This is the NX Level Entertainment Troupe based here in Durham, NC. They are a very talented and versatile group of student performers lead by Rasheed Johnson. Shooting this group was a nice change for Sarah and I. We often photograph large groups of people with wedding and event photography, but never one quite like this. They have a lot of character and most of them know how to work the camera.

They needed some fresh photography for their website and publications… so they contacted 2and3.

We ended up shooting into the night with one of the hardest shoots we’ve done. Once the sun set, I could barely see the subjects through the lens of the camera accept for the momentary bursts of light from the strobes. In the end we got it done with nearly 650 images including head-shots of each of the models. Here is a small sampling of their photo shoot…

The UK article from the Telegraph sparked several more articles linked below:

An Italian article: la Repubblica

A Design site: The Design Inspiration

Random pictures: We are about midway down this crazy page

BBC: Brazil

All of this exposure of our photography makes me excited for the 365 we’ll start when our baby is born. Most of our efforts have gone towards Wedding Photography lately, which we love. Maybe sometime soon we’ll be able to create more 365 like images.

We were recently interviewed for this small article on our relationship and how we document it through photography and photoshop. Part of the fun of what we do is being able to share it with others. Check it out.

Mindy is quite fun and is a fellow lover of photography. She was super easy to photograph even though she might not have thought she was. These shots were taken at JC Raulston Arboretum at NC State University in Raleigh on a wonderful, but chilly, February afternoon. Thanks Mindy!

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I LOVE teaching! And lately I have been thinking about ways to extend my teaching beyond my public school classroom. Being a North Carolina Licensed teacher, I feel I can offer a quality of education that is hard to find in the often confusing world of Photography and Photoshop. As an aid to start building a course for these areas, I have a few questions…

Click all that apply.

Also, please post any comments or thoughts you may have in the comment section.

What can we say about these two? They are quite a pair! Since shooting their engagement photos back in October, we’ve been pumped about shooting their wedding. J.R. and Crystal are a lot of fun to be around and are always full of life. Crystal and her daughter Emma looked beautiful coming down the isle while J.R. seemed as cool and calm as any groom we’ve seen.

The reception was a blast! Fun guests, amazing food, good music, delicious cake, a chocolate fountain, and a rockin’ couple made for an awesome celebration.

We congratulate you guys and hope you grow into a happier and healthier family with every passing day! Thank you for giving us the honor!

For the gear heads: We tested Nikon’s new D3s and 70-200 VR II with amazing results. The D3s is a solid 2 stops better than our D700, possibly more. The 70-200 is, well… a superb piece of glass as one would expect; super sharp. We also had a chance to test out the video capabilities of the D3s and found it quite fun to use and allowed us to capture moments that photographs alone cannot. My only two complaints are that video seems to kill the battery and the D3s is not made for large hands. The EN-EL4a was used in both the D3s and D700; by the end of the night the D700 had 68% battery life left while the D3s had 18%; both had similar shutter counts. In the hand, I prefer the D700 with battery grip over the D3s, as the D3s is to small for my hands, my palm would constantly activate the AF-ON button holding the camera horizontally and my fingers were cramped by the lens mount which flows into the vertical grip.

Rock on J.R. and Crystal!

Sarah and I are very excited to finally show Crystal’s bridal portraits. We just photographed Crystal and J.R.’s wedding yesterday and can finally reveal her pictures. Crystal is a very unique bride. She was willing to hike through Raven Rock State Park in her wedding dress for her bridal pictures. We hiked 4 miles that day and, amazingly, didn’t get her dress dirty! She is an amazing subject to shoot, her energy is as good as it gets which always makes for great images. We got all kinds of looks and questions by those who passed by. It was quite the adventure!

And we can’t forget the bright pink shoes!!!

You ROCK Crystal!

Just last month Sarah and I were honored with the opportunity to photograph David and Jessica’s wedding in Sanford, NC. This one has been a long time in the making and turned out to be a beautiful event. They kept everything short and sweet. David and Jessica are a couple that really balance each other out and are perfect together.

David’s humor had all of the guys in stitches right up to the start of the ceremony and Jessica’s enthusiasm became clear as she exited the church. It was easy to see the joy of their union. We couldn’t be happier for them! Congrats guys!

Stacie and Brian are an amazing couple to photograph! Seriously, you couldn’t ask for better subjects. They didn’t complain(even though it was freezing), had amazing smiles, and are just plain fun to be around! We decided to take their engagement pictures in downtown Durham to get a more urban feel and so they could bring their two dogs. We had a blast even though we about froze.

Excited to shoot their wedding?… Heck yeah!

Sarah and I are proud to announce our new website and blog! This has been a long time in the making and we are so excited its finally done.

Now you can get all of the 2&3 goodness you’ve been waiting for! We have been working hard to make our business the best our clients can get. We hope to push our photography and creativity to the next level with each new day.

A BIG thanks goes out to our good friend, Aaron Nace, who designed our new site! We could not have done it without him!

There will be a lot of new content coming soon. So keep an eye out!