Haley & Lianna had a nice, simple and emotional wedding on the beach of Camp Bournedale, near Plymouth Mass…

I had heard a lot about Haley & Lianna, so getting to meet a bunch of Grace’s friends was a treat. Couple that with the fact that same-sex marriage in NY was finally legalized, I had to go. One to show my support, and two to capture a few images for these awesome chicks. They did have a good wedding photographer already, but I’m hoping that my photojournalism added something to the coverage.

My focus for the day was just to simply observe. Without any formals to take, organizing to do, time line to worry about… my homework was to simply capture the love. Love between Haley & Lianna and love of their family and friends. Capturing the love was easy. Haley & Lianna were oooozing with love. And so were their families!

With minimal gear and taking only the few images I wanted to take, it was nice to step back and just do my thing. That, and shoot a little film!

Hopefully the images below show the love like we felt while there.

Oh, my gosh… I nearly forgot to tell you…. the back of their program was a “how we met” MAD LIB! So awesome!

Railroad iron is a magician’s rod, in its power to evoke the sleeping energies of land and water. — Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)

Over Labor Day weekend, I grabbed my old 1950′s Ansco Titan Rangefinder (medium format film camera) and my new Nikon D300 digital camera (leaving my beloved Fuji S5) and hit the road… or the tracks. I haven’t taken the train since a trip around Europe in 1996 and wanted an eco-friendlier way to get to Boston. Besides, the drive to Boston from Rochester is probably the worst drive on the planet. Don’t you agree?

Hurricane Irene caused some ruckus as the area around Albany was highly damaged. The day I was to set out was the first day the trains were running again. Between the cargo trains and Amtrak, everything was slow going and delayed getting out of Rochester… all the way through to Albany. So, the train isn’t really an efficient way to travel. But there is something to be said for the feel of the train wobbling along and for the interesting characters you see (I saw the best mullet ever).

While waiting the 3 hours in Rochester for the train to arrive, I played around with my Nikon D300, capturing the rusty old train platform with a view of Kodak’s offices in the background. Both bygone eras….

As I walked up and down the platform, getting the only exercise for the day, I met this really friendly gentleman. Henry was taking the train to visit is daughter and her family in Massachusetts and he gave me the low-down on what to expect from the train ride. What a nice man. We ended up keeping each other company all the way to Albany and the time just flew by. He had a lot of opinions on weddings, wedding photography, wedding albums and most importantly, that I needed to have some kids. Seriously though, Henry will end up being featured on my blog all by himself one day… stay tuned…

Even with the delays, I managed to arrive at the same time as my baby sister, Grace. Gracie flew into Boston from Austin and we were able to house sit for some good friends of mine. Thankfully, I’d been there many times before, otherwise I don’t know how I would have found their house in the dark. They live in this nice house in Cambridge that feels like it is tucked back inside an English garden. Serene for big city living.

The train was a great way to travel, aside from the delay and the extremely bad food choices in the cafe car. I love that there are power outlets and tables… I was able to get some work done on the trip. Also, it was really interesting to have a front row view to the destruction caused by the hurricane. Along the Erie Canal and Hudson river, we were able to see a lot of damaged buildings and debris filling the waterways.  I also liked being able to walk around a bit on the journey. On my way home from Boston, with gorgeous early morning light, I saw some kayakers heading through a marsh and a lot of the trees had changing leaves already. Beautiful.

What is your favorite way to travel?

Tess and Jason were touring the East coast and I was more than happy to play host. They started their Rochester gigs at my favorite bar for music, Abilene, for a very intimate show. Afterward, I invited a few friends over for a post-show hangout and it turned into one of the best nights I’ve had in about a year. Music, candles, wine and friends… all night long.

The next evening, Tess and Jason played a house party and it was awesome to see multiple shelves on the wall holding wedding photos from several generations! A great reminder of what I do…. provide heirlooms. The evening was mellow and Tess told a lot of funny stories. At some point, everyone talked her into singing in German….

Tess and Jason, it was a pleasure seeing you and hearing your beautiful music. Please come back through Upstate NY anytime. You always have a place to crash.

http://jasonharrod.com/

http://www.wileyrock.de/

To donate, visit this link.

With the destination being Niagara Falls, Canada this year, I had to be there to show my support! Mom flew into Rochester and then we headed over to the Falls to await the big arrival. We were able to do a little night sight seeing and ride the ferris wheel (which looked like it was being attacked by dinosaurs!). The next morning, in the rain, the 30 police officers rode in to finish the 2250 mile bike ride!

It was nice to meet the other police officers, hear the stories and to see my parents. We were able to get in a round of putt putt golf after the rain let up, and I have to say…. it was the coolest golf course I’ve ever seen! There were life size dinosaurs everywhere and a 4 story tall volcano that you golf through! NEAT. I don’t remember who won (probably Dad), but it was a lot of fun and I forgot how silly both of my parents are.

Congratulations to my Dad and the other HPD Officers for completing another successful ride and thank you for all you do!

We drank beer on 1/2 price pizza night and that was amazing. Then we went to trivia night at the local rib joint and I was pleasantly surprised that they had excellent beers and a plethora of vegetarian options. You never would have guessed by looking at the outside.

What struck me most about Salisbury, MD and specifically driving through Delaware was the fact that every strip mall had these three things: a porn store, a liquor store and a church. I’m not even kidding.

While I was in MD, one of my Grooms (Dan, from November) tagged me on some travel pics on Facebook to get my feedback… well I took it as a challenge. The one I liked the most was of beer, so that night, Meg and I went searching for beer… with my camera in tow. The brewery was closed, but the rib place was open! I don’t know if I beat him, but it was fun trying.

Now Dan and I are talking about participating in a McKay’s Photography Blog Photography Workshop and Critique. Wow, it needs a much better name! Any ideas??? We’ll start next month. I know several of my customers that are already in!

It was awesome to meet Izzie and have brunch with the Crudup family. They have always been some of my favorite clients (because they are FUN) and is wonderful to see them all doing so well. We even got their dog, Echo, in some of the pictures. Another highlight was seeing all of my photography all over the house. Framed prints on the walls, signature frame in the hall, wedding album on the coffee table. Seeing my products/photographs living in their final location is so cool. Hearing that little Izzie loves looking through the wedding album is neat.

It is even more awesome that some of my good friends, Tony & Vivianna, live nearby in the suburbs of Philadelphia. I got to meet little Massimo finally and to see before everyone else that Vi is pregnant again! Woohoo! Congratulations Tony & Vi! Massimo and I totally hit it off and we watched the Little Mermaid together at least twice. Massi is an adorable mix between these two and aside from his late night Raves, he is treating Mom and Dad well. I know it will be a long time before I see these friends again, so I was happy to stop by and say “Hi!”

Marc is co-owner of many companies, most notably a lighting company. He is one of the few people I know that actually has been working for the same company (his) since getting an undergraduate degree from RIT. He also has been self-employed longer than anyone I know, so it was great chatting about the economy, creativity, marketing, overhead, etc.

Marc and I took a really nice long hike and got lost in the woods. We found many weird things, remnants of the past, but mostly it was a cool and sunny spring day. Afterward, he took me to the famous Jefferson Diner, of Food Network fame, and I had a super yummy florentine benedict. YUM. I only eat benedicts when I’m at diners and they are a recent addition to my food choices. This one was worth whatever the calorie count happens to be.

Thanks for the visit, Marc! It was great to see you and I hope we can plan another visit sooner rather than later.

My first visit was in NYC to visit my Aunts Collen & Nora, down in the Village. Colleen is recently retired, but was a Photographer’s Representative and has a unique perspective on my career path. It is amazing thinking about the journey to get where I am now. The first time I visited with them in NYC, I was 18 and a freshman at the Rochester Institute of Technology. Now, I’m running a successful wedding photography business in Rochester, NY and teaching other Photographers how to run a more efficient and profitable business.

NYC was wonderful. I loved having a change of scenery and seeing what a big city has to offer visually. I went walking around the Village looking for a new messenger bag and ended up with two hats instead. I vowed to bring my camera everywhere and re-inspire myself and I ended up buying someone else’s photography! A very old RIT photography friend and established band photographer, Alyssa Scheinson, witnessed the impulse buy. Alyssa and I haven’t seen each other in at least a decade, but reconnected on Facebook a while back. We found some high end toys designed by another old RIT student and that was cool to see. It was nice walking around NYC with her, talking about art, photography, Rochester, singledom, taxes, licensing fees, music, cameras. Turns out there isn’t much difference between living in Rochester or NYC and she’s thinking of moving back.

That was the word on the street from everyone on the East coast… that people are moving BACK to Rochester! I’m stoked to hear it since I feel this underlying vibe here that we are primed to explode. In a good way.

Other highlights of NYC were seeing my friend, Greg Fair, who recently moved to the big apple. Also, my Aunts and their friends went out to Dizzie Gillespie’s Jazz Club at Lincoln Center to celebrate a birthday. I really felt like I was in NYC. The band played with a view of Central Park and NYC behind them. So magical.

Here are a few images from my visit to NYC. Notice the many amazing baked items that I did not eat. Everything reminded me of Europe.

As soon as I land, at the George Bush airport, I am waiting outside baggage claim to be picked up and the whole scene was surreal. Like an assembly line, and the passengers were the next item to go into the car. This assembly line was weird…. like a BMW and Lexus assembly line with a Hummer thrown in. Sigh. Beemer, Lexus, Beemer, Beemer, Hummer, Beemer, Mercedes, Lexus… one after the other. Honestly, I was surprised to see so many sedans. Usually my memory of Houston is a million SUVs… on the flattest terrain you’ll ever see. I guess Halliburton is doing well.

Anyway, it was a nice trip over all and I got to spend time with each of my siblings. One highlight of the trip was that I photographed the family of my very first friend. We met the first day of Kindergarten, and now she has two boys. Oh, how life takes us on weird journeys. It was an honor to photograph them and I am happy that the scheduling worked out.

I also got to sneak off to Austin for half a day to see my great friend, Alicia, who was unable to make it to Houston for the holiday. We took her cutie boys to a little park down the street and it was super fun to see these growing boys. After that, I went and picked up my little sister, Grace, who needed a ride from Austin.

Another highlight was being able to stop in and see my second oldest friend’s new bakery and buy a few treats!

It was a little surreal driving my little brother’s car past an exit on 290 that I have a very vivid memory of driving him to when he was 2 years old. Ah, life. And how old I feel sometimes.

So, hugs all around and an updated family photo. A successful trip.

Oh, but it was. For my mental health alone. After sitting in front of the computer most of this summer and Fall, it was nice to step out and away and unplug.

My yoga instructor and friend, Genevra, and I headed down to Canadaigua to meet up with Dawn and her kids, then we all trekked over to Bristol Mountain. It was a beautiful and sunny Fall day… perfect for hiking!

After picking up my snowboarding pass (totally inefficient setup at Bristol for this big event!), I decided to hike to the top of Bristol instead of waiting in yet another hour long line. As soon as I started up Rocket, I was regretting my decision. Luckily, Sebastian and his friends were hiking up with me and they kept me entertained!

Hiking to the top wasn’t really that bad. It was steep, and I wished I brought some water, but it was really pretty and I really needed a good, hardcore hike! The best part was that I then rode the lift down the mountain, so really got a great view that way. Doesn’t make much sense to ride it up to the top…. I have to say though, that snowboarding down that hill is way more fun!

Anyway, once we got to the top, Dawn and the gang were all there waiting for us and it felt like a finish line! I even ran into some next door neighbors to the Smith family, who let us use their jungle gym for the Smith family portraits this past summer! Also, on the way down the lift, we passed Rochester Wedding Photographer, Danielle Zielinski and her husband on the way UP the lift!

Beautiful day. Great hike. Fresh air. Snowboarding pass in pocket. Friends. Sun. Fall colors. PERFECT DAY.

You see, I had to be in Albany for a PPSNYS Council meeting on Monday and then back up in the Adirondacks on Friday for Sean and Brittany’s rustic and green wedding, so why drive back and forth? Luckily, a Photographer friend recommended a hotel and camp on the Fourth Lake that was perfect. No internet, spotty cell phone reception, plenty of hiking trails and swimming in the lake right out the front door. I even got to practice my banjo. Ah, peaceful. Of course, I still had a lot of work to do and brought some wediting (wedding editing) as well as a conference call that I needed to participate in…. All in all, it was a beautiful week and nice to sit quietly alone in contemplation before the next busy wave in my schedule! Here are just a few images from my daily hikes around the ADK!

This past weekend, I was in our nation’s capital for several days. If I owe you an email or something else… this is why!!

It seemed that everyone I’ve ever met was in DC for the weekend too. Thursday, I drove down via PA and stopped in State College for lunch with Tammy Wolfe and Tamar London from London / Wolfe Photography. These two are awesome and they gave me a giant bag of their coffee! Yum! Later, when I arrived in DC I met up with one of my old High School friends, April, who was there for a conference! Lucky for me, because the apartment that I was supposed to stay at fell through. I would have been homeless if it weren’t for her. Well, I was super tired from the LONG drive and I left my car in a weird garage downtown that seemed odd and was several blocks from the hotel. I barely slept because I didn’t think I would ever find my car again. Well, in the morning I went back to the corner I wrote down and looked all over for this garage. I walked all around many blocks in the blazing heat looking and looking. I met several nice garage attendants that were helping me find the right one. I passed just about every major tourist attraction in the process as well! If I wasn’t so hot and stressed, it would have been fun. FINALLY, I found the cheese shop that I remember was directly across from the door I exited through the night before! Yay! Well, I didn’t see any garage, but I saw a fancy lobby that looked vaguely familiar… I walked through the doors and found some elevators. Those looked familiar too. So I go in and suddenly the B4 that I had written down along with the car info made sense! So, I was in the right place. Found my car. Still a weird garage! They should HAVE to hand out tickets when you enter…

Anyway, I get the car, exit the garage, and figure out where I am…. under the famous Ford Theater!! That would have been a helpful landmark to have noticed when I parked my car at midnight! Wow, and I wasn’t even drinking.

OK, so at this point, I’m tired, sweaty and homeless again. I decided to go find the hotel that the wedding will be held in and see if they have open/inexpensive rooms. The parking garage for the hotel is like a speak-easy, and impossible to find, so I park at a metered spot for an hour. The hotel is nice and has a room that I can stay in for both nights, so I check in. I also walk around a bit to scope out possible locations for the Bridal Party images the next day. The area around the L’enfant Plaza is UGLY. Wow, Jerry and Mimi were right! However, a few blocks down the street is the Smithsonian! Gorgeous. Would be a HOT walk though and I’m thinking it is out of the question.

So, I get back to the hotel, check in, dump all my stuff, change again and call the Motorcycle Man, who is in town visiting his girlfriend! Thanks to Facebook, we had planned to hang out for lunch. So, I find my car, see that I have a parking ticket (I was 2 minutes late!), find the garage, get on the metro and head towards the Pentagon. Yet another DC landmark that I did not get to see this weekend. Lunch was good and it was great to see Curt and Allison. I head back just in time to relax for a few minutes before the Rehearsal begins.

You know, as soon as all of my friends showed up for the Rehearsal at the hotel… everything starts to click and the stress just leaves me. Amazing what being around the people you love will do. Jerry & Mimi’s Rehearsal went fine and I helped them sort out logistics of the ceremony before the hotel’s coordinator showed up. After that, we all went over to Jerry & Mimi’s for a backyard cookout. I was already exhausted, so I mostly relaxed and chatted with everyone.

The rest of this story is to be continued….. A separate post for the wedding and a separate post for the Portrait Session I did for Deena & Brad on Saturday morning!! Both were super fun!

Since the drive to Boston is so boring, and Albany is more than half way there, I scooted to Boston after the convention! I arrived just in time for record rainfall in March, but was secretly happy about this due to the sheer amount of work that has piled up during the chaos over the last 2 months. You know, there is something really great about being locked into a friend’s apartment while they are at work. Makes me remember that I should be working too! Wow, I got a lot done! So much so, that I decided to stay through Easter weekend to dog sit for her. Somehow, Easter weekend doesn’t seem as important when your family isn’t close.

During the week I was able to see both of my friends named Marc though and that was awesome. Marc Baizman just eloped in Jamaica, so I wanted to hear all about that and try to talk him into doing a American tour for a wedding reception (which I would want to document, of course). Marc Leuchner and Courtney Hite met up with me in Porter Square for dinner and beer the same day and it was so great to see them! You know, they eloped too… I think I see a trend here. Or at least a trend with Marcs.

Part of the reason I wanted to stay in Boston was that the weather has been 70-80 and sunny! I thought, how perfect to go run around on a photo safari alone in this city that I’ve only known through the eyes of my Late Auntie Carolyn. Well, it turns out that I just wasn’t in the mood. Maybe it was from being tired from the chaos lately. Maybe just because I wanted to get some wedding albums designed before wedding season heats up at the end of the month. Or maybe I’m just not inspired. Probably a mix of all three.Oh, but I was super excited to see Heather (the flowering shrub from Wales) in bloom!

I did venture out to South Boston’s Castle Island for a long walk, but I wasn’t feeling artsy. I thought about walking the Freedom Trail, but wasn’t feeling that either.  I don’t know what it is. Maybe I’m just needing a real vacation? Or a new hobby now that photography is my job? Luckily I always feel inspired at each wedding that I photograph! And I do love designing wedding albums. That has been fun this week! I get to relive the entire wedding all over again and cull it all down to just the highlights. Difficult and fun, and so so rewarding when the album is finished and shiny and pretty.

It has been great staying with Merri (Maid of Honor, 2008) and it is awesome to see Boston from a different view since my Aunt died last year. She lived here for 30 years and I’ve only ever experienced it with her…

Well, next up is Cooperstown, at the early crack of dawn tomorrow, so I better go pack. I’m going to visit Chris and Bret, most of you know him as the skateboarding groom from years ago… Still one of my favorite weddings I’ve ever photographed…. It will be great to see them (especially since Chris is pregnant!).

Man, what a great weekend with super old school (literally and figuratively) friends! And I swear, someone should bottle the sound of a baby giggling and just pipe it into all retail establishments… You can’t help but laugh too.

I have known Vin since freshman year at RIT and he has seen me photograph all the other skateboarder’s weddings, so now I get to do his too. I can’t begin to tell you how honored I am that he asked me, since he is actually an exceptional artist/photographer himself. Check out this demo about himself to get an idea of why I’m so stoked! http://losscollector.com/index.html. Let’s just say that on Friday, we’ll get to go to the Denver Skate Park and then to the HiDive for 3 bands!! Not to mention the fact that all of my favorite people will be there. Definitely check back for some images from this weekend. My challenge is to get as absolutely creative as possible and I’m even bringing a rusty old film camera. The wedding is being held at the Denver Botanical Gardens.

Nate and Jill were married in Boulder in 2006 and I was the Photographer for their wedding too. Nate and I go way back to RIT as well. They recently had a little baby girl, so I will spend a few days with them as well. I am so excited to see them again and to meet Geneva! We will be taking a Generational image of the ladies in Jill’s family. Plus hopefully a little mountain biking if there is time!

Anyway, if you need anything, please email. I will be out of the office until Wednesday! Have a great weekend!

about vin.

Many of you may remember that in 2007, I placed two images in a WPJA contest! This was one of the happiest moments of my career and I hope to place in more of their contests this year. I am blessed with amazing couples to work with that truly understand my work and let me do my thing! Both weddings that placed in 2007, were unusally trusting of my ability to do good work and I believe that is why I was able to get into that contest. Producing great work has as much to do with the people in the images as it does with using my eye and gear.

If you would like to learn more about what to expect from a Photo-Journalist, please read the wealth of articles written for the Bride and Groom on the WPJA’s website, WedPix.

Another random weird fact about this trip was that a few months ago I just happened to look at my friend Sophia’s Facebook page and saw her Aunt had made a comment about loving my work. She joked to Sophia wondering if I ever visit Maryland. Well, little did she know, I was planning the trip! When I had the dates booked I emailed her via Facebook and the rest is history! Everything worked out so great. Her lovely family drove down from North Baltimore to meet with me and we had a blast running around the brand new National Harbour, as well as Old Town Alexandria (where Andrew and Elise used to hang out on dates!).

Yet another added bonus was that last week, Jerry and Mimi got engaged! So, while I was waiting for Elise and Andrew to arrive, I did a quick Engagement Session for the Morey and Meemers with Sparky as a Thank You for hosting me during the trip. These two were so generous and it was really great to see them. On Saturday evening, we had a little BBQ in the backyard and I invited Lana & Mark (wedding Oct. 2008) to bring over their dog and hang out with us for the evening. The dogs loved playing together and I was able to give Lana and Mark their parent albums, which had just arrived! Like I said… a perfect weekend!