Greta the Great.

July was a rather exciting month for me. Despite the fact that I had no photography jobs, meaning that I had no income, I had an exciting month.

My excitement started on July 4th. As I looking through my twitter feed I saw that my friend Casey Templeton had a surprise puppy that landed on his doorstep. Casey wanted to desperately find the original owner or find a new owner. He posted a picture of this beautiful puppy sleeping. I was hooked. I had to meet this puppy. I texted Casey and the next morning I was up early and on my way to playing with this tiny little creature.

Upon arrival I was greeted by a very timid but still friendly little animal. She sat quietly as I played with her belly and rubbed her head. We then travelled to the grass where she chased me for a while and then proceeded to fall asleep. Ashley, Casey’s wife, came outside and asked me what I was thinking. I told her I was hooked and I wanted to take her home. I had no idea what I was getting myself into.

I have had some tiny animals before that required a small amount of care, but never had a dog that I was fully responsible for… especially not a puppy. This puppy has changed me as a person. I now am awake before 11 am not only because I want to and I am much more productive, but because I have to. I now have to look after something that depends on me. She depends on me to feed her, to take her out, to walk her daily and she depends on me for love. It is quite an honor to know that something looks to me for life.

A lot of people look at me like I am crazy when they find out I have this puppy that will grow up to be a pure bred 60 pound female pit bull. Many people also ask me what I am doing to take care of her. I am asked if I have taken her to the vet, if she has her shots, and my favorite, “Are you going to make her mean.” She is loved, meaning she is treated like a million bucks.

Greta is now a 21 lb ball of pure happiness. She goes with me almost everywhere and we are inseparable.

Without further ado I introduce to you, Greta.

Photo: Kate Magee Joyce

Photo Kate Magee Joyce

Lazy Days

It has been a really really long time since I have done a blog post. Please forgive me. This summer has been a lot of doing nothing and hanging out, but it has also been a lot of work. Besides playing Xbox Live for 4 hours of the day I have also responded to emails, designed some new things for my business that will be released at a later date, and assisting weddings out of the wazoo.

I talk about being a wedding assistant a lot on here and I have heard many people ask exactly what I do when I assist. A wedding assistant’s job is to make the photographers job easier, but when you assist for some of the best wedding photographers in VA you kinda get to just hang out, soak up of their techniques, eat good food, and pick and choose what photos you want to take to ultimately use for your portfolio. Here are some photos that I have acquired during my assisting.

Brian and Lauren Hinkle

I have been assisting weddings out of the wazoo lately. I love assisting because I learn so much and there is no pressure what so ever. I just get to take photos and have a good time.

This wedding was in a way like assisting. I didn’t have any pressure (besides the first kiss) and the bride and groom were extremely calm and happy the entire day. Brian and Lauren were great to work with when I took their engagement photos back in April and were great during their wedding. There was no stress on either side and I felt very comfortable with what I was doing. They made my job easy by having a beautiful wedding and being an awesome couple. So here it is guys!

Trademark

Trademark is defined by Webster as; “A symbol, word, or words legally registered or established by use as representing a company or product.” This symbol is used to brand or remind you of a company or product.

In High School I played basketball. My job was never to be the leading scorer. My job was simply to play defense to the best of my ability. I adopted this role during my four years in high school. I tend to think that I am a nice guy who is pretty easy to get along with, but while playing basketball I transformed into a new person. I wanted to scare people, intimidate them and be the meanest I could be on the court. Whether I was guarding division 1 college athletes or just your average joe, I did my best to completely shut these athletes down. Some times it worked and sometimes it did not. By the end of my senior year my friends would pack my high school gymnasium to watch me play defense, get angry and often make a complete fool of myself. At the end of my senior year I received an award from my coach. It was an award for not just my basketball team, but for all of the seniors at my school. While my coach was giving me this award he talked about the person I became on the court and how it was completely different than the person I truly was. When I played I took this new attitude and turned it into my trademark. It was who I was and people loved it.

While I was walking through Urban Outfitters, quite possibly my favorite store. I stumbled upon some colorful and very unique socks. These socks were perfect because they are thin and go great with dress shoes. I purchased a few pairs of these socks and I am going to wear them whenever I go and take photos. This is a way for my followers and fans to relate to me in a completely different way. I promise you that these posts will create laughs and a good time. I will use twitter and my facebook page to showcase the socks that I am wearing. I want you to follow me and my journey with these socks. I would love to take suggestions on new socks that you see. Who knows maybe your socks will end up on my feet.

I am headed to D.C. in about 15 minutes to photograph Shaka Smart at an event for my VCU. So here it is, my first sock post. “SHARKKKKKSS.”

Twitter: @LaFerrierePhoto

 

Dominguez and Jones Wedding

This was another wedding that I had the privilege of assisting with Casey Templeton on. This wedding hit home for me and was my favorite wedding that I have ever had the chance to be a part of.

The groom is from Managua, Nicaragua and the bride was from Maryland. They met when the bride traveled to Nicaragua on a mission trip. It hit home because I have a special place in my heart for the people of Nicaragua. Though I have not been back since my senior year in high school I plan on heading back one day.

The bride and groom were so in love and I was so happy that I could be a part of their big day. As always you can always see more on my Facebook Fan Page.

Awards at the National Level

Forgive me for not telling you guys this right when it happened but I was a very busy man.

Back in November of 2010 I was asked to shoot a Violinist by the name of Eric Stanley. I wanted to show how Eric playing the violin in the middle of the city of Richmond. So me and my friend and awesome photographer, Mel Kobran, put Mr. Stanley in the middle of the road and took some pictures of him.

In January the Commonwealth Times does our annual awards and we decided to enter the photo that I took into a contest that the Society of Professional Journalists at the college level does. The photo won first place in the General News Category for our region. Our region consisted of Virginia, West Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Maryland.

After the win in the region the photo moved on to the national level where I thought it was going to get lost in all of the other great photos. Well I was wrong. I was a National Finalist. This means that I did not take home the gold but my photo did receive second. When I received the email from our art director I was a little skeptical and I do not think that it actually set in until later that day.

As a photographer I am constantly entering new contests and I always come up short but this one was different. This past semester was one of the hardest semester school wise but my photography took a turn for the better. I continue to be blessed and I can not wait until next year. I will be working hard to advance my portfolio and take home the GOLD.

Below is the image that won. If you click on the image you will be taken to the awards.

VCU violinist plays the violin on Broad Street in Richmond, VA.

Scott White and Katie Thompson Wedding

Being an assistant for a photographer who knows his stuff could quite possibly be the best way to learn. Casey Templeton is by far one of the most successful photographers in the Nation. Though I love to make mistakes while working with Casey, I am so blessed that he uses me as an assistant. These next two posts are about the two weddings that I assisted for Casey.

The White and Thompson Wedding. Beautiful people filled the VMFA on Saturday May 14th 2011.

For more photos take a look at my Facebook fan page.