Friday, March 19, 2010

Maryville Wedding Photography - Traci + Eddie's Teaser

Let me go ahead and apologize for any typos and bad grammar right now… Danielle and I are leaving for our 10th anniversary vacation Saturday morning and my mind is racing with things that need to get done before we leave. So if I start waxing on about packing, just overlook me. ;)

Before we left though, I wanted to at least get a teaser up with a few photos from one of our bestest friend's wedding. I'm in the middle of working on the images now, but Traci and Eddie will be getting back from their honeymoon in Jamaica around the same time we're heading for the Caribbean. I didn't want them to have to wait another week before seeing some photos! So here are just a few, of the MANY, that I shot last weekend at the super cool Capitol Theatre in downtown Maryville.

A few notes; you won't see too many of Danielle's photos… she was a bridesmaid! And since my faithful second shooter was otherwise detained with her bridesmaidenly duties, I recruited the help of our buddy Tara Kneiser, of Dixie Pixel Photography, to back me up and bail me out when I hit roadblocks. And one of our newest assistants, Brittany Conner, made her debut (lugging gear AND shooting). But the photos in this teaser post are all mine. I'll share some of their amazing work when we get back from vacation in a week.


Traci looking beeeyoootiful!



The first look.



Eddie and Traci share a moment in the basement of the theatre.



Tara and I found a spotlight up in the balcony where the girls got ready and you know we had to play. Traci's theme for the wedding was old Hollywood, so this was perfect!



It rained, but in between showers we ran outside to play. But hey, nothing screams Hollywood and movies like wet streets.



Traci and Eddie hired the Knoxville Photo Booth Co. to be on site to capture some hijinks. And of course, they had to take a turn!



Can I get an AMEN! for this photo? Easily one of my favorites from the day.



Glamorous!



If this photo could make a sound it would be something like, Ka-bling!



Every time I see this I start humming "Purple Haze."



Boogyin' on down with some of the CCC Chicks. You'll have to ask them what that stands for. I know, but if I share the secret I'll be sacked.


Congratulations Traci and Eddie! I hope these will hold you over until we get the full post up! Love you guys!

-Wes

Thursday, March 18, 2010

A little Lilly Experiment

Well, here's the surprise! A little "fusion" as some photographers call it ("fusion" is a blending of still and video production). It's nothing new (well, new to us), but I thought I would experiment. Hey, being an artist means pushing your boundaries and thinking outside the box sometimes. One of our new cameras has the ability to shoot video, so I thought, why not give it a try on a portrait session? It's not an original idea by any means. One of our friends and mentors, Tina Wilson, has been doing this for over a year. Other photographers have been doing it long before the advent of HD DSLRS. Me; I just felt like an experiment.

Enough jabber... check out the movie:

Lilly from Wes Hope on Vimeo.



So does this mean I want to become a videographer? No, not really. I'll readily admit I have no idea what I'm doing, but I'm having fun learning along the way. And boy, there's a lot to learn. This is by no means a perfectly shot or edited piece. But it's not bad for a first go (I don't think anyway). And I already know our clients love it. :)

Experimenting with video reminds me of my community college days back in the mid-90s when I had this itch to play with my parents' old Sears 35mm film camera. I dusted it off, checked out a book about photographing nature, and headed to the Smokies to play. I had no idea what I was doing, but by george, I had a blast figuring it out. Back then I had no idea I would end up as a photographer (oddly enough, I took a class in video production and editing back then and was thinking about a career in broadcasting) just like I have no idea where this will lead.

I've always had an interest in filmmaking. And maybe this will open new doors for me. I love documentaries and the old photojournalist in me loves to share peoples stories. Maybe this will be a new avenue for my storytelling. Will we shoot video at weddings? Maybe some day. Will we do this at every portrait session? Who knows?. Right now, I'm enjoying the learning process. And let me tell you brother, shooting video and editing is a whole other world from still photography. But the great thing is that they have roots in the same principles... light, emotions, and beautiful imagery.

A big thanks to Lilly's parents, Chris and Kristin for letting me play during their session! I've had this video done for a couple days now, but we didn't want to share this with the world until they say it first, which they did tonight. And they loved it!

Please leave us some feedback in the comment section below. We'd love to hear your thoughts on this experimentation. :)

Wes

Wednesday, March 17, 2010

A Play Date with Lilly

Oh sweet Lilly, how we love to watch you grow! :)

Last week we had our fifth session with the glorious Lilly. She's two years old now! What an adventure it has been (see the last session, at eighteen months, here). And the big news for her is that she's about to be a big sister!

Knoxville Children Photography - Lilly is two!

I hope this doesn't mean she's starting to get tired of us.


Knoxville Children Photography - Lilly is two!


Knoxville Children Photography - Lilly is two!

We got to play in her little house again.


Knoxville Children Photography - Lilly is two!

That girl loves her sticks.


Knoxville Children Photography - Lilly is two!

She's such a happy child.


Knoxville Children Photography - Lilly is two!


Knoxville Children Photography - Lilly is two!


Knoxville Children Photography - Lilly is two!

Why do all kids love to walk UP slides?


Knoxville Children Photography - Lilly is two!


Knoxville Children Photography - Lilly is two!

No matter how far you run, you can always get back to mommy and daddy.


Knoxville Children Photography - Lilly is two!

The happy family!


Knoxville Children Photography - Lilly is two!


Knoxville Children Photography - Lilly is two!

Yeah, so we bribed her with a Dum Dum toward the end of the session. Don't worry; we got permission first. Hope Photography will not ruin dinner.


Knoxville Children Photography - Lilly is two!

And it was oh so good!


Thanks for yet another fun play date Lilly!
Wes

Coming next: It's a surprise!

Monday, March 15, 2010

Warning: Blatant Horn Tootage Ahead!

Hey gang! I was getting close to blogging a recent portrait session when I realized I still hadn't shared some links with everyone. Danielle and I have been on the web a few places during the off season (and all of it has been good news... no arrests or scandals that I know of). So I thought I would sneak in a little horn tooting time. :)

Related to the super duper contest, one of my stellar former coworkers from the Daily Times, Linda Albert, did an article of the winners, Tara and Steven:

Click to see the story.

Read the story here.


And we were contacted by The Wedding Belles about being featured as one of their "Cream of the Crop" vendors, so being photographers and knowing all about cropping (get it?), we jumped on it:

Click to see the story.

To read the full interview, click here.


We were also featured in an article in the Knoxville News-Sentinel, by business writer Carly Harrington, about husbands and wives who work together:

Click to see the story.

To read the full article from Valentine's Day, go here.



What can I say? The Hopes are everywhere! And if you can't get enough of us, don't forget we have a Facebook Fan Page and we're even in the Twittersphere! Well, I am (follow me here). And while I can't promise that I'll be the most prolific Twitterererer out there, I can promise that I'll be a grade A twit! You might want to just follow along to see what kind of moronic things fly out of my keyboard.

Last, but not least, it's that time of year again. WTNZ is running the "Knoxville Hottest" contest again. Right now, we're in the lead, but you know how these online popularity contests go. So if you think we're the hottest (and seriously, after seeing me in a dress last year, how could you not?) then go vote for here to vote for Hope Photography or click the link below.


Check Hope Photography out on the HOT LIST!


Enough horn tooting! We never do it and I promise we won't do it again (well, at least until we have more to toot about! ;) ). Now back to our regularly scheduled programming...

Wes

Coming next: (Wednesday!) Lilly's Two Year Session!

Blog Archive

Visitors

Search Our Blog

© Hope Photography - All content on this website is copyrighted. Don't be an image thief! Contact owner for usage agreements: info@hope-photo.com