Posts Tagged: Wilkesboro Event photography
beautiful wedding, beautiful day, beautiful beginning ….
“The best moment of the day was when we were pronounced husband and wife as Mr. & Mrs. Nathan Williams.
This put all of the hours of preparation and prayer into perspective that we are finally one.”
Let’s back up, though. We photographed Kendall Williams – nee Shepherd – for her bridal portraits in the luscious outdoors off the Blue Ridge Parkway. As much as Nathan and Kendall love being outside, the wedding was brought to town and took place at a church in Wilkesboro, NC.
Quick aside: we love the shots above….. her leaning on him and his back so straight and then the pair of them sharing a quiet moment after the intensity of the ceremony.
We asked them for some thoughts about the day: “The butterflies and anticipation leading up to the meeting in the altar. The joy, happiness and excitement that was expressed for us. To always remember that we are loved.”
These two wrote each other letters that they exchanged before the ceremony and then read. They are ridiculously thoughtful and what you hope a bride and groom are like on their wedding day – and all the days after.
As anyone can see from her bridal portraits, Kendall is a pure and classic beauty, but brides need to prep and we loved capturing the details of her with her maids, flower girl and of the handsome groom.
Nathan and Kendall’s reception took place on the Doc and Merle Watson stage used for MerleFest. It’s an epic spot in Wilkesboro and perfect for eating, chatting, dancing and being with your biggest fans and loved ones.
Kendall’s father gave a toast that brought the house down and the day into perspective. Nervous as he was (he paced, taking the mic in and out of range… very endearing), he spoke tenderly about how they needed to have God in their marriage and the importance of love in all of its forms. It’s no wonder this couple is so special; they come from good stock.
“Our favorite moment from the reception was our first dance together … as we swayed to ‘You Had Me From Hello.’ It was as if we were the only ones there in that perfect moment of carefree peace, pure happiness and true love.”
How do you top that? It’s the quintessential wedding ideal. Everyone blurs into the background and you’re with the one you get to leave with and live with and grow with going forward.
We love events of all shapes and sizes….. weddings, engagements, Fall portraits, family pics, baby sessions and any chance to capture you doing what you love to do with those you love. Contact us at Pixels on Paper and let’s discuss your ideas and set a date.
Pixels as Official Photographers at Merlefest 2015 ~ because it’s pretty much … whoa.
Sorry. We meant WHOA.
ALL CAPS WHOA.
As in HOLY CRAP…. A DREAM COME TRUE AND WE LOVED IT.
We were chosen to be official photographers for Merlefest 2015 and it held so much more than we anticipated. We’d been to Merlefest before as music lovers and working with vendors, but this was amazing. Amazing personally and certainly professionally.
If you love The Avett Brothers as much as we do, then you’ll know why it was a blast to be taking photos on stage with them and a thrill when one of our shots made the front page.
You know how your senses can go into overload? That’s how we felt. So much to see …. so much new, established and beloved music to tune into plus we were working. So we were doing recon, figuring out the logistics of stages and the schedule, where to upload our shots, and visualizing photos to capture in short windows of time.
One of the first surreal moments happened on Thursday morning (Day 1) when we realized that we had full backstage access. While standing on the main stage behind performers warming up before the gates were opened to the public, we were further bedecked in extra badges, wrist-bands and more credentialling bling (credential-ling? … maybe not a word, but we’re going with it).
Between the two of us, we photographed 26 bands/musicians, plus took shots of the fans, the dancing masses, craftsmen and general atmosphere. And we worked 53 hours over the course of four days. On Saturday, we arrived there at 7am and didn’t see each other until after 7pm.
The turnaround time was such that our images had to be taken correctly and perfect in camera while we photographed them. There was no time for Photoshop work. 5-10 shots after each concert/band and keep moving. The pace was hectic and exhilarating.
When we weren’t uploading photos to share with the world – ours went mostly to our Instagram page with a special hashtag #pixelsonpapermerlefest – we were shooting everything else.
Check out the Honey Dewdrops and the Jason Lee McKinney Band. Both have decided to use our photos for their social media work …. yeah, yeah, yeah!
The Honeydew Drops
Colt Prince, Guitarist with Jason Lee McKinney Band
Chatham County Line shared Pixels’ images on their Instagram and Twitter pages and Front Country has been using our images on Instagram and Facebook. We are gratified and couldn’t be more proud.
Chatham County Line Band
Front Country
Finally, our crowd shot was used by many in the Twitter, Instagram and Facebook worlds, including Merlefest’s Facebook and flickr site and on HCPress.com.
Any downtime we had was with Ryan’s brother Todd in the wee hours of the morning when we could actually do a post-mortem and share photos from the day and say, “Oh, that shot!!! I wondered if I had it or not;” and “that turned out better than I thought – check it out!” We would talk and crack up. There was something about that time that was particularly important because while we were tired, we were this little tribe of 3, telling stories and trying to marshall our energy for the next day.
Don’t get us wrong, there were challenges, but there were also revelations about ourselves, our skills and our business. Challenges included the always-changing light (dark, direct-sun, shadows, spot lights), weather (rain & cold), fast action (drums, fiddle), indoor and outdoor contrasts, stage equipment (microphones, monitors, speakers are always in the way). We are agile and completely willing, but there were jumps from venue to venue, stage to stage.
Triumphs, however were equally deep.
For Ryan it was realizing that we had the right amount of everything and the right equipment to get results. We tend to be of the mind-set, if we don’t need a particular lens or piece of equipment, we don’t buy it. While many of our peers there had some very expensive equipment and more of it, we realized VERY QUICKLY that we had the goods. Literally and figuratively.
For me, it meant finding myself as 1 of 4 women in a field of 28 photographers. Unlike portrait photography, which is dominated by women, event photography is a man’s world. Yet there I was, shoulder to shoulder with the boys grabbing the shots that would be sought out by other media outlets and bands themselves. It was weird and cool and now there is no putting the genie back in the bottle for us.
We cannot wait for Merlefest 2016! C’mon y’all and join us.