NWEA and Katalysts

I love my job! My favorite part of being a photographer is meeting and working with people. Last week, I had the opportunity to work with an organization called NWEA (Northwest Education Association http://www.nwea.org/). They are involved in various aspects of education and they are based in Portland, OR (hence the Northwest in their name). They sponsored a convention at the Omni Hotel in Charlotte, NC inviting educators and various people from the education world. The keynote speaker was Richard Riley. Richard Riley was President Clinton's Secretary of Education.

Secretary Riley now has a long list of achievements on his resume and had quite a bit to share on the topic of education. I came away impressed with the thinking of the various speakers and satisfied that there are a lot of smart people dealing with the issues of our educational system.

On the first day, we all had the priviledge to hear one of the smartest, inspiration speakers around. Kevin Caroll, Katalyst (http://kevincarrollkatalyst.com/) came from a broken family and the people in his life told him he would never amount to much. He has certainly proved himself. While in the Army, he learned 4 languages. He has been an NBA coach, and worked for Nike. He spoke about the importance of play in children's and adult's lives. He ended with gifts for the audience which included several red balls. Before throwing them, he gave a warning not to put your hands up if you can't catch. Of course, some did not heed his advice, but the damage was minimal.

One of his red balls wanted a tour of Charlotte, but the weather did not permit. So, it came home with me and we are planning a trip very soon. I will be there to document the experience so watch for it!

The logistics for the conference were provided by Jillian Rabe (http://www.jillianrabe.com/). She is a beautiful model in the Portland area and a very accomplished organizer.

options ... choices ... decisions

The brides in Charlotte had a lot to think about after Sunday's Bridal Showcase at the Charlotte Convention Center. Our booth was busy and this show was my first to feature actual brides. Carla (June 2009) and Meghan (May 2009) agreed to come along and tell people how wonderful I am. They are fantastic! This is a very large show and by 4:00 many people walking by had a glazed look. It's hard to take in that much information all at once.

Charlotte brides have a new choice

Last night was the grand opening of New York Bride and Groom (nybride.com), the newest bridal shop in Charlotte. I was delighted to receive an invitation to the opening event. When you walk in be prepared for elegance and a pleasant shopping experience. The new store is beautiful, well layed out, and spacious. The evening included socializing with Charlotte's wedding professionals followed by an excellent fashion show. The fashion show was concluded with styles by our own local Kimberly Pixton (http://www.pixtonbridal.com/). Photography was provided by the very talented Kristin Vining (http://www.kristinvining.com/).

Glove Project

I found a photo awhile back in a bridal magazine. The photo was shot from behind with the bride pulling on a long white glove with her arm outstretched. I really like the photo so I ripped out the page and kept it. While thinking about doing something like that, I decided to act. So, here are a few photos from a session this week with a model and "the gloves".

Flying High in Charlotte

Many who know me also know that I love to do lots of different things. This past week, I was asked to photography a high school basketball tournament in Charlotte. This tournament is sponsored by Bojangles and Athletes United for Youth (http://www.athletesforyouth.org/). Since I come from California, my expectations of high school basketball are not very high. I have to say that after three days I am totally impressed with the athletes in our high schools and I really enjoyed the tournament. Check out the organization and come watch next year!

How many photographers does it take to photograph a wedding?

When you have a fairytale wedding at the Biltmore Estate, then it takes a lot! Jill realized her dream of a Christmas wedding at the Biltmore in December. There were moments during the getting ready that she had four lenses pointed at her. She has a job as a newscaster though, so she is used to it and the camera loves her! I owe my friend Bonnie Berlin (www.bonberphotographics.com) for letting me shoot this wedding with her.

Jill arrived at the Biltmore house in a horse and carriage escorted by a beaming father and her lovely mother. Arriving at the front of the house, she found her groom Justin awaiting her.

There is nothing like the Biltmore house for a photo location.

Boy Meets Girl

Girl makes sure boy will not get away!

Jill and Justin are ready for a lifetime of love. Congratulations to Jill and Justin!

Johana and Juan Married

Every wedding is always my favorite and I love being with couples when they get married. Johana and Juan were married on Nov. 28th with beautiful weather in Charlotte. We had the luxury of extra time at The Green between their beautiful ceremony and rocking fun reception.

Johana is a beautiful bride and accented the late fall colors in the park.

In real estate, there are three factors to consider: location, location, and location. For Johana and Juan's bridal party, the three things would be fun, fun, and fun. They were all fantastic and contributed to a great day.

Juan has been deployed with the US Marines in Iraq. He arrived home shortly before the wedding to his waiting bride. For this shot, he tried to create a little privacy :)

One of my favorite things to do is to get the groom with the bridesmaids. Johana's bridesmaids were up for anything and this is one of the fun shots we got.

The reception was at Roof with a View in Charlotte and they danced the night away with a view of the city lights. I'm not sure how much they will remember the view of the city since they seemed to be enjoying the view of each other much more. Congratulations to Johana and Juan!