Most of the pictures I got were from the Spring Race at Keeneland. It really had that old money feel and was a lot more refined than I was expecting. But that's what Lexington is all about. We might try to go back for the World Equestrian Games in the fall which are being held in the same spot as the Rolex.

Our little girls got their own horses from the gift shop, but they don't love you back like real ones! Ella found her soul mate in a cool Apaloosa.

So before I shipped the album to Janet I took a quick video of it. I didn't have time to make it exciting because I wanted to get it to her right away, so you might want to turn on some background music while you watch. Filmed with the 7D by the way - I'm starting to get the hang of color correcting in camera and getting all the settings right for nice, high quality HD, although I might have overexposed the second half of the video slightly due to the sun coming right in the window. Anyhow, I hope this gives you an idea of the quality and craftsmenship of the KISS albums.

The other night we were going to bake Christmas cookies but the dough didn't turn out right. So we gave it to Ella. She spent the next couple of hours playing with it, and I documented it. I can't wait to really get into the video editing. I have a lot to work on, and iMovie is not really the right software to be using for it. But take a look at what this camera can do in the hands of someone who has only had it a couple weeks. Cooler things to come!

If I had used the flash on the camera, it would have helped a lot, but since we were outside there was no ceiling to bounce the flash off of, so the lighting would have been direct and flat and not as interesting IMO. It would have looked similar to what I did, but not as dramatic or interesting.

Now, I'm not an expert, but I'll give those of you interested in off camera lighting some insight into what I did. I used a voice activated lightstand (VAL), also known as my sister Laura. She forgot the lightstand so she had to hold the flash. So basically I set the camera to manual, set the ISO to 1600, set the shutter speed to 1/30 to let in some of the ambient lighting, and messed around with the flash output until I got the ratio right, which I think was like 1/16. That will vary depending on your flash unit - some are brighter than others at the same ratio. I used wireless radio transmitters to trigger the flash - the infrared transmitter from Canon has failed me in the past because it requires direct line of site with the flash to trigger it, and when you're trying to backlight or rim light people, they get in the way and it won't fire. At some point i know I changed the ISO to 3200, and most of those were no good. ISO 1600 on the 1D MkII looks really good though.

To be sure, not all of the reception photos are gems. The first dance images are the best, because I could walk around and compose the image based on where the flash was. The rest of the time, I might have been in the wrong position based on where it was, or someone might have blocked most of the light from it, etc. Sometimes Laura couldn't tell where I wanted to flash pointed, or where my lens was pointed if I was all the way across the dance area from her. It'll take some practice, and every venue is different.

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Just added: Ceremony pictures: View Ceremony Slideshow

These are honestly my favorite pictures, the photojournalistic ones. I rarely have the opportunity to get portraits like we did, but overall I prefer hanging back, not posing anyone, and just capturing what happens.

I feel like I might be overdoing it with blog posts from this wedding, but...well...I don't have anything else going on right now. And, I think these came out fantastic, so what's the harm in showing a little more?

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The day we arrived in Mexico it was hot. I mean when you walked out the front doors of the Cancun airport, it was like someone opened an oven and shoved you inside. Probably more the humidity than the heat, but I was totally unprepared for it coming from a cooler-than-normal 70˚ Minnesota summer. Janet recognized me almost as soon as I stepped out the door, and Josh and her parents were also there to greet me. These two are a great couple - totally laid back and fun to be around. I don't think I saw either of them stress out the entire time we were there, even on the day of the wedding. I'm grateful to both of them for allowing me to photograph their wedding in such a spectacular place.

All we had planned that day was to meet with the wedding planner at the Gran Bahia Principe. After we got unpacked, we tried to figure out where to eat, so we walked back towards the lobby where most of the restaurants are located. We noticed that the resort seemed to be deserted though - much different than when we arrived. We kept trying to talk to the staff, and about 30% of the time you could get someone who spoke English. They all said the same thing in response to our question of where everyone was....that Thursday was Mexican Party Day and everything was closed. That seemed a little contradictory to us. But over and over that's the exact same response we got. I finally went to the front desk and asked where everyone was...where was the "fun" (with airquotes). Same answer, only this time he said "at the Hacienda," which is the marketplace owned by the hotel. Aha! So everyone was at the Hacienda!

So off we went (by tram, because this resort is enormous). At 11PM, the festivities started. Not as much of a party as I was expecting, but 500 people magically appeared and filled up every chair in the place. It was a couple of hours of traditional Mexican dancing and singing, with a live Mariachi band on the balcony and even a trick lassoist near the end. The lighting was spectacular, and the Mariach were awesome. Check out a few of these pictures.

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The day after, we all drove out to the Tulum ruins to do an engagement-style session. Much to my and everyone else's surprise, professional cameras were not allowed inside the park, though there was no lack of trying. We couldn't even offer the gatekeepers money to bring them in. The ironic thing is that most consumer cameras have more megapixels than either of my cameras. So the rest of the wedding party and parents went in to see the ruins while Janet, Josh and I went back to the taxi to find access to the beach. And we found an awesome beach. Beautiful water, sugar sand that was cool to walk on, not too crowded, and even a little hotel (the Hotel El Paraiso) where we had a few Dos Equis. I probably would have died of dehydration walking around the ruins, so it was really nice to be able to sit down and have a drink. So without further ado, here are a smattering of the engagement pictures from Day 2.

Josh was smart enough to bring a two-way radio to communicate with the wedding party to coordinate getting picked up after the pictures. Smart man!  I had zero cell service the entire time, and there was no WiFi either. It was a little weird being cut off for 5 whole days. Note - get an iphone for the next Mexico trip...

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Later that night everyone hit the Hacienda and the Discoteque, but I turned in a little early to get ready for the wedding the next day. Stay tuned - I should have some pictures from Day 3 up soon.