Dinah & Patrick ~wedding

I spent the weekend in Jackson photographing Dinah and Patrick's wedding. They were married at the First Baptist Church on State Street. That place is HUGE. The main sanctuary is larger than most theaters I've visited. Dinah and Patrick, however, were married in the adjoining chapel, which is so quaint and perfect.

We were right across the street from the Mississippi State Capitol, so we did a lot of our photography over there. The weather was perfect and all of the flowers are trees are starting to come back--it really was one of the prettiest days we've had in a while.

The reception was just down the street at the Old Capitol Inn. It's a boutique hotel that really is one of my favorite locations to work. They handle all of the details of the reception and they do it really well.

Congratulations Dinah and Patrick -- thank you both so much for letting me be a part of your day!

~wj

What are you chasing. . . ?

Every now and then I take a look through a few online photography forums to visit with a few photographer friends and keep an eye out for what is going on in this industry. Often the conversations are very industry specific, sometimes they are fun little soap operas, and occasionally the threads have very little to do with photography specifically, and everything to do with life in general. This week one such thread was presented to our community.

The question was raised, What are you chasing?, and it followed with a joke-some might even call it a parable-about a humble fisherman and his conversation with a work-focused business man. I won’t go into the details here-you can read them below. What is important was the underlying message-often what we strive to achieve is already in our grasp, we just fail to see it.

So often we all are chasing, fighting, pleading for the answers to our lives to reveal themselves. We plan in our head what we will say if this happens, what we will do when faced with that, and then the situation we’ve cooked up in our imagination rarely plays out the way our mental script instructs. The truth of the matter is that there are a myriad of answers to every situation-each one of them correct and each one of them incorrect. It’s only our personal response-both emotionally and physically-that determine what is right for each of us.

Our world is filled with fear. With hatred. With anger, jealousy, dishonesty and anxiety. These are all tools often used to draw energy-good, pure energy-from one person then devoured by another. Yet, once this energy is consumed it is gone, and the process must repeat itself. No answers are revealed. No truths unearthed. All we are left with is an empty feeling-on both sides-with no solutions or discoveries.

There is another way. A better way. A way that is led by compassion. By honesty, caring, openness. And love. Consider the best people that you know. Is it true that they all seem to have an amazing amount of compassion and love in their lives? I would venture to say this is very probable. And is it also true that they just seem so. . . so. . . so HAPPY? Their relationships full and their lives fulfilled? And all of this despite whatever hardships they may have endured?

Again, I’m betting your answer is, Yes.

If we live our lives with kindness, if we remain open to the bumps and curves that our journeys inevitably will present to us, if we choose to explore these moments rather than push them away, we will find that energy we need to proceed. And not only that, we will overflow with positive energy-warm, solid energy-LOVE-so that we can share it with others that may need it. The answers will come to us-without our scripting them and in a manner we often least expect.

There is no need to chase. We will get there soon enough.

So when I am asked, What are you chasing?, I believe my response will be,

Why?


~wj

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An American investment banker was walking by the pier of a coastal Mexican village when a fisherman docked his small boat nearby and tossed several large yellow fin tuna onto the dock.

The American complimented the Mexican on the quality of his fish and asked, “How long does it take to catch them?”

The Mexican replied: “Not very long — maybe a couple of hours, senor.”

The American then asked why the fisherman didn’t stay out longer and catch more fish.

The Mexican said he had enough to support his family’s immediate needs and was happy with that.

The American then asked, “But what do you do with the rest of your time?”

The Mexican fisherman said, “I sleep late, fish a little, play with my children, take siesta with my wife, Maria, stroll into the village each evening where I sip wine and play guitar with my friends. I have a full and busy life which I enjoy very much.”

The American rolled his eys and said, “I’m a Harvard MBA and could help you. Here’s what you should do: Spend more time fishing. You get more money, and with that, you buy a bigger boat. Then you can catch more fish, and buy an even bigger boat. If you work hard, then soon you would have a fleet of fishing boats. Instead of selling your catch to a middleman you would sell directly to the processor. If that works out, then you open your own cannery. At that point you would control the product, the processing and the distribution. And, you could leave this little town and move to Mexico City, or LA and or even New York City. From there you could run the whole thing by phone, Fedex and the Internet.

The Mexican fisherman thinks this over for a minute and then asks, “Interesting. How long will this all take?”

The American thought for a little bit, took out his calculator and punched in some numbers, and then announced “I think you do this in only 15-20 years.”

“But what then?”

The American laughed and said, “Here’s the beauty of the whole thing. When the time is right you announce an IPO and sell your company stock to the public and become very rich. You could make millions!”

The Mexican thought this over for a little longer, staring out to sea and thinking about what millions would buy. He asked, “Okay. Millions.. then what?”

The American said, “This is the best part — you would retire. Move to a small coastal fishing village where you would sleep late, fish a little, play with your kids, take siesta with your wife, stroll to the village in the evenings where you could sip wine and play your guitar with your friends.“

Aimee and Will ~wedding

Aimee and Will were married this past Saturday. It turned out to be a beautiful afternoon and evening, but not without a scare. A tornado ripped through town about 4:00 AM Saturday morning and wreaked havoc on the area, but luckily didn't cause any damage to any of the wedding venues--or to any of the homes of their families and friends.

We had a blast. The wedding party was great and the service and reception were beautiful.

Congrats Aimee and Will. I wish you both all the best.


~wj

Aimee and Will ~ esession

Aimee and Will are getting married this Saturday in Tunica, Mississippi. We met a few weeks ago to go over a few details and create some fun images for their engagement session. We spent a couple of hours riding around some of the backroads of the north Mississippi Delta--always one of my most favorite things to do. They are a great couple and I cannot wait to help them celebrate their wedding on Saturday. It's coming at a time when I really need to have a happy day, and it's going to be absolutely beautiful.

They are marrying at a small church in Tunica. It's an old, wonderfully solid small town church. The reception will be held right on the Mississippi River at the Tunica River Park, which is just a stone's throw from the casinos. Everything should happen right around sunset, which will only make things even more magical.

Keep an eye out here. I'll post images from their wedding soon.


Take care,

~wj

the Ferg

Odd the way the journeys we embark on are rarely the ones we plan.

At times we become bitter, frustrated.
A delayed plane, a closed road. The ball game we were so looking forward to attending is rained out.

And yet, other times, we encounter serendipity.
An unplanned night out with family or friends. A dollar left in the pocket of a pair of jeans. A Saturday morning of sleeping in and playing with the kids.

Rarely planned. Often lived.

My wife and I have just traveled an unexpected journey. The second week of February her father was diagnosed with cancer. He fought hard and strong, but the result was inevitable. He passed away barely three weeks after the cancer was discovered. He was 56 years young.

We spent almost the entire month of February with him. The photo above was made only three weeks ago. Amazing how quickly life can change.

We've had many people send us their prayers and words of comfort. And they have all been needed. It would be so easy to become bitter and angry over the cards that were dealt to my father-in-law, but we cannot allow ourselves to do that. We were able to spend a glorious month with him. A month of love, of laughter, of happiness, of sadness, and finally, of peace. This was not an awful month. It was a month full of awe. And of beauty.


I wish you all safe passage on your own journeys, whatever they may be. Know that there is beauty all around you, laced with kindness and love. And be good to one another.

Blessings,

~wj