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richard israel photography bio picture

welcome!

My name is Richard Israel and I am a photographer who lives in
Charlotte, NC with my beautiful wife Beth and our three amazing
daughters, Ferris twelve, Sophia nine and Priscilla five.

I love life, I love
photography.

super8 + elisabeth-rose + michael

Liz and Michael’ wedding from Richard Israel on Vimeo.

special thank you to my friend Matt Hall of 201 Media Productions for coming down from Winston and editing, be sure to check out Matt’s work here vimeo.com/media201

Alyse Woodward - Timeless beauty.March 16, 2010 - 9:33 pm

neal carpenter - Truely awesome. I love it.March 17, 2010 - 4:21 am

Drea Cunningham - LOVE doesn't decribe it. It's not just your talent or brillance or how gorgeous Elizabeth Rose is, the design was full of movement and life and imagination. It is a short film of a wedding not a wedding you made into a short film. HOORAH!!!!March 17, 2010 - 11:20 am

Brian Woodward - Can I carry your camera bag sometime? Beautiful work Richard! bwMarch 17, 2010 - 11:49 am

juliet - wowweeeewow wow wow. i am in love.March 17, 2010 - 3:38 pm

carey’s baby

Ever since a child Carey’s dream was to have a large family, sadly she suffered three tragic miscarriages, one very late term. As a symbol of her faith that God will restore all she had lost, Carey got the peacock feather tattoo’s, when the male peacock loses it’s first feathers they are restored, the new ones are twice as beautiful.

CBblog2aCarey was pregnant again……. meet baby Asa

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Terrance - Gorgeous as always. There's always an emotional impact that the viewer feels when looking at your photos, especially the B&W ones.March 11, 2010 - 1:31 pm

Jessica - Your work is an inspiration...I love this post. And a very inspiring story.March 15, 2010 - 9:39 am

Alyse Woodward - Beautiful story, people and work.March 16, 2010 - 9:32 pm

spring is just round the corner

Thoughts of warmer days ahead, planting tomatoes and herbs with our girls,  the first days of spring,  making fresh bruschetta from the garden in the summer. mmmm!tomatoes

Rodney - Great photos Richard, I am so ready for a 'mater samitch with Dukes mayo!March 5, 2010 - 4:41 pm

the portrait 2

I love photographing portraits, I love photographing children, which are the lion’s share of portrait sittings, however I also really enjoy photographing grown ups (hint, hint)…..

In addition to now shooting all of my portrait sessions exclusively with film we are now offering,  darkroom printed, fiber based prints. “A beautiful print is a thing in itself” Irvin Penn


I love this quote by British photographer Sir Cecil Beaton “Be daring, be different, be impractical, be anything that will assert integrity of purpose and imaginative vision against the play-it-safers, the creatures of the commonplace, the slaves of the ordinary.”


tech note: Nikon F3, 105mm 2.5 lens, 4×5 large format camera, (man with cigar) Kodak TriX film

portraits

Rodney - Beautiful photos... I love that quote!!!March 1, 2010 - 3:01 pm

Andy Jackson - Love those images, Richard. Great stuff!March 4, 2010 - 6:53 pm

elisabeth-rose + michael

Elisabeth-Rose my wedding day partner in crime, super8 girl, travel companion and great friend married her childhood sweetheart on Feb 6th, Elisabeth and Michael met when they were 8years old and they absolutely adore each other.

The day was also extra special because the now famous (or infamous) “Gang of Four” Kristin Vining, Christopher Record, Rodney Slate and I photographed her wedding, these three are not only amazingly talented photographers who continually inspire me I also count them as my best, best friends. We honestly had an amazing time and we’re ready to do it again.

Super 8 movie to follow.

tech note: cameras, Nikon F100, Mamiya 645AFD, Rolleiflex, Super Speed Graphic 4×5,   Film. Iford 3200, Kodak TriX, Kodak Portra 800, Ilford HP5

dressfittingan often overlooked very special time for the bride, the dress fitting

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Candice {The Beautiful Mess} - beautiful. just beautiful.February 25, 2010 - 8:00 am

neal carpenter - The image in the bottom right corner of ls2 is spectacular. So simple and so beautiful!February 25, 2010 - 8:07 am

megan russell - stunning.February 25, 2010 - 8:19 am

Michael E - Great work Richard! Leah and I especially love the fourth image! Take care bro...February 25, 2010 - 8:52 pm

Liz Connolly - i've admired, loved and adored your work for a long time...i couldn't wait to see what you did with our wedding...but these are above and beyond what i even imagined our images would turn out like...you treated every moment like a work of art...thank you thank you thank you...we'll cherish them forever!February 26, 2010 - 6:30 am

Amanda Caldwell - WOW. These are absolutely amazing.March 8, 2010 - 10:41 am

Ben Finch - Really good work... these images are so inspiring! Love it!March 16, 2010 - 6:33 am

meet kayla

another in my series of photographs and stories of young adults at my church, kayla is 20 years old, world watch out.

in her own words….” I am an entrepreneur. I have a passion for people, a passion that runs deep. I want to make my mark on the world by teaching health and wellness to the world. Ultimately, I want to walk in peace and for all whom I encounter see a a glimpse of God’s heart. I completed culinary school this past year and was able to travel and work with world renown chefs in the process. I will incorporate my cooking endeavors in with my passion to a nutrition focused career.

I have began a blog committed to sharing the best of the best facts and recipes that also encourage healthy living. Check me out at kaylasoup.blogspot.com

tech note: Nikon F100, 85MM, 1.4 lens, Kodak film

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Candice {The Beautiful Mess} - stunning!February 16, 2010 - 8:56 am

neal carpenter - The bottom left image is amazing.February 16, 2010 - 10:32 am

Stephanie Huxter - Amazing photographs Richard!! Please thank Kayla for her blog information. I look forward to reading it.February 16, 2010 - 11:21 am

Rodney - Yet another masterful job! Best wishes to Kayla, I believe she will reach the stars!!!February 16, 2010 - 1:31 pm

Kristin Vining - Love! Love!! Love!!!February 16, 2010 - 6:07 pm

Donna Abbott - Beautiful inside & out and....she's smart!!!!WOWFebruary 16, 2010 - 8:59 pm

Michael Escalera - Another vote for the bottom left image! The bottom right is also very awesome. Great job Richard!February 17, 2010 - 3:58 pm

Jere Dotten - Gorgeous! I love the 85!February 19, 2010 - 6:26 am

elisabeth-rose

This weekend Elisabeth -Rose and Michael got married, it was an extra special day for several reasons, most importantly she and Michael are a truly head over heels in love,  Elisabeth-Rose shoots along side of me and is totally adored by the Israel family, she is also my friend Kristin Vining’s studio manager.

What made photographing the wedding so remarkable is that it was a collaboration between four great friends and photographers, Kristin Vining,  haute-couture,  Christopher Record the photojournalist, Rodney Slate, the quiet observer and me, shooting film and super8 with vintage cameras. I think I can speak for all of us in that it was an incredible experience and amazed us all how we just completely flowed and blended together perfectly. There will be a website up in a couple of weeks with the wedding from each of our perspectives.

Here are a few photographs from Elisabeth’s portrait session, she described working with me as a “giant art project”, which is exactly how I love it to be…..

tech note: a mix of medium format, 35mm and large format. Color film, Kodak Portra 160, BW, Kodak TriX,  4×5 Ilford HP5

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neal carpenter - Wow. These are so beautiful. I'm even more sure of my decision seeing what you have done with film.February 8, 2010 - 1:42 pm

Alyse Woodward - STUNNING. I can't WAIT to see the wedding pictures!February 8, 2010 - 1:49 pm

Kristin Vining - I die!! Over and over again! TRULY - out of this world beautiful!! I'm so proud of you, friend!! xoxoFebruary 8, 2010 - 2:28 pm

Candice {The Beautiful Mess} - these are so classy and just gorgeous. amazing work!February 8, 2010 - 2:46 pm

Christopher Record - Amazing Richard! Beautiful subject and wonderful images!February 8, 2010 - 3:42 pm

Cheyenne Schultz - incredible - just INCREDIBLE.February 8, 2010 - 3:45 pm

Rodney - Richard, I love them everyone. You truly captured the classic beauty of Elisabeth-Rose.February 8, 2010 - 6:38 pm

Amanda Caldwell - SO FABULOUS. These truly are amazing!February 8, 2010 - 7:56 pm

tara mauldin - okay, so everyone has already said how amazing they are, so my words to describe these photos are "INSANELY DECADENT"...totally in awe...you are so talented :)February 8, 2010 - 10:47 pm

Tanja Lippert - WOW, Richard, I am speechless, these are sooooo beautiful!!!! I absolutely LOVE them, and she is such a beauty! Nice work, my friend! Keep it up...hey, we need to post some of these on the KFA website!!!February 9, 2010 - 1:09 am

Karen Slate - Stunningly beautiful work of art!February 9, 2010 - 6:18 am

E.G. Couture - So stunning!!! Always love looking at your work!February 9, 2010 - 11:31 am

BLUSH wedding & events - AMAZING! These are just beautiful!February 9, 2010 - 11:32 am

Melissa Hedden - Richard, can you make me look like this ??? Stunning. Liz's Aunt MelissaFebruary 10, 2010 - 12:31 pm

joey seawell - Yeah Richard!!! Way to raise the bar buddy! These are beautiful! Love the series on the backdrop. Outstanding and as always, Inspiring!February 10, 2010 - 4:37 pm

Michael Escalera - Hey Richard - All great work, but I LOVE the 1st, 4th, and 5th images! As always, I can't wait to see more.February 10, 2010 - 5:09 pm

Katarina Souto Mera - absolutely beautiful! each picture is a piece of art! such a pitty I haven't heard about you when I was getting married! you are an amazing photographer! KSMFebruary 11, 2010 - 12:35 am

Kayla Elkins - I love the pics! Also, I remember you saying she did this wedding on quite the budget I love to hear more about that!February 15, 2010 - 11:17 am

grayson

Not to sure exactly what is going to become of my ongoing project,  “young people at my church that are doing something with their lives”, but I know something is going on and It’s taking on a life of it’s own.

Meet Grayson.He’s and amazing musician, songwriter and producer. He’s married to beautiful Tori, he’s the worship pastor at our church, he played lead guitar with indie band “One Amazing Kid”  Grayson survived home schooling relatively unscathed and we share a common passion for all things U2, in fact this shoot was cemented when he commented one day that I looked like Bono.

tech note: Mamiya 7, 80mm lens, Kodak 400CN

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Michael Escalera - Awesome images! Going for James Dean in the last image? Nice to see you breaking out the Mamiya 7! Take care bro...February 3, 2010 - 9:55 am

Kathryn Lane Berkowitz - Very nice work, Richard, of course the subject is adorable, too !February 3, 2010 - 8:07 pm

Nickie Haas - Love these pics!February 4, 2010 - 3:07 pm

lauren and august

These photographs were taken at photographer Bill Broere daughter’s wedding.  My great friend Rodney Slate shot the wedding, I and the Rollei were  along for the ride.

tech note: Rolleiflex, Kodak 400CN

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Karen Slate - Beautiful work Richard! Thanks for shooting with Rodney, he always enjoys your time together.February 2, 2010 - 7:20 pm

they grow

Hug your babies everyday, put down that smart phone and hold their hand every chance you get.  They grow up and before you know it, they’ll be walking down that isle….

Thank you Bill and Tim for the reminder

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tech note: Contax G2, 45mm lens, Kodak TMZ 3200

Michael Escalera - So true...it breaks my heart. Thanks for the reminder my friend.January 27, 2010 - 10:33 am