Second shooting behind the scenes
This Friday I got to second shoot with a good friend and photographer Bri - https://www.facebook.com/brifoto/ alongside some incredible videographers Dan Ludeman - https://www.facebook.com/LudemanProductions/ and his second shooter Alex Gutzmer - https://www.facebook.com/unchartedvisuals/ ****check out their work, they are all crazy talented.
It was such an awesome and fun crew for a gorgeous wedding. I took a handful behind the scene shots and added a few fun candid ones //
Bryan and Morgan's Wedding // Best Man Vision
This December I had the privilege of being the best man in my best friends wedding. I decided to do a blog of the wedding day from the best man perspective for something a little different. Sometimes I had a camera, sometimes one of the groomsmen had a camera (Spencer and JAD mostly), sometimes the photos turned out awesome, sometimes they were out of focus, sometimes they were hilarious, sometimes they were tear jerking, really everything you would expect with this amazing group of people on an incredibly emotionally gorgeous wedding day for Bryan and Morgan. That was a big run on sentence, and with that - enjoy.
Bryce and Shea Sunrise Engagement
A few weeks back I got to shoot a sunrise engagement session with two of my favorite people
Bryan and Morgan Adventure Engagement
Several weeks back I had the honor to take photos of my best friend and his incredible fiancé. I woke up on a Tuesday morning with a text asking if I could make the trip with them to his family cabin at Roy Lake, just north of Eden, SD (middle of nowhere). It was the only time we could make it work with everyones schedules and we lucked out with the weather. It was very enjoyable shooting in a new location, a fresh perspective is a good one. (for any clients reading this, if you want to travel somewhere a bit different I will always be down!) Here are some photos from the trip, we shot that Tuesday evening and Wednesday morning at sunrise. I also somehow sat in Deer manure, so that is also catalogued in this blog
I somehow sat in deer manure.
Abandoned SD: Searching for the Forgotten
I had a photo gig in Rapid City in April. I got the chance to traverse the badlands and Custer State Park for a bit on my lonesome. Oddly enough I really enjoy traveling alone. I got to capture some of the immense beauty of the badlands one evening.
However I didn't get to spend that much time in Custer State Park, which is also breathtaking. I woke up on a Monday morning in my simple but elegant room at the Hotel Alex Johnson in downtown Rapid City, grabbed a coffee, and walked the graffiti alley right next to the hotel and then hit the road. About one hour in an urge overcame me to find an abandoned house. I took a random exit and started going east down highway 248. I ran into my first spot with several houses a bit west of Murdo. I always wonder what stories these buildings hold. (You can check out the full abandoned house gallery here - you can also order prints)
As I wrapped up I felt an urge to make a day out of this. Just take random highway and gravel roads find as many abandoned houses as I could.
It didn't take long before my next spotting. This house had a particular eeriness with assorted old toys in the yard. It's a strange sensation to take photos at these places in the dead quiet, knowing in a time not that long ago a child was playing in a now decaying yard. I plan on visiting all these locations again in the fall. I want to spend more time at this house.
I got back on the highway and found myself traversing the vast openness of South Dakota. I looked to the north and saw a few old houses in the distance. I took a gravel road and it led me to yet another eerie spot. While shooting here I could feel a presence with me.. one of the houses seemed to have had someone living in it not that long ago or they still were. The whole area was deserted and unkept, I felt an uneasiness the entire time I was there.
I skittishly ran back to my car, looking back and waiting for someone to open up those blinds and stare back at me. I hopped on the interstate for a bit and crossed the Missouri river, knowing full well that my daylight was dwindling.
I searched for a bit longer to no avail, and then I ran across the car graveyard.
I didn't have much time left and I desperately wanted to find one more abandoned location. With the sun setting I hopped on one more old highway. Since the introduction of the interstate I could tell this highway has had little to no attention. On this old and forgotten highway I continued heading east. At one point I spotted a potential house in the distance but couldn't tell if it was abandoned or not. I took out a telephoto lens, took a photo, and zoomed in on my camera's LCD screen to see if it was, in fact, abandoned. To my dismay it wasn't. I had about given up hope until I went by an old driveway, with about 15 minutes of light left I knew I had to hurry. I ran down this old driveway towards some buildings. What I found was breathtaking, eerie, and beautiful all at once.
This site was eerie, an old dog house where a trusted companion used to sleep
I had not stepped foot into any of these houses until now. With the sunsetting in the silence of dusk, I went in. Once again I half expected someone or something to come jumping out at me.
I bid my farewell to the house and the memories it holds. I began my walk back to my car down the old road, looking back a few times to take in the adventure I had just experienced. A day of searching for the forgotten. (You can check out the full abandoned house gallery here - you can also order prints)
