Vantage Pictures

jetlag

Sarah and I FINALLY arrived home after 22 hours of airplanes and airports. Lets just say that I have no love for airport security that WILL NOT give film a hand check, insisting that xrays don't hurt film. Fortunately, none of my arm waiving was taken as a threat, and we made it back home without being frisked.

Greece was amazing. Having spent time there now, I would definitely have to say that I prefer the Greek Islands to cities like Athens. We stayed in a rental home on the island of Rhodes for 8 days, and in Athens for the rest of the time. Rhodes was gorgeous. The 3000 year old town on the Mediterranean was an ideal place to relax and enjoy the Greek culture.

We're excited to be back. Sarah and I will be moving over the next two weeks, so wish us luck!

lasers

The above music video was "shot" completely without cameras! The director and band used scanning lasers to capture the images which were then made into the video. How would it be to try something like this for a wedding! For this video, it took a month just for the captured data to process. From a wedding it would take at least a year. Maybe in a hundred years...

Sarah and I will be returning to the States in about 17 hours! We've had a great time during our vacation here in Greece, but are very much looking forward to getting back into the swing of things at home. I decided (just to make Mustafah crazy) that I would shoot mostly with film while on vacation. For some reason, it's relaxing for me... The wait to get it processed and developed, looking at the contact sheet, and finally the prints can be a welcome change from the instant and mechanical nature of digital photography. Anyway, it will be a few weeks before those are posted here. We did shoot a few digital frames however, and once home I'll go over those and try to get some up. Until then, happy traveling!

Limited Edition Prints!

...with Jon off soaking in the Mediterranean sun, i've been keeping busy!

so in lieu of a wedding preview (which will come!), i've uploaded some limited prints from Patagonia and Mexico. available in 8x12 all the way up to vivid 20x30.

Mustafah's Prints

so i leave you with one of my favorite pictures from Patagonia: a wild horse running along with a herd in the mountains of Tierra del Fuego.

your wall with thank you.

enjoy!

m

Out and About

Starting today (Sunday July 6th), Sarah and I will be heading to Greece for two weeks. We'll have access to email during that time, so if you need to contact us, please feel free to do so. Phone calls will be returned starting on the 23rd. Hopefully our internet access will be fast enough to allow me to post images regularly of Athens and the islands. Thanks again to everyone who's suggested places to visit and offered travel tips! Wish us luck!

hi, i'm mustafah

my name's mustafah abdulaziz and i'm a photographer specializing in documentary photography and wedding photojournalism both in the u.s.a and abroad. i'm engaged to a beautiful redhead and live in philadelphia. as jon, sarah, and i launch our work in wedding photojournalism, i wanted to take this chance to introduce myself, say hi, and tell you a little about what i'll be doing here.

here's a picture of my mug so you'll know who's who.

i'm totally stoked to be on board with jon for our new adventures in wedding photojournalism. his talent and genuine ability to connect with his subjects is something that shines through in his work and it's my pleasure to join him at vantage.

i'll be posting here on the blog from time to time, as well as my agency's blog and my personal one. there'll be pictures, quasi-serious restaurant reviews, (food's a passion) and did i mention more pictures?

here to kick it off right is a preview from a wedding from last weekend at Holly Hedge here in pennsylvania. they're David & Lauren and even though it was 100+ degrees, they were awesome people and it was fantastic to be a part of that. i hope you'll enjoy.

oh, and we've got some wicked biiiig announcements in the next couple weeks, so stay tuned. and as always, all comments are appreciated!

it's a long post, so grab some wine/coffee/tea and scroll scroll scroll.

-mustafah

 

announcing!!!

Sarah and I are so pleased to announce that our friend and fellow photographer, Mustafah Abdulaziz will be joining us here at Vantage Pictures. The quality of his photographs speak volumes about his talent and ability, and we're very excited to be working with him. He is a widely published photographer, having had his work printed regularly in Newsday and the Morning Call, as well as shooting for commercial clients such as Blue Cross Blue Shield. His travels have taken him to several countries in South America and the Patagonia, and he is currently working on a long-term essay in Philadelphia.

Our primary intention with this move is of course to bring the highest quality coverage to our friends and clients. While Mustafah will be available for booking as a single photographer, our push will be to photograph as a team. This will allow us to cover every aspect of the wedding day in greater detail.

In order to showcase both of our work, we would also like to announce the creation of a new home for our website. We've been able to acquire www.vantagepictures.com, and will from now on be at that address. A totally new website has been designed and is now up and running.

In coming weeks we have several more announcements regarding new product offerings and exciting new coverage options. We look forward to working with Mustafah, and especially with new clients and friends.

Sam + Ben

4 weeks ago, Sarah and I met Sam and Ben at Hershey Park for their engagement photo session. We had such a fun time that we felt prompted to present them with our "Best E-Session Location" award. This past Saturday was their wedding, and it more than lived up to our previous shoot.

Our good friend and fellow photographer, Mustafah Abdulaziz, joined me to shoot their big day. We arrived bright and early, with Mustafah heading to Ben's house and me going to Sam's. 11 hours and 4000 photos later, we were finished. Sam and Ben, it was a pleasure working with you both! Congratulations, and all the best on your honeymoon!

Janel + Jon

Janel and Jon's wedding, which took place this past Friday, was the start of a 20 hour marathon of weddings, all of which took place over 2 days. It was a great way to get the ball rolling! I'd traveled to Valley Forge National Park a couple of months ago to shoot their engagement photos, and it was great seeing them again.

The day kicked off with a "portrait" session of Jon and his groomsman (including his sister, who was his best man... er woman) at their local go-cart track. It was great having carte blanche from the operators for photographing on the track. In my experience, they're usually fascists when it comes to following the rules.

From there it was back to the venue for the ceremony and reception, both of which were beautiful. Congrats to the couple, who are now on their honeymoon. Like always, it was a pleasure!