I love skylines.  The most familiar to me throughout my childhood was the Atlanta skyline.  As a kid riding in the backseat on long road trips to our family in Mississippi or vacation home in Florida, I would look forward to the 20 minutes we spent driving through Atlanta.  I didn't even mind sitting in the traffic.  Whenever we would detour for some reason and go around the city, rather than through it, my heart would sink a little in disappointment.  To this day, whenever I drive through Atlanta, my eyes divert from all electronics (if I'm driving, it's a little hard for me to keep them on the road) and stare happily out the window for the fifteen or twenty minutes it takes to cross the city.

While the skyline during the day is beautiful, there is something about seeing a city illuminated at night that just makes my heart sing.  So in Los Angeles, my heart sings quite often.  And on the overpass, I have to constantly remind myself to keep my eyes on the road.

The overpass is incredibly tempting to me.  I want to just pull over on the side and stare out at the city... and take out my camera and tripod for long exposures of the beautiful Los Angeles skyline illuminated at night.  But I fight the temptation because that's incredibly dangerous and also, I believe, illegal.  So I went to the internet for suggestions of parking garages that I could access for nighttime views of the skyline.



Someone on a photography forum suggested the parking garage at The Grove, an upscale outdoor mall in West Hollywood.  Shopping and photography?  Sounded like the perfect combination to me!

I'm going to take a break from my Orlando Trip Report to remember a good friend, Greg Ammons.

For the past five summers, I have worked for Greg Ammons at Ammons Portrait Studio in Pendleton, South Carolina.  My heart was shattered Saturday morning when I heard the terrible news - Greg had passed away during the night from a severe heart attack.

Recently, Greg loved to tell the story of how I got my job.  A shy, young girl came in to pick up her photos and said, "Mr. Ammons, do you need any help this summer?"  What he would often leave out of the story is that initially, he turned me down.  He had already promised someone's mother that she could work that summer because she really needed the help.  But I pushed a little further... I told him that I was good with computers and knew Photoshop.  Later that evening, I found a message on our machine - "I've thought it over, and I could really use you this summer.  Come in tomorrow morning."

Most of my work was in post-processing and printing, and Greg and I taught each other new tricks.  A few weeks ago, Greg admitted to me that he used to spend the evenings learning Photoshop on Youtube so that he would sound knowledgeable when he was explaining things to me the next day!

Greg was an outstanding photographer.  His natural talent combined with lighting and composition skills are a rare find today.  He was a perfectionist, and though I would sometimes get a little huffy when he wanted me to "take out more of the red in his face and print it again," I admired his determination to only produce his best work. The longer I worked with him, the less we had to redo.... because my eye for imperfections improved.

When I started working for Greg, I was not a photographer.  My introduction to photography was quite backwards, actually... I became interested in how the photo was made through my work in post-production.

Last summer, Greg invited me to bring my own camera and shoot alongside him at the Clemson Open Water event.  The coordinator of the event had arranged for him to go up in this airplane and take aerial shots.  Greg wasn't too fond of heights, so he suggested that I go up in the plane, instead.  I was so excited for this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.  Unfortunately, the sky wasn't clear enough for me to go up in the plane, but Greg insisted that I at least pose in front of it for a photo...



Greg's attention to detail would often astound me.  He could interpret so much about a person just by their expressions and mannerisms, as well as the clothing they wore and how they styled their hair.  Sometimes after talking to a potential client, he would tell me that they were definitely serious.  "How do you know?"  "I could tell by her shoes."

Starting on the  Royal Princess over Christmas, I've made it a habit to bring my tripod and remote so that I can take long exposure photos in the late evening or early morning around the ship.  Between 11 PM and 6 AM, most guests are in their staterooms which allows for the opportunity to take photos of large public spaces without people.  Not only that, but the lighting design on the latest cruise ships has become quite beautiful, and taking photos after dark allows you to really showcase the light both indoors and out on deck.

I was especially excited to photograph the Disney Fantasy because the ship is so beautiful.  On the first night of the cruise, Max and I were walking back from the hot tub late at night, and he even admitted that he was excited to photograph the ship because the lighting on the Disney Fantasy is so incredible.

Well.... in all of the fun that I was having with my family, enjoying activities that the Disney Fantasy had to offer, I put my long exposures off until the last night.  This was a mistake, and I will never be so careless again because on our way from Castaway Cay to Port Canaveral, we sailed high winds, rough waters, and periods of rain. I was really upset with myself and concerned that I wasn't going to be able to take the photos I wanted.

Cabanas

We started in Cabanas because I absolutely love this mosaic and wanted to make sure that I photographed it.

The semester is finally OVER!  I just finished up my fourth and final architecture studio at Clemson University, and it was the toughest and most exhausting studio I've ever been part of.

However, I have some pretty exciting news - I have my own website!  Domain name and all!



VictoriaShingleton.com serves as a central hub connecting all of my creative outlets - architecture, photography, sketching, and my travel blog.

This Monday, I finally got around to taking the long exposures around Columbia University that had been on my to-do list.  I'm so glad that I didn't put this off any longer.

I've known Emily forever.  Our mothers are best friends, so we grew up playing together during their get-togethers.  We've gone on several vacations with her family and basically grew up together.  One thing I love about Emily is that she's so genuine and sweet - beautiful on the inside and out.  Her happiness is infectious  If you're having a bad day, she'll cheer you up.  If you need a hug, Emily is there.

Emily and Steven have been together since high school.  Steven is absolutely hilarious.  He tells the best stories and never fails to make you laugh.  He's absolutely the perfect guy for Emily - the two are so adorable together.  And what's exceptionally awesome about Steven is that he's so involved in the wedding planning process.  Steven was actually the one to call me to set up the photo shoot and who I communicated with about the Christmas cards.

Emily and Steven were engaged last May, and I shot her brother, Jay's wedding last August.  Steven and Emily wanted photos for a Christmas card that also announced their engagement.  Besides that, they really left a lot up to me, which was awesome.

We shot their photos on a variety of locations on Emily's family land.  I loved the outfits that Emily and Steven chose.

We started at the "Old Home Place."  The colors there were beautiful.







The horses weren't too fond of the camera, but one did venture over to say hello.









Steven kept us laughing the entire time -





We then moved to Grandma's farm.











And we ended at Emily's house.  We were battling a light rain towards the end.  But Emily had a very positive take to it - the dark skies made it look more wintery for their Christmas photos!

Emily and Steven entered their church's Twitter competition wearing their Newspring "Fully Alive" shirts.  What's more alive than Christmas lights?

The submitted (and winning!) photo -

 



Steven texted me earlier that week asking if I had any Mickey gloves. It just so happened I did!





Once Emily's mom came home, we got a case of the giggles...what's funnier than a future mother-in-law peeking in the background?





And the final product -



Emily and Steven, I really loved doing this shoot and thank you both for the opportunity!  Congratulations, again, on your engagement!

I was ecstatic to photograph my first wedding last month, and couldn't have been luckier with the bride and groom!

Amee and Jay were married at Lebanon Baptist Church on Saturday, August 4, 2012, followed by a reception at the Anderson County Farmer's Market.

Jay's mother and my mother are best friends, so Jay has always been sort of an older brother figure to me.  So obviously, that gives me the right to be extremely picky about his significant other.  And I honestly don't think there could be anyone more perfect for him than Amee.

Amee is the furthest thing from a Bridezilla that you'll ever meet.  Her calmness despite whatever craziness was going on around her amazed me.  It was clear that the thing most important to her through the entire wedding process was marrying the love of her life.

I arrived at the church that afternoon to photograph Amee and her bridesmaids getting ready.



It was good-luck raining when the bridal party arrived at the church.

















The girls got ready in the nursery, and I thought it was adorable how the bridesmaids used the cubbies for their bouquets!























Jay is a volunteer firefighter, so what better than a firetruck for their getaway car? Loved it!



















Amee and Jay's sister, Emily -





Sibling love -







This is the bride calmly and happily explaining directions to the church over the phone. Amazed me!!!





Amee, you were a stunning bride -





The gorgeous mother of the groom -







I didn't photograph the ceremony, but it was beautiful. The love between Jay and Amee couldn't have been more apparent in their vows. It was such a sweet ceremony that truly fit the bride and groom.

The reception took place at the Anderson County Farmer's Market.



















The firetruck was decorated by the groomsmen - too cute!





It was an absolutely beautiful wedding and reception, and I am so grateful that I had the opportunity to photograph it. Amee and Jay, thank you for letting me be a part of your big day. I wish you two a lifetime of happiness together!