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Newsletter #14
http://www.arisingimages.com/miscellaneous/newsletters/newsletter_014/

This afternoon we had a great high school senior photo shoot with Spencer.  It was kind of ironic because Spencer really didn’t even want to have his senior pics done and we doing it more to make mom happy.  However, he ended up being one of the easiest guys we’ve photographed in a while.  He was super laid back with an easy going personality which made our job easy.

Here’s a few pics from his photo shoot today:

We were back at the Royal Park Hotel again today.  About 1/3 of our weddings are their this year which is fantastic because it is an amazing location.  Over the last year, we’ve become friends with Chad and Stacey which made this wedding a lot of fun.  They were very easy going and natural together.  One of the things they did which made the day go super smoothly was to see each other before the ceremony.  We were able to do all of their posed photos, bridal party photos, and family photos before the ceremony and there was still ample time to relax before everything got started.  Once the ceremony was done, all their pictures were finished so they could enjoy their cocktail hour which also gave us lots of opportunities to photograph the guests and details.
Once again, we got to work with Ryan Koral from Epic Motion.  Here’s a link to the love story he shot for Stacey and Chad.
Here are just a few of my favorites from today’s wedding:

It’s a safe bet that this reaction came after a “that’s what she said” joke:

This was shot in front of the Something Fabulous office.  They are a team of wedding coordinators that we just worked with a few weeks ago and they just happened to have a beautiful pink office right by where we were walking.

This photo was one of my favorites because Chad said many times throughout the day how blessed they are.  It was quite fitting that this was written on the inside of his ring:

We don’t do too many photo shoots with dogs but the ones that we do are a lot of fun as it’s all obviously very candid.  This afternoon we did a photo shoot with Jeanie and her dog Beso.  He was a good dog and did a great combination of running and playing, along with sitting and hanging out.

Here’s a few of my favorite pictures:

This afternoon we had the pleasure to shoot some senior pics for Cari.  Cari is at Stoney Creek High School in Rochester Hills, MI and she is an amazing photographer who has talent beyond her years.  She will have a long and amazing career in photography and I’m looking forward to seeing her work over the next few years.

Here are a few of my favorite pics from today:

Our first amateur photo contest is over.  Their were 176 votes and the winner is Chris Belli with his photo of water on the beach.

Here is Chris’ description of the photo:
“I took this picture while in Costa Rica on my first mission trip this past summer.  We had an amazing week serving the people of Costa Rica.  God was on the move in many ways.  On our last day, the team got to go to the beach.  I was walking on the beach and noticed a nice curve when the waves were rolling into the beach.  I setup my camera to capture the curve thinking it would be interesting and that the curve would draw the eye through the entire shot.  I was pleased with the outcome and Im happy to have won the water photo contest.  Thanks to all those who voted for me.”

Here’s the photo with information:
Nikon D300
Lens 70-200
Shutter: 1/8000th
Apterutre: f2.8
Exposure compensation +1/3
ISO 200

One of the things that I liked best about this photo was it’s simplicity. We all have a tendency to focus on the big picture and often miss the little subtleties that Chris captured in this image.

Don’t forget to submit photos for the next contest (Dramatic Sky).  Look here for details:
http://arisingimages.com/blog/new-amateur-photo-contest-dramatic-sky/471/

Today we did senior pics with Drew.  He has a really cool black jeep that we were able to incorporate into the photos.  Here’s a few favorites:

One of the best things about winning the Best Photographer contest is that we knew that our friends at Mod4 Photographic were going to make us a sweet trophy.   They made us an awesome trophy when we won last year (click here) but this years trophy definitely took a lot of craftsmanship and hard work.  It is made from the finest of dollar store paraphernalia and bejeweled with the fakest of diamond bling.  The mini champagne bottles can actually be opened and used to blow bubbles.  Cheridy had a 103 fever last night but when she saw the trophy they made us…just look at the smile on her face!!  Thanks Jes and Nate!!!

A few weeks ago I posted about our fun little project with Mayz.  Well…it’s been two months and about 60 photos so I figured it was enough to make our video:

This afternoon Sydney and Dave got married at the Royal Park Hotel.  The day was rainy and humid but they made the best of it.  They had a fantastic team of vendors helping to keep everything running smoothly. 
The staff at the Royal Park always gives top notch service and the tasty meals never disappoint,
Hollye Mackler put together some beautiful pieces with red roses and she must be the sweetest person that ever lived,
Kimberly Fullerton made one of the most amazingly creative cakes we’ve ever seen (and yummy to boot!),
Ryan Koral of Epic Motion provided the videography and we always look forward to his video trailer - and not only because sometimes we make a second or two of the highlights,
Kori and Nicole from Exceptional Events kept the day organized and running smoothly and were an absolute pleasure to work with,
Mary Ann Productions was the MC and is a very beautiful lady (Cheridy told her so this afternoon)
and Jesse Palter and crew provided fantastic music, boy does that gal have a beautiful sound.

Here are just a few of my favorite images from the day:

We’re starting a new tradition at Arising Images…free screensaver slideshows from our travel photography.
Every month I will be releasing a new themed screensaver that contains some of my favorite images from that theme.

The first theme is “Castles of Europe” and it contains 11 of my favorite images.
The link below will be the location of all of our screensavers and it contains the download links and installation instructions:
http://www.arisingimages.com/fineart/screensavers

I’m really excited about this and already have about 2 years worth of fun themes picked out including canyons, waterfalls, wildlife, mountains, landmarks, etc. etc.  etc.

This is the first image in the Castles Of Europe series.  Please use the link above to download the free screensaver slideshow.

Two years in a row!!!  Wooohoooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!

I just wanted to say that Cheridy and I are thrilled to announce that we wont the “Best Photographer in Detroit” award for the second year in a row!  Here’s a link to the WDIV Vote 4 theBest contest for photographers:
http://wdiv.cityvoter.com/winners/4-the-best/1830/weddings/photographer

Thanks to all of our friends and family who took the time to vote for us!  You guys are awesome!!

To see some of the other winning business, click here:
http://wdiv.cityvoter.com/winners/4-the-best/1830