Jessica and Jonathan Married : Sneak Peek : Bill Dempsey Elkins WV Wedding Photography

WOW! What a wedding. A simple blog post isn’t going to do it much justice, but I’m going to give it a try.

The day started off bad. Not in the sense that the groom didn’t show, or the bride ran, but in the sense of weather. We knew we wanted to do some shots out by the farm. I’ve been waiting for this wedding all summer. It didn’t look good. They sky was dark, there was some thunder and finally a rain / wind storm. Ugh. Not good.

No worries I thought. This church is beautiful. Wood slat ceilings. Yes Bill, we’re going to get some great pictures in here!

The wedding started and and soon the last thing on my mind was the rain. I went outside to grab some pictures at the receiving line and noticed – SUNSHINE! Oh, it’s on now!

As we pulled into the farm I couldn’t help think how great these were going to turn out.  When they say: West Virginia, Almost Heaven – they are talking about this farm.

Melanie and I went back and forth with poses.  We got some great shots.  I wasn’t thrilled about shooting in full sun, but we pulled it off.  The tractor rocked!

We kind of wanted the Norman Rockwell look for the shot below.  Got the lighting just right. DRILLED!


Another great shot with the tractor.
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The wedding party: All smiles.  I loved this group.
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Trista and Family.  I really wanted to shoot their wedding last year but we were soooo booked it wasn’t possible.  If I could turn back time, I would have called in sick to our other wedding and shot hers:)
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Jessica and Jonathan were so fun.  We worked in a lot of our ideas with some of theirs. I love her smile… and we got a grin out of him:)
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I couldn’t get enough of the texture of the barn.  It made for the perfect back drop.
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I have another one of the one below where she is looking up at him and he is looking down at her.  It’s a great shot – I didn’t want to post it here. I figured it would be a good surprise for them when they get their DVDs.
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From time to time some of my friends will email me and talk about how tired they are of doing country weddings.  Not me.  I’m in Elkins, which is by no means a metropolis , but at they same time – we don’t have a lot of farm land.  It’s rare I get to do pictures on a farm – which is sad, because that is my favorite setting.  It’s where we got our start.  Quick trivia question: Our first official wedding was done on a farm in what town?: _________.

Everyone really seems to love the tractor shot.  I’ve received a lot of comments on it… but so far my favorite shot is the one below.  I love the field.


A dreamy wedding deserves a dreamy shot.  I’m so happy for these two!
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Best of luck gang! Melanie and I enjoyed working with you, your family and friends.  I have a lot of great shots from the ceremony and reception, but chose to showcase the farm photos because Jessica seemed most excited about those.

So there you have it.  Right now we are gearing up for our next wedding which should be just as great. Until them, I’m booked full of HS Seniors.

If you need to book us, get ahold of me.  We are filling up fast for next year.  Added Bonus:  We haven’t established 2011 prices yet… Which are most likely going to increase 20-30%.

Andrea – 2011 : Elkins WV Senior Photographer

We had a great time photographing Andrea’s senior pictures last night. Since we’re thinking about letting Melanie handle the Seniors and me do the weddings, I brought Melanie along. Melanie did most of the poses, and she did a great job!


Andrea has volunteered to be our Elkins High School Senior Rep – so keep an eye our for her Rep cards.  They will have some great deals on them.
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Hopefully we didn’t get on Andrea’s nerves too much.  The light out last night was perfect and so we wanted to shoot while we still had it.
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Look at that smile! Could Mom be any prouder or what???
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We went off trail for this one.  I brought my softbox out and we got some great shots.  It was almost dark enough that I needed a couple of more lights, but I think we pulled off what we wanted really well.
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I love back-lit shots and I’m especially partial to the one below:)  I love the bokeh off the rocks and river that we got here.
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Andrea was all smiles.  I can’t thank her enough for being sooooo patient with us!
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One last picture before I wrap things up.   I think I got poison ivy getting the shot below, but all in all it was worth it:)
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Ok, I lied. One more:)

I look forward to doing some more sessions with Andrea – especially the fall session.  So there you have it.  Seniors – I still have spaces available.  If you are looking for Senior pictures, drop me an email and we will connect!

Sarah and Phil – Married : Sneak Peek : Elkins WV Wedding Photographer and Photography

Ok, a little late on this one, but better late than never. Any ways, on with the show: CONGRATS to you both, Sarah and Phil. You two are truly an awesome couple. I enjoyed every minute of your wedding. You have beautiful families and I have no doubt that they were proud of you both on this day.

I wasn’t sure what to expect.  A high chance of rain.  Indoor pictures always look great, but I think outdoor pictures are super fantastic.  It rained – but that didn’t keep us from having some fun.  We started the day getting ready at Designs.  Does Sarah’s hair look great or what?

I love the bouquet, but then again, I’m partial to white flowers:)

It rained, but we were able to sneak out to get some quick shots.  The grass was pretty wet and I didn’t want to worry about getting Sarah’s dress too stained.  Her bridesmaids were real troopers.

An old building outback made a good backdrop for the gals.

We thought it was funny how the dresses almost matched the trash can – so we decided to do a fun shot of the gals.  I’m not sure who came up with the James Bond theme, but I like it.

Talk about a happy groom! Phil was smiles all day long – and I think he had every right to be.  Sarah was glowing.

Hurried back inside before the rain started again and finished the groomsmen’s pictures.  They had all kind of fun.

Sarah and Phil : Aren’t they beautiful?

A semi-ring shot to end things.

That’s it for now.  Sarah and Phil – Best of luck… If you ever need anything, please let us know!  We had a great time being part of your family for one day.

Some Misc Things : Elkins WV Wedding Photographer

First off Brides : I’m a little behind on wedding blogging! I’ll start on those tonight… SORRY!

Some other misc things we’ve been doing….

Youth Soccer pictures, always a blast – GO ELKINS UNITED!

An Employee Banquette :

And a misc shot from DNE

Happy Birthday W!

It’s been a busy spring / early summer and I really feel blessed to be soooo busy. It’s been a struggle keeping orders on time and still finding time to spend with our new little one – Gabrielle, but we are doing it.
So what have we been up to? Lots of good things.

First off: Mr. “W” turns three! We’ve had the honor of watching this guy grow up (we shot his birthday last year too) – and all I can say is wow – ladies had better watch out… He’s a cutie.

We always have a great time with his family. Deanna and Steve are sooo nice… I wish they lived closer!

A bag full of Candy makes for a happy day:

Stick and Dirt. I don’t know if it gets any better than that…

It rained last year and it rained this year too. I was so glad to see the weather break so that the kids could play.

C o n n e c t   w i t h   U s