July 15, 2008
Beach weddings are challenging and despite the heat, the bright sun & lack of shade they are also a lot fun to shoot. Diana & Svetlan were married on the beach by the Lighthouse in Cape May, NJ last Saturday.
The wedding was small in terms of the number of guests however neither emotion nor great images were in short supply.
A short slideshow of images can be viewed here. http://georgeweirphotography.com/shows/Diana_Svetlan/
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June 21, 2008
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June 13, 2008
There are still a few places available for the next PJ Assembly workshop/seminar, in Bayonne, NJ (15 minutes from the Holland Tunnel and 5 minutes from Staten Island!).The Assembly is on Tuesday June 24th from 9:00AM - 5:00PM.
Lunch is included in the introductory $146.00 fee
Not included are rampant plugs for “White-Balance” kits, Action Sets, DVD’s or other junk that you’ll never use.
That’s a Promise!
What is included?
A “No-holds barred” illustrated discussion of how George Weir finds, sees and captures his images.
His influences
Lessons learned
Developing a style
Discipline
Becoming a Real Professional
People Skills
Mastering the Medium
Equipment
Attitude
Working with Clients
Shooting on the day
Staying on Top
Editing
Album design and production
Questions and Answers all day long!
http://www.pjassembly.com/
The voucher, PJA-BAY should be entered in the payment screen, just above credit card information, click “Apply” and the $146.00 price will be applied.
“You are the consummate professional. You definitely work hard to capture interesting images. I truly enjoyed see the sequences and how to dig hard to find the shots.“
Decatur, Georgia PJ Assembly attendee.
“if given the chance to learn from a true artist for $450 or learn from a couple of famous photographers for $200 which do I choose? Well, I choose both. What would I do again, given the chance. At this point I would spend it with you, because I was able to hear your heart, spend face to face time with you, sit where you sit, eat what you eat. Is this value? YES!”
Lancaster, PA PJ Assembly attendee
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May 16, 2008
Last week’s wedding; Stukjes (Dutch tradition-skits etc.) in barn on Friday evening and then the wedding in the Old Zion Church in Brickerville, PA.
I’ll post some images of this one soon, in the meantime the sideshow is here. http://georgeweirphotography.com/shows/kim_joh/
Simple stuff, three lenses, 24, 35 and 85, full frame bodies & spotmeter.
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May 14, 2008
Those of you who know me know that I am not a camera junkie or one to rant on about the equipment I use.
Well I now have a new camera and it is indeed a thing of great beauty. I was not planning to purchase any new cameras for a while and I didn’t, this one was a gift from my parents-in-law on their recent visit from Scotland. They tell me it’s absolutely, positively the last one they have lying around the house.
The camera is one of the Lizars Challenge series, they made several models, circa 1890’s through the early part of the twentieth century.
I haven’t had time yet to investigate or research more however I will, when some spare time unexpectedly appears. In the meantime enjoy the photographs and look at that gorgeous red leather.
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May 6, 2008
Last week I went to Decatur, GA and gave my second PJ Assembly which was hosted by Zack Arias in his studio.
If you’ve read more than a few pages of my blog you’ll maybe have noticed the lack of links, plugs, and general name dropping, however rules, even self imposed ones are made to be broken. So with no further ado;
If you are a photographer who needs some help with lighting head on over to his site and find a seminar near you, you won’t regret it.
Anyway for the PJ Assembly Photographers came from the Atlanta area as well as a wee bit further, i.e. Texas and Alaska!
The experience of the attendees ranged from Photography interns to very, very experienced.
The interaction between the attendees and myself was very good and I was only asked once “what’s your favorite f-stop?” that’s an inside photographer joke somewhat akin to asking if you prefer Nikon or Canon cameras.
There were lots of great questions, none of which threw me nor was the flow interrupted as this is how it was planned.
The immediate response was very positive and the anonymous surveymonkey questionnaires were just sent out and are coming in now and indicating that every participant found the seminar of value and would recommend it to other photographers.
Future dates have now been added to the calendar which can be found by chasing the PJ Assembly links above.
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April 3, 2008
“Are photographers are born with an “eye?” over all the years I have been asked this question in its various forms, always make me wonder. I used to, emphatically or maybe somewhat arrogantly, believe that one was born with an “eye” or one simply was not.
My eldest brother Andrew was the one who exposed me to photography, driving me, in my pre-teen years, around the West Coast of Scotland and handing me the proverbial “brownie” camera. Thing was he didn’t just hand me the camera, he patiently explained composition, foreground, background, focal points and the importance of “seeing” the image before pressing the button.
Once I could be trusted with a “real” camera he would entrust to me one of his “Nikkormat” cameras with one lens. This is where the real lessons began. When he left, for two or three months at a time, he would say things like “This is a telephoto or a wide-angle lens, now go figure out what it is good for, not good for and how to make the best of it when it is all that you have”.
What a lesson that was and one that I still practice, and teach, today. While it may be considered sheer folly to attempt a professional assignment with only one lens it is tremendously important that one knows before the camera is held to the eye what the desired image is and which lens, from which perspective will produce it.
Andrew “shooting the sun”
& one of his recent shots, (Loch Nevis from Ardvasar, Skye) below
One of mine approaching Ardnamurchan Point on the West Coast of Scotland.
I recently had the absolute pleasure of editing a wedding shot by my eldest son, Tom; it was interesting to see how he shot, sometimes the “keeper” image was the result of several as he maneuvered or changed camera, he had two with him with two lenses only-both fixed focal lengths, or position, other times it was a “one-off”, i.e. it was the only one he shot of a particular scene. I have to say that he reacted to and anticipated light, movement and scenes in a way that made me wonder how did he know to shoot in that way or where did he learn to see like that?
Well the answer in Tom’s case anyway, if there is an answer at all, is that he has been exposed (if you’ll pardon the pun) to photography all his life. He’s helped me by assisting at weddings, he’s watched as I edit, listened as I’ve critiques images, mine and others but most importantly he’s gone out to find images on his own influenced not only by me but by many other sources.
The answer in many cases is that just as one can always lead a horse to water you can always put a camera in someone’s hands it doesn’t mean that they have an “eye” no matter how much practice they have. Incidentally, nor should you ever hang around if someone hands me a guitar.
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March 26, 2008
“Can I come shoot with or assist you at a wedding?”"Can I come watch or carry your bags at a wedding?”
“How do you…?”
Well I’ve always been a little ambiguous about how to respond to such inquiries for whilst they are certainly flattering I’m aware that acceding to such requests may be somewhat of a distraction to me or a dilution of my concentration.
That’s why I designed “PJ Assemby“.
What is PJ Assembly? Well first off let me tell you what it’s not;
It’s not a gear orientated seminar, neither is it a workshop with guys & gals simulating getting married in old disused churches. In fact there’s no shooting at all. Nor is it a “dog & pony show” with equipment hype or “seminar specials” on sale today only.
PJ Assembly is an in-depth discussion of all the thinking and experience that goes into planning, shooting and delivering great photo-journalistic images, anywhere, anytime without being bogged down with a plethora of gear, or having to resort to fads of either production or presentation.
The topics will be be of a level that will ensure that both the experienced wedding photographer as well as the one with less weddings under his or her belt will be satisfied.
If you’d like to add your city or town to the list of PJ Assembly locations there is a link on the PJ Assembly site to forward such requests.
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March 17, 2008
Yesterday as I watched the “Irish Eyes Smiling” at the St. Patrick’s Day Parade in Bayonne, NJ I came to thinking of my grandmother and I too had to smile just a little as I recalled my favorite story about her “Irish Eyes”.
My grandfather’s skill with the horses, he drove the mail coach from Fort William to Mallaig, (about an eighty mile round trip) took him to Ireland where he met my grandmother. A few years later he “sent” for her and she arrived in Arisaig. They married and his business prospered so much so that towards the end of the “Great War” they were able to purchase their home overlooking Loch Linnihe from a cousin of David Livingstone. The house was a treasure trove of African artifacts much of which I grew up surrounded by.
A few years after my grandparents moved into the house it was time to redecorate the study. When the linoleum was lifted from the floor it was discovered that the backing was not newspaper as was the custom, rather it was linen. This was not altogether uncommon however what was certainly uncommon was for the linen backing to have a huge map of “Darkest Africa” drawn upon it by none other than David Livingstone.
Well my grandmother looked at the linen, she examined it closely and declared it to be of great quality. She recognized the style, there are those within the family who might insist that she not only knew which village it had come from but the family name of the linen maker. The outcome of all this was that linen of such quality was just too precious and valuable to be wasted on ink and drawings and so into the pot it went and all the ink was boiled out of it. Grandmother had a new Sunday Best tablecloth and 18 napkins.
Just as linen makers have recognizable style photographers too strive to attain a style and a quality which is recognizable we just don’t care care for our efforts to end up in the boiling pot! That being said I hope you enjoy at least a few of these images.
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March 12, 2008
It was a dark and stormy night; No it wasn’t, it was a sunny afternoon in Northern Jersey early last year. A group of photographers gathered for lunch and while not exactly out of the darkness a new alliance came into being.
From this the Group of 10 photographers was formed. I am more than a little pleased to be a part of this group whose main purpose is to be a resource for brides and grooms, the “choc-full-of-information-group-blog” is on its way, and also to provide support for each other, not only things like “oh shoot my lens just gave up the ghost-I need another now” kind of deal but I also have to say that in times like these
it is more than a little comforting to have each of these pretty dashed good photographers’ cell numbers in mine and my wife’s cell phones in case …
well you get the idea
and yes I made it to the wedding in time though the Volvo was out of commission for several weeks.
Each member of the group is a full-time photographer, (no weekend warriors here) I’ve shot with almost all of them, I like & respect each of them and their work, you do, of course, realize that I am a master of the understatement 
Members of the group are: Zlatko, Berit, Monika, Steve, Scott, Josh, David, Neil, and myself, yes we know that’s only nine - give us a little time and we’ll find#10 or maybe not
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