Been shooting climbing in The Grampians the last few days — it’s definitely one of the coolest places I’ve ever been to. Here are a few favorites. Stay tuned for a massive update to my rock climbing and adventure sports site, http://www.nathanweltonphoto.com.
The latest WPJA contest results were just announced the other day, and I found that this image placed in the Trash the Dress portrait category. I had a lot of fun with the shots from this series — I took them last year in the Mexican Riviera Maya in Tulum, at Todd and Malissa’s wedding. We actually go to go into a cenote and shoot in a huge underground river. Wow! I brought along my underwater housing and snorkeled around shooting these two. Totally fun.
As promised, I’m going to introduce some new faces behind the scenes. We’ll start with Chris, one of our Associate Photographers. I met Chris about 6 years ago in California. He’s an avid outdoor nut and also one of the funniest people I know — and both these qualities wind up in his photographs. When he’s not shooting weddings, he’s working as a mountain guide and taking pictures of climbing and outdoor sports. He spent January guiding Aconcagua, an Argentinian peak that rises up to almost 23,000 feet, and then toured south shooting the mountains of Patagonia. Check out his portfolio by visiting Dreamtime Images, clicking on the ABOUT tab, and scrolling down to his link.
What follows is a brief introductory bio and some of his favorite shots.
First, his self portrait. A few months ago in New Zealand I checked my email and found this ridiculous photo in my inbox. The big winter surf swells were just hitting California, and Chris wasn’t there to partake. I guess he got a little jealous, so he swept a few feet of snow off a rickety hand rail 15 feet off the deck and had at it. I couldn’t stop laughing.
Chris writes:
Stepping into photography as a full-time professional has been a process that started when I was 14. Black and white photography classes in school opened my eyes to a world of technique, timing and creativity. I remember watching chemical mysteries unfold in tubs of smelly fluids. Some pictures I eagerly waited for, watching for the first signs of shadow and highlights. But every so often I would watch an amazing image unfold that I didn’t recognize, a picture that I hardly remembered taking. The joy of taking pictures didn’t end when the camera went back into the bag.
A camera was within reach during all of my life-changing adventures. The first time I went rock climbing. A year studying music in Kathmandu. A sojourn in Sweden studying international human rights law. Travels in Africa, the Mediterranean and Scandanavia were all documented. Whether I am hanging from the side of a cliff waiting for a climber to lean a little to the left, setting up a tripod moments before a sunset turns orange, or holding my breath in anticipation of a bride and groom’s first kiss, the excitement of capturing life’s moments is nothing short of an adventure.
As I’ve said many times before, Jeremy and Johanna’s wedding (above) was a highlight of my summer. From campfires with marshmallows to side-cramping laughter fests, these two threw a party that reminded me of what it means to find your soul-mate. Jeremy’s smile is that of someone truly in love. What could be better than that?
This picture reminds me that some photographs can move. Sarah and Mark had a wedding in a category of its own. The reception started with an improv show and ended with some of the most hilarious dancing I’ve seen. And right before it all began, I caught the two of them realizing that their lives had just changed in a big, wonderful way.
The thing about weddings is that there’s just crazy love flying around everywhere. When Lizzy and her Dad had their moment on the dance floor, it was clear that they share a father-daughter bond unlike any other.
I never planned on taking this picture. I got together with Megan and Peter to do an engagement shoot, and we laughed more in those few hours than I ever expected. Peter got an idea, Megan refined it and I shot it. I still crack up every time I look at this picture. These two are awesome!
I want to make a mega-huge-monster-sized print of this and hang it on the wall. When I’m not taking pictures of weddings, I go ice climbing. Not only do I love the cool colors and tree textures in this, it also happens to be a picture of the best ice climber in the world.
This picture was taken right before I was attacked by an angry elk. Must have been something I said. Sometimes you have to remember that no matter what happens… keep taking pictures!
On Christmas Day I offered to document a holiday meal for the homeless at the Rock Bottom Foundation. Admittedly, I wasn’t sure who would want their picture taken and who would not. As it turned out, most people didn’t mind. In fact, one man in particular wanted his photo taken as much as possible. He introduced himself as “Disco Willie” and told me that he was going to do a headstand. I’d just arrived, and I wasn’t expecting to have people doing gymnastics — but the next thing I know, I’m looking at an upside down Disco Willie, arms outstretched, no hat. A definite favorite.
G’day! I’m writing this from an apartment overlooking the ocean in Sydney — in fact, I have a straight view to the Sydney Opera House thanks to the generosity of our couchsurfing.com host, Alex. I’ve never couch surfed before, and I’m floored by how nice people are!
We’ve been traveling in New Zealand for the last 10 weeks and have 7 weeks of adventures ahead throughout Australia. I’m busily adding images to my stock photo collection of travel and adventure sports, which is all housed at my other site. Alex introduced us to Sydney on Australia Day, where we saw an amazing fireworks show with a few hundred thousand other folks in the heart of the city. I’m not much of a big city person, but I think Sydney is really cool — maybe even up there with Paris.
At any rate, I figured I needed to update this blog with some new photos from the adventure so far, so here are just a few random shots. These are everywhere from Yosemite National Park to New Zealand. You’ll notice in the first picture there’s actually a climber on the left side of the frame at the same height as the top of the wave. Yikes!
Hope everyone’s having a good 2010 so far. If you’re interested in getting some info about 2010 weddings, shoot me an email! I have a connection every few days, and have even been able to schedule Skype meetings with folks.
Happy Holidays everyone!
I’m writing this note from the West Coast of New Zealand, where I’m traveling at the moment in pursuit of beautiful light, great imagery, and an endless summer. It’s been a fun trip so far, and I’m excited to see what’ll happen next. Before I start the busy 2010 wedding season, I’m headed to Australia, Tasmania and Tonga, three places I’ve never been but have always dreamed of visiting.
2009 has been a wild, wild ride. It’s taken me across continents and oceans, and I’ve photographed almost everything imaginable: climbing in France; coral reefs off the coast of Venezuela; landscapes in New Zealand; and weddings in the Virgin Islands, the Bahamas, California wine country, and as far away as Norway. Back in September I added up the days my car had sat at the Denver International Airport parking lot, and was startled to discover the total: nearly 18 weeks. That means I was shooting out of state for about half of the first 9 months of the year. In October I shot weddings in Colorado and California, and climbing in both Zion National Park and Yosemite, and in November I flew to New Zealand. Despite being on the road, I’ve kept busy with new bookings and album designs — and as a cool side note, JenLos’ book, from their Virgin Islands wedding, was picked by Kambara USA as a sample album that the company will bring to trade shows around the country.
It’s been humbling to win awards from the WPJA, it’s been fun to see my shots for Sigma Photo show up in magazine advertisements around the world, and it’s been exciting to grow my studio with the addition of associate photographers (in two different states) and a production manager. Expect to see profiles of Bernd and Chris in upcoming blog posts — we are currently booking them weddings in both California and Colorado, and they do an absolutely rocking job. Both of them have seen it all: Bernd shot a wedding in Vail this year with a reception so bumping that the smoke alarms went off and the Fire Department came, while Chris just recently shot an elopement in Rocky Mountain National Park in the middle of a whiteout. Party on! You’ll love these guys.
I’ve had more fun behind the lens in 2009 than in any other year of my life. It’s been awesome to see the resurgence of break dancing, and I’ve been downright impressed with the all-star partying I’ve encountered at this year’s receptions. Resisting the urge to boogie has been a challenge, especially after watching people bust out award-winning worms, aerial stalls, head spins, and every other dance move invented in the last 40 years. I have realized that I need to learn to break dance. Can someone teach me? It’s also been cool to reconnect with past clients, learn about their lives, and even see their new babies. I love this job.
I’ll try to get a best-of-2009 post up soon, and maybe I’ll put up a few shots of my winter adventure so far. Meanwhile, here’s a shot of me jumping for joy somewhere in countryside in New Zealand, courtesy of Rannveig Aamodt.
Last but not least, please excuse me if I don’t respond to emails immediately. There’s a day or two lag time here, as cell reception is spotty.
High five!
The Wedding Photojournalist Association’s 2nd quarter contest results are now out, and this fun shot just placed in the Kids Being Kids category. Hillarious kid!
Wow, I don’t even know where to begin. I first met Mia and Jeremy last year and knew immediately that their wedding was going to be off the hook. For the wedding weekend I brought along two great photographers to shoot with me, Brett Butterstein and my associate photographer Chris. Jeremia tied the knot in Beaver Creek with a smaller rehearsal dinner at Beano’s Cabin and a huge night before party (with a mechanical bull) at the nearby Lazy J Ranch. The wedding was a jaw-dropper — Anuschka at Bloom did a fantastic job with a flower wall and flower huppah in the tent — and the ensuing reception was simply epic. The party knob was turned way past full blast until 3 am, and the flames were stoked by an 80s band called the Spazmatics. People were dancing on the stage all night — or on the chairs, tables, or on top of everyone else. It was the most amazing party I’ve ever been to. I’ve always wondered what if I could organize some sort of all-star wedding and put all the most amped partiers I’ve photographed in a room together and blast the tunes for hours… and then I realized that Jeremia basically did just that. I actually couldn’t sleep that night because I was so adrenalized and at the same time so exhausted. Anyway, CONGRATULATIONS YOU TWO!!! YOU ROCK! A big shout out to Michael and his LA-based planning team at Along Came Mary, the NY singers in Groundstone, the Jerry Barnett Orchestra, David at Design Works, Mia’s sisters Megan and Melissa at Planit Events, and the rest of the absolutely fabulous vendors that made the wedding oh-so-awesome. Here are a few favorites, along with a slideshow containing a mixture of shots from myself, Brett and Chris.
Here’s a great shot by Brett of Mia getting her hair done.
And an awesome shot by Chris of the first dance
And another great shot by Brett:
Dana decided that she wanted her wedding weekend to be something of a commune, so she designed what was one of the coolest weddings ever in the British Virgin Islands. Her, Adam and their friends converged on Villa Aquamare in the British Virgin Islands for a few days of pool parties, yachting and hanging out. I arrived the first night after traveling by plane, boat, bus and car to get there. It was a super fun adventure. The crowd was a ton of fun, and I had a blast shooting the festivities. I brought along an underwater housing for my camera, and spent half the time in the pool with everyone. A definite highlight was a trip to The Baths, an incredible jumble of boulders the size of houses, all scattered on the beach. The surf comes in between the boulders and forms a series of caves, pools and passageways. Great place. Anyway, congrats to Adam and Dana! You guys rock. I’ll never forget your rad hip-hop pool parties, your great senses of humor your absolutely beautiful wedding ceremony. Here are some favorite shots as well as a slideshow.
Just an update from that last Sigma post a few days ago. Today I got the latest issue of Rangefinder Magazine, which is basically the magazine for portrait and wedding photography. I was flipping through the pages and… hey… there’s one of my photos in the latest ad. This one’s kinda cool because I can read the ad copy. Sigma is using these ads in camera magazines worldwide for the next three years, and while I now which photos will run, I don’t know when they’ll run or where they’ll run. So it’s like finding an easter egg when one shows up.
Back in February I took a dive vacation to the tiny island of Bonaire to focus on my exploding interest in underwater photography. I was down there for two weeks and did about 30 dives. It was the longest time I’ve spent diving continuously since my travel-the-world days right out of college — back then I was on an extended year-long adventure. Mostly I was rock climbing, but I supported myself by working here and there as a dive instructor in Thailand and the British Virgin Islands.
At any rate, I had a blast getting back under the sea. I came home from the trip and sold a story about my trip to Reach Magazine. I wrote and illustrated it, and It made the cover. I have another story in Reach in the next few months about how to take good photos. That’ll be fun to see in print too.
