July Workshop Pre-Registration Extended!

Join the LaCour team in July (LaCour Workshops: The Business of Storytelling, July 22-26) for a life-changing week of learning, sharing and friendship! We've extended the pre-registration deadline so you can save $200 by signing up before June 8. Here's a sneak peek video of the workshop, made by our talented friends at Four Seasons Films. Paul & Holley are incredible filmmakers! Thanks guys for all your work on this project.

FlashFlavor.com

Our good friend, Matt Adcock, recently started a blog called Flash Flavor which is focused on sharing creative flash techniques for wedding photographers. Matt asked us if we would like to share any stories about any images we've made using flash in a unique or creative way. I immediately thought of the above image that I made at a wedding in February and sent the image to Matt, along with the story of how I made the image.

Click Here to read the story.

WedPix.com Article About Music on Websites

WedPix.com, an online magazine published by the Wedding Photojournalist Association interviewed me last month for an article about using music on photographers' websites. The article was published earlier this month and I forgot to post a link to it, so if you haven't read the article already, go check it out. WedPix is published monthly and it's a great resource for both brides and photographers as they have two sections featuring articles that are directed towards either photographers or brides.

www.wedpix.com

The Edge of the World

We scrambled over a lunar landscape and stood on the edge of the world. All that separated us from Newfoundland was a 300 foot drop and a raging sea. From this exhilarating vantage point on the Aran Islands, we watched nature's fireworks display. My feet felt thunderclap tremors through solid stone as wild waves crashed against the cliffs. I have never felt so small, so humbled.

On our first date, Andrew asked me to name my life goals. I listed my priorities of faith, family and friends. Then, I paused to add...unlimited plane tickets! I have an insatiable desire to see and experience the world. I am passionate about traveling. (I inherited this trait from my grandmother, Sarah Lincoln LaCour.) Thankfully, Andrew and I share this passion and have made travel a high priority in our life together.

Travel is intensified living. It pushes your boundaries and makes you feel more awake and engaged with the world. So, I highly recommend trying life without guard rails. I did today and it was one of the most memorable moments in my life.


Here are some photos from our experience in Ireland:


Our incredible Aran Islands guide, Kevin, and his friendly horse, Charlie, acquainted us with his home.



By the Black Fort on Inishmore (above)


Andrew's sister, Sudie, and her favorite past time, singing Pub Songs at Taaffe's Pub.

The live band at Taaffe's pub.

Shootsac meets Ireland.

Whitebox Weddings

A couple of weeks ago we received an email out of the blue from two very enthusiastic, fun girls running a photography studio based in North Carolina. They claimed to have become "blog stalkers" of ours and wanted to meet up for lunch in Atlanta while they were in town for Susan Stripling and Nate Kaiser's workshop. So Mark and I and our studio manager Melissa met them at one of our favorite Atlanta lunch spots, Stone Soup Kitchen.

Sara and Melanie of Whitebox Weddings are adorable, spunky photographers who are also business partners and best friends. They won Mark's heart when they told us their husbands are members of the N.C. Beard and Moustache Club.

Their work is just beautiful. Their brides are fortunate to get such fun, spirited images from their wedding day.

View some Vintage Photos

If you need an excuse to not work today, I have a great one. Go visit www.shorpy.com. This photo blog features tons of old photos that are simply amazing to look through. The site actually let's visitors create accounts and upload their own vintage photos. It looks like multiple photos are posted each day, so this site will be sure to give you plenty of new... er, old.. content to look at all the time. I love old photos. I love being able to just look all through the image and imagine what it must have felt like to live in that moment. And I love the thought that the photos we are creating now will elicit that same excitement generations from now.

Visit us in Chicago

Most of the LaCour team is in Chicago for the next two days. We'll be showing demos of ShootQ, our studio management software to attendees of Pictage's PartnerCon. If your'e attending, be sure to say Hi to us!

The Value of Mentors

Dear Gary and Missy,

What can we say? You guys are just plain awesome. You're humble. You're sincere. You're real.

We laughed with you. We shared funny stories about mutual friends. And to top it all off, you invested in us. You mentored us.

We believe the most important business principle is to love people without any expectations. When we don’t expect anything in return, we understand what it means to love unconditionally. And when we understand what it means to love unconditionally, we discover the true meaning of community.

Thank you both for exemplifying this principle. You shared your lives and experiences with us. We feel blessed to know you, and we look forward to many more evenings of laughter and shared ideas!

A New York Minute

Rachel at the Leonard Freed exhibit at New York's Leica Gallery.

We're in New York for a few days, meeting with friends and colleagues. Last night, we were hanging out with our colleagues at Leica Camera. Their superlative service and commitment to photojournalism have always encouraged and inspired us, plus their cameras are so quiet we're practically invisible while shooting. They are hosting an exhibit for the late Leonard Freed, one of our favorite photographers. Freed's work from the Civil Rights movement is incredible and he was the youngest photographer selected for the seminal exhibition and book, 'The Concerned Photographer' in 1967.

Tonight, we're having dinner with Gary and Missy at a great sushi place. Look for more photos of our NY trip soon!
I love the energy of the city, so it will be hard to leave tomorrow. But we're looking forward to seeing many of you in Chicago next week at Pictage PartnerCon!