A reflection back on Bryona's internship!

This past summer Bryona Schreckengost, my niece from Western Pa., stayed with us in Upstate NY. She chose to do a job shadow in photography for her senior project and I was honored to take her on as an assistant/second photographer. First off, she was great company during weddings and she allowed me to see things from a fresh view. I also felt what it would be like to have a full-time assistant. I'm glad she chose Out of the Ordinary for her senior project because I too learned from those images and the entire experience. I hope she enjoyed herself in that all too short month, not only in the business, but exploring NY, Maine and NYC. Most of all I hope it helped her realize the opportunities that lay before her once she graduates. I wish her all the best and she's welcome to stay again! Let's review and reflect on each wedding she worked with me on... thank you Bryona!

I took this one of Bryona at her first wedding with me at the Williams wedding.

Bryona took this at the 30th Birthday Surprise Party we covered, her first event.

Bryona took this shot at an engagement session, I love the corner cropping. Bryona got numerous bubble photos at Welliehausen wedding that captured this exit.
The Conway wedding. I think this was secretly Bryona's favorite, she did excellent with the formals. The Hans wedding was the first wedding I saw Bryona explore her full creativity. I was extremely proud of her.
A creative and emotional photo Bryona took at the Nowosielski wedding.
During Getting Ready at the Belarmino wedding Bryona managed to get this side photo while staying focused on the bride.

A sky view shot at the Senter wedding, this was the first one I directed Bryona with on what exactly I wanted while I stayed on the ground and she delivered!

I also wanted to add one more from the Senter wedding. This was Bryona's last wedding with me from the summer and you can see her improvement along the way. I love this bouquet catch photo she was able to get!

Bryona at the Belarmino wedding after taking detail decor photos of the table.

My helper in making smiles happen

My helper in making smiles happen at the Crocker wedding.

MY CURRENT PROJECT: Finishing Crocker wedding & album choices

SONG STUCK IN MY HEAD: Honky Tonk Women by The Rolling Stones
CRAVING: Coffee & water
NEEDED A MOMENT: Is is gone?
BEST MOMENT: A day with my hubby :)

Why I love this captured moment

Sometimes I take a photo and never realize the depth in which I captured something until it's on my computer screen. In this photo, I love that I captured the groom adjusting his wedding ring while the bride looks at him smiling. This was right after their kiss as they walk back down the isle together. It's one of those moments surely able to make anyone smile.

Tip: Looking into mirrors

Mirrors and photographers have a love/hate relationship and there is no in between. Many already know that if the flash hits a shiny reflective object the image turns out black, even for the most skilled photographer this can sometimes happen if not careful. Although I say avoid mirrors and windows being behind you if possible, I'm not writing about that.
I'm aiming my focus to those planning on having mirrors in the backgrounds at Getting Ready, Ceremonies & Reception to please make sure they are clean! Many, especially venues, may not realize the importance of this but cameras reflect more than just people. Dust, fingerprints and smears all show and it's very hard to fix reflections because mirrors have edges that have to be symmetrically straight or proportionately curved.

Here is a before and after of a corrected mirror shot. I had to correct the dirty mirror, it was the kiss shot!

But here is where the love truly comes in... in this photo below, the bride's brother was giving a speech in which he included how happy his wife has made him. If you take a look in the mirror, there she sits in the blue. Love that I can get all involved in one photo from one angle. However, I still had to take multiple photos of this same stance to get a couple without hitting the flash on the mirror.

Here is another great way mirrors can be a photographers best friend. Even if this photo wasn't color accented, it would still be wonderful. I get the Grooms expression and the Brides!

New for Film/Slides/Prints

I often get asked at weddings and through email about what to do with old slides/film/prints and how to transfer them into digital files. I always recommend my friends at The PhotoStation in Ballston Spa, NY of course but if that doesn't work for you I came across these new devices in the LTD Commodities catalog (although most are are sold out there now). So I did some research online and found them scattered through out the internet. The best one I found was an all-in-one that does all three. And I have no idea if this works well or not but for those looking to transfer slides, film or prints into digital files quickly, it looks like a cool device!

Pacific Image ImageBox Film/Slide/Photo To Digital Scanner

Happy Scanning!

New Header on Website

Updated a newly designed header on my website, only the background has changed and as easy as it looks it was quite complicated this time around. I think because it was originally designed in an older Photoshop and now it's in CS4 & it wasn't happy. But it's all good now. I was once again reminded why I don't change it per holiday.
MY CURRENT PROJECT: Crocker Wedding
SONG STUCK IN MY HEAD: Empire State Of Mind by Jay-Z featuring Alicia Keys (thanks Bryona!)
CRAVING: something different to drink
NEEDED A MOMENT: logo header
BEST MOMENT: a break

Server difficulties

Looks like there may have be some server difficulties with my website this morning. I apologize on behalf of Yahoo! Seems to be up and running now, a little slow but there. :)

MY CURRENT PROJECT: Finishing Sheldon Wedding
SONG STUCK IN MY HEAD: Whatcha Say by Jason DeRulo
CRAVING: ice cold water
NEEDED A MOMENT: cross your fingers
BEST MOMENT: my life

Most requested photos of 2009

Well, since I cannot decide on the photo of the year for 2009 (and it's way overdue) I'm posting

The Top 10 Most Requested Out of the Ordinary Photos of 2009!

_

#10, the night shot

#9 the groom being silly with the cake shot ;)

#8, the sunset shot #7, the fall leaves shot
#6, the long veil-in-the-wind shot
#5, the not surprisingly beautiful accent color photo requests the most requested in at #4, the ring/date shot
the #3 most requested Out of the Ordinary shot, bride-at-the-window view from the floor shot... the #2 most requested Out of the Ordinary shot, the sunglasses reflection...

and the #1 most requested Out of the Ordinary shot, the I Do shoes!

Thanks for another wonderful year and lets make 2010 even more Out of the Ordinary!

~The Out of the Ordinary Team~

Holly & Jim Greene

Bryona Schreckengost

JD Greene

Nicole Egan

Jill Chouinard

A look ahead.. Wedding Planning Plus!

Out of the Ordinary has been featured once again on the Wedding Planning Plus Blog! I took engagement photos of Lauren & Joel this past summer (their wedding planned for this summer of 2010). A vibriant couple with a great wedding plannner, this will be fun! A look ahead to 2010... Lauren and Joel

Also featured on the Wedding Planning Plus website are a few photos I captured from a previous wedding, Mr. & Mrs. Tramontana, under the "Adirondack Weddings" square: http://www.weddingplanningplus.net/photo.php

Thanks for the blog spot & website postings Shannon! And remember couples, if you are looking for help in planning your wedding, don't forget that Wedding Planning Plus can come to the rescue. :)

PicPals no longer

Just an FYI for those that may have checked PicPals, we are stopping the posts for now. If we get feedback on the want for us to continue then we will resume but for now it's no longer. I believe we did it for a year and Jill & I had a blast with it. I could use a little extra time for other things right now anyhow as I'm still catching up after a busy season. Thanks for checking in!

MY CURRENT PROJECT: Finishing Stelmack Wedding
SONG STUCK IN MY HEAD: Bad Romance by Lady Gaga
CRAVING: warmth
NEEDED A MOMENT: just ignore
BEST MOMENT: the meeting today