Tag Archives: Sw Florida Photographer

Garden Route Potpourri

January 15, 2016 admin Leave a comment

Commercial Photography Fort Myers

Commercial Photography Fort Myers, Nick Adams Photography

Potpourri-the inside scoop:)

One of the biggest home furnishing and gift shows is currently being held in Atlanta Georgia. Its called ‘The Atlanta International Gift & Home Furnishings Market‘. It is the largest trade show of it’s kind in the USA. Recently we had the opportunity of working with a good friend, Chantel. Chantel is a success story in herself. She started her business: Garden Route, as a home based business so that she could spend home time with her growing family. She has since completely out grown her home, to the extent that she now has two warehouses with 20+- employees.

You Don’t Know What You Don’t Know

Not ever really knowing much about potpourri, it has been a fascinating job for me. The extent that Chantel and this company go to to sourcing the correct ingredients is nothing short of inspirational. Take a look at the pictures below and you will see how far potpourri has come since the days of a scented bag of wood shavings. Look at all the different ingredients. The different colors and sizes of the contents. These bags are all packed identically before they go off to retailers around the country. It’s no wonder that with this attention to detail, Garden Route has become a formidable force in this niche market.

Chantel and her husband, Abe, are South African natives that relocated to this area twenty years ago. They had strong links in farming and horticulture back in South Africa, so it follows that most of the ingredients for the products are imported and shipped from South Africa. These ingredients arrive in big pallet size plastic containers approximately one cubic yard in size. They are sealed to keep them fresh and free from bugs and moisture. They are then stored in cold storage for the same reason.

Not only is the attention to detail quite extraordinary during the manufacturing process but the same attention to detail benefits the consumer too. Garden Route offers a full line of replenishable oils and scents so that you can use the potpourri over and over. You can switch out your different displays for the different seasons and then reuse them again the next year.

Garden Route products are available at Cracker Barrel restaurants and Whole Foods Market, as well as many other retailers. Check them out at http://www.gardenroutehome.com

Commercial Photography Fort Myers — Halloween Potpourri

Commercial Photography Fort Myers

Weddings

WeddingWire Couples’ Choice Award 2016

January 12, 2016 admin Leave a comment

Award winning photographer Nick Adams does it again!

Award winning photographer Nick Adams does it again! We are so pleased to win the WeddingWire Couples’ Choice Award again this year!!

We love our brides and grooms and thank them for trusting us to capture such an important time in their lives. We are looking forward to an amazing 2016!!! Check out our WeddingWire page.

The WeddingWire Couples’ Choice Awards recognizes the top five percent of local wedding professionals from the WeddingWire Network. The award winners demonstrate excellence in quality, service, responsiveness and professionalism. Unlike other awards in which winners are selected by the organization, winners of the WeddingWire Couples’ Choice Awards are determined by recent reviews from over a million WeddingWire newlyweds.

We are so pleased to be honored among all the other amazing wedding vendors on Sanibel and Captiva like ceremony and reception venues Casa Ybel Resort, Sanibel Moorings Resort, South Seas Island Resort, The Sanctuary Golf Club and Tween Waters Inn. Also honored was the amazing and talented florist Floral Artistry. The WeddingWire Award was also given to the many, many talented bakers, DJ’s, entertainers, makeup and beauty consultants, caterers and officiants that we are so honored to come in contact with on a weekly and yearly basis. All these talented professionals make being a professional wedding photographer in Southwest Florida an absolute pleasure! 2016 is shaping up to be our best year to date so if you are planning a wedding on Sanibel or Captiva or anywhere in the Lee or Collier area please give us a call. We are in our Sanibel office Monday-Friday from 9-5 and are pleased to answer any questions or help you out in any way that we can. We want to make sure your wedding is one of the “best days” of your life!

Award Winning Photographer Nick Adams — Useppa Island Wedding 201

Weddings

Ashley & Brad – South Seas Island Resort

January 11, 2016 admin Leave a comment

Captiva Wedding Photography

Captiva wedding photography is always a creative mix of stunning scenery and the joys of a union. Ashley and Brad’s wedding was no different. The wedding took place at the beautiful South Seas Island Resort located at the most northerly tip of Captiva Island. Ashley and Brad have known each other since middle school. They recently made the ultimate commitment and tied the knot. They chose the stunning lawn area of the Kings Crown Lawn as their ceremony location. A great choice if I may say so myself:) The lawn overlooks Pine Island Sound or the back bay as it is locally known. The views are stunning. You are also relatively protected from the coastal breeze. Its a great place to get married because it is secluded and convenient. There is a bridal room that is located just off the lawn area. It has large panes of glass that let in ample light for those perfect ‘getting ready” shots. A few short steps takes you out onto the lawn to your ceremony site. After the ceremony you can take pictures with your guests and family right there just as Ashley and Brad did. You then have the option of using the pier and the lush tropical greenery for the all important bride and groom portraits.

Ashley and Brad decided to also go to the beach at sunset with the wedding party, while the guests stayed behind and enjoyed delicious hors d’oeuvres and cocktails prepared by the talented culinary staff at South Seas Island Resort. Rhonda Decherd, one of the talented wedding planning staff at South Seas Island Resort organized an open top trolly to pick up Ashley, Brad and 16 of their closest friends to take them to the secluded Sunset Cove. Check out the pictures below… you will see why:) After sunset they headed back to the Kings Crown for the reception. The rest is history!

What a great couple and a what a great, fun, group of people. I wish them all the happiness for the future and thanks to them for making Captiva wedding photography such a joy and an honor to me!

Captiva wedding photography — The Dress! The getting ready room located next to The Kings Crown Lawn

Captiva Wedding Photographer — Brad and Ashley with Dad beaming on. Look at that dress!!!!!

Florist: Floral Artistry

Make-up Artist: Kay Casperson

Hair Stylist: Kay Casperson

Dj/Musician: Vanderbilt Strings, Jeff Keys

Officiant: Bob Mitchell

Cake Artist: Publix Bakery

Family Portraits, Island Info, Testimonial

Family Portraits and Bad Weather, Sanibel Lighthouse Beach

December 21, 2015 admin Leave a comment

Sanibel Photography

Sanibel photography is always fun but when you have a run of bad weather, it can make it challenging. We tried to photograph the Hebb family over a the coarse of their stay and we had some unusually bad weather that week. So we took the unusual step of rescheduling during the day (rather than sunrise/sunset). Luckily we had a spectacular window, bright sun and blue skies. There was even some blooming Railroad Vine or Beach Morning Glory as it’s also known. According to The South Florida Plant Guide They describe the Railroad Vine as follows: “To call the unique railroad vine a fast growing ground cover is almost an understatement. Like a turbo-charged express train, it makes tracks so rapidly you can almost watch it grow.” Check out The South Florida plant Guide it’s a great resource for local plants.

Anyway back to the Hebbs, we managed to get some terrific shots, the kids did great. So much so we received this amazing compliment…..

“I just received my pictures and they look fantastic! I wanted to say Thank you again even though the weather seemed to be against us at every turn!”

Shooting during the day does have its pluses. Magazines sometimes prefer bright sun type pictures for a lot of shots. Some editors think ‘bright=happy’. While it’s not as flattering as low light photography, we can certainly help softening harsh shadows with the use of external camera flash. The only real drawback to full sun shooting is that it can hard on your eyes. Some people really struggle with squinting during a high sun shoot. If you have sensitive eyes I would not recommend doing a beach family portrait in full sun.

Sanibel photography is certainly more challenging than you might think but with the right tools and willing subjects it is definitely worthwhile.

Thanks to the Hebb family, it was great to meet you guys, come back and see us soon:)

sanibel photography, Railroad vine, Beach Morning Glory — Railroad Vine Boys

sanibel photography, beach walk, beach portrait — Stroll along Lighthouse Beach

sanibel photography, beach walk, beach portrait, kids beach photography — Boys hand in hand

Weddings

Sanibel Wedding – Casa Ybel Resort

December 15, 2015 admin 1 Comment

Sanibel Wedding

Timothy and Kelly had an intimate Sanibel wedding ceremony at Casa Ybel Resort. This is their second marriage, so they wanted to keep the focus on the two of them and their 5 children and very special guests. By all accounts the wedding was a big hit! We received this awesome message shortly after the wedding:

“I just wanted to leave you a quick message letting you know how wonderful and thorough Nick was for our wedding shoot! Not only did Tim and I love him, we got many compliments from the rest or our guests regarding his wonderful work! Thank you for all of your work, suggestions and great communication! I would definitely recommend this business to all!

Wow what a compliment! thanks guys

Intimate Weddings

Timothy and Kelly chose to go for a small wedding and intimate weddings are becoming more and more popular. I think many of our couples are looking to take the stress out of a huge wedding. Intimate weddings are a great way to go for destination brides. In the right situation, they check all the boxes: small, convenient, intimate and quite importantly, very cost effective:) You will often find that vendors and resorts will have special packaging and pricing for intimate weddings. There is normally a limit to how many people constitute the making of an intimate package. This number varies from vendor to vendor. For us it is twelve people but we are somewhat flexible depending on the day of the wedding. Vendors will also provide packages for intimate weddings. We can offer additional services like video, profesional audio and we also have an officiant on staff! Other vendors/resorts may bundle in things like bouquets or seating or maybe a bottle of champers or two. It’s worth checking.