Weddings

Second Shooter // 22 // Maryland Zoo Wedding

If you’ve been hanging out on my facebook page recently, it’s pretty obvious I’m in love with this Maryland Zoo wedding.

AKA the penguin wedding!

You know that video with Kristen Bell (who I would absolutely want to play me in a movie of my life) and the sloth? That was pretty much my reaction the day I found out there was going to be a penguin at this wedding. That I could pet. I’m talking full squeaky voice and uncontrollable excitement…except maybe minus the hyperventilation anxiety attack part. The only thing that would have made me go into full-on Kristen Bell mode is if the polar bear was also going to be a guest at this wedding. I’m still holding out hope that I can pet a polar bear at my next zoo wedding (and there is going to be another zoo wedding because this venue is amazing).

Okay, so beyond the penguin, I’m actually really in love with the images from this wedding too. I’m so grateful to be working with Dani who gives me time to experiment and make pretty pictures out of the things swimming around in my head.

One of the cool parts about having a wedding at the zoo is that they let you go into the old, abandoned part of the zoo and play in the cages and empty exhibits. It’s a little bit creepy, but entirely cool…almost like getting to visit an abandoned theme park (which is also on my bucket list of places to shoot). As we were driving through in our luxury golf cart, there was this semi-circular concrete area, dappled in shadows from the tree branches above and washed with lime-scale from years of water running down the sides. There was so much texture and loveliness.

There was a time where I never would have considered this a gorgeous spot for a portrait – it wasn’t backlit, there were too many shadows – but that’s the beauty of trying new things. Because it was getting close to sunset, the direct sunlight was mostly soft, and the shadows from the tree made a beautiful natural pattern that complimented the washed concrete. I placed the bride and groom directly in the middle of the dappled area, facing the sun, to allow the shadows to play over their faces and bodies – intentionally. The wildness of the shadows almost makes them look caged, and yet it is perfectly serene.