time marches on...

October is a big month for me. I celebrate my wedding anniversary, my husbands birthday, the beginning of my favorite season...and this year, 10 years of photographing weddings in the Athens GA area. One of my favorite couples Amanda & John, celebrated their 10 year wedding anniversary. It seems like yesterday that I was taking their wedding photos and now they are the proud parents of a feisty and super fun 2.5 year old who is a current favorite subject in my photo studio. I feel so lucky to have these long-term relationships with clients. It totally fuels my passion for stories, as I have the opportunity to photograph the stories of people's lives.

An honestly, I think it makes me appreciate my own life's story more. I may not take as many photos as I would like to of my own children (the chef's cupboard is always bare...) but I do find the time to savor those moments as they fly by. My photography just helps me stop the time a little better. My husband and I were talking about our inability to remember our first son's actions/tricks/abilities when he was the age our second born is now (ripe ole' 20 months!!) The mind has a way of getting jumbled with the grocery lists of life and it somehow pushes out those precious memories we so want to savor. That's where I feel so lucky to have my secret weapon... my photos. With one click I can freeze time and with one glance I'm transported to Ethan's "twinkle fingers" or Ben's mischievous grin when he learned to walk. And it's with such pleasure I capture those moments for my clients too. Whether it's their wedding day and the loving glances they pass between each other, or the celebration of a pregnancy, or the marking of a special occasion- like "it's Thursday and I feel really great about being me" I really do love that I'm the chosen one to save that moment-- that feeling-- forever.

When I get bogged down in the responsibilities of running a business, being a wife and a mother I try to take time to relish in my lucky post... I help people--myself included--take a little more time for the special moments and create a lasting work of art that can transport us back to those times when the world tries to push them away.

truth or dare..............

okay, in this ever changing and frantic world of wedding photography, how do you even begin to make a decision about who to use? may I offer some suggestions. First, look at their history. How long have they been shooting weddings? If it's less than two years, look out. You don't want them to cut their teeth at your event. And beware of all the bells and whistles that might be added to compensate for their lack of experience.

yes, I am blatantly plugging our company, but I'm proud of the fact that we have a great reputation after shooting weddings for over eight years. On top of that, we're fun to be with and multi-talented. We are stylists (carrying powder at all times), can stitch a dress or rework a bouquet in a moments notice, at no extra charge! Not many companies can lay claim to that. And there isn't much that we haven't seen or experienced, so we don't shake easily.

Anyway, we love what we do and we welcome your comments...........and your business! We're going to be posting fun events that we're working on and cool couples we're working with so stay tuned!

inspiration

When you've photographed as much as we have you gain valuable insight into how people tick, you learn every detail of your particular camera and you understand on the deepest level what makes a great photograph. But just as critical as experience is inspiration. As one of the ZoomWorks founders I feel it's essential to be motivated by more than the bottom line every time I pick up my camera. I got into photography because I felt it was the perfect medium for my artistic voice. As I approach 15 years as a professional photographer I still feel that is true. What I find most inspiring is the spirit of my subjects. Whether it's the amazing dynamic of love between two people (like the wedding I photographed this weekend) or the unbridled curiosity of a two year old (like my buddy Clayton). The challenge of capturing that unique spirit in an image continues to energize me. Each member of the ZoomWorks team finds inspiration in different ways--but we all know it's vital to staying fresh, having fun and loving what we do.

A little professional inspiration in the form of conferences- like the one we attended in Las Vegas in March (Professional Wedding and Portrait Photographers of America), or from trade magazines can be helpful too. The amazing thing is that every time we find work we really respect and respond to, we find that we generally have a lot in common with the company/person's way of doing business and with what motivates him/her/them.

Life is always hectic; what a joy it is to stop a moment in time for someone and preserve that spirit forever. -Shannah

additonal thoughts from co-owner

Just wanted to say 'hello' to all in blog-land. This is Marisu, the other half of the ZoomWorks leadership team.

We decided to travel for knowledge this year, and Las Vegas was the destination. We were there for four days with 9000 other portrait and wedding photographers. We went to countless seminars, viewed tons of images and we came back inspired. And confident. Our work spoke for itself. The trade show was fun too! It's always great to check out all the new industry toys.

Speaking of inspired, I just shot two of the most beautiful women in the same week....both 8 and a half months pregnant. Astounding. I can't wait to meet their respective children. It was really nice to share this time of their life with them especially since it is the first time for both of them.

Off to the studio............

ZoomWorks...the last word in photography

ZoomWorks Photography....where to begin? First of all we love photography, we love people and we love the opportunity to capture someones essence, spirit and true emotion on film. YES, we did say film. We love it and we'll continue to use it until the digital revolution crushes us! (We do think digital is great for some things, but our artistic preference is for film because of the amazing way it captures light.)

The "we" of ZoomWorks is our amazing team. Headed by Founders Shannah Cahoe Montgomery and Marisu Wehrenberg. Their respective backgrounds in fine art, photojournalism, fashion and styling led to the ZoomWorks vision and guides everything we do. Our extremely talented group of Deanna Pieniaszek, Alex Martinez, Andrew Edwards and Annie Gannon and our crew of faithful and amazing assistant photographers bring their own unique flair and combined 100+ years of experience to the team.

We spend a lot of time at weddings and LOVE them. It's not the kind of thing you can do half-heartedly, and certainly not for the 7 years and more than 1000 weddings we've photographed since the founding of ZoomWorks in 2000.

Traveling to destination weddings is always a pleasure, and can also present a unique set of challenges... but it's always worth it when we get back amazing images! This year we've spent time on the Florida and Georgia coasts and in St. Thomas. Highlights have included the breathtaking views from the cliffs on St. Thomas, with the couple looking so amazing and radiating such pure, beautiful love that it could eclipse the natural beauty around them. There was the great beach party in Treasure Island, Fl and those gorgeous Gulf sunsets.