Monday, October 5, 2009 at 6:35pm
Yes, I’m still alive and doing well, thanks!
I had couple friends contacting me lately asking if I was OK since my blog died several months ago. I’ve never been very good keeping up with it, but this just got way out of control!
I just got a little busy and between the family, photography, and some other crazy stuff I couldn’t find enough energy to blog.
There are lots of wedding behind me and still couple more to do before the season ends. In the next weeks I’m hoping to slowly catch up so tune in for some cool stuff.
Coming up: Courtney & Russ got married
Until next time
Monday, July 6, 2009 at 2:37pm

Today’s post is going to have way more pictures then on average as it’s been long overdue, so I’m trying to compensate somehow
With Chon and Hemal’s wedding on Friday in Chicago and Russ and Courtney’s on Saturday in Clarkston, MI it was going to be a long weekend with very little time to get some sleep.
When I arrived at Hotel Baker late Thursday night to scout the area I got excited as it turned out to be an amazing location. Chon made a great choice! As the couple is from Chicago area we never had a chance to meet until the day of their big day. Chon started a wedding blog however and I tried to stay up to date checking it out.
From there I found out that Chon work in advertising as an Art Director. No wonder that she planned the wedding so well!
Here are the images (and there is a lot today). Check out the detail shots, Chon did fantastic job coordinating everything.




































Saturday, June 27, 2009 at 10:59pm
Hey party people,
I know my blog has taken a back seat as I’ve been swamped with work but there are some fabulous weddings coming so keep checking. I promise to post them at least a couple within a week.
Here is a sneak peak to the one I photographed in Chicago area – Chon and Hemal’s beautiful wedding at Hotel Baker.

Sunday, June 21, 2009 at 9:37pm
Duane and Keisha chose Book Cadillac Hotel in Detroit, MI for their wedding ceremony and reception. Westin Book Cadillac was recently restored to its original splendor, also featuring over 60 residences on the upper floors. Cost of renovation? $200 million. Nevertheless the place is spectacular and I was so excited to be working there when Keisha and Duane hired me to photograph their wedding. Prior to the big day we’ve worked on couple photo shoots together and had a chance to get to known each other a little closer. Keisha has the most beautiful smile and Duane is a joker making her laugh all the time (perfect match if you ask me) and I knew it was going to be a fun event to photograph
Before I let you enjoy the sneak peak: yes, I know I’m way behind blogging – it’s the time of the year I’m struggling to keep up. I have 4 super rad weddings to post (including this one) so check back soon.
Here are some of my favorites:




Duane waiting to see Keisha in her dress


Keisha's dad giving daughter away

Book Cadillac - Italian Garden


Rolls Royce Phantom

Venetian Ballroom at Westin Book Cadillac







First dance



Monday, May 18, 2009 at 10:39am
Last Saturday we photographed Travis and Stephanie’s fabulous wedding at Historic Trinity Lutheran Church which offers incredible lighting and beautiful architecture.
Stephenie and Travis chose The Atheneum Hotel for the reception. I never photographed there before and was very excited to finally have the opportunity. That place is a photographer’s dream. With countless amazing locations I could spend whole day just walking around and getting cool shots, but there is never enough time on a wedding day
Time shortage is my biggest enemy, and wedding photographers have always to work super fast to use it to the fullest advantage.
I also wanted to give a shout out to great DJ Joe Nagraba from Ultimate Entertainment. Joe is also a singer and plays guitar. If you’re looking for entertainer for your event give him a try.
I’ll shut up now. Here are some of my favorites. Hope you enjoy them.














Monday, April 27, 2009 at 8:33pm
This was my first wedding this season. I always have mixed feelings when starting the season. On one hand it’s so exciting to finally start shooting after a long Winter break, on the other I feel like I’m a little “rusty” and there is some anxiety in the back of my hand if I can deliver. True, I stay busy in the Winter/Spring time shooting lifestyle baby portraits so no need to dust my cameras
, but weddings are different – pace is more dynamic. Nevertheless it was fantastic and great fun!
Brittany and Dave are very modern, easy going couple and they leave in a super rad loft in downtown Detroit which I love – high ceilings and huge windows is every photographer’s dream. Brittany told me they wanted some pictures in the back alleys that have that Detroit urban flair and I thought it was a fantastic idea! The whole wedding party made a short stop at Dave and Brittany’s favorite bar – of course another great opportunity for pictures!
Then we headed to the reception at the Henry Ford Lovett Hall and it was wild. Here are some shots…
BTW, for the photographers that e-mail me questions regaring post production – all images are straight from Lightroom, except adding a logo, EXIF data, and a border around the images – no picture has been hurt in PS


















Wednesday, April 22, 2009 at 2:20am
In digital era taking a picture is just part of the process for many photographers. Most of us spend some time in front of the computer correcting white balance, doing contrast adjustments, converting to B&W, etc.
Many people ask me how much time I spent in PS working on my images, and my answer is – apart from album design, very little. I do most of my post production in LR now, which is good for global adjustments but not for “pixel pushing”. I’m not a particular fan of overworked images and “plastic skin tones”. I prefer subtle work, which looks more believable. Subtle Photoshop work can be very time consuming. I often wonder if we as photographers spend too much time in front of the computer, simply because now we have means to polish our work (polishing is different then fixing, but I won’t go there today). I know post production is not new to digital, afterall in darkroom days photographers or master printers spent a lot of time doing that too, but now it’s so widespread because it’s so accessible to anyone.
Below is the same image – before and after. This image is for illustrative purpose only and I’m not claiming it to be a great image. In fact it was rushed, Marzena was tired and wanted to go to sleep – shooting in the bedroom probably didn’t help
First image is pretty much straight from the camera, except I fixed some stray hair. Ironically I didn’t fix stray hair in the “after” image – it’s late and I’m simply too tired (”after image” was prepped first).
“After” image is too much for my taste (plastic skin), but “before” image could benefit from some PS massaging. Somewhere in the middle would be probably a good balance.

Before

After
Friday, April 17, 2009 at 10:08pm
Emma was born April 15th, 2008 – tax baby, haha.
I cannot believe how fast time flies by, she is already 1 year old and it feels like she was born just yesterday.




by Marcin
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