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10.26.2009

[belinda and matt]



a couple weeks back i ventured down to chautauqua with my best photography bud, Kristen Davide to photograph Belinda and Matt's wedding. It was a stunning sunny day, although FREEZING, and all of the leaves were in full color....the perfect fall wedding. Kristen met Matt and his boys at the Anthenaeum Hotel in the Institute, while I met up with Belinda and the girls at the Plumbush Inn. I was in beautiful old home heaven!

Kristen had some amazing light with which to work....


















Then it was off to the Hall of Philosophy for the ceremony. What a perfect place for a ceremony, aside from all of the obvious beauty, it was awesome to be able to be behind the scenes to get some pretty great close up shots. Kristen was able to cover the "audience view" so overall we had really nice variety of images.






This could be my favorite of the day (thanks, Kristen!!) I love the familial LOVE that is happening here.



There are so many images where Matt is completely lost in Belinda (who wouldn't be, she is one of the most geniune people I have ever met!).....I love these moments.


"Stay Back!!"

I couldn't resist doing the ring shot on the shards of glass...






Back at the Plum Bush for the outdoor reception....Dinosaur BBQ provided the dinner and happy hour featured Pimm's Cup drinks- had I not been the photographer, I definitely would have partaken in a few of those....delicious! Oh, and there was a restroom trailer that had, I kid you not, a fireplace inside!














Apple Pie cake cutting.....


When we left the reception, we saw millions of stars (it was that cold) but the perfect ending to such a wonderful experience.....

10.14.2009

[joan and todd]



I really love meeting a couple for the first time...particularly when you have had a vast email history.....I had talked back and forth with Joan many times via email, as she lives in Detroit (and Todd in Connecticut) and was super excited to put a face with the words...We met at Lake Effect Diner on Main Street near UB, an authentic vintage diner with lots of charm. We planned on starting the engagement shoot here, but the weather was (surprise!) less than cooperative. The sun just came out long enough to tease and then when we were ready to go outside, BAM! Pouring. We did manage to get a few....



The next best place to go shoot was Canisius, where Joan and Todd met. Todd worked at the library so we decided to play around with some of the architectural elements there.




Joan was really into the colors of the stacks....




We ventured back outside as the rain subsided and was replaced by wind and freezingness...


So, for a long time now I have been a great fan of The Image Is Found, a phenominal husband/wife photography team in California...this shot is my homage to them- I was really hesitant to make the image knowing that it really came from another source, but the art teacher in me knows that great art is informed by other great art. Besides, I really loved their glasses, and also how different they both look without them.





Then we went into the round tower at the center of the campus.....right out of the camera these pictures were somewhat Andre Serrano-esque (that comparison for Joan, the art historian, hopefully I don't offend, but I think you'll know what I mean) so I tried to correct as much as possible, but again, cool structure.

j&t- I am looking forward to your wedding next year at the Roycroft.....thanks for being great sports during that shoot!

10.13.2009

[jenn and tim]


recently, i caught up with Jenn and Tim at the Central Terminal for their engagement shoot....great time. October 3rd was their wedding....even better time. I can't tell you enough how much fun this job can be, particularly when you have such awesome clients who have such a realistic view of what a wedding should be. Often, upon hearing that I shoot weddings, people will say to me, "Oh, I bet you have some stories!" or, "Any Bridezillas lately?" And honestly, I can say no. What could be better than spending the day with a group of people who are so happy? (Makes me examine my teaching job from time to time, that's for sure!)
In any case, Jenn and Tim's wedding was a blast (other than the limo driver who decided to take a 15 mile detour rather than tackle Niagara Street) and covered much territory in the Western New York region....

We began at Jenn's parents' grand island home:

For the record, this is NOT Jenn, but I suppose it could have been for as many pictures I took of this little one!


This is also NOT Jenn. This is Lucy (or Louis, whichever you prefer), who actually was rather a bridezilla. Don't let the "smile" fool you, she was waiting to rip my throat out.


HERE is Jenn. Stunning.


And here is Barbie. Naked. Probably not proper attire for a Catholic ceremony? (does it creep anyone else out that her skin is panty textured?)



The ceremony was at Holy Angels on Porter in Buffalo. Beautiful church, if not in a questionable area. Many of the homes in this community are real gems. I will admit however, that I was a bit nervous walking from my car to the church and then back again. As I left the ceremony, there was a group of "young men" riding bicycles with home made speaker systems built right on the back and blasting intimidating music (as intimidating as you could be on bicycles). Interesting.

How beautiful is this boy??







The priest was very into the ceremony...I really enjoyed that.





Then we headed over to the Historical Society...when the heck did that place get so busy?! I always refuse to go to the Albright because you nearly have to fight for a spot to take pictures against a not so ideal background (really, the white of the building does not do wonders for human skin tones), so instead I liked going to the historical society- lots of variation, water, flora, etc. On this day you could not get anywhere near the place. So instead, we worked with the little run down building near Elmwood.





We did make it up to the main Japanese Gardens walkway just as raindops began to fall....so a couple of quick action shots were all we could take. It was around here that one of my former students was also photographing a wedding....

So while the limo driver was taking the wedding party on a scenic tour of all of the area's expressways (190 s to get to Lewiston from Buffalo?!), I got to the Niagara Falls CC to photograph some details...

Killer cake!!







Maybe I mentioned it before, but I get super emotional now when I watch the parent/child dances, thinking about how someday it will be my kids.....




Can you guess which song had made a comeback this year at wedding receptions all over the country?




As I said....awesome day. Thanks guys!