The Big Picture

Gators- UF vs Miami (Ohio)

September 4, 2010 – 10:03 pm

I don’t think this game is what everybody had in mind for the start of a new era. This is a transition year and today’s game proved that although I think this was more opening day jitters than the stinker we all witnessed. No wonder Urban Meyer was ready to call it quits.

When arguably your best player cannot even hike the ball properly you have a problem. Luckily the defense came to the rescue with some points and Jeff Demps and Chris Rainey are still in a class of their own. Take all that out of the equation and this could have been much worse.

Sadly I am not shooting more games till later this season. Simply too much going on and plenty of talent to fill the void. Hope things improve on the field next time I am out there.

Got a nice little sunburn today so I am going to pick some aloe.

Enjoy!!

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Engagement- Gardhy and Sandrie

August 29, 2010 – 3:55 pm

The joy of this couple can be easily understood before you even scroll to the bottom of this post. Marian and I thoroughly enjoyed our time working with them and cannot wait to photograph the upcoming wedding. We chose the Thomas Center and Baughman Center in Gainesville for this shoot and prayed for mild weather for which we got (minus a few bugs). Such a great time.

Enjoy!!

By Rob Witzel | Posted in Engagements, Uncategorized | no comments No Comments | Add a Comment

Wedding- Andrew and Jennifer (Rob)

August 17, 2010 – 11:40 pm

We generally shy away from August weddings in GAINESVILLE because the heat is just overwhelming. Not this time, it was the most pleasant day of the Summer and made for a super-fun day. Andrew and Jennifer were as sweet as could be and their great personalities shined through at every turn. It was a treat that Jennifer’s mom hired us as a surprise for the bride and groom. Being a WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHER I love those extra sparks of fun at events. After a couple month break it was just invigorating to go out and tell such a wonderful visual story.

At one time, I was honestly worried when we decided to offer five hour packages but those worries are gone. This is the third event in that time frame and I have learned the story of the day does not change either way. I am very happy with our coverage and some of the awesome moments we captured. As usual, we worked at great venues like the BAUGHMAN CENTER and SWEETWATER BRANCH. We brag all the time about them being our favorite in town. We also got to work with CHAD REED, the most amazing officiate of all-time. It was a great day in general. Be sure to look at the great work of Marian and our new and fabulous correspondent Erica.

Enjoy!

By Rob Witzel | Posted in Uncategorized | no comments No Comments | Add a Comment

Wedding- Andrew and Jennifer (Marian)

August 17, 2010 – 11:01 pm

On every wedding, Marian finds a way to amaze me. Whether it is a drop-dead gorgeous image that makes me jealous, using her bridal coordinator skills to avert a near disaster, coming up with amazing poses to make up for my attention which is on documentary style or most importantly: forging a relationship and comfort with clients that truly becomes our strongest asset.

At this event it was her resiliency that stood out. See, she had surgery less than ten days before the event and was barely walking just a couple days before. Yet she kept it together and acted like a true professional and had another kick-butt event. When clients hire a wedding photographer, the number one concern is that resiliency and what happens if you don’t feel 100%. We treat every event as if it was our own and go above and beyond no matter how we feel. We brought an extremely talented backup photojournalist just in case but that ended up being icing on the cake given the way Marian handled the day. She is truly my God-given gift!

Enjoy!

By Rob Witzel | Posted in Uncategorized | no comments No Comments | Add a Comment

Wedding- Andrew and Jennifer (Erica)

August 17, 2010 – 10:42 pm

I feel really blessed to have Erica Brough as part of our team. She is a staff photojournalist for the Gainesville Sun and amazes me on a daily basis by taking the most mundane of assignments and coming back with heart-warming, fun-loving and above all: story-telling images. Erica is a true pro and she proves this on what is essentially her first wedding. I cannot wait to work together in the future. She’s a gem!

Enjoy!

By Rob Witzel | Posted in Uncategorized | no comments No Comments | Add a Comment

Engagement- Robert and Lynn

July 19, 2010 – 9:29 pm

OK, so I get the bad blogger of the month award but we have really been enjoying a little break between Spring and Fall seasons. An awesome exception to that came when Lynn and Robert asked us to do an engagement shoot last weekend at UF. Normally we shy away from summer eshoots because, well, its insanely hot. To get around that we met at sunrise and while it did not take long for the sun to go from bake to broil, we were having so much fun it really did not matter. It was amazing watching their personalities come to life almost immediately. As usual we stayed away from the cheesy pictures that often come out of shoots like this and really just let them be themselves. For us, that is the best way to turn a posed session into a legit documentary style assignment. This super cool couple was a prime example of that.

Enjoy!!

btw- I promise to blog some of the awesome charity work that Marian and I have been working on during our “break.”

By Rob Witzel | Posted in Engagements | no comments No Comments | Add a Comment

Wedding- Devin and Dana (Rob)

June 12, 2010 – 9:58 am

This was our last wedding before a (much needed) couple month break while the Earth deals with the whole scorching summer season. We really wanted to pull out all the stops for this wedding as it had all the elements- great young couple, beach wedding at the Clearwater Hilton and to put a great exclamation point on what has been one of our best seasons. I must say that Joanie at the Hilton was fantastic to work with and her attention to detail was not missed. This is certainly a gem of a venue!

Devin and Dana must be the coolest couple ever as so much of their day changed due to weather and other factors. They seemed as if all they cared about was being married at the end of the day and guess what…..they were! While the beach ceremony was moved inside to a ballroom, we did get to spend about 20 minutes on the beautiful (oil free) Clearwater Beach and at sunset. That is not something we often get to do so I really wanted to take advantage of it. Even got to see a rainbow pop up briefly over the hotel.

Congrats Devin and Dana- We love you both!

Enjoy

By Rob Witzel | Posted in Weddings | no comments No Comments | Add a Comment

Wedding- Devin and Dana (Marian)

June 12, 2010 – 9:24 am

Marian was definitely on top of her game for this wedding. I am jealous that she was able to grab some things that I didn’t even see. Well, jealous is a strong word, more like envious. Either way….these are great and there are plenty more.

Enjoy!!

By Rob Witzel | Posted in Weddings | no comments No Comments | Add a Comment

Gainesville Magazine- April Issue

June 3, 2010 – 11:56 am

Been meaning to share more of the work that I do as editor and photographer for Gainesville Magazine. In this issue I had the pleasure of photographing the Gainesville home of the Wagstaff family whose lives were transformed when ABC’s Extreme Makeover rolled into town and rebuilt their house. We also looked at Spring fashion trends and some of the most beautiful places in and around Gainesville.

Enjoy!!!

You may have seen this house a few months back on Extreme Makeover. The family has donated countless hours teaching music to area kids. They were treated to a visit with rock band Kiss on the show. Here is the exclusive first look at their new home.

I know nothing about fashion….no seriously I don’t. I know, hard to believe. This is what’s hot for the Spring…..

Some of the best places and cool people in Gainesville, including my mentor John Moran.

By Rob Witzel | Posted in Architectural, Fashion | no comments No Comments | Add a Comment

Wedding- Philip and Renee (Rob)

May 23, 2010 – 4:37 pm

This was our first event at Traditions in Port St. Lucie and we were not disappointed. We knew this happy couple well from the awesome engagement shoot last December so we knew it would be a carefree day. Seemed like the entire town of Okeechobee made it to the event so the sense of community was strong to say the least.

Cannot say enough about how everyone came together to make this special for the bride and groom. Pretty sure they said the day was six years in the making which made it that much more fun to document. It did get a bit hot for the ceremony but it was an overall amazing day. Can’t really complain about a warm day in May!

Very happy to share this collection of images for the blog post. Cannot wait for everyone to the rest later this week.

Enjoy!