Jessica’s Bridal Portrait

Posted by KC - 07/23/10 at 12:07:18 pm

Not so many years ago Jessica was a student in my wife’s 3rd grade class. Now she is a teacher herself and recently married to Matt. I’ll be posting images from their wedding soon. I’ve been holding onto these for weeks… just itching to post them but couldn’t until after their wedding so Matt would be able to enjoy the surprise of seeing the bride in her dress for the first time in person. These photographs were made at the McIver Amphitheater at Meredith College, Jessica’s Alma Mater. Be sure to scroll to the last image for one of my favorite “behind the scenes” captures.

The real value of photography

Posted by KC - 03/09/10 at 02:03:26 pm

Twenty years ago when my father’s terminal illness had progressed to the point where even the most hopeful of us realized his life was ending, my brother George arranged a weekend at the beach for our family. I distinctly remember resisting the idea but was persuaded to go along. When Dad passed away a month later, the few photographs we have from that weekend became treasured mementos. I hadn’t taken any of them.

Several years ago when the health of my father in law began to decline I quietly began making informal and mostly candid photographs of him, knowing from my personal experience that his family would appreciate them when he was no longer with us.

He died on Friday and about a dozen of those photographs, joined with images from his childhood extracted from carefully preserved old albums and a handful of 20 year old snapshots were converted to a slide show by the funeral director. It played as a loop on the day his friends came by to pay their respects. This image was chosen as the last in the loop, and may be among the most important photographs I have ever made. I am grateful to my brother for teaching me an important lesson that I could then apply many years later.

Tell me your story

Posted by KC - 03/04/10 at 02:03:41 pm

I love stories. Always have. I still remember my 6th grade teacher, Helen Trexler, reading the book A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle aloud to us as a class. It’s as vivid as yesterday. I can describe the room, the light in the room. I can tell you where my desk was. I can see her standing there; hear her voice. Even tell you how she was dressed.

Hearing that story changed me. That’s what great stories do.

These photographs are portraits of a three wonderful people whose lives and work are wonderful stories. We all have great stories. We are born with them. Something about the process of “growing up” seems to cause a kind of amnesia. We can’t always remember our own story. It took me a long time to remember mine. A handful of remarkable people helped me remember it, and now I realize that every person I have a conversation with is helping me remember my story. Like my friend and fellow photographer, Kim Siedl, who just yesterday helped me remember some keys elements of my own story. All of these people help me remember and tell my own story so that it brings joy and purpose and meaning to life.

The secret to my work as a portrait photographer is to invite my clients to tell me their stories. That’s it. It’s really quite selfish on my part. I am fascinated by their stories. And then while they are telling them to me, I make a few photographs. It’s simple, really.

Aiden

Posted by KC - 11/14/09 at 11:11:22 am

Every now and then it all comes into alignment. The day Aiden and Sandra came in for these portraits wearing matching sleeveless t-shirts and jeans I had that feeling feeling… and was not disappointed.

Susan and Shannon – The Preamble

Posted by KC - 10/26/09 at 01:10:03 pm

We photographed the wedding of Chris and Meg at the Sarah P. Duke Gardens in May of 2008. While making a series of informal portraits of some of the guests we captured this image of Shannon and his fiance, Susan who were making plans to marry in the fall of 2009 in northern Virginia.

When I capture an image that has merit, I love to bring it up on the small LCD on the back of the camera and show it off. When Susan saw it she quickly said: “We could use that picture for our save the date card!” And I quickly said, “If you will allow us to photograph your wedding, I’ll make sure you have it when you want it.”

Earlier this month we had the true privilidge of photographing the joyful morning wedding of Susan and Shannon and captured a great set of images at three different locations in the Washington, DC area. We’ll post a sneak peak of their wedding photographs in the next day or so, so check back here to see more.

Enjoy!

Sara and Josh

Posted by KC - 06/17/09 at 09:06:22 am

I’ve come to understand that the real value of an engagement session is the chance I have to get to know and work with  each couple before their wedding day. While most of us have been photographed by family members all of our lives, few of us have had a photographer following us around for 6 hours constantly recording our every move. Storey Wilkins, a gifted Canadian wedding photographer, calls these interactions “practice sessions” and she is exactly right! At Craige & van Roden we now include a “practice session” as a part of our services for every wedding because it is so valuable in helping the bride, groom and photographer build a relationshop that will be reflected in the quality of the images we make during their wedding.

These photographs from our session with Sara and Josh were made at the farm in Person County where Sara’s mother grew up, and where her uncle now lives. Photographers love finding red barns, front porches and large maple trees to use as “sets” for their work. How wonderful to work with a couple where all of these classic locations are just “home.”

Enjoy!

McRee

Posted by KC - 04/08/09 at 04:04:24 pm

The real secret to photographing children is to be a big kid. After about 5 minutes of rolling around on the floor and laying down in the dirt, McRee and I were buddies.

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