blog of spence photographics bio picture

welcome to my blog!

i am david s. spence, chief photographer and founder of spence photographics, a frederick, maryland-based wedding photojournalism studio.

i use my many years of newspaper and magazine photojournalism experience to capture couples as they are, in their own environments. i strive to be "hands-off" in my approach to shooting. my direction to couples is minimal so i can capture their true personalities in the images. i look to find natural, organic light to capture the moments as they are. with each wedding comes new and exciting challenges, but also fun and unique personalities that drive my images. i love to see the interaction between two families coming together to form a new family and lasting friendships.

cheers!

david

follow me!

social links

betsy and jim

06.25.2009

good times — that is what i experienced shooting betsy and jim’s wedding in my hometown of doylestown, pa. despite a rainy morning and “heavy rain” forecasted for the evening, everyone was in high spirits for this amazing couple!

i met betsy and jim back in september and immediately knew they would be a fun couple to work with. they found me through my first doylestown wedding couple from earlier this year, kim and ryan. betsy and jim both work as teachers down here in maryland, so their wedding was a perfect way to kick off their summer vacation! and they got a surprise addition to my coverage! betsy’s sister megan hired them a videographer! what a cool present! ed and brandon from branded video were great to work with, thanks for the ride to the club, guys!

good luck guys, you were a blast to work with!

dash between raindrops!the ladies arrived at st. paul’s lutheran church in doylestown between raindrops!

gettin' ready in the choir roomthe choir room at the church served as a dressing room for the day, until the ladies could bear the heat no longer, off to the ac!

button me up, please!bridesmaid carolyn helped betsy button up.

detailishious!

ohh, pretty flowers!

we are married!i loved the church decorations — awesome lanterns!

talented couple!kissing whilst walking … now that’s talent!

checking out the bling

two cakes?two cakes, you ask? nope … just a crystal-clear mirror!

under the rainbowa rainbow! how nice of the weather to finally cooperate with us!

dance party usait was a dance party all night long thanks to dj eric marsh of synergetic sounds.

spoon showthese two got crazy playing spoons. go ladies!

what is going on here?ok folks, who can give me the best caption for this photo? tell the story!

casanovacheck out this casanova!

done!at the end of the night, we walked around to get a few parting shots. even in the mugginess, betsy and jim celebrated their great wedding day.

posted in wedding | tags: , , , , ,

by david spence

no comments

comment away! link it up! share!

bridget and tony

06.11.2009

i rarely work at more than one wedding in one weekend, let alone at the same venue. well, last weekend was the exception! two weddings in two days at one of my favorite places to shoot, the oaks in royal oak, md. the staff is amazing and the location allows for so many different shots! love it!

bridget and tony live in frederick, but wanted a destination wedding. bridget told me a story about how she and her mom were going to look at another venue and decided to “stop by” the oaks to check it out on a whim. one look and they were sold! they never did make it to the other location. and they made the right decision - the place was amazing on their wedding day!

thank you for including me in your awesome day, bridget and tony! wendy and i had a blast.

ringalishious!bridget and tony’s rings were super cool …. and i used a super cool method of shooting them! a 50mm lens turned around creates a stylin’ marco effect.

lovin' the flowers!bridget was completely giddy about the bouquets, and they were awesome! thanks a million to steve ornstein from edge flowers, you guys rock!

bridal bouquet awesomeness!wow!

ready to get married!tony was lookin’ snazzy in his tux.

the gentswendy caught the guys having a laugh before the ceremony.

lap dance/make-up routinelove this! bridesmaid emily gives a little “lap dance” while doing the bride’s make-up! ha!

first look at the dress!bridget admires herself in the mirror, while mom, alicia, fixes her sash. why not? she looked incredible in that dress!

bump!a little sisterly knuckle bump!

dock loveliness!bridget and tony were married on the dock at the oaks … very cool! the lighting was nice and the slight breeze was even better!

blue eyescheck out bridget’s blue eyes, no photoshopping needed! stunning.

we're married!

show some leg, ladies!these four were a fun bunch to photograph!

kissable

proud papa!bridget’s dad was awesome, getting all choked up for his speech and totally savoring the moment here!

go grandma!evan from mydeejay.com blasted kickin’ tunes while grandma marian got down. two words: duck call. enough said!

bear hug for dad!i love this moment! it may be a bit soft, focus wise, but is so perfect in every other way! that is one strong bride!

charge!charge!

posted in wedding | tags: , , , , , , , ,

by david spence

no comments

comment away! link it up! share!

cara and eric

06.04.2009

before booking eric and cara’s wedding, i had never booked a wedding completely over the phone. so i was a little nervous about meeting the fellow penn staters for the first time on the day before their wedding. yikes! but, no worries! eric and cara and their family and friends were all incredibly cool and fun to work with and super gracious!

my wife, molly, and son, jackson, traveled with me to this wedding, since it was in good old happy valley. (we are … penn state!) molly and i met as students at penn state, so it was nice to get back to our roots. we enjoyed some creamery ice cream (peachy paterno rocks!), visited beaver stadium (jackson asked where the “football men” were) and stayed in quaint, little bellefonte. the weather could not have been nicer for a penn state wedding weekend.

i started out with the ladies at cara’s parents’ house and had fun dodging their overly friendly family dog. (i got lots of licks …  guess i was just the right flavor!)

ringy rings!this cloth belonged to cara’s grandmother and served as her “something old.” perfect for a detail shot of the rings!

rockin' the dressi loved shooting in all the nice, diffused window light at cara’s parents’ house!

lace me up pleasemom helped cara get into her gorgeous dress

blue sky!

love those flowers!

grooming guysthe guys spent some time making sure that they all looked good. well done, boys!

eric

starry ceilinglights on the ceiling at grace lutheran church in downtown state college represent the night sky from the 1960s, when the church was built. how cool!

bubbles and a high-fivecara and eric exited the church to a shower of bubbles … and a big high-five from grandma!

alumni loveafter the ceremony, the entire wedding party rode to the penn state hintz family alumni center for some pics on the lovely lawn.

yum! cake. yum!the cake was gone before i could get some, but it looked mighty tasty! the staff at the atherton hotel did a great job of making sure i was fed right, so no complaints!

ball and chainthe groomsmen clued me into this little gem they pulled on eric: a ball and chain that he had to beg cara to take off. it was totally real, with a real lock! during the stunt, dj jeff tranell of nittany entertainment played social distortion’s “ball and chain.” how appropriate!

last kissi stole the lovebirds away for one last session in the lights of downtown state college near the end of the night. thanks for an awesome time, cara and eric!

posted in wedding | tags: , , , , , , ,

by david spence

no comments

comment away! link it up! share!

amy and scott

05.28.2009

the last day of my wild wedding weekend was phenomenal! amy and scott were such a pleasure to work with, so easygoing!! i shot this wedding for amy raab photography and loved every minute. with the guests mostly family, it was like a mini family reunion. we were at celebrations at the bay, and what a celebration it was!

here is a little tease of the images from the day. to see more, swing on by amy raab’s blog. thanks again for an awesome time, amy and scott! you guys rock!

stunning bride

posted in wedding | tags: , , , , , ,

by david spence

no comments

comment away! link it up! share!

holly and tim

05.27.2009

saturday’s wedding was a whirlwind of activity, fun people, good times, and, of course, awesome pictures! a full 12 hours of continuous coverage allowed for lots of really cool images. it was exhausting, but exhilarating.

i started the day in sleepy poolesville, maryland, at holly’s parents’ house and took a few quick trips across the street, literally, to shoot the boys at the couple’s townhouse. the ladies had loads of fun getting ready. each bridesmaid and mom took turns steaming all the dresses that arrived wrinkled (good work, ladies!) then holly and her sister, christine, feasted on donuts while getting their hair done. tim and the guys hung out and watched sports inside, as the day turned out to be a real scorcher - something like 90 degrees in the shade!

after a few hours of “getting ready” shots, we all headed north to another sleepy maryland town, myersville, for the ceremony and reception. i stopped by musket ridge golf club to get detail shots of the room before all the guests arrived. it was really nice to be able to take my time and concentrate on making nice images of all the little details holly and tim had planned and worked on for months! then on to mt. zion united methodist church for a great ceremony, followed by a trip back to the golf club for family pics and the party!

thank you, holly and tim! it was a real treat to be a witness to your special day. you two are amazing and i wish you the best!

flowery goodnessholly’s simple, yet elegant, bouquet

the dress

dive right in!holly made a “perfect 10″ dive right into her dress!

pearls, pearls, pearls, and more pearls!both holly and her mother wore pearl earrings, bracelets, and necklaces.

peek-a-boo!

tough guysthe men, looking tough, but with smiles. ’cause that’s how they roll!

tabley goodness

love the simple flowers!

g cakethe cake was made by holly’s close friend, erika. it’s good to have a friend who can bake a cake like that!

killin' timethere was some lag time between arriving at the church and the start of the ceremony, so holly spent those moments checking out her sister’s yearbook …

cool guy chillin'… while tim chilled out downstairs. how are they both so calm and collected?

just hangin' out“what’s up, ladies?”

churchy churchnessi think this church was built for their wedding … the colors matched perfectly!

ring shot!

yes!!blue skies and puffy, white clouds matched the wedding party!

muscle manwhat a guy, taking his lady for a little lift! go, tim!

baby tim or holly?is that holly or tim? you decide!

sunset goodnessat sunset we ran out onto the golf course for some portraits and a breath of fresh air. the breezes out there felt awesome after a hot day of shooting!

playa #1this little guy could dance! and …

playa #2… made some moves on the young ladies in the crowd. and …

playa #3… even the ladies who were already taken! go, little man!

cozys!enjoying an ice cold brew in commemorative holly and tim beer cozies.

last song

and with this image, wedding number 2 was complete. but the marathon wedding weekend continued. stay tuned!

posted in wedding | tags: , , , , , , ,

by david spence

1 comment

comment away! link it up! share!

Aaron Whomsley - Do yo give lessons in photography? If so sign me up. These are fantastic. Very nice job.