Earlier this Summer, Adrenaline Lifestyles and RevNation hosted a pop-up meet at The Boro in Tyson’s Corner; a one-off cars and coffee in this newly built complex’s colorful parking lot. I’m admittedly not familiar with the two host groups, but the event drew a healthy mix of import tuners and exotics.
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The official photo blog of J. David Buerk Photography.
Portia and Nick: Married October 2nd, 2021
Just as Summer was drawing to a close and Autumn was beginning to shift the trees’ colors warmer, Portia and Nick, accompanied by their family and friends, gathered at the quaint Ballenger Farm in Hamilton, Virginia to say “I do” and dance the night away celebrating tying the knot.
The farm has free range chickens, much to the entertainment of younger guests, and a lucky black barn cat that wants allllll the cuddles - he even curled up in my lap for a few minutes while I was on the ground capturing a low angle! The chickens; oh my goodness, I just have to say, I captured a photo that ranks among those I’m most proud of in recent time during Portia and Nick’s ceremony - the free range chickens freely roamed, including one keen to be included in the wedding, photobombing the readings! Truly one of my most favorite captures at a wedding in years, and it’s a great example of how I approach weddings and all events with a photojournalistic eye and mindset.
As night fell on the dinner party, Portia and Nick shared their first dance under the stars to a medley sung by a close friend to wish the newlyweds well as they start a new chapter together. Afterwards, everyone retired to the patio to dance and enjoy drinks and dessert.
Natasha and Zach: Engaged
Natasha and Zach, in all our planning over Zoom (the new norm), presented me with a new idea that I was immediately all in on: Natasha had found a farm with rolling fields of sunflowers! I’ve shot in botanical gardens in Spring, and lavender fields in Summer, but a sunflower field was the perfect spot for an early Fall engagement session!
With weather that made the day look like a vibrant painting, Zach and Natasha explored the paths cut through the countless sunflowers, before stopping by the barn which was just beginning to prep for a pumpkin patch opening later in the week. As the sun set on the Fredericksburg farm, I even caught a few Polaroids of the newly engaged and very upbeat couple!
While marching through the endless sunflowers, I was surprised to find that none of the sunflowers were facing the sunset; this threw me off, because I remember being fascinated as a child by how the sunflowers in my parent’s garden would rotate through the day to follow the sun (and by how tall they were above me). Not only was I taller than all the sunflowers today, but these sunflowers weren’t rotating - I’ve learned since this shoot that only young sunflowers follow the sun due to a circadian rhythm that helps young flowers develop, but isn’t needed once reaching maturity. This tracks with my experience, because my childhood garden’s sunflowers were grown from seeds, and the stationary flowers at this farm are either many years or generations old, depending on the variety.
Megan: Steampunk Textile Mill
Megan and I have known each other for over half a decade at this point, and have always shared a kindred connection thanks to our mutual love of all things dark, spooky, and nerdy. As a photographer with a knack for makeup and modeling, Megan and I share a creative brainwave. When she’s not shooting the Moon and capturing the Milky Way at night, you can find Megan chasing storms and freezing lightning bolts by day.
We’ve bounced photoshoot ideas back and forth for years, but the distance between DC and Rhode Island has hampered our opportunities. On my last visit in 2018, we had planned a foggy graveyard shoot, but this never materialized. This Summer we made more firm plans for photoshoots in advance of my trip to Rhode Island in July. Unfortunately our foggy graveyard plans fell through yet again… but we were able to finally have our first photoshoot together after all these years, and it definitely isn’t our last!
Over the years I’ve come to love Rhode Island’s mix of oceanic leisure and venerable rural antiquity; the small New England state is rich in history and photogenic backdrops. At a super-secret location, Megan and I held our finally-first-ever photoshoot in a former textile mill, incorporating our mutual love of steampunk to coordinate with some of the antique equipment surviving from the industrial revolution. We used this first shoot as an opportunity to experiment - Megan had a wardrobe first, sporting a steampunk-styled corset, and ran through poses while I took advantage of the creative flexibility and added some dramatic color I don’t usually get to include in many of my other photoshoots.
This was a photoshoot we were excited for months, maybe even years in advance, but we ended up even more excited about it after seeing the results as they offloaded onto my computer - dark, bold, and dramatic.
So today, on “The Queen of Halloween’s” 30th birthday (born on lucky October 13th!), I hope you enjoy the first creative project my Rhode Island Muse and “The Duke of Spook” finally collaborated on together.
The Queen of Halloween & The Duke of Spook will return!
Behind the Scenes
Well, less behind-the-scenes, and more selfies during the shoot and afterwards at a cookout - have to keep our super-secret shoot location super-secret somehow!
Lexus GX 460 Overlander
In late 2019, I attended Lexus’ Experience Amazing Drive Event. It was the last car event I attended before the pandemic struck, and until that point, surprisingly my first experience with the Lexus marque, despite all my other involvement with the auto enthusiast world. This event was geared toward their luxury, sport, and daily-driver / grocery-getter offerings, so the GX was notably absent.
Based on the Toyota Land Cruiser, the Lexus GX brings the luxurious comfort and attention to design detail to the a formidable off-road abilities of the N210 and later N280 chassis. Because of that one-two combo, the GX is a popular choice among overlanders, who modify their flagship Lexus SUV to handle even rougher terrain when the dirt road ends, camp out under the stars, and do it all in comfort regardless of how far away from asphalt you are; The Lexus GX lets you explore and always feel at home.
This particular Lexus GX 460 is currently for sale on Expedition Portal (at time of writing).
You can visit the sale page here, and read a piece from its feature on Expedition Portal here.
(Please do not contact J. David Buerk - Photography for vehicle sale inquiries - I am not the seller.)
This 2012 example has been heavily modified to increase functionality and endurance, but has in no way impacted the comfort or space for you and your passengers. Notable modifications include lift kit, skid plates, auxiliary fuel tank, rooftop tent, solar panel, refrigerator, front and rear bumpers, winch, floodlights, ham radio, and more. You can find a full list of modifications from the seller below:
Interior:
A-pillar Tacoma RAM mount/sPod touchscreen with 8 slot controls
RAM accessory rail
Yaesu FTM 300-DR, includes GPS and APRS
Orangeboxx Fabrication rear MOLLE panels
Fire Extinguisher & mount
MSA fridge slide
Ironman 50L refrigerator
Goose Gear rear plate
QuickFist axe/hatchet mounts
Custom rear battery box/dual battery with 100aH Duracell AGM battery which includes:
2 cigarette charging ports (Fused to Blue Sea block)
4 USB ports (Fused to Blue Sea block)
REDARC 1225BCDC solar controller
REDARC SBI Smart Battery Isolator 12v/100A
(2) 8AWG Anderson plugged-leads for external tent power/heater, etc.
Custom “Jump” button to use house battery as starter for emergencies
Exterior:
Bush Company Alpha RTT with dual ladder mounts which are configurable Driver/Passenger/Rear
Merlin Solar Trailblazer TBS 180R 180w solar panel
Prado 150 rocker panels
Dobinsons IMS 3” lift and BMC. Front springs are Dobinsons C59-329 with Dobinsons PS59-4030 ¼” spacer and OME 2899 rears with spacer
Timbren rear bumpstops
(5) SCS SR8 wheels with Kenda Klever 35x10.5” tires, 5 tire rotated
Ironman forged upper control arms
Ironman front recovery points
RAD Rubber fender flaps
ARB IPF Series 2 driving lamps
Superwinch Tigershark 11,500 with synthetic line and control box relocate
Dobinsons rear bumper, dual jerry can swingout and spare tire holder
Ironman front bumper
Compactennae ham radio antennae
ARB single compressor to Blue Sea fuse block
Rigid Industries Side Shots ditch lights with amber covers
Baja Designs rear 2” flood lights – tent mounted
RSG sliders - Rhino-lined
RCI steel skids (Front, t-case, and fuel tank)
LRA tank 33 gallons
If you are interested in this Lexus GX 460, you can visit the sale page here, and read a piece from its feature on Expedition Portal here.
(Please do not contact J. David Buerk - Photography for vehicle sale inquiries - I am not the seller.)
If you are interested in this Lexus GX 460, you can visit the sale page here, and read a piece from its feature on Expedition Portal here.
(Please do not contact J. David Buerk - Photography for vehicle sale inquiries - I am not the seller.)