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Scientists say that time travel isn't possible. Try telling that to you when you're sitting in your grandma's house, photo albums piled around you. You don't remember the first days of your life. But there you are, in a photo. Small, pink, and trying to decide between giggling like mad or screaming your lungs out. And there's mom, looking more beautiful than you've ever seen her. You wonder what it would be like to be standing right there in that room. Photos of you dressed for your first day of school. A photograph is a tangible window to a moment in time. It can inspire emotions and be an anchor for memories you never want to let go of. Studio Orange Photography is owned by Robert Wurth, a wedding, portrait and event photographer who has a passion for creating photos to add to your own personal "time machine" albums. Based in Lincoln, Nebraska, Studio Orange is available to handle your wedding, portrait, or event photography needs in Lincoln, Omaha, Beatrice and other eastern Nebraska communities. Destination services are also available. Studio Orange offers a number of wedding photography packages for covering your day. The most popular and best value is $3000, with other options to suit most budgets. Please visit the Pricing Page for more information. |
Been awhile since I’ve updated around here.
That’s what happens when you get crazy busy. It’s a blessing and a curse. I’m more than a little annoyed that we live in the “future” and I can’t yet clone myself.
Oh well.
What got my fingers fired up today was an excellent article over at the Offbeat Bride. It’s about the disturbing abundance of cameras at wedding ceremonies these days. You should go read the article yourself. It’s ok. I’ll wait.
Done? Good. If not, I’m carrying on as if you did. I don’t want to rehash what was already said so well. Instead, I want to relay my own experience.
I spend a lot of time behind a lens. I know. It’s a shock. Take a deep breath or two.
But I love taking photos. It’s true.
If I’m not shooting a wedding, or portraits, or some other paid gig, I’m finding some other excuse to drag out my camera. Bugs. Zombies. Amazing skies. You name it.
Last year I was invited to the wedding of a couple of friends. I shot some Save the Date photos for them. I was not, however, their wedding photographer. They’d hired someone before they met me.
I looked at it as an opportunity.
I couldn’t remember the last wedding I had been to as a guest. I decided to fully play the part. I wasn’t going to be “that guy.” You know. The one who brings his pro gear. I’m certainly savvy enough to stay out of the hired photographers’ way, but I wanted to embrace the chance to have zero obligation (self-imposed or not) to hide my face behind the camera.
I won’t lie. I won’t try to pretend that I didn’t feel naked most of the night. I won’t hide that I couldn’t help but look for shots. And I certainly won’t deny that I might have spent a minute or two comparing what the hired pro’s were doing to what I would do.
Part of my passion for photography is to always jones for a camera when I see a great opportunity. This is why I love shooting weddings. Many great opportunities, many great moments. My trigger finger was a bit twitchy all night.
Even so. Even without my mechanical security blanket, the night was fantastic.
I felt like I was a part of the event. I wasn’t living it through a viewfinder, or experiencing an LCD instead of a wedding.
I was engaged in the evening.
And it was refreshing.
If you’re a bride and groom reading this, I encourage you to urge your guests, not their cameras, to be present at your wedding. If you’re going to be a guest, I’d remind you that the couple getting married want to see “you” and not “you staring at a screen.”
Getting the photos is what people like me are for.
So step away from the camera. Enjoy the moment.
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Porridge Papers 4th annual Love on the Run kicked off Friday night.
Doors opened at 5. Closed at 9. They practically had to turn people away at the end of the night.
They had a guitarist. A harpist. A photo booth. And yours truly, wandering around sticking my lenses in peoples’ faces. I had an opportunity to get to know The Leekers a little bit more. They are also wedding photographers in Lincoln, and from what I can see, very talented. Friendly, too. I’ll happily refer anyone to them if I’m not available.
By the end of the night, over 60 bottles of love notes were created. The significance? I hear that’s more than the entire first year of the the Love on the Run Event. And as I write this, there are still 2 more days to come in and make love notes! (Please see the update at the end of this post…)
I’m about to head out the door for more Love on the Run photos, but here’s some of the fun from last night:
Update: Love on the run is now officially over! Over 360 love notes were written! Studio Orange spent all day Monday helping to deliver! And now there are a ton more photos to go through!
But first…
A bed.
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So, are you the cynical type that thinks Valentine’s Day is just a trumped up hoax perpetuated by candy makers and florists?
Porridge Papers wants to change your mind. It’s time for their annual Love on the Run Valentine’s day event.
It’s the 4th year and the biggest event yet.
The concept is simple. You go in. You type a note. Roll it up and put it in a bottle. Porridge Papers (and volunteers) deliver your note on Valentine’s Day. The typewriters you use to create your notes are antiques. That’s a fancy way of saying that there’s no backspace, no Ctrl-Z, and heck, the letters might not even line up. In other words, your note will be quirky and unique.
Best of all, this is 100%, absolutely, totally, positively FREE!
Yep. Free. Porridge Papers and everyone who helps support or sponsor it (including Studio Orange) donates to make this possible.
This year you’ll have three days to stop in. They’ll be some events going on all weekend long. Details can be found in the links above, but you can expect to find live music, food, and even photos. The Leekers will be setting a photo booth for you to get silly and/or romantic in and yours truly will be wandering around taking photojournalist shots.
So stop on by. Join in the fun. Help us take back Valentine’s day back from clutches of commercialization!
Below are some of the irreverent, goofy and fun decorations and cards Porridge Papers has set the mood with:
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Henna is enjoying a bit of a renaissance.
Wait. That’s inaccurate. It implies that it was ever at some point unpopular.
Not true. More fair would be to say that the art of henna is gaining recognition here in the United States.
Not sure what I’m talking about? What is this henna thing of which I speak?
Quick lesson. Pay attention. There may be a pop quiz.
Henna is a plant. Dry it. Grind it into a powder. Mix it with an acidic liquid (like lemon juice) and a few other things. Now you have a paste. Put it in a tube and draw on your skin. Or someone else’s. It’ll be tricky. Ever tried drawing with toothpaste? Yeah. It’ll dry into a hardish crust. Leave it alone! Now the magic happens. The henna stains your skin. The longer you leave it on, the deeper the stain.
It’s kind of like a temporary tattoo.
You can also use henna as a hair dye. However, in the immortal words of the late Leslie Nielsen, that’s not important right now.
Henna has been around since the Bronze Age. It was used for ceremonies and celebrations, including bridal preparations. Henna is one of the oldest known wedding traditions. Yep, it even predates the chicken dance. Quite an achievement.
The application of henna, called Mehndi, is itself an “event” in preparation for a wedding. A bride’s hands, arms and feet are covered in intricate designs. Sometimes the groom is also decorated. In a traditional wedding, this social henna party gave the bride and groom an opportunity to get to know each other and bond. The deepness of the stain is said to represent the strength of the marriage to come.
Having henna applied can be a relaxing and pampering experience. You have no choice but to sit still for a couple of hours. Maybe a glass (or several) of wine will be involved. With all of the chaos leading up to a typical wedding day, it can be just a calming experience a bride needs. Or even one more bonding night for the bridal party. Not to mention that it’s a cool and unique addition to a wedding day appearance.
Interested? Visit Sam’s new Hannaya Healing fan page and give her a shout. Tell her Studio Orange sent ya.
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Photo 10: Brody and Tsura
Taken on November 7, 2010
There was no question that one of the shots on this list would have to be of the new puppy, Tsura. But which one? I mean, I’m a photographer. Taking pictures is what I do. So I have a lot already of Tsura. Picking just one? Impossible. I had to try.
When we first got Tsura, she was 9 weeks old.
She was so cute that I can’t be so cruel as to put one of those photos here. Seriously. The cute would melt your brain. I can’t have that on my conscience.
So I chose a shot of her at around 5 months. Still stupid cute. Thing is though, I also took one of my other dog at the same time. I couldn’t leave him out. That means this is another cheat. Two shots for the price of one.
On the right is Brody.
Want one word to describe him? Here you go: goofball.
Brody is all gazelle legs and gigantic bat ears. Those ears. He hears conversations in China, I’m sure. And about the legs? He wasn’t built for the wood floors in my house. Doesn’t stop him from racing for the door to make a new best friend when someone visits. Brace yourself. His brakes don’t work very well.
On the left is Tsura. It’s a gypsy name that means “light of dawn.” Tsura is doing her best to redefine it to mean “ridiculous.”
The most cruel thing to do to her is to make her lay down and be still. She’ll manage for a second. Then the tail twitches. Then it’s swishing. Then she’s Army crawling across the floor toward you. “Still laying down, dad. See?”
But for all of her energy, she’ll happily crawl up beside you and go to sleep.
Both of these shots were in the front yard. The light and colors were perfect. I had to grab the camera.
Weird fact: my pets always seem to be test subjects for new gear. This time it was the 85mm lens (on Brody – used the 135L on Tsura).
And that, folks, brings us to the end of this journey. If you’ve been reading all of these, then thank you. I had fun putting it together. I plan to do it again next year.
Now, before I go, and in the spirit of every great television infomercial: But wait! There’s MORE!
Bonus shot: “TK-817 has been wanting the Jedi Telescope for months, but sadly, Imperial payday isn’t until Friday.”
Taken on December 4, 2010
Strategic Air and Space Museum. Ashland, Nebraska. Home to planes, rockets, and… Imperial Stormtroopers?
I ventured up to the SAC museum to find that it had been overrun by the 501st Legion. I would have had to instantly cut up my photography geek card had I missed this boon of awesome absurdity.
Great photos were everywhere. Mine for the taking. But my favorites were of a random Stormtrooper and his son shopping in the gift store.
Gas from Ashland to Lincoln and back: About $3.50
Admission to SAC Museum: $18.00
The sublime oddness of a Stormtrooper gazing longingly at a stack of Star Wars toys: PRICELESS
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These are wonderful – I loved this entire event and the whole weekend.
It was stellar, and I totally agree that The Leeker’s were just wonderful folk.
[...] Love On The Run event? Check out —> Love On The Run 2011 // Part I // Part II // event photos from Studio Orange // and the photo booth vimeo [...]