Good Shepherd and the The Oxford Hotel. I have worked at both of these locations quite a few times before, and there is still plenty new to find. As you become more familiar with a location, you can start to explore a bit, and try to get something a bit different. It was all the easier to explore a bit because Ann and Patrick were great to work with, and everything was organized to a tee by the consummate pros over at Sapphire Celebrations.

Cinderella to Stall

The slideshow software I was working with has gone kaput, so that may kill any plans for future web based slideshows. I knew mentioning it on the blog was not a good plan. But that what blogs are for right? The unscripted, day-to-day, real life stuff? This is reality programming here. Raw. ;)

In an effort to keep posting despite the lack of a slideshow, I am decided to put up another shot from Brooke and Tyler's wedding. This has sort of a Cinderella aspect to it... If the bridesmaids were magical singing fauna.

Brooke + Tyler Downtown

Saturday brought the wedding of Brooke and Tyler, in the classic downtown setting. The ceremony was held at Trinity United Methodist Church, right in the heart of Denver, and the reception followed accross the street at the Brown Palace. I may have gone a bit too arty on this shot, but the walls of the Brown sort of scream out for an antiqued photo.

Jennifer + Eric at the Botanic Gardens

I wanted to post just a few images from a busy weekend. Jennifer and Eric were married at the Botanic Gardens and Maggiano's Little Italy in Denver on Friday. They were a great couple to work with, and I think we made loads of good shots --these were just the first few that struck me. I am still recovering from the heaps of amazing food served at the reception.

Veilplay

I have too many photos right now. This always happens in September, when the weddings come at me fast. I have loads of weddings that I hope to turn into blog posts. The problem is, I have about 100 photos from every wedding that I think deserve to see the light of publication. In the process of trying to find just ten or so to make a blog post, I usually end up bogged down in the edit, and not posting at all. I am going to try and put up slideshows of recent weddings, and I hope to get the process nailed down, and cemented in my regular workflow so I can get regular slideshows of all my weddings posted on this blog. We shall see how that plan turns out. I am right now working on a slideshow from Carolyn + Jason, the wedding last weekend up at Estes. In the meantime, here are some very cool shots from Sarah + Erik downtown Denver affair. There are several more from this wedding that are I think are great... and I hope to have a slideshow soon.

Best Photo Ever

Had an amazing wedding this past weekend --again up in Estes Park, Colorado. It rained as usual! Though this time the rain was mixed with scattered sunlight. You know what that means; rainbows. One of my earliest weddings was up in Estes Park, in September, and we had a rainbow then as well. I know it sounds cheesy, but it does seem like God, or the powers that be, are watching over Estes Park to make it one of the most amazing places on earth. I have yet to go up there and not find something fantastic.

Leica's New Gear

A friend of mine just informed me of some recently annouced new cameras offered by Leica of Germany. Back in the film days, Leica was regarded as the best camera for photojournalists. Only, we all used Nikon and Canon cameras because Leica was ridiculously expensive. Enter digital, and Leica nearly went out of business because they could not keep up pace with the new technology. Now, they have announced a new digital system which, I hope, makes them a major player again.

Leica S-System on Engadget

Leica has my number. I was just discussing the new Canon 5D Mk II with some photog friends of mine. They were excited by the addition of a few bells and whistles, but I was pissed. (HD video --gag me with a spoon.) I am so sick upgrading every 4 years to the next slighter-better-but-still-not-what-you-need "modern" cameras. Canon and Nikon are producing cameras based on a software engineers idea of what is good. The last thing a proper camera needs is more options within nested menus, they already have too many with just shutter speed and aperture. Auto focus will never work as well as manual, if we could just buy a digital camera with a decent focusing screen. I spend all my time trying to get my 5D to act properly, as it is constantly trying to screw up my shots. But I have to deal with that, because the 5D is the only decent sensor on the market. Even the four-thirds ratio of the Leica makes sence, as that is much easier to work with for final printing. Also, a four thirds sensor is going to use much more of the available light circle provided by the lens.

I am waiting for someone to come out with a digtial Nikon FM (film SLR from the eighties). That was the only decent camera I have ever owned.

Here is a photo of my ego when dealing with camera manufactures.

Face on Glass

Here are a couple kiddos with similar ideas.


"I have found face on glass to be a decent distraction from this boring adult mess."


"This is pretty good, but it could be so much better with a glass plate. sigh..."

Feets

Sarah, married on Saturday to her longtime beau Erik, wanted to make sure we documented her bridesmaids footwear. I knew it would make a compelling shot, because photos without heads have such mystery to them. You just cant help but wonder what the heads are up to. I would bet a good number of photo students go through a headless photo phase, after they first stumble on this interesting trick of composition. (I did)


Bonus points if you know what famous Denver landmark provided the green stone background.

Shaina + Ben in Estes Park

Here are a couple shots of Shaina and Ben, to make up for the evil shot posted earlier. You can see, this was a very warm and happy day, despite the weather.












The little ring bearer had certain objections to the bow-tie. I have to agree, who ever invented the bow-tie anyway?