Depot Wedding

Comrades of the World,

I am always amazed at the spectacle a wedding brings. For all the pictures I take, weddings bar none bring out an elegance that is raw yet polished in emotion. May 10th did not disappoint and Micha & Carissa proved awesome! It marked the first wedding I have shot at the Depot and also marked the first picture I have ever shot in a men’s bathroom. You can laugh all you want but the layout of the bathroom was ripe for a comical picture of the boys. Many thanks to both families and the catering was by far the best I have seen in the years I have been shooting weddings. Just flat out awesome!

Urinals For All My Friends,

Lance

(Correction) Desert Storm

Comrades,

I think that I have figured out why I am not as frequent in my writings. Blame none other than Facebook! Between keeping tabs on that and the constant barrage of info found there, blogging seems secondary anymore. Not that I don't like writing the blog just sayin that when compared to the high speed exchanges on Facebook I am reduced to a lesser degree of dialogue when it comes to blogging. Most people simply read it and move on where as with Facebook you can almost always count some sort of exchange whether it be positive or negative. Maybe the blog is the "Minor Leagues" for Justis Photo and a place for me to warm up the thoughts? Hmmm, maybe not.....

Shot some pictures of Melissa out in the desert recently and aside from the fact we had 40 mph winds that seemed relentless, I pulled out perhaps some of my best work to date. Proud? That would be an understatement to describe the degree of imagery the two of us handed to ourselves on this warm yest blustery spring day. I spend weeks doing nothing but thinking of new places with new faces always trying to capture a different mood that others are either unwilling or incapable of pulling off. Was it worth lugging light stands up what seemed like Rainer like peaks? Absolutely and the pictures show it. Like I have always said, when you quit pushing yourself it is time to push yourself right out the door. This is the one profession that I have found that you can discover the true proximity of ideas and if harnessed, the ordinary becomes super natural! Having to clean sand out of my gear for a week sorta sucked but something tells me I will be enjoying these pictures for years to come.

More to come soon from last weekends wedding so stay tuned.....Drinks are on me :)

Camels For All My Friends,

Lance

Courtney Time

Comrades,

What a slamming start to the busiest time of the year for me. Individual sessions seem to be back in vogue and I welcome the challenge. I have been waiting for the opportunity to do a session on the sand dunes just past Mountain Home and come May 2nd that is where I will be. Of course, I will post some pics for ya and let’s hope for a pink sunset…..
Man somebody forgot to tell me that the more equipment you own, the more luggage you have to carry around! Perhaps it is time for me to shed some of the weight because it has become maddening. I figure I am going to need the road crew from Metallica to help me lug all this stuff around. The thing is, I bore easily and need new tools at my disposal so that I am better able to try new things. I will admit that some things have worked better than others. Perhaps I will just have a photographer garage sale of sorts this fall. The one thing you won’t see me giving up is the 30x40 light panels from Interfit. If you’re a shooter try em! I promise you that light will never look the same again and they are quite simple to set up however I encourage you to buy a sandbag or two (They catch more wind than a sailboat!). Enough of my rambling, let us begin the 2010 wedding season and I hope to see your shining faces in the warm sun.

Sun Tans For All My Friends,

Foster

Jeff & keri all the way from L.A.

Comrades,

Had the pleasure of shooting my first wedding of 2010 on March 7th and as always, I had a blast. Just to be "Anti-Establishment" I will refrain from telling you the days events in chronological order that somehow get the words "Emotion", "Love", & "Feelings" jumbled into the paragraph so that you think I was in this zen state of being with my subjects. That would be fake and one way to placate the memory of my subjects to the point of sounding like a Hallmark card that you always forget to take off the fridge. I digress, Jeff & Kari flew up from L.A. to have a ceremony right here in good ole Idaho. With a glaring sun ready to do battle with me I found myself spending the first 2 hours getting a feel for my subjects. Sometimes it is just like that in photography, you spend a bit of time earning trust for it is not everyday somebody takes 400 plus pictures of one set of people. I almost love the challenge that it presents because being the competitive guy I am, when I have conquered that obstacle whether real or perceived, I get a sense of satisfaction not found in anything else I do.

Given that no two weddings are alike, I am always pleased when a couple isn't as worried about the status quo and I can say that Jeff & Keri were all over that. Even better, I am always blown away when two people are making this huge commitment to one another and yet they come off without a worry in the world. Without a doubt, these two fit that description. The funny thing is, I was probably more the worried than them it was my first gig for 2010. Funny how you have to get your "Sea Legs" after not shooting a wedding for 6 months and yet, I have always found my first wedding of a given year to be the one I remember the most. Of course all that matters are that 1. I am satisfied with the pictures 2. The subjects are satisfied with the pictures. Ok maybe not satisfied but ecstatic! The whole experience was yet one more gateway to another time created by the 3 of us that I can only hope they reflect on down the road. Wedding photography is that one thing where we are allowed to cross the lines of business and friends and with that said I am very happy to have been a small part of a new friendship if only seen through the memories of what we created .

Flying Over Your Mother's House,

Lance

Micha & Carrissa

Comrades,

Excellent engagement session capped by sunny skies and a gentle breeze. Always felt like engagements were the time to work out the kinks and find what fits a subject best for their wedding day. This of course, is like the pre-season for weddings and already I feel like I am in mid-season form. I am ready, are you?

Lawyers in Love

Comrades,

I have always loved the time of year when you know that everything cold is nothing more than a blip in the rearview mirror. We are now as close to springtime as it is to us and I find myself anxious to be outside. Jake & Kassy met me at one of my new locations that I hadn’t tried and based on what we turned out, I will be using that location again. Photographers always keep some locations to themselves not sharing them with anyone. This is because new locations get copied once it is discovered that they produce cool pictures. You’re always nervous when choosing a new location because you are not sure if it will lend itself well to your subjects. Not sure why I feel that way except to say that you are going into an unproven zone and will be working on the fly. New locations are notorious for having snakes, hornets, Pumas etc…. Just joking actually…..Back to Jake & Kassy, two lawyers must equal two soul mates. It was a pleasure working with them and I look forward to what the summer may bring when we meet again.

For those of you that don’t know Justis Photography has a fan page on Facebook and I would love to have you on board. I promise there is no flood of useless advertisements and polls that will come to your inbox from participating. It simply helps my own marketing campaigns become the viral tornado they need to be and that is a good thing given I am not a big fan of placement marketing. If you feel the need to say “Hey, I am a fan of Justis Photography and I want the whole world to know about it”, then get your tail over to Facebook and join the Justis Task Force.
First Weddings for All My Friends,

Lance

Dropping In and Flying the Coop

Comrades,

Back from the 6 feet of hiding I have been indulged in, I have come to hit you wide open with a blog worthy of more than one thought. Throwing my own hat into the fray for 2010, it really shaping up to be a year filled with excitement! Many new brides and grooms and the way things are going, it appears a personal record for Justis Photo is just over the horizon. Been meeting all sorts of new people via Facebook and given the fact many of them are fellow photographers it enables me to see some seriously amazing work from all over the country. I often read posts on photography forums by seasoned pros who are flat out angry with the new generation of photographers. I can never tell if they have a legitimate beef or if they are just pissed off at the newer shooters infusion of skills into this fishbowl we call “The Industry”. Nevertheless I have almost become a voice for these first and second year shooters simply because too many photographers are self-righteous and flat out snotty. I have known a few that have even left brides in tears on their wedding day! Man I hope acting that way is not the benchmark of success.

I relive the glory of my hometown team the New Orleans Saints winning the big game every time I watch fellow photog Julia Bailey’s French Quarter party video. Amazing work it is and it just goes to show that when citizens, armed with a camera are very capable of bringing you the story the same as your local news reporter. Of course with citizen reporters you seldom get the bias or the smokescreen our “professional” media outlets cram down our throats. Speaking of New Orleans, I foresee a trip that way in the not too distant future but first, I must conquer San Antonio with my fellow conquistadors in June.

I had more to post but after reading it decided it was better left unsaid. Let’s just say that our church lady in Meridian who currently resides in Haiti was in my sights. I will add that if you are the reading type, you will find that Motley Crue’s book entitled “The Dirt” is a well written, well spoken, and a flat out open door to the world of over indulged rockers. More to come soon comrades so stay tuned…….

Lance