and I thought yesterday was great....

I've had two spectacular things happen today. 

1. I was accepted into the Wedding Photojournalist Association ( http://www.wpja.com ), a somewhat selective organization who work hard to keep the definition of photojournalism true.   I understand not 5 percent of wedding photographers are accepted.     Wahoo!     Do click the link below to learn more.   

2. Just as I was wrapping up my membership details, the second blessing showed itself in a phone call from one of the industry leaders in wedding photography. Yes, Neil Cowley called me! While our conversation was just a quick one, it was a wonderfully warm gesture on his part, and it made a connection that felt great. While it may be hard to believe, I feel like a kid who's just been pulled out of the stands, and asked to play with the dream team. 

The best part....the day is not even over yet!

UPDATE: (2 hours later)

3. I just had a client call and book me for her wedding.   It was a REALLY good day.  

tell the story, don't be in it.

We all love new toys, and I'm certainly no exception. I'm blessed to have recently got one that doubles as my number one business and creative tool. Here I am, whimsically introducing the 5d mark 2, ruthlessly powerful and featuring some awesome video capabilities. These are the results of what I've done with it in the first 24 hours I've owned it. If you've enjoyed the final version, I highly recommend watching the original, uncut version after that.   



tell the story, don't be in it. from Luke Snyder on Vimeo.

and the uncut version....

uncut version of "tell the story..." from Luke Snyder on Vimeo.

Elvis and Luke have left the building!

   I must have walked past a million slots while I was there, not once gambling.   I'm proud of that.   I only left the building twice.   I'm not proud of that.    I met most of the world's top ten wedding photographers, studied in small groups with those who work for National Geographic and win Pulitzer prizes, wrapping my head around photography for more than 12 hours each day.    I'm proud of that.   

   From meeting idols to watching the competitions, spending valentines with my wife to the many workshops I attended, the list of highlights is literally 8 days long.  In the end, I've returned deeply motivated, and very glad to be breathing natural air.   

   While the conference was about photography, I did very little there.    Nevertheless, here are a few of my favorites.   The first was fired from my waist as I posed for approximately 40 cameras at once.   It was my turn in the "off camera lighting" workshop, and I wanted to record how intense it was to be Paparazzied.   Whew!

    The last three were from a quick session in the late evening, when my beautiful model posed for me in her wedding dress in the middle of the casino walkway.  Note the direction from which the light comes from in those shots, and keep your eye out for more!

WPPI Photography Conference

I'm spending some time in Vegas for the annual WPPI (Wedding and Portrait Photographers International) conference.     If you know how much I love my wedding photography, this is a dreamy experience.  The conference really hasn't even started yet, but I've begun early with Greg Gibson (two time Pullitzer prize winning photojournalist), in a workshop entitled "the Art of Visual Storytelling" from 8 to 6 daily.   Intense!!!    I've had little time to shoot, but did get a chance to step out on the balcony for this one.    

Plenty more to come...

Self Portrait Two

While it is a bit weird, I am SO thankful that I've got a good excuse for being caught exploring wedding dresses in the local second hand store.    I'm sure you can imagine the faces of all the elderly volunteers as I explained the "trash the dress" potential of the dress I was buying.   If only I would have captured Lucille and Eleanor's expressions with my story.   

Yes...this is the face of the guy who gets giddy when he finds a wedding dresses from the 80's, imagining them destroyed with mud, ketchup, and kindergartners with scissors.   

Congrats to Nimia and Josh!

Nimia and Josh were one of my first ever couples that I booked. 

Here are just a few of the many sweet photos I've captured of them.

Caribbean Queen

There is a first time for everything, and my wife offered to trash this (please note it is not "the") wedding dress on our vacation for her first "real" photoshoot with me.   We had a fun time in the warm waters of the Caribbean  as the cruise shippers gawked and the islander's wondered what we were up to.   A fun day for sure.  

I never would have though I'd be ready to come home after 8 days of vacation and a second honeymoon to Roatan, Honduras. Living on the edge, I chose to put down my modern devices, and just absorbed the tides of island time. Highlights included long walks on the beach everyday, plenty of crazy creatures, harvesting and celebrating tropical fruit, incredible water, delicious seafood, diving, snorkeling and renting our own ride to adventure where few go. Because I spent much time holding my sweetheart's hand, I didn't take too many photos. However, I did snap some moments I couldn't miss. Here are a few of my favorites!

The path to the sea from our little hut

My sweetheart along one of those long walks

I'm a big fan of creatures, and loved feeding this sea of iguanas

This one is called an anole, and I've always wanted this shot.

These flying rainbows are not meant for cages, but unfortunately are sighted only rarely in the wild here.  

This was island life away from the tourism

A little kid fished these from the rocky shore of our resort. 

dare me to jump?

we also got a little goofy at times.    I wish I could have photographed our karaoke night!