It’s great to travel. New churches and new reception sites challenge me and keep me fresh.

I was in Washington, D.C., the weekend of January 7 for the wedding of Sarah Martin and Emmanuel Pimentel at Christ Our Shepherd Church, shooting with the talented Abram Eric Landes. It was 65 degrees that day! Amazing.

Emmanuel and his groomsmen wore really nice barongs — embroidered, formal shirts. Maybe I should get one.

The reception was at the spectacular St. Mark’s Episcopal Church near Capitol Hill.

There are photographers who will tell you that photography is all about light. That’s a little oversimplified, but great light certainly helps. This is Sarah’s father, with warm afternoon sunlight streaming through a window.

I spent the next day wandering around D.C., just shooting for myself. You can see a few of those images on my “Out and About” page.

I shot these portraits of Lesley Jackson in July, but I never got around to posting them. She claims she’s not a model, but I don’t believe her.

The newest, best Nikon camera is on its way to me. Photographs from the D4 are sharper and more detailed, with great skin tones and improved performance in low light.

Bill Frakes, a Sports Illustrated photographer who was given one of the first D4 bodies, says, “The camera is amazing.”

The incredible Joe McNally writes: “The D4 is a game changer. Right off the bat, I was impressed with the file. It was, in a word, smooth. I know that’s not a techy description, but I was impressed by the detail and the creaminess of the pictures. No sharpness of contrast, or harshly defined lines of demarcation between highlights and shadows.”

This all means your photographs will be better than ever.

For more, please see the “In My Bag” page.

Last year began with two wonderful winter weddings. The three images above are from the marriage of Heidi Gingerich and Keith Altiery on January 22, 2011. The two below are from the Meg Dailey-Matt Beardsley wedding on January 8.

I’d like to take a minute to thank everyone for making 2011 a very good year — not just the brides and grooms, but the families, wedding parties and guests. I enjoyed every minute of every wedding.

And I want to thank all of you for looking at my blog. It was viewed 14,000 times in 2011! The busiest day was June 13 with 336 visits. Most of those people were looking at photographs from the Rachel Hollis-Josh Imes wedding, so I’ll start my Favorites of 2011 with two shots from their day.

Once or twice in our lives, we’re blessed to meet someone truly special. Maggie Redden is one of those people. I’ll let her tell the story:

“Upon graduating from Penn State in 2007, I had one main goal. It wasn’t getting a good job or making a lot of money. I wanted to make the 2008 Beijing Paralympic Team. To do so, I knew I had to stay, train and work at PSU. The following year, after countless hours at the track and juggling a full work schedule, I made a dream come true. I competed in Beijing, racing the 100m and 200m. More importantly, I got to represent the United States.

“Since then, I had been struggling trying to figure out the next step. I wanted more. I still trained several days a week, but my heart wasn’t into it. Then the opportunity of a lifetime presented itself and I seized it.”

On Jan. 11, she traveled to Calcutta, India, to work for a year at a home/orphanage for girls.

“I was born in India. I was put in an orphanage after contracting polio, which paralyzed me from the waist down. I was lucky enough to be adopted when I was 2½ into a loving and nurturing family that always encouraged me to pursue my dreams.

“This is my first trip back to the country where it all began.”

Maggie started racing at age 5. She was on the Junior National Team that went to Australia in 2003 and she won medals in Rio de Janeiro in 2007. She also competed in basketball at Penn State, where she made the Dean’s List, and she was an Olympic Torch bearer in 2004. She also is a certified scuba diver and ski instructor.

I especially like the last image. I hope it captures Maggie as she begins a new chapter. A friend says, “Her eyes are apprehensive but the slight smile shows anticipation and excitement.”

Best wishes, Maggie. We’ll miss you.

This is not your mother’s wedding photography. Brides today want it all — a lot of fun, informal  shots, photojournalism, some classic family photos and something artistic for their wall.

And the whole process should be fun. There’s no reason for photography to be a painful experience.

These pictures of Kristen Shilling Fisher were done at beautiful Lily Manor in Mifflin, PA. Thank you, Kristen, for being a fantastic model.

You can find out more about my wedding photography at www.photosbyjan.com.

Suzy Mulfinger and Adam Unger laugh a lot, which makes it easy for me to get fun pictures. We shot these engagement portraits in and around the Nittany Lion Inn in State College.

Suzy and Adam will be married in May.

Sixty degrees at the end of November? Katy and Luke must have connections.

Kathryn Dougherty and Luke Sheehan were married at Toftrees Resort in State College. After a trip to the Penn State campus, we returned to Toftrees for a great party.

The entertainment was supplied by Eric Stoner of Nittany Entertainment.

Rachelle Hartsock and Derik Strouse were married on a lovely autumn evening at the Paintersville Christian and Missionary Alliance Church near Lewistown.

Thank Derik for his service and wish him well as he heads overseas.