This week – another collection shot at the Stirling Club in Las Vegas. I could probably shoot there every week for a year and not get bored… it’s a big place with lots of great details and decor.

I’m going to start with something a little different this time… a very short video; a few seconds of Lacey getting the finishing touches on her makeup, and a few of the still images of when she’s done.

All right… let’s get going – a little more drama and a little less high-key…

Ok, let’s play around with the color a bit. I’m a sucker for the retro-look, but it can get overused, so just a couple…

I love her expression here… total accident too; she was listening to someone over my shoulder.

I think she wins the ‘Cool’ award.

Again, I’m a sucker for the lighting here… it’s not blindingly bright, so it’s easy to play with…

There is always time for a few extra ‘drama’ shots…

Let’s get Matt and Lacey back together…

This is probably my favourite image of them:

Time for a quick dance…

…aaaaand that’s a wrap!

And if an event has a gorgeous young woman in a white dress (in this case Amanda), the event is professionally styled, decorated, dressed, adorned, and detailed… well, how can anyone say no?

The shoot started by taking advantage of the available light and colors of the outside of the Stirling Club – an incredibly awesome venue. Brides: if you want images like these, you should have your wedding in a place like this; it’s that simple. We moved indoors and I wanted to take advantage of the warm tones, but with the lower light I decided to amp it up with a more dramatic light. I ended the shoot with a little old school Hollywood glamour, which was pretty easy for Amanda to rock out to.

Over the next week I’ll have more of Amanda, more of the Stirling Club, and a few more couples. WPPI isn’t all just a big partaaaay – this is work. Really!

[Geek-out for my fellow photographers note: All the indoor images were at least partially lit with a single speedlight on a lightweight travel stand, fired from set of Radio Poppers. All manual, all the time, baby!]

Amanda - almost ready to start shooting. I think she is waiting for one more safety pin in her dress...

Credits:

Photographer: Noel Dodd

Model: Amanda Jones

Event Organizers Emma & Josh Smith www.emmajanephotos.com / coutureclicks.emmajanephotos.com

Event Stylist – Michelle Barrionuevo-Mazzini  MB Wedding Design and Events www.mbweddingdesigns.com

Venue – The Stirling Club http://www.stirlingclublv.com/

Cake – Raquel Trabelsi- QT Cakes www.facebook.com/pages/QT-Cakes/284681731574273

Hair and Makeup by Hair by Liz – Liz Gopwani www.hairbylizz.com

Hair and Makeup by Sarah Diaz Professional Makeup Artist and Hairstylist www.facebook.com/SarahDiazMUA

Wedding Gowns - The White Dress www.thewhitedress.com

Menswear – Tuxedo Junction www.tuxedojunction.com/ Accessories- Renee Pawele Bride www.facebook.com/pages/Renee-Pawele-Bride/164189221263

Floral design: Naakiti Florals www.naakitifloral.com

Linens: Napa Valley Linens www.nvlinens.com

Stationery: Creative Designs by Mimi www.creativemimi.com

Purses – Judith Leiber ( the Forum Shops at Casesrs Palace)

Today is also World Pentax Day, where all the Pentaxians get out and shoot and post images taken today with their favourite k-mount camera. The timing is perfect!

All of the images below are SOOC – Straight Out Of Camera – there is NO post processing on these. Because they were shot with digital filters they are saved as jpegs, so even though I passed them through Adobe Lightroom to get them off the card, into the library, and then back out to disk with a watermark and resized for 720 pixels wide – there is NO tweaking on these! The exposures, colors, and saturation are exactly what the camera recorded when I hit the shutter.

The basic setup is this: Pentax K-5 (with grip), the FA 50mm f/1.4 (most of these are around f/2.0), a circular polarizer, and a user mode digital filter (mostly a horizontal vignette and red tone break). These digital filters take about 10 seconds to set up in the camera menu, although I took a few minutes longer to tweak a combination that I liked for the sky and sun colors.

As you look at the images, remember these haven’t been ‘photoshopped’ at all, even though a few could use a little exposure adjustment. The one downside to combining a circular polarizer with digital filters is that the results are a little unpredictable, and aren’t always what the meter suggests they might turn out as. But because they don’t take ANY time to edit I really don’t care; the time savings of having to not adjust the images in Lightroom, even just clicking on a few presets, is HUGE! Click the shutter, wait 3 seconds (the filters take a moment to process if they are enabled), and you see exactly these images on the camera LCD while shooting.

Pretty frickin’ cool!

And to think that when the K-5 was announced I scoffed at these digital features as ‘kids features’ – but in reality they have a place as a spontaneous artistic tool.

That’s pretty frickin’ cool ,too.

There is a little bit of interaction between the polarizer and the digitial vignette filter in the sky.

Just the smallest change on the polarizer can really affect the exposure!

Normally any color fringing would be taken care of in post. But not today!

Aside from the double bounce flare from the polarizer glass that caused the green blob, I like the look.

I just metered for the center of the trunk, and let the sky exposure fall 'wherever'.

Same deal here; I metered for the bark, and let the sky blow out.

I could probably have spent all day with these trees!

These are all the 50mm f/1.4 FA, mostly at f/2.0, like this one.

This is daylight white balanced. Notice the lack of warmth compared to the next image.

This is white balanced for shade. The digital filters really amp up the colors.

Probably my favourite shot from the afternoon.

What's weird is that as the sun got lower, it really did get this yellow!

Out of the shady part of the park; notice there isn't any snow left here.

Today was all about video – can I do this without going nuts? Without buying another 10TB of disk storage?

Turns out, yes, I can.

For starters, software is a no-brainer. While Final Cut Pro X looks interesting and is probably what I’ll purchase, Adobe did something interesting and released Lightroom 4 (beta, which means free), and it does two things MUCH better than LR3: Video and Albums. I’ve always used LR3 for albums, but LR4 makes it more straightforward. What really interested me was video, and how LR4 presets can be used to do color grading against video, and some rudimentary editing.

What is video color grading, and how does LR4 do it? The best answer is from Julieanne Kost; she works for Adobe and actually uses this stuff: http://tv.adobe.com/watch/whats-new-in-lightroom-4-beta/working-with-dslr-video/ My only beef with these training videos is they are SOOO dry. I’ve seen Julieanne speak at WPPI, and she she comes across far funnier (and smarter) in person. Ah well.

So now I can take a still image that I’ve ran through the Develop module can color-tweaked to my liking, and save all the adjustments as a preset, and then apply that preset to an entire video clip. It’s a little clunky, but probably not any more mouse clicks than FCPX.

Here is the still image after I’ve got it looking like I want. Notice it’s more square than the 16:9 HD video frame below it.

And now for the video… here is a single frame of the ‘before’ version of the video:

There are a couple of interesting things here, like the lack of color and contrast, which was done intentionally as part of this test. For both the still image and this single frame, I set the camera to record a very low contrast image. By not pushing the image to show extreme black, white, or colored areas there is more wiggle room to adjust this after the fact. Had I recorded with higher contrast or saturation I might have had trouble with the dark patches in the trees or the bright white clouds not holding any real data and being maxed out (just 0000′s or 11111′s).

So after applying the preset, and tweaking it to be a bit lighter in the video, this is the result:

The plan was successful because it was so simple; start with the girls as they got ready;  meet up with a great group of friends and family gathered for a catholic ceremony at Our Lady Queen of Peace Church,  and then drinks and dinner in the mountains at Riverside Chateau, right on the river in Bragg Creek. They even picked out the greatest weather to have!

I decided that at least for this blog post, that most of the bride and bridesmaids preparation images should have that retro look I like… but more on that later.

Let’s set it up: The girls are spread around the house in their PJ’s, getting ready and taking their turn with the make-up artist downstairs. In fact I think the entire maternal side of the family is here, pulling together flowers, bouquets, and my favourite: fresh coffee!

So I have lots of time to pick a spot next to a window to do the details shots…

Now, remember when I said I’d do most of their images in the retro style for this blog? I think retro is a fun thing, but it’s probably not what you want all your images to look like.

In fact, the proof images that the brides see after the wedding look ‘normal’; I often only do one or two images in different styles to give them a feeling for where I could go.

Compare these images below by hovering your mouse over them, and notice that Olivia looks much better when she looks like Olivia :)

Although the retro look can give that ‘magazine photo spread’ feel to the images, it can really change how we remember the details, like the bright greens in her bouquet, here:

Ok, let’s finish getting her ready and get her to the church…

Now let’s fast-forward to the reception; let’s get the portraits done before all those thirsty guests arrive! I really like having a schedule like this one, because no one is distracted by guests arriving, getting the reception set up, wondering where the cake is… talk about a relaxed bunch!

Ok, ‘relaxed bunch’ is probably an understatement… they couldn’t help but ham it up with little-to-no prompting. I’d love to see this printed as a 24×36 poster for their anniversary party…

Brides and bridesmaids always look best when 1) they aren’t squinting into the sun and 2) you draft the tallest member of the party to hold a reflector over everyone and cast some shade.

Now we move away from the nearly blinding reflections at the river and into the trees for the bride and groom portraits. Shhh…. did you hear that? Was that a bear?

And now more retro-film look for the last images… back at the river:

And one more image just for them… they had a trivia contest in the form of a crossword puzzle, so everyone could get to know each other as they swapped stories to fill in the answers. Here are some anxious faces learning if they are first team to answer all the questions correctly… turns out some of them knew Olivia and Jeremy pretty well… and crosswords can be filled in pretty creatively… ;)

If you were a guest feel free to use the facebook ‘like’ button as much as you want, and click on the image to go to the gallery!

And downloads are free; you can grab single images (put your mouse over the upper left corner of the image) …  or a bunch of ‘em, just checkbox your favourites and buy them as ‘Digital Downloads’ for $0. It takes a few screens, but at the end you should get a zip file of your faves. You can buy prints too, I’ve set some lower print prices on everything from prints to beer mugs.

Did I mention downloads are free? You can thank Olivia & Jeremy for opting for the photobooth the next time you see them :)

They chose simple and beautiful locations; from the hotel suites for their preparations, to Baker Park; which is a really popular spot in the NW that has a ‘sunbowl’ designed for just these kinds of gatherings, and Triwood Community Hall, which has a huge curved window wall that gives a ton of light in the evening. Thanks, guys – you made life for your photographer just a little bit easier! Here is a little bit of their day…

When the brides expression is this positive with just a couple of hours until the ceremony, you know good things are in store.

They were going for the full hair-and-makeup treatment in their suite. Just one floor up the guys hadn’t even arrived yet!

The gown has waited months for this day; their original date had to be postponed, and so they chose July 11th – they met at a 7-11!

I’m really digging the retro film look. It really brings a serenity that surrounded her. No bridezilla here!

I think someone lost some weight… 

Amanda is also a photographer – she managed to keep her dSLR handy all day, despite being in the wedding party!

Some last minute preparations, and she is almost done… time to head upstairs and see what the boys are doing…

The guys were almost ready… so a few tie-and-cuff shots later, and they were looking spiffy.

Time for some quick portraits before the ceremony…

…and then back downstairs again for the girls…

Did I mention the harp player? No? I should have… another one of the simple touches that makes a big difference.

The look on Mike’s face says it all… they managed to not see each other until now.

Why do they call them the ‘Best Man’? They do things, often without being asked, that keep things running smoothly…

Perfect weather. The ceremony started a bit late, but to me the timing was perfect.

They were a fun bunch… it didn’t take much prodding to get them to loosen up…

Let’s fast-forward a bit… at Triwood Community Hall and it’s mammoth windows…

With her dress and her veil, Sonia really, really resembles the cake topper bride… Mike? Not so much… which is probably for the best, guessing at what’s in store for this little guy! ;)

Just a little time left for some relaxed retro-styled images …

Congrats!

Loktah. Their stuff looks and feels great. It’s a very unique, silky smooth to the touch, but still a rough looking hand-made paper. Below is an 8″x8″ album and DVD case, which fit nicely in the gift box behind them. The box will fit a collection of prints, too.

Sure, it’s not for everyone. But you aren’t ‘everyone’, are you?

The 8x8 album (left), DVD case (right), and gift box (rear).

The gift box. Hand made - every one is one-of-a-kind.

Everything is natural, right down to the red coral tie bead.

The album and DVD case in the gift box - plenty of room to spare for prints.

All the items use a wrapped tie to close. Simple.

The DVD case, tied shut. Every bead is just a bit different.

DVD's won't fall out; the inside flap keeps the disc safe.

The tie on the album is the same. Although the cover edges have a simple, unfinished look, the binding and print quality are amazing.

The pages lay perfectly flat so images can printed full-spread, and even the matte white paper shows crisp, vivid color and detail.

While we were there I noticed the staff over at Joeys was helping move furniture into the new restaurant, goofing around, and having their photo taken. I thought it would be neat to ‘shoot the shooter’; ie make an image of their photographer. Here is the gang:

A little later they turned on the patio lights – it’s looking great over there!

While we were at the Barley Mill I met Danielle, who was with a small crowd of folks. We got to talking, and photography came up, so I took this slightly abstract shot of her. I don’t think people expect these kinds of very spontaneous or casual images to look good, but they almost always look better than if it were overly posed – just because they don’t know what to expect.

And as the sky went black the patio heaters kicked in, and all was good.

It should be an excellent summer…