The Blog | Adventures and advice from an euphoric wedding photographer.

Passion, Love & Happiness. I'm on a journey to capture these emotions from people who radiate their inner beauty and joy into my lens. I photograph because I adore weddings, a spontaneous lifestyle and meeting amazing individuals who will change my life. I hope that next unique someone is you.

My Boys | Adirondacks, NY

September 03, 2010

I couldn’t help but share this photo of Billy and Pirate fishing on our last camping trip. I love the paws over the boat!

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It Really is A Small World | Adirondacks, NY

September 01, 2010

So a few weeks ago we headed to the Adirondacks to go camping for our friend’s 30th birthday. It was about a 4 hour drive and I was pleasantly surprised that over 20 of us made the trip. I was also surprised to find out we weren’t just camping...we were truly “camping”. Camping to me is pitching a tent on someone’s lawn and having access to bathroom facilities and a refrigerator. Nope. I experienced the joy of cooking hot dogs on a stick, bathing in a lake, and sleeping on the bare hard ground. My body didn’t appreciate the hard ground part, but we did have a blast.

The Adirondacks are comprised of many small towns and on this particular day, the closest one was having a parade. We decided to venture to the festivities and while looking for a place to park, I noticed this patriotic woman sitting by herself waving her flag and waiting for the commotion to begin. I screamed with glee when I saw her and told my companions in the car my wish to capture her portrait, but we were on a mission to find our party. Of course we lost our caravan and ended up walking the streets looking for our friends. A few minutes later, Billy pointed out my previous captivation. “Hey look, there’s the woman you saw in the car, now you can take her picture!”

My stomach fell. I’d never approached a stranger before and asked to take their portrait, but I really wanted to photograph her. Really really bad. Of course when you have 3 people staring at you and expecting you to march right up to the subject, you grow some nerve quite quickly.

Charlotte was wearing a straw sunhat and a name tag. Oh my gosh was she darling. I asked her if I could take her portrait for my personal collection and her face lit up instantly. She had never been asked to be photographed before and she quickly started chattering. At one point she questioned how I was going to take a good photo if she was in the picture, but I knew she was immensely delighted that I had asked her.

The photos weren’t award winning, but that’s not what it was about. I simply wanted her portrait and I turned my camera to show her the results. She was thrilled but I was again embarrassed. I wanted to share the images with Charlotte for her kindness, but I didn’t have a business card in my pocket. Should I ask her for her email? Ummm....how about her mailing address.....well that would be awkward. So I just thanked her and left, but I felt really guilty for taking a photo she adored then walking away.

Hours later we finally found our friends. We shared stories of our adventures down the street of this small town when I told them of the adorable Charlotte. As I passed my camera around to share the images, my friend’s father exclaimed, “She’s our neighbor!”. YAY! Of the ten houses on their rural road, my one and only portrait subject of the day was their friendly neighbor who they agreed to give her prints I would send by mail.

I was thrilled to not only have concurred my fear of photographing strangers but also to bring a little joy to a sweet woman named Charlotte.

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Can Creativity Be Calculated?

August 25, 2010

The weather has been awesome this summer and for the first time in ages, I’m really sad to see fall approaching. Warm weather allows me to sit on my front porch and work on my lappy all day without feeling caged in. I’ll be the first to admit I’m terrible at multi-tasking and I really don’t believe anyone can do it well, but sometimes while I’m pounding on my keys I’ll listen to a podcast or watch a live show at creativelive.

A few weeks ago I was watching a show on creativity and how to draw inspiration. I don’t usually have issues with being creative, but a particular idea really made sense: if something really inspires you in a scene, figure out what is creating an emotional response and photograph it. Sounds simple but sometimes it isn’t.

So I decided to take a photograph that day of the grass. For days I had been overwhelmed with how happy I was to be working on my front porch and I realized I loved watching the grass sway in the wind. It really represented why I love being outside. So with my new theory in mind, I set out to photograph the swaying grass.

Ugh...it really didn’t go as planned. I took many photos of blurry grass but they looked like I dropped my camera. To me it looked like...grass. Blah. I really tried photographing the movement and beauty of my lawn for 30 minutes then gave up because I just wasn’t feeling it. I sat in my chair defeated looking at my crappy photos on my camera.

The wind picked up again and as I was muttering to myself I saw this:

This was what it was all about. I needed my pooch in the scene to portray how wonderful it felt to feel the wind in his face. Here I was trying to capture the object, when in reality it was the touch of wind on my skin that was inspiring me. It’s the random shoe next to my dog because he’s enjoying an occasional chew. It’s was the feeling of happiness knowing I was privileged to work at home with my dog and make a living.

So can creativity be calculated? I think so...just expect a random result. :)

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You Won’t Miss Your Photos Until It’s Too Late

June 02, 2010

As a photographer with a “high-tech” camera, I’m used to the fact that I’m usually the one taking photos, not smiling in them. About a month ago, we celebrated Billy’s birthday with 30 of our closest family and friends and of course I forced everyone to pose for a snapshot. Wanting to prove that I was actually at the event, I asked a slightly tipsy friend to take a photo of me and my Grandfather. This was the result…

Pretty terrible and this was the only shot of us the whole night. I didn’t think much of it until my Grandfather was rushed to the hospital less than a week later. He’s still there. And I’m extremely mad at myself. Not for letting someone take a bad photo of us, but because the last photo I took with my Grandfather was at my wedding a few years ago. I’m mad because I take hundreds of photos every month and yet I rarely take photos with the people that matter in my life. The photos that I would save first if my house was burning down...the photos you can never take after someone is gone and you realize too late.

I had a depressed bride email me last week telling me her family had talked her into hiring a cheaper photographer. Brides often cut corners on photography to pay for fancier meals and venues. Do you remember what you ate at the last wedding you attended? Neither does anyone else, even if it cost $100/plate and yet the moments are gone and the photos can never be captured again and they realize too late. I know because I hear this all the time from guests viewing my work and it breaks my heart.

So I’m on a mission to photograph what matters most to me more often. Though my visit was short, I was sure to snap a few shots with my parents and Grandma this holiday weekend. In fact the whole family (I have 30 first-cousins on one side of the family!) is itching to get a copy of Grandma’s portrait because it’s been years since she had one too.

Don’t wait until it’s too late!

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Spring, the Sweet Spring

May 21, 2010

Spring, the sweet spring, is the year’s pleasant king,
Then blooms each thing, then maids dance in a ring,
Cold doth not sting, the pretty birds do sing:
Cuckoo, jug-jug, pu-we, to-witta-woo!

The palm and may make country houses gay,
Lambs frisk and play, the shepherds pipe all day,
And we hear aye birds tune this merry lay:
Cuckoo, jug-jug, pu-we, to-witta-woo!

The fields breathe sweet, the daisies kiss our feet,
Young lovers meet, old wives a-sunning sit,
In every street these tunes our ears do greet:
Cuckoo, jug-jug, pu-we, to witta-woo

-from Summer’s Last Will and Testament by Thomas Nashe (1600)

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