Last Spring, I traveled to Syracuse to photograph the birth of baby Caprice for her first time parents. Elaine and Matt planned for a natural birth, however Capri decided to arrive via c-section instead. It was such an emotional day, that I haven’t been able to blog it until now.

Capri is a very healthy one year old today and is going to be a big sister by the end of the year!

This day was such an honor to be part of. For several reasons. One, it was a chance to be completely and totally a photo-journalist. Zero formal portraits means for exclusively documentary images. A challenge for me was also being very quiet and invisible (with only 4 people in the room!). Anyone who knows me is well aware of the amount of talking I provide, so staying silent and not a part of the unfolding events was as good of practice as being totally journalistic.

Since the birth was taking place in Syracuse, I had Matt call me as soon as they were headed to the hospital. Hoping that I would arrive in time! As you can probably imagine, most of the day was actually spent waiting. I brought my laptop and got some editing done in the lounge for a good chunk. Being sure to stay as out of the way as possible. When the time came for Elaine and Matt to decide to change to a c-section instead of a natural birth, emotions were intense.

At that point, I realized that I would not be able to photograph the birth after all.

Matt came to get me from the waiting room just as soon as the doctors would let him. It was AMAZING to photograph this minutes old family… still in the same location where the c-section took place. These images are the first moments that Elaine and Matt held their first child. I used to think that weddings were the most important job I could ever have. No longer. Photographing this for them, good and bad, was something I’m still having a hard time processing. I’ve photographed brand new babies before, but never as part of the entire process.

At some point, the Doctor was nervous about Elaine’s blood loss and she looked very pale. There was this distinct moment and look in Matt’s eyes where he was holding Caprice, yet needing to comfort and be with Elaine. This was the first defining moment of his new Fatherhood. I offered to hold the baby to relieve the situation in his mind. As I’m standing there, holding this precious new person, I was acutely aware that a Grandmother should be there. Not me. The Photographer was sidelined and the human took over.

As soon as Elaine was stable, Matt took their baby back and I went to grab Elaine’s Mom. If I were Elaine, I would have wanted my Mom at that moment. These few minutes were very stressful and emotional and a reminder that giving birth is still a dangerous task. When I went back into the waiting room to get Elaine’s Mom, it was very hard to keep silent on the unfolding drama back in the room as Matt’s Mom was feeling left out of the joy. I didn’t want to alarm the rest of the room with Elaine’s condition by telling her. Once things settled down, I filled her in. Elaine stabilized and quickly everyone else was allowed to visit in small numbers.

After 12+ hours, it was time for me to drive back to Rochester. Exhausted. Blessed. Pondering the delicate and joyful nature of life.

I photographed Elaine and Matt’s engagement photos, wedding in 2008, this pregnancy, the birth and several other first year baby sessions for Caprice. Next weekend, I photograph her one more time to celebrate her first birthday and we will create a special first year book of the images!

Stay tuned. And Happy Mother’s Day to all of you wonderful women! Please share your birth story…

“Earth Day is a day early each year on which events are held worldwide to increase awareness and appreciation of the Earth‘s natural environment. Earth Day is now coordinated globally by the Earth Day Network,^[1] and is celebrated in more than 175 countries every year.^[2] In 2009, the United Nations designated April 22 International Mother Earth Day.^[3] Earth Day is planned for April 22 in all years at least through 2015.” ~ Wikipedia

What does McKay’s Photography do to reduce environmental impact? A lot…

• Work from home
• Bike to most errands, or run them all on the same day
• Electricity is from Wind energy
• Buy only Energy Star appliances
• Repair instead of just buying new
• Rechargeable batteries
• Hard core recycling practices
• Email receipts and invoices to clients
• Only create samples of clients I’ll keep in touch with
• Photograph each album produced so I need less samples
• Rain barrel and composting
• Tank-less hot water heater
• Offer sustainable wedding albums and products
• Conduct most business via phone or video conferencing
• Web based information, policies, procedures and prices
• Drop ship most orders from lab
• MP Packaging is from post consumer or sustainably harvested sources
• MP Packaging is fully recyclable
• Shipping packaging is reused from vendors to customers
• All canvas wall prints are from a Green photo lab
• All framing is done locally and are from reclaimed wood sources
• Long time vegetarian
• Network with other Green Photographers at greenerphotography.org
• Actively market with Wedding Reception locations within 15 miles of my home
• Encourage clients to purchase heirloom wedding albums instead of buying the digital files
• Digital files delivered on reusable USB jump drive instead of short-term DVDs
• My Mom makes my proof-book bags out of extra cotton material on hand
• Encourage and offer handmade, USA created products and albums
• All vendors MP uses are located on the East coast
• Drive a 10 year old manual Honda Civic
• Co-working at The Yards. The space is created with all salvaged materials.

There is always room for improvement and keeping up with the American lifestyle is difficult at times.

Do you have any ideas on ways to reduce waste? Something you’ve done for your wedding or your kids that was simple and easy to implement?

Two factors probably contributed to their demise:

1. They couldn’t keep up with modern changes in the album industry
2. “Shoot and Burn” wedding ”photographers’ giving their customers the digital files on a disk hindered album creation.

The wedding album industry has been hit hard with the recession and the rise of digital photography. “Shoot and Burn” wedding photographers have done a disservice to the industry, their wedding couples and wedding album manufacturers. With couples only having their images on digital media, there is no motivation to print an album for their kids and grandkids. The industry has gone from wedding photographers being true professional business owners to fly by night people trying to make some extra cash. Many have little actual photography knowledge or skill. I started my career in much the same way, slowly quitting my day job. The difference is that I never gave away the negatives. And I always offered quality wedding albums for any budget. Turns out that this was vital to my success.

Producing a high quality wedding album takes a lot of research and a lot of expensive sample albums. Most wedding photographers simply throw up their hands in frustration. The easy answer is to just give the couple the digital negatives to create their own. If wedding photographers can’t figure it out, how on earth will their clients?? I spend 4 months of the year creating one-of-a-kind heirloom wedding albums for my couples. This accounts for 1/3 of my total income and also creates 95% of the tears I see from a Bride.

Read what one couple wrote about the album process:

http://www.mckaysphotography.com/blog/2011/03/digital-negatives-vs-wedding-album/

Did you purchase or create a wedding album from YOUR wedding? I’d love to hear your story.

The Yards has had a steady stream of visitors to this exhibit since its debut on March, 2nd… here is a selection of images from the opening and art submitted….

Rochester Artists, Sarah C. Rutherford and Lea Rizzo have opened a new art gallery and collaborative space at the Rochester’s Public Market, called The YARDS. Part art gallery/event space and part artist’s studio. They generously invited me into their world with a small part of the studio space. I’ll be moving most of the things out of my attic and over to The Yards in the hopes of getting back into sewing and other fun art projects. Including launching a new business venture: renting out my plethora of vintage clothing!

If you remember, back in January of ’11, I blogged about purchasing a piece of artwork by Sarah C. Rutherford and the impact it has on my creativity….

“One of the things I miss about art school and my youth is being surrounded by other artists and creatives. As I get deeper and deeper in the Photographic community in Rochester, as well as the wedding and portrait industry, I miss just simply being with art. Art for art’s sake and not just the business and marketing of art. I decided recently to start to pull back from the professional Photographers in Rochester and spend more time getting to know the local artists we have to offer. A way to hopefully reconnect with my roots.”

One of the newest additions will be to spice things up a bit with a recurring movie night; Under The Radar: Movies at The Yards.  A hobby of mine, with pal, Dennis Allen, is spotting obscure movies with unique stories illustrating alternative lifestyles. These monthly movie nights are a way to be inspired and think outside the box as to how we live, explore, love. Or just to feel blessed that we have a roof over our heads and food and jobs. These are hard to find movies, not available on Netflix…

If you are interested in attending the movie nights, Gezelligs or other events at the Yards, ‘like’ The Yards on Facebook for up to date information. The Yards is also available for rent for small events and parties!

http://attheyards.com/

By this, I mean: back up your wedding and portrait images onto a new media source.

Making a complete and new backup of your digital files will keep your images safe and readable for years to come. Generations later will want to see how young you were and how silly your clothing fashions are….

MP’s recommended procedure is to back up the entire event on a new DVD and also a new hard drive. Keep the DVD backup at work or some off-site location. Using a cloud service works great too. I use Dropbox and love it. Hard drives fail pretty regularly, so having another copy is ideal.

Copyright Law and terms:

Brief introduction to Copyright: http://www.templetons.com/brad/copyright.html

Offering clients a usage license allows me to maintain ownership of the copyright, while granting the client the right to use the images in a specific manner, for a specific purpose or during a specific time frame. Since McKay’s Photography maintains the copyright, a usage license gives MP the most flexibility in deciding which rights I am releasing to the client.

MP’s Reproduction Release allows former clients to make unlimited prints for personal use. The images are not allowed to be resold or used for commercial uses without further written permission. Any images used in web or print must credit McKay’s Photography or Heather McKay, even on Facebook.

Copyright myths de-bunked: http://www.templetons.com/brad/copymyths.html

Local Rochester photo labs:

Lumiere Photo: They print on fine art paper and will frame your piece. They are much cheaper and better quality than the chain stores, even with those 50% off coupons you see. Pat Cain is the master framer and he does such a great job that I let him pick the mats and frames every time. Tell him I sent you and he’ll take great care of you and he’ll show you my preferred frame choices (they are all eco-friendly and affordable).

Scott’s Photo: This is where I still get my film developed, yet they have self service kiosks as well. When using a self-serve kiosk, always ask if the prints are printed on traditional photo paper with chemicals. Matte finish is recommended.

Do not print my images on a dye-sub printer (instant prints). These dye-sub printers inside kiosks are the worst possible quality and extremely hard to calibrate for color, etc. Some labs can take your order on the kiosk and print traditionally. This is what I prefer. To make it even easier for the photo lab, create different folders on a USB drive or CD and name them according to what you want “one 4×6″ for example. If you make a folder of images that you want in each size, they can quickly run them off for you.

Do you know someone who has the digital files from their wedding and no album? I will create albums for any couple wishing to preserve their wedding in an heirloom wedding album that will last generations.

Wednesday, it was 50 degrees in Rochester, in February, which is just WRONG. So, I went for a run up to Cobbs Hill Park and posted a photo on Facebook that I should be snowboarding instead.

Well, 12 hours later, I was in the car driving to Boston and then to Maine to snowboard with a friend of friends!

John and I have a lot of old RIT friends in common and we officially met at Ian & Laura’s Rabbit Room wedding last October. When we hung out then, I remember thinking that I should have already been friends with him. So, when he invited me to snowboard in Maine for the weekend, I jumped at the adventure.

All of the stars aligned and it was one of the rare open weekends that I had. No client meetings or pressing work to do. I cleared my Friday schedule and hopped in the car after a Roc City Skatepark meeting and yoga on Thursday. Friday, I worked from John’s house near Boston while he was at work. It was a little strange being alone in a strangers house all day. When he got home, I felt like I should have had dinner ready and a martini to hand him at the door. Maybe it was more odd that I felt at home there. The view from his living room was beautiful, as he lives right on a lake.

Friday evening, we drove up to his condo near Sugarloaf Mountain stopping on the way at the ginormous L.L. Bean store. We arrived at his condo just minutes before his friend, Geoff, joined us for the weekend.

Saturday, we rode the mountain all day. It was a bit icy and pure hardpack, so I didn’t do very well. I also twisted my knee pretty bad with a failed exit from the chair lift. LAME. I’m still annoyed with my amateur-ness of that. Especially in front of a bunch of dudes I don’t know. Stupid girl move. Even though it hurt really bad, I kept going all weekend. Sunday, I fared better with no lame lift exit issues and I found a relatively challenging run that was fun and rode that until I didn’t pussy out on the steepest part. After that, I was fine leaving. Luckily, I wasn’t the first to quit on Sunday!

Geoff, Jack and John all ride with hard boots, or Alpine snowboarding. Geoff organizes a big carving convention every other year for these specialty (or NERD) riders and we discussed the prospect of McKay’s Photography being the official Photographer in two years…. East Coast Expression Session.

John and I headed back to Boston on Sunday and it was a sunny and cold day. He took me atop another nearby mountain so I could really get a good view of Maine (I’d never been). From there, we could see Sugarloaf too. Then we drove past a sign that read: “Sled Dog Race, Join the Fun!”…. so, of course we stopped!

The rest of the day was meandering and mellow and awesome. We stopped in Portland, Maine for lunch and when we returned to his house near Boston we were pretty spent. We sat quietly by the fire and listed to music all night. He educated me on exactly why his stereo system sounds so epically amazing. For the first time I really understood what Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon really was all about. There are no words.

An amazing day, gaining a new friend and just enjoying a real day off. Perfect.

Monday, I headed into Boston to have coffee with one of my Greener Photography friends and then lunch with my old housemates, Marc & Courtney, who were due to have their baby any moment! It was great to see them just before their entire world changes.

I left Boston, with everyone asking me to stay another day. Feeling very loved. Very blessed. Very happy that I was offered a crazy hair-brained idea.

There is no way I would have believed you if you told me back then that I would return 16 years after graduating to pass along my wisdom. As a Wedding Photographer, no less!

The panel discussion was lively. With all different creative artists on the panel, I was struck most by how similar our stories and struggles are.

Panel Discussion Topics:
1.     What is the biggest misconception about life after graduation?
2.     How has your creative work changed? Did you notice a shift in perspective or belief after you were out of school?
3.     What do you do to make money? Do you make a living selling your creative work?
4.     Were you prepared for the realities of finding opportunities? (i.e. employment, exhibitions, clientele, access to studio space/equipment, etc.)
5.     Explain the significance/importance of networking.
6.     How do you come up with a pricing structure? What do you charge people for your work or your services?
7.     What are your goals for the near future? And for the long term?

The highlights that I hoped the students would walk away with were:

* You don’t have to afford your own work

* Someone wants whatever you are selling – Find them

* Create trends, instead of following them

* Join professional organizations to learn pricing, marketing, business and networking

* Try to be humble, yet don’t hold yourself back

The panel artists were:

Peter Pincus http://peterpincus.com/

Mahlon Huston http://www.mahlonhuston.com/mahlonhuston.com/HOME.html

Andrew Cho http://www.theandrewchoartshow.com/index.html

Bradley and Sarah Butler http://thebutlerstudios.com/

Romy Hosford http://romyhosford.net/

Myself, Heather McKay http://mckaysphotography.com

Thank you Bradley Butler for inviting me to participate. I hope that someone found some value in whatever I had to offer the discussion. At the very least, it was nice for me to meet the other artists and some students afterward!

Was there a favorite nugget that you received that night? Any insights since? What do you wish you could share with someone else??? Please use the comments below to continue the discussion!

The last time that I was in New Orleans was in 1997, for Mardi Gras, so this was quite a different trip. The days were sunny and a perfect 72 degrees. As you can imagine, we all walked a lot and photographed all of the little vignettes of the French Quarter, cemeteries, the trolley car and more.

Thanks to everyone who gave me great tips on where to eat and what to see while there. I even tried fried alligator! Thank you, Chris, for the extra photos of me….

The professional highlights of the trip were:
* Cheering as my good friends, Patrick Luke and Deb Woodard, received their Craftsman degrees. Many of you know Pat, as he is my super awesome Second Photographer/Assistant/Lighting Guru for some weddings.
* Cheering as friend, Dana Shaffer (of Fort Plain), received her Masters degree.
* Cheering as my biggest fan, Chris Kogut, received a Silver Grand Imaging Award for her International Print Competition successes.
* Attending classes about marketing my Certified Professional Photographer designation, and an intimate class by Allison Rodgers about running successful charity events.
* Mentoring several newly minted Professional Photographers.
* Finally figuring out how to make Twitter work for business/networking.
* Photographing the streets with other talented Photographers.
* Getting out of the trade show without buying ONE thing, yet made new connections for Greener Photography.

Congratulations to Chris, Pat, Deb & Dana on their hard work and recent awards! It was an honor to be there as your cheering section. Sitting in the awards ceremonies made me so proud to be a PPA member. Below right, we are using the Flashlight App on the iPhone to light Chris so I could take a picture! Fun!

Personal highlights of the trip:
* seeing a bicycle tricked out with Mardi Gras beads!
* strolling through an old cemetery near sunset
* walking every day
* having a latte and beignets at Cafe du Monde
* getting my Tarot cards read in Jackson Square
* making so many new friends
* walking around the streets with a beer!
* meeting a Photographer at the French Market who did a movie documentary about train hopping and their culture (Cure for the Crash). The soundtrack uses all hobo bands. I purchased the soundtrack and the movie and received a free photograph as a bonus! The soundtrack, “Listerine on Sundays” is amazingly good. Luckily, it is all music that I am really into right now.

Fun Fact: One of my past Portrait Clients, turned Professional Photographer…. Kiera Slye came to the convention with us to learn how to start and grow her business. She is sharp as a tack and will be very successful. We’ve met several times over the years, because I’ve known her Grandfather since I was 19 or 20. As I’ve been thankful for my early mentor, I’m happy to now be able to mentor someone else….

Cure for the Crash Trailer

The images will be on display until January 30th, so head on down to the Owl House for a drink or meal to get a little better sense of what the skateboarding culture has to offer. Proceeds from the show will go to building the Rochester Skate Park.

* Fun Fact: The image of Vin skateboarding the Denver Skatepark only shows about a third of that skatepark and the Denver skatepark will be HALF of the size of the Rochester Skatepark…

Today was the first real day of winter in Upstate NY, so I finally grabbed my snowboard and headed to Bristol Mountain for some morning shredding…
Last year, I was able to ride a lot in December, so this was a much anticipated day for me. Also, I finally got to try out my new snowboard bindings that I scored for free!

This was the beautiful sky from my first run:

The image was from my brand new iPhone 4s, which I purchased this past Fall. Many more images and posts to come, I’m sure. I’m learning how to blog from the iPhone, using WordPress, so be patient with the quality or formatting. Hopefully the ability will help me keep the ‘ol blog more up to date!

Trisha, you were right! Having an iPhone is awesome! Maybe if I’d had an iPhone instead of a Blackberry, I would have never rebelled against cell phones last year.

Monday January 9th there is a FREE photo show and Roc City Skate Park fundraiser at our neighborhood restaurant The Owl House. JANUARY 9th!

Help support the Roc City Skate Park Project, Local Businesses and Local Artists. Boris Sapozhnikov, Heather McKay, Michael Carnrike, Josh Saunders, Lea Rizzo, Erich Lehman, James Haschmann, Casey Haley, Alan Presutti, Alex Gagne

GEZELLIG:  a dutch word which has no English equivalent, but connotes a quaint, fun or cozy atmosphere, but also belonging, time spent with loved ones or a general sense of togetherness.

My youngest sibling, Trey, honored me by visiting for 2 weeks of his winter break from the Savannah College of Art and Design. On the last night of our art filled, whirlwind time together I dragged him to the Gezellig. Honestly, I was stoked that he wanted to come with me and more stoked that he let me dress him up into a Gypsy! As the only vegetarian in my family, I was also shocked that he was open to trying the vegan menu… none of my other siblings would have been so adventurous. This was truly the most magical way to end his visit.

In general, there was a wide variety of people in attendance and several people I had been wanting to meet. In this intimate setting, it is easy to create new relationships.

Rochester has been in dire need of a space and an event like this for years and I am honored to have been in attendance of such a dynamic experience. When I went to bed that night, I could still hear the music in my ears and see the talented artists in my head.

It will be impossible to use words to describe the evening, so I’ll just let the images give you a sense of what it was like to be there.

This wedding was a long time coming. For several reasons…. For me, it was an absolute honor to photograph the wedding of someone that I met when I was 18! Ian and I went to the Rochester Institute of Technology together and we were in the same Photo I class freshman year! So, skip forward nearly 20 years (yikes!) and not only did I witness, but participate in, this amazing day. Truly an emotional experience. Add that to the fact that he was marrying Laura…and you have a recipe for bliss.

When Ian and Laura told me they were engaged, I was through the moon! Garrett (the officiant and good friend) summed it up best during the ceremony, so I won’t try here. What I will say is that they are both so busy enjoying life that I never get to see them. Whether it be running the Pikes Peak Marathon or Bristol Mountain’s Muddy Sneaker race, these two never stop their adventures. So, when Ian called to share the big news and hire my services, my response was “Yay! I get to see you this year!!”

All of our ‘wedding meetings’ have basically been Ian cooking for us, with Laura and I talking wedding. Ian and I would occasionally geek out over cameras and Laura would humor us. A great reason to catch up and hang out.

The wedding was about the same. Very low-key and relaxing. Ian and Laura had a ‘first look’ with a pint of beer, overlooking Honeoye Falls. It was a gorgeous Fall day, with only a hint of drizzle. It was just a bit too damp and chilly, so the wedding ceremony ended up being indoors (though both of them are so hardcore that they actually still wanted it outdoors).

The rest of the evening was really fun and full of love. And Apple iPads. Well, on Webber’s side. The best quote of the night was this: “iPad score: Webbers – 4, Williams – 0!”

Another notable awesomeness: the current gallery exhibit at the Rabbit Room was of vintage film cameras (Lori Horton: Gramma’s Cameras)! SO fitting for Ian and I… Ian even had his Kodak Brownie camera and took photos of Laura. We don’t fake our vintage wedding photos here at McKay’s Photography! If you see a cute vintage film camera…. it IS being used!

Well, I could go on and on about this wedding for weeks. I’ll stop here. Webber and Laura, it was an absolute pleasure and honor to be your wedding photographer! Thank you, thank you, thank you for letting me be such a big part of your day. I hope your trip to Patagonia is fun and safe and you come back with tons of pictures. I can’t wait to hear all about it.

http://www.13wham.com/news/local/story/Trader-Joe-s-Coming-To-Rochester/wHeu2M8ZSkCHQf4WGK7vyA.cspx

Because I’m a hippy and eat hippy food, but I’m also sorta cheap… I’m very excited to have the store in my town. Every time I visit a city that has one, I have to go buy something. Anything. Last month when I took the train to Boston, I went to Trader Joe’s in Cambridge for food to eat on the long train ride home.

Why do I talk about this on my BLOG? Well, branding.

Trader Joe’s has figured out branding. I’ve never even lived in a town with Trader Joe’s, but I’ve always wanted to. YEARS before I was able to actually set foot in a store, I wanted to.

That is amazing. How does a company build a brand so strong and focused that it permeates markets that it isn’t even marketing to? One phrase… word of mouth. And not in the ‘Alec Baldwin talks about his Mom liking Wegmans’ sort of a way… but regular people talking about the super simple part of their lives: groceries.

I’m in a particularly competitive market myself and am always brainstorming ways to stay ahead of the competition, and I think Wegmans press release said it best:

“Wegmans does not normally comment on competitors.  However, I can tell you that when  new competition moves into any of our market areas, we have a plan… to continue focusing on what we feel we do best…”

This is important, and actually what myself and a bunch of Photographers were discussing last night at our October Greater Rochester Professional Photographers meeting… how to define exactly what I do and who my client is, and then run with it. Staying true to my brand and the clients I want to attract is hard work, but what will allow both Trader Joe’s and Wegmans to thrive in the same plaza. They are very different grocery stores and they have different business models, products, customer service, ambiance, etc. I’ll use them both and love it.

Megan, Mike and Emma met me near sunset at the University of Rochester, since it has special meaning for them. I always want my locations to have meaning. Especially since Megan & Mike are moving to Michigan right after their wedding… So, we hit up the UofR and then crossed the Ford St. bridge and ended up at Corn Hill Landing, right near their house.

The sunset over the Ford St. Bridge wasn’t as strong as I hoped it would be. Sometimes the light just fills up the Rochester skyline with a bright warm glow. I think it was too late in the season for the stark sunset I was wanting. However, using the warm lights that illuminate the Genesee River Trail down at Corn Hill Landing, I was able to recreate the sunset feel and show a few trees that have changed their color. Shockingly, I was able to grab a few images of Mike and Megan being romantic too…

While we were photographing, I met a super nice couple who was taking a stroll along the river. They were nice enough to sit on this bench and let me test my settings on them. Turns out they are fellow Irishmen. Such a nice couple, and have been together for 31 years!

We had so much fun together that we headed over to the Tap and Mallet for a post engagement session beer. When I walked in, I ran into Melissa & Dave (July wedding)! Super cool running into them! There were some other friends there too and I hung out with them after my drinks with Megan & Mike. When I go to the Tap & Mallet, I feel like Norm from Cheers. Is that a good thing or a bad thing??

OK, OK, so this super awesome and hip German couple spent their month vacation in Rochester because they used to live here. Kerstin & Philipp moved away about two years ago and now have a new baby boy! The whole time they were planning their trip, Kerstin kept making sure I’d be able to fit them into my schedule while they were here.

With the entire month to work with, it wasn’t hard to find some days that worked. We lucked out with the day we chose though. The morning was PERFECT for Lake Ontario beach photos, then we hit up the George Eastman House (and their old apartment on East Ave.) in the afternoon for some cloud cover…. Their little 9 month old baby did a great job with the family portraits and he gave me exactly the images I wanted!

Kerstin is hilarious. Her command of the English language is amazing. She is so funny. I can’t imagine even being able to fluently speak another language, much less understand the nuances well enough to be funny. Philipp is fun too. And interesting. He is Dr. Urban and works on improving printed images that even I don’t understand fully. We can geek out and Kerstin tolerates us, which is nice.

What an honor to photograph this German family! I only hope I can plan a trip to Germany next Spring and set up some portrait sessions over there. It turns out that they live about 40 minutes away from my friend, Tess, that was just here a few months ago. I’ll have to learn a few more German words though….

Tim and Tom have been together for 7 years, and the peace and love they quietly display is evident from the first few seconds of meeting them. As members of Artisan Works and avid amateur photographers, I was delighted to be the chosen Photographer for their event. It was fun capturing AW for a couple who is familiar with the art and big fans of the space. The gallery has changed a lot over the years and we explored the new additions together.

I forgot how nice smaller weddings are, both as a participant and as the Photographer. I really just focused on capturing the essence of the space and the essence of the event. Tim made me laugh so hard during the cake cutting that I thought I couldn’t contain myself. Seriously, the funniest comments about that tradition that I’ve ever heard. I have a feeling I’m the only one that heard them…. and after 9 years of photographing weddings, I’m surprised no one has made those jokes before.

Tom & Tim, thank you so much for having me document your wedding day. It was a lot of fun and also a pleasure. I appreciate you being my first official same-sex wedding couple too! Being fellow photographers, it was nice to see how comfortable you were in front of my lens! Congratulations again!