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Morgan & Krystle | Wedding

I recently was able to help out a good friend, Joe Sadlo, as a second shooter at a wedding he was shooting in Beaufort, NC. I have got to say, weddings are infinitely  easier to shoot with two shooters. To anyone out there getting married, pay a little extra to get an extra shooter at your wedding. The results will be so much better with your photographer not having to worry about missing something. Plus, the multiple angles and ideas they come up with together are invaluable!

Anyway, back to the photos. The wedding and reception were held at a favorite spot of mine on the Beaufort waterfront - Queen Anne’s Revenge. The restaurant made a great backdrop for the evening and you can’t beat a wedding and reception right on the water! 

Here are a few of my favorite frames from the night:

Crossing the Neuse | Bridgeton, North Carolina Purchase prints here. Each and every photographer has a list of shots that the dream of. This ‘Photographer’s Bucket List’ is something that helps keep us going, striving for that shot that we have planned in our head time and time again. Most, if not all, of these dream photos can only happen by being incredibly patient or just being in the right place at the right time. If they could be planned, then they wouldn’t be so special, would they? I have two sets of Bucket List Shots. The first one contains shots of and at places that will probably not be places that I spend much time at in my life. Fog on the green mountains of New Zealand, the blue interior of a glacial cavern or a foggy sunrise at the Golden Gate Bridge…places I fully plan on shooting eventually, but not places where I anticipate I will frequent. Set two are local shots. It’s a shorter list, but easier to achieve. All I have to do is be in the spot when conditions are right. The above image was on that list. For those of you not familiar with the New Bern, NC area, at its mouth, the Neuse River is the widest river in the United States. Just a few miles upstream, in New Bern, it is still plenty wide. There is a very long span of railroad bridge that passes just a few feet above the water’s surface. I have long wanted to shoot a train passing over, just after sunset, so that I could capture the clouds and color of the sky, the light on the engine and the reflections of it all on the calm water. I have been to this spot numerous times in hopes of achieving my shot. I have seen trains pass, I have seen the sun set. But never at the same time. On this particular night, I set out to shoot some pretty astounding storm clouds that were passing just west of New Bern. I figured my best bet was to shoot them from the other side of the river, and capture the sun setting over downtown. Soon after the sun set, I was packing my gear up when I saw the light of a train slowy moving across the far corner of New Bern. When I saw it make its turn toward the river, I hopped in my Jeep and sped to this little spot along the tracks for my shot. The train was coming toward me so slowly. It just seemed to be creeping along. But, as it reached the point on the tracks where I wanted to start shooting, it seemed to just blow right by. I was able to get two shots, this one and one of it closer with a lot of motion (which I like more). In the end, sometimes the best way to plan one of your bucket list shots is to not plan at all—just hope for some good luck and timing! The shot: Nikon D90, 18-105mm Nikkor VR lens @18mm. 3 exposures, bracketed. Tonemapped in Photomatix and then masked together with original frames in Photoshop. The water is from the middle exposure, the sky from the darkest exposure (lightened with the middle exposure) and the bridge was from the tonemapped file. Finished with a touch of contrast and glamour glow using Nik Color Efex Pro.
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Crossing the Neuse | Bridgeton, North Carolina

Purchase prints here.

Each and every photographer has a list of shots that the dream of. This ‘Photographer’s Bucket List’ is something that helps keep us going, striving for that shot that we have planned in our head time and time again. Most, if not all, of these dream photos can only happen by being incredibly patient or just being in the right place at the right time. If they could be planned, then they wouldn’t be so special, would they?

I have two sets of Bucket List Shots. The first one contains shots of and at places that will probably not be places that I spend much time at in my life. Fog on the green mountains of New Zealand, the blue interior of a glacial cavern or a foggy sunrise at the Golden Gate Bridge…places I fully plan on shooting eventually, but not places where I anticipate I will frequent. Set two are local shots. It’s a shorter list, but easier to achieve. All I have to do is be in the spot when conditions are right.

The above image was on that list. For those of you not familiar with the New Bern, NC area, at its mouth, the Neuse River is the widest river in the United States. Just a few miles upstream, in New Bern, it is still plenty wide. There is a very long span of railroad bridge that passes just a few feet above the water’s surface. I have long wanted to shoot a train passing over, just after sunset, so that I could capture the clouds and color of the sky, the light on the engine and the reflections of it all on the calm water.

I have been to this spot numerous times in hopes of achieving my shot. I have seen trains pass, I have seen the sun set. But never at the same time. On this particular night, I set out to shoot some pretty astounding storm clouds that were passing just west of New Bern. I figured my best bet was to shoot them from the other side of the river, and capture the sun setting over downtown. Soon after the sun set, I was packing my gear up when I saw the light of a train slowy moving across the far corner of New Bern. When I saw it make its turn toward the river, I hopped in my Jeep and sped to this little spot along the tracks for my shot.

The train was coming toward me so slowly. It just seemed to be creeping along. But, as it reached the point on the tracks where I wanted to start shooting, it seemed to just blow right by. I was able to get two shots, this one and one of it closer with a lot of motion (which I like more).

In the end, sometimes the best way to plan one of your bucket list shots is to not plan at all—just hope for some good luck and timing!

The shot: Nikon D90, 18-105mm Nikkor VR lens @18mm. 3 exposures, bracketed. Tonemapped in Photomatix and then masked together with original frames in Photoshop. The water is from the middle exposure, the sky from the darkest exposure (lightened with the middle exposure) and the bridge was from the tonemapped file. Finished with a touch of contrast and glamour glow using Nik Color Efex Pro.

Spring is Springing | New Bern, North Carolina One fun thing about really concentrating on shooting sunsets over the past year is being able to watch the seasons change as well as the sun’s path in the sky. A spot I like to get out to at least once a week is the boardwalk area behind the NC History Center in New Bern. It has been great watching the plant life go through its stages of growth, death and rebirth over the past year. Along with it, the arrival and departure of different birds is something to be noted as well. This week, I have noticed that some color is returning to the marshes. Leaves are starting to show on the trees and lily pads are staring to appear in the water.  Anatomy of a Pastel Sunset- This sunset, shot on February 29, was taken during one of my favorite conditions. Pastel sunsets are great, and I’ve found them to occur when there are low clouds on the horizon and high clouds throughout the sky. The low clouds seem to push the sun’s rays upward, while the high clouds diffuse the light and cast it over everything. With the blue sky showing through, everything takes a nice pastel hue. The shot: Nikon D90, 8mm Rokinon lens. f/22, 1/10 second, ISO-200. Two exposures, manually blended. Buy a Print
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Spring is Springing | New Bern, North Carolina


One fun thing about really concentrating on shooting sunsets over the past year is being able to watch the seasons change as well as the sun’s path in the sky. A spot I like to get out to at least once a week is the boardwalk area behind the NC History Center in New Bern. It has been great watching the plant life go through its stages of growth, death and rebirth over the past year. Along with it, the arrival and departure of different birds is something to be noted as well. This week, I have noticed that some color is returning to the marshes. Leaves are starting to show on the trees and lily pads are staring to appear in the water. 

Anatomy of a Pastel Sunset- This sunset, shot on February 29, was taken during one of my favorite conditions. Pastel sunsets are great, and I’ve found them to occur when there are low clouds on the horizon and high clouds throughout the sky. The low clouds seem to push the sun’s rays upward, while the high clouds diffuse the light and cast it over everything. With the blue sky showing through, everything takes a nice pastel hue.

The shot: Nikon D90, 8mm Rokinon lens. f/22, 1/10 second, ISO-200. Two exposures, manually blended.


Buy a Print

Reflections of a Forgotten Time | New Bern, NC There is a section of the Neuse River in New Bern that is littered with what is left of wharves, piers and pylons from industry and commerce along the river banks in the past. Standing behind them is a train drawbridge spanning the river and connecting to Bridgeton.  I’ve visited this spot several times to scout it for shooting, but each and every time I have been there some shady people show up and creep me out. This isn’t in the greatest part of town and to make matters worse, is located in a little corner between vacant homes, piles of junk and abandoned warehouses. I have more plans for shooting here, but they may require some shooting buddies…just in case :-) ‘Strength in numbers,’ as they say. The shot: Nikon D90, Nikkor 18-105 lens @40mm. f-200, iso-200, f/20. 3 exposures, tonemapped with Photomatix and finished in Photoshop using Nik Software.
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Reflections of a Forgotten Time | New Bern, NC

There is a section of the Neuse River in New Bern that is littered with what is left of wharves, piers and pylons from industry and commerce along the river banks in the past. Standing behind them is a train drawbridge spanning the river and connecting to Bridgeton. 

I’ve visited this spot several times to scout it for shooting, but each and every time I have been there some shady people show up and creep me out. This isn’t in the greatest part of town and to make matters worse, is located in a little corner between vacant homes, piles of junk and abandoned warehouses. I have more plans for shooting here, but they may require some shooting buddies…just in case :-) ‘Strength in numbers,’ as they say.

The shot: Nikon D90, Nikkor 18-105 lens @40mm. f-200, iso-200, f/20. 3 exposures, tonemapped with Photomatix and finished in Photoshop using Nik Software.

Marina Sunset | New Bern, NC All through February, I think we’ve been experiencing the best sunsets of the year here in Eastern NC. This particular night was no exception. The atmospheric conditions made for a bright orange glow to be cast across the sky as the sun dropped to the horizon behind the boats of the New Bern Grande Marina. There were just enough clouds in the sky to catch the reflection of the sun on their undersides and make a beautiful scene. The shot: Nikon D90, Nikkor 18-105 VR lens. f/22, 1/2 second exposure, ISO-200.
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Marina Sunset | New Bern, NC

All through February, I think we’ve been experiencing the best sunsets of the year here in Eastern NC. This particular night was no exception. The atmospheric conditions made for a bright orange glow to be cast across the sky as the sun dropped to the horizon behind the boats of the New Bern Grande Marina. There were just enough clouds in the sky to catch the reflection of the sun on their undersides and make a beautiful scene.

The shot: Nikon D90, Nikkor 18-105 VR lens. f/22, 1/2 second exposure, ISO-200.