StillPoint Dance Theatre

This past Wednesday evening, StillPoint Dance Theatre performed at Ingram Hall on the Vanderbilt University campus.  I can't begin to describe the beauty of the dancers and the music itself.  There are just too many images to put on this site, so you'll just have to check out the images on my website at http://www.martinoconnorphoto.com/ and go to the Online Preivew link followed by the Dance icon.  Trust me, it's worth the time to take a look.    A special note to Amber Beckham regarding the use of her beautiful photography in one of the dance pieces.  It really added a wonderful backdrop to all the live work on the stage.

Tennessee Association of Dance 2009

The Tennessee Association of Dance had it's 2009 conference at Austin Peay State University recently.To see all the images, please go to my website at http://www.martinoconnorphoto.com/ and click the Online Preview Link. Once you do that, click the Dance Link and just follow the trail. Thanks everyone for a great weekend!

Noah Liff Opera Center

Had a chance to take some location photos recently at the new Noah Liff Opera Center in Nashville. In addition to hosting the Nashville Opera, they are opening their doors to other types of events as well. It's a wonderful facility and should be investigated as a possible wedding reception site.
http://www.noahliffoperacenter.com/

Contrapasso

Contrapasso came back into town and brought with them a set of new ideas and images. To see more, please go to my photo arts blog at http://www.martinoconnorphotoarts.blogspot.com/. My thanks to everyone who worked with me.

Light the Night - Nashville, Tennessee 2009

Light the Night in Nashville was extra special in 2009! Hailey White, a student from the Franklin School of Performing Arts, invited me to join this year's walk and as a fellow survivor, I wouldn't have missed it for anything. Hailey, along with friends and family, joined hundreds and possibly thousands walk downtown Nashville in a show of support. It was a great evening and all of us had a chance to see and talk with others who have been touched by cancer and the related challenges that go with it.  A complete set of the night's images can be seen by going to my Facebook Photography Page.  If you need help getting there, please e-mail me at MOCPhoto@comcast.net.  Thanks for checking in!

Part Time vs. Full Time

I'm running into an interesting phenomenon in photography over the last few years.  I'm going to call it the two sides of part time vs fulltime individual.  I'm aware that the current ecomony is making everyone more aware of how they need to spend their hard earned dollars and with this in mind, I ask you to consider which is the better long term investment.

1.  Fulltime vendors are dedicated to his or her service.  
2.  Partime vendors may be jugglling several services in an effort to "make a buck" at any cost.
3.  Fulltime vendors focus on their craft and you as a client more effectively than someone spreading
     themselves too thin at times.
4.  Fulltime vendors more often than not have a long track record of success compared to
     part time or multiple service individuals.
5.  MegaMart style stores cover acres of products but how often do you really rely on them
     for customer service?  In many cases, it's more cost effective to go to a specialist for the best and
     most long term cost effective service and solution.
6.  Part time or multitaskers still only have 24 hours in a day.  I checked.  Keep that in mind when
     you wonder why it's taking so long for them to get back to you.

7.  To be continued......

Sisters Portrait

A few years ago I photographed two sisters at the Franklin School of Performing Arts.  It's been a long time favorite for a lot of people and just recently I had a chance to re-create the idea with different sisters.  It just goes to show that a simple idea often stands the test of time over things that are more flash than substance.
Thanks Hannah and Emma, working with you is always a great experience.

Union Station Triple Wedding

There's always something new just around the corner it seems.  A few weeks ago, I received call from a bride who was going to be in Nashville and needed a simple service for a small wedding at Union Station in Nashville, Tennessee.  The ceremony was during the week and I was more than happy to put together a special package that would take care of her needs.  As the conversation continued, I discovered that there was actually going to be 3 brides!  Long story short, the brides were as follows, mother, daughter, and best friend.  White visiting Nashville and Union Station, they decided this would be a lot of fun.  We all met on a Wednesday night, covered the ceremony, shot pictures inside Union Station, and caught the carriage exit as well.  It was a great little evening and everyone had a great time.  I hope they come back to visit us again in Nashville and maybe we can cover their first anniversary!  By the way, we helped them out with a dinner choice as well so be aware of what's within carriage ride distance from where you shoot.

Best of Neighbors

This was originally posted on my website Blog Page at http://www.martinoconnorphoto.com/ but I liked it so much,

I had to add it to this blog.  Sometimes the best images are right in your own neighborhood!

Mother and Child

Mother and child portraits has been a staple in the photo industry for years and luckily for me,

this holds true as well.  Many of my brides and grooms are artists or work in arts related fields and as a result, often give me unique opportunities when working with them.  These images are still an ongoing favorite of mine.  Again, enjoy! http://www.martinoconnorphoto.com/

Senior Portrait Season Continues

Well, another one of my favorite artists is now a Senior and moving on with all the things that go with it. Luckily for me, I had the chance to work with her on a Senior Location Portrait Session.

Taking time out of a very humid Saturday morning, we met at a favorite location of hers and worked for about 2 hours or until the heat got the better of both of us. Not really, I was sweating bullets, Allison was cool as cucumber and never lost any of her energy. That's the way it should be as far as I'm concerned and I think we came up with some great images. Thanks again Allison for allowing me to work with you, and if anyone would like to see more, go to my website at

http://www.martinoconnorphoto.com/ and click on the Seniors link.

West End United Methodist Church to High Note Farm Reception

It's a rare priviledge that a photographer gets to be a part of more than one wedding in a family but in this case, I won out. The Finch family hired me several years ago to be a part of their daughter's wedding at the Cheekwood Mansion in Nashville, Tennessee. It was a beautiful afternoon and we couldn't have asked for a nicer group of people to work for. During the course of some formal shots requested by the family, I asked the bride's father about his family. I discovered that he had two more daughters coming to wedding world in the not too distant future. Well, you know what we call that? A photographer's DREAM! Due to a family emergency I was not able to shoot wedding number two but when number three came around, I was more than ready. My continued thanks to all the Finch family for keeping us in the mix. The wedding was at West End United Methodist Church and the reception at
High Note - better known as the Llama farm. Yes, there are live llamas wandering the property. If you would like more information reagarding this event, please feel free to contact me at MOCPhoto@comcast.net or my website at www.martinoconnorphoto.com

Over the years we've had the opportunity to work at many wonderful locations, each one having it's own unique qualities. One in particular stands out among many because of its location and beauty. The place is better known as Cedarwood Mansion. The owners and staff do a great job of taking care of bride and grooms' needs and make for a worry free day for everyone involved. Please feel free to contact me if you have additional questions.

To see more images please go to www.martinoconnorphoto.com and click on the Blog Link.

StillPoint

Talk about a week of unusual happenings, I just had the distinct pleasure of working with StillPoint Dance Theatre this week. Sharon Perry, the founder and artistic director asked me if I would be interested in photographing some of their current company members. It took less than a split second to make that decision! I saw this group's performance of Voices from the Ground last year and they were absolutely wonderful. It's an honor to even be considered to work with them. I'll be posting some of the images soon but in the meantime, several of the dancers were kind enough to indulge me with the picture you see below. It was a tough assignment, but someone had to do it! If you would like to know more about the company, information can be found at the following link: http://www.stillpointdt.com/. For more information and dance related images, please go to my website at www.martinoconnorphoto.com and click on the Dance-Fine Art Link

A Bridal Portrait to Remember!

Not long ago, I shot a portrait session that will probably be one of the most memorable in my career to date. Carrie Gerrow and her husband Scott are Nashville based artists. Scott is a musician and great writer, his wife, a beautiful dancer. Carrie was kind enough, (and possibly brave enough), to bring her dress to the studio and let my imagination take off. I can't really begin to tell you what a thrill it was to watch her amazing talent unfold so I'll just let the images speak for themselves. Thank you again Carrie for your beauty and willingness to make this happen.

If you would like to see more images from this shoot, please go to:

http://www.martinoconnorphoto.com/ and click on the Blog Link.

Senior Portrait Season

Loosing track of time so easily and once again, another one of my seniors is moving on. Luckily she had time to work with me before heading to college. I've had the unique opportunity of working with Erin as a dancer for some time. In this case however, we went out of the studio and into the elements. July weather is a challenge for people indoors so imagine how uncomfortable it was outdoors. Regardless, she was up for the challenge and just looks amazing!

More images from this session can be seen by going to my website at: http://www.martinoconnorphoto.com/ and clicking on the Seniors link.