Christopher Elston Photography

Click here to vote for my blog ... early and often

2011-03-14T12:27:00.000-04:00

Click here to vote for my blog ... early and often

Last Post on this Blog

2009-11-15T20:09:00.004-05:00

This is the last post on my Blogger blog.

I have changed domains to:
http://www.ChristopherElstonBlog.com

All of my new photography blog posts will appear there.

Please join me at my new blog domain and leave me a comment!

Thanks!

Chris

Racy for Rachel Benefit at Art-n-Soul Studios

2009-10-20T19:31:00.007-04:00

The first of several charity benefits for the family of a waitress from Magnolias Restaurant happened recently at the Art-n-Soul Tattoo Studio and Art Gallery in Allentown.

Here is Rachel's Story:
"Our dear friends & coworkers, Rachel Bissey & Ryan Cole were killed tragically in a car accident in January '09. Their year started off great, they had just celebrated The Steelers win into the super bowl!
Sadly, one routine Wednesday night, Rachel & Ryan were on their way home from bowling and not more than five minutes from their home; their car hit a tree and their lives were lost. As close friends to this adored couple, we had been trying to think of a way to be more helpful to their families. Rachel's family lost 2/3 of the household income as a result of this devastating night. This was the nicest couple you could ever meet. These two were fun loving, beautiful spirits with so much love to give others. As well as a helpful & supportive team to their employers, friends, and families. After much thought and consideration, we have decided to put together a series of functions to help raise funds for Rachel's younger sisters' college tuition. We are producing a calendar composed of Rachel's girlfriends & coworkers, who miss her and loved her dearly.
We thank you so much for your support.
Sincerely,
Kimberly Kerstetter, Erin West and all of Magnolias Staff"

Here are some shots from the first event that was held at Art-n-Soul Studios (Tattoo and Art Gallery) in Allentown.

They used some of my images from the pin up calendar that I shot for some decoration for the event.
http://www.art-n-soulstudios.com/

The Project LV played:
http://www.myspace.com/theprojectlv

They sold canvases with "artsy" versions of my images:

There was standing room only:

Erin West manned the front:

John and Kim Kerstetter from Magnolias Restaurant http://www.magnoliasvineyard.com/ were the bar tenders:

The Heavy Beat also played:
http://www.myspace.com/heavybeatreggae

Some of the women from the pin up calendar and Rachel's friends:

I also played a slide show of some of my images from the pin up shoots:

They will be debuting the sale of the "Calendar for a Cause" (Magnolias Pin Up Calendar) at Magnolias' 1940's themed Martini Party on Thanksgiving Eve.
If you would like to be informed of additional charity events please contact:
Kim@MagnoliasVineyard.com

October @LVTweetup Lehigh Valley Tweetup at Pearly Baker's

2009-10-13T16:11:00.004-04:00

What do we do at the @LVTweetups? Talk, drink, eat, but mainly take pictures of each other.
Another great time was had by the Lehigh Valley Twitterers; this time it was held at Pearly Baker's in Easton.
http://www.pearlybakers.net/

@Glennard getting a high angle view of the Tweetup

@Koufie shooting me!

@Cwluc & @TimShady with two more cameras!

@Doug_Mackie our entertainment for the night
& Nice shot of @hibecki with @iAmTheGreek being a goof ball in the background

@iAmTheGreek & @mandreano & @koufie just hanging.

I caught @Cwluc with his camera down.

@koufie and @ValleyWideShoes

@BlackForestDeli being nice and pretending to be interested in what @mandreano is talking about :)

Next up is Magnolias in November.
Follow the Lehigh Valley Twitter Meet up at http://www.twitter.com/LVTweetup
Follow me on Twitter at: http://www.twitter.com/CElston

Renew Lehigh Valley Traditional-Neighborhood Development (TND) Series

2009-10-08T11:59:00.003-04:00

Last week I photographed the first of an ongoing series of brown-bag sessions held by Renew Lehigh Valley (RenewLV) at the Baum School of Art in Allentown. The topic for this brown-bag session was traditional-neighborhood development (TND), an approach to community design that seeks to create mixed-used, walkable places. This session discussed what the cities and other communities in the Lehigh Valley are doing on this front, why TND is important for the region, and the challenges in implementing TND.

The panel for this session included:

Becky Bradley, Director, Department of Planning & Codes, City of Easton
Michael Hefele, Director of Planning, City of Allentown
Darlene Heller, Director of Planning and Zoning, City of Bethlehem
Michael Kaiser, Executive Director, Lehigh Valley Planning Commission
Steven Bliss, Executive Director, Renew Lehigh Valley

The Baum School of Art's website is:
http://www.baumschool.org

And here are several ways to get more information about Renew Lehigh Valley:
Their website: http://www.renewlv.org/
Their blog: http://renewlv.wordpress.com/
And of course follow them on Twitter: http://twitter.com/renewlv

The Hotel of Horror - Saylorsburg, PA

2009-09-21T13:12:00.005-04:00

Last weekend I helped out my friend, Mitch Csanadi, from Dirt Productions to shoot a commercial for the Hotel of Horror haunted house in Saylorsburg, PA.
The building is a beautiful old hotel with a lot of character. But the way that they have decorated it for the haunted house is pretty amazing!

Here are some shots from the shoot:

For directions, times and more information, check out their website at:
NewHotelofHorror.com

Check out Mitch and his productions at:
http://www.dirtproductions.com/.

UPDATE 9/22/09
Here is the commercial:

September LVTweetup at the Brew Works on the Green

2009-09-09T13:17:00.004-04:00

So... what do we do at the Lehigh Valley Tweet Ups?
Not much. Just hang out, drink beer, play puttle... you know... typical after work stuff.

Here are some shots from the last @LVTweetup for September at the Brew Works on the Green in Allentown.

The sponsors for this September's Lehigh Valley Tweetup:

@Mr_Puttle telling @iAmTheGreek how to Puttle:

Close up of the free give away at this month's Tweetup:

@cwluc talking passionately to @iAmTheGreek & @AvueDesigns & @timshady

@mandreano Holding up a Follow me to @LVTweetup golf ball.

@iAmTheGreek holding up a Twitter T-shirt that he printed. Contact him for more information about getting your own shirt. You can even have it personalized with your Twitter name.

And @Cwluc let me borrow his new fish eye lens.
Here are some obnoxious shots:

Check out the Brew Works at their three locations and on the web at http://www.thebrewworks.com/.

August Lehigh Valley Tweetup at Blue Grillhouse

2009-08-13T22:28:00.005-04:00

I had another great time at the latest Lehigh Valley Tweetup. It was held at Blue Grillhouse in Bethlehem this time.
And again I was talking with so many people, meeting new people, talking with people that I used to work with and hadn't seen in a long while, and hanging with some BNI friends, that I didn't take too many pictures.

Here are some of my favorites from the night.

@LVwithLove throwing the gang signs that he learned by following the evil doers that he writes about on his blog.
Check it out at:
LehighValleywithLove.com

@TimShady

@LVGirl showing me how to pose with @primerx24

Most of the LVTweetupers that attended.

Me (@CElston) being stupid.

@cwluc taking a self portrait

After the Tweetup, @mandreano gave a great seminar about Taking Business to the Next Level with Social Media at the Candlelight right next to Blue.
To learn more about his seminars, check out his website at:
http://thebeesbuzz.com

@msinformation enjoying herself

@LVwithLove wanted me to get a shot of this... These are all the people that sponsored this month's LVTweetup

We thoroughly enjoyed Blue... you should, too!
Blue Grillhouse & Wine Bar
http://www.bluegrillhouse.com
4431 Easton Avenue
Bethlehem, PA 18045

Make sure to follow @LVTweetup to find when the next event is.
http://www.twitter.com/LVTweetup

And you can also follow me on Twitter:
http://www.twitter.com/CElston

See you at the next one!

2009 Live Symposium of Complex Coronary & Cardiovascular Cases

2009-08-05T15:34:00.005-04:00

I had the pleasure of working with Tricia Gaffney of Gaffney Events and Dr. Samin K. Sharma, MD of The Mount Sinai Medical Center at the 2009 Live Symposium of Complex Coronary & Cardiovascular Cases.

It was amazing to me to be in a room full of medical professionals and watch live surgeries on a giant screen. I'm looking forward to next year's symposium.

You can find more information about the symposium at this website:
Complex Coronary & Cardiovascular Symposium

Aziza's Family Portrait

2009-08-05T14:13:00.006-04:00

I spent the afternoon at Aziza's house photographing many different configurations of her extended family. I have to say that this was probably the best looking family I have ever photographed. The largest group was the big group of 28 people; the smallest groups contained two people. And we got various smaller groups shots of immediate families. The whole family was great to work with from the great grandfather all the way down to youngest two year old girl.

Here is the entire group:

Here is one of Aziza and her sisters:

Alice & Scott Engagement in Washington, D.C.

2009-08-03T14:45:00.000-04:00

I played tour guide to Alice and Scott and a couple of tag alongs in Washington, D.C. recently. My grandparents had a house which is now my aunt's in Arlington, VA, so I spent a lot of time in and around D.C. as a kid.

We started from a neighborhood beyond the Capitol Building, because that was the only parking space we could find. Then we walked to the National Mall where all the museums are. It was very hot, but we had a great time getting a bunch of different pictures. Here are a few:

Wedding Guest Book from the Engagement Session

2009-08-03T14:05:00.013-04:00

At Jen's and my wedding we had a wonderful time with a room full of friends and family. We had the typical wedding guest book out and had everyone signed it. There were twenty or so pages with very tightly spaced lines. There wasn't much room for people to be very verbose. There was just enough space to sign your name. And since people wanted to stay in the lines and make it look uniform, everyone signed right after the person in front of them. There are about sixteen pages that are blank and not too many personal messages. It has sat in storage from almost the day we brought it back home.

I have found a product that is a great way to remember your wedding guests and also have awesome pictures of yourself from the time that you got married. It is a bound, flush mount, wedding guest book with images from your engagement session. There is a blank page with no restrictive lines on the left for your guests to sign their name and/or write a personal note. Then on the right is a great image from the engagement session that we had together. It is something that you can keep out in your living room forever to look at some pretty pictures of yourself and read through the comments to remember your special day.

Check out a guest book from a recent wedding:

Harry Potter Press Junket

2009-07-28T16:38:00.003-04:00

A few weeks ago I worked on the press junket for the new Harry Potter film, "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince."

Usually what happens is that I am in a room with another cameraman, a room producer, and an audio person. There are two cameras; one camera shoots the actor (or director) and the other camera shoots the interviewer. Then we sit in a room for a long day and each interviewer gets less than five minutes to get out their questions. The actor just sits there and takes it. Most of the questions are the same. Usually there are over 75 interviewers per day.

This one was fairly different. We had Tom Felton, the actor that portrays Draco Malfoy, for the beginning half of the day. He was a great guy and really down to earth. We chatted in break periods and actually signed my wife's copy of The Half Blood Prince.

Let me know what you think it says. I think it is, "Jennifer, Best Wishes, Luck & Love, Tom Felton." Then there is some other stuff at the bottom. Maybe it's some special witch stuff that I don't understand.

Right before lunch we had the producers of the Harry Potter video game. The cool thing was they had two Wii stations set up so we could test out the game.

Then after lunch we had Bonnie Wright who plays Ginny Weasley. She had a very proper English accent that I don't really remember from the films. Her accent is much different than Tom Felton's accent.

This was a fairly tame press junket as opposed to others that I have worked on.
For a more interesting story check out my blog about the Iron Man Press Junket that I worked on:
Iron Man Press Junket Blog

Next up, I'm working on the press junket for "The Time Traveler's Wife."

Quick Sneak Peek at Magnolia's Pin Up Calendar

2009-07-07T22:14:00.006-04:00

We've only just begun shooting for Magnolia's Pin Up Calendar. I photographed the first three girls this week. I thought this head shot of Rachel came out so well that I wanted to give you a taste of what the rest of the calendar is going to look like. Stay tuned... the calendar should be available by early fall.

Make sure to stop by the Magnolia's Vineyard Restaurant website.

Also, Kim just started using Twitter.
Follow her for all the events and bands at Magnolia's:
http://twitter.com/KimKerstetter

Jessica & Nick Engagement Photos

2009-07-03T14:14:00.006-04:00

I met another great couple that took advantage of the business relationship I have with Sarah at Northampton Coin & Jewelry. When a couple buys an engagement ring from Sarah, I waive my sitting fee for their engagement session.

Nick and Jessica were an adorable, loving couple. We met on a day right before it rained. It seems to rain a lot in Pennsylvania this year. :) Palmerton Park was a great location to have a little photographic fun.

Be sure to visit Sarah at Northampton Coin and Jewelry, for your engagement and any other jewelry needs.

Night Barbers Podcast and my Commercial

2009-06-27T21:46:00.006-04:00

My good friends at The Night Barbers promoted me on their latest podcast. The host, Tommy, and I have worked for years freelancing in video production and events.

Here is a clip of the commercial:

You should check out their podcast at:
The Night Barbers - http://nightbarbers.com/

Here is what they are all about:
"In a world overcome with stupidity, emerges 5 Jersey boys committed to finding humor in “Strange but True” stories from around the globe. Night Barbers take a comical perspective on the how and why people do such amazingly dumb things. Verbal assaults target not only the dim-witted stars of the headlines, but are often re-directed at the Night Barbers cast themselves. All political correctness is tossed aside. Everyone is fair game. In simple terms, the show is funny, so shut your mouth and open your mind."

The podcasts are really funny, but not for everyone. If you are easily offended, please do not listen!

Lehigh Valley Tweetup Photos at the Bethlehem Brew Works

2009-06-24T21:51:00.005-04:00

Ok... this sounds really nerdy... Last night I went to the Bethlehem Brew Works to meet a bunch of people that I didn't know. I only know them from twitter. It sounds weird, but we all had a great time and I met a bunch of really interesting people.

To follow the Lehigh Valley Tweetup and find out when the next get together is, follow this link:
http://www.twitter.com/lvtweetup

Click on this link to follow the Brew Works:
http://www.twitter.com/thebrewworks

Click here to follow me on twitter:
http://www.twitter.com/celston

Welcoming everyone is @mandreano & @lvscene listening in the background:

@LVRollergirls & @AnitaAlimony taking pictures:

One of the roller girls gave my LVTweetup mug the finger and hanging out is @iamthegreek

@LVRollergirls

@LVRollergirls

@LizzAU and @LVRollergirls

Check out the Bethlehem Brew Works at: www.TheBrewWorks.com

Jachowicz Children

2009-06-21T07:41:00.004-04:00

I had a great time getting to know and photographing Stacy's kids at Lock Ridge Park in Alburtis, PA for a morning of fun and photographs. Here are some images that I captured.

Nestle Pure Life Breinigsville earns Gold LEED Certification

2009-06-11T15:35:00.006-04:00

My friends at Nestle Waters North America earned the U.S. Green Building Council's LEED Gold Certification for their Nestle Pure Life facility in Breinigsville, PA.
On June 5th they were recognized for their accomplishments and leadership in developing facilities that are designed to minimize enviromental impact. I was there to document the event for press releases and internal communications.

Eric & Hope's Wedding Album Slideshow

2009-06-10T20:45:00.002-04:00

Magnolia's "Bad" Prom Party

2009-05-25T23:41:00.009-04:00

Awesome night at Magnolia's Vineyard for their "Bad" Prom Party night. Magnolia's hosted a great dinner and a great band, JAKE KALIGIS & THE NEW CONSTITUTION, performed. I was there as the "Bad" Prom Photographer. Of course I couldn't just stand by my prom lighting set up all night, so I got some party shots, too.

A great couple:

They were voted as King of Queen of the prom:

The girls of Magnolia's:

A great trio of friends:

Some funky characters (wait for the animation to load):

Your hosts (Kim and John Kerstetter):

And of course I needed to get a self-portrait. It's hard to tell, but that is a tuxedo t-shirt under my jacket:

Check out Magnolia's website for more good times:
Magnolia's Vineyard
Magnolias - 2204 Village Rd. Orefield PA 18069 - (610) 395-1233

For a limited time all the images can be view and ordered at:
http://MagnoliasProm.photoherald.com

Bride & Groom Teeth Whitening Discount through OralDynamics

2009-05-20T12:30:00.009-04:00

My friends at Oral Dynamics in Allentown are offering a great deal to my clients on their Zoom! Whitening teeth whitening service. They have an awesome cosmetic and general dentistry practice.

If you are a bride or groom you get 40% off Zoom! Whitening. Plus there are other discounts stated on the coupon:

B104's Laura Cramer has been doing great job of advertising for OralDynamics.

It would be great if you are a client of mine, but you don't have to be to take advantage of this discount. Just print out this coupon and/or mention my name.

You can visit OralDynamics at OralDynamics

And check out Laura Cramer's website at B104's Laura Cramer

David Jivin Fine Art Photography

2009-05-07T20:04:00.006-04:00

A few weeks ago I hung out with Dave at his Manhattan apartment and helped him photograph some of his fine art photography. He creates collages of several photographs to make an entirely new pattern. To describe his work he has coined the phrase, "Photo Plexus."

His work draws you in. At first you notice a pattern, then when you look closer you can distinguish the individual shapes that make up the whole, and when you look even closer you can start to figure out what exactly the original photograph is. Each piece needs to be viewed at several different distances. Every time you get closer or farther away, you see and appreciate something new.

Here is one of my favorites that has been cropped in tighter and tighter:

He chose this image as his portrait for his website:

I prefer this one:

You can see more of his artwork at his website:
David Jivin Fine Art Photography

Hope & Eric's Wedding at The Meadows

2009-05-02T12:52:00.004-04:00

It was was a beautiful April day for Hope Kralik and Eric Dorn's wedding.
Jen and I started at Hope's parent's house in Nazareth then we all headed to The Meadows in Hellertown for the ceremony and reception.

Jen (my wife and photography partner) got this great shot of Hope & her sister admiring her sister's new baby.

Check out The Meadows at their website: The Meadows, Hellertown, PA

Clark Media Advertisement

2009-04-30T15:29:00.004-04:00

Here is an update to my past blog (Advertising Photography at Clark Media) about the advertising photography that I did for Clark Media.

This is one of the ads that they created with my images:

I personally like the close-up images as opposed to the wide shots of the entire systems.

If you are in need of a video production rental house in Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, Delaware or Washington, D.C. please contact Clark Media at their website:
http://www.clarkmedia.com
Tell them that Chris from Christopher Elston Photography sent you.

Eric & Hope's Engagement

2009-04-24T17:55:00.005-04:00

I spent an afternoon with Eric Dorn & Hope Kralik at Lock Ridge Park for their engagement session. It was a beautiful day and we got some great images. Here are a few images that will be included in their wedding day guest book.

Emmaus Wedding Photographer

Wolf Distributing Company Advertisement

2009-03-25T11:36:00.004-04:00

I had the great pleasure of working with the folks at Wolf Distributing Company for an advertisement in a trade magazine. They are a great company and I would highly recommend them if you are in need of a distributor of building materials and kitchen cabinets. This was an add for the extensive supply of James Hardie siding products. They had to buy new shelves and new, special fork lifts to handle the James Hardie products, so you know they are serious about their business.

Wolf Distributing Company Website

Annoying Video Not Representative of My Other Work

2009-03-25T09:28:00.004-04:00

As some of you may know, the other side of my business is video production. I have done work for Merrill Lynch, American Express, Clark Media, The Acerra Group, The Media People, and various other production companies as a sub contractor. I have a few really interesting projects that I will be producing in the coming months, so I have been refining my editing skills. Here is a really annoying video that I caught of myself sneezing that is really not representative of my other work. I just think it is funny and annoying. Hope you enjoy it.

I Shot Pete & Lenny Then I Shot WIth Pete!

2009-03-16T21:18:00.008-04:00

I was down in Virginia to shoot Pete and Lenny's engagement pictures at the Army Navy Country Club in Fairfax. It was overcast and I saw a little snow, but that didn't stop us from having a good time and getting some great shots. Here are some shots from the day.

Then on Sunday I went with Pete to the NRA gun range and we shot his new DPMS.
Here is a target from the shoot. Pete, I think you need to calibrate your sight, it shoots to the left. :)

Becky & Chris Engagement Pictures

2009-02-23T18:13:00.005-05:00

Sarah from Northampton Coin and Jewelry sent me another great couple to get their free engagment pictures taken. We spent some time at Bear Creek Mountain Resort. It was a little chilly, but Becky and Chris were able to cozy up by the fire when we went inside.
(Click on the image for a larger view.)

Visit Sarah at Northampton Coin & Jewelry for great personal attention and a great selection of jewelry.

The website for Bear Creek Mountain Resort

Advertising Photography at Clark Media

2009-02-14T19:23:00.004-05:00

I spent the day a few weeks ago shooting video camera, audio and video systems for my good friends at Clark Media. They are using the images for some upcoming advertisement.

Here are some samples:

If you are in need of video production and/or video equipment rentals contact Clark Media at:
Clark Media

Documenting vs. Capturing Emotion

2009-01-14T21:21:00.009-05:00

Over the holidays, Jen, Zoe, Anna and I were in Virginia visiting my sister, her husband and my new niece. After Christmas we went to my cousin Emily's new house to visit with more cousins and other relatives. It was fun getting together with everyone and talking and running around with all our kids.

My cousin Emily and her husband, Steve, got married in April of 2008. She and my aunt had asked me separately to shoot her wedding. I politely declined, because I wanted to enjoy myself at the wedding and hang out with my family. I didn't want to miss having fun by worrying if I got the shots that I needed to get. Of course I brought my camera and took tons of pictures. One of my favorites was from the end of the day. Someone noticed that there was still a bunch of fake rice that wasn't thrown on the couple at the church. So we all made a circle around them and starting throwing the rice. I immediately grabbed my camera and starting shooting, because I noticed what was going on. Emily and Steve were in the moment. They weren't posing or feeling shy because all the attention was one them. They were genuinely having a great time with their family and friends all around them.

The photographer that they hired didn't get the shot. Don't get me wrong. Their photographer did an adequate job. He got the "must have" pictures throughout the day. But I think he missed a lot of the emotion that was all around throughout the day.

I was reminded of this when Emily's father pointed out that from the hundreds of pictures that were taken of the bride and groom throughout their wedding day, mine was the only one that they had on display and in a prominent location on their mantle. It was the one that caught the emotion of the day.

Thanks Emily and Steve for the great wedding! We have to visit more often!

Love,
Chris

New DVD Wedding Image Slideshow

2009-01-12T20:00:00.004-05:00

I'm offering new DVD slide shows.
The DVD contains a slide show of all the images from your wedding with music that you provide me.
Here is a short sample from Michelle & PJ's wedding.

Michelle & PJs Wedding from Christopher Elston on Vimeo.

And here is a great letter I got from Michelle and PJ:
"We hired Chris as our photographer for our July 2008 wedding. After searching and searching through many photographers, we were pleased when we finally met Chris. He was so nice and we felt extremely comfortable around him. Chris did an amazing job with our engagement session, and I could hardly wait to see what he captured on our wedding day. On our special day, Chris and his wife Jen, completely exceeded our expectations. They were so much fun and added to the excitement of our day. Chris tailored a package just for us, and the results were outstanding! Our album and wedding DVD were gorgeous. We have gotten so many complements on the beauty and uniqueness of our photos. We couldn't be more pleased with the way Chris captured every important and tender moment of the most important day of our lives." Michelle and P.J. Yoder"

Thanks Guys!

Another Press Junket and thanks for a great year!

2008-12-30T15:55:00.010-05:00

I just want to thank all my clients and friends for a great 2008!

December was busy for me with a two days on the press junket for Valkyrie.
Nothing crazy like the Iron Man press junket happened.
But I did have a weird experience with Tom Cruise as he left for the day. The crew was all hanging around after a long day of shooting and Tom Cruise came from his room and walked to the elevator. But on the way, I guess he felt like he needed to recognize the crew. He acted really strange. Instead of just saying a general, "Thanks!" to the whole hallway of crew, he awkwardly picked certain crew members out of the crowd to shake hands with and introduce himself. It seemed like he was trying too hard to be a normal guy. Anyway, all the actors seemed to really like him.

Later in December I got to do a PSA with Matthew Modine, who was much more normal than Tom Cruise. (But that isn't saying much.)

(Horrible cell phone picture of Matthew Modine.)

I'll keep you updated on my Hollywood lifestyle. :)

I hope to see you all in 2009!

Happy Holidays!

2008-12-23T19:07:00.004-05:00

Happy Holidays from all the photographers at Christopher Elston Photography!

Kathy & Dan's Wedding

2008-11-22T20:21:00.004-05:00

The day was beautiful (but a little bit cold) and we got some great outdoor pictures. But the fun really happened at the reception at the Lehigh Country Club. Kathy and Dan have a lot of friends that love music and love to dance.

Here are some teaser images from Kathy Young and Dan Fitzgerald's wedding:

Lehigh Country Club website

Brandy & Joe's Wedding

2008-11-16T19:42:00.003-05:00

A beautiful day and a beautiful couple. It was really easy for Jen and I to photograph Brandy Kerekes & Joseph LiCausi. Here are some teaser shots:

Awesome Recommendation from one of my brides on LinkedIn

2008-11-13T13:03:00.003-05:00

This is a really beautiful recommendation from a beautiful bride.
She posted it on my LinkedIn page.
Thanks, Kim!

“I hired Chris as my wedding photographer for July 2008, and I would highly recommend him. Months before the wedding he came to our house to show us his work and to get to know each other, he was so down to earth I could not imagine anyone not getting along with Chris or not feeling at complete ease. His work is quite impressive and very professional, he understood what we envisioned and has very reasonably priced packages to choose from. The photos that he captured on our special day blew my expectations out of the water, there was not one bad photo! I plan to use him in the future for all my photo-moment needs!” Kimberly (Stoeckel) Ehrig

Michele & Tom's Wedding

2008-11-08T19:45:00.005-05:00

We did a wedding of a sister of several of my daughter's teachers at daycare. It was fun hanging out with a bridal party in which I knew so many people. Thanks for the fun day!

Here are some teaser shots from Michele Williams and Thomas Heller's wedding:

Event DVP Video

2008-10-10T11:29:00.004-04:00

I came across this while surfing the web.
A wedding I did a little while ago.
The guys from EventDVP edited a short video from part of the wedding.
There is a lot of nice footage of the back of my head. :)

Link to Event DVP Webpage with the video clip featuring Christopher Elston Photography

Event DVP Videographers Website Main Page

Shannon & Eli - Northampton Coin & Jewelry

2008-10-08T16:04:00.008-04:00

I had a great time with another couple that took advantage of a free engagement photography sitting when they bought an engagement ring at Northampton Coin & Jewelry.
It was a beautiful day at Lock Ridge Park in Alburtis, Pennsylvania.

Visit the Northampton Coin and Jewelry Website then visit them in person and tell Sarah that I sent you.

Cadi & Joe's Wedding Highlights

2008-09-17T09:34:00.009-04:00

Robert from Knowles Video put together a video of highlights from Cadi Schantzenbach & Joe Gilliland's wedding at Skytop Lodge. You can see some of my images from their engagement session and also if you look really closely you might see me. Of course, as I do with all my weddings, I try to be close enough to get the action, but far enough away to not intrude. So it may be a little hard catching a glimpse of me.

Here is the video:

Cadi & Joe from Knowles Video, Robert Knowles on Vimeo.

Here is a link to Knowles Video:
Knowles Video

And here is a link to the Knowles Video Blog with Cadi and Joe's Video:
Knowles Video Blog: Cadi& Joe...08:02:08

Here is a teaser sheet of the images that I took at their wedding:
(Click on the image for a larger view)

Taryn & Rob's Wedding

2008-09-02T21:16:00.008-04:00

Once again Jen and I had a wonderful time at another wedding.
Taryn Ouellette and Robert Denofa enjoyed perfect weather for their special day. The ceremony and reception were both held at The BarnHouse Village in Bath, Pennsylvania. They even were able to get ready at the Village's on site motel rooms.

Here is a little teaser of the wedding images:

Beth & Matt's Wedding

2008-08-21T20:02:00.010-04:00

It was a beatiful day at The Villa on the Green at the Riverview Country Club in Easton for Beth and Matt's wedding.
It was fun for Jen and I to catch up with the family. We shot Beth's sister's wedding back in 2005. The weather on that day was perfect and the Villa was beautiful with it's incredibly high ceiling with exposed solid wood beams and the stone fireplace in the middle. The ceremony was held a short walk down the wooden board walk to a rustic gazebo.

Here is a link to Riverview's website:
Riverview Country Club

Here is a teaser of images from the wedding:

Free Engagement Sitting from Northampton Coin and Jewelry

2008-08-20T15:16:00.018-04:00

Sarah Schaffer from Northampton Coin and Jewelry and I have teamed up to the mutual benefit of our clients. Whenever someone buys an engagement ring at Sarah's store, they get a free engagement sitting from me (Christopher Elston Photography.)
Of course I showcase the the engagement ring for Sarah and the couple gets to view dozens of images of themselves.

Here is the coupon:

Here are some samples I made to display in Sarah's store:

I had a great time with Beth & Charlie, they were fun and hopefully Beth doesn't get too stressed out with planning the wedding.

I had a secret shoot with Patty & Dave. Their engagement and wedding was a secret, so we had to sneak around the Allentown Rose Garden taking pictures and hoped that none of their friends saw what we were doing. They had a surprise wedding with all their friends a couple months after these photos were taken.

More engagement sittings are coming up in the next few weeks.

Visit the Northampton Coin and Jewelry Website then visit them in person and tell Sarah that I sent you.

Wedding during the Chinese earthquake

2008-06-03T16:02:00.005-04:00

Check out this blog:
China Earthquake ~ A picture is worth a thousand words

Amazing that no one was hurt.

This is what I tell a lot of my brides.... "Something is going to go wrong at your wedding." But it's all right, don't stress over it.
Nothing like this earthquake is going to happen at your wedding, but chances are something minor will not be exactly perfect.

It's ok.... it's your special day... don't sweat the small stuff... enjoy it!

Chris

Jackie & Mark's Wedding

2008-05-18T20:47:00.009-04:00

Here is a collage of Jacqueline Toomey and Mark Roscioli's wedding. They had it at the Glasbern Inn in Fogelsville, PA. It was a great day!

Here is a link to their predesigned album:
Jackie & Mark's Wedding Album

Christopher Elston Photography
Lehigh Valley Wedding Photographer

Iron Man Press Junket

2008-05-04T20:51:00.014-04:00

Iron Man Press Junket

Last year I worked on four press junkets as a cameraman. In the past years I have been a cameraman in the rooms of Renee Zellweger for Bee Movie, Aaron Eckhart for No Reservations, Erin Gruwell for Freedom Writers, Emmy Rossum for The Phantom of the Opera, Jeremy Davies for Rescue Dawn.
[I also stalked Beyonce. I was on another press junket, but hung out at the Dreamgirls junket to see her. But that’s another story for another blog.]

[Movie Junket - a by-invitation event where members of the media see an exclusive preview of a film, and meet with and interview its stars and other key personnel.]

This year I just worked on the Iron Man press junket. I was the B Camerman in Robert Downey, Jr.’s room.

Here is how the press junkets usually work:

The press junkets that I have worked on are taped in New York City. They are usually in a fancy midtown hotel. The Iron Man junket was at the Waldorf Astoria.

Sometimes if there is more than one movie at the junket, we will take over a few floors of the hotel. With junkets that are just for one movie, we will take over one floor. Each actor gets his/her own room and there is usually a room for the director.

There will usually be around 5 rooms with actors and one room with the director. Then there is a control room where each room is monitored and the directors can give instructions to the cameramen.

Each room has two cameras with operators. One camera faces towards the actor who sits in a black chair in front of a large graphic (or poster) from the movie. The other camera faces towards the revolving reporters. There is an audio person and a room producer. The room proucers are responsible for keeping the reporters at their time limit. They try to keep the action flowing, so the actors don’t get too burnt out and everyone scheduled gets an interview. Each interview is usually 5 minutes or less.

The interesting thing is that each reporter doesn’t bring in their own camera, audio and lights. They use our lights and equipment. So chances are no matter where you are in the country (or world), when you see an interview with an actor from a movie, the same camera person had shot the interview.

The cameramen have a large stack of blank 10 minute tapes. When the interview is over we hand the tapes to the room producer who labels them and gives them to a runner who takes them to the control room to be checked. This ensures that the cameras and microphones are working and the interview was taped correctly.

On a typical day we may cycle through around 70 interviewers from all of the country and all over the world. It gets tiring for the actors and crew who have to listen to the same questions over and over again.

So a couple of weeks ago I was on the Iron Man press junket. I met Jeff Bridges and Terrence Howard and saw Jon Favreau in the hallway. I was in Robert Downey, Jr.’s room.

This junket started a little bit differently than most. Robert Downey, Jr. started at 11 AM a hour or so later than the other actors. When he came in, he seemed nice, but not really excited about doing the junket. He has just come from a European junket tour. He knew what he was in for on this day and was not really looking forward to it. After several interviews, he took a break and left the room. This usually doesn’t happen. The actors usually don’t take breaks just because there are so many interviews to do. After several more interviews, it was lunch time. After lunch he came in and did a few more and wanted a break again. He turned around to me, since I was over his right shoulder on camera, and asked me if I wanted some iced tea. I said sure. He said that after his break, we’ll have another break with iced tea and cookies. So after his break he did one or two more interviews and then we had iced tea and cookies. We all hung out in a circle and Robert “entertained” us. Then we went back to work.

One of the reporters was from the production company. She was asking questions for the film, so this interview will most likely be used in promotions and possibly be on the Iron Man DVD. She prepared Robert by telling him that she would be asking him a question about what an “essential” Robert Downey, Jr. DVD would be. He thought for a couple seconds and then I couldn’t resist… I whispered “Weird Science” to him. He thanked me and was ready for the interview. When it came to that question he started singing the Oingo Boingo song, “Weird Science.” Then he turned to me and said, “Thanks, Bro.” So if you ever see Robert Downey, Jr. sing “Weird Science” during an interview, I was there. And if you hear him say, “Thanks, Bro,” I’m the “Bro.”

The rest of the day Robert was downing these Chinese supplements and vitamins and itching to get out of there. It didn’t help that Terrence Howard came into the room during an interview and bragged that he took a short lunch and sped through his interviews and was done for the day.

All hell broke loose when one reporter came in that wasn’t a typical entertainment reporter. He started out asking about part of the movie that is based in Afghanistan. Robert answered something like they were trying to put a little realism into the movie since Tony Stark (Iron Man) owns a company that makes military equipment. After the second Afghanistan question, the control room asked the cameramen to notify the room producer to wrap up the interview. It got a little more tense since every subsequent question was about Afghanistan and not really the movie. Robert Downey, Jr. was always cordial explaining that his politics had nothing to do with the movie, he didn’t write the movie, and it’s based on a comic book. The reporter got very offensive and got even angrier when we were instructed by the control room to turn the cameras off. There was a shouting match between Robert and the reporter that continued even after the reporter left the room. I doubt this footage will ever be seen. I’m pretty sure the production company kept the tapes.

Needless to say, we did one more interview after Robert calmed down and then we were informed that we needed to wait ten minutes for the next interview. Robert left the room and never came back.

When we started wrapping up, a bunch of the other crew told me that I should have been running my own camera to get the argument on tape. I could have sold it to TMZ. But then I would never get hired from the press junket production company again.

I have to say that this was the most interesting press junket that I have done. Iced tea and cookies, screaming matches, Chinese herbs, and far fewer interviews than normal.

Let me know if you see Robert Downey, Jr. singing Weird Science anywhere.

Here are a few shots from previous press junkets and one from Tim Dangler's cell phone camera on the streets of New York after the Iron Man press junket. [Tim Dangler was a camerman in Jeff Bridge's room.]
Also the Bee Movie poster is hanging in my daughter's room now.

Also here is a YouTube video of one of the interviews from the day. I was operating the camera of the interviewer from over Robert Downey, Jr.'s shoulder:

And here is an interview that I shot at the press junket for Bee Movie. I was operating the interviewers camera over Renee Zellweger's shoulder.

Allison & Justin

2008-04-11T18:12:00.006-04:00

Follow the link below to look at the wedding album slideshow of Allison Schaeffer and Justin Marinoff.
They got married at the Hotel Bethlehem and had their reception at the Northampton Country Club.

Allison and Justin's Wedding Album

Christopher Elston Photography
Lehigh Valley Wedding Photographer

Kerry and Adam

2008-04-09T15:26:00.004-04:00

Click on this link for a slideshow of the wedding album for Kerry Boyd and Adam Roberts that I created:

Kerry and Adam's Wedding Album

Christopher Elston Photography
Lehigh Valley Wedding Photographer

Jaime & Josh's Wedding

2008-04-04T19:42:00.006-04:00

Here's a collage of some of the pictures from Jaime Warmkessel and Josh Fincke's wedding.
It was held at the Hideaway Hills Golf Club in Kresgeville, PA.

Christopher Elston Photography
Lehigh Valley Wedding Photographer

Public Relations Photography

2008-03-29T15:22:00.006-04:00

Here is a collage I made showcasing some of the Public Relations Photography jobs that I have done in the past year. Included are images from grand openings of production plants, town hall meetings, head shots, press conferences, charity auctions, and motivational posters.

I have worked several times for Merrill Lynch, Nestle, T-Mobile, PRIMER, among others.

Smith-Marsteller Wedding

2008-03-08T19:45:00.003-05:00

Thanks Shannyn and Walt for a terrific day!

Christopher Elston Photography
Lehigh Valley Wedding Photographer

Happy Holidays

2008-02-24T10:29:00.003-05:00

For those of you who didn't receive my Holiday card, here it is.

Yes, those are two Rockettes.
I did a photo shoot with them at Radio City Music Hall for Merrill Lynch.

Welcome

2008-02-18T13:36:00.005-05:00

Welcome to my blog.

Chris

Christopher Elston Photography

Lehigh Valley Wedding Photographer