Editorial Month-in-Review!!

Yes, you read right -- this is going to be an editorial month-in-review not a week-in-review! As I'm sure most of you can guess, with weddings on our plate as well, the months of May and June can be extremely busy! I just have not found the time to update the blog until now!!

Quite a bit happened over the last month! At the begining of the month, Obama announced that GM will now be Government Motors, as the US is taking over. I still cant help but wonder why GM's CEO's dont just meet with Ford's CEO's to follow their business model and solve their problems.... but hey, I'm just a photographer!

Monday June 1st, 2009 - Washington, D.C.- With a portrait of President Truman hanging behind him, President BARACK OBAMA speaks in to the Grand Foyer of the White House before he speaks about the US Government spending 30 billion dollars in a General Motors takeover.
(Credit Image: © James Berglie/ZUMA Press)

Monday June 1st, 2009 - Washington, D.C.- With members of his economic team behind him, President BARACK OBAMA speaks in to the Grand Foyer of the White House before he speaks about the US Government spending 30 billion dollars in a General Motors takeover.
(Credit Image: © James Berglie/ZUMA Press)

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The next day, the latest Supreme Court Nominee started spending some quality time with US Senators. As I'm sure you will probably be able to tell from the wide shot, I came out of this great photo-op with plenty of scrapes and bruises as it was a melee for us photographers.... fun fun!

Tuesday June 2nd, 2009 - Washington, D.C.- U.S. Supreme Court appointee SONIA SOTOMAYOR meets with US Senator PATRICK LEAHY of Vermont.
(Credit Image: © James Berglie/ZUMA Press)



Tuesday June 2nd, 2009 - Washington, D.C.- U.S. Supreme Court appointee SONIA SOTOMAYOR meets with US Senator PATRICK LEAHY of Vermont.
(Credit Image: © James Berglie/ZUMA Press)

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Moving on, here is some coverage of events unfolding on Capitol Hill, the most interesting of which was covering the GM and Chrysler CEO's along with a panel full of dealership owners begging (literally) congress to reverse plans to close their dealerships.


Friday June 12th, 2009 - Washington, D.C.- FRITZ HENDERSON (left), CEO of General Motors and JAMES PRESS, president of Chrysler LLC testify before the U.S. House of Representatives Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee hearing on "GM and Chrysler Dealership Closures and Restructuring."

(Credit Image: © James Berglie/ZUMA Press)


Tuesday June 9th, 2009 - Washington, D.C.- Treasury Secretary TIMOTHY GEITHNER testifies before the Senate Appropriations Committee's Financial Services and General Government Subcommittee hearing on proposed budget estimates for FY2010 for the Treasury Department.
(Credit Image: © James Berglie/ZUMA Press)

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The President hosted the Korean President at the White House as well in one of my first Rose Garden events that was not re-located to the East Room due to weather!




Tuesday June 16th, 2009 - Washington, D.C.- Korean President LEE MYUNG-BAK and President BARACK OBAMA walk to the podiums set up in the rose garden outside of the White House.
(Credit Image: © James Berglie/ZUMA Press)



Tuesday June 16th, 2009 - Washington, D.C.- Korean President LEE MYUNG-BAK and President BARACK OBAMA leave the Rose Garden on the south lawn of the White House after speaking to the press.
(Credit Image: © James Berglie/ZUMA Press)

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Towards the end of the month, there was a huge accident on the DC Metro - for various reasons, including a replaced cell phone, with out all of my news-apps installed on it yet-- I didnt hear about it until it was way too late to get any spot-news shots from the crash, but I did head down the next day to try to cover clean-up operations. But, I was met with disgruntled, out-of-shape and smoking on the job, DC police officers who besides threatening to arrest me multiple times (even though I was not crossing their police line) - could not even help me by telling me how to get back to my car - since they would not let me go the way I came. Obviously, these guys were just a wealth of information -- I cant help but think if this accident had happened a mile or 2 north in Maryland, we would have had alot better police to deal with! I was on a time crunch to make another appointment, so I snapped really the only shot I could and headed over to Capitol Hill.




Tuesday June 23rd, 2009 - Washington, D.C.- Rescue crews continue work to clean up the wreckage of a Metro train collision yesterday that left at least 7 dead
(Credit Image: © James Berglie/ZUMA Press)




Tuesday June 23rd, 2009 - Washington, D.C.- House Minority Leader JOHN BOEHNER (right) and House Republican Conference Chairman MIKE PENCE (left) look on as Mississippi Governor HALEY BARBOUR speaks to the media regarding Democrats' 852-page plan for government-run healthcare, its impact on states and working families, and the need for a better solution

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Finally, this month ended with the German Chancellor visiting Washington, and me chasing her around town! I've got to say, I am much more impressed by the German Chancellors motorcade full of 745 bmw's than I am of our chevy/cadillac motorcade..... but with the government owning GM, I guess they will never go any other way!!

Friday June 26th, 2009 - Washington, D.C.- German Chancellor ANGELA MERKEL and President BARACK OBAMA speak to the media in the East Room of the White House during the Chancellor's visit to Washington.
(Credit Image: © James Berglie/ZUMA Press)

Friday June 26th, 2009 - Washington, D.C.- House Speaker NANCY PELOSI (D-Calif.) meets with German Chancellor ANGELA MERKEL at the Capitol.
(Credit Image: © James Berglie/ZUMA Press)

Laura and Jason @ River Plantation

Since the day I shot Laura and Jason's wedding at The River Plantation, I have been looking forward to telling their story visually here.

As a photojournalist, I could not ask for better subject as Laura and Jason allowed me in on some of the most emotional moments of their lives. It was an honor to be able to cover this time in their lives.

I dont think any amount of words can really sum up this story, and I also did not think that a normal blog posting would best tell this story as well. So this time, I opted to put together a multimedia slideshow to best communicate the stories told this day.

This story is a reminder that not all of our days are exactly as we always envisioned. But as Laura's brother who was the officiant for the wedding said, "but we'll take all this in stride as Gods will and perfect plan, knowing he works everything for our good. We love and we trust him."

-- UPDATE --

- We have had a lot of inquiries into this wedding and the story behind it, so with the permission of the Bride I am happy to provide a little more detail.

Jason and Laura contacted me back in March, and I was happy to meet with Laura and her wedding planners to discuss plans for her wedding.

Engaged at the beginning of the year, Laura and Jason originally planned on having a June 2010 wedding. However, about two weeks after her engagement, Laura’s father was diagnosed with Stage 4 lung cancer. Doctors did not suspect that he had more than 6-12 months left with us. Laura clearly has a strong bond with her father, and describes herself as a typical “Daddy’s girl.” So it would mean the world to Laura to have her father give her away at her wedding. As a result, they decided to push the wedding up to May, 2009.

Combining the stress of her father’s sickness with a demanding grad school schedule, and planning a wedding, Laura had narrowed her wedding date down to a two week time period while she had a brief break from school, May 29th would be the date. However, as the date approached her father’s condition continued to deteriorate.

On May 26th, just three days before the wedding, her father was admitted to the hospital. During the week of the wedding, Laura and her family had come up with numerous back-up plans, which I’m told included scooters and golf carts if need be to assist her father in walking Laura down the aisle on her wedding day. However, her father was subject to emergency surgery on May 27th, and the chances of any of the back-up plans coming together were fading.

If her father could not make it to her wedding, then she was going to bring the wedding to him! So they planned to have a ceremony in the hospital on Friday prior to the ceremony at River Plantation. But by Thursday her father’s condition was worsening. Laura and Jason were married Thursday by her brother in a private ceremony in her father’s hospital room.

Friday, the wedding continued as planned and is where my coverage begins. Kim and Morgan (the wedding planners), setup a web-cast that was viewable in the hospital room where Laura’s mother stayed with her husband.

By the end of the evening, Laura’s father had passed.

During my career as a photographer, I’ve been on the sidelines of history, stood right next to some of the most influential people in the world, and been able to capture many amazing stories and moments. But those all pale in comparison to being given the honor to cover a story like this.

This is the reason why I became a photographer in the first place. I thank Laura’s family for allowing me to cover the wedding, and my deepest sympathies go out to them.