Happy New Year Friends! 2012 was an amazing year for John Schlia and John Schlia Photography. I want to share my top 12 favorite shots with you. Here we go, in no particular order:
I love this family! Kids are so much fun to work with. Zoe was a real trooper during the whole family session. Then during the very last shot she really turned it on with this awesome expression.Whenever I make an image I try to create something out of the ordinary. At Shannon and Kim’s wedding I had been eyeing up this Hulk Lego that one of the kids had. I asked him to borrow it and single handedly became the only person to capture the Incredible Hulk.You may or may not know that my girlfriend, Anna, performs improv and stand up comedy. That means that I have taken hundreds of photos with her on stage over the past year. But this is hands down my favorite picture of her. It captures the woman that I love just being herself. She isn’t pretending to be someone else and I’m not holding my cell phone at arm’s length to capture the both of us. 2012 was a fantastic year and in large part because of this woman.One thing that I am always interested in are family trees and lineage. That’s why at weddings I am always cognizant to capture the people that made the day possible, the parents and grandparents. I first met the groom’s grandfather as he was coming down the stairs. I’ll always remember what he said, “You here to photograph the old farts ?”For this year’s Halloween Party I took portraits of my friends. Pete dressed as Psy, the artist behind Gangnam Style and I think that his expression is reason enough to make it as one of my Top 12 Photos. The electrical tape helps too.Since the beginning of the wedding season I had an image in my mind but the right elements hadn’t come together. For a few weeks I had been looking for a grassy field to have my couples walk through. Then in June, Chelsey and Andrew were married at Noble Winery. The vineyard gave me exactly what I had been looking for, a gorgeous setting for a beautiful couple. Plus Lake Erie was in the background.The love in this photo always speaks to me. Arpad has a great stoic look that I admire, and Danita is just beaming with love for her husband. But those things are not the reason that I chose this as one of my Top 12. I chose it because it just looks great. The colors in their clothes match so perfectly with the leaves and stone. The blue sky light on Arpad’s face mixes so well with the reddish reflection of the leaves on Danita. Even her hair echoes the fall leaves. You just couldn’t ask for a better combination.This is my favorite Instagram photo of 2012. I grew up looking at this reproduction of Peaceable Kingdom by Edward Hicks in my grandparent’s living room. After my grandfather passed away, the print came to me. One day my cat Lucy was in the perfect position. Her eyes aren’t as doey as the other animals, but it makes me smile all the same.One of the benefits of being a Wedding photographer is that I’m able to visit wonderful places, with people who are wonderfully in love. Up until I had met Sydney and Justin I had never even heard of The White Eagle Conference Center. Now I am in love with the place. They have recreated a town from the 1800s on the grounds. The town has a church, a town square and this covered bridge. I love this image because there is a quirky timelessness. The combination of an old bridge, Sydney’s classic style, and Justin’s three piece suite makes me feel like he might be a gun slinger.I think that this photo holds the record for being the wallpaper on my phone the longest. Sometimes my son can give me a hard time about taking his picture, after all, he is my most photographed subject so he must get tired of a camera in his face. But bribe him with a Spiderman costume and a hat full of candy and he will give you the most adorable face in the world.This photo makes me laugh every time I see it. What an awesome reception! Brian, the groom, has the entire dance floor’s attention and looks like he is leading his wedding guests to storm the castle. It makes sense that he is a football coach.I met Alex and Dan down in Ellicottville for their engagement session. The last photo of the day was at the end of a road on top of a hill. When we got there we saw a group of guys who were getting ready to go mountain biking. I always try to use the resources around me in my photo sessions, so we recruited them to be a part of the shot. They played along and we made some great street type photography in the middle of the country.
