Welcome to a new SLR Lounge series, Featured Shoot of the Week, where we highlight the work of our amazing photography peers within our community. Each week we will select our favorite shoot to feature. Everyone is eligible, from amateurs to seasoned pros, from wedding photographers to fashion photographers. As long as the shoot is unique and creative, there’s a chance that we’ll select it to be featured. If you’d like to be considered, click here.

This week’s featured shoot is from Tony Gambino Photography. Tony is an award winning international photographer based in Bend, Oregon. He tells us about his recent wedding with Ethen and Heather as well as shares their wedding video below.

You can follow Tony’s work here:

Instagram – @tonygambinophoto
Facebook – www.facebook.com/tonygambinophotography
Twitter – @tonygambino2
Pinterest – www.pinterest.com/tonygambino/
Google Plus – https://plus.google.com/+Tonygambinophoto-bend/posts

Ethen & Heather’s wedding was incredible; one of the most exciting and high energy weddings I have ever been a part of, not to mention that they were the absolute dream clients. In addition to the fact that they could easily both be magazine cover models, Ethen is part of the Godfrey family and one of the Nitro Circus athletes (as seen on MTV2). I can’t say that I’ve ever gotten the chance to take “day after” portraits of any clients in the Bonneville Salt Flats while doing a wheelie on a motorcycle and kissing.

The Wedding Day

The Day After Shoot

As we were headed to our last location at the salt flats for the sunset shots, we stumbled on a few acres of 2 inch deep standing water. It was absolutely one of the most surreal experiences of my life. Since the water was so dense with salt, the ripples would dissipate within seconds, ensuring that this was and almost perfect mirror-like reflective surface. The issue here was, I had to get in this freezing water with bare feet, and the salt was extremely coarse. It’s probably hard for you to imagine the pain and discomfort, but it was pretty intense. Of course, this was a once in a lifetime opportunity, so I pushed through the pain  and ended up with what I would say are some career defining images.

Ethen & Heather Wedding Video

If you have a shoot that you would like considered for a future Feature Shoot, click here.