I just returned from vacation in the Finger Lakes , near Rochester where I grew up and since I am sweating like crazy today in this heat, I thought I would remind myself of how wonderful it was to be in Canandaigua Lake last week. I shot this image of my kids with their friends, using my favorite pinhole camera, which I made from a post card box a fellow photographer gave to me. The camera travels with me and has been to England, France, Canada and the west coast. This image hung in a gallery in Soho NYC and will be part of a multi media presentation this weekend. And yes, I have even shot a wedding in pinhole!
3 minutes is about the average time a photographer has to shoot the first dance, that very important event that brides, grooms and photographers want to capture. That really isn’t very long is it? And, if your venue has a wonderful balcony where I could position myself to get that beautiful wide shot showing the bride and groom dancing, the guests watching and the fabulous surroundings of the reception room, who is going to get the emotional close up moment of the new couple? Of course you want both shots!! This is why it is so important to me, to bring along a second photographer who knows what they are doing. I work with a small group of second shooters who could very well hold there own at a wedding and when the opportunity arises, I will ask another professional wedding photographer to work with me. Of course, I love it when I find I have a rare free weekend and can help second shoot for them as well. I had the wonderful opportunity to second shoot twice recently for my good friend and fellow photographer Rebecca Barger. Not only is it wonderful for me to work with another full time professional photographer, either on my wedding or theirs, but it is loads of fun and the clients love the fact that they have 2 seasoned wedding shooters covering their special day. You may just be lucky enough to book a wedding with me where Rebecca can come along!
I shot the image above from the floor at Cescaphe Ballroom while Rebecca was up in the balcony getting the wider shot of the couple dancing and the room. You can see Rebecca’s shot on her blog.
The Franklin Institute is classic Philadelphia and combining the architecture in wedding photographs is so natural. I was shooting with a fish eye to make sure that I got the shot showing the couple in the dramatic environment of the Rotunda because I knew Rebecca was coving the dance closer up. More from this wedding on another post on Rebecca’s blog.
Colleen and Patrick got married at The Old Mill at Rose Valley. They made the perfect choice for the venue because they hosted 240 guests and wanted them to really enjoy the free flowing party following the outdoor ceremony. There was no sit down dinner but Connor Catering did a wonderful job with the stream of guests coming in and out of the Old Mill to eat and dance when they wanted. By the end though, everyone was inside dancing and having a great time. While Colleen and Patrick let go of some of the formalities such as the organized cake cutting (they did an impromptu cutting of a fabulous cake by Doughmain Bakery) and sit down dinner, they incorporated many wonderful tributes during the celebration. I was touched when they had their entire families join them up front as they said their vows and when their nephews presented two certificates for donations they had made to organizations that have touched them, Susan G. Komen for The Cure, to honor Colleen’s mother and Patrick’s Pals, a foundation set up by Colleen’s brother and sister in law to raise funds for children with special needs, to honor their son Patrick, Colleen’s nephew.
Many thanks to Tania Lezak for second shooting with me. She did a wonderful job shooting the following two images of Colleen and Patrick near the bamboo using her Canon Tilt Shift lens, which gives you that dreamy effect. I’m all Nikon so I was happy to have her help round out the shoot.
The weather was glorious but Colleen still needed a break to refresh herself with a cold one!
A good friend of Colleen and Patrick performed during the cocktails. Raymond McGroary has everyone singing and even got Colleen and Patrick to sing to their guests.
Many couples tell me how important their guests are so I always make sure we get good coverage of people having fun. Almost all of my albums include a graphically designed spread of guests like this one.
Colleen and Patrick chose to dance to I Cross My Heart by George Strait.
The biggest surprise of the evening was the arrival of The Fralinger String Band. Colleen’s mom arranged to have them come and Patrick and Colleen, huge Mummer’s fans, were truly delighted.
Jennifer and Eric were married on May 15th at Appleford, one of my favorite places to shoot. Jennifer was such a pretty bride and very comfortable in front of the camera. Jennifer and Eric were one of the most easy going, happy couples I’ve worked with and Jennifer smiled or laughed the entire day. Their joy continued into the reception on the dance floor, where Jennifer spent most of the night. We are working together again next week on a trash the dress shoot in Center City and I am certain it will be just as much fun.
I thought I would focus on Jennifer and Eric at the beginning of this post, but make sure you look at the slide show at the end, to see everyone else who made the day so special.
