Intimate Wedding At Lon's

A few weeks ago I had the privilege of being the photographer for a very intimate wedding at Lon's at the Hermosa Inn in Paradise Valley, AZ. The entire wedding, guests and all, was a group that is smaller than many bridal parties. Parents, brothers, sisters and closest friends..... oh, and a couple of photographers to share the day and capture it for them.

The venue was one I hadn't been to before, but absolutely perfect for this wedding. Lon's and the Hermosa Inn is an older property with mature landscaping and an interesting history (check the link above). Off the beaten path, it lies just west of Camelback mountain, nestled among some of the older homes in the Paradise Valley area. As we drove through the neighborhood to get there the beauty of the area just made me want to move in.


The photo above captures something I'd never seen before at a wedding - a "ring warming". I thought this was a wonderful idea and was particularly suited to such a close knit gathering. The rings are passed from hand to hand, from one guest to the next as their body heat warmed the metal bands, a sort of blessing of the union with each one present giving warmth to the couple. That's Christine's father passing the rings across the aisle to Jameson's family and friends.


Unlike many outdoor weddings in the Phoenix area that are held in the glaring sun, this one was fully shaded on a small patio between the rows of low casitas. The combination of warm light from the sun and cooler shadows from the canopy of leaves overhead made for some interesting lighting. I decided to match the sunlight with warming gels on my flashes. This threw the background into a deeper shade of blue. On some photos I corrected the background and sandwiched the two together, but I rather liked the effect of the cooler shades in the background. In the photo below there was no flash, just a shaft of golden sunlight filtering through the trees.



As noted before, Lon's is located just West of Camelback mountain (seen in the background below). The parking lot is just over this low wall and we'd wait for cars to pass by and grab shots whenever there was an opportunity. I still ended up getting several shots of vehicles pulling into the drive straight behind them.


Many of the doors had such great character, including this one. When I met Jameson and Christine at Lon's a few weeks ahead of the wedding we saw this door within a door and planned to get a shot of them looking through. The door was quite old and only hanging on one hinge. I had to slip something small into the crack in the smaller door to keep it from swinging closed due to the angle. My assistant for the day - Darren - held a flash on the other side of the wall to light them while I lit the door with a hand-held flash.


All in all, a beautiful wedding at a great venue. I want to thank both Christine and Jameson for choosing me to be a part of their day. I had a great time.

Carrie and George

I had a great time last Saturday shooting a graduation set with Carrie and George, the wonder dog......



I think George was diggin' all the attention. It wasn't enough that he was getting his portrait taken, nearly everyone who passed by on a nearby hiking trail had to comment on how beautiful he was. George was soakin' it all in.......


We went out to the desert at the base of Superstition mountain and shot among the Saguaro, Ocotillo and Mesquite. We hoped to find fields of Mexican Golden Poppies, but the best we could do was a small group of 4. That's OK. There was plenty of other vegetation after our very wet winter. Even without poppies I think we got some good shots.

While we were out there, Carrie's mom lost her cell phone. They went back through the brush to look for it (apparently George isn't a good tracking dog) while I packed up and then joined them. They hadn't found the phone, but Carrie found my bluetooth headset laying on the ground. I'd never have found it (especially since I didn't even know it was gone).

We went back down to pick up my gear and head to the cars. I mentioned I'd looked at the area where some of their things had been laid down but hadn't seen the phone. Carrie walked right over and looked in the same spot and guess what she found...... That's right. The phone I didn't even see. Next time I lose something, I'm calling Carrie to help me look for it.


Later that day I went by Usery Mountain Pass and got to shoot mountain bikers free-riding on a jump course. There were a group of us that got together to shoot the bikers just for material for our portfolios. At dusk I set up a group shot and got one of the bikers to allow me to attach a flash to his handlebars. I triggered the camera as he flew over the jump.

All in all...... a fun day.

MLK Basketball Classic

This past weekend I had the privilege to shoot the MLK Basketball Classic at Mesa Community College and ASU with my associate, Jim. Now, I'm not a sports shooter and don't make any claims as such, but I am an event shooter and I'm always looking for ways to expand my horizons photographically.










Jim and I were shooting for the event organizers and wanted to capture a sense of the event itself and not just the players. Between quarters they had shootoff's at each end of the court with two young spectators chosen from the crowd to shoot free throws and layups. There were cheerleaders at the High School games as well as dance troupes and spirit squads at both venues.

We arrived at noon both days to set up. Jim and I were the only ones using remote flash units to help light the floor. There were media folks from newspaper, magazine and television outlets represented. The High School event not only attracted the media but there were a number of college coaches on hand to scout the talent.

It was a great opportunity to stretch and develop my skills. Basketball players move a bit faster and in different directions than your average wedding party. Nobody in a wedding photo jumps unless I direct them to. At the games I'd get a player all framed perfectly and suddenly he or she would jump and I'd get a shot of their body and feet but no head..... kinda like some of the snapshots some of my relatives take....... c'mon..... you've got an aunt or uncle like that too..... In fact, they often distract the folks I'm taking photos of and I get a shot of half the group looking at aunt Mabel and her instamatic instead of at my camera. I hope aunt Mabel got a good shot but I'm guessing some of you are missing heads........ But that's a subject for another post.

The spirit squads were just as difficult. You'd get a whole pack of them framed and all of a sudden they'd launch some little girl twenty feet in the air! I've got a couple of shots with a cluster of girls on the floor and a pair of white shoes barely in the top of the frame.

Once some of the basic differences were accounted for I was able to get into a groove and shoot from various vantage points. Like other events you just have to anticipate the action and be ready. You may have to be ready a bit quicker, but that's part of the game.

You can see more of the shots from this event (both mine and Jim's) at Jim's Desert Graphix site. You can view the Juco event as well as the High School event. Photos you're sure to flip over!

......Sorry. Couldn't resist........

Merry Christmas

I'd like to take this opportunity to thank all of you I've had opportunity to work with over the past year. I've made many new friends and look forward to forging new relationships in the coming year.

And now, for the photo part of the BenjPhoto "photoblog":

A few nights ago I enjoyed shooting a community outreach event with our church. I had some help from an elf and some guy in a fuzzy red suit....... Hmmmmm.



Well, there's our elf, but where's the big guy? We were nearly in a panic when someone said, "There he is and pointed to the chair.

There was one pretender to the throne . . .



. . . after another.



Well, the big man finally made it, but I think the poor guy was really tired....... or this little girl had a very looooong list.



All in all, it was a good evening. Although it was pretty taxing on the big guy. He had to leave early. I think the elf sent him home to rest.



And now I'll leave you with a Christmas memory: A little boy my wife used to take care of was left with me while she ran to do an errand. That's OK. I think kids are great. The little guy looked around for my wife and couldn't find her, so he came to the great oracle..... me.

"Mary? ......... go.......... car?", he asked.

"No."

"Mary? ......... go.......... truck?", he tried again.

"Nope."

"Mary?", he thought hard......, "Mary? .................... Christmas?"

What more can I say?

You can find more shots from the event at: http://photos.benjphoto.com/Events/431283