To go along with the Water tower lighting ceremony this year, they also setup 50 trees that non-profit groups decorated.  They lit up at the same time as the water tower and after the ceremony was over, I headed across the street to capture those.  I ended up taking an elevator ride up to the top of the parking garage because, well, it was heard to appreciate the scope of that many Christmas trees on the ground.  I also got another great aerial shot of the water tower from a parking garage.  I think next year I am going to try and get different roof accesses for a different angle. Anyway, here are a few photos from the big event!!!  A huge thank you to Valerie Ward of the American Tobacco Campus for having me back out and her hospitality this year!  Hope you enjoy the photos!

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The Highgrove is a beautiful historic home that sits atop a hill overlooking a lake. With a beautiful arbor and lawn large enough for 120 or so people, the Highgrove is a perfect places for a southern outdoor wedding.  With all of their wonderful food prepared and cooked on-site, any change I get to visit the Highgrove is one I certainly do not want to miss.

This years tasting at the Highgrove featured quite a few different stations featuring wine, appetizer, dinner and dessert offerings for wedding clients.  The tasting is a great opportunity for me, as a wedding photographer, to meet future clients of the Highgrove, possibly some who are in need of a photographer, as well as see how extraordinarily talented they are with putting on a larger event.  When I have a wedding at the Highgrove, many times I am too busy to really appreciate the class, style and elegance exuded by their property and entire staff.  I want to thank Vicki, Roxanna and the entire Highgrove staff for their hospitality!  Dinner was, of course, terrific and I have some wonderful photos to share!

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As the evenings guests began to arrive the band began playing, the dance floor began to fill and, literally, I blinked (I felt like it was that fast) and midnight was upon us. Now I knew in advance that I wanted to do something special when it hit midnight as the Umstead had arranged for confetti cannons to go off. Using a slightly different flash technique, I actually had the directional light coming off of the dance floor instead of the ceiling (which illuminates the whole room). The end result was an awesome photograph and a large reason why I love event photography – being able to play and get awesome results!

My hats off to the Umstead for demonstrating what fine dining and an elegant gala really is. You certainly set the bar high this year.. can’t wait to see how you top it in 2010!

On to a few photos!

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The black-tie benefit held at Prestonwood Country Club in Cary, NC has all proceeds going to Downs Syndrome research.  In the past 5 years, over $400,000 dollars has been raised by sales of Anna’s cookbook, donations and benefits such as this one.  It was a real pleasure to be in attendance and watch, even during these challening economic times, the local community give back to a worthy cause.  With a silent & live auction, fabulous dinner, DJ & Dancing, the evening certainly was an overwhelming success.

Here’s a few photos from the evening.

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The welcoming event, held at the Research Triangle Foundation in RTP welcomed all the participants and everyone was treated to a short presentation by Governor Mike Easley.  Immediately following the reception, a dinner was held for the VIP’s at the Art Museum in downtown Raleigh.  After dinner, the VIP’s were treated to an incredible short theatrical presentation by 3 very talented Broadway performers.  Dressed as “living statues” in all white, these three incredibly talented performers sang 5-6 operatic songs in fluent italian.  I’ve never seen anything like it and while I love the photos, it just doesn’t do the mood justice.

Overall, the event was absolutely gorgeous and even though I don’t have much experience in overseas diplomatic relations, it was easy to see the bridges being built and relationships founded between everyone invited.

Here’s a few shots of the evening!

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The evening was packed with fights & music.  14 fights in all and a local band performing for both the opening bout and intermission between the amateur & professional matches.  The evening was packed with excitement and the athletes, band, promoters and referees all did an outstanding job to bring MMA back to the triangle.  A special thanks to Doug Muhle for lobbying to legalize MMA in North Carolina and putting on a great event!

Now, on to the photos:

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Jefferson Starhip
Dennis Deyoung (Lead vocalist of Styx)
Joe Lynn Turner (Lead vocalist of Deep Purple)
Buck Dharma (Lead vocalist of Blue Oyster Cult)
Mark Farner & Jack Bruce of Cream

Unfortunately I missed the Connells, who I listed to for quite some time before and after their national success, but the show was not a disappoinment at all.  Also being a Styx fan, I found myself taking blurry shots of Dennis DeYoung due to my sub-conscious grooving to the music.  He may be a bit older now, but he still puts on one heck of a show.  Joe Lynn Turner, Buck Dharma and Jack Bruce closed out the evening with short sets of their music. It was really a rare sight to have so much talent present on any stage, much less in a more intimate venue.

My hats off to the promoters and everyone who worked to get this show into the Koka Booth Ampitheatre.

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Overall I really enjoyed the show and while I wasn’t familiar with their newer sound – which is heavily influenced by a techno-house vibe – it was great to hear a mix of older and newer stuff. Kudos to Cary for bringing in such a well-known band.. they definitely put on a great show and their fans are just as rabid today as they were back in the 80′s (with screams of “I love you Simon!!!” just behind me).

So without further ado, here’s a few photos. Special thanks to Kat, Allison & Theresa for coordinating my presence.

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Numerous purses and gifts were donated to Me Fine for their 1st annual gala. Names like Luis Vuitton and prizes such as a walk-on roll for the TV Shot One Tree Hill were up for auction. I lost count of the money raised but I can tell you two purses went for $2000 and the Luis Vuitton, when I left, was at $2500 and bidding was still open. All reports indicate a huge success for their first event and I certainly hope to be back next year. Below is a shot of Allison (also a photographer) modeling one of the purses at the live auction.

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