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Jeff & Kelly’s Wedding – Knoxville, TN

Friday, January 30, 2009

Jeff & Kelly are a fabulous couple that were married back in October at the Whitestone Inn. We had a great time and Kelly was just a dream to photograph. She lights up the lens! Jeff was great too and had a real knack for getting Kelly to relax and laugh. Photos on the beautiful Whitestone Inn grounds proved to be a bit of a challenge as the day was a total washout with heavy rains. We made the best of it and agreed to come back for an “after shoot” the next week. The weather cooperated that day and we got some great images. Best of luck to Jeff & Kelly and thanks for allowing me to be a part of your big day and capture your story. Also, thanks to Allan Mueller for second shooting with me on both days as well.

Here’s an Animoto video. Enjoy!

Here are some of my favorite images from the day. You can see more images here.

Canon 30D, 50mm, f/1.8, 1/750s, ISO 1600

Technical: Canon 30D, 50mm, f/1.8, 1/750s, ISO 1600

 

Canon 30D, 50mm, f/1.8, 1/500s, ISO 1600

Technical: Canon 30D, 50mm, f/1.8, 1/500s, ISO 1600

 

Canon 1D MkIII, 100mm, f/4, 1/500, ISO 800

Technical: Canon 1D MkIII, 100mm, f/4, 1/500, ISO 800

 

Canon 30D, 50mm, f/1.8, 1/90s, ISO 1600

Technical: Canon 30D, 50mm, f/1.8, 1/90s, ISO 1600

 

Canon 5D, 24mm, f/4, 1/90s, ISO 1600

Technical: Canon 5D, 24mm, f/4, 1/90s, ISO 1600

 

Canon 1D MkIII, 110mm, f/2.8, 1/1000, ISO 2000

Technical: Canon 1D MkIII, 110mm, f/2.8, 1/1000, ISO 2000

 

Canon 5D, 40mm, f/4, 1/90s, ISO 800

Technical: Canon 5D, 40mm, f/4, 1/90s, ISO 800

 

Canon 5D, 35mm, f/4, 1/6s, ISO 800

Canon 5D, 35mm, f/4, 1/6s, ISO 800

 

Canon 1D MkIII, 90mm, f/4, 1/1500s, ISO 2000

Technical: Canon 1D MkIII, 90mm, f/4, 1/1500s, ISO 2000

 

 

Canon 5D, 58mm, f/4, 1/30, ISO 1600

Technical: Canon 5D, 58mm, f/4, 1/30, ISO 1600

 

Canon 30D, 50mm, f/1.8, 1/30s, ISO 1600

Technical: Canon 30D, 50mm, f/1.8, 1/30s, ISO 1600

 

Canon 1D MkIII, 90mm, f/3.5, 1/180s, ISO 400, Remote Flash

Technical: Canon 1D MkIII, 90mm, f/3.5, 1/180s, ISO 400, Remote Flash

 

Canon 1D Mk III, 200mm, f/3.5, 1/500s, ISO 320

Technical: Canon 1D Mk III, 200mm, f/3.5, 1/500s, ISO 320

 

Canon 5D, 15mm, f/2.8, 1/60s, ISO 400, Remote Flash

Canon 5D, 15mm, f/2.8, 1/60s, ISO 400, Remote Flash

 

 

Canon 5D, Lensbaby, f/4, 1/60s, ISO 1250, Remote IR Flash

Technical: Canon 5D, Lensbaby, f/4, 1/60s, ISO 1250, Remote IR Flash

Posted in Wedding

by Bryan Allen

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February 1, 2009 - 12:11 am

iamcolby - Great images Bryan. I especailly like the image with the couple composed on the stairs in the mirror, them in the forest with the speckled lighting and the blue building. Great exceptional imagry.
-Colby McLemore

Harper – Slideshow – December 2008

Saturday, January 24, 2009

OK, one more slideshow. This finishes me up for the year and allows me to check one of those boxes on my endless to do list. Again, this is an Animoto slide show of our daughter, Harper. I also love the song used on this one. The artist is Peter Mayer and he has some fantastic stuff out there. Check him out.

Here’s a link to the gallery of images on my Zenfolio site:

http://bryanallen.zenfolio.com/p420227316

 

Posted in Personal, Portraiture

by Bryan Allen

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Harper – Slideshow – November 2008

Friday, January 23, 2009

Hey Everyone. Just a little home cooking for this post. This is an Animoto slide show of our little girl, Harper. She’ll be three in a few weeks but these shots are from November of last year. 

Here’s a link to the gallery of images on my Zenfolio site:

http://bryanallen.zenfolio.com/p178621137

Posted in Personal, Portraiture

by Bryan Allen

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January 24, 2009 - 1:17 am

iamcolby - Bryan,
Wow, she is a cutey pie. Excellent photos but I’d say it would be hard to shoot a bad shot of her.
-Colby McLemore

Historic Times

Tuesday, January 20, 2009

As I settle in for the evening on this Martin Luther King Day holiday and look toward tomorrow’s inauguration of President-elect Barack Obama, I can’t help but think of just how historic a time this truly is and what a pivotal period this could turn out to be in our nation’s history. I can’t help but wonder what Dr. King would think and say were he alive to witness this momentous occasion. I’m certainly not going to enter into a socio-economic or political ramble here and you may be wondering what any of this has to do with this photography-centric blog.

Well, I can’t help but think back to a life changing experience I was fortunate enough to have just over two years ago now. I had the most fortunate opportunity to spend the better part of two days with renowned photographer, Charles Moore, who is perhaps most famous for his incredible civil rights era photography. In many people’s opinion, including mine, his imagery literally helped change the world. One could even make the case that his images helped us get to the place as a country where Barack Obama can walk onto that podium tomorrow and accept the incredible responsibility to serve as the President of this great United State of America.

Here are some candid images from my memorable meeting with Charles Moore. They are totally impromptu “snap shots” really and have never been published. I did write and have published an article about my time with Charles. Rather than reprint the article here, let me just provide a link to that article. Please check it out. Here’s the link:

http://www.knoxnews.com/news/2008/feb/24/images-implements-change/  

 

Me with Charles Moore and famous photography of Dr. King

Me with Charles Moore and famous photograph of Dr. King's arrest in Montgomery, AL in 1958. This image started a media firestorm.

 

Charles recounting the story and showing and image of the violence as a group of King followers who had peacefully gathered in a park were chased and beaten by policemen on horses.

Charles recounting the story and showing and image of the violence as a group of King followers who had peacefully gathered in a park were chased and beaten by policemen on horses.

 

Charles at his desk making a fist as he talked about "fighting with his camera". Behind him are treasured pictures of family and press credentials from his travels around the world.

Charles at his desk making a fist as he talked about "fighting with his camera". Behind him are treasured pictures of family and press credentials from his travels around the world.

 

Charles graciously agrees to a quick portrait shot.

Charles graciously agrees to a quick portrait shot.

 

Charles relaxing with friends after a long day showing me his work. I will be forever grateful for this precious time!

Charles relaxing with friends after a long day showing me his work. I will be forever grateful for this precious time!

Posted in Educational / Inspirational, Personal

by Bryan Allen

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January 20, 2009 - 4:32 am

martijeffers - Hi Bryan,

It is indeed an historic time — especially for those of us who grew up in this country and saw everything from the riots in the large cities to the blatant discrimination in small ways. It has been an amazing journey and tomorrow will be an emotional day — one that I was not certain I would ever see in my lifetime.

Here’s to HOPE and YES WE CAN. And, to all the people like Charles Moore who helped show us the way with his images.

Really neat portrait of Mr. Moore that you took.

Marti

The Mindful Eye & Image Showcase

Friday, January 16, 2009

Hi everyone. People often ask me where I go on the internet for educational and inspirational information. Several years ago, I ran across a site called The Radiant Vista which was run by Craig Tanner (Craig’s Light Diary) and Mark Johnson. The site was full of incredibly informative and inspirational free content. In addition to ingesting ever piece of content they had to offer, I also took several workshops from Craig. Craig has been one of the most influential people in my photographic life for sure, if not life in general, and has become a mentor and dear friend. I am now fortunate enough to contribute to Craig’s new site, The Mindful Eye (www.tmelive.com), and teach workshops under that umbrella. I just posted an Inspirational Image Showcase at The Mindful Eye from a Location People workshop I taught down in Savannah last year. You can check out all of the workshops and other content there as well. I highly recommend this site, particularly Craig’s daily critique. You can also check out Mark Johnson’s blog and Photoshop Workbenches here.

The Mindful Eye Screen Shot

Screen Shot of The Mindful Eye (tmelive.com)

Posted in Educational / Inspirational, My Teaching

by Bryan Allen

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January 16, 2009 - 10:17 pm

iamcolby - Bryan,
I appreciate you mentioning them a couple years??? ago. The content that they send out is great.
-Colby McLemore

Michelle & James

Saturday, January 3, 2009

Here’s a little video slideshow I put together of a wedding I shot back in the Spring. Michelle and James were absolutely fabulous and we had a beautiful day and location to shoot. Two fantastic families and a beautiful wedding party. The ceremony and reception were held at a family friend’s house on Fort Louden Lake. The couple left by boat which was a lot of fun to photograph. As you’ll see in the video, all the pressure was off and they totally let their hair down, relaxed in the breeze and soaked in the sun as we cruised down the lake to their getaway car. Bright sun was the only real technical challenge on this day. Many hanks to my friend Allan Mueller for second shooting and assisting me.

Build you own videos like this at Animoto.com.

I’ve found Animoto to be a very cool, easy to use, and inexpensive service. In addition to the very nice slideshow capabilities, integrations and sharing with many popular community sites, blogs, video streaming services, etc. are built in and as simple as a mouse click away.

Posted in Wedding

by Bryan Allen

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January 3, 2009 - 11:34 pm

iamcolby - Great to see you doing a blog. I have always been inpressed with you imagery and look forward to seeing more. Great video too. I do wish you would create an RSS feed. It makes it much easier to keep up with new posts.

January 4, 2009 - 12:44 am

mrbryanallen - Hey Colby. Thanks for stopping by. I just added RSS at the bottom of the page. You should be able to get a feed now.

January 7, 2009 - 12:35 am

brianbastinelli - Hey Bryan-

Welcome to the wild world of blogging! I am looking forward to seeing your fantastic work here.

Good Luck and have a great day!

Brian

New Year’s Day . . . New Blog

Thursday, January 1, 2009

OK world. I give up. That’s right I’m giving in to the gravitational pull of the universe and starting to blog. I’ve been tinkering with blogging for some time now and even did one for my wife when she was pregnant (here it is). I’ve started and stopped a few photo related blogs for various reasons but this time I’m committing to it. This will be my one and only photo blog and I’ll cover all things in my little photography world including my commercial and personal work. I figure one place for everything is the only way I can actually do this and stay sane. So . . . wish me luck . . . and if you’ve happened by, well thanks for stopping in and I hope you’ll check back often.

With that said, on with the blogging. They always say the hardest part is getting started and the big question for me is what should be my first image. To start this blog off for 2009, I’m going to go with the last image I made in 2008. This image is a personal image of my daughter and really shows how times have changed for me. This was my New Year’s Eve 2008 in a nutshell. No big parties, no hangovers! Just an evening with my wife, daughter and a few close friends. You know you are at a different place in life when you find the wonder of a 2 1/2 year old’s fascination with food color and water fascinating!

 

blogpost20090101-0011

Ringing in the New Year 2009 with My Daughter

Technical: Canon 1D Mark III, 50mm f/1.4 for 1/125 sec. @ f/1.4. ISO 2500. No flash. Slight WB adjust and vignette in post.

Posted in Personal

by Bryan Allen

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January 2, 2009 - 4:13 pm

mrbryanallen - Just making sure my comments feature is working.