CTP's rants, musings and photographs

Jenna and Tim | Engagement Photography Session

May 16th, 2012

As any of the couples who have worked with me before will tell you, I really do like to pick your brain as a couple and understand who you are. I want to know what makes you tick, how you found each other and understand what about the other person makes your heart swoon. These little insights are what is going to turn your engagement session and in a more magnified setting, your wedding, into something that special to only you. With Jenna and Tim I dug up many little nuggets of truth about who they are, some of them more valuable than others..

Such as Jenna’s complete fear of geese and how they will attack her ankles, yet that the little baby geese are cute and adorable.

Not important.

I also learned that Jenna and Tim are getting married at Disney World.

Very important.

Which leads me to my tip of advice to my fellow photographers. When you have as much street cred as I do (stop laughing, I do) and you are wandering through downtown Rockford with a couple carrying Mickey Ears, be careful that you are not spotted by your friends as to maintain your street cred. As I was explaining this to Jenna and Tim, we hear a car honk and the driver yell “Hey, Chris!” ::sighs:: And there goes my street cred… So Jenna and Tim, I hope you enjoy your photographs as my street cred took a beating getting them for you

Tags: destination wedding, disney, downtown rockford
Posted in Engagement | No Comments »

Melissa and Jesse | Rockford IL Wedding Photography

May 14th, 2012

Weddings are a time celebrate, wedding are a time to look forward with hope and joy and for Melissa, Jesse and their families, it was a time everyone looked forward too. Melissa’s family has been through its tough times over the past months and as someone who saw this take place, I was given the opportunity to offer this family and newly wed couple, the chance to put some of that behind them. Let me also tell you, I had a blast! It was a wedding that had a few things that I totally dig and also a few things to keep me on my toes. Shoot, the bride Melissa, was so laid back and relaxed that she was playing Battlefield 3 just hours before her wedding. Jesse, the groom, was a rock star in decorating his own reception venue. Throw in some remarks about, among other things, porn star chicken (I really do not have a clue on how that one came about). and we had ourselves a bona fide wedding!

So Melissa and Jesse, as you are on your way to Niagara Falls, take some time to only enjoy starting your lives out together but to also take some time to relish in the chance to start a new act in your family’s lives.

Wedding Venue: Church by the Side of the Road

Reception Venue: The Venetian Club

Hair: Nicole from Serenity Salon

Caterer: ABC Catering

Limo: Classic Limo

Tags: Church by the side of the road, venetian club, wedding
Posted in wedding | No Comments »

Sara and Kevin | Engagement Photography Session

April 24th, 2012

The very first time I got meet Sara and Kevin, I was sitting at The Bourgeois Pig Cafe off Fullerton Ave in downtown Chicago. Not by coincidence either but by my choice. I try to have at least one meeting with every couple, who I photograph their wedding, be at a location that is in their “environment”. It allows the couple to relax and be themselves when they are in a familiar situation and at ease. I can not tell you how invaluable this was to learn about who Sara and Kevin are. I leaned that Kevin rocks the basic gray t-shirt. Not just one mind you but he has amassed a collection of many different styles of gray t-shirts I learned that Sara gets to travel the world for her job and was being forced, I use that term very loosely, to go to Hawaii very soon. I also learned that they both really enjoyed the idea of a self described “modern-rustic” engagement session. After poking around on what that really meant, I found they really liked the idea of a rough around the edges urban area as a backdrop for their engagement session. Think of a building that was once grand but now has show the years of wear, yet it still shows off as being grand. Lucky for them, Rockford’s downtown does offer a very good backdrop for this. As downtown continues to make its recovery, I really hope it does not lose some of this feeling.

Sara and Kevin, I will see you later this summer at The Pavilion and enjoy your photos!

Posted in Engagement | No Comments »

Melissa and Jesse | Engagement Photography Session

April 13th, 2012

Boom!

It is not too often I start out a blog with photograph, but with Melissa and Jesse I just had to. Why? Because this photograph tells you pretty much everything you need to now about this couple. They are great people, a great couple and you will NEVER have to ask them to loosen up a bit You see I had asked Melissa and Jesse to go stand behind that lower concrete wall and I then I turned my back to gain a little distance between us. When I turned back this is how they posed themselves. So for the next couple of hours I spent exchanging one liners with both of them, I discovered Jesse will start a conversation with pretty much any random person and Melissa does a very good Ivan Drago impersonation. The whole time, I just let Melissa and Jesse be.. well, Melissa and Jesse. So those of you who know Melissa and Jesse, I hope you enjoy these photographs as much as I do and if you have yet to met Jesse and Melissa, just say “Hi” to Jesse and I am sure you will have a great conversation!

Tags: Bridge, dowmtown rockford, engagement, goose, rock river
Posted in Engagement | No Comments »

Tara and Charlie | Engagement Photography Session at Culture Shock

April 3rd, 2012

I first met Tara almost 5 years ago and during one of our first conversations, I teasingly called her out for moving from Phoenix to Rockford to be with Charlie without being engaged. Keep in mind this was even before I had the chance to create my photography business, while it was in the background and building stages, I had not photographed my first event. Well, that conversion took on a life of its own and after many years of poking fun at Tara and Charlie, I got THE text message a few months ago…

“We are engaged!!!!”

shortly after that….

“And you are one of the first ones to know!!”

So after years of teasing Tara and sowing into that account, it came time for Tara to make a withdraw from that same account…. I am now very proud to be not only their photographer for their wedding but also a friend who will be a part of their wedding

As I tell every couple who I work with, my single goal when photographing them as a couple is to tell their story. The engagement session is where I really get to lay the groundwork of that story. Without some of the constraints of a wedding day, its allows all of us little bit more freedom in telling that story. I told Tara and Charlie, whatever we do, if your friends look at your photos and giggle, we did something wrong. I want their friends to look at their photos and say “That is so you two!”. I gave Tara and Charlie that guidance and next thing I know I find myself record shopping at Culture Shock in Rockford IL. With the owner Skyler graciously opening his doors and letting us shoot in his store, I was able to capture Tara and Charlie being, well, Tara and Charlie. Insert and few random Gwar and Backdoor Men references and we had ourselves a bona fide engagement session that starts to let you into who Tara and Charlie are, enjoy!

Tags: culture shock records, gwar, vinyl
Posted in Engagement | No Comments »

Rockford Weddings, A Wedding Event Created to Inspire ~ At the Prairie Street Brewhouse

March 27th, 2012

This past weekend I was a part of the first Rockford Weddings, a wedding event created to inspire at The Prairie Street Brewhouse in Rockford IL. With only 25 vendors being selected to be part of this show at Brewhouse, it was both an honor to selected yet it also left pondering how the outcome would be with such few vendors present. After having one of the best experiences I have had at a wedding event, I walked away very impressed at the response the public gave to the show. With a much more relaxed atmosphere and plenty of room to mingle and not be herded from one booth to another, it was truly a time to let the creative thoughts flow at the endless possibilities of planning a wedding.

Rockford weddings, at the Prairie Street Brewhouse

Uplighting from Luxe Productions

Name in Lights ~ Luxe Productions, Booth Display ~ The Pavilion at Orchard Ridge Farms

Uplighting from Luxe Productions, Booth Display ~ Lauren Wave

Booth Display ~ Lauren Wave, Photobomb courtesy of ~ Ryan Davis Photography

Booth Display ~ Lauren Wave, Cupcakes ~ Sugar Jones Bakery (I ate one and it was amazing), Pinspotting light ~ Luxe Productions

Booth Display ~ Lauren Wave, Uplighting from Luxe Productions

Booth Display ~ Lauren Wave

Booth Display ~ Stems Floral Design

Vendor Display ~ Fatansy Limo

Vendor Display ~ Backyard Soiree

Vendor Display ~ Special Moments Photo Booth

Booth Display ~ Lauren Wave, Photobomb courtesy of ~ Ryan Davis Photography

Vendor Display ~ White Shutter Photography, Amazing Photography courtesy of ~ C. Tyson Photography

Posted in events | No Comments »

Canon 5D Mark III High ISO 8000 test photographs

March 22nd, 2012

Well I got my hands on a Canon 5D Mark III camera today So the first thing I did was fire out a few photographs in ISO 8000 to see what this bad boy is truly capable of. I have embedded 1024px wide photographs but in the title above each photo is a link to see the full size photo to compare.

Photograph details: 5D Mark III, Canon 135mm Lens, ISO 8000, f/2.0, 1/400

SOC jpeg ~ I captured in both jpeg and RAW, this photo is the jpeg straight from the 5D III:

Raw format ~ Converted to a DNG file and then exported as a jpeg:

Raw format ~ Converted to DNG file, applied Noise Reduction and small curves adjustment in LR4:

Posted in pros | No Comments »

The Prairie Street Brewhouse Rockford IL | Star Trails over the Brewhouse

March 10th, 2012

Weddings at the Prairie Street Bewhouse, Rockford IL

Posted in events | No Comments »

Andrea and Chris | Engagement Photography Session

February 22nd, 2012

Even after many years of photographing engagement sessions, I always struggle to find a good answer when a couple asks, “What is an engagement session?”. I usually just ramble on about how it is a chance for them to take some great photographs as a couple and to start to tell the story of them becoming one, while avoiding the “Glamour Shots” chin resting on hand posing shenanigans. I just have never been able to come up with a streamlined description process of what truly is…

Until I shot Andrea and Chris’ engagement session and it hit me. The answer to “What is an engagement session?” is just simply… You.

Now I can just see all you out there raising an eyebrow to the one word answer but work with me here for moment. If my sole focus is to tell the story of you, which it is, why would your engagement session be anything other than just who you are? Why would we involve you holding balloons while sitting on a couch in empty field? While those elements definitely can make a photograph more interesting they have no intrinsic value in telling your story. Do not get me wrong, I use the outdoors and locations as backdrop to my photographs but I try very hard and have them not be the focus elements of the photographs themselves.

This is where Andrea and Chris come into play, as I asked them what their thoughts were on an engagement session that would help tell their story. The reply I received was very simple but also very telling who they were as a couple. I was told by Andrea that a Friday night for them was making something from scratch in the kitchen and then enjoying a night of video games with each other. The cooking element was something that had already be mentioned a few times by both Andrea and Chris and it even has some tie ins to their actual wedding day. So I started to run with the idea of them in the kitchen on a Friday night, enjoying the cooking as much as they are enjoying the time they have with each other. Every couple has differences between them but they also have ties that bind them together. I truly believe that it is my job as a photographer to find the ties that bind each couple uniquely together and then capture that in way that tells the world who you are in photograph.

So without further rambling, I give you Andrea and Chris, who are cooking something up for this summer