benpancoast.com

A Blue Dress Barn Wedding: Scott + Jessie

Ben — Sun, 11 Dec 2011 06:31:45 +0000

The Blue Dress Barn is an authentic barn thats been converted into a wedding ceremony and reception site in Southwest Michigan. While there are several unique wedding reception venues in the area the Blue Dress Barn has to be at the top of a short list of truly one of a kind venues that our area has to offer to brides looking for a country wedding. Scott and Jessie choose the

venue for exactly that reason and while the day may look BEAUTIFUL, it started out with blowing winds and driving rain… remarkably neither bride or groom let the weather phase them as you can see here they were rewarded with a beautiful sunny afternoon and what ultimately ended up being the perfect day for a wedding reception in the Blue Dress Barn! If you’re planning

an outdoor ceremony and worried about the weather you have to be ready for anything BUT for the most part the weather here tends to blow through rather quickly and if you need/want to you can always speed things up or post pone them just a bit to fit your ceremony in. Of course a venue like The Blue Dress Barn would also give you the option of doing the ceremony inside as well

but I’ve yet to have to photograph a ceremony inside at the Barn! While the day may have started a bit rough weather wise we couldn’t have asked for a more beautiful finish for either the evening or the pictures!! Congratulations to the very lucky couple!

Family Portraits: Grandmere

Ben — Sun, 11 Dec 2011 05:34:14 +0000

If every family where as easy to work with as the Smiy family I’d be awfully tempted to give up shooting weddings and just do family pictures for the fun of it! I don’t think I’ve laughed this much or had that much fun during a family portrait shoot in a long time! Definitely a great family to work with! The guy in the olive sweater also happens to be my long time assistant Mike… one of

the smartest, most professional and hard working people I’ve ever had the pleasure of working with! He’s started his own wedding cinematography business: Hueline Pictures (if you’re looking for a cinematographer you’ve got to check him out!) and is contemplating heading out to LA to pursue a career in the film industry. He will be sorely missed as an assistant and cinematographer but I think he’s got a bright future and he’s promised to fly me out to the set of whatever he’s producing some day to take pictures so I’ll be rooting for him! All in all we had a great time hiking around the Grandmere dunes taking pictures and while most of the fall color had disappeared we managed to find just enough of it in spots to really make the pictures pop!

Chicago Engagement Photos: Laura + Rudy

Ben — Sun, 11 Dec 2011 04:08:33 +0000

Just a few of our favorite Chicago engagement photos from a fall shoot with Laura and Rudy. We kept things simple and hit up some of the our favorite Chicago engagement picture locations like Michigan Avenue, Millenium Park, and the Art Institute. I always love being in the city in the fall, the colors are beautiful, the air is crisp, and its just such a beautiful time to be out walking around. We were constantly working around the crowds of tourists and other photographers but in the end we managed to have a lot of fun, stay warm, and of course… get some great pictures!!

a Wedding at Willow Harbor Vineyards

Ben — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 04:12:49 +0000

When Jake and Amanda planned their beautiful vineyard wedding at Willow Harbor Vineyards in Three Oaks Michigan I’m sure they didn’t envision a rainy wedding day and yet thats exactly how the day started. We began by dodging rain drops in New Buffalo where the bride had her hair and makeup done, then we drove to Willow Harbor to get ready in the charming bridal suite. By the time the bride was dressed the rain

had stopped and while it still looked threatening we decided to do the bride and grooms first look in one of the vineyards which is the perfect setting for a reveal. From there we took off for weko beach in Bridgman Mi for wedding photos with the wedding party. Then it was back to Willow Harbor where the bride rode up to the ceremony in a horse drawn carriage. The ceremony was beautiful and while the skies remained

overcast the rain stayed away and we ended up with an absolutely gorgeous evening for the tented wedding reception. From a photographers stand point Willow Harbor offers a bride and groom lost of flexibility when it comes to locations for gorgeous wedding pictures, whether you do them in the vineyards, the barn, or head to a nearby beach you simply can’t go wrong! Of course it helps to have a go with the flow approach and the incredible team at Stella Event Design on hand to make sure you’re ready for anything! If you’re planning on getting married and looking for an outdoor wedding or reception venue Willow Harbor should definitely be on you list of places to check out! Congratulations Amanda and Jake, and thanks for giving us the privilege of being a part of such a special day!!

Lake Michigan Engagement Photos

Ben — Tue, 18 Oct 2011 22:57:44 +0000

Just a few of our favorite pictures from a beautiful Lake Michigan engagement session this summer, we’ve shot a ton of them and can’t wait to share more! This one took place in Pallisades Park near Covert Mi which has to be one of the coolest little lakeside neighborhoods I’ve ever shot in! All in all a perfect evening for engagement photos at sunset on the beach!
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A Wedding at Lake Bluff Inn & Suites | South Haven MI

Ben — Fri, 15 Jul 2011 05:33:35 +0000

What a beautiful beach wedding in South Haven Michigan. In spite of the rain Kyle & Loren couldn’t stop smiling all day and finally when the rain stopped for the reception they ended up with an incredibly beautiful evening for their wedding reception at Lake Bluff Inn & Suites. While it can be a bit tricky to shoot an outdoor wedding in the rain most professional photographers will

have gear that can withstand everything other than a downpour so it really just comes down to whether the bride and groom are up for getting a bit damp. Lucky for me Kyle & Loren just went with the flow as did their family and friends, no one seemed to mind the drizzle and it certainly did not dampen the mood one bit! We ended up taking pictures at Packard Park Beach where the ceremony was before heading over to the South Pier in South Haven and finally ended up at Lake Bluff Inn & Suites for the wedding reception. It ended up being a perfect evening and the bride and groom celebrated with their friends and family by setting of sky lanterns which were absolutely beautiful to watch, I think everyone would have agreed that it was the perfect way to end the wedding day! Congratulations to the very happy couple!

Family Portraits on the Beach | St. Joseph Mi

Ben — Sun, 10 Jul 2011 00:46:15 +0000

This family portrait session on the beach has been a long time in the making, when Jodi first contacted me MONTHS ago to schedule her family photos in St. Joe we went back and forth trying to find just the right time to do the pictures. At one point we

almost even had to give up because our hectic schedules weren’t lining up but as luck would have it we found an open date, decided it was worth keeping the kids up late, and voila there we were on Tuesday shooting at Tiscornia Beach at 9pm at night!

Yes… you read that right, 9pm!!! As a parent the idea of kids at the beach at 9pm can be a bit scary but as a photographer one of the challenges we are constantly dealing with when shooting family pictures in the summer, is how incredibly long the days

are! Sunset doesn’t happen until 9:30pm or later during the longest days of the year and if you want great light for your pictures you either get up really early or you stay up really late. The other option of course is waiting a couple of months… the difference

between sunset in July and sunset in September is almost an hour and a half… for some kids that can be the difference between great shots and a series of melt downs… (my kids are especially good at this!) =) While having lots of experience with tantrums,

distractions, and stubbornness both as a parent and as a professional photographer makes it easier to go with the flow and get great shots, it is still definitely worth considering the time of year you’re going to do the pictures! Of course that being said, if

you’re like the Price family you can probably just go for it… these kids were pros the whole night, smiling, posing, hugging, running, you name it they were up for it and we all had a great time!! By the end of the night we were all sandy and tired but I for

one think it was well worth it, we captured some beautiful pictures and hopefully managed to preserve some wonderful memories forever! If you like these family pictures you can check out even more Family Portraits here!

Beach Engagement Photos: Gwen + Kam

Ben — Sat, 02 Jul 2011 18:12:07 +0000

Gwen and Kam flew in from NY recently to wrap up some last minute wedding planning and we decided to try and squeeze in a quick engagement shoot on the beach. While most people might associate NY with NYC these two are actually some sort of

environmental scientists… if it weren’t so late I’d remember exactly what type but suffice it to say they have cool jobs and Gwen is actually doing something very similar to what I’d always envisioned myself doing when I first went to college. I was slightly

envious when she was telling me about how she’s outdoors all the time and get’s to drive boats for “work” but then she pointed out that while that’s definitely cool, she ends up freezing outside during the winter. I guess you win some and you loose some.

The other thing I found out we have in common is a love for canoeing, my wife and I love going up to the Boundary Waters Wilderness Canoe area and we like to think we’re pretty tough when we do a 40 mile loop through the wilderness over the course

of 5 days but these guys do a race every year where they paddle 90 miles in 3 days!!!! I still haven’t decided if thats insanely cool or just plain insane. =) Regardless we had a great time sharing stories, talking about their upcoming wedding day and of course

taking pictures! It’s hard to beat spending an afternoon on the beach with a fun loving couple like Gwen and Kam!! If you liked these engagement photos check out even more engagement pictures here!

Concert Photography: STING

Ben — Sat, 02 Jul 2011 18:11:50 +0000

These pictures are from well over a month ago but I wanted to post them anyway since it’s something I don’t normally get to shoot. I was shooting at this huge business conference in Florida with an amazing team of photographers from all over the country and on the last day there was a private concert by Sting. We got to shoot in the photo pit (in front of the front row) for the first 3 songs. Granted we were there to shoot the VIPs however we still managed to get great shots of Sting at the same time. For those photographers lucky enough to make a living photographing concerts it must be a rush, I had an absolute blast shooting this concert and can’t wait for another opportunity to do something like this!

Chicago Engagement Photos: Rachael + Rhen

Ben — Thu, 30 Jun 2011 04:53:26 +0000

Chicago is one of my favorite places to shoot engagement photos and Millennium Park, in spite of all of the crowds, remains one of the most versatile locations in the city to take your engagement pictures. I met up with Rachael and Rhen in Chicago on a rather crazy weather day, there were severe thunderstorms just south of Chicago and while the skies looked threatening at first it

eventually turned out to be a nearly perfect photo day, slightly overcast, 70º and only a BIT crowded. One of my favorite things about engagement sessions is having the time to get to know the couple, what makes them tick, how’d they meet, what do the love to do, where to they love to travel, what do they love about one another etc and this session was no exception, we had a great time walking around Millennium Park, the Chicago River, and North Avenue Beach sharing stories and talking about wedding plans! In the end we ended up with some great pictures and I think we’d all agree, we can’t wait for the big day!