Favorites of '08

It is the last day of 2008. This past year I shot some amazing weddings and traveled all over our great country. I feel like I have done my best work this past year and look forward to applying some of the things I have learned to 2009. There are so many images I have shot this past year that I am proud to call my own. It was hard for me to narrow down my selection to just 10 images, so I decided to do two separate categories. First are my 10 favorite wedding images from the past year. Followed by 10 favorites from other times I took out my camera. The smaller images are from before I redesigned my blog.


From Matt & Gretchen's wedding.

From Augusto & Sandra's wedding.

From Andrew & Keeshia's wedding.

From Kevin & Amanda's wedding.

From Marty & Nancy's wedding.

From Nic & LaCrista's wedding.

From Jeremy & Heidi's wedding.

From Alex & Colleen's wedding.

From my first outing with my new Canon 5D.

From when we went to visit the elephant seals.

From Hope in the City. Posts 1, 1.5, 2, 3.

From the birth of my son, Gideon.

From Gideon at 1 week.

Testing out my new camera

Last week I finally received my Canon 5D Mark II after waiting what felt like an eternity. Canon announced the new 5D back on September 17th. I pre-ordered the body that same day hoping to get it as soon as they started shipping. Canon said they would start shipping by the end on November. I paid for next day shipping hoping I would get it last month in time for Alex & Colleen's wedding so I could test it out.

A couple cool things about the Canon 5D Mark II that really made me want to get it are the 21.1 mega pixel sensor, the ability to shoot at higher ISOs for lower light situations, and the rocking 1080P HD video it can record.


This past weekend I brought the camera with me to our small group Christmas party. I didn't shoot as much as I wanted, I was having fun playing with Gideon and hanging out with my friends. Here are some shots, mostly of Gideon testing out ISOs 800-3200.

This next photo is an old one from a previous post of the three pregnant women in our small group. Left to right: Vic, Victoria, and Corrie.

Here is the updated photo.

Here are a couple video clips I shot to test out the new camera. These are reduced for the web but you should see the amazing quality straight out of the camera.

Alex & Colleen - 11/28/08

I am back up and running after a two week trip to the east coast and a week fighting a nasty cold/flu bug. Last month Victoria, Gideon, and I made a trip back to MD, OH, and PA to visit family and friends, celebrate Thanksgiving, and attend a family wedding.


I have known Alex, the groom, since he was born. He is my youngest cousin and it has been fun to see him grow up to the man he is today. I am so happy he has found someone as wonderful as Colleen to go through life with. I wish them many happy years together. I was not the official photographer for Alex & Colleen's wedding but I was able to grab some shots throughout the day while enjoying the wedding and reception with Victoria and Gideon. Here are a few of my favorites from the day.


Colleen getting ready at her parent's home.

Alex and Collen head over to Bella Tori for some shots with their wedding party. The first shot is when Alex and Colleen first see each other ready for their big day

A couple quick shots I grabbed of Colleen while the guys were being photographed.

Alex turned out pretty well.

Just two from the ceremony.

The first dance

I love this shot even though it isn't sharp. I used a slower shutter speed and caught some motion at the end of their first dance.

Colleen dancing with her father

Some details from the day