Week 30 - Plummer House

I suck. I got these pictures already to go Thursday night and fell asleep getting this post up. Herein lies the rewrite of the ramblings of a sleeping man that were here before and just never quite got published. Pushing that button labeled "Publish Post" is incredibly difficult when you are snoring.

So, I missed a few weeks. It's been damn hot here and my camera has been neatly tucked away in my office. The camera on my phone has also been surprisingly quiet. Might have something to do with just being busy. Summer. Who knew.

This first picture was taken at the Plummer House here in Rochester Minnesota. I've shot here before. If you go through my archives, you should find quite a few. The Plummer House is now owned by the city and is open to anyone who wants to wonder around a shoot. Why even  the day these were taken, a girl was getting her senior pictures done.

I loved the lines in this hallway. I've tried shooting it before and just never really liked the results. A harsher midday sun seemed to give me a better shadows from the pillars. I squatted just a little as well trying to give just the right perspective. And don't...what do you think?

These next two were the runners up.
This second one, is just a fun shot of the other side of the hallway pictured above. The lighting here is strange and hard for me to balance. It's clear, bright summer's day, but there's also plenty of trees making shade.

These grounds are well kept. I think coming out here during the magic hours would make for some awesome colors.

We happened to venture here because my good friend Kat and her husband were visiting from Toronto. Rochester is a strange place. It's not a huge town and it's not particularly old, but it has some fun history to explore, with the Mayo Clinic being founded here and everything. Dr. Plummer built this magnificent place many years ago. He was one of the first doctors hired whose last name was not Mayo.

The last photo is of a tower on the grounds. It's attached above ground to the main house, and I'm not sure there's a tunnel to it, I suppose I could check into that. I've always kinda struggled shooting this up close. It's kinda big. I think this angle was kinda cool. You are somewhat controlled by the area around as to what you can do. There are several large trees near it and a rather steep drop off. Gravity can kill. Remember that.

Whew. Week 30. In the bag. Time to see if I'll get anything shot before Thursday this week. You never know. Check back and if you want to see the rest of my public stuff and more from the 52 Week Challenge, Go check out my Flickr site.

Week 7 - Plummer House

Crap. I was really hoping to keep this from becoming the 26 week challenge but alas, I missed week 6. This past Saturday, I really didn't want to miss another week so with the wife off at work, I bundled the kids up and we went to one of my favorite local spots: Plummer House.

This is the same spot where I took the wedding party pictures at the bottom of this search. This place is just amazing in the warmer months but I'd never been here in the winter.

This top picture, is my submission for the 52 week challenge. I felt this was my best composition. I love the line, the color and the textures.

This second photo is was my second choice. I have a really hard time picking between some of my photos. It's like choosing between my kids. How do you do it?

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And choosing between my kids...well here they are. I couldn't resist just shooting some with the kids in the frame. They like to ham it up once and while although my oldest daughter is getting sick of being on the Internet. Shh...don't tell her :)

A little Captain inside

Here's the last picture for a little while of this series.

I had an absolute blast working with this couple capturing the start of their young marriage.

We even had a little fun. The bride tried this pose first, but unfortunately, you could never tell with that dress on, but the groom. I think you can tell, there might be a little Captain in him after all...hehehe

Thanks for looking!

Framing with your surroundings

In this next photo, We found this beautiful stone arch door. I decided to use it to frame the couple. The black zoot suit did make this whole day a challenge. It was almost impossible to get the exposures to show him clearly.

We live and learn.

This what it's all about

The almost kiss. Is there a better story?

This is my favorite picture from the shoot.

Romance is in the air.

A Day to Remember

I'm going to show this one first. I caught this scene twice.

In this first view, the couple shares a very romantic moment. This marks the return of the fountain.

Finding a shutter speed that would smooth out the water, but not blur when the couple tried desparately to stand still was very hard.

I'm happy with this exposure, but tomorrow I'll be sharing my favorite picture from the day.

Finally - Now I'd like to intoduce the bride & groom

I just loved this path. The lighting that day was a beautiful overcast day. This allowed me to let the background fade to black. Light can be so much fun to play with.

The hardest part of doing any of this shooting today was the groom's tux. He was definitely dapper, but black in such a dark place made it tough.

I do now understand why many wedding photographers have an assistant. Getting everything just right is hard.

Siting while gazing

We took a break and had them sit down and relax for a while.

I found that when I just let this couple be themselves, you could see the happiness in their faces.

This was not a staged shot, just a couple sharing a moment.

Heading into the future together - Part 2

A different part of the trail heaing to the garden.

I really liked the light coming down the stairs and the moss covering everything.

Again, this was a candid shot. Thankfully, I was walking with my camera in the ready position.

Heading into the future together

Not quite ready to show you the faces of the bride and groom.

This picture he wasn't staged at all. We were walking out the garden where the fountain is located with the bride and groom leading the way.

I was really taken by the sidewalks look.

A fun candid.