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Model Casting Call: Class of 2013 Seniors!

I was truly blessed this year to work with a group of fabulous senior models from Brooke Point, Mountain View and North Stafford High Schools! They’ve been great representatives for me, and I love the images we’ve created together. But, as seniors have the habit of doing, these guys are gearing up to move on up and out! So to Nic, Morgan, Michaela, Ali and Lexi, a heartfelt thanks and congratulations! That means I’m officially on the hunt for a new group of senior models from the class of 2013!

Who’s Eligible: Rising seniors from the class of 2013! I’m looking for models from Mountain View, James Monroe, Brooke Point, Colonial Forge, Stafford High, North Stafford, Fredericksburg Christian, and Fredericksburg Academy, King George, Massaponax and Riverbend!

How it works: If you’re accepted as a model for your school, I shoot your senior portrait session for free! No up front costs, no deposits, no tricky fees. Free means free. The session lasts about two hours, and we try to get as much variety during the session as possible. After that, it’s up to you to earn free prints by referring your friends.

Think you might be interested? Shoot me a note at aaron@aaronspicer.com or send me a text message at 703.843.5264 . I’ll send you full details, and an application. While you’re at it, head on over to our Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/AaronSpicerSeniors

If that hasn’t peaked your interest…how about this…every model has the chance to earn a 16GB Apple iPad Wifi, or their choice of a $500 Best Buy or Apple gift card. Space is limited

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Lexi and Jonathan at the W! Washington D.C. Wedding Photographer

Lexi and Jonathan were married last November at their family’s gorgeous church in Northern Virginia, with an incredible reception at the W Hotel in Washington D.C. I knew the day was going to be fantastic after our engagement session, and after hearing that we’d be working with Courtney and her team from A Sweet Soiree , and I certainly wasn’t disappointed. Every wedding day comes with challenges, and this was no exception. Our big challenge for the day was that the ceremony was slotted for the late afternoon (in November) and that by the time we got into the city, our light would be all but gone. As it turned out, as it always turns out in DC, the challenges of transportation made natural light a distant fantasy. Not to be deterred, Lexi and Jonathan led their bridal party up to Lafayette Square in the bitter cold, and we made it happen! The candid portraits we made of Lexi and Jonathan walking down Pennsylvania Avenue are some of my favorites from 2011! They were troopers for sure, and never let on that it was 30 degrees and extremely windy! Other highlights of the day included gorgeous serenades from the members of Lexi’s A Capella group from her days at the University of Virginia, beautiful and thoughtful decor throughout, a rocking dance floor, and a post-reception portrait shoot at the bottom of the “secret stairwell” in the W! Congratulations Jonathan and Lexi!

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A Sweet Soiree - Awesome stuff Aaron! You really captured Lexi and Jonathan’s personality which I think is always the Best! Fabulous working with you!!

Happy Birthday, FoodE!

If you’ve followed my blog for a while, you’ll know that last year, I was given the opportunity to host my first Fine Art Gallery show in downtown Fredericksburg at one of my favorite restaurants! But my wife, Lisa, and I have a relationship with FoodE that goes a bit further back than all that. Lisa and I happened to be enjoying a snowy day off from work on one of the very first days that FoodE was open for business, so we stopped in for lunch, and have been regular customers ever since. So when Beth and Joy asked me to create some imagery for the website that they were launching on the anniversary of their opening, I was floored! It actually all started with an iPhone photo. I came into the restaurant for lunch, had to try the new crispy braised pork belly, took a picture with my phone, sent it to them, and the rest is history! For my photographer friends, I’ve included a few notes about my lighting setups if you’re interested. If not…enjoy some pictures of food, and please head on over to FoodE’s new website! www.foodeonline.com 

The series of photos above were all from the first day of shooting, and were the most complicated. Of course, it was also the only day that I forgot to take a behind the scenes picture.  I was using three SB900′s all triggered wirelessly from an SU800. All the flashes were bare bulb, at three different powers and shapes. All three were gelled with a 1/4 CTO.

This is a behind the scenes shot of my setup for the second day. All i needed was one SB900 in a Honl Traveller8 to balance the natural light from the courtyard.

On the final day of the shoot, I had two SB900s fired wireless via SU800. On the left is a 42″ Wescott shoot-thru umbrella. On the right is a Honl Grid.

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Geoff - Seriously salivating over that pork belly dish!

Lisa - Love FoodE. Love Beth. Love Joy. Love these photos.

Portraits from 2011

When I woke up this morning, I started my typical social media check-in routine, and couldn’t help but notice that the people in my life were expressing a general dread about returning to work after their extended holidays and breaks. I had to take a minute and really express my gratitude for having a job that I’ve not once dreaded showing up to. Sure, weddings are stressful and challenging and extremely exhausting, but I don’t think I’ve appreciated just how fortunate I am to absolutely love what I do for a living until now.

Without a doubt, the thing that makes my job so enjoyable is you. Cheesy? Maybe…but hear me out. Earlier this year one of my grooms asked me what my favorite thing to photograph was. At first, I was slightly taken aback, but I understood his question.  A lot of people think of jobs as a means to an end. So when I answered cheekily, “you,” I really meant it. I’ve shot 125+ weddings over the course of 5 years, and not a single one has been like another. Sure, I make frequent appearances at some venues, and see the same officiants, and DJs and bands…but I’ve never been bored, and I’ve never told the same story twice, because for me, people are the heart and soul of every story. And getting to tell your story on the happiest day of your lives is priceless. So, thank you, to everyone who has shared their story with me, and to all of you who will share your story with me in the future!

To usher in the New Year and welcome all the wonderful couples this year, I thought I’d share a few portraits from 2011 that really make me happy. Enjoy!

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My Ride to Redemption

First of all, I want to thank each and every one of you for making 2011 a banner year for me and my family. I’ve gotten the chance to work with so many wonderful people, and travel all over the place doing a job that I absolutely love. It wouldn’t be possible without my friends and family, and all the people who who believe in what I do. So again, thank you! That being said, I have to beg your patience while I share an extremely personal post. Next week, I’ll get back to some lovely wedding imagery, and portraits…I promise!

So let’s cut right to the chase, then. Shall we? Over the span of about five years, I let myself go. Bad habits, mixed with a new found love of red wine and rich foods, compounded by a conscious choice NOT to exercise led me down a dangerous path of weight gain and general bad health. The first picture below (with the hat on) is of me earlier this year on a fishing trip (image by Tom Payne). I’m not a terribly vain person, but when your grandmother alludes to your untimely death while patting your stomach at Thanksgiving, it tends to wear on your confidence. I’m not one to belabor points, so suffice it to say, in July of this year, I was not happy with myself, and I knew I had to do something.

My family hails from Virginia and Tennessee. You’re never going to get me to give up bacon or butter, or pecan pie. I wouldn’t know a diet if it spat in my face. But what I do know, is how to work hard. And so that’s what I decided to do. In August of this year, I jumped on my bike, and just started riding, and I’ve been riding ever since. The picture on the right is of me this past week. In total, I’ve lost 40lbs since August. I’ve got about twenty pounds left to reach my end goal, and I couldn’t be more excited to get there.

It may sound crazy, but I’ve lost ten of those pounds in the last eight days while participating in Rapha’s Ride to Redemption. The idea is simple, instead of packing on the pounds during the holiday season, use your love of cycling to take them off (or at least keep them off) by logging 500km(310 miles) over the course of 9 days. Riders are encouraged to post their daily stories and pictures to Rapha’s Facebook wall. In my opinion, it’s a really great way to use social media, and kept me going through the long, frigid miles that I’ve been putting in this week. Eventhough I did all but 20km of the challenge by myself, I’ve almost felt like I’ve been riding with a team the whole time. The pictures and captions below are all from my 8 days of riding. I finished the challenge yesterday, having put in 505km in 8 days!

Considering this is a photography blog, I should note that all the pictures below (save the first image) were shot and edited on an iPhone 4s. Thanks for taking the time to check it out!

As I mentioned above, the picture on the left is of me at my heaviest earlier this year. The picture on the right is of me after 40lbs of weight loss since August.

I took this picture on the first day of the challenge before I set out to ride. I put in 50 miles on the first day. Setting a new distance record for myself. After riding for that long, and seeing that I still had 260 miles to go, I began to question whether or not I’d actually finish the challenge.

With about 15 miles to go on the first day, I stopped in at Doug’s grocery for a Gatorade. Doug informed me that it was the holidays, and that I shouldn’t be working so hard. He didn’t quite understand when I told him that was the point.

On Day 2 I rode past one of my favorite greasy spoons to remind myself why I was doing this in the first place. I also got my only bit of company on Day 2, but it was so welcome! One of my favorite wedding couples ever, Jon and Jaime, were in town visiting family, and came out to ride with me! Thanks guys!

Christmas day was cold, and the streets were abandoned. I put in a short ride so I could spend time with my family. It was actually really neat to be out riding on Christmas morning. I rode through the city, and was able to ride right down the middle of the street. Didn’t see a single driver.

I love this little hidden nook in Fredericksburg and incorporated it into my ride a couple times. There are so many hidden gems in Fredericksburg that you just don’t get to enjoy if you spend all your travel time in car!

The day after Christmas, I set another distance record by putting in 55.5 miles. Stopped in at White Oak Deli, where they call me “boss” even though they think I’m crazy.

I spent a lot of time riding around the historic Lee Drive park. This picture is blurry because I got up before dawn to get my ride in before the heavy rain began. I still got rained on that day, but missed the worst of it.

One of my favorite images from challenge. There’s something about the shape of a bike that I find absolutely beautiful.

The miles keep rolling on and on and on. After my 55 mile ride, I put in two shorter days at 19 miles and 33 miles.

Though it may not look like much, this photo marks the exact spot on the Mt. Vernon trail where I finished my first metric century (100km ride–62 miles). I ended up cycling 66 miles that days, another distance record. Considering my previous distance records was 36 miles, I was pretty proud of myself.

Along the Mt. Vernon Trail, I stopped at Gravelly Point to watch a few planes land at National.

These geese made the same mistake that I did that day…trusting the weather man. Instead of a pleasant 50 degrees, I got a high of 42, and had a few minutes of snow flurries while out in Vienna.

With only 20 miles left, I snapped a derailleur cable just as I reached the city of Fredericksburg. Luckily, Tre from BikeWorks is an ace, and had me back on the road in ten minutes.

One of the best straights of my typical loop. Day 8 of the challenge…with just a few miles to go. This ended up being my favorite picture from the challenge.

Before this month, the farthest I had ridden in one month was 198 miles. I put in 313 miles over the last 8 days, I set 3 new single-day distance records and two new speed records, but most importantly, rediscovered my self-confidence. I’m extremely excited about what 2012 has in store, both personally and professionally, and this challenge has given me just the head start I need to really grab my New Year’s resolutions by the horns. A thousand thanks to everyone who has put up with my biking obsession, especially my wife, who inspired me and encouraged me the whole way through!

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Korie - Um, wow. This is amazing, Aaron! Congrats on the huge win! Your accomplishment really makes me want to become a bike rider now :) Currently, I’m a rollerblader, but we’ll just have to see!

Geoff - Awesome accomplishment! I’ll join you….someday.

Knucklehead Vaulter - Wow, this is truly incredible. I never actually witness people I know do well in this kind of challenge. Keep up the great work, and keep breakin’ records!

Kayla - Holy crap;you’re a boss. Not to sound cheesy,but I was diagnosed with Hashimoto’s disease a few monthes ago and losing the 70 pounds I’ve gained as a result has seemed daunting. This was really inspirational,glad I found it

Jesse - Impressed and inspired. Great job.

Aspicer - Thanks guys! You rock!

Aly - Awesome work, Aaron. I love the pictures of your bike around town. Keep up the good work!

Jaime - So awesome, Aaron! Congrats! An inspiration for us all. Glad we could share a small part of this journey with you. :)

Grandma & Grandpa - I don’t remember making such an uncomplimentary and politically incorrect comment, Aaron, while I patted your stomach. It must have been your mother. How could you get us so mixed up? Love, Grandma

Congratulations, Aaron. I admire your discipline. Grandpa.

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