Both of my winning photos happened to come from Katie and Max’s wedding at Nemacolin Woodlands Resort.

And if you’re wondering what “fearless” means when it comes to photography–it’s all about being bold, striving for the best of the best photography. For me, that means pushing myself to go beyond the expected and cliche shots that are common in wedding and portrait photography. It’s something I’m continually working at, so it’s wonderful to receive the acclamation from fellow photographers whose work I respect.

Here are the winning images.

When people think about weddings, there’s always a few iconic moments that come to mind: “the kiss,” “walking down the aisle,” and so forth. But when I photograph weddings, I think about all the in-between moments that are just as, if not more, powerful than the iconic ones. So being fearless means capturing those moments, too.

I’m not alone in my quest to be fearless. In fact, there’s a whole group of photographers dedicated to capturing and creating the best images for their clients. Fearless Photographers. I’m honored to be listed among so many great photographers, and I’m even more excited to see one of my photos won an award from the latest contest.

With over 1,500 photos submitted to this contest, I’m proud that one of mine made the cut. I love this moment from Natalie and Steve’s ceremony at Heinz Chapel. The excitement and anticipation is palpable. Now if only Heinz Chapel would clean their windows more often so they aren’t so smudgy!

The winning photo is from Natalie and Steve’s Pittsburgh engagement session. I must say I personally love this photo of them with their sweet dog, Rooney. Yay for them!

So, as just a small thank you to my couples this year, I’m excited to announce the beginning of this year’s Favorite Wedding Contest. Last year’s contest was a lot of fun, and I expect no less for my 2010 couples. But this year I’m going to be doing things a little differently. Instead of having everyone vote through my blog, which was somewhat complicated and made tallying the votes difficult, I’m going to be running the contest through my Facebook business page.

Here’s how it works:

1. “Like” Birchtree Photography on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/birchtreephotography
2. Go to the photo album on my Facebook page titled “Favorite Wedding Contest 2010″
3. Find the photo of your favorite wedding couple and “Like” their photo

And that’s it! I’ll be able to easily see which couple has the most “likes” at the end of the contest, and they’ll become the Favorite Wedding of 2010.

The prize for the winning couple is a beautiful 20×30 Standout Fine Art Print of a photo of their choice, a $500 value. The Standout Fine Art Print is a great way to display a favorite photo in your home, as the print is mounted on a lightweight board and comes ready to hang on your walls.

The contest starts today (12/8/10) and will end at 12 midnight EST on Friday, December 17th, 2010. Brides and Grooms–please feel free to share the link and encourage as many family and friends as you can to vote for you. Good luck!!

And I was surprised and thrilled to learn two of my photos won placements in ISPWP’s latest contest. If you want to see some inspiring images, definitely browse through the winning photos.

I got 20th place in the “Getting Ready” category with this image from Evonne and Bob’s wedding at the Omni William Penn Hotel.

And I got 17th place in the “Bridal Party” category with this image from Julie and Darryl’s wedding at the Pittsburgh Golf Club. The photo was taken on the Roberto Clemente Bridge, and I loved the black and gold theme.

Congrats to all the winners, and be sure to check out the other winning photos for some inspiration.

Long time blog readers may remember all the fun of last year’s contest (you vote for your favorite couple…because I can’t pick a favorite!), and this year’s prizes are going to be even better. But, I’m planning on changing up the format a little bit to make it easier for people to vote and for me to tally the votes. Basically, I’m going to run everything from my Facebook fan page. Not a fan? “Like” me now so you’re in on the action. I realize not everyone is on Facebook, but I figure this will be a lot easier for everyone who votes. All folks will have to do is “like” Birchtree Photography and then “like” their favorite couple in the contest gallery.

So, stay tuned for the official contest announcement…and be thinking of who your favorite couple is!

Come one, you know it’s true. Don’t you wake up kind of feeling like things must go your way, that everyone should be especially nice to you and lavish you with attention all day? It’s my birthday, you think. And if given the chance, you try to inform every stranger you interact with that it’s your special day, be it the person checking you out at the grocery store or the bank teller handling your transaction. But in reality, it’s just another day out of 365 of them. Everyone else has busy lives, just like you did on their birthdays. So why do we expect five million birthday wishes on facebook, or greeting cards from our grandparents, or cheerful calls of well wishes from our friends? Or maybe that’s just me.

It’s kind of sad, really.

But I know it’s not the only way to do birthdays. There are other cultures where the birthday person (birthdayer, if you will) actually gives gifts to all their friends and hosts a party. Instead of expecting gifts and well-wishes, you give them to others! Now that sounds like more fun to me. I love giving gifts to my family and friends, especially if I’m able to pick out something I know they’ll like (I admit, I wish I were better at this).

So, in honor of my birthday, I’d like to have a little surprise giveaway. The prize is either a $200 value 16×20 Standout Print for your wall (which is a fine art print on a light-weight board ready to hang), or a $50 Gift Certificate to Amazon.com. Obviously, I like my clients more and want to give them more.

Here’s what you’ve got to do (ah ha, there’s the ulterior motive!):
1) “Like” Birchtree Photography on Facebook, or, if you’re already a fan, suggest that your friends “like” Birchtree Photography

and/or 2) Wish me happy birthday in the blog comments, giving a valid email address. Be sure to let me know you “liked” me on Facebook or suggested it to your friends.

If you do both things (and let me know in the blog comments), I’ll enter your name twice. If you just want to wish me happy birthday, I’ll enter your name once. Be sure to let me know you “liked” me and comment. Then I’ll randomly assign a number to everyone and randomly pick a number (Jay will help me with this…he does this all the time in his research). The winner can choose their prize–either the 16×20 Standout Print or the gift certificate to Amazon.

And speaking of surprises, I got a lovely one in the mail this weekend from my sister in England. Yes, it was an actual Kinder Surprise (illegal here in the US)–I always pronounce it with the Russian accent, “keender suh-preese”–as well as a few other fun goodies, including my favorite candies and a cute bracelet. Thanks Martha!

Now start liking me and sending me birthday wishes! You have one week starting today!

Be sure to check out all the other flower photos at

When I read the entry description, the only “dramatic B&W” photos I could think of were the ones I took on the night of the huge February snow storm. While the focus on this particular photo is somewhat soft, I kind of think it lends itself to the mysterious coldness of the image. The dark figure is Jay walking back to our house as the snow continues to swirl down.

Be sure to check out all the other dramatic photos at

Be sure to check out all the other neat angles at