Happy Holidays... I'm Thankful

Quick post as my house is as loud as a night club on a Saturday night & I want to be apart of this party. Every year my Dad dresses up as Santa & my daughter already thinks that Santa is really my Dad...funny. My sons 2 favorite toys was his MP3 player which he has not taken off yet and his 1970' disco strobe light. My daughter is all girl changing outfits and wanting her nails painted twice w a day. So no surprise her favs included new cloths and of course some bling bling jewelry to go with it.

Happy Holidays to you all. Cherish this time with you family & take TONS of pics to remember it.

Well, the music is blasting and the party is calling for me.

Until next time,

SC

Lake Eola Engagement session

Maureen & Steve actually live a few blocks from Lake Eola. I always say if I didn't have kids and I could persuade my wife to live downtown I would be right there. I like the city life as well as the nightlife.

We had some fun and got some really great images. Can't wait for there wedding on the Beach at Hammock Dunes in Palm Coast.

Until next time,

SC

Say hello to my little friend, THANK YOU Santa

Santa dropped off my gift for being a good boy & busy photographer this year early. Please meet my new Nikon D3s. The BADEST as in most AWESOME camera on the planet. "Awesome" being used as a relative term. It is certainly the best for wedding photography To a photographer we are kids in candy store when ever we get new "toys" or "gear". I currently shoot with the D3/D700 & D300 which are all used differently. I know for most of you reading this, you may not even find this informative or fun to read, but you should understand why I am sooooo stoked. Let me also say that quality lenses are as important or even MORE important then camera bodies. They also last a lot longer. I will spare you on that topic for another time.

I am a firm believer that the camera is merely a tool that is used by photographers. Weather Nikon or Canon or any other brand for that matter. It is what you capture that is the most important and to a very large extent the camera means very little. Creativity is priceless & were I live to be. I have caught the coolest images on my Iphone,but I wouldn't shoot my kids plays or a wedding with it.

In this digital era cameras have become much like computers. With new models being introduced every year or two. As a professional photographer it is important for me to have the "most effective" tools to do my job which is wedding photography. The D3 Introduced in November 2007 has been said to be the most ground breaking camera since the 1st digital camera was introduced. It was proclaimed to be the KING of low light photography. Prior to this camera shooting above 800 ISO w/o a flash was deadly. Pictures would look grainy and at 3200-6400 ISO would look EXTREMELY grainy and unusable for most photography. Most were skeptical of Nikon claims since prior to this HUGE mega pixels was what was thought to be "important" & Canon has lead that race for a long time (read below). But after initial stock images were seen online it quickly became "THEE camera" to have for wedding/ indoor sports and anything that requires the highest image quality in low light. Canon has now seen the "light" pun for Canon users. MANY MANY canon shooters switched to Nikon due to this & now they are in a frenzy trying to compete with NIKON on clean low light photography. Nikon also offers the D3X which offers sharpest images in any 35mm SLR at 24.5 mgs which are razor sharp and a totally different camera then what I need it for.

Well, The D3 which I thought I would keep until the D4 comes out at the end of 2011 has been retired. Typically with Nikon when they add an "S" to a current model it is just a very small difference that not really worth the upgrade. The D3S is DEFINITELY worth the upgrade. Now includes a few things the D3 did not have such as image sensor cleaner like D700 which is a mini D3, it now also sports High Definition video & a few other advancements, BUT none that excited me more then even CRAZIER High ISO shooting. Images now usable at ISO 12.800 topping out at 102,400 ISO which is basically night vision w/o any light needed of course above ISO 12,800 for me will not be an option, but just the fact that it is capable is insane.

One of my photographers is a 5d markii shooter so I am also able to compare side by side images of the same wedding. I would like to be clear that I am In no way against canon they are INCREDIBLE cameras & the end the battle between Nikon & Canon is good for us all.

For me available light is king and this new camera just fits my style perfectly.

I can't wait to post some images for you to see.

Until Next time,

SC

Ashlynn & Juan Married at Heathrow

I 1st met Ashlynn & Juan last August when I photographed Juan`s sisters wedding. Ashlynn was one of the bridesmaids and Juan a groomsman. So, I kinda got to see them together over a ear ago. So, When they contacted me to document their wedding I kinda felt like we knew each other already. A few months ago we did there engagement session at Uptown Altamonte and I got to see them being themselves. On the wedding day Ashlynn looked amazing with the face of a china doll it just looks perfect (I'm sure you agree Juan). Ashlynn's smile just makes me want to smile. Juan you looked dashing as well and quite good in front of the camera. You are both lucky to have found each other.

It was a small wedding at Heathrow Country Club in lake Mary. I'm sure many of you are familiar with it. Losing light early due to daylight savings time was quite a challenge as I just love to use natural light. It worked out very well. W/ 2 photographers we were able to capture Ashlynn and Juan at the same time. The ceremony was also done at Heathrow and with more then a few tears in the audience it was quite emotional. It's always nice to see past couples I have photographed now that there married & that I was the person who will be tied to them forever, I mean like generations. It is an honor for me to be "the Photographer" & documenting love stories.

You guys are AWESOME!!!.

Until Next time,

SC

Merry Christmas thief I gave you an Iphone

Okay! so we all have addictions of some sort or another. Just to name a few that I have in no particular order we have coffee, pizza, pizza & more pizza (this may be my #1) poker, motorcycles, photography, watching cartoons w/my kids...and several hundred more including my Iphone. Those of you who have will understand how my heart was broken when on Saturday while shooting a BEAUTIFUL wedding I ((LOST IT)). Thats right gone, vanished w/o me even realizing it. By the time I did notice which was only about 5 mins from leaving the ceremony we headed back to Lake Eola and well, as you might expect it was to late.

The pain was relentless for a couple of days. It's amazing on how dependent we are on this little device. It is really lake a mini MAC. Think of it all your contacts personal info and tons of photos & videos. It`s not that i can`t replace it. I have everything backed up, but It's the fact that someone has access to all my info and is calling who knows who bragging on how some dumb azz lost their Iphone.

Oh well, It`s been replaced at FULL retail price of $400 bucks (Ouch!) but this time I have it protected using the annoying security code everytime I use it, BUT now at least have piece of mind for the future loss!...LOL

So, thief, if your reading this MERRY CHRISTMAS! Call me maybe I can do your holiday photos.

Until next time,

SC