Joshua Mahar Photography » Wedding and Portrait Website

The Back Field

So this is it. The first shots taken with my Sun 600 and PX600. It is incredible how giddy I was waiting for these to develop. Also, this is all totally experiemental, which makes it even cooler. If you are interested in reading about what is going on in the Polaroid universe, check out the Impossible Project. I hope to post more of these once I have finished playing. Do any of you have an old Polaroid laying around?

There is a part of me that really loves abstract photography. Occasionally, either by accident or by purposeful meddling I will get something that I really like. This is an example. Enjoy.

I wanted to post a few more floral fine art shots before we found ourselves full into Summer. How the year is flying by!!!

I got my (re)start doing photography by walking around the beautiful campus where I was working on my Masters and taking pictures of nature. It was a huge source of relaxation in a very stressful world. I would walk up the hill to class and take my wimpy powershot around and take pictures of trees, leaves, flowers, whatever. It was really fun, and from those first images, I made some terrible prints, and actually sold a number to friends who thought they were great. It was at that point when I realized that there might be something to this photography thing after all. More, anyway than just something I liked doing. That passion that started me back shooting really hasn’t left.

There are times when I hesitate to put my fine art shots up here because so much of what I am about as a photographer is wedding and portraiture, and I don’t want to send folks mixed signals. But it occurres to me that a lot of how I see as a photographer has been shaped by my experiences with fine art. And, I am still really inspired by nature, and capturing the beauty around me. This leaning in me is also what drives me when I make wedding images. So the connection between the two mediums is really pretty strong. Another added bonus is that my love for fine art nature images helps when I set about to capture details at a wedding shoot. Its a plus, I think.

Additionally, in the spirit of fine art, if anyone would like a print of one of these shots, do get in touch with me via the contact feature at the top of the site! As always, I’d love to hear your thoughts. Cheers

This last weekend I got to unplug a bit and go visit family that I wasn’t able to see over Christmas. The first outing involved a 40min drive up to my wife’s Aunt and Uncle’s place in Redmond. We had a very nice time playing Pinochle, and exploring the grounds of their very nice farm. They have four horses, and enough property for you to forget how close to the city you really are. I had a lot of fun there, and I have a number of fine art images to post, along with some portraits. One of the nice things about this time of year is that I get to flex my nature and landscape fine-art muscles a bit, which is fun! For those of you looking for more wedding and portrait images, I do have a number of posts planned for the rest of this month, so know that I’ve got your back! Cheers

I have been thinking for about a week now on the common practice of “end of the year” posts. This is natural, as I have been thinking about 2009 as a year in photography, and planning what I would like 2010 to look like.  It is, of course the new year already, but I am still very much in a reflective mood.

One of the things that I have been pondering is why I love doing this particular art, as opposed to something else, maybe more tactile, or musical. The honest truth is that there is enough technical stuff in it to be really fun, paired with so many possibilities creatively, that the interplay between the two keeps me really interested.  The second part of that answer, and a more important reason, has to do with what we are actually doing when we make a picture.  If you stop and think about it, what we do when we make an image is slightly AWESOME. Ok, more than slightly. I press the shutter release button, and the camera, with all its digital workings, records what I am aiming at. And, records it in a way that I can then adjust, fix, beautify, enhance. And, you can then come back to it… and look again. We can see things, people, events, as they happened, and keep them, for as long as we are here, and our children are here. If you let it, the idea is cool enough that it might make you want to be a photographer! The third part of the answer has to do with the first two, both of which are brought to bear on it. I am crazy about “moments.” These are what every photographer worth there salt is try to get. A wedding/event photographer lives for these. We want to be there, at the right time, with the right settings, from the right perspective, to capture that moment, as it plays out, so that you can remember it. You are living it, and your job is to be there, fully, and love that moment. My job is to give you an image that will take you back there, to that time and place, and help you remember.  With a wedding or engagement session, that’s the whole deal, and that is what I love to do.

I want 2010 to be a year of moments. I want to be able to look back over this new year knowing that all along the way I was capturing moments, and sharing them with my clients.  I shot a lot of weddings this year, and I enjoyed being there and getting those moments, but I hope to capture many many more.

I was working through some files and found some of my fine art images that I love and thought that it might be fun to throw one or two up here from time to time.  I took this May of 2008 while I still lived in Massachusetts. My family was out for a number of days to celebrate my having graduated from seminary, and we had opportunity to visit one of the regional gardens.  It was a great time, and this was one of the best images from the day.  I hope you enjoy it! Cheers

Hey everyone -

I hope today is full of rest, relaxation, and great food with family and friends!

Cheers

Back when this crazy month of October got started Sarah and Ains and I went down to a local farm to sign up for a CSA and we got to tool around the farm.  Honestly, my mind was blown.  I haven’t gotten much of a chance to make it out and shoot nature or landscape much this summer, so to find myself on a farm, with amazing light, ducks, chicks, cider pressing, and gorgeous flowers, was almost too much for me to contain.  I took a lot of pictures that day.  Also, we bought a $10 jug of fresh cider.  Now, normally this would be way cheaper, but since we were not summer share members we paid full price.  Lets be honest here: if we are willing to pay $10 on a decent bottle of wine, there’s no reason not to spend the same on a gallon of cider.  Here’s the kicker…it was better than wine!!! I haven’t had anything like it.  I have been seriously interested in cider since we lived out in Massachusetts, but I have never had it “just pressed.”  Its like fresh corn in that it is so much better right away than if you wait.  In fact it was better the first few hours than it was the next day.  If you have never had freshly pressed cider you don’t know what you are missing.  If presented with the opportunity to pay $10 for a gallon of fresh press cider, then jump on it: your life will never be the same.  Oh…and I suppose I should post some pictures to this huh?  Cheers.

Hey all.  First, I want to thank everyone who has come by my blog recently.  Thanks for viewing my work!  If you are so inclined, I’d love to hear from you, so please don’t hesitate to leave a comment.

The update:  HOLY COW.  I have been crazy slammed with work, which is both such a blessing, but it also means that a lot of my online activities such as blogging and social networking have gone by the wayside.  To give you an idea of life this month, Gabe Van Wyhe and myself will be shooting 4 weddings this month, starting tomorrow at noon.  Throw into this mix several client meetings, engagement photos, my birthday (Tuesday), and lots of family time, and you have a busy month.  I have several weddings that I am eager to post about, along with some fantastic family shots (hope no one is bored of the family stuff: I certainly am not), but simply have had a massive pending workload.  Below is a sample of a series of images that I took on a recent family trip down to a local farm to sign up for a CSA (community supported agriculture).  They were having a harvest day, and I have shots from all over the farm that I am really stoked about.  Expect more from me soon.  Thanks again everyone!

Cheers