Weekend photo shoot

This past weekend (May 22-23) my camera began to feel like a natural extension of my hand. It started out as a trip to Branson for my first Wedding shoot, but ended up with an engagement session followed directly by the wedding photographs which lasted until 9 or 10 pm.

Jordon and Leah had asked me to take pictures at their wedding last year, but I was a little hesitant having never shot a wedding. They said they would hire another photographer and reassured me that there was no pressure. I was looking forward to shooting with Alec Vanderboom and seeing how he did it. Knowing the lighting conditions were poor in the Chapel at C of O, I purchased an external flash and bracket. I ended up with the Speedlite 580EX II. I showed up early for the rehearsal on Friday night and began messing with the flash. I had trouble getting the flash to calculate the correct strength of the flash. So many of those photos are either completely washed out or too dark. The rehearsal dinner was amazing! We ate at the Macaroni Grill at the Landing.

Saturday morning started early with an engagment photo shoot "booked" the night before after the rehearsal dinner. Stephanie Shannon and Casey Day were a joy to shoot, though I didn't have Laura with me to do all the posing, so I had to improvise. It started raining shortly after starting so we had to wait for it to clear up before finishing. I found some new places in Hollister to take some cool photos. Every location was pretty much a spontaneous decision, since I didn't have time to plan out where we would go. It was a lot of fun, and we finished just in time to for me to head over to the college to get some pre-wedding shots. I had a lot of fun taking pictures and just helping out with whatever needed to be done. It was so much fun to get to be a part of their wedding. It was truly beautiful.

It was mostly a learning experience for me, and I am truly grateful for the oportunity Jordon and Leah gave me. I tried to stay out of Alec's way as much as I could and watch him to see how an experienced photographer does it. Alec is very talented and you should definately check out his photos here, alecvanderboom.com. It was nice to know that Jordon and Leah had no expectations for me. It gave me the freedom to experiment and truly just have fun, learn, and just be a part of the wedding. This may have limited the number of great shots I got, but I think it will always remain one of my favorite wedding experiences as a photographer. I enjoyed talking to the family about Jordon and Leah and getting to meet everyone. The interaction with the people was definitely my favorite part. I especially enjoyed getting to talk to the Best Man, Corey Bright, and the Maid of Honor, Amanda Brandt. They were both very easy to talk to and were very genuine. I wish Jordon and Leah all the best as newlyweds - they are both amazingly real and fun. And I thank them for giving me this chance to learn.

Glimpse of History

Tuesday (April 28) after work, I grabbed my camera, old shoes, and headed off down the muddy roads to the outskirts of town (which in Elk Falls, doesn't take very long to reach). I had recently learned of the old town dump which may have been used since the town's founding in 1871. Within 15 minutes I found shards of broken glass on the old abandoned road; I knew I was getting close. It probably took only another 5 minutes before I spotted a couple of old cars stacked up through the trees and wild flowers. I spent the next two hours just exploring and capturing a few intriguing sights. I'm sure there is much more to be discovered and plenty of buried treasures to keep someone occupied for months. Unfortunately, when I learned of this dump, I also learned of it's impending doom - apparently it's illegal to have open dumps so the government is spending up to $90,000 to have it buried under two feet of earth. For now though, I'm am satisfied to have captured some of the fascinating artifacts in my photographs. I am only posting a few of them, but I hope you will enjoy the view through my lens.




Some broken remains of a 10 gallon crock from the Coffeyville Pottery and Clay Company.



After exploring through the woods to see how far the dump extended, I heard rush of water and soon discovered this small stream.


Pieces of a broken glass train.

I found it ironic how beautiful this dump looked to me.

Small piece of a Union Soneware Co., Red Wing, Minn. crock. I found the other pieces nearby.

Vance and Samantha

Saturday morning turned out to be a terrific day for a photo shoot. It was slightly overcast, not too warm with a cool breeze, and most importantly - not raining. Vance and Samantha were a blast to shoot. They claimed they weren't very photogenic, but nothing could be further from the truth. Their natural expressions and joyful personalities made it easy to capture the loving relationship. We started at 8:00 am with a few shots on the CofO campus. We then continued to the stairs in Hollister and various other Hollister locations until 9:30 when the breeze began to turn more into wind and the soft morning light was already beginning to cast harsh shadows. Vance and Samantha we're good sports putting up with my shutter-happy, trigger finger, and were willing to try whatever Laura or I suggested. I'm excited to shoot their wedding in June. It's sure to be a great time!

Other photos from the shoot can be found here.

Welcome to Zach Fry Photography

Even though I am just now starting my photography website and blog, I am not new to the joy of photography. Photography has been one of my passions since I took my first picture with my own camera when I was 8. For many years, I just enjoyed capturing moments I wanted to remember in the form of a snapshot. Later on I became intrigued with photography as more of an art form. I was always looking for unusual angles in which to take my photographs. Being active in 4-H, it was only natural to add photography to my list of projects. This provided a way to share my work with others and have it critiqued by those more knowledgeable than myself. I learned on my mom's 35mm Minolta SLR (manual only). Photography soon became one of my favorite projects. I went to 4-H Photography Camp in the summers and learned from professionals and other enthusiastic peers. It was very rewarding to see my work at the Kansas State Fair year after year and eventually receive Best of Show. When I was old enough, I enrolled in Photography night classes through the local community college, where I further progressed my skills and learned darkroom techniques. It was partially due to these classes that I developed a love for black and white photography. During my senior year of high school, my art teacher encouraged me to enter the National Scholastic Arts Competition. I entered as many categories as I could including a portfolio category which featured twelve of my nature photographs, each carefully framed in my own handmade mattes. I was thrilled to receive the Gold Key Award and have my portfolio featured in a gallery in New York City. I also had several of my photos published in national calendars around the same time and even had one of my local photographs chosen as a gift to the Kansas governor. I continued entering contests and eventually earned enough money to buy my first digital camera, a Canon Powershot A80. It was a great little camera while it lasted (about 4 years). I have now upgraded to a Canon 40D SLR. Throughout college, photography was forced to the back burner. I still took pictures whenever I could, and even enrolled in a Digital Photography class, but I no longer had the time to just shoot to my heart's content. However, even though photography was no longer a focus, I feel that during those four years I really expanded my concepts and techniques. Now that I have graduated and have more free time, I am beginning to explore again... searching for new techniques and creative ways to share my view through the lens.