I now have a little down time before the big May rush hits.  In May I have a wedding every weekend except one and that is the weekend we are off to Disney.  I am going to be so tired come the end of June, but I am loving every minute of it.  I have a job that I love and is so much fun.  I get to spend weekends shooting weddings and then the rest of the week putting them together, I love it!!!!

This past weekend Leeann and I went with our best friends Rick and Lisa to see Sugarland with Little Big Town.  We had a great time.  We were on the top row of the Civic Coliseum but, it is not a big place so it was not that bad, in fact, I liked the seats very much.  We danced and sang at the top of our lungs.  Plus, being with friends is always fun.  

I had heard several of Little Big Town's songs when I worked at Scripps, so I knew some of their songs and I told Leeann and Lisa that they had a "Fleetwood Mac" sound to them.  They were great and Leeann downloaded most of their song yesterday from iTunes.  

I had a strange thing happen to me Saturday night. It happened to me a couple of time when I was stationed in Germany with the Army.  In Europe, when you go to concerts and events where there are large crowds, it is not uncommon for there to be unisex bathrooms.  I was not aware of that the first time I walked into a large trailer looking building and there were both males and females going to the bathroom side by side. So, I got used to it.  

Well, Saturday night, I had to excuse myself for a few moments during the Little Big Town set and walked down to the mens room.  While in the stall, I heard a couple of female voices come in and then a few more, then more.  When I exited the stall there stood, much to my surprise, were 4 or 5 ladies waiting to use the bathrooms.  They said the line for the ladies room was too long, which it usually is, (what are you all doing in there anyway???) so I just said hello and went on my way.

It is a cold rainy day and a Monday at that.  Leeann reminded me of a old Carpenters song that describes me today, "Rainy days and Mondays always bring me down".  

A tough couple of weeks

I knew things would be busy the last couple of weeks, but I had no idea that it would be this crazy.  I keep thinking of a saying I heard in a movie a long time ago, "the hits just keep on coming".  We just get over the passing of our little Maggie then you throw on top of that Leeann's dads battle with cancer and that roller coster ride it has become, with a little Gran thrown in on the side and you can just image what it can be like.  It's hard to deal with each one, but stack them all together and put it all on Leeann's back and I have to say, I am truly amazed at just how strong she is.  She deals with all that plus still takes care of our special little girl, keeps up with her work with her special client and all his tax work, take on three classes at UT and still run this house, she is just too amazing for words.

My schedule has been crazy to say the least.  I have had two weddings the past two weekends.  I have not had back to back weddings before so I have been a bit nervous taking on two wedding in a row, but I am really happy so far with how well it is going.  I have put myself on a schedule of working on one video in mornings and one in the evenings.  I try really hard to take the afternoons off to be with Katie and Leeann if at all possible.  

I did have one set back with one wedding.  Let me start off with this, I love the weddings and the brides I work with.  It is a joy to watch two people start a new life together and to be able to make something for them that they can watch for years to come is such a thrill.  Working with other wedding professionals is great for the most part.  As a professional, I know they have a job they have to do just like I do, so I try really hard to work with them and help them as much as possible without hurting myself or my product.  But, on two occasions, one just within the past two weeks, I have worked with a photographer that has been less than professional.  I worked with someone that only had his interest in mind.  

I have a set list of shots that I want to get, a set list of "must have" shots that I have learned work well in a video, but I also watch for that special moment that only happen once.  That happened a couple of times in a recent wedding and this photographer either got right in my way or pushed me out of the way.  He crossed the line when just before the wedding was to start, he jumped right in front of me and announced that this was going to be his spot and the fact that he was going to be in MY shot was not his concern and I just had to move.  I then politely told him that I had a job to do just like he did and that I had already set up in this spot so he was going to have to move to a different location.  He put his camera, left the alter area only to return a couple of minutes later to tell me that "the mother of the bride said he was just fine where he was".  Did he just go and tell "mommie" that I was being mean?  

Well, I got even.  I know this was wrong to do, as a professional I should be above doing this, but I have to say that it felt good and it worked.  I was beside him during the ceremony and I could see the picture he was trying to take, I waited until he was just about to take the picture and then "OOOPPPPSSSS"  I bumped him really "hard".  Needless to say, the rest of the day and during the reception, he was always watching where he was in relation to where I was.  

How fast are you?

The hardest thing I have ever had to do.....

When Leeann and I moved to Knoxville in July of '94, we didn't know what was in store for us.  We didn't know to adventures to come our way.  We had been here for about 4 or 5 months and Leeann was having tough time finding a job she wanted.  She was so over-qualified for everything she went out on.  She was getting so down and so blue.  I came home from work one day to find her in a great mood so I was happy for her.  She told me she found an ad in the paper that day for a little Maltese puppy and she went to see her that day.  I could tell right away that we were getting  a dog.  She, of course, asked if it would be ok if we got the dog and there was no way on this earth I could tell her no.  So, into our lives came Maggie.

Maggie was one of the best dogs you could ask for. She did not shed hair, she was small and for the most part pretty quite.  Maggie was a traveler to say the least.  I have lost count of how many trips she made with us.  Trips to the beach, to Leeann's mothers house, just about any place we went, Maggie tagged along.  

We used to say that Maggie was a lap waiting to happen and it was true.  If you sat in a chair in our house, you had better be ready for Maggie to jump up in it.  People told us not to let her sleep in the bed with us, but anyone who knows us, knows we didn't listen to that.  Maggie took over the bed, she was just nice enough to let us sleep in it at night.  

Maggie ran this home from the day she arrived.  When Brinkley became a part of our family, she put him in his place.  I have never in my life seen a 70 pound dog sit and wait for food like Brinkley did when Maggie was eating.  She would just look at him and he would sit or lay down until she was finished.

When Katie came home with us the very first night, Maggie was there, tail just a wagging.  But, as we added to our home, Hogan and Sophie, we could tell that Maggie was more and more unhappy with us.  She still loved us and still ran the house, but she was not happy about all the additions to the home.

For the past  couple of weeks, Maggie has not been doing well.  She has been eating less and less each day.  She averaged between 10 and 12 pounds in weight depending on what food she snuck from us.  Anyway, two weeks ago, she was down to 6 pounds.  We tried everything we could think of, hand feeding, baby food even forced feeding, but she just kept loosing weight.

Over the weekend, we could tell that Maggie was just not herself anymore, she didn't do anything but just lay around the house, she could hardly walk and even doing the forced feeding, she didn't put up the fight she used to.  So today, we made the decision, along with our vet, to put Maggie to sleep.  

I held her in my arms as she went to sleep and I kissed her one last time.  I know that she is in a much better place. My dad loved dogs and I know that he is there waiting on her to get there.  I will miss that little white fur ball.  

Honey Do's and Milestones

What is it about spring that makes people want to clean?  This past weekend Leeann and I did some serious cleaning and de-cluttering.  We have plans to de-clutter the entire house this spring but plan on doing it one section at a time. The living, dining and rec room were up first.  The couch in the living room left, we got a new entertainment center for the living room, new dining room table and then got rid of a few things in the rec room.  

Knoxville Rescue Ministries was the recipient of all this purging. I think that it helps every one all the way around.  For every $1.70 they make at their store, they can feed someone a meal. We get a tax break, someone in need gets a meal and our house gets cleaner.  Sounds great to me. 

I hit a milestone this week in my business.  I have hired a part time person to help me with some up coming weddings.  I have never hired anyone before as the owner of a business. This was kinda cool in a way.  I had to place the ad, review all the responses (I got 5 just from the craigslist ad alone) and pick who I thought would work out best.  I will keep you updated on how it goes.

Katie is getting ready for a big milestone her self. She is getting ready for a camp this weekend.  This is a camp for kids with vision problems.  She went last year, but just for one night.  She did great and she had such a good time that when we went to pick her up, she didn't want to leave. So this year we are letting her spend both nights there.  Needless to say, mom and dad are planning a few nights out.  I don't know who is more nervous about this weekend, Katie or Leeann?  

Ever wonder what I do??

Ever wonder what it is I do as a wedding videographer? I know people may think it is really easy, but it is a lot of work, work I really have a great passion for. It all starts about a month before the wedding is scheduled, I send out a short questionnaire to the bride and groom. This gives me a chance to get to know them a bit better, who they are and how their video should reflect them. I start thinking about how I want the shoot to go, how I want the video to look and what kind of shots I need to make it look that way. I make a list of all the shots I want, what I will need equipment wise to get that shot. I also make a list of everything I will need that day, equipment, any food or drink I need for myself and the person working with me, if I need someone with me. I start checking the weather for the day to see if I need any special weather gear or not. 

The week of the wedding, I try to contact the bride to go over any last minute changes I need to be aware of, what time is the rehearsal, and do they need anything from me. I start going over my equipment making sure everything is working correctly. I calculate how many video tapes I will need, charge all my batteries and that everything on my list is ready to go.

The day of the wedding is usually a long day. I try to get to the venue about 2 1/2 hours before the bride gets there, this gives me a chance to set up my equipment in an out of the way area, go over my shot list with my assistant if I have one with me. I get some establishing shots of the venue, prep of the location, meet with the location coordinator about any restrictions they might have in place. Once the bride arrives, things really kicks into high gear. I start going down my shot list to start getting the 22 must have shots, keeping an eye out for both the special moment shots and B-roll shots. I then get the groom, go over a few things with him, mic either him or the officiant up, then go and get the equipment set for the wedding ceremony itself. 

After the ceremony is done, I continue to stay with the bride and groom while they are doing the family photos. This is when some of the most emotional and romantic shots come from. Then its time to head to the reception, still keeping an eye open for anything and everything that goes on. I get a short break during dinner as no one wants to see their friends and family eating on their video. I am there at the reception until the bride and groom leave for the night. 

When the reception ends, my work is just starting. Now I have to download the video onto my computer, go through all the video to look for any problems that my be present and fix it. Start to put the clips together in a way that tells the story of the day, add the music, sync the audio to the video, do the titles, go over the video any where from 30 to 50 times looking for anything and everything. It all has to look and feel just right. Once the video is done, then I have to put it on a DVD, create the menus, put any motion to those menus, add any music and/or photos, go over the DVD 15 to 30 more times, make any additional changes to give it just the right feel so that the bride and groom can relive that emotional day. Then I do all the authoring of the DVD, etch the label and then deliver the finished DVD to the bride.

When all that is done, it starts all over again for the next wedding. So the next time you wonder what I do and why it may be a long time between blog posting, now you know.

My Dad

Several weeks ago I made mention of my dad and a few friends have asked me to blog some information about my dad.  I was not sure I really wanted to do this, it is hard to go back over time and try to remember things that happened in the past and get them right, but I think it is good for me to go over those things again.

My dad's name was Cary D. (Danny) Samples.  He was a hard working man.  He always put his family first in everything he did.  I grew up in east central Indiana in a small town.  One of my earliest memories of my dad is of him putting up a swing set in a back yard.  I remember watching him put it up and how I could not wait to swing on that thing.  He had a white Ford Galaxy that he loved so much.  In fact, he kept that car until the rust ate through the floor board  of that old car. He was a Ford man forever.  

My dad worked in a die casting factory making parts for cars, things like the grills, outside mirror brackets and things like that, before it all went plastic.  He worked as much as he could, days, nights, weekends, you name it and he worked it.  Like I said, he always put his family first. He always made sure his kids had all the things we wanted, whatever it was.  I remember one night he went out of his way for me.  I used to stay up late and wait for him to come home, that may be why I still enjoy staying up late.  Anyway, I would stay up late every Friday night and wait for him.  Most everyone of those nights he would order a pizza and bring it home. Mainly because he wanted dinner, but I enjoyed it because it was time I got to spend with him.  Well, I called and ordered the pizza before he got home and he had to go back out and get the pizza.  He didn't really have the money for the pizza that night, but he went for it anyway.  

He taught me how to ride a bike but, he didn't teach me how to stop the bike when I was done.  So, I just rode my bike into a tree.  It worked, it hurt, but it worked.  Well, one day I was on my bike riding around the street in front of my house.  My dad had a rule that we were not to ride over the hill out of sight of our house.  I decided to see what was on the other side of the hill one day.  When I did I knew I did something very wrong and knew that I was going to be in big trouble when I got home.  Sure enough, as I toped the hill, there he was in the front yard waiting for me.  I started crying (I was maybe 3 or 4 at the time) before I ever got home.  He didn't punish me when I got home, he said I had punished myself enough.  I learned a great lesson that day, dad was always right.  

He also taught me to drive, he taught me to work hard and to put my family first.  He taught me to value my friends, to be a good friend to others.  He helped me through many a broken heart, took me and my then girlfriend on my first date.  He taught me to keep pushing myself and to never settle for what I was.  He stood by my side when I struggled, he stood proud when I succeeded. He knew when it was time to let go, and when to reel me in.  But, most of all, he taught me to make decisions for my self.  He never told me what to do, he told me the good and bad of what ever decision I was facing.  The choice was mine.  When I signed up for the Army, I was trying to choose a career choice, I wanted to have him there with me to tell me what I should choose, but I heard him in my head telling me that I had to make the decision my self. I did and I could tell it hurt him to know that his son was stepping out on his own.  But, I think he was very proud as well.

I remember the last time I talked to him.  I had moved to Maryland and was living with my mom at the time.  I wanted to spread my wings a bit and grow.  My last face to face time I had with him was a very, and I do me VERY, heated argument.  I can't remember what it was about, but I know that I said some things I wish I wouldn't have said.  Anyway, I called him on a Thursday afternoon and asked him to do a favor for me.  He said he would the next day and get back to me.  His last words to me were "I love you son".  My last words to him were "yea, me too."  The next day I got a phone call from my dad's wife.  He was gone.  I could not believe it. The one person who guided me for my entire life was gone.  

I know he is still with me, he is still watching over me.  I really wish he could have meet Leeann and gotten to meet Katie. He would have loved her I have no doubt.  But, I know that he is up there looking down on me.  I just hope that he is standing proud, not standing beside me.