Friday, March 7, 2008

Another cool award!

Every quarter, the Wedding Photojournalist Association holds a contest for the best wedding photos in the entire world. It's a prestigious group due to the fact that you can't buy your way in just for asking -- you must be admitted, and also because the competition within the group is extreme. The judges of this competition, which are published on the WPJA website, read like a Pulitzer and National Press Photographers Association "who's who" list. It's very intimidating knowing that Bill Frakes might be the one judging your photo. It's only slightly less intimidating than getting randomly seated next to Bill Frakes on an airplane while on the way home from a photo shoot in Jacksonville--which HAS HAPPENED TO ME... Anyways, that said, I'm thrilled to have placed 5th in the "Departures" category this time, with this shot from Amy and Blake's wedding at Laguna Gloria:

winning wedding photography image by Austin wedding photographer David Hill image of bride and groom departing wedding ceremony

Only 13 of the 28 WPJA members in this region have ever placed a top 10. I have placed top 10 in 4 of the last 8 quarters. You can see my latest win with the judge's comments here. Visit Austin Wedding Photographer David Hill.

Rebecca's Austin Bridal

This is Rebecca, in front of Austin's favorite waterfall. Not to be confused with Austin's favorite spring, which is about a block away.



One issue with blogging bridals is that you really shouldn't do it until after the wedding. As such, this is from the fall, but now I can safely publish it! We started at the Zilker Bontanical, which is a perennial fave of most local photographers. It costs $50 now, but it's worth it, because there's fewer people there to get in the way than there were back when it cost nothing. While on this shoot, I actually saw another photographer I know (won't name him), who's apparently a bit of a cheapskate, getting kicked out for trying to evade the fee. He had a 30 pound backpack full of gear on his back, and was trying to tell the security guard he wasn't a professional. Hilarious!!!



Above is what I will admit is a total Zilker cliche, but I throw it in the mix because it's kinda fun. And I will NOT digitally squish the keyhole to match the height of your head... There's a photog here in town who likes to brag that he does that. I believe the keyhole was created by some artist who doesn't want it squished to your height.

This shot was us just wanting something silly with the velociraptor...



This little series was my favorite...




... and Rebecca chose this one to display on the easel at the wedding.







In Austin, a bridal shoot often includes some measure of how well the photographer can do some impromptu thing or another near the warehouse nexus of 4th and Colorado, and this one is no exception.








Rebecca was looking so good in this photo that it...



... caused this totally unattended but running vehicle (which is illegal in Texas) to catch on fire! I called 911 myself. This shoot was full of laughs.



Here they come!

Dinner with Will Ferrell

Will Ferrell did a special sneak preview appearance at the Alamo recently to promote his new film, Semi Pro. To get in, EVERY member of the audience had to dress in a Flint Tropics uniform. As the only official photogapher, I got to use super secret panoramic techniques to take a gigantic "team photo," the last one below -- click to view it gigantic, and scroll sideways!








Breakfast with Obama

I was one of the lucky people to get a ticket to Obama's town hall meeting in Austin last week.







I was really amused when I realized that this frame contains either six Secret Service agents, or five of them and one campaign staffer--wasn't totally sure about him.

Lunch with the Mayor

I recently got to shoot the Austin Chamber of Commerce's annual awards banquet. They gave the Austinite of the Year award to Mayor Will Wynn.






In this shot, our mayor reacts to the fact that someone produced a video of him performing in an Elvis jumpsuit!



And just random meeting attendees in the hallway... Ars gratia artis, or quelque chose comme ca...

Rocky plays ball!

OK, so more photos of my irresistible dog... Oh, and I guess I should mention that I'm now availble for dog action photos!








Behind Rocky is Kobe, the other irresistible dog in my life.