Hi everyone,

Weekend before last, Jacki and I had a great time photographing Jeremy and Michelle at the Westin Galleria here in good ol' Dallas.

You will recognize that it was a pretty traditional Jewish wedding.  Which means it was FUN, FUN, FUN.

They told me that I could wear a yamika, but the problem was, I didn't have anything to bobby-pin it to, LOL.  

First of all, kudos to the Westin Galleria for having such an awesome wedding venue!

The ceremony was really, really cool.  But before the ceremony, the couple and their familes meet and sign a sacred document called a Ketubah.

Here are the guys carrying the chuppah to the altar.

Jeremy looks ready to get it going!

Can you blame him?

After the ceremony, things got kind of groovy with Dallas' absolute best event band, Emerald City.

Jeremy started wailing, and the party was officially underway.  No, I mean UNDERWAY!!!

No dog, I mean UNDERWAY!!!!

But, it's not like there wasn't plenty of time for some really sweet moments, too.

All in all, it was a tremendous wedding, and we thank you guys for letting | jimmages | be your storyteller!

 

So I am headed into an endodontist because I have to have a root canal :>(

But I felt better, because next door to the endo is a practicing dentist as you can see.  

I love Godwinks...

I am generally not one for associations, cliques, lines of demarcation or any door that requires a secret handshake, decoder ring, or password to enter.

And really, the only photographic critics who I care about have the title of Bride or Groom.

Despite all of that, I am extremely humbled, pleased and excited to say that for the second year in a row, | jimmages | has been selected to represent the Dallas area in the very elite organization called photographik.org.

It's truly an association of some of the most talented and famous photographers in the entire world.  I know studios who tried all last year to be accepted, with no avail.

To get in, and to stay in, and to be invited back, means that you have demonstrated a commitment to the craft, and consistently deliver a product which meets their level of approval.

So again, thanks to photographik.org for seeing something in what we do, and thanks as always to our clients, who really make our jobs enjoyable.  We are so blessed indeed.

 

I have mentioned this video that I remember seeing to a couple of people lately who had never seen it, and I told them I'd try to dig it up and repost it.

It's quite eye-opening, in the sense that we have such an unrealistic expectation of how we want to look and have others look, too.  

Check it out and leave a comment and let me know what YOU think.

| jim |

 

I am going to try, try, try to start sharing more info about some of the vendors I am privileged to come into contact with in my travels as a tireless, overworked wedding photographer.

I absolutely love working with the guys at DJ Connection.  I have done 4, maybe 5 weddings where they have been the entertainment, and in each case, I have thoroughly been impressed with the presentations as well as the personalities.

Here's one of their DJ's, Jason.  Every time I talk to him on the phone, he cracks me up.  Now I know why...

You can always tell when DJC is in the house because of the trademark mikes.

Like I said, they're really funny dudes.

Here are a couple of guys that I worked with that I photographed.

So if you need DJ's, call my buddies Jason or Marquess at DJ Connection.  They rock, literally.

 

Well, it must be near Christmas if there's a TSO buzz in the air.

Jacki, Pete, Evie and I, along with Josh from Littrell Photography and his family, decided to cruise up to Oklahoma City to see the show.  Pete and I have seen them 10 times before, even going to two shows in one day the last two years.  We have never missed a show that they have held in Dallas.

But because we are booked up for a wedding when they come this year, we went to OKC to keep the string alive.

At the last minute, we decided to invite another couple of folks to the trip.  Now I had already bought really sweet seats in the first row of the second floor section, but Jacki said that she'd buy the additional two seats just wherever she could.

On the way up, she informed me that the only seats she could find were in the very front row, and that they were for me for Christmas, and she and Evie would take turns sitting with me right up front.

Naturally, that added a whole new element of excitement to the drive up.  I had been able to get 3rd row seats in the past, and last year, even first row seats on the side, but I have never ever had honest to goodness first row seats in the nevermind how many years I have been going to concerts.

So Jacki, thanks so much for the wonderful Christmas present, and I am so happy that you were finally able to surprise me.  Oh, BTW, it was so cool...Evie was sitting up front after the show, and the amazing drummer, John O'Reilly came up and gave her one of the drumsticks he had been using for the show.  I just wonder how long it will be before she misses it???

They don't allow cameras into these shows, but like last year, I was able to snare a few cool shots with the iPhone.  Thank you Apple.

Enjoy!

Oh yeah, please scroll all the way though for another funny story.

And now the footnote.  On our way home, I get a call from Josh.  As we have in years past, I assumed that he just wanted to recap the show.  But NOOOOOOOO.

Poor Josh had run out of gas.  So there he is with his wife, his mother and his dad, stranded on the side of the road on a cold night in Southern Oklahoma, and he needed help.  So what's a colleague and competitor to do?

Of course I took him some gas.  And I also took just a couple of photos, with our new 5d mark II camera.  Remember, never go anywhere without a camera!

Josh, these are for you, buddy.  I have never, ever, known you to be out of gas before.

As many of you who have read my blog any length of time know, I was a Nikon/Fuji shooter for about 23 years.  When I first got into photography, Nikon had a stranglehold on the pro market.  You either shot Nikon, or you might have well have used the throwaway cardboard cameras that you see on many of the reception tables at today's weddings.

But somewhere along the line, Canon came out with the EOS line of cameras.  Not too many pros noticed at first, except of course, fans of Andre Agassi.

Then all of a sudden, you began to see more and more white lenses showing up at awards ceremonies, sporting events, and finally, weddings.  These Canon cameras had seemingly taken over the world!

But I remained staunchly loyal to the big N, until I finally got tired of seeing image colors and noise levels that I simply couldn't get on my gear.  So almost 2 years ago, I switched from Nikon to Canon.  Now that may not seem like a huge deal, but when you consider all of the camera bodies, lenses, flashes and other accessories at play here, it was not something that I did lightly.

I was in Canon heaven for a while.  Or at least almost heaven.  Canon without a doubt manufactures the superior brand of pro lenses, but the QC is a bit suspect, and the ergonomics of Nikons are better, IMHO.

But the Canon images, oh, the images, are so clean at high ISO.  What does that really mean?  It means that I could shoot in a cave with almost no light, and still have very usable photographs.  A huge plus, when so many people are choosing to have ceremonies and even receptions by candlelight.

About a year after I made the switch, naturally, Nikon came out with their great new camera, the D3.  The D3 even surpassed Canon's ability to handle noise in the dark, but of course I didn't switch back.  For two reasons.  One, Canon still makes the better lenses, and two, I knew it would be a matter of time before Canon answered back.

And answer back they have, with their revolutionary new 5d Mark II camera.  It pretty much does everything you can think of in a still camera, plus one big advancement.  It's the first DSLR to shoot true 1080p HD video.  

All my videographer buddies, relax.  In no way would I suggest the things that can be done with this camera can replace the coverage that you provide.  But I definitely CAN see where a couple might not be able to fully afford the services of a videographer, and for just a few dollars more, have me or whoever capture some video footage, and incorporate it into their post-wedding presentation.  This camera is going to revolutionize wedding coverage as we know it.  Just wait and see.

I'll be showing some samples of the images and video shot with it in the future, so stay tuned!  Yes, even though the waiting lists for these cameras are extremely deep, my long association with a local camera store has paid off in my getting one of Dallas' very first 5d mark II's.  Jacki used it at her wedding over the weekend, and the results are nothing short of amazing.

Wedding photography just got demonstrably better!

| jim |