You've heard me say it before...I'm fortunate and blessed; I know it. I count my blessings every day...I can't say that enough.

It seems that with each wedding I photograph I'm given the gift of working with some of the most wonderful people; each being authentic individuals that are sweet, sincere, kind, grounded, unpretentious and some of the BEST people you'd ever want to meet and spend the day with. I truly have such a special place in my heart for all my clients, past and current. Laura, Luke and their families were another beautiful example of the kind of client I love and am fortunate to have in my life!

Laura + Luke's wedding was the last of my season and a perfect way to end a great 2009 year of beautiful weddings with wonderful couples!  Please enjoy the images, then read on below for more of my thoughts and information on the vendors that made their day special.  And, for the first person who spots the "mystery guest" in one of the photos below and posts it first HERE ON THE BLOG, you'll receive a gift card from me!  This mystery guest just HAD to be with Laura + Luke on their big day!

I LOVE love!  So for me, photographing weddings is the ultimate gift where I get to immerse myself in happiness and the boundless love of couples and their families while doing what I love to do!  Then, I get to give that gift of love right back to my couples and their families through the beautiful imagery I create for them.

So, to the Gerraro, Wiehagen and Rooney families on my second wedding photographing all of you, thank you, from the bottom of my heart, for trusting me with your very important memories.  It was an honor and a pleasure to be with you all once again. 

Church: St. Peter Parish, Arch Street in the Historic North Side - reverently beautiful!
Reception: LeMont Restaurant, Grandview Boulevard, Mount Washington - stunning views, efficient service, always the best!
Event Planning and Design: Simone Hudson of 5Senses Events Design - joyous planning + worry-free execution for all your events!
Floral Artistry: Bill Chisnell of Design Space - dramatic floral artistry intended to convey your unique statement!
Photographer: yours truly!

NOTE: Keep checking back to this post for an update in the near future as The New York Times will be publishing both an article on the tradition of the cookie tables at weddings here in Pittsburgh and a video interview of Laura and Luke's Aunts who so lovingly created all the cookies for the occasion!

Dunno how I get so fortunate nearly all of the time to work with such great couples/families...
Carola + Shawn and their families were no exception to that rule - lucky me!  What a wonderful group of down-to-earth, fun-loving, caring and delightful people. I love you all...BIG!

We had plenty of time to take photos, as Carola and Shawn elected to make their photographs a priority and met prior to the ceremony.  This is such a smart thing to do and I promise to elaborate on why in another blog post. So, we enjoyed photographing family initially at the Omni William Penn Hotel in downtown Pittsburgh, then moved on to Oakland for photos of the wedding party and Carola + Shawn at Mellon Institute, otherwise affectionately known as "the columns."  There are so many images from the day that I actually didn't know where to begin to choose, so below is una pequeña muestra sampling so everyone can quell their excitement a bit longer - ENJOY!

This was one well planned and organized wedding, all thanks to the wonderful event designer Simone Hudson of 5Senses Events!  I have had the good fortune of working with Simone on numerous occasions, and can testify first hand to Simone's stellar ability to stylishly dress an event and her delightfully passionate personality towards her work!  Simone took the room with a view on the 31st Floor of the Regional Enterprise Tower in the heart of downtown Pittsburgh, and turned it into a chic boutique event! Beautifully executed, Simone!

T H E   I M A G E   W I T H I N  : :  A   C R E A T I V E   L E S S O N   F O R   P H O T O G R A P H E R S  : :   I N S P I R A T I O N   B Y   J O A N N E   B A R T O N E

This is the first of many ideas I have in mind that are meant to present this concept. It is a joy for me to finally be actualizing this Art Photography project after having conceptualized it for at least four years now!  I was INSPIRED to embark on this journey in composition and creativity as a means to broaden my ability to view an original image differently, and in many different ways.  My hopes are that the photographers that visit my blog will consider integrating this idea for themselves. I would suspect this creative concept is not new, but I've not seen it or previously done it myself, so here is my version...

THE IMAGE WITHIN:
A visual enigma of many photographic compositions extracted from the whole.

The Original Image:

A   V I S U A L   R E S P I T E :

I so rarely get to indulge myself in my Art Photography and it's something that I so badly want to do.  It calls to me daily, constantly even, so I've been paying more and more attention to those callings and have begun to nurture the art side of my photography more.

I was fortunate to have a couple of long weekends away from Pittsburgh a few weeks ago.  Combining a little business with pleasure, we traveled to both Washington, D.C. and Boston, MA.  I was grateful for blue skies and the opportunity to be outside, walking and walking, on what were two gloriously sunny and warm weekends.  I always take a camera with me when I go away so I can photograph the local flavors, no matter what they may be.

I left my Social Work career of seventeen years when I was the Director of an Inpatient Treatment Facility.  Returning to school for photography and embarking on my new career as an adult, I was drawn to Abstract and Exterior Architectural Photography, and I still am.  I love the disconnect from people in Architectural imagery. I so enjoy the angles, colors, lines and the organic visuals of how earth and building meet, or how building meets sky, sometimes making sense and many times making no sense.  I love how huge buildings that seem invasive, constricting and suffocating to us on the ground appear so free in the sky.  Reflections, abstractions; so different from documenting people.  So beautiful in its own right.

One of my Architectural Photography images won an International Photography Award in 2005 in the Beauty: Camera Eye of the Beholder: Architecture category of a WIPI competition.  I was thrilled - I still am! 

Needless to say, I'll be presenting a lot more of my Art Photography here on the blog.  I must remind myself more often that my Art is a visual respite that refuels my spirit and helps my soul soar!

Here are a few of the  images from my adventures a few weeks ago. ENJOY!  And don't forget to comment about the images here on the blog; I'd love to know your thoughts!

Moral of the story: look up!



PS: very little Photoshop-ing was done on these images. Blame it on the sun...and a good photographer!  :-)

BIG love, Joanne Bartone Photographer  ::  www.joannebartone.com  ::  tele: 412.418.8075

Do any of these situations apply to you or anyone you know:
- getting married.
- would like a maternity portrait session.
- would like a family portrait session.
- would like a senior portrait session.
- having a birthday or anniversary party.
- considering a boudoir photography session.
- need photography for business promotional pieces.
- need your workshop / seminar / holiday party photographed.

I'm happy to provide my time and talent to photograph ANY of the above events FREE if my current, and soon-to-be-new, Joanne Bartone Photography FaceBook fans could help me build my FaceBook fan base exponentially by 12.31.2009, or sooner.  My goal is to gain more exposure (pun intended) on FaceBook which will lead me to a potential increased client base.

One person who delivers the most new fans at 5000 fans will receive one free maternity, children, family or boudoir portrait session.
One person who delivers the most new fans at 7500 fans will receive one free small business promo or event session, or birthday/anniversary session.
One person who delivers the most new fans at 10,000 fans will receive one free wedding photography service.

 

Both current and new fans must follow these two steps to participate:

1. CURRENT FaceBook FANS:
You will simply need to send out a quick "share" email by doing the following:
Click HERE to go to my Joanne Bartone Photography FaceBook Fan Page.
Beneath the logo of my orange Camera w/ the heart lens in the upper left corner is a "Suggest to Friends" link. OR, click on the SHARE+ tab on the left below the current fan list.
Click on that link and a pop-up window will open that takes you to the list of your FaceBook friends or a share window for you to type a message.
Click on "All" or select individual friends to email.
Then add a personal note, such as:
"Joanne Bartone Photographer is a wonderful photographer that I know who is trying to gain exposure and expand her client base. I'm helping her do that by asking you to become a fan of her work on FaceBook. There is no obligation for you to use her services at any time and it costs you nothing, but if I bring her the most fans in helping her reach her fan goals, I'm eligible to be chosen for free wedding / family portrait / maternity (choose one) photography services!  And once you become a fan, you become eligible to be awarded the same free services too!  Please become a fan of Joanne Bartone Photography. Thank you!" ...or something similar.

I'm going to need proof of who sent whom to become a fan of my work in order to award the services, so HERE'S WHAT NEW FANS WILL NEED TO DO TO TELL ME WHO SENT THEM:

2. ONCE SOMEONE BECOMES A NEW FAN OF Joanne Bartone Photography ON FaceBook THEY WILL NEED TO:
* Click HERE to fill out and send my contact form as follows:
* Complete all required information on the form: name, email address, event date: 12.31.09, how you found me: FB PROMO.
* SUBJECT: NEW FB FAN. 
* MESSAGE: give the name of the person who asked you to become my fan!
* Click the "Submit" button to send the information.   

THAT 2ND STEP IS CRITICAL! 
BE SURE TO COPY AND PASTE the asterisked (*) info into your personal email message to your FaceBook friends so the new fans you deliver can be totaled to determine how many fans you brought to me!  These emails will be filtered to determine who the top fan promoters were so they will be eligible for the free photography services. Again, new fans become eligible for the free photography promotion too by encouraging their friends to become fans in the same way!  It's a win-win opportunity for everyone!

BONUS: in addition to providing free photography services for an eligible participant, for the person who brings me the most fans propelling me to reach 10,000 fans and in honor of October being breast cancer awareness month, I will make a donation to the Susan G. Koman for the Cure Foundation.

I have a list of my current Joanne Bartone Photography Fans on FaceBook, so I know who is there as of today's date: 10.06.2009 = 192 fans total.  It wouldn't take much to reach the fan goals.  If each of my current Joanne Bartone Photography fans brought me only 27 additional fans I'd get beyond my goal of 5000+ fans easily.  Or, if each of my current fans brought me 52 additional fans, I'd reach 9900+ fans!  And, as new fans come in, they are eligible to participate in the promotion too, so theoretically a goal of 10k fans is very reachable!

Let the promotion begin!

No purchase necessary to participate. Eligibility requirements can be viewed on the on-going Promotions page here on the blogsite.