Wednesday, December 12, 2007

Vicki + Jacob
Natchez, Mississippi


The first email I received from Vicki said she and Jacob were thinking about getting married in Taos, NM. Then it changed to Idaho. Then Thailand. And then finally Mississippi. And while I would have loved to go to Thailand for their wedding, I was really excited to go to Mississippi. I had always wanted to photograph a big Southern plantation wedding, but Vicki and Jacob made it so much more than that. I got to spend Thanksgiving with them, which was really nice of them to invite me to. Then we had one entire day to drive around Natchez taking portraits. And then they had the most beautiful ceremony I have ever seen. It was held in a pre-Civil War church built on a plantation which was used by the plantation owners and their slaves. It's in the middle of nowhere, and not many people ever go to it, which made everything that much cooler. And then Vicki and Jacob filled the church with candles, which gave the entire room a beautiful orange glow. After that, the reception was held at Vicki's family home, which is called The Burn. It's now a bed and breakfast, but it was used as a hospital for Union soldiers during the Civil War. And it's haunted to the point where some guest rooms are never slept in. At least not by living people. :-)

Here is their slide show.



















































26 comments:

Alex Rodriguez said...

These shots are absolutely incredible. The candle lit church shot is spectacular.

Eric Cousineau said...

That is some beautiful low light photography. You did it again. Amazing work.

malia said...

WOW!!! There are SO many great shots in that slide show it's hard to pick a favorite... I love the spanish moss, the dog in her lap howling, and ALL the shots with that vined brick wall! You Rock!

Anonymous said...

every time I see your work I'm just blown away, this is no exception..... beautiful job, really really beautiful job

Unknown said...

Holy cow, dude! This is beyond awesome. You always get the coolest places. Truly top-notch, my friend. **bow down**

Anonymous said...

ben this wedding leaves me speechless. wonderful! what an awesome couple. ive been wanting a southern wedding for a while. now i want one even more! so inspiring!

Bruce L. Snell said...

Couldn't agree with everyone any more. These are really great. I'm partial to the gown through the lights and the dog howling shots.

-Bruce

craig said...

Ben, your work keeps making my socks roll up and down- it is just great- of course I love the shopping cart photo, but the dogs howling and the victorian painting feeling of the wedding license signing is three philadelphia rolls and a cold beer fantastic. Hooray.

Craig

Will Foster said...

These pictures are inspiring in every way! The low light pictures were nice! :)

megan said...

ben, lauren clifton introduced me to your work & now i can't stop checking your blog- i can't get enough. YOU ARE AMAZING! if you're ever in the phx area look me up-

such an inspiration!

Melissa Prosser said...

What beautiful photos! Your work is just amazing. I love the candid of the bride with the dog :) Great expressions!

Mark Kuroda said...

Are you kidding! So good! I'm quitting now.

Michael Andrews said...

Holy Cow. I'm speechless.
OK, boring photog questions. If I remember correctly, you shoot with Canon primes: 24 f1.4L, 35 f1.4L, and 85 1.2L, on 5D bodies. The ambient light and lack of ISO noise makes me think you were close to or were wide open on all of the exteriors. Can you enlighten us?
You f'n rock, Dude.
Just incredible..........

Michael Andrews said...

Should have said "low light" instead of "exteriors," but y'all know what I mean :-)

Anonymous said...

Dang Ben, Dang... When will you ever cool down dude? :) You're definitely taking it to the next level all the time. Great job bud!

Sergio said...

Ben,
What an excellent and masterful job you did with this wedding.
I agree with everybody that you took it to another level all together.
Your non-flash all prime use is out of this world!

Congratulations

Anonymous said...

I love your use of available light. so inspiring and really beautiful work ben. Thanks for sharing :)

Anonymous said...

Overlooking the incredible photos for a moment... would you invite your wedding photographer to Thanksgiving dinner???

Ben's couples would - a real testament to the kind of person he is.

Steve said...

Until I can shoot like you I am not worrying about the business end of wedding photography so much. I can only image how rewarding is to get this much quality and creativity on one wedding.

thenigannswebe said...

AMAZING Compositions....

I especially LOVE the chapel ceremony pics because the compositions and the tones worked very well with the venue......

great documentation!!! Feels like I was there or better yet should have been there......

~Anne

Sol Tamargo said...

Ben,

You do magic...

with a few lenses & NON flash!.. you're my hero!!.. wow...

Anonymous said...

ughhhhhhh, gee freakin' wiz.....you rock....ugh....no more words....nothing says what I really wanna say. looooooove it.....like it....love it....yah.

Unknown said...

Ben strikes again...I say you are ridiculous.

Ruby Rideout said...

Found you thru the photographik site. Your work is phenomonal! You made great use out of the light, little in some cases...and what a gorgeous location!! I'll be visiting your blog again.

Anonymous said...

ben...beautiful shots, love the ceremony shots, really incredible! The portrait with the fur shawl is also stunning!

Anonymous said...

Ben,

Absolutely amazing pictures!

Classic, superb, amazing couple!

Danny