Back to back Groomals last week

I just spent 5 days in Arizona with some of my best friends in the whole world, Janet and Clint Andersen. I guarantee Clint is the only 58 year old ever who had 9 splints put in his heart( in the last year) to play 11 games of basketball like we did 2 nights ago. Yeah, 11 games. Janet said that the doctor wanted him to exercise and test out how far he can push his heart. We pushed it to the limits. They were shorter games but 11 games of playing with Collin, Matt and Clint is like playing in dog years, it is 7 times harder than a regular game. Collin was on my team and on game 6 he hurt his hand twice and we thought he may have even broken his hand. He didn't even consider the option of stopping and since I needed him I just smiled and told him to take a couple minutes to let it heal. Collin and I ended up winning best of 11. We ripped through that court like a CAT 5 hurricane!!

I was down there mostly to finish up a project that I started in December down in Terlinqua, Texas on the border of Mexico. It is a documentary of an extraordinary man who has worked for Clint for 17 years as a concrete laborer. His wages were less than most but he saved and sacrificed and now owns 8 homes outright, paid for in cash. He is a fascinating character and has been gracious enough to share his story which I will post when it is done.

I will do an entire post on Texas when I get a chance because I loved it down there. I ate a hamburger in Terlingua that was bigger than my smallest child. If you are someone who wants to hide from the law I have the perfect place for you. Stay tuned..

Most of my photo shoots I put a lot of time into prior to the shoot. I spend a lot of time location scouting because every couple is so different. I have learned over the last ten years that you can't set your plans in stone because things change so quickly. Everything I do revolves around light. Light changes frequently which is why I have to be familiar with how a camera records light in every situation. These two shoots were within 24 hours and yet the light changed so drastically that I only photographed 1 of the 10 locations I had planned. Everything you see here was completely improvised on the shoot. We started at an elementary school because Anna forgot her bouquet and for the sake of time I met them out by their house which was by the school. We shot these first two right there then all heck broke loose when the school bell rang to let school out. We moved quickly to another location a block down the road where I had never shot (the second image).

Just about anywhere can be a great location if you understand light a little bit. I don't know why I am telling you this. Maybe a little bragging and complaining. Honestly, mostly a photographer's job consists of making lemonade out of lemons.

If I had one advice for brides I would say if you want great photographs consult the photographer on lighting before you choose where you have your reception, ceremony, time of day, etc... IT IS ALL ABOUT THE LIGHTING!!!

Of course there are ways of making the best of a bad lighting situation but some weddings just look better because of lighting. (Tangent, sorry)

This entire shoot was improvised. We didn't go to one spot that I planned but sometimes that is the funnest way to shoot. The important thing is the couple. Anna won a free bridal session from the USU bridal faire so I had not met them till that day. Great couple and I wish them a long and happy life together!