The Proof Sheet

Roxy

noreply@blogger.com (Rocky Coplin) — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 18:19:00 +0000

This is Roxy. She was forgotten about, hungry and filthy. We rescued her, cleaned her up, got her shots and wormed her. Roxy is a *good* dog. I would love to keep... her, but it's just not feasible at present time. Please help me find her a home. I simply cannot keep her myself. Get in contact with me if you or anyone you know is looking for a good dog!

Mike & Bethany-This beats digging a ditch!

noreply@blogger.com (Rocky Coplin) — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 18:43:00 +0000

We were fighting the sun and clouds all day in Oakland, Maryland where Mike & Bethany got married, but they made sure they gave us the one thing we really need to make great photos…. TIME! No, not the magazine. We arrived at Nola’s Salon where the girls were getting ready several hours before the ceremony. The salon itself was amazing to shoot in with vibrant walls that matched the wedding colors and two big picture windows where beautiful natural light was streaming thru.

ROCKIN’ the detail shots…

Check out the bridal party…

Our gorgeous bride…

Our prop… AKA, the groom…

Groomsman… apparently achieving Zen.

Looks like someone bought a Toyota.

The bridal party left the church on an antique fire engine…

Congratulations guys… I hope you had a great honeymoon! I’ll be talking with you soon!

Adrian and Brian

noreply@blogger.com (Rocky Coplin) — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 06:35:00 +0000

Adrian contacted me from Alaska last year about photographing her wedding. Initially, I thought it was in Alaska. But alas, I had to settle for the Waterfront Hotel and her great grandma Betty's farm in Pennsylvania.

The girls having a light snack while waiting for pizza to be delivered...

Where were the guys? Downstairs in the bar of course....

This is Kendall, one of the prettiest flower girls I've ever seen.

Adrian, the bride, having some finishing touches.

In the hotel lobby, by the elevators.

Brian, different bar...

This little guy was playing peekaboo with me all night long.

One of my personal favorite images of the whole day.

Check out the officiate with his phone out snapping an image. That's Adrian's uncle that came all the way from Alaska to perform the ceremony for them.

The layout of the land and the beautiful sky allowed for some very theatrical photos as Adrian's father was walking her up the aisle. Well, up the lawn more accurately.

No bar? No worries for these guys.

This is Natalie (who should be thrilled that I finally got her name right). Very emotional as she gave her congratulatory speech to her Brian and Adrian.

Our ringbearers didn't make it to long after the ceremony before they were looking for the pool & Jacuzzi.

You can't see it on the small file here, but Jay was starting to tear up a little as he finished dancing with his daughter. I see everything, Jay. Everything.

I just love the look that Brian's mom is giving him here.

The day after the wedding, our happy couple got up early, got dressed again, and we went out on a little "Photo Safari" around Morgantown. This will be an option in our upcoming brochure.

Love this one...

And this one...

And finally, this one might be my favorite of them all. Very artsy.

Brian and Adrian, thanks a million! I hope you're enjoying your stay here in West-by-God-Virginia.

Josh and Amy

noreply@blogger.com (Rocky Coplin) — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 04:41:00 +0000

I've know Amy's family in an indirect way since grade school and Josh was a groomsman in one of his friends wedding I photographed several years ago.

This is Danielle... a rather quirky girl.

Which one of you clowns got me into this mess? This is Michael Daugherty... Josh's companion, cohort, and clown. Literally. he graduated from Barnum & Bailey Clown College. Very, very funny guy. Click on his name to check out his website.

The groom...

Future clients???

Josh as he watched Amy coming down the aisle.

Amy is crying here, though you can't see it on the small file, it's very emotional. Yes, that's her dad and no he's not the guy from "Law and Order".

This beautiful multi tiered cake was made by Dave Owens...

First Dances...

Saved the best for last... Hope you guys enjoyed your honeymoon and thanks for having us as part of your big day!

Sarah and Heath

noreply@blogger.com (Rocky Coplin) — Sat, 20 Jun 2009 06:13:00 +0000

Sarah and Heath was one of the most laid back couples that I've ever had the privilege to work with. They had a very classy out door wedding and reception, both of which were held at Pete Dye Golf Course right here in Bridgeport.

The flower girl loved the camera...

Awesome light bouncing back from the make up mirror.

Sarah's brother walked her down the aisle.

Check out how beautiful this ceremony was.

Everyone gets frustrated when the kids run off, but look how cute this image is!

The advantages of a late wedding... nice, soft, sweet light.

I have been photographing weddings for almost 8 years now... this is the first time I've ever got an evening/sunset photo.

Beautiful image of the reception location.

Cake was by Amanda Parish of Icing on the Cake in Morgantown. She's updating her website, but feel free to contact me if you'd like to consider her for your wedding and I'll get her contact info to you!

I'd love to know what he was whispering in her ear...

Live entertainment was by Judo Chop out of Washington, DC... an 80's cover band that rocked out to the likes of Eddie Money, Jefferson Starship and Huey Lewis. Awesome!

Another cool image that shows emotion.

Congrats guys! I know how important this day was for you and now you have great photos to remember it! Thanks a million times over!

Patrick and Kasey

noreply@blogger.com (Rocky Coplin) — Sat, 20 Jun 2009 05:32:00 +0000

Patrick and Kasey got married in the historical district of Cumberland, MD a few months ago. After the wedding, Kasey asked us to do a trash the dress session with her at Swallow Falls. We were more than happy to oblige.

Love the artsy, sassy group shot happenin' here...

St. Paul's Lutheran Church has a beautiful sanctuary.

That is Patrick & Kasey's son... I think he's trying to get to mom and dad here, and he got snagged at the last second.

Jailbreak. I think unposed, spontaneous images are the best.

Amazing bridal portrait. Kasey is one of the best brides I've ever had in front of my lens. She is totally at ease with the camera.

This is Patrick's mother, Peggy. She was an absolute hoot to work with and she treated us like we were family. She wanted her son and daughter in law to have a wonderful wedding day. They did, and I hope they love the images we created for them to remember it.

This is Kasey the day of her TTD shoot... I like the light we had going on on the way to the falls, so I stopped and made this image.

And she brought Patrick along... cause they're married and stuff. So I took some with him too.

You have no clue what a PIA it was to get these next couple images. I got banged up and lost my favorite reflector... but I think the results were worth it.

Finally, I wanted to do a unique ring shot... this is what I came up with. What thinks ye?

Thanks again guys! You truly made us feel like family and I wish you the best in your future.

Jennifer and Jeremiah

noreply@blogger.com (Rocky Coplin) — Sat, 20 Jun 2009 02:41:00 +0000

The week after I arrived back from the Dominican Republic, I was fortunate enough to photograph one of the coolest brides I've ever worked with.

I love this shot... it looks so diva-ish.

Love her hair and eyes here.

I try to shoot the details as differently as possible...

I don't know what I said, but apparently I'm funny...

I started off with this shot...

But then I realized I was hiding one of my favorite features behind her bouquet.

Jennifer got Jeremiah a cool set of cuff links that he's showing off here.

Amazing shot as Dad is about to give her away.

The ceremony was at Our Lady of Perpetual Help in Stonewood. A great backdrop for indoor formal portraits.

The reception was held at The Bridgeport Conference Center and this delicious cake was by Bake N Memories.

Due to a series of Lemony Snicket type of unfortunate events, we met up the day after the wedding for some more formal portraits. Check them out...

And finally, one of my all time favorite images I've ever captured...

A big thanks to the new Mr. & Mrs. Weiker for letting us be a part of your big day!

Adventures in Photography

noreply@blogger.com (Rocky Coplin) — Sat, 20 Jun 2009 02:00:00 +0000

My New Year's Resolution was to blog more. So much for that pipe dream. Anyhow, here are a few images from my recent trip to the Dominican Republic.

This lady was begging for money outside one of the churches we were at. I gave her a dollar and she literally started crying. The people in this country are dirt poor. Believe me when I say that nobody in America has anything to complain about...

Another beggar in a church. His name is Samuel and he's about six years old. That's my hat he's wearing. We really hit it off, I think because he's about the same age as my nephew. Could you imagine being six years old and having to beg outside a church just to eat?

Yes, those are bananas and yes, they are on the ground.

A couple of the kids in town...

Me and all the kids. Needless to say, I left broke that day.

Overall, a good trip. Unfortunately, no images from the wedding. Those are going to be a surprise... more to some than others.

Jon & Steph-March 21, 2009

noreply@blogger.com (Rocky Coplin) — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 02:00:00 +0000

Jon and Stephanie was our first wedding of 2009 and what a way to start the year! We had a blast photographing this wedding. I hope that the rest of our year goes just as good!

Blooms in Bridgeport once again did a beautiful job on the flowers.

Here's Steph getting her hair done at Innovations Salon in Bridgeport before the wedding.

Infrared shot of the bride...

Stephanie got her dress from Classic Bridal in Morgantown.

This was a fun group...

The groom and his mom...

Jon didn't think he would do so good in photos... what do you guys think???

I loved the look on her face coming down the aisle...

The ceremony was held at Bridgeport United Methodist and was beautiful as usual...

I LOVE this image...

We had a fantastic time guys! Hope you enjoyed your honeymoon!

Bella Bridal-50% of sale!

noreply@blogger.com (Rocky Coplin) — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 17:50:00 +0000

I met with a bride at Bella's Bridal in Jane Lew the other day (her aunt owned the shop) and I was very impressed with the down home atmosphere. I thought it would be worth mentioning that they are running a 50% off sale on all of their gowns thru the end of January. That means more money to spend on your photography! Anyways, I have had several brides that were thrilled with Bella's, so it might be worth your time to swing by and give them a look.

Brendan and Alyssa-Just A Couple of Bumps

noreply@blogger.com (Rocky Coplin) — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 17:31:00 +0000

My last wedding of 2008 was very special for me. The Smith family has been more than a client for several years now. I whole heartedly consider them my friends. When I had my studio, I did photos for them on what seemed like a weekly basis. From dance photos to Alyssa's senior portraits, they were always having photos made and they were always a joy to have around. When they told me that Alyssa was getting married, I couldn't imagine anyone else photographing her wedding.

I knew their was a reason I liked this girl.

This is Alyssa's sister Abbey, who I didn't even recognize at first!

And Allison, who is pretty hard to forget.

And Whitney... who has been in three weddings I photographed this past year. I'm thinking of giving her her own gallery on my website.

I love this shot of the bridesmaid dresses.

From fiance to financee... this is Brendan.

This is Jim's first of three trips down this road.

Brendan as as he watched her coming down the aisle.

Brendan's Dad performed the ceremony and offered some pretty good advice.

The couple were surprised to find the trolley waiting for them when they left the church.

Again, a big "Thanks" to Joe and the staff at Village Square for treating us and the couple like rock stars. One day, when Joe emerges from the dark ages and gets a website up, I'm going to link to it for the whole world to see!

We always try to do something unique with the rings...

David and Lee Ann-Be yourself!

noreply@blogger.com (Rocky Coplin) — Sun, 30 Nov 2008 03:18:00 +0000

David and Lee Ann are easily one of the coolest and most creative couples I've ever had the privilege to photograph. They live in Florida where she's a make up artist and he's a mechanic. My main goal was to give them wedding photos that were as creative, unique and laid back as they were! I think we did OK... ">

The cake was done by Dave Owens, who coincidentally did my wedding cake when I got married!

Lee Ann's dress was by Alfred Angelo...

Here's Lee Ann and all of her girls... check out the dresses!

Very emotional...

This guy looks like he's right into it, huh?

Fun group...

Chef Dale from Stonewall Resort did an amazing job on the catering!

This is one of my all time favorite reception photos... I just love the look and feel.

First dance.

From outside...

Check out the rings... David's band has little screws on it! I thought that was so cool.

Congratulations guys, and thanks for letting us be a part of such an amazing day.

Fall in Love-Mike and Amy

noreply@blogger.com (Rocky Coplin) — Sat, 29 Nov 2008 17:33:00 +0000

Ok, I know I've been a very bad boy about blogging. But I didn't realize how many people actually read this thing. You gotta leave comments to let me know you're here!

This past October we did something that we had never done... we photographed two weddings back to back. One on Saturday 10/18 and one on Sunday 10/19. Though it can be very tough and stressful, we had a ton of fun because they were two awesome couples.

Mike and Amy were our first couple and they got married at the beautiful Deerpark Country Inn. Kelly at Deerpark took care of virtually everything with the exception of the cake and of course the photography.

A few finishing touches...

Amy and her girls getting ready in the bride and grooms room.

Our bride on the steps inside the lodge...

The groom, looking like a Sears model...

Beautiful scenery at Deerpark for a fall ceremony.

Amy is the light of Mike's eyes. Literally. That beautiful light on his face is bouncing off of her. She was blinded, but dang she made him look good!

This is completely unposed... shot with a long lens from across the lawn, they had no clue I even took it.

After the ceremony, Mike surprised Amy with a horse drawn carriage that came to pick them up. The horse and carriage was provided by Steve Freda of Weston. They don't have a website, but you can contact Steve at 304-269-7672 if you're looking for a horse and carriage for your wedding.

This is one of my favorite images with the carriage.

When I say "Dip Her!" this is what I mean...

The Cake was once again by Amanda Parish of Icing on the Cake from Morgantown. DELICIOUS!

After the wedding, the couple got to retire to this suite, right there at Deerpark.

I'll leave you with one of my favorite images from the wedding. I just think it's a cool art piece and the perfect end to an album. Or blog post.

Thanks for checking it out and don't forget to leave your comments. I'll be posting more images from our last two weddings of the year soon.

Live, Laugh, Love... Jessica and Jonathan

noreply@blogger.com (Rocky Coplin) — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 20:01:00 +0000

Live, laugh, love is kind of the theme of Jessica's parent's home, but more importantly, it's the theme of their lives. I hit it off with Jess as soon as I talked with her over the phone (She and Jonathan live in Boston). I've never had a bride who's smile could light up a room the way Jess does! Big, hearty and genuine smiles. It made for a great day!

Check out the sign above the dress...

I love this image...

See what I mean about the smile...

Flowers were by the incomparable Blooms in Bridgeport.

We dropped by Hinkle Lake for a few shots, since it was right down the road from her parent's house.

I like Jonathan enough to overlook the fact that he's a Patriot's fan. ;-)

This is Jess's brother, Nick. I liked working with this family so much, that I am going to personally start screening potential bride's for Nick. Call me for an application packet.

Judge Bedell performed the ceremony right the front porch. Check out the leaves.

This is probably my favorite image because this is how Jess is all the time.

You have no idea how hard it was to get them to NOT smile.

Bake N' Memories created this tri-flavored whimsical color explosion. I actually think I fried a few sensor pixels.

Muriel's catered the whole thing... Brian actually cried tears of joy when he saw them pull in.

Jess's Dad, Gary... something tells me she's a Daddy's Girl.

And Jonathan's mom, who has the greatest accent.

Thanks again guys! I hope you're enjoying your honeymoon!

Jon and Allison

noreply@blogger.com (Rocky Coplin) — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 16:39:00 +0000

I know it's been awhile since I've got to post anything, but I'm just getting over a bout of pneumonia and we're in the process of buliding yours truly a new office!I'm a little behind, but doing my best to get caught up. I'm going to start by blogging about Jon and Allson's wedding from October 4!

I loved working with these guys! I feel like I have the greatest clients in the world and Jon and Allison are no exception. And, of course, I don't mind shooting a wedding at the always beautiful Clarksburg United Methodist Church. The parlor where Allison got ready is so beautiful and there is great light it seems all the time. It makes for some really beautiful "getting ready" photos.

Check out this shot of the bride in front of the church. The dress, from Classic Bridal in Morgantown, was simple, beautiful and elegant.

A not-so-traditional shot of the ladies.

More images of the bride...

A not-so-traditional shot of the guys...

The ceremony was beautiful and I caught this emotional candid as Allison's Dad gave her away.

I love this shot of the bridal party.

You'll never believe how and where this image was made!

Abbey Road-esque...

The reception was at Glen Elk Gardens in Clarksburg and check out this cake by Amanda Parish from Icing on the Cake in Morgantown. This cake was AWESOME! At the risk of offending some of my other baker friends, this was easily the best tasting wedding cake I've ever had and that's coming from a guy that's been to a few weddings. Definitely check her out.

That's all for now, but be sure to check out the slideshow for more amazing images!

Book now... or forever hold your peace!

noreply@blogger.com (Rocky Coplin) — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 02:25:00 +0000

We have booked SEVEN weddings this week, which is a record for us. I know it's on all of our printed materials, but I wanted to put on our blog that your wedding date is NOT booked until you have signed a contract and made the retainer payment. Don't assume that your date will be available in two weeks. If you know that you want us as your wedding photographers, CALL NOW! Do not wait, do not email, do not pass go. We will hold your date for up to 72 business hours (More for our clients in Alaska and Hawaii). We get lots and lots of inquiries about the same date. The first person to sign the contract and pay the retainer gets that date and we only shoot one wedding per day. Don't drag your feet!

Your wedding images on iTunes!

noreply@blogger.com (Rocky Coplin) — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 15:46:00 +0000

We've had alot of people asking about getting the slideshows onto their iPod/iPhone and we've finally found a way to make it happen!!! First, you need to have iTunes. When you open up iTunes, go into the "Podcasts" section. At the top of the panel, go to the "Advanced" tab and down to "Subscribe to Podcast". It will ask for a URL. Type (or copy and paste) http://feeds.feedburner.com/LearyWeddings . You should see all of the available Podcasts pop up by name, just click on them and they will download right into iTunes. A few things to remember, if your show is new, it may take a few hours for it to be ready to download even though it is viewable. Also, these files are usually around 30 megs, so they will take awhile to download. I hope you enjoy and send them on to everyone you know!

Lindsay and Chad

noreply@blogger.com (Rocky Coplin) — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 17:17:00 +0000

We had a great time photographing this wedding and we got some awesome images. I knew alot of people there and I felt the pressure to do well... so read on and let me know how we did!

This is the bride and her bridesmaids. The flowers were done by Blooms in Bridgeport. I can't say enough about Blooms... very nice work and very professional, too.

Here's Lindsay's Dad when he first saw her in her wedding gown.

Getting ready to walk down the aisle...

Reverend Dorsey at the Bridgeport United Methodist Church led a great ceremony as usual.

After the ceremony, I made it my personal mission to get an image at that church that were completely different from anything I'd ever seen photographed there... the following image was the result of my efforts.

Of course, I had to do a few nice images by the stone work.

This image was captured on a real infrared sensitive camera... you can't get that soft, dreamy, organic look quite the same any other way, except for maybe film.

The reception was held at Bridgeport Country Club.

Music was provided by No Bad JuJu... an incredible eight piece ensemble band out of Pittsburgh. They were incredible! Easily the best band I've ever seen at a wedding reception.

The cake was by Almost Heaven Desserts.

Vicki and Jay

noreply@blogger.com (Rocky Coplin) — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 16:33:00 +0000

Vicki and Jay did something that no other couple I've ever had has done... instead of not seeing each other until the ceremony, they choose to see each other early in the day and get all their photos taken before the ceremony. This is a huge trend in other parts of the country, and I can see why. After the ceremony, we snapped a few images in the chapel and within a few minutes we were at the reception. So cool. Here are a few of my favorites.

Anyone wanna guess who's going to be on some of next year's advertising pieces?

They also had a ceremonial dove release provided by Gary and Pamela Cooper of Wedding Wings. Gary has been a friend of Joe's since I worked for him nearly ten years ago and he always provides beautiful releases and professional service.

Here it is... the long awaited slideshow!

Jude and Jamie

noreply@blogger.com (Rocky Coplin) — Sun, 03 Aug 2008 23:00:00 +0000

This was an awesome wedding! These are my kind of people and I wanted to deliver some amazing wedding photos. We had all the ingredients... a beautiful location (Lakeview Resort in Morgantown), a great couple, a horse and carriage and tons of emotion.

People ask me all the time what is my favorite thing to shoot at a wedding. The answer has always been the Father-Daughter/Mother-Son dances. Watch closely and you'll see why.

I can't tell you how much fun we had with these guys. Just outstanding people. I hope we we get to work with these families again in the future. (Rachel, babe... call me.) I hope you guys enjoy your photos as much as we enjoyed being there!

Choose Wisely

noreply@blogger.com (Rocky Coplin) — Sat, 02 Aug 2008 04:13:00 +0000

Choosing a wedding photographer can be an intimidating task especially in today’s world where it seems that anybody with a camera kit they purchased at Best Buy is advertising themselves as a professional photographer. For sure you don’t want to trust your once in a lifetime memories to a once in a while photographer, but how do you know the difference and how do you choose? We understand that we are not the photographers for everybody and even if we are, we may be booked on your wedding date. That being said, we have provided this tip sheet for choosing a wedding photographer even if it’s not us. We hope that you find it insightful and, more than that, we hope that it helps you to make an informed decision in selecting your wedding photographer. Just click on the tip sheet and either print it out or save it to your computer.

International Competition Results!

noreply@blogger.com (Rocky Coplin) — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 23:15:00 +0000

OK, OK, OK... so I know I'm runnning behind on blogging my recent weddings, but it's been crazy. I'm hoping to get caught up in the next day or so and do some crazy bloggin'. But for now, I have some more good news to share.

The results from PPA's International Print Competition are in and we did extremely well. All four of my prints merited and two of them were accepted into PPA's prestigous traveling Loan Collection! That is pretty much the highest honor you can receive and what you strive for when you enter. Another print was also accepted into the PPA Showcase Collection.

Before I show you our award winning wedding images, I want to give a shout out to a couple of people. Number one, Joe McNemar of D-Max Photography, Steve Preston and Brian "Pooky" Price... I couldn't have done it without you guys nor would I want to. Thanks a million times over.

OK, now that I'm done kissing my friends' backsides, let's get on with the images. This first image was from a wedding a good while back. This is Lindsay Marsh of Bridgeport. The name of the print was "Modern Bride" and it was selected as the Best In Show at PPWV. It will be on the cover of the PPWV program next year. In addition, this image won Best Weddng Image, a Kodak Gallery Award, A Fuji Masterpiece, and it was one of my images selected for the Loan Collection. Not bad for being a couple years old!

This next image was from our wedding album. This is Tim and Mary Scheuvront of Lost Creek. This is one of my favorite couples of all time and I was dying to Blog this wedding back in October, but I knew I would be entering them into competition... so I thought it better to wait. Now that competition is over, I'll be blogging about them in the next couple of days so stay tuned!

That's it for now, but check back soon as I'll be posting some awesome images from recent weddings and not so recent weddings as well as some valuable tips for brides to be. Thanks for looking!

Marlene and Brad

noreply@blogger.com (Rocky Coplin) — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 20:19:00 +0000

This was a really fun wedding. I like it when things aren't the typical.They walked down the aisle together and their kids lit the unity candles. Afterwards, instead of a reception, they treated everybody to a dinner style reception at Provence Market in Bridgeport... including us! (Note: If you're looking to butter me up, that's the way to do it!)

The food was absolutely delicious!

Overall a great day, I could've done without the rain though. Be sure to check out the slideshow!

A Special Message From Kimmy

noreply@blogger.com (Rocky Coplin) — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 14:42:00 +0000

Natasha & Harry-June 14, 2008

noreply@blogger.com (Rocky Coplin) — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 14:17:00 +0000

A couple of years ago, I met Natasha and Harry when I photographed Harry's senior portraits. Come to find out, I was neighbors and went to school with Natasha's family when I was a kid. These are some of the nicest and hardest working people I have ever met and I was very honored that they asked me to photograph their wedding. We had a great time!