Oh, 2009. How I loathe thee.

I have this, well – maybe it’s a superstition, about odd numbered years. In my life, they’ve always been filled with change and upheaval. Not that it’s a bad thing, but I tend to be more transitional during this time, and less stable – less focused.

I’m so ready for 2010.

Since I’ve been on vacation for the past 2 weeks, I’m more than ready to get back to the comfort of my office, with lots of new exciting things I have planned. Now, I understand that the majority of this constitutes change in some form or another… I want to repaint my office, hang new canvases, buy a desk and set up a new workstation in my office for my new intern! I’m think I’m nesting?

All of that will have to wait a few weeks while I get caught up from all the work I had in December.

I’ll be spending next weekend enjoying a beautiful West Palm Beach wedding, then off to Savannah, GA to shoot a NAHA entry for a colleague of mine. Splash in about 10 modeling sessions and I’ll wrap up January just as busy as I started. Luckily, Feb. seems to be a slightly calmer month!

This month I welcomed 4 new brides to my happy little family, and have been getting new inquiries nearly every day this week. I can’t even begin to explain how happy it makes me to share in their new lives together. My clients are so much more to me than a wedding, they become my dearest friends and I feel warm and welcomed in to their families. There’s nothing better than a big hug from my bride and groom every time I see them. I’m elated.

I’m also really excited to kick off the second annual Images for a Cure event! I’m going to start planning early this year, and set a date for late September. There’s a lot of adjustments, planning and work that needs to get started – even more reason to get my new intern ready! I hope they like trial by fire It’s the only way to learn!

I’m been working on plans for a group workshop for some time now, and am finalizing plans to join forces with some amazingly talented photographers, artists and special guest speakers! We’re talking 2 days of amazingness! Breakout sessions, shoots and demonstrations in every area of wedding photography – business, lighting, marketing, retouching, posing and of course, shooting! Stay tuned, I’ll be announcing dates and speakers in the coming weeks.

To be notified when the details are released – you can sign up here!

Email Marketing You Can Trust

So what are my resolutions for this year?

Travel more. Love more. Have more faith in myself. Commit more. Focus more. Laugh more. Share more.

Be afraid less. Eat less. Be a little less dependent on others. Judge less. Condemn less. Speak less. Procrastinate less.

Dream. Give. Believe.

What are your resolutions for 2010?

A couple days before I left for vacation, my numero uno stylist and fashion diva, Melanie Pace, contacted me about doing a super quick session of her and her sister, Elaine, for a Christmas present for their parents! They gave them some super cute prints in an album that they can add to later, plus a gift certificate for a family session in the spring!

Elaine was super pregnant, but it didn’t stop Melanie from switching out her comfy Crocs for some Yves Saint Laurent heels! I’m glad I got to meet Elaine and baby Gavin just a week before his birth! Gavin entered our cozy holiday season on Dec. 24th!

The shoot took some unexpected turns once we did some impromptu studio shots (which will explain the hairy mustache). Enjoy!

Hehe…. Happy Holidays everyone!

Hello, from cold and snowy Ohio! I’m not actually in Cleveland, but close. About an hour southeast in my hometown of Youngstown, Ohio. We’re also about an hour North West of Pittsburgh, PA.

Today is the one vacation-work-day I’ve given myself, so after a few hours of shooting, updating, corresponding, emailing and facebooking, I’m finally updating my blog! Short and sweet, let me give you some details of what I’ve been up to!

Our long 19 hour drive to Ohio wasn’t as bad as I expected. I got to see a traveling Lemonade stand in Gainesville (then again in GA), a cat driving a Jeep at a gas station in TN, and almost got car sick before stopping for dinner in Kentucky. We had to take the long way up, thanks to that huge snowstorm that hit Virginia and West Virginia.

I finally met “the missing link” of Anthony’s family – his big brother Bill. He flew in on Wednesday and got to spend Christmas with Anthony, myself and the kids before heading back to Michigan on Saturday.

2009 was an amazing year for me, closing out with today’s shoot of American Idol contestant, Sarah Burgess, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It’s cold (22 degrees) and snowing (more like a blizzard), and I sat in snow to shoot.

I also started my first workshops this past fall for other photographers, and even organized the amazingly successful event, Images for a Cure, raising nearly $13,000 for The Breast Cancer Research Foundation.

So many people have graciously let me be a part of their lives this year, and 2010 is looking even better! Just since being on vacation, I’ve brought 3 new 2010 brides in to our little family and booked 2 shoots with an amazing photographer in SC next November.

2010 will start off with an amazing wedding in West Palm Beach, FL, and end on Dec. 31st, 2010 with the wedding of my dear friend Michelle in Lakeland, FL. In between, I’m doing plenty of traveling! San Francisco, Jacksonville, West Palm Beach, South Carolina, Nashville and hopefully Australia, to help launch the first Images for a Cure… Down Under!

I just started to dual market myself for NE Ohio/PA, too. So if you’re in that area – I’m now available to shoot weddings and photographer workshops in that area!

January is also a cool month for me, as I find my images published in 3 magazines – Orlando Style, Osceola Oasis and Vocess Magazine.

If you’re on Twitter, you could totally help me out by RT’ing this:

Nominating @kristenweaver for @OneWed #bestweddingvendor

Well, I think that’s everything! I have a TON to catch up on when I get back in town, including blog posts of Terry and Beth’s wedding, several portrait sessions, a maternity session, and 2 fashion sessions (including ours from today!)

Oh, and before you ask, yes, I do have a few New Years Resolutions, but I’ll share those later this week!

And since I’m incapable of writing a blog without including an image… here’s a quick teaser from today’s shoot with Sarah! (virtually straight off the camera since I hate editing on my laptop):

“Does your person have glasses?!”

“Nope!”

“Is your person bald?!”

“Yep!”

“It’s Richard!!!”

Yesterday, I posted a couple of cryptic Facebook statuses about a funny, special shoot I had. You may have seen this one:

So I thought it would be funny to have a little contest! Who saw this?

Yep, you read that right! Guess the model and win a prize!

After many emails, comments and statuses, I’m happy to announce that no one got it right.

But I think I may keep doing this and keep offering the same prize until someone wins it. It’s a surprise, but it’s a good one

Meanwhile, for everyone else…. want to see who the model was?!

Click here to find out!

So how did you get your start in photography?

The long, and the short, answer to this is – Heather Johnson.

As the story goes, I had an assignment in my graphic design class to design a magazine cover. The assignment was to use an internet image for the cover (the focus was more on the text, design and layout). Searching random google images turned up a whole lot of nothing, when I thought to myself, ‘Even I could shoot a better cover shot than this!’. So I grabbed my little film Canon Rebel, and my best friend (who was also my Kappa Delta pledge sister and an experienced pageant princess), Heather. We went out to the Hollis Gardens near campus and shot my very first “fashion” magazine cover.

Which, come to think of it…. was 8 years ago. I can’t believe how fast time has gone. (!!!!) And that reminds me… don’t be too critical of these blast from the past photos. We all had to start somewhere!

The year was 2001, and I was shooting film. Thanks to Walmart for processing this for me.

Once everyone saw the pictures… my first stab at photography became a full blown business. I was booked 8 hours a day by sorority sisters, couples, parents, you name it. My fee? You buy the film, you pay for the printing, and I get the doubles! In case any of my previous “clients/sorority sisters” are reading this… yes, I still have the albums of ALL those pictures.

When it came to Heather, I had one rule when we shot together: I always get to wear the crown. Heather, being her humble, gracious self, always obliged

I went on to … well, to do what I do. Meanwhile, Heather went on to become Miss Tampa and Miss Central Florida…

2006, and I wish someone had taught me to edit back then…

and after countless shoots together…

Her engagement in 2006 to Jason Brooks

Feb. 2007 (when she introduced me to Model Mayhem… and a fashion photographer was born)

Aug. 2007

Nov. 2007 (I had just found the wonders that are Katie Russo, Nicole Beth and Jennifer Frances)

…her wedding in March of 2008….

…and her mom’s wedding in December of 2008…..

… I’m finally shooting her beautiful maternity photos (soon to be followed by beautiful newborn photos, and beautiful children photos, and beautiful family photos…. you get the idea)! My little Heather J is all grown up and having babies!

Heather is about 6 months along and still looks as radiant as ever. One thing is certain, their little one (name TBD)  is coming in to a loving family, with amazing parents, who have prayed for her and will love her with every inch of their soul. She will be absolutely perfect, in every way, and I can’t wait to meet her!

Favorite alert.

Thank you, Heather (and Jason), for the amazing journey you’ve taken me on. I can’t wait to meet your precious little one!