It’s Friday! If you missed last week’s post about Film Friday, here it is. And if you are too lazy to read that… I know I would be, here is a short explination.

Film Friday is all about getting back to the basics. Each photo posted on Friday will be taken on film. No digital here. I really like the straight out of the camera look of film, so I won’t be doing any retouching/ color enhancing unless otherwise noted.

Stefanie and I photographed Zander and his family this week. Here is a sneak peek from the session. I shot one test roll at the session, and here it is:

Want to get in on the fun? Participate in Film Fridays!

1. Take out your film camera or buy one on ebay!

2. Take a roll of film.

3. Have it processed at your local pro camera store. I take mine to Colonial Photo and Hobby.

4. Tell the lab  to process the film and scan it to CD. I don’t get prints back. I get a lovely CD that has the photos on it sized at 2000 pixels on each side.  Each roll of film for me costs about $9. It’s really not so expensive.

5. Post the finished photos on your blog!

6. Link back to www.heatherahrens.com/blog with your post, and comment below saying you are participating in Film Fridays.

7. I will post a list of people participating each week along with my post.

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These are freakin’ huge!!! The FedEx guy dropped off these beauties yesterday. I was supposed to receive them on Friday, but for some reason FedEx still doesn’t know where my house is. Oh, how I love UPS so much more. Well, enough about my love for UPS and my dislike for any other postal company, on to canvas speak!

I ordered this canvases last week from my canvas supplier (Simply Canvas, for all of you photographers out there) and boy, am I pleased! Each of the six photos are from the different countries that Dave and I visited on our trip to Europe. Germany, the lucky winner had 2 photos chosen from it’s beautiful countryside. Each photo is a different size that HA! Photography sells. The largest one  of the castle in Germany is a huge 30″x 40″ canvas!

Just look at that! Canvas prints are by far my favorite way to display photos. Finding what exactly to hang in our home has been a challenge. I am pleased with the selection of artwork we have put up.

Here are the photos and where they were taken:

1. 30″x40″ Canvas  -  Bacharach, Germany – This canvas is HUGE! I took this photo of a castle while Dave and I were biking through a nearby town on our travels through Germany. I love the blue sky and the green vines of wine growing up the hill. Wine is big in Germany, most of them being very sweet wines such as Reisling.

2. 20″x 30″ Canvas – Sorrento, Italy – This is my favorite photo of Mount Vesevius that I took on our travels through Italy. Dave, Leslie and I spent the afternoon in Sorrento after seeing Herculaneum. The weather in Italy was absolutely beautiful. I am a sucker for hot, tropical weather.

3. 16″ x 20″ Canvas – Prague, Czech Republic – These buildings tell of a time when Eastern Europe was in it’s prime. This area is very touristy being at the entrance to the Charles Bridge.

4. 11″ x 14″ Canvas – Burg Eltz, Germany – We passed this landscape walking towards Castle Eltz.

5. 8″x 10″ Canvas – Budapest, Hungary – On our walk to Castle Hill along the river, Dave and I passed by what looked to be like an old palace/government building. This old building was clearly not in use and had gates surrounding it. These tiles were part of the ceiling of one of the entry ways.

6. 5″x 10″ Canvas – Vienna, Austria – This is the gorgeous ceiling of St. Stephen’s Cathedral in Vienna. I first visited the cathedral 7 years ago while in Vienna for a day trip from a month long stay in Hungary. This cathedral is one of the most unique and beautiful churches I have ever seen.

Want a canvas print??? I’m sure you do now!

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This week I wanted to do something a little different. Normally after a wedding I post a preview of some of my favorite images that I took at the wedding. Stefanie did a fantastic job, and I just couldn’t wait to show her images first this time! Stefanie took these gorgeous images at Brady and Melissa’s wedding in Tampa this past weekend.

Melissa’s smile is contagious. Her and Brady were quick to laugh throughout the entire day, which made our jobs super simple.

Test shots are always a laugh to look through. Stefanie got this good one of me while testing her flash settings at the reception.

Stefanie is available as an associate photographer for HA! Photography. She has been photographing weddings with me for over 2 years now. It’s crazy how time flies! Stefanie is the life of the party, she is so wonderful and easy to talk to. She definitely brings a ton of energy to each wedding she photographs. Stefanie is availble to photograph weddings in the Orlando area. To hire her for your wedding, fill out the form here!

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FILM! Why?

I just got a super cool vintage medium format camera. For all you photo nerds out there it is a Mamiya C330 TLR (Twin Lens Reflex) with a 135mm lens. I have been toying around with the idea of owning this camera for several years now. I first played with a TLR my freshman year at Pratt when my photography professer lent me his camera over Christmas break. Looking through the flipped viewfinder for the first time challenged my thinking. I saw things differently, literally, by the flipped viewfinder and the square format. Composing each shot takes time and effort, you don’t want to mess up.  Each roll of 120 film comes with 12 frames. Each of those 12 frames must count.

After coming home from Kiwi Camera I felt like a kid on Christmas morning. I couldn’t wait to get out and photograph. I took my recently aquired medium format camera around the neighborhood, and this is what I got:

I took my roll of film to a lab here in Orlando that process and scans film. I got back a cd with 12 images perfectly ready to put online. The only thing I did in photoshop was resize and add my logo to the image. It was that easy!

Dave got a motorcycle this week. It is super pretty.

So what is the deal with the title – Film Friday?

Exactly that! Each friday post will consist of photos shot on film. No digital here! I find that shooting with film occasionally helps me to slow down and to really focus on what I am taking a photo of.

Please join me for Film Fridays! Post your link below with your own film friday blog entry. Each week I will post a link to other Film Friday participants.

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Stefanie and I had the pleasure of photographing Marisa and Mike’s wedding at the Winter Park Farmers Market a little less than two weeks ago. Stefanie and I love working as a team on weddings. She is the best assistant/second photographer that I could ever ask for! Thank you Stefanie for making my job just that much easier!

I posted Marisa and Mike’s wedding preview here. Marisa had some awesome vendors! Brittany from Tickled Pink! was the fabulous wedding coordinator. Brittany has such a glowing personality and wonderful spirit that she brings to her planning business. Go hire her now! She is so completely worth it! Of course Marisa also had a amazing DJ, Darren from Fun Factory.

Look at those shoes! I love Marisa’s laid back style with just a touch of flair.

At the start of Marisa and Mike’s ceremony a passenger train flew by. I overheard someone say that passengers were even waving as they passed by! Mike and Marisa seemed to get a kick out of the unexpected train. They are the most easy going couple I have ever met.

In this day and age it is so great to see a couple that fit together so well. Marisa and Mike compliment each other in a way that only they can.

Marisa and Mike had some gorgeous DIY accents at the reception.

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We visited Pozzuoli our first evening in Italy.

Pozzouli was originally founded by the Greeks as the colony of Dicaearchia. The Apostle Paul landed in Pozzouli (aka Puteoli) on his way to Rome (Acts 28:13). I think that is pretty cool.

Leslie and I shared a dorm room at Pratt Institute my freshman year. I am sure that if I hadn’t left Pratt we would have roomed together for the rest of our college experience. Leslie was one of those crazy Architecture majors, you know the ones that pull all nighters at least 2 times each week. Architecture at Pratt is the most insane college program I have ever seen! Us photography majors had it easy compared to them.

For some reason this Pozzuoli street scene reminds me of a mix between Miami and San Juan.

See! More stray dogs!

The Bay of Naples has the most amazing food ever. I think I could live here just for the food. Look at those pastas above! The Buffalo Mozzarella from this restaurant along the port was the most delicious cheese I have ever eaten. I am craving some mozzarella di bufala as I write this. Really, my mouth is watering just thinking about it.

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