BANFII - logged!

Guess what? I get to shoot the first wedding (EVER) at the newly renovated Kansas City President Hotel! Come March 4th - this Saturday, I would be downtown Kansas City shooting Marie and Don's wedding!

My family and I went by there tonight and all I can say is "WOW"! The ballroom is breathtaking! The main ballroom is on the 12th floor with windows all around the room that can be opened so your guests can see Kansas City's skyline! It was amazing watching my son (Myles) look down at moving cars that looked like toys!

By the way, the Presidential Suite - reserved by the bride and groom is about $1700.00 a night! They literally can walk from their suite right into the ballroom!

Spending less than 20 minutes within the hotel, one can tell that this new piece of art is destined for history! The staff was extremely helpful! Brian, the bellman was extremely helpful - he not only showed us where to park but also took the time to point us in the right directions! With about $45M spent on renovating this monster, my family and I cannot wait to go back to spend a weekend considering how elegant everything seemed to be!

Come back to see pictures!

~ Roland

I am so excited about the opportunity to work with Carrie and her family! Carrie seems to know at least 5 or 6 of my former clients especially since she had gone to the same High School with most of these clients...St. Thomas Aquinas. While viewing my website yesterday, she also noticed that I had shot Nicole's wedding - Nicole and Shawn got married in August last year at the same Church (Church of the Ascension) where Carrie would be getting married. Some of Nicole's images are below.

Welcome Carrie & Pat!

Over the years, I've often asked myself this one question - what is my philosophy? In order to remain grounded and to keep deriving the same level of satisfaction from what I do, I have to make sure that I have identified my core competencies and aligned them with my beliefs.

Since the beginning, I had always be drawn to images that captured emotions and those that document the true essence of a moment! I always wanted to be the first to see the smile, the tear-drop, the expression on the face as a bride rests her head on her Dad's shoulder while dancing, or the squeeze of the arm as they both walk down the aisle to meet the groom.

How do you capture the first meeting - where the groom sees the bride for the first time? The long expected day - the one day where they both would become one. I would tear up on the inside because I could see the amount of love that exists between the two people who are right before me.

Throughout the day, I would see the exchanged looks, the gentle squeeze of fingers as they walk around the reception room, or the sigh of relief that the months, days and hours of planning are finally over.

When it is all said and done, I'm so emotionally drained from the intense level of concentration! I literally immerse myself into the day because I want to see the day through the eyes of my bride and groom, I want to feel what they feel, hear what they hear and also be attentive enough to see and hear all that is around and behind them! It sometimes seems like I have a thousand eyes around my head - I have to perceive what would happen next without being too eager which may ruin the moment. 

My philosophy had always been to capture a wedding in a way that the resulting images are an embodiment of everything that took place on the wedding day!

People ask me today "do you do the photojournalistic style"? Photojournalism is pictorial representation of news. For me my images have to tell your story. I want my images to reflect your personality, your lives, your day, your style, your life! Your images have to tell your own story!

Why am I going into all of these especially after 9 years of a successful business?

I need to remember ALWAYS what brings me the most joy in what I do and REMAIN TRUE to that one thing!

I am a photographer that shoots from the heart. I capture images of things that tug at my heart. I often cry during the first dance as I pace the dance floor with the bride and groom and I listen to every word from the song being played. I literally I'm dancing to the song in my mind and looking through the view finder at the beautiful couple to see how they would express their love to one another - most of the time, their expressions end up being those I had just thought about in my mind. Sometimes, I'm praying for the couple as they dance - praying for longevity, praying for anything good that comes to mind!

So, am I a photojournalist? Yes, but NOT the misused word!

I'm more of a secretary hired to take notes of an important meeting. Marriage is perhaps the most sacred of all of life's ordained institutions. And as such, I come in prepared to witness something huge, something of a magnitude like I had never seen before. Armed with my camera, I want to take notes of events that would never repeat themselves ever again!

Okay, I had better stop right here before i end up with an epistle!

~Roland

Ashley and her Mom booked me several months before her wedding. I met them briefly at a Bridal fair in January 2005 and I can remember telling Ashley as she walked away "I wish you all of God's blessings as you plan ahead". I just felt compelled to tell her that despite that it could have been viewed as not the cool thing to say. A few months went by and I finally heard from Ashley sometime in April of 2005. Ashley booked us on the same day as our first meeting!

My first meeting with Blake was during their Engagement session. Boy, was I blown away when I was shown the huge lake behind Ashley's home. Blake actually tried teaching me out to fish! I had spent about an hour after my shoot trying to catch a fish, but I had it give it up after breaking a few lines!

No, I didn't travel to Jamaica to shoot the wedding, but it was at least an hour away from Overland Park - "Cameron, Missouri"!!! The people were super nice and I particularly enjoyed spending time with Ashley's Grand Father who, like my father, is a retired church minister!

At the reception, Ashley's Mom literally stopped the buffet line because she wanted to make sure we had something to eat before heading back to Kansas City. She told her guests that were already in the Buffet line that "these people have been working all day and I want to make sure that they have something to eat!" Although I don't make it a habit to eat at weddings, it was rather impressive that Ashley's mom would take it upon herself to ensure that we had something to eat!

Congrats - Ashley & Blake!!!

Somewhat belated but still timely as I would not forgive myself if I fail to congratulate my first couple of the year 2006!

Sarah and Mike were amazing to work with! Mike was particularly cool and extremely polite...so was Sarah! It seemed like I had known Sarah and her family for years. Considering that I was booked 15 months prior to their wedding, I felt like I was shooting my sister's wedding!

Congrats!!!

Since August 2005, I had embarked on building a new website for my wedding photography business. Like every website design I had ever implemented, I wanted the outcome of the new project to be unique and different. One of the comments we hear a lot from our clients and friends has to do with the Profile/Bio page.

I decided a long time ago that I want my clients to know that I am a Christian. Why does this matter you would ask? Well, I feel really blessed to be doing what I do especially since I didn’t have any formal training. My faith in Christ has been perhaps the most dominant aspect of my life and it had kept me grounded for the last 15 years that I’ve spent here in America.

Without a penny in loan or even a day of apprenticeship, I embarked on this venture and seven years later, I’m able to look back, reflect and acknowledge that only GOD could have made everything possible. But I’m not perfect. But I also have my vices. So, why profess my faith?

Because I want to be held accountable! I want my clients and their families to know that I’m on a course to lead a life worthy of God’s name. My imperfection has led me on this path to make my life better because I know that my Lord counts on me to be a good example to those that I deal with.