BryCox.com – Celebrity Style Imaging, Inc.™

I have finished Jacqui’s amazing wedding album design, and it is up on my main website. Here’s a sneak preview.

Her wedding was on a private beach on the Gulf of Mexico, outside of Corpus Christi, Texas. Here she is getting ready in her room at a nearby resort.

Later in the album, she arrives with her father at the beach location. All of these are 2-page spreads from the album design.

After the ceremony, we created some incredible images of the couple alone on the beach. It is incredibly difficult to light people on a beach in direct sunlight, but when it is done right, the results look like this, crystal clear images, deep colors, great skin-tones, and a gorgeous sky that isn’t too light or too dark. On top of that, I love the great expressions and the realness of the emotion in these images.

A change of position to catch the warmth of the sunset behind, and we created this dipping diptic.

Later during the reception, I stole the couple to go out on the dock and get some more images of them alone. Simple and Romantic portraits of a couple that are emotional and scenic are a huge part of making one of my custom wedding albums amazing and fun to look through.

If you’d like to see the entire book, from beginning to end, it’s up at my website, BryCox.com. Go to Portfolio > Weddings > Wedding Albums, and it should be the first one.

Beach weddings may seem easy, but they are very difficult, especially there. I lived in the South for a few years during my Mormon Mission, but I never remember humidity like on this beach. Even at 11:00 pm at night, I checked the weather on my phone and it showed, 85% humidity and 85 degrees. The humidity and hot weather worked havoc on my gear, the sun is very direct and changes constantly, and the lighting conditions change wildly from inside, outside, daylight, sunset, and evening.

Nevertheless, it’s my job to get amazing images no matter what, and I’m so happy with this wedding.

If you’d like to get something amazing made up for your or your family for Christmas, or if you’d like me to create some magical images of you at your wedding, give me a call at 801-728-3317.

Until next time, America.

Last November, I photographed Catelin’s wedding in the beautiful fall colors. While updating my main website, I posted it to display the entire album.

It was a freezing, cold day, yet the images look warm and inviting. Here are some of the double-page spreads from the book. Each graphic folds down the middle in the actual album.

I loved the drama in the sky and the love these two had for each other. It was a wonderful day and a wonderful album.

This couple is really stunning together, and I love the various poses and use of color throughout the book.

As the night drew on, the sunset was surreal and magical.

The great thing about seeing an entire wedding album, is that you get to see how I work all day long. You get to see how great the couple looks and how spectacular the lighting is all throughout the day and into the night. You get to see that I don’t work by hoping to get lucky images, but rather I work to create well-crafted pieces of art created in all lighting environments – through daylight, twilight, nighttime, inside and out.

To see the entire album, visit my main site, BryCox.com. Then go to Portfolio > Wedding > Wedding Albums. Catelin’s album should be the first one to show right now, the “Salt Lake Temple and JSMB in the Fall.”

Now is a great time to get fall portraits. I still have a bit more time with leaves on the ground here at the studio garden location. Give me a call at 801-728-3317.

Until next time, America.

Part 2 of my trip was spent in a little coastal town called Port Townsend. I was at Fort Warden which had it’s own lighthouse about a mile down the beach. I made it my goal to get some amazing shot of it, and I woke up most mornings that I was there around 4:30 am in order to walk down the beach, set up, and wait for sunrise. On this particular morning the sky was so socked in that I never got a sunrise, so I did a self portrait before going back and getting a quick nap before work.

Even though there wasn’t a directional sunrise, I still really liked the look of the Port Wilson lighthouse in the foggy mist. I photographed it various ways each morning.

One morning I also photographed this ship wreck on my walk back. I really liked the detail in this image, and split-toned the final piece so that the white would really stand out.

Each walk back was quiet and serene. Sometime there would be a sailboat out in the water, anchored for the night, and other times there would be a few fisherman out in row boats. On one occasion I ran into someone on a morning walk, but other than that I never saw anyone else on these early mornings.

On my last morning, I caught the sunrise. Once I could see the sun peaking, I set up in a different spot than in other mornings, and began to work trying to capture all the detail, watching for the sun rays to come shining in the image.

Once the sun peaked, all the little rocks on the sand lit up. It was really exciting to finally see the warm directional light and get something different than the other mornings.

I had to hurry and get different angles quickly, as the sun really travels fast. I really liked this one below, with the grass blowing in the morning breeze.

And here’s one last one from set up from the far side, with me very low in the grass. I wanted one with the sun lighting up the lighthouse with the warm morning light without any sun flares.

So which images are your favorites? All of these have such different looks and different feelings, it’s hard to pick a favorite but I’m curious what you all like.

In my next blog entries I’ll talk about some of the work I did while I was out there, but before I got to that, I wanted to first show you some of these images that I created during my free time. I really like to find lighthouses and photograph them. They’re beautiful and inspiring, and a real challenge to photograph in interesting ways. I hope you enjoyed looking at these.

Until next time, America.

Coming home from the east coast, I went straight on over to the west coast to do a job in the Seattle area. I got there a day and a half early to relax and take some photographs. Upon arriving, I caught this sunset behind the Space Needle.

The next day I went into town to hang out at Pike Street Market and eat some fried fish and chowder.

I then took a ferry out to Vashon Island to find and photograph the Point Robinson lighthouse that I had read about. I got there early in the afternoon, and the sun was already setting on it. I made it just in time. It’s not just enough to photograph it, I really want to create something amazing and that means lighting it just the right way. Since I can’t move the sun I have to time my schedule around the sun to shoot it when it’s lit the best.

Here are some of the images I created that late afternoon, starting with this panorama with the shadows touching the bottom of the building.

By the time I set up for a straight-on shot, the shadows were already half-way up the lighthouse.

After getting that I just worked quickly to get a few more options. I switched to a Lens Baby tilt-shift lens and set up a shot with the tip still in the sun.

And then to another lens from the side catching one more with just the tip still in sunlight.

After that I hiked back through the woods back to my car, packed up, and called my girlfriend to chat while making my way back into the main part of Vashon to find some dinner. After eating I caught one of the last ferries off the island and headed back to my hotel to get ready for work the next day. Spending time on Vashon was amazing. It was a very fun and cool night. The air was perfect, the island was serene, and I met some very nice and colorful locals along the way, and the ferry ride in the cool dark air was invigorating.

Coming up in part 2 of Seattle, more images of another beautiful lighthouse. See you then.

While doing a wedding in San Diego this last weekend, I arrived a day early as I always do for out-of-town gigs to avoid travel complications. I found some food and then went out to find a great rocky shore on the ocean to create some smooth-ocean sunset scenics. It took some driving, but here are some of my favorites that I created that night.

I knew I had the right spot when I found this sign.

I then took this self-portrait of myself, hiked down the cliffs, set up, and waited for the perfect time to shoot.

While working, I tried to get another self-portrait of myself using a second camera on self-timer on a pole, but a big wave almost got me. It took a few images of me saving my camera.

I really loved the results from that night. Each image is great in its own way. If you’re a photographer, subscribe to my photographer workshop site and see the full story of how I created these, step by step.

And if you’re a family, it’s that time of year again for family portraits! The studio gardens are lush and beautiful, the weather is great, and I have a new, fantastic promotion running through June. Call now!! 801-728-3317 to set up a time.

And feel free to browse my main website at BryCox.com.

The other night the moon was supposed to be extra big and bright (news story) which won’t happen again for two more decades. I set out to a secluded place near my home and set up my camera on a tripod to wait for the moon rise. It was a fun and cold night. I had just got back from Texas and was used to the warm weather, and the cool spring night here in Utah made for a fun adventure.

I started out shooting the sunset, as there was about a 15 minute difference from when the sun would set and the moon would rise. I shot for HDR which means you shoot a couple exposures to capture the shadow and highlight details and then sandwich the images together in one image, but ended up just using single exposures as my final images as I feel they look much more natural and esthetically pleasing. Here’s a pano looking west to the sunset.

During twilight, I created some long 30 second exposures of the ground and scenery around me. I really love the next two images and the blue in them.

I especially love the direction of light and the high horizon in this one below.

I was using an iPhone app which pointed to where the moon would rise. I waited for it to peak above the clouds and began to shoot. I really like this image. Everything is so blue.

I pulled back for another image, showing more foreground. I could have digitally enhanced and lightened the grass and foreground, but I prefer it like it is, feeling dark and cool like night.

I zoomed in to capture the moon, but by now it was climbing fast.

The higher moon gave me a bit more light to work with, and I took one more with a lot of foreground and a high horizon, hyper-focal focusing to get as much in sharp detail as possible, especially for such a long exposure.

I really like how these turned out, but nevertheless it was just fun to be outside and enjoying the cool night, looking at the moon. I also created a few images on my iPhone just for fun. Here’s when I first arrived…

My camera and the moon while creating the last image above…

Some weeds against the night sky. I shot this while walking back to my vehicle…

And one more of weeds that I sent from my iPhone to my iPad using PhotoStream, then edited on my iPad to create a pseudo painting. I really like the colors in this a lot.

Well, that was my Big Moon Adventure. If you love photography like I do, and you understand the value of a great image that can stand the test of time, then give me a call. Now is a great time to set up your Spring appointment for your family portrait. Give me a call at 801-728-3317 to schedule a time. And feel free to browse my main website at BryCox.com.

Come get Lost in Iceland, and have the adventure of a lifetime!

“Ice-Land” is Actually Very LUSH! Iceland is fantastically beautiful and was named “Ice-land” to keep people from moving there. It has kept Iceland beautiful and untouched. That means there’s amazing photography moments, just waiting there for us.

Bry Cox - Icelandic Photographic Adventure 1

This Photo Tour is Open to Anyone Looking for Adventure, Amateurs and Professionals! I will coach you to amp your inner artist while we explore the most serene places on earth. Come be a part of and create breathtaking photographs!

Led By An Elite Team of Icelandic Locals! We will travel in style with an elite team of Iceland’s best local experts and photographers who know all the nooks and crannies! We will avoid the tacky tourist traps, and focus on the beautiful hidden oases. These images were taken by this very elite team. They are fantastic photographers, scenic guides, and will do everything to this a comfortable trip for you.

Come during the warmest part, July 15-21, 2012!
For more info, visit brycox.com/iceland and
http://www.focusonnature.is/photo-workshops/bry-cox-iceland-workshop-2012/

I’d love to have you come along! This will be the adventure of a lifetime!