Our big announcement!!

photo by Keith Pitts

photography unscripted

a 2 Day Experiential Workshop 

Paris, France

July 23rd and 24th 2012

lead by improvisational portrait artist Keith Pitts

see and photograph the beauty of real moments in one of the most beautiful cities in the world

two days filled with instruction, insight and inspiration (and of course, lots of hands-on photography)

with Keith’s guidance, you will learn to:

++define your uniquely artistic persona

++differentiate yourself from other competitors

++deliver a style that will cut through fads and trends - no need to keep reinventing yourself

++create a photo session that is beautiful in it’s pure simplicity

++see and capture the secret beauty of real moments without contrived props, posing or preconceptions

This experience is for the amateur to professional portrait and wedding photographer who wishes to define their unique style and rise above the mundane

limited to 8 photographers, please email melissa@keithpitts.com for an interview

I love my kids, but every once in awhile I feel overwhelmed raising them. There are times when I am impatient or tired or think life is challenging. But then I try to put it all in perspective and realize that these frustrating moments are fleeting, just growing pains for Keith and I as parents and Isabella and Gabby as kids.  This is stuff every parent goes through at one time or another. And some parents go through much more.

A recent email reminds me of how lucky we are. These tiny little blips in our family life are so inconsequential to what some family’s grapple with on a daily basis.

A few years ago, Keith arrived at a family portrait session – 3 children and their parents. The kids were just adorable. As he was having fun photographing them – the parents mentioned that their little one, Henry had a debilitating condition called mitochondrial disease. The little guy could not eat solid food – he was fed through a feeding tube. “In his first three years, Henry had 12 surgeries and procedures, dozens of diagnostic exams, over one hundred doctors’ appointments (with over a dozen specialists), hundreds of physical therapy sessions, taken several medicines, and the list goes on.  And, of course, he had (and has) gear.  He has a feeding pump, a nebulizer, feeding tubes and other stuff, an IV pole, bags that depressurize his stomach, a back pack to carry his pump, leg braces, and . . . .  You get the picture.”

That’s about the time Keith took the above photo of Henry.

Since that time, Henry’s older brother has also been diagnosed with the same disease. Yet somehow, the parents have found the strength to start a foundation called Henry’s Hope, adopt another child (2 of Henry’s siblings are adopted), write a book called Three Candles and help other family’s with children that  have life-threatening conditions.

The email was from Henry’s dad – just keeping us up to date on the family and sending us a link to the Three Candles website.

Talk about putting it all into perspective.

Travel and change of place impart new vigor to the mind.  ~Seneca

Truer words were never spoken. We have BIG plans for the summer.  Hint, hint, the above photo (taken by Keith in 2004) might have something to do with it. Stay tuned.

Small cheer and great welcome makes a merry feast. -William Shakespeare

This couple embodies why weddings are so special.

I just want to share two small stories. Last New Year’s Eve at their engagement party, I overheard a guest (one of the groom’s close friends) talking to the groom’s mother. He thanked her for raising such a special son, such a genuinely kind and grateful person. He went on in great detail and it was quite possibly one the kindest tributes to a mother I have ever had the privilege to hear in person. It brought tears to my eyes. I remember thinking, “Wow, I hope one day someone says that to me (about the way I raised my children)!” So touching.

And then a few months ago at their engagement session, we asked the couple why they chose to get married Thanksgiving weekend. A heartfelt answer that discussed family, love, thanks and togetherness and how important that was to them. What better weekend to have a wedding than Thanksgiving weekend?

Two words come to mind when I think of Thanksgiving: gratitude and family and that was definitely the common thread of this absolutely lovely and loving wedding.

……………..

No detail was overlooked on this beautiful wedding day.  A special thanks to all the vendors that make photographing their hard work so easy!

Venue:  The Royal Palms Resort

Coordinator:  Imoni Events

Videographer: Cinezona Films

Makeup:  Sarah San Marco

Flowers:  Blume Events

The Gorgeous Linen:  Southwick Linen

“In the end, it’s not going to matter how many breaths you took, but how many moments took your breath away” – Shing Xiong

After spending time with this couple I get the distinct impression that they live each day to its fullest and love each other like a beautiful love story with many, many moments that are breathtaking!

They have been together for the better part of a decade (click here to see their engagement session at Lake Arrowhead for more of their story) and seem as easy going around each other as you should be after all those years together yet they maintain a sense of excitement, like they just started this fun adventure together.

The genuine emotion of the day displayed itself through intimate moments alone, tears, kind words, laughs, and lots of humor.  A couple so happy together. Another moment, another day in their lives together that took their breath away.

The day started at The Sanctuary. Ollie the Trolley transported everyone to The Paradise Valley Country Club. The bride chose this venue for their stunning view of Camelback Mountain. Such a gorgeous backdrop for the ceremony and wedding celebration. Lauren Crump of Victoria Canada Wedding and Events overlooked no details in making the day just perfect.

{enjoy the digital preview – a sneak peek while we wait for the film!}

Venue: Paradise Valley Country Club

Coordinator:  Victoria Canada Weddings and Events

Flowers: Petal Pusher

Photo booth: The Live Photobooth

Video: Serendipity

Transportation: Ollie the Trolley

DJ:  DJ Slippe

NOTE: the images in this feed have been downsized or removed for copyright reasons. To see them in their unmodified state, please view the original post by clicking here.

“Life is a flower of which love is the honey” – Victor Hugo

[Sneak peek Part 2, continued from our previous post! We can't wait to get the film back...this is just our digital preview!]

A Jewish wedding is full of meaningful rituals: from signing the Ketubah (the gorgeous wedding contract pictured above), to the chuppah, which symbolically establishes a house in public to represent that the bride and groom’s lives will be spent together, to the breaking of glass, which reminds us that even in the midst of such a happy occasion we should not forget how fragile life truly is.

Tradition. Foundation. Love and partnership. Families joined together. A new beginning.

A successfully festive day.

Mazel Tov!

Click here to see a slideshow of the wedding

Venue:  The Phoenix Art Museum

Coordinator:  Amina Michele – Some Like it Classic Wedding & Event Design

Second Photographer: Ray Talamantes

“Love is life. And if you miss love, you miss life.” Leo Buscaglia

Last week Keith had the good fortune of photographing an absolutely lovely couple. The day was glorious. A Sikh wedding ceremony in the morning followed by a Jewish wedding ceremony in the afternoon. An eventful day dedicated to colorful tradition, love and marriage.

To wed is defined as becoming united in a formal ceremony. When you unite two religions, the end result is a day steeped in traditions accompanied by lots of love.

The Sikh marriage ceremony was performed at the Gurdwara – the Sikh Temple in Glendale.  From the lively Baraat, the groom’s wedding procession to the colorful bride’s Chunni to the groom’s Sehra – exciting Indian wedding rituals that together paint such a joyous and festive wedding story.

Two lovely families joined together through love and tradition.  A blissful union.

Coordinator:  Amina Michele of  Some Like it Classic Wedding and Event Design

(Stay tuned for part 2, the Jewish wedding ceremony at The Phoenix Art Museum)

This is the thing digital cameras can never take away from film cameras… they can age well. The shot on this page was taken with a camera that is very special to me. My Zeiss Ikon Contina IIa. It was built in 1956 as an exceptionally well made point and shoot. It is all manual and has a selenium cell light meter (NO batteries required). It is not a range finder nor an SLR (looking through the lens). To focus it you have to judge the distance to your subject and turn the lens scale to match your guess. It helps to be able to convert to meters as it is a German camera. It has not had a roll of film in it in as long as I’ve owned it until last week (shame). Despite it’s lack of modern conveniences  it is capable of adding beauty to the world when given the chance. Imagine how well a 55 year old digital camera will hold up. This camera will be able to work alongside it then too.

The reason this camera is special to me is not because it is old or beautiful (even though it is both of those). It is because it was given to me by a beautiful German lady named Helga. Helga lived in the Bronx when I met her and she was in her mid 70′s then. That was around 2000 or 2001. She lived in a house behind my mother’s that had been built by her husband when that part of the Bronx was still farm land. I used to periodically talk to her over the adjoining fences and it was always a treat. One day she asked me to come around to the house. When I arrived she said she was selling the house and moving since it had become too much to handle after the passing of her husband John (John by the way was a wonderful painter, a kind man and the subject of one of my favorite photographs I have ever taken). Helga handed me this camera and said that it was a gift. She had purchased it when she was leaving Germany as a sort of insurance policy. If things did not work out in America then she could sell it and buy her way back. Things did work and she stayed.

I have looked at this camera for years. Last week I decided to run a roll through it on our swing out to California and I got this photo. I love it. It is old and new all at once. It is new beauty in a changing world and it was placed here by a camera that is as gorgeous and functional at fifty-five as when it was new. Thank you Helga for one of the best gifts that was ever given to me.

Pacific Beach, San Diego, California taken with Zeiss Ikon Contina IIa on Kodak Tri-X

“Whatever our souls are made of, his and mine are the same.” - Emile Bronte

I could tell that this was exactly true for this special couple. The way the two interact with one another it is obvious that they have found in each other a soul mate, a life long partner. There is nothing more beautiful.

Not a typical Arizona day, a threat of rain hung in the air. The ceremony was at The Assumption Greek Orthodox Church in Scottsdale. This is such a pretty church to photograph a wedding, tons of natural light, ceilings painted in bright colors, stark white walls.

Weddings with Greek traditions are so much fun. The reception at Sassi did not disappoint. Family. Dancing. Traditional Music. Toasts. Plate breaking. Lots of plate breaking. Laughing. Smiles. Happiness filled the room.

To a lifetime of love and happiness.

[The bride has an art background and embraced the idea of Keith incorporating some classic cameras into the day - some medium format, old film cameras - the results were just gorgeous.]

Here’s a digital sneak peek – I can’t wait to see the film! (just a few more days!)

An absolutely lovely afternoon spent at The Royal Palms. We enjoyed ourselves so much.

Looking forward to their amazing wedding in November.