Virginia & Richard's Wedding - May 30, 2009

Virginia and Richard were married in Holy Name of Jesus Church on lovely St. Charles Avenue (my old parish!). The reception was held in the Waterbury Room of the Sheraton Hotel Canal Street. Between the ceremony and reception, we walked across the street car tracks to Audubon Park for a nice photo session with the bridal party. It's such a luxury for the photographer to have this time to create some really memorable images for the bride and groom. Usually, after the group formals, everyone is immediately whisked off to the reception, leaving little or no time to create these images, like Virginia being dipped by her groom in front of her alma mater, Loyola University. The guests appreciate the Cocktail Hour before the reception starts,too - so brides, please consider planning that extra time! A traditional Dixieland jazz band played at the reception, and the Sheraton staff and food were top notch as usual (Blackened Catfish, Oysters Rockefeller... Phillip's faves!). Virginia got ready on the 45th floor of the Sheraton, giving us all a spectacular view of the City, and the Sheraton gave us the use of the Lagniappe Room balcony overlooking Canal Street. Guests (many from New York) were treated to the busy-ness of the red streetcars, shoppers and even another wedding's Second Line parade! The bride and groom will honeymoon in Merry Old England, where Richard's best man will hold his wedding... turnabout is fair play, mate... Richard will be Sara and Jon's best man! I offered to photograph their wedding, too - if only they would buy me a round trip ticket! Congratulations, Virginia and Richard!!!

Tina & Paul's Riverview Room Wedding - French Quarter

Tina and Paul were married in the Riverview Room of the Jax Brewery in the French Quarter! This reception hall is on the top floor of the old Jax Brewery and features four balconies that overlook the French Quarter and Mississippi River... including one large, crescent-shaped window in the center of the dance floor. It's a perfect spot for a ceremony and reception, and we made the most of it's photographic opportunities. The day's coverage began with a rare rooftop visit atop the Monteleone Hotel, and we continued by limousine to the Jax Brewery for the ceremony and reception. After the ceremony, we all second lined over to Pat O'Brien's for more photos and continued the celebration until the wee hours of the morning... congratulations Tina and Paul, and thank you for a wonderful night!

Juliana and Her Parents - Outdoor Session

Juliana just had to get out of the house to bring her parents down to the lazy Natalbany River near Hammond for a lovely outdoor photography session! It was a lovely day, just a little overcast, and springtime is definitely here... Juliana just had to bring along some Easter eggs in her basket for an informal Easter egg hunt, just to get in a little bit of practice for the big day to come. Of course, she wore her finest Easter dress, while her folks preferred to kick back in some jeans and polo shirts for the afternoon. Just a casual, laid back day by the old river... gotta bring a fishing pole next time!

Call us when you're ready for your Outdoor Family Session, too! We would love to photograph your family...

Deadwood Marshals

There is a large group of gun enthusiasts in our country who are interested in keeping alive the use of 19th century black powder firearms - their organization is called The Single Action Shooter Society, or SASS. Firing a single action pistol, unlike modern, double action revolvers, requires the shooter to pull back the hammer and then pull the trigger. You've seen those cowboy movies or even Western TV shows like Gunsmoke and Bonanza, where the guy fires off all six rounds by hitting the gun hammer with the heel of his left hand while holding the gun in his right hand. Today's SASS shooters holding shooting competitions in which speed and accuracy are judges. Different stages during a meet feature different types of targets, some moving, most stationary, and three types of firearms are used: double barrel shotguns, lever-action Winchester rifles, and single action revolvers (either cartridge bullets or cap & ball pistols). Approved clothing appropriate for the time period is also required. SASS members register their nickname and are issued a serial number and a badge.

There are several SASS-affiliate clubs in Louisiana; my brother is a member of one group, known as The Deadwood Marshals. This past weekend, a meet was held at their place near Sorrento, LA. It was an honor to finally get to see this club in action. Visiting SASS members from other areas are welcome to participate in these events, and several out of state shooters participated.

The different shooting stages are held in the buildings of their ghost town, Deadwood. For all I know, their location was named after Deadwood, South Dakota. I'm reminded of the Beatles song, "Rocky Raccoon," which took place in those same Black Hills of SD where Deadwood is located. Anyhow, The buildings are simply store fronts with roofs - the building backs are open and have tables, to accommodate the shooters. They fire their guns through the back, open walls at metal targets cut out of thick steel plates. Sometimes, during rapid gunfire, the the plates ring out with slightly different pitches - ping, pang, pung, peng... almost like a song or doorbell chimes. It's really neat to hear! And yes, everyone wears eye and hearing protection. Safety is the first thing.

My brother's SASS name is Blackwater Jack, and he introduced me to the other shooters as Catfish Phil, my old radio personality name... I met Barkeep, Big Daddy and Cajun Sheriff, too. There are male and female shooters in attendance, and everybody was so kind and friendly. It was easy to ask some of them to pose for me, and they were happy to have a roaming photographer documenting the shooting match and telling the story of the event through photos.

What is so inspiring to me about the event is the value these groups place on tradition and authenticity - many of the participants wear real boots with spurs and truly authentic fashions from the 1800's. Many of the images received an antique effect to create the old-looking images you see here. I'm already looking forward to next month's event!

Hammond Trash Bash - 2-14-09

The Keep Hammond Beautiful Committee held another Trash Bash today... volunteers met at Cate Square Park to get their street assignments, gloves, tongs and orange trash bags. I headed off to Old Covington Highway to clean up the ditches of trash. If you've driven along Old Covington Highway between Range Road and Railroad Avenue, maybe you've noticed the Adopt-A-Street sign with Phillip Colwart Photography's name on it. Yep, that's my street! It's a busy, well-traveled, all-too-well-littered street... I filled up three large, orange trash bags full of litter this morning. Some popular items collected: two mix CD's, two cigarette lighters, a broken hubcap, lots of Taco Bell wrappers, several broken mardi gras cups, a nice saucer, a tumbler (are people throwing their dishes out of their car windows?), a pool chemical container lid, and a trailer turning signal lens. Most popular litterbug beer: Steel Reserve 16 oz cans! Second place: Bud Light 12 oz bottles. Most popular cigarettes: Kool. Runners up: Marlboro Lights, Salem, Newport. Strangest item collected: a raw steak in a ziplock bag - whew!

Andrew - Hanhville High Class of 2009

Andrew wanted something really different for his Senior Portraits than what his friends back in Hahnville were getting... standing in front of the big "2009" numbers in a studio, or just a cap n' gown shot. Andrew's Mom, Regina remembered me as her niece's wedding photographer, and contacted me for a session with Andrew. We discussed their wishes and expectations, and they are very pleased with the results. Many of these images are created in Historic Downtown Hammond, and we combined the outdoor session with a studio session to accommodate their request for a tuxedo shot and the collage of Andrew's keepsakes and musical instruments. What inspired me most about this session was Andrew's wish to have some rock n' roll images with a grungy feel to them. They were very happy that I was able to deliver that! The motorbike shot was a bonus, for sure...

Bob Johler's Memorial

Bob was a fine gentleman and a great old guy... he was our neighbor's friend, and well, friendship is contagious. I met Bob when he evacuated from LaPlace before Hurricane Katrina. We were both ham radio operators, and Bob was a pilot, like my neighbor. I last saw him on New Years Eve, and Bob was always friendly and remembered details about your life. He peacefully passed away a couple of weeks ago at the age of 88. All of Bob's friends paid tribute to him at the LaPlace Municipal Airport this past weekend with a toast and lots of funny stories. A couple of the guys even did aerobatics and fly-bys in the jet plane you see taxiing on the runway. Here are some images from Bob Johler's memorial get-together... nobody wants to die, but when I do, I hope I leave enough great friends like Linda & Lee, our neighbors, who throw a party in my honor!