Hi! I'm Jason. I'm originally from northern Pennsylvania, but I spent much of my childhood in south-central PA. My family and I have lived in historic Gettysburg since 2013.
While in high school, I had two passions: art and football! I started out as an art major at Shippensburg University, but later changed my major to pursue teaching and coaching. I graduated in 2003 with a Bachelor's Degree in Elementary Education. I've coached varsity football since 1997 in Shippensburg, James Buchanan, Carlisle, Gettysburg, New Oxford, and Fairfield. Since graduating from college, I've taught 4th grade, 6th grade science, 7th grade language arts, and 7th & 8th grade social studies.
During this time, my passion for art has taken a back seat to my family, teaching, and coaching responsibilities. I have been able to dabble a bit, however, in graphic design, photo editing, and video production. I spent two years designing and selling high school graduation announcements. I've produced dozens of season-ending highlight videos for a variety of sports teams, including football, wrestling, and boys and girls basketball. I have done a few wedding videos and a handful of college recruiting videos. As a football coach, I have overseen our teams' video scouting programs for many seasons. As an educator, I oversaw our school's morning announcement broadcasts for three years, and produced several videos featuring school-related activities, including music/band concerts, physical education programs, end-of-year celebrations, etc. All of these endeavors took place under the informal banner of "Golden Candle Design."
In 2016, I decided to devote more time to photography and video production, bringing my passion for art back to the forefront. Since then, it has been my goal to serve my clients with quality, flexibility, and integrity. Packages and pricing can be found in the upper navigation bar, but if you want to do something "outside the box", get in touch and we can discuss it.
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"Thank you so much for your attention to every detail and for being so awesome at what you do and for being available just 6 days before the wedding for my crazy last minute thoughts!! This was meant to be and I am so blessed!!! Thank you! The video is perfect and you captured everything as beautiful and fun as I remember and made my baby girls dream wedding something we will never have to forget!!"
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2 / 19
"Jason totally outdid himself. We are in awe and so blessed and so in love with this sentiment of our day that we will cherish forever!"
2 / 19
3 / 19
"I cannot recommend Jason enough! My mom surprised me for my wedding this past Saturday and had booked him to film the day from start to finish. To say I’m impressed is an understatement. He was personable, super easy to work with, and made us feel so comfortable. I cannot wait to see the end result! If you are looking for a videographer, let Jason hook you up!! ❤️"
3 / 19
4 / 19
"Jason was such a friendly hand to work beside on Kristen & Chris' wedding and reception. He always had a friendly smile, he worked so well posing the Bride, Groom and party members for photos. He even endured the cold, chilly wind for a fantastic sparkler send off! Can't wait to see the photos of such an amazing time! Thank you Jason for being easy to work with!"
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5 / 19
"We had such an amazing time working with Jason as he put together a wedding video for our special day. Not only did he capture each perfect moment for us to cherish forever, he incorporated interviews and truly getting to us as his clients. He is very talented, creative and easy going. He was always keeping us updated on everything he was doing or planning on doing for our video! He was able to work with our budget and produce an amazing video!"
5 / 19
6 / 19
"At first I wasn’t sure if I needed a videographer for our wedding but I am so happy I chose his business! The video left us speechless and gave us an amazing keepsake for the rest of our lives! Easy to work with and enjoyed all of it! Thank you Jason!"
6 / 19
7 / 19
"Jason was incredibly patient and creative. He captured exactly what we were hoping to achieve!"
7 / 19
8 / 19
"Golden Candle Design did an awesome job on this video. If you are looking for video or wedding photographer for your wedding call and book them today."
8 / 19
9 / 19
"Jason did an amazing job capturing the beauty and talents of our daughter in this senior picture session. He even took the time to let out 4 year old “help” him take pictures of his big sister and even sneak into one or two with her❤️Highly recommend and will be using him for ALL future picture needs!!!"
9 / 19
10 / 19
"Thanks Jason! I love how your work captured our story as a team!"
10 / 19
11 / 19
"Jason did an amazing job with our youth football team’s season highlights DVD!"
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12 / 19
"Mr. Thurston was very patient and kind to Derrick during his photo shoot! Derrick absolutely loved this experience!"
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13 / 19
"Jason did an awesome job on our wedding video. He caught the best moments of everything. He was able to get great shots with out you even knowing he was around. I would highly recommend him for doing a video for any event you are hosting. He did an amazing job with our wedding thank you again we love it!"
13 / 19
14 / 19
"Highly recommend Golden Candle Design for all photography needs! Jason was amazing and went above and beyond for our wedding day with so many photos, a beautiful video AND an amazing book with tons of pictures for a great keepsake!💕 so grateful we chose him! No matter your need he will capture it even better than you could imagine!"
14 / 19
15 / 19
"Jason Thurston took amazing family photos for us! He strives to give you the quality you want for an extremely reasonable rate. He's personable and patient which makes him perfect for photographing young kids. You will be impressed with his editing skills and thrilled with the variety of shots you are offered. I highly recommend Golden Candle Design and promise you won't be disappointed!"
15 / 19
16 / 19
"Jason from Golden Candle Design did a phenomenal job! Not only were we all comfortable, but he has put so much time and effort into not only doing our engagement photos, he came and took photo's at our rehearsal the evening before and our entire wedding and reception!! I think Corey and I ran off before he did! I just cannot express how grateful I am to have so many photos to look back on and relive the best day of my life! PLEASE considering using him for any and all of your photography needs! Thank you!!"
16 / 19
17 / 19
"Thank you so much for the awesome shots! We had a great experience and are most appreciative of your time and wonderful work."
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18 / 19
"Jason was awesome! He took impeccable care of my business staff photos and made sure every image was perfect upon delivery. Very talented. Very professional. Very reasonable. Would definitely use him again. Thanks, Jason!"
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"Had a great time working with Jason, very friendly and his work is amazing."
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