Quality Impressions Photography

06:07 pm - Ryan Blythe Installation at ESD Architecture, Charlotte, NC July 3, 2009

Today, I had the opportunity to observe the installation of an incredible piece of work by Ryan Blythe (see www.blytheglassstudio.com/) at ESD Architecture (see also www.esdarch.com/).  Ryan had been commissioned by Clay Elder, principal of the architecture and design firm, to create a glass art piece of the main staircase (in ESD's offices in a old textile building they renovated).

While the installation took most of the day (approximately 450 hand blown pieces from Ryan and his crew), the final results were stunning (see the slideshow at www.qiphotography.com/ on left under Events), especially since the piece itself is lit internally with a  bank of LEDs.  You can get a sense of the scale from the photo above showing Mark (the installer) standing on an eight foot ladder to reach the top pieces.  Notice that the bottom 'flower' is approximately 2" off the floor.

Clay Elder had designed a winch and pulley system (the pulleys themselves were left over from the old building's lift for cotton bales).  This image shows the piece raised to height.

10:58 pm - MPBC Childrens Choir

Photographed, for Myers Park Baptist Church, their annual Childrens' Choir concert.  Really had fun watching the energy and listening to the songs.  Images and a slideshow can be seen here: www.qiphotography.com/Events/MPBCChildrenChoir051309/index.htm



A video of their closing number can be seen at www.qiphotography.com/events/mpbcchildrenchoir051309/allcreatures.qt   I would strongly suggest you RIGHT CLICK, SAVE AS first, and then play the video from your harddrive, as it is about 10Meg.  You will also need QuickTIme to play the video.

09:28 pm - Motet Choir, Myers Park Baptish Church, Charlotte, NC

Had the opportunity to photography the Motet Choir from the Myers Park Baptist Church in Charlotte, NC.  Also did a video (using the Canon 5D mk II).  [Strongly suggest you, first, right click the link and Save As (onto your hard drive) before viewing as the file is approximately 20Meg in size.]  www.qiphotography.com/events/motetchoir051009/MPBC_Motet_Choir_051009.qt

10:17 pm - Underground Detour plays Charlotte

Underground Detour, from Charlotte, played the Double Door Inn (see www.doubledoorinn.com/) this afternoon (April 26, 2009) to raise funds for a great charity, A Child's Place (see www.achildsplace.org/).  In their style, they performed a number of well know covers, from Rolling Stones up and down the line.

More importantly, a great number of people came out to support the charity and help them in their fund raising efforts.

A video of clips from the performance can be seen here (link www.qiphotography.com/events/undergrounddetour042609/ud042609v2.qt)  CAUTION. THIS IS A VERY LARGE QUICKTIME FILE (~135MEGS) SO IT IS STRONGLY SUGGESTED YOU RIGHT-CLICK AND SAVE AS, BEFORE PLAYING.

11:27 am - Corporate Headshots/Groupshots

Just finished two different corporate shoots -- one for an executive team (included group shot and individual headshots for web use) and a bank president headshot (also for web use).  It's fun working with executives in a different fashion (normally, I'm an executive coach -- www.dnabizbuilder.com and www.vistage.com)

08:48 pm - SE 8-Fest, March, 2009, Mt. Dora, Fl

Once again, Roger and Marcia Wray, organized the SE 8-Fest in Mt. Dora, Florida in March, 2009.  While the numbers of attendees were somewhat down (related to the economy), those that did come for this weekend were treated to an incredible gift -- "Big Daddy" Don Garlits spent some time with us at his Drag Racing Museum.

Big Daddy spent about two hours conducting a private tour of the museum, showing us some of his private shop area.  His stories were absolutely entertaining -- about how he got into drag racing, about his innovations, triumphs and trials.  The showrooms included drag racers from across the history.  In his 53 years of drag racing, Garlits piled up enough achievements and awards to fill the museum by himself.  He won 144 national events, 17 World Championships, 8 US Nationals, and more.  While his records and the dragsters are impressive, his personal stories and the time he spent with us was more valuable.  Thank you, Big Daddy!  (NOTE: links to both additional images and video are at the end of this blog entry)

Prior to our tour of the Drag Racing Museum, we had a road trip, first, to DeLeon Springs State Park and the Old Spanish Sugar Mill Resturant for breakfast.  (Note to self: Just because you drive an 8, doesn't mean you can cook your own breakfast).  The state park is said to be the location of the Ponce DeLeon's Fountain of Youth.  

The day was capped by a banquet at the host site, Lakeside Inn in Mt. Dora.  Gift bags were awarded together with several special items through a drawing.  Thanks is extended to all the sponsors .. from Gualt Autosport BMW for the European TFPs (Note: which I won), to Escort for the radar detector (see note below), and to all the other sponsors.



Special thanks is due to both Roger and Marcia Wray for organizing and hosting the SE 8-ers once again.



NOTE: It seems that four of the drivers from Texas contributed to the Florida coffers after being picked off by an airplane trooper.  Prophetically, one the drivers won the radar detector.  Cool.  Certainly a day late, but cool nonetheless.

Select images and slideshow can be seen at:
www.qiphotography.com/events/se8fest09/index.htm

All images can be seen at:
www.qiphotography.com/events/SE8Fest09-all/index.htm

REVISED (March 10, 2009) Video (QuickTime) can be seen (CAUTION, very big file ~97Megs, suggest you Right Click and Save As on your drive) at www.qiphotography.com/events/se8fest09/se8fest09.qt.  Features conversations with Big Daddy himself and wonderful story-telling.

Thanks everyone.

09:05 pm - Gregory - Stikeleather Wedding, Sept 13, 2008

On Saturday evening, September 13, 2008, Debbie Holman Gregory and James Carl Stikeleather, III were married at Central Steele Creek Presbyterian Church in Charlotte.  Both the bride's and groom's children participated in the ceremony.

Debbie considers Jim her "Heart's Desire," and from the images of the wedding and reception, Jim feels the same way.

Flower girl, Olivia Schiffers, shares a secret with the bride-to-be:


 All the images can be seen in the slideshow under Weddings, left side of the main page, www.qiphotography.com.


The reception was held at the Firehouse Grill in Ft. Mill, SC.

Congratulations to Debbie, Jim and their children.

01:05 pm - NightBeat -- The Summer Sizzles

Once again, Quality Impressions Photography, Charlotte, NC, was asked by Carolina Crown to photograph their summer competition in Charlotte, NightBeat.  This was part of the 2008 Drum Corps International (DCI) Summer Music Games.  Eight corps, including six of the current top 12, put on quite a show at Charlotte's American Legion Memorial Stadium.  The show featured Fort Mill (SC)-based Carolina Crown, 2007 Spirit of Disney Award winners, coming off the best season in their history.  The line-up includes, in order of appearance  (and in order of the images on the website, link at www.qiphotography.com, on the left under Events and listed as NightBeat Photos:

• Pioneer - Milwaukee, WI
• Crossmen - San Antonio, TX
• Glassmen - Toledo, OH
• Boston Crusaders - Boston, MA
• Blue Knights - Denver, CO
• Blue Devils - Concord, CA
• The Cavaliers - Rosemont, IL
• Carolina Crown - Ft. Mill, SC

05:47 pm - Monteith-Taliaferro Wedding

Today I was privileged to photograph the wedding of a friend, Joe Monteith, of Charlotte.  Joe married Rozanna Taliaferro, of Houston, at Providence Country Club with a reception following.



Parents, children and grandchildren together with guests made the event so much more special.  The maid of honor came from Houston to to help the bride celebrate the occasion.



Here's wishing both Joe and Rozanna a lifetime of happiness.

11:29 am - McDow-Dickson Wedding, March 28, 2008

The Charlotte Museum of History was the setting for the evening wedding of Nadya McDow and Damien Dickson on March 28, 2008.  Nadya was radiant as the bride dressed in a gown from her mother Miriam's bridal store.  Both of Nadya's sons, Alex as a Groomsman and Andrew as Ring Bearer, participated in the wedding as well.  Lisa Brown,a co-worker of Nadya's, was Honor Attendant and Hailey Barnes was Flower Girl.  Best Man was Jim Dickson, father of the groom, and the groom's brother, Joseph was a groomsman.

Nadya wrote and performed a song for her new husband.

Conversation Piece, a four-piece jazz band, provided live music while Creative Catering served from a carving station and fresh pasta bar.  Peg Robarchek worked with the couple as wedding planner.

10:03 pm - Walker-Davis Wedding, January 12, 2008

  This evening we photographed the wedding of Ms. Carrie Walker and Mr. Josh Davis at St. Paul United Methodist Church in Charlotte.  Carrie is a good friend of Mrs. Shea Clarke, whose wedding I photographed September 15, 2007.  Shea was the Matron of Honor at Carrie's wedding.

 
 
Both the bride and groom looked relaxed, comfortable and excited both during the ceremony and at the reception following.  They were surrounded by family and friends who were all exuberantly celebrating this marriage.



We were, once again, able to produce and display a slideshow during the reception that included much of the pre-ceremony preparations, the ceremony, the 'formal portraits' after the ceremony and even including first dance and cutting of the cake.  The slideshow can be seen at QIPhotography's site.

 

Thanks to Carrie and her family for permitting us to capture this wedding.

11:40 pm - Guevara-Ciprian Wedding, Greensboro, NC

I had the opportunity to photograph the wedding of Isabel Guevara to Jorge Ciprian in Greensboro, NC on Saturday, November, 24, 2007.  What a wonderful event!  The bride was beautiful in her gown and Jorge, the groom, looked magnificent.  The reception was quite interesting with a number of customs which were unfamiliar to me.  The groom's family came from Mexico City to participate in the joyous occasion.  Congratulations are due to all.

A slide show of some of the images is available at www.qiphotography.com, click on Guevara-Ciprian under WEDDINGS on left-hand side.

02:42 pm - Norman-McNamara Wedding -- Boston -- October 6, 2007

On Saturday, October 6, 2007, I helped photograph the wedding of my niece, Taylor Norman, to Brian McNamara in Boston's Old North Church, together with all of the ceremonies surrounding the blessed event.  Taylor looked magnificent in a Caroline Herrera gown and Brian was handsome as the groom.  The rehearsal dinner was at Anthony's Pier 4 at Boston Harbor, while the reception was held on the rooftop at the Taj Boston.


Family and friends boogied until the wee hours.  There's a slideshow of some of the images at www.qiphotography.com, under WEDDINGS, click on Norman-McNamara Wedding and enjoy.

10:21 pm - Arbuckle Clarke Wedding

Once again, I had the opportunity to shoot a wonderful wedding. Shea Arbuckle wedded Justin Clarke at Mouzon United Methodist Church in Charlotte, NC, on Saturday, September 15th at 5:00 PM. The reception was held at A Jarrell Affair nearby (food was also provided by them) and featured a wonderful DJ (Chris Beaudoin of Charlotte Entertainment Group).


A slideshow of images from the blessed event can be seen at WeddingSlideshow.



The really fun thing about this wedding was that we were able to put on a slideshow for the reception guests immediately after the toasts, including our choice of pictures from before the wedding, to the wedding itself, to the 'formal' shots after the wedding and even some of the early shots of the reception!  This virtually live slideshow appeared to be very well received by all, especially the bride, Shea.

One beautiful wedding.

03:38 pm - Announcement for Drum Corps

Special Annoucement for Drum Corps members and family -- if you are interested in having any of the photos from the events (CrownBeat, FirstBeat, and NightBeat) placed on gifts, Quality Impressions Photography can help you -- both rapidly and at a cost-effective price.

We have quite a collection from the three events this summer ... all very impressive marching bands.  The performances were outstanding both in their intensity and quality of music.  Awesome shows.  Based on what we've seen, the members of the drum corps should be proud.

And, to help you remember this summer events, we can offer you, parents, friends, and associates a wide range of gift ideas -- all featuring an image(s) you love.


From coffee cups to posters, we have it all.

Including T-Shirts, Mugs, Hoodies, Sweatshirts, packages of greeting cards or note cards, Spaghetti tanks and so forth.

Most any image of you ... or your kid ... can be converted to a gift for you, for them, for a loved one.

Contact us at dnorman1@carolina.rr.com for more information.

10:23 am - NightBeat Drum Corps Competition, July, 2007 Charlotte Memorial Stadium

Despite the threat of some heavy thunderstorms, which did not materialize during the event, Carolina Crown conducted another wonderful drum and bugle corps event, this time at Memorial Stadium in Charlotte, NC.

What an absolutely awesome show and a (sort'a) wet field.  CarolinaCrown Events did a great job organizing the show.   My daughter, Gina, and I were again asked to shoot the event. 

Drum corps participating were (in order):

• Teal Sound, from Thomasville, GA


• Southwind, from Lexington, KY


• Colts, from Dubuque, IA


• Madison Scouts, Madison, WI


• The Cadets, Allentown, PA


• Santa Clara Vanguard, Santa Clara, CA


• Carolina Crown, Fort Mill, SC

09:53 am - CrownBeat and FirstBeat

WOW!  Once again I had the opportunity to photograph two wonderful events -- CrownBeat in Benson, NC on June 21 and FirstBeat in Irmo, NC on June 22.  Drum Corps at its finest. 
Wonderful bands, and great music.  A few images are posted here in this blog, the rest are in two galleries (on the www.qiphotography.com website).









My daughter, Gina, also participated in the photography at the Benson CrownBeat event on Thursday evening and some of the images above (and on the website) are from her.  Good work.

The next Drums Corp event is scheduled for Charlotte on July 15 at Memorial Stadium.  If you are interested or intrigued by drum corps or marching bands and great music, come by.

10:36 pm - Maloney Teeter Rehearsal Dinner

Had the opportunity to help a friend, Penny Teeter, with the rehearsal dinner for her son, Chris, and his fiance, Kim Maloney.  The dinner was held outside around the pool during the early evening hours, with better lighting towards dusk.

03:50 pm - Women Executives WINGS Graduation

Women Executives (WE) in Charlotte held their annual graduation celebration for their scholarship recipients.  Eight young ladies were honored (seven pictured above). 

From their website (www.wecharlotte.org) ... "Women Executives (WE) is an organization that provides career-oriented women a forum for professional and personal interaction.  Women Initiating and Nurturing Growth through Scholarships (WINGS) is a non-profit program offered by WE.  As the sole philanthropic initiative of WE, WINGS provides scholarship and mentoring support for female undergraduate students, 25 years or older, who are pursuing higher education as a way to improve their lives."

The pictures can be accessed using the link to the left, under Events.  As with all my not-for-profit work, fifteen percent (15%) of the proceeds will be returned to the organization.

Congratuations to both the graduates and to WE.

08:25 pm - Today's Wedding and, Well, Actually Two Weddings

Sunday afternoon I photographed the wedding of Melissa Ann Malkin and James Eric Schatz.  It was a beautiful event in a cozy venue.  Melissa couldn't stop smiling the entire time of the wedding and reception following.  With the permission of the Rabbi, I was permitted to photograph during the ceremony without flash.  The venue had some wonderful, though contrasty, natural light.  Once again (see below) I'm impressed with the Canon 5D and its higher ISO settings (most of the non-flash wedding photos were shot at 1250!).

And, in an interesting turn of events, I was a guest earlier in the day at another wedding.  Having my camera equipment in the car anyway, I decided to experiment a bit with in-camera black & white and very high ISO (set at 1250 so I didn't have to use the flash).  I am quite happy with the results (see the ecstatic bride below as she entered the church).