Joleen and Kenneth are off to DisneyWorld! They hit the trail right after the wedding...I mean right after...well, they did dance, toast and cake, but they couldn't wait to hit the road. Their first stop, Mobile -about a 9 hour drive! Just think of the gas bill! But, if you get to relax in Mickeyland...you will soon forget your gasoline bill.

Here are a few images. 

And I might as well point out that you'll see what I'm doing the week after the wedding. I'm taking the images and enhancing them in various ways...sharpening, vignetting, bringing out the color, adjusting the exposure etc. You'll notice I don't always choose to put the subjects right in the middle of the image... you'll see Kenneth and Joleen dancing with some best friends watching. That's a far more interesting image than 10 shots of just the two of them right smack in the center of the image. It sets the scene. 

The other shot is of the "boys" stopping at Albertson's before the wedding. It's tweaked too. And don't email me and say your photographer gave you the cd right after the wedding. The weekend photographer (who's got a job someplace during the week) has to give you that cd and be done...after all, he's got to go back to work Monday. You get what you pay for.

Northeast Wedding Chapel wedding - Jim Rode Photographer

Great wedding! Kara and Erik got married! And the family! Wow! Talk about knowing how to have a good time... The music and dancing at the reception was wild and fun. 

The ceremony was flawless (as it usually is at Northeast Wedding Chapel -here is their link in case anyone needs it NortheastWeddingChapel.com). Kara came down the staircase to meet her father (who almost it seemed, carried the bouquet up the aisle for her!)

I know a lot of people read my blog, not just family (-spread all over!) -in Grand Rapids, Nashville, San Francisco, and Kansas City. I try to be uplifting...and talk about fun things. But recently I did a wedding for a great couple. I enjoyed getting to know them on their engagements. We spent 3 or 4 hours together on that day getting the coolest shots! I will not name them to protect their privacy.

Unknown to me, after their wedding, they had to cancel the honeymoon with the sudden illness of his beloved mother. She passed. The "bride" wrote me the kindest note about how much she enjoyed the last photographs taken of them spending time with her at the wedding. It breaks my heart as she was a wonderful person. I would ask you all to spend a moment with God in prayer for the family. God will hear.

People, none of us are superman. We are all human, and we never know the time or place where we might be called "home." Make it a point to throw that extra kiss. Pick up the phone and call someone you love. Send a card. Embrace those you love. We are here together on this planet, and we should work to make it a better place...and that begins with our own families. Embrace them today, tomorrow we can do it again!

I received my sample St. Tropaz book from Couture Books. It has a beautiful cover with a blue thread binding. Dave, from Couture told me, I'm the first in the country to get this book. It's the first one they've made!

I found a YouTube video of someone binding a book in Japan using this threaded method.
http://cailun.info/index.php?/categories/8-Artists

I love this Jonathan Watters wedding video! Using cue cards throughout the wedding, they were able to replace the read cards with lip-sync music. Go to this link to watch -it's fun.

Trash the Dress

I never liked the "Trash the Dress" moniker. Blowing off the pressure of the wedding day by taking out the gown to places it will get dirty is okay...but I prefer the term "Field Trip." It seems less permanent, less intention for gown damage. 

When I do engagement, wedding, or field trip videos, I want them to have a fun look, and a deep romantic look. I want them to pass what I call "the cry test." This is tough thing to talk about in public (for a guy), but I think a good photographer is very much in touch with their emotions, if not they are a lousy photographer. 

So here's the picture. After the photography session, I sit at my computer and work out the slideshow, picture order, and song. I sometimes spend the entire day working it. When my eyes tear up, I know I've got it. It's passed the cry test. 

I took shot an engagement with a few friends at a carnival! I was a little intimidated with the thought of night shooting under a variety of lights. Floresant, and incandescent -lights with a rainbow of colors. Everything came out cool. Shooting manual helps.

Worked so well, I did it again with a Bridal Field Trip (my version of a "Trash the Dress").

To see their engagement safari click here. Special thanks to Mike, Brett, Tiff, Jeff, and to the Merry-Go-Round operator who let me play with the ride for 45 minutes!

Marty Leonard Chapel Jim Rode Photographer

Awesome wedding at the Marty Leonard Chapel in Fort Worth. Kathleen looked so cool in a beautiful gown. Jason, nervous, but watching him step up to and stand like granite was spectacular! I think they drew on his strength. The guys that surround him were so supportive, I was very impressed. 

The Chapel is a first class operation, and went off without a "hitch" -so to speak. The reception was at the Horseman's Club. They danced and partied and mixed with friends and family. Great people, great family, great friends.

Jerome took the afternoon off from the NY markets to join with his love Natasha. Together we cruised the Northeast Tarrant County area for a few hours. They are very much in love. I really enjoyed their company. (They probably think I'm a nut!) -But I really had fun with them. Later we had a little Tex-Mex and talked about the wedding in September.

Natasha is a great beauty.

For many of you who read my blog, you encounter the holiday dilemma in the coming months with Thanksgiving and Christmas, perhaps Passover, or Kwanzaa. Here is the dilemma... "Do we go to your parents house, or mine? Who gets which holiday? When do we simply stay at our own house?

I was reading about the Women of Ravensbrook. During the Holocaust, the Nazis crowded about 1000 Jewish women into a barracks designed for 240. They were forced into hard labor and suffered with little food, no medicine, no heat. The entire system was set up to work them to death. They could be killed at anytime on the whim of any guard.

Each evening, jammed together, suffering the cold and hunger, most sitting and sleeping on the wooden floors, they would talk. Talk about the food they missed, seeing their family again, cooking for them, recipes. Although punishable by death to have paper of ANY kind, one woman was able to find torn discards of paper, and wrote down the recipes for everyone. She would hide the scraps and the precious pencil. The women wanted to pass on their recipes, even if they didn't live to cook again.

When I think about the thoughts they expressed, the stories, the recipes, their longing to simply to be with family again, I think of the holidays in a whole new way. I think we can care for our families, and find creative ways to spend time with our parents. Passing the holiday talking, laughing, sharing with them...that's the recipe for life.

ModestNeeds

Today I'm going to tell you a brief story that will make your heart soar.

A woman applied to ModestNeeds.org for aid. She had a child who needed specialty glasses. Her boy could only see colors, not shapes. This eye deformity is correctable with specialty eyeglasses that cost about $500. She had little money, but the need was great as the boy was about to start kindergarden. So she applied for help. Asking for $500 was huge for her, so she only asked for $50 -enough for the down payment. She hoped she would find a way to pay the balance on payments.

The people at ModestNeeds looked at the situation, their funds on hand, and told her, "If you pay for the frames, we'll pay for the lenses." She took her son to the doctor who started the process. When he fitted the boy with the glasses he looked up in astonishment and said "Mom, is that you?" 

In her day to day struggle to put food on the table, and to raise a family, she really didn't know just how bad off he had been. Now, he can wear glasses, go to school, be a normal kid. She is still paying ModestNeeds $5 per month for the frames. 

If you would like to know more about ModestNeeds, you can click the link. There, you can read requests for help, apply for help, make a donation. Go ahead, I dare you. We all live in this world together.

Jim

Corner Wedding Chapel -Mid-Cities- Jim Rode Photographer

Wonderful wedding! I've been working it as the couple head for the coast for their honeymoon cruise. It was one of those weddings where everyone is so happy and friendly, that you regret not having met them sooner.

Their wedding was at the Corner Wedding Chapel in Hurst. 

While Sylvia went to the garden display at Fair Park...I hit the baseball hall of fame exhibit. Oh my gosh how cool is this! A terrific collection of memoribilia. Ty Cobbs sharpened spikes. No wonder everyone hated him. He could cut you bad.

Andy Warhol. If you're a fan -you love it!

Wow! Roberto Clemente cap. Here was an early hero of mine. What an arm! He died in  a plane crash bringing hurricane relief supplies in a chartered plane. Three thousand hits is considered the minimum to make the hall of fame for a hitter. He got exactly that before death. I think it was God's way of saying...you're coming home, but I've got a little gift for you before you go.

A uniform from the Professional Women's Baseball League. Remember the movie A League of Their Own? Seeing a real uniform was special. And the "girls" wore skirts. Slide into second with a skirt? You can't tell me they didn't have guts.

And now, the start of the baseball season...it's April again. It is also the 61st anniversary of Jackie Robinson being brought to the majors from the "Negro Leagues," breaking the "color" barrier. He had to pledge to Branch Rickey not to say a word for 3 years even with all the crap he was going to face. Nothing else carries both the sad and the fantastic at the same time. Talk about pressure. If he didn't "make this work" then they may have not tried to integrate baseball for another 20 years. Integrating baseball was a kind of first step for civil rights. Truman did force the integration of the armed forces months before, but that mostly took place in europe where we had been fighting the world war. Mr. Robinson carried a lot on his shoulders. He had to prove he was so good that it didn't make sense not to have an African-American on the team. He was taunted from the stands, the other team, umpires, and even his own teammates at first. They threw stuff at him, refused him hotel rooms, and to eat where the other players ate. That uniform is as special as the Babe's, or Josh Gibson, or Ty Cobb. We all stand on the shoulders of giants.

Sylvia and I met up later. The flowers were beautiful she said. (Yeah, but I'm the one who got choked up.)

Kathleen and Jason met me at the world's largest earth clock. We started doing engagements and in less than 10 minutes...it was pouring.  Did we have a good time? You bet. Fun, romantic, some real WOW images! Isn't it romantic? -as they say...a simple walk in the rain? There wedding will be at the Marty Leonard Chapel in Fort Worth. Cool!

I got kicked out of Fort Worth (so-to-speak). Rats, I hate when that happens. Well, I'm exaggerating a little! Tonie (a real knockout! like my Dad used to say), Anthony and I went to Fort Worth to do an Engagement Safari. Had a great time with fantastic images. 

I had Tonie sitting on a short planter wall and was asking Anthony to lie on his back with his head in her lap. Nice and cozy...romantic...Tonie would cradle his head and they could whisper...NOT.

One of those "security" goofballs that ride around on bicycles saw us. You can't do that can you? You...yeah - you with the camera in your hand...what are you doing? Duh. What do you think I'm doing? No tripod. I'm holding a camera like any tourist. I guess he screws his hat on in the morning. 

We finished up in other locations. You can't stop love.

Tonie and Anthony will be married at the Green Oaks Wedding Chapel. 

Oh yeah...the last time I got kicked out of town...Sylvia and I had driven way too long. We were going through Fresno CA in the night, and got off an exit for the road "Hotel and Motel Road". It seemed like the logical exit...but did look a little seedy. We pulled up to a parked police car and asked where a good hotel would be. He sent us north to "40th Ave." (best of my memory anyway). By the time we got to 40th...we knew he had sent us about 5 miles OUT OF TOWN! It was the absolute edge of city limits. Very funny...

Can a day be more perfect? I spent a sunny day with Erica and Andrew on Safari doing engagement images.  They will be married later this year at Chapelle des Fleurs in Flower Mound (Now called Le Beaux Chateau). We had a blast cruising the Fort Worth Museum District (and some nearby places). They are true blue (ummmm true maroon) students of Texas A&M. So we put the Aggie banner up to open their slide-show.

In March of 08 Sylvia and I traveled the back roads of Oklahoma and Kansas to gather with the Rode clan in Overland Park. Oklahoma sites included Bartlesville, where Frank Phillips started Phillips 66, and Price Tower, the only skyscraper designed and built by Frank Lloyd Wright. Kansas included Coffeeville and the Tom Mix museum.

We stayed in a famous Motor Lodge built in the 1950's...which still carried old fashion charm. It is located of the historical marker designating the official intersection where the Oregon and Sante Fe trails crossed paths. I asked if they had a big easy chair in any of the rooms, and they gave us a huge suite with two recliners in the main room! Stayed 3 days...each morning I awoke expecting to be kicked out and moved to a cheaper room. The bathroom had tile the same style and color as the house I grew up in, many, many years ago.

We ate lunch at Johnny Cascone's, always great food. The image above is from my cell phone...of course I'm cutting people off! My apologies. We had bar-b-que later. We even gathered again at the Nelson Art Gallery the next day. Over the years most of us had eaten in their Roman courtyard. Later, we wandered the Impressionist gallery. Above is an image of olive trees by Van Gough.

Andrea and Daniel were married at the Northeast Wedding Chapel. Everything goes so smoothly there. What I really loved though was seeing how many great friends they had. It sounds silly, but people with a lot of friends seem to have the best weddings! I guess as they say in west Texas..."they're good people." I hope that doesn't sound hokey...but it fits my reaction to the wedding. If you are friends with this couple, you've got good friends!

Andrea wanted what is called in California, "Trash the Dress". I called it "Rock the Frock" for a while. I can't get over the "new" thing of taking the gown out to places it will get dirty! I think it is a tension breaker. You do so many things to make the wedding day perfect, that when it's over, it's time to break-out. I still don't like that phrase...or even my "frock" subsitute. So I've decided to call it "Field Trip." Wherever we go after the wedding is over...it will be a field trip!

Nikki flew in from Washington. She booked me by telephone and we had never met. She was a bit nervous on her wedding day (so many things to take care of long distance), but everything was fantastic! It was a small intimate wedding, but hearts were big. I love these weddings! Here is an image.

See their wedding video in the Events section of www.JimRode.com.

Mr. Rode, I’m about to beg. I went with ******* photography for my daughters wedding August 18th. She cost $900. We thought you were a bit high, and I was paying for everything so I picked her. My husband says I should have just thrown the money down the toilet. The kids are mad at me. She did alright, but she only took 200 pictures and they are all boring and look faded compared to your pictures. Dan said he could have done a better job.

I don’t see anywhere where you do family pictures, but if we paid you a sitting fee can you take pictures of our family at church around Thanksgiving or Christmas? We always have family in on the holidays and my daughter can bring her gown....etc.
Fran

I asked Fran if I could put her letter on my blog. She said "Do it. I should be a lesson to everyone." She did ask me not to use her real name. She also said I must hear this kind of thing all the time. I don't. I think people make choices and stand by them.

Here is the point of this post. There is a reason so many photographers have a low price. They are uninspired and unprofessional. And 99% (I'm guessing on the percentage here) of these "inexpensive" photographers have some other job 40-plus hours a week. $900 bucks is a huge bonus for the weekend. That is where their passion is. That is where their creativity goes -their REAL job. You might as well give a camera to someone at work and say "Here's a check, come photograph my wedding."

There is a reason photographers like me cost a little more. You are not paying for someone to take pictures. You are investing in Jim Rode, his experience and creativity. I don't have another job. This is what I do, it's all I want to do. I do a lot of things that provide value for your wedding day...from spending the day making creating fantastic engagements with you, to artisically editing each wedding image the week after the wedding. So don't say he charges this much for 5 hours and she charges that. You are not really examining what your photographer is going to do for you. I probably work 30-40 hours with each engagement and wedding. That other photographer made a killing just handing over a cd as she left the wedding reception -She killed a beautiful wedding day.

You don't ask your neighbor to deliver a baby...unless he or she is a doctor. You wedding day should be treated professionally too. And yes, I am helping Fran get some family photographs. I can't do anything about the lost wedding.

The reason the phrase "You get what you pay for," has been around for a hundred years...because its been true for a hundred years.