I did in fact manage to meet up with Rob Sanderson (Curve Photography - Liverpool, UK) today and we had a fantastic little adventure wandering around a village and taking photos together and talking about all sorts of things - from past clients who say mean things in public forums, to future goals and current life. I knew for sure that I liked him when he suggested a shoot using our umbrellas and a bench for props. In the photo below he didn’t have his sunglasses, so he used his circular polarizer as a monacle. It may be noted that we spent… oh, an hour? with our cameras propped up on our camera bags running to set the 10 second delay on our cameras and then running back to pose. And yes, those are my heart sunglasses from TopShop.

You have to know something about photographers, and that is that when we get together, we take photos of each other. All the time. We spent an additional 30 minutes at the end of our meeting with the 10 second delay running to jump up into a stone arch and then strike ninja poses. Anyway, here’s a good one of Rob.

Thanks for the great conversation, Rob. I’m still thinking about that idea that we have lost the craft aspect of photography. And next time, seriously… I need to meet Lou!

Posted in destination, inspiration, personal, photos, travel schedule 2 Comments »

I thought I’d say a few words about England since I’ve been here for awhile now. First of all, I consider this my first real visit. I went to London briefly as a tourist when I was in university, and got scolded by some Brits for standing somewhere I wasn’t supposed to near Buckingham Palace. Also my traveling buddy was badly harassed by the passport people at the airport for no real reason, so I wasn’t too fond of that visit to begin with.

The major thing I have noticed on this trip is that I prefer to visit with locals rather than see the sights. Some version of a combination of these things - being taken to local sights by local friends - is ideal. I’ve been hosted by a fantastic family and feel right at home eating meals around the dinner table and learning about why the English so love their gardens. Holmfirth where I am staying is a totally beautiful small town with quirky local highlights like a daytime soap opera about eccentric old people being filmed in town. The hills are gorgeous and make a wonderful little walk just at dusk when you can see the cows, residents, and patches of heather starting to peek through. Cheryl, my host ‘mom’ cooks great food and I had the best meal I’ve ever experienced in the British Isles the other day when she served Yorkshire Pudding and potatoes, followed by a good pudding (dessert cake of sorts).

I’m told my fake British accent is horrible and I should just say things the way I would say them… but it’s inevitable to find myself repeating words and phrases as people say them in a way that seems peculiar or charming to me — like the way they emphasize the syllables in the word ‘garage’ or ’schedule.’ People here actually say fortnight in daily conversation (it means 2 weeks) and measure their weight by stones (14 lbs).

Today I took the train into Manchester to meet up with beautiful Zoe. She’s one of those people you know you love the second you see them for the first time. Full of life and passion and heartfelt enthusiasm, I would look forward to one day hopefully shooting a wedding with Zoe! She took me on a tour of some posh stores, and we went up in this giant wheel to see the city from a great vantage point. Tomorrow, I am hoping to meet up with another wedding photographer friend called Rob.

Now that the wedding is over, I have been able to relax a bit. I had hoped to be more productive in the evenings with processing sessions and keeping up with my email, but I have to admit I am so tired and out of ‘business’ mode that I am finding it difficult. Once I am back in Boston it will be nonstop sessions and processing for the next two months. Can’t I just stay here and photograph the cows for a bit?

Posted in destination, personal, travel schedule 4 Comments »

this has nothing to do with wedding photography. and everything to do with wedding photography.

I miss you, sir. I wish you were here faking a british accent with me.

Posted in destination, personal 4 Comments »

What an honor to be here with Beth and Dave as they prepare for their married life. Everyone is stressed out and excited and yesterday about 25 people spent 5 hours decorating the art gallery where the reception is to be held. I don’t usually see the back end of weddings, so the amount of detail work and small tasks actually astounded me. Luckily these English folk stop for a tea and cookie break… or else I might have fainted!

Anyway, I got a chance to spend awhile with Beth and Dave in the park the other day. We took some fun photos together. Here are some of Dave’s favorites.

[ my favorite 20 photos here ]

[ many more photos here ]

Posted in destination, engagements, photos, portraits, travel schedule, wedding 2 Comments »

“If you fly in only one vendor, make it the photographer. Since so many of the dealings with your shutterbug will take place after the wedding (…ordering prints, assembling albums, etc.), it’s actually more convenient to have that professional based near you. And if you use a local photographer in another country and something goes wrong (worst-case scenario: He or she loses the film [sic]), you’ll have little or no legal recourse. Also, as a stylistic consideration, American wedding photographers tend to have a much more journalistic style than many of their foreign counterparts (who often take more traditional, posed photos), so if you’re marrying abroad and would like your photos to have a natural, candid look, you may want to fly in a photographer.”

-the Knot Guide to Destination Weddings (p. 70)

While I absolutely do not want to be referred to as ‘your shutterbug’ I will travel joyfully to your location of choice and create extraordinary photographic art with and for you. This wedding that you’re investing a bazillion dollars into? I’m pretty sure that resort package photographer who gives you an hour of time isn’t necessarily going to capture all the moments. (And for the record, it’s not all fancy umbrella drinks on the beach for your import photographers… see Nick Haskin’s entry about why destination photography is actually not a vacation for the photographer.)

What excites me about traveling and learning about different cultural traditions is that I come at each experience with wide open eyes. I am delighted by the colors and smells and deep symbolic imagery from a South Asian or Pakistani wedding celebration. I am enamored by the drinking songs the old Irish grandfather will bust out. I am totally incredulous at how many times a couple will prostrate themselves in a traditional Korean bowing ceremony. Checking out the special details a couple places around the ceremony and reception, traveling to a new place and scouting unfamiliar streets for artistic and funky bridal portraits… I discovered in previous years that when I happened to come across these situations at my wedding commissions, I completely came alive.

And when you completely come alive, you know you are connecting with a deep calling written into your soul. I cling to this delight, wonder, and electricity I experienced in the first few years of my business. Reflection upon those windows of joy prompted this year’s change in emphasis to encourage ethnic and destination wedding commissions.

So who is ‘ethnic’ enough? What is a ‘destination’ wedding?

Good questions! I like to say that I specialize in documenting the joyful collision of cultures. There’s no straightforward definition of destination, nor of what constitutes an ethnic wedding. Your wedding might happen two blocks from my own flat in Boston or three thousand miles away in a place I need to purchase special adapters just to charge up the necessary accoutrements. The collision might be a bunch of Texans celebrating a wedding in the Caribbean, or a Japanese doctor marrying a Croatian scientist (true story!).

I want to live at the intersection where two people join their families and lives - that point of merge. I love to experience this cultural collision of lives and traditions and food preferences… I love to laugh with your British granny who is smoking her marlboros in her big elegant British lady hat. I love to be on the dance floor when the Irish groom is showing off his Bollywood-inspired dance moves to his new bride’s cousins.

You know who you are, my dear target client base.

Posted in destination, wisdom No Comments »

I am in the midst of getting the photos from Leanna and Willie’s NYC wedding finalized, and I have to stop and appreciate how wonderful they really are. Leanna and Willie exuded such joy on their wedding day — despite super hot temperatures and a threat of rain — and when I look at their best friends I start to understand why. Many of the people in these photos have dedicated their lives to the service of others. They spend their weeks ministering to the children of Brooklyn. And their passion for people wells out from a fierce love in their hearts.

[ more here ]

Posted in clients, destination, inspiration, wedding 1 Comment »

Here’s a tease for Leanna and Willie.

Posted in destination, wedding No Comments »

Yesterday I shot a wedding in Springfield MA with Marie Cox of Phreckles Photography. I got to hang out in Northampton MA last night with some of my favorite people, and it just so happens I found a cat in the bathtub this morning. I have recently realized that a disturbingly large percentage of my favorite people come with cats.

Posted in destination, personal, travel schedule No Comments »