Baltimore Charm

This fall there will be a new sport to watch here in Baltimore as the Lingerie Football League brings its newest franchise, the Baltimore Charm to 1st Mariner Arena! If you are like me, then you are fed up with a good deal of professional sports because you feel that the athletes care more about their paycheck and their personal image than they do about winning or the team. Many have turned to college sports where players hearts seem to be more "in the game" - but I think you may also be able to turn to the LFL to find that dedication to the game, sportsmanship, focus on the team, and passion to win no longer found in most pro sports!

The Charm came to me for their needed head-shots to showcase the team on their website (lflus.com). And the wonderful people at Robert Andrew Salon offered up some space for us to do the shoot on location (by the way - really impressed with this salon - gorgeous place!)

After a few of the girls arrived, it was clear that they have already formed a great bond and sense of camaraderie already during their off-season and pre-season training. It was also clear that they were all super nice and really excited about their first season with the Charm. Throw into the mix a great coaching staff and a professional league and I think we are going to have a fantastic team to watch this year!

For those of you thinking that this is just a bunch of models running around in underwear tossing a football around -- I strongly encourage you to take a look around the LFL's website and get a feel for what this really is. - There is not a doubt these girls are superb athletes -- the good looks just happens to be a part of the package. This is a highly competitive, full contact football league and the Baltimore Charm is a team that surly shows some promise to preform well in their inaugural year.

Here are a couple of the shots that resulted from the first shoot with the team -- I'll probably be at the opener in Philly on Sept 17th and will follow up with some action shots then -- In the meantime, you can find your tickets by clicking here! Get out there and support your Baltimore Charm!

Nicole & Jason @ Lansdowne Resort

Traveling to VA for this one, I started out the day pretty early to account for traffic of course. Having never been to Lansdowne before, I was very excited to shoot at a new location. Sometimes brides I meet with seem to think that if a photographer has not been to a location before, that they are at a disadvantage to photographers who have been to these locations (this specifically happens with destination weddings) - however, this couldn't be further from the truth! Give any photographer just a minute or two to walk around the grounds of any new location and he or she should be able to come up with shot ideas -- in fact, I prefer shooting at a new location that I've never shot before! There is something about seeing a place with a "fresh" eye that just doesn't happen when you are working the same scenes week in and week out! -- This is of course a great advantage news photographers have over traditional "wedding photographers" - Everyday I shoot in new, challenging scenes in the news world, where as much of my competition in the wedding world only shoots weddings at the same worn out locations week after week. - Throw them into a new location where they are not sure how the light is going to bounce around and often they are out of their zone and cant operate as well! -

but I digress -- Lansdowne was gorgeous and so were Nicole and Jason! - Beautiful day + beautiful couple + a beautiful location = One very happy photographer! :)

The day went off without a hitch - and I did have a couple "firsts" at this wedding I've never run into before -- besides the new location!

-- One of my firsts involved a long conversation with the father of the groom, who told me a story about his wedding photographer whom he "wouldn't hesitate to run my car into him" if he saw him to this day! -- And then he politely told me that my photos better come out well! :) -- in a nice "I'm joking, but I'm serious" way! :) haha! No worries I told him, and alas, I was very happy with the results. -- I am very happy however that this first conversation like this happened after I have been shooting weddings for 5 years, and not at one of my first weddings -- he may have put some pressure on me and might have scared me in my earlier years!

Another one of my firsts -- bird poop on the bride's dress! --- Seriously...?

I guess at some point during the ceremony or while we were doing the posed family shots we noticed it and had to take a little break to try to clean it off.... it made for a unique event I've never seen up until this point in all the weddings I've shot!!

As for Lansdowne, - the staff was great, and I really couldn't say one bad thing about the place ..... other than the crazy cat that tried to attack me as I left the building!

Congrats Nicole & Jason!

Scott & Katherine @ Evergreen

For me, May 1st seems like it was years ago as it marked the beginning of an absurdly busy month for me! May started with perfect weather (not too hot like it ended) for Scott & Katherine's wedding day!

To start, I arrived at the hotel early and while waiting in the Lobby for Katherine to let me know I could come up to the room, I was confronted by a burly looking woman who asked a million questions about who I was, and why I was there and telling me I couldnt take pictures. Of course, these situations happen usually when I am shooting news events - not weddings - so I was caught off guard a bit - but none-the-less turned into defensive mode telling the lady I'm in a public area and can take pictures of whatever I want and publish them where ever I want. -- not that I had any intention of publishing any photos I shot that day -- but just to argue the principle. -- Seeing as she was getting nowhere with me (and at this point our voices are raised a bit) - she backs off and goes to complain to someone else. - A few minutes later, another woman comes up, this time a bit less aggressive in her questioning and explains to me that there is an "alternative life-style" (read:fetish) festival going on in the hotel, and that if their member's pictures get out, it will ruin families, lives, etc. (read: these people are cheating on their husbands/wives and don't want anyone finding out).

An interesting start to a wedding, that's for sure! - I assured the lady that I couldn't possibly care any less about their fetish festival, and that if they don't want their members in photos, then their members should stay clear of the lobby while I shoot my bridal party. -- I also find out that most of the guests of the wedding also happen to be staying in the same hotel, so I'm sure there are many more fun stories from the wedding guests. - I heard about a couple very interesting elevator rides!! lol!

Moving on, the bridal party comes down and Katherine and Scott see each other for the first time and then we are out of there!! -- And I think we are all very happy to be getting away from that hotel at that point! :)

The rest of the day -- perfect! - We head to Evergreen to do some photos around the grounds prior to the ceremony -- such a beautiful location! After a few quick formals with the bridal party and some bride and groom shots, we are in a hurry to get to the church so we are off! - Some more formals prior to the wedding (love it when couples do this, it saves so much time afterwards!) and then right into the ceremony!

The reception took place at the Evergreen Carriage House - a beautiful old building which at one time looked to be used as a stable. My wife being a big horse girl would have loved it!!

One point worth noting for anyone thinking about planning an event at Evergreen - there did seem to be some animosity amongst the museum staff at Evergreen who did not seem to like us walking the grounds of the main house to take photos when the couple had only rented out the carriage house and not the main house. -- While they didn't say anything to me directly, I did get the impression they may have let Katherine know their feelings - which of course, I think is absurd given that there was no event at the main house and the no-doubt hefty price tag the couple paid to rent the Carriage House! The wedding staff (note- different than museum staff) at Evergreen however was excellent! :)

Scott and Katherine had a live band as opposed to a DJ - and while all venues simply do not have the room for a live band, it worked well here! Not to mention - Live bands are amazing!! They really get the party going like no DJ can do (sorry DJ's)!

Scott & Katherine - another amazing wedding from my point of view - fantastic group of friends who are not afraid to party (which is really what makes a wedding in my opinion!)! -- I couldn't ask for a better job than to be shooting weddings like this! :)