SMSgt. Nancy Lee Peck Retirement Ceremony

Whoa, sorry for the prolonged absence. Things have been real busy lately, but I'm finally getting around to posting images from Nancy's retirement ceremony. Nancy had worked with me on a few other retirement ceremonies, so it was an honor to finally cover her special day.

SMSgt. Nancy Peck stands at attention as the ceremony begins.

Nancy's family gets a kick out of hearing some highlights from her 26 years of service.

This picture just cracks me up. All eyes are on the ceremony, except for this kid who found the ceiling more interesting.

Nancy wipes a tear during the bittersweet ceremony.

Nancy addresses her colleagues, friends and family that have come out to help celebrate the occasion. The US flag always makes a nice backdrop in these situations.

Nancy and her husband share a moment as the ceremony comes to an end.

Nancy's immediate family poses for a group shot after the ceremony.

The kids really enjoyed hamming it up for the camera!

Nancy's parents jump in for a shot with the guest of honor.

Nancy and Jeff out by the beach. Nancy was interested in incorporating the outdoors into her ceremony, but it made more sense to hold the event indoors. I made sure to snap a few shots with the great beach/water and palm trees in the background.

Congratulations on your retirement Nancy! For 26 years you have traveled the world serving your country and managed to find your way back to Florida. Thanks for letting me be a part of your ceremony. It was an honor and a pleasure.

SMSgt. Angela Hull Retirement

Recently I was asked to cover the retirement ceremony for Senior Master Sergeant Angela K. Hull. Angela put in more than 20 years with the US Air Force and has had an amazing career full of noteworthy achievements. There are way too many for me to possibly list here. She leaves the Air Force as the Tower Chief Controller, charged with leading 30 air traffic controllers and handling over 35,000 aircraft operations each year.

The flags are presented to begin the ceremony. A flag on a commander's flight suit is seen in the foreground.

Lt. Col. Pratt presents Angela with the Meritorious Service Medal.

Angela is presented with one of several letters congratulating her on her accomplishments and thanking her for her service.

Angela's husband takes a moment after attaching her retirement pin to her uniform.

Angela enjoys a surprise slideshow created for her by her husband. The slideshow included pictures from her career, their family, and ended with personal recorded messages from Angela's favorite morning DJ, Corey Dylan from 101.5, and from Tampa's Mayor, Pam Irorio.

SMSgt. Hull is presented with the flag that was just folded in her honor.

MSgt. Boldin presents Angela with a shadow box containing various mementos symbolizing her career with the US Air Force.

Angela addresses those in attendance.

Angela reminisces over funny moments shared by her family throughout her time in service.

The programs from the ceremony are always a nice detail to capture. The American flag made the perfect backdrop.

Angela's family came from all over to share this special day with her.

And one last picture of the family. I've said it before, but it's worth repeating. Military families sacrifice more than most of us will ever know. They are important part of these retirement ceremonies, and rightfully so. New schools, new cities and lengthy deployments can all take their toll. But the service provided by the men and women of our armed forces is invaluable and would not be possible without the support of the family members.

Congratulations Senior Master Sergeant Angela Hull (retired)! I was really amazed listening to all your accomplishments and would like to personally thank you for your hard work and dutiful service to our country. Enjoy civilian life!

Sisters Shoot

These four sisters are now spread out all over the country (and the world) but they met up at Pass-a-Grille Beach recently to celebrate one's birthday (Happy Birthday Linda Lee!). You met Linda Lee's husband Zack a while back when I took some photos for his company Creative Concrete (check out my photos on his updated website).

They thought this would be a good time to have some good photos taken of all of them together. Things got a little dicey because there was a huge storm blowing in and carrying two cameras and a flash on an 8' metal stand isn't the best idea when you keep seeing lightning flash in the distance. Luckily, we got plenty of shots in before the storm arrived.

We started at the cool little beach house they were renting.

A flash coming from the right side provides the perfect amount of fill to make the girls "pop" out from the rest of the scene. This shot is very similar to the one above, but I like this composition better. However, I thought the one with all of them looking at the camera would be a better introduction.

We braved the winds to get a few quick shots on the beach.

Black-and-white works really well for a lot of these images because of the emotions and moments shared by the sisters. But the vibrant colors at most of the locations made it a tough decision.

On the way back from the beach we stopped at Shadrack's, a favorite watering hole for the locals.

Again, a subtle amount of flash is used to draw your attention to the subjects.

We ended up back at the house and used the cool front porch for some more shots. The sister on the far right is pregnant and Linda Lee just naturally placed her hand like that while they were talking.

We went inside to get some more traditional group portraits. Inside I was able to control the light a little bit more.

Of course we had to highlight the pregnant sister in a few images.

And one last image of the sisters doing what they do best.

I had a fun time walking around with these ladies and just letting them be themselves. I was honored to be the one they chose to capture these memories in photos.

Happy Easter!

Happy Easter from two cute chicks!

Amy and Randy, Don Vincente Wedding

It was back to the Don Vincente de Ybor a few weekends ago to photograph Amy and Randy's wedding. These two were great fun and real easy to shoot. Let's dive right in.

This was one of the few posed shots I got of the two of them together. Amy was patient with me but Randy wasn't down with being my model all day so for the most part I let them just enjoy their day as I captured moments as they happened.

The Don Vincente has a really cool lobby (where the ceremonies are held too) that we used to get some nice photos before too many guests arrived.

Randy allowed me just a few minutes to snap some quick shots of him outside in the nice light.

We let Randy go and relax while Amy and I wandered the hotel looking for cool photos to make. While doing some nice soft window-light portraits the clouds shifted and let some direct sunlight in. At first I thought we'd have to give up and find a new location, but then I kind of liked the way the narrow beam of light was highlighting her face.

Luckily, Amy and Randy's love for each is very evident and getting nice photos of them interacting naturally was a piece of cake.

Amy and Randy leave the ceremony and retreat upstairs. I really like the balance between the flash and the ambient upstairs light in this shot. Also, the two strong sets of leading lines draws your attention right to the couple.

While doing my first edit I breezed right by this image. But after going back and looking at it I started to really like it. It's a nice enough picture of the officiant congratulating the father of the groom, but the moment being shared by Ryan and Amy in the background give the image some extra depth.

One of the many moments where it seemed that Amy and Ryan were the only two people at the wedding.

Ryan did allow one more posed shot before the night was over. Amy's parents have a picture from their wedding of her father helping her mother down some stairs. We did our best to recreate the shot.

Congratulations Amy and Ryan! It's obvious you two love each other very much and I know it will show in your pictures. Thanks for allowing me and Tampa Photo to be a part of your special day.

Jennifer and Jason, Lange Farm Wedding

Jennifer and Jason were the second half of my wedding weekend last week. After shooting Bonnie and Kevin in Ybor Saturday night, it was off to the Lange Farm on Sunday for Jennifer and Jason (and Olivia...you'll see). Doug Decker from Grant Hemond & Associates kept the reception pumping.

It was a lovely day with nice blue skies so I used it as a background for both the bride and groom.

Lange Farm has some very beautiful areas, and Jennifer gave me plenty of time to just walk around and make pictures wherever the mood struck.

Some clouds rolled in and diffused the sunlight, so we took advantage of it and snapped a few close portraits.

And then the breeze kicked up so we just went with it.

After the ceremony, the guests headed back for the cocktail hour and we just strolled around the grounds at sunset making pictures. I always have to find a way to incorporate that trademark white fence in a few shots.

Jennifer asked if I could get a horse in the background of a few shots. But with the enticement of fresh flowers, this guy had no problem taking center stage for a few shots.

As we started our walk back to the reception, I noticed the setting sun was casting a lovely warm glow and backlighting the oak trees and her veil.

While snapping a few ring shots in the warm sunlight, I was intrigued by the way the light was hitting Jennifer's face. A quick composition choice and we were able to get a few more portraits that had a different look than the diffused light portraits from earlier in the day.

I had to at least throw in one reception shot. This group knew how to party. The groomsmen had camouflage tuxedo vests that eventually ended up on the girls. There was a whole lot of line dancing and booty shaking.

And here's Olivia, Jennifer and Jason's daughter. I got a few shots of her throughout the day, but I made sure to get a few of just her and mommy before leaving. What a doll!

Yee-haw! That's it for Jennifer and Jason. Congratulations you two, and thanks for being such great sports on your wedding day. I wish your family the best of everything in the years to come!