ABOUT

A little bit about me. My name is actually Bryant Belknap — neither Gray nor Harring — and I love photography.

My first real career was acting. I have a BFA in acting from Oklahoma City where I met my wife — playing her husband in a show. We enjoyed it so much we decided to make it real.

I love marriage and everything it stands for. My wife Emily, is my first real love, and I can’t get enough of her. She’s my forever. We just had our first baby, a daughter named Olive. The three of us live in the Dallas Fort Worth area. The two of them are my absolute favorite subjects and I want to pass down photo albums and hard drives full of stories for children and grandchildren to look through. As a kid I had a drawer in my dresser full of prints from every Christmas, birthday, and vacation. To this day, every time I go back home I spend time reliving my childhood through those pictures.

My first camera was a 30-year-old Canon...

It was the Canon AE-1 my dad used when he was in high school. When my dad gave me that camera he also included a roll of Kodak Ektar 100. I remember being so cautious with each of those 36 frames. I researched, read, and sought out so much information it must have taken me weeks to get through that first roll. Each frame was savored and decidedly taken — I wanted every shot to be perfect. Getting back the scans and prints from that first roll was like Christmas.

Film is magical like that.

Although time has passed since that first roll, I’ve upgraded my equipment, and I shoot on both digital and film, I still feel the weight of each shot. Moments are fleeting and capturing the emotion, the excitement, the energy, and the joy of a wedding requires more finesse than firing off 30 frames a second. It requires being present, engaged, and sometimes even a little patient. I love being given the honor to be a part of your day, step into your family and document it as I would my own.

MY PHILOSOPHY

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I’ve found the photos that catch my eye aren’t always the perfectly posed shots of a bride and groom standing in front of a perfectly orchestrated scene.

Those shots are beautiful and I love taking couples to great locations for photos they’ll want to frame and hang on the wall, but the most captivating photos are the shots taken in between. The ones where something special happens — where I get to see and capture who people are. Where I get to re-tell a love story through the lens of my camera. I love the raw emotion, the sheer joy, and the uncontainable excitement as two people join their lives together. Let’s also not forget the unpredictability of the day. The best moments only really show when you’re not being told to turn this way and smile.

The best moments are caught, not made.

I seek to document your day the way you remember it, in all its beauty. Cameras are just the tool, but having the right tool for the job can make a big difference in the final product. For that reason I only use the best. I like using smaller discreet cameras and have found that Leica rangerfinders fit that bill perfectly.

Along with a digital Leica I also carry a film body as well, almost always loaded with Portra 400 or Ilford HP5. Usually, each is fixed with either a 35mm or 50mm lens. Using only these two focal lengths has trained my eyes to master these lenses and the lighter load allows me to be more agile without growing tired throughout the day. All of this to say, instead of instagram likes or magazine features, I’m looking to capture your story, the beginning of your marriage, and celebrate with you in the new adventure you’re embarking on.