Rene and Joe

Ahh, Rene and Joe. Another classy wedding to keep the season's mojo going. They had their reception a few blocks away from Elaine and Kit, at the infamous Cavalier! Essentially, they rocked the house with a cute church, lots of great time in between on the beach and then solid dancing at The Cavalier. They are tremendously good for each other, and I'm so proud to have been a part of their day.

And I have to send this big shout out to my wife, Rebecca, who has been kicking major tail lately with her shots and editing. She is now proficient enough to edit the shots you see here, and shoot this to help diversify the day. I have to admit it, her shot of Rene and Joe's church exit is better than mine. I've trained her so well! Of course, she'd say, she's trained me so well, but I say tomato, she says tomata...kind of thing!

Oh, and you gotta love the bars! Any time a couple can do this on their wedding day, you know they're ready to party! Love the passion guys!

Elaine and Kit

Elaine and Kit really started off the hectic spring schedule well. They got married at a great spot in Virginia Beach, with cool light and a nice breeze. Most of you know that I love to celebrate our armed service personnel, and Kit is in the military. I want to thank him for his service, and for putting the pressure on me. See, he's a photojournalist too, and we were able to get some great shots of him having a blast with his very sweet partner Elaine. The two of them make an excellent couple, and they had some wild dancing at the end of the night. It's been fantastic to work with them. You can tell they know how to have a good time! And I had to throw in the shot of them passing the people at the pool. How many couple's let me do that!!!

Personal Accomplishments

WOW, what a spring. As if JPG Photography couldn't get any busier with seven weddings in seven weeks for me, and another four for Dan in that same time, we've had personal accomplishments and responsibilities to contend with.

As you all know, I work for a daily newspaper in Maryland, The Daily Times. Well, if you're wondering why I've been behind, it's because my newspaper, which is owned by Gannett, (it publishes USA Today) named me USA Today's Maryland Correspondent May 1.

On top of my regular duties, I have to help USA Today reporters with news from Maryland, and I get to write a few stories myself. I've been published twice already, with a story and a picture each time, and I'm working on my third right now. I've also been given the reigns of a political blog for the region, Shore Politics, at www.delmarvaNOW.com.

I also received five writing awards from my state's joint journalism body, including one from the Associated Press for investigative reporting. I had my first picture published in The Washington Post in late June too. It was a shot of Md. Gov. Martin O'Malley with local officials, in full color, and it ran across three or four columns. That's journalism talk for a medium-large size picture. That's a cool feeling!

Dan also earned his share of awards from the Virginia Press Association. He's covering stories with national interest, but with a local feel, and readers are loving them, along with his pictures. And he's doing all of this while living with his in-laws because he and his wife are building a new house in Suffolk, Va.

So, thank you all of your patience with the Blog. It's been an eventful three months.

Holly and Andy

The murky weather and a less-than-tidy room for the bride to get dressed in notwithstanding, Holly and Andy's wedding went off without a hitch. This was a unique wedding for me since Holly's family has known my wife since, well, forever, and it was an honor for me to have the chance to shoot it.

Here are a few teaser shots from the day. The full package of photos should be through the editing process soon. Holly and Andy's friends and family can go ahead and register at www.pictage.com (don't worry, it's free) so they can receive an e-mail notice when the pictures are up. All you have to do is go to Pictage and search for the Goodman-Bennett wedding. The rest is self explanatory.


- Dan