Sunday, July 22, 2012

Melanie and Jimmy's Marco Island Beach Wedding

High school sweethearts Jimmy and Melanie met up 17 years later and now are husband and wife!  They live on the east coast of Florida and decided Marco Island was the perfect place for a sunset beach wedding.  Marco Island did not disappoint!  The sunset was absolutely fabulous!

 Melanie looked super sexy and gorgeous on the balcony of the Marco Hilton.
 The Marco Hilton is a gorgeous place to photograph!
 Mother and daughter.
 Father and Son
 The handsome groom.  Love the columns at the Hilton Marco Island!
 Marco Florist did the flowers, arch and setup for the ceremony.
 I love the green balls!
 The newly blended family.
 Siblings now!
 #sexystuff
 I think she loves him!
 He makes her laugh!
 And here is the view from the other side!  It started raining right after we went inside!
 Cute place settings!

 This Naples Wedding Photographer had a great time photographing this wonderful beach wedding!

~Peggy Farren
Avant-Garde Images, Inc. and Understand Photography

Thursday, May 10, 2012

Nancy and Michael's Rockin Wedding!

Nancy has been a personal friend of mine for quite some time.  Our kids have been close friends for a very long time.  I'm so happy that Nancy met Michael!  She loves rock and roll and loves to have fun!  It was fate that Michael came into her life!
Nancy's legs - wowsa!

Love the sun flare!  We had such a great engagement session!

This is the picture they chose for their signature frame.  Sunset wasn't great but we dragged our studio light and softbox out to the beach for nice lighting on Michael and Nancy. 

Fisheye view from Nancy's balcony at the Waldorf Astoria where she got ready on her wedding day.

Nancy has the coolest shoes!!

I love these unique wedding rings!

Bright, beautiful flowers "Wedding Flowers by Something Blue" carlyjizelle@yahoo.com

Hair by Jen Leete, Makeup by Monica Cabada.  GORGEOUS!

Michael, the handsome groom!

Seagate Beach.  Huppa "Flowers by Something Blue".

Nancy's sons Derrill and Casey walked her down the aisle.

Look at the way she looks at him....

And makes him laugh!

This is my FAVORITE picture of the night.

What a sunset!  It rained ALL day and then this!

Tents and lights.  It was a perfect night.  Tents by Party Time Rentals.

Love the groom cake!

Michael and his brother "The Vance Brothers Band" played a couple tunes!

I told you we were friends!  It's me dancing with Janis Morse!

Sweet family shot (missing one daughter).  My son's girlfriend, Cassie (on the right) with her family.
Wedding Planner:  Kathie Resop, Side by Side Weddings
Florist:  Weddings by Something Blue
Venue:  Party Time Rentals (tents), The Waldorf Astoria and Seagate Beach
Band:  The Derek Trenholm Band
Hair:  Jen Leete
Makeup:  Monica Cabada
Caterer:  Wynn's Catering

Monday, March 26, 2012


Florida Camera Club Council State Convention 2012
 We were lucky enough to be the host city for the state-wide photography convention this year!  I had a booth at the trade show and was one of the speakers.  My preconference workshop was about Beach Portraiture, and because of the time of day (8 a.m. to noon), I got the opportunity to also teach "how to photograph people in horrible lighting".  Ha ha aha!!

Here we are on the bus to the beach!
Posing the man.  Men are tougher to pose than woman (in most cases).  Photo credit Bob Kelly.

Jillian from Tamron was my tech support ... so we made her model too!  LOL!  Photo credit Lianne Ellitott.
My, what a big mouth you have Peggy Farren!!!  I promise I wasn't laughing AT anyone.  I was laughing WITH everyone!   Photo credit Russ Caron.
Serious equipment!


David bumping up his flash.  Yes, you need MORE flash on sunny days!

Posing a couple.  We had several models and everyone got a lot of chances to shoot. 

We had three different "stations".  I brought my studio light and battery for one station, an off camera speedlight for another and we used on camera flashes for the third area.

It was a fabulous weekend, full of learning and fun.  Photographers came from all over the state of Florida and beyond.  Thanks to the volunteers who put this on, especially Eric Hanson, Sonny and Betty Saunders, Laura DePamphilis.  Sorry to everyone I missed.  I know this was a team effort!  You all really pulled it off!

A little PS....  The famous Arthur Morris stopped in to listen to my talk on Sunday and made me a nervous wreck!  LOL! 

Here is more information on the Florida Camera Club Council:  www.f3c.org
Arthur Morris:  www.birdsasart.com
And our photography meetup group:  www.meetup.com/understandphotography


Monday, February 06, 2012

Naples Winter Wine Festival 2012

If you haven't heard of the Naples Winter Wine Festival, google it!  It's one of the largest fundraisers in the world, where a tent full of millionaires bid on wine lots and other goodies for four hours!  This year's festival raised over $12 million dollars!

This Naples photographer had the good fortune of photographing one of the private Vintner dinners at one my favorite clients' home.  Sandi and Tom Moran have done so much for this community and they sure know how to put on a party!
Tom and Sandi Moran
The Moran's family room was transformed into a magical retreat!  Purple lights, chandeliers installed for the occasion, drapes and a fabulous mirror covered their entertainment unit.
The furniture was all put in storage for this once in a lifetime event.
The mirror was really a show stopper!
 The color scheme was turquoise and purple with gold accents.  Margaret Short of MargaretEvents.com is not only about the most organized woman on earth, but she has an eye for fabulous!!  The floral arrangements with orchids, gold wire sculptures and turquoise glass beads were created by Grace Lakes Florist.  April Wood and her team of florists have been creating floral masterpieces in the Naples area for many years.

The staircase had a LOT of small candles!
  Candles were everywhere!  


Of course world renowned celebrity chefs were brought in!  Chef Rick Tramonto and Chef John Folse of Restaurant R'evolution in New Orleans.
Chef Rick Tramonto and Chef John Folse
 World champion cabaret dancers Eric Luna and Georgia Ambarian gave an unbelievable show in the Moran's back lanai.
Eric Luna with George Ambarian
Of course, Avant-Garde Images, Inc. (yes, that's us!) took beautiful portraits as the guests came in.  My wonderful assistant, Dylan Glasgow, printed them with our portable high speed professional photo lab right onsite and had them ready in custom made frames as the guests departed.  
Portraits by Peggy Farren of Avant-Garde Images, Inc. in custom frames were part of the take away gifts that night.

Chef John Folse's book on Cajun and Creole Cuisine was one of the gifts for the guests.

 Next day:
NAPLES WINTER WINE FESTIVAL!!

Ritz-Carlton Golf Resort

The next day the festivities began at 11 a.m.  Yes, the people who attended vintner dinners were moving a little slow!  LOL!  From 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. festival attendees looked at the Lots of wine and other goodies that would soon be going up for auction.

Now I went in as a photographer for Florida Weekly newspaper.  I've had a freelance job with Florida Weekly for about three years now. I LOVE Florida Weekly!  This newspaper just started a few years ago and has grown so quickly because it is so enjoyable to read.  If you'd like to read about and see a LOT more pictures - please pick up this week's newspaper or read it online:  http://naples.floridaweekly.com/news/2012-02-02/Top_News/Believe_IN_THE_MAGIC.html

At the end of the day, the Naples Winter Wine Festival 2012 raised over $12 million dollars, bringing the total the festival has brought in since its inception in 2001 to over $100 million dollars! 
Everyone, including auction guest Retta Singer had fun!

 Over 500 auction guests.
Three auctioneers took turns so that there was no break in the bidding for four hours!




There was a lot of pressure to bid!  They'd put your face on two huge screens!  But then they'd give you recognition when you won!  Bob Edwards of Moran Edwards Asset Management Group.
 I had the pleasure of meeting Prince Robert of Luxembourg.  He was gracious enough to come back into the Lot room for a portrait.  Prince Robert donated this custom made wooden box with wines from his vineyard Château La Mission Haut-Brion. Out of curiosity, I googled his wines - it looks like the price for one bottle starts at $400 and goes up from there!
By the way, he was a VERY nice human being!
Prince Robert of Luxembourg               


In the end, it's all for children's charities.  The Wine Festival is the major fundraiser for the Naples Children and Education Foundation (NCEF).  NCEF’s mission statement to support programs that improve the physical, emotional and educational lives of underprivileged and at risk children.
You can read more about the charity and festival on their website: http://www.napleswinefestival.com