Classic: characterized by simplicity, balance, purity of form, of lasting influence, interest, significance. (World English Dictionary)
If you’re looking for someone with an eye for detail who understands enduring style, you’ve come to the right place. I did weddings on film for years before going digital in 2002. Photography print styles have morphed several times with a lot of help from Photoshop, although I’m not sure “help” is the right word. Over-processing images dates them. A few years ago I discovered I’d fallen prey to over-doing it in Photoshop. My early digital images looked dated in my opinion, even prints from just 5 years ago. I’d never want anyone to say my photography doesn’t stand the test of time in regards to style. In 20 years, your images should not scream “2011″. Like fashion, what’s in style today will be out in less than 5 years. And if images are over-worked they will feel dated. Yes, digital is meant to go into photoshop for processing and every once in a while it’s fine to heavily process an image or two. But there’s a huge difference between processing and OVER-processing. Just because you can doesn’t mean you should. One thing is certain, I’ve been doing digital long enough to come full circle. When I shoot digital, I process the files so they have the feel of film. Because when I look at the weddings I did 14+ years ago with film, they’re still fresh. Classics always endure. Lesson learned.
For whatever your photographic needs: wedding, senior, or family portraits, look under CATEGORIES for samples of my work.
For wedding LOCATIONS and GALLERIES look under the slide-out menu to your left.
For my personal work: Favs-2009, Favs-2010, BLOG, Facebook, or Pinterest.
For a specific wedding, event, or portrait session, use the search feature here or on Pictage.
So, a little about me…I’ve been photographing weddings since 1998. Looking back, I think my path to photography started when I was a young child. I was raised in a home that subscribed to National Geographic magazines so I was saturated with good photography. And I’d traveled all over the world with my parents. When I was 16 I was in the gardens of Versailles in France, and I recall having an overwhelming thought that I was going to be a photographer. Yet life is complex, the path had many turns. But the harder path is usually the right path. The future arrived and here I am doing what I always knew I would.
The first professional camera I ever owned was given to me by my dad. A Nikon F2a. I cut my photographic teeth on one of the finest 35mm film cameras ever made, and it still takes gorgeous pictures. I’ve dragged that rig all over the world, to college (a world of it’s own) yet I think the most memorable trip I ever took with it was when I went to Israel and Egypt about 20 years ago. That camera is part of the inner landscape of who I am.
My love for photography grew out of my love for the past, my own memories are preserved by the photographs I possess. The feelings evoked from just one image can be very powerful. I think that’s why we all love looking at them. They take us back and grant us time to feel that moment again. I deal with things that are gone in a heartbeat, but photography allows me to speak in a language that is evergreen. Babies grow, the wedding day comes to a close, the photos last forever.
Ansel Adams said:
“We don’t make a photograph just with a camera; we bring to the act of photography all the books we have read, the movies we have seen, the music we have heard, the people we have loved.” (Ansel Adams)
To that I will add, and the depths to which I feel joy, sorrow, peace, loss, and love. The longer I live and see the world in all its tainted glory, the more I love life, the raggedness of it, the rough edges. They give texture to my hopes and longings.
Remember that someday, 100 years from now someone in your family will have your photographs. They’ll turn them over in their hands, understanding as I do, that they’re holding priceless pieces of paper with the faces of their loved ones caught within the corners. My husband took that photograph of me on a beautiful cloudy autumn day. We were sitting in our living room talking with my best friend. Light poured through the windows and he caught a small moment as I looked outside during a pause in the conversation.
I find that quite often it’s the ordinary things that mean the most, and when captured they can take on extraordinary meaning. And that’s the point and purpose of photography, the images should gain importance over time, eventually becoming priceless, classic.
It’s time to tell your story…
Tammy
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