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Last week I got to spend a relaxing few days with my dear friends Matt + Csilla in North Carolina. No trip there would be complete without some quality time with my favorite kids in the whole wide world – Jake + Zack.

I’m not usually in the habit of posting random videos on the blog, but this one was too good to pass up. The video, called “Where the Hell is Matt,” is just a video of a guy named Matt dancing. The difference is that he does the same dance in 42 different countries, often with the help of some locals. My description doesn’t do it justice. Just watch and be ready to smile.Where the Hell is Matt? (2008) from Matthew Harding on Vimeo.

Jenny + Sam are both extremely talented musicians, and their entire day featured original music composed (and sometimes performed ) by them. The icing on the cake was the song that they wrote for Sam and his mom to dance to. It was performed by Jenny and her sister, and the lyrics were adapted from a book that Sam’s mom used to read to him as a child. Needless to say, there wasn’t a dry eye in the house, myself included. You can check out the slideshow here.

Today I am simultaneously happy, proud, and humbled to announce that I’ve placed in the 2008 1st quarter WPJA awards.

I’ve been honored to win a few awards for [AG]WPJA contests, this is my first win for the WPJA. What makes this so special for me is not just the prestige or bragging rights. It’s because the image that won is one that I feel is indicative of the approach I take with my work.

These were the judges comments:

“Clean and simple, yet a wonderfully creative way to share the first dance: dramatic light with terrific composition and moment. The fact that the viewer can see the couple’s faces adds even more appeal to the photograph.”

I often tell my clients that besides the limited time (usually less than 30 minutes) for group photos, I will never try to direct the action. I see my role as a documentarian, not a director. There is beauty and emotion at every wedding, and I would be doing a disservice to my clients if I tried to make their unique and special day conform to some predetermined photographic mold. After all, it’s their wedding, not my photo shoot.

This image is a great example of that approach. I wanted to focus the attention on Vicki and Rick, and their closest friends and family. Compared to a lot of traditional wedding photography, this is admittedly a ‘risky’ approach, but the result is a much more powerful and emotional image.

This image, from Vicki + Rick’s wedding, won 3rd place in the off camera flash category.