Tuesday, May 8, 2012

An engagement party at Nuovo

Posted in Engagement

I know, I KNOW…where the HECK have I been?!  Well, in addition to SMD Photography, my alter-ego’s life was getting in the way.  On the plus side, though, I have some amazing photographs from the trip to the UK I took for April vacation with my students.  I promise to post some of those soon.

Now on to business…

Ariana and JB had an 11th hour request: would you mind coming out to photograph our engagement party?

OF COURSE!

In addition to spending some time with their very fun families and friends, I was introduced to a great new place to try dinner at…all in all a really great evening, no?  I have to say I am now really looking forward to their engagement session in a few weeks, as well as their wedding this October.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Posted in Engagement

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Saturday, February 25, 2012

February…

Posted in Personal Work

The winter brings a different rhythm to SMD Photography.  This time of year is when that a lot of things happen behind the scenes; there are meetings with new couples, albums designs, print orders…oh yes, and photo fun!

I was whisked away last weekend by my sweetie for a romantic weekend in Montreal, in celebration of my (GULP) 40th birthday.  I had asked if we could go there because I had always wanted to and neither of us had been before; it would be a first time experience that we could share.  Being the foodies that we are, we immediately started mapping out places to eat; of course we wanted to get into Chuck Hughes place, but alas…no go.  We were able to feast upon Poutine at La Banquise – there’s like 30 different kinds – and we stumbled on Verses, this amazing restaurant in Old Montreal.  The bison tartar and squash stuffed ravioli were to DIE for.  If you can get David for a waiter, you should; he’s so attentive and such a good sport.

Of course we also did the “grown up” things, like visiting the art museum and Notre Dame Cathedral…but the walking around we did, where we just experienced the city and talked was really the best part.  Of course, my camera was there, snapping away the whole weekend.  Take a look at some of the time…

 

 

And then there are the silly pictures…we love to travel with Cedric.  Yup, we have a traveling gnome that makes an appearance whenever we’re somewhere new.  Of course he too enjoyed the sights, that is when I wasn’t making someone into my somewhat willing Supermodel!  You can also see I wasn’t kidding about all the different types of Poutine!

 

One of the highlights of the trip, besides it being a romantic getaway and all, was the Fluevog store on Rue St. Denis…you see, I’ve always wanted a pair of Fluevogs since I was a poor painting undergrad at BU.  I thought I had found the pair for me, only to be thwarted with them being sold out world wide…

Or so I was told…

These are the size 39 Danielsons that were waiting for me, special in Montreal.  You bet I did my happy dance when they were brought out from the back storeroom.  I can’t wait to sport these around NYC and London in the next several weeks!

 

 

Well, as they say in Quebec:  c’est bon!  Time to get back to work…

Posted in Personal Work

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Sunday, January 29, 2012

Caitlin and Nick: A mini-session in Post Office Square

Posted in Engagement

Caitlin and Nick are a 2012 couple of mine who emailed me a couple of weeks ago asking about their engagement session.  They were having a party to celebrate their engagement and wanted a few prints to display.  I said “OF COURSE”…but we were concerned about the weather and the short notice.  Aha!  The perfect solution?  A mini-session!!  I often suggest one to couples that may have done their engagement sessions a while before their wedding and want a “refresher” closer to their day, or in a circumstance like this, where they need a few images for a save the date card or special event.  You see, this is a great reason why I limit my commissions each year; if I was photographing 40 or 50 events, how would I be able to be so accommodating and doting on my couples?  I love being able to say “yes, of course” to them all…it’s one of the really great parts of doing this, the whole making people happy!

So, even with the cold, even with the waning light, even with the short time, we still rocked this sucker and got some amazing shots!!  If we can do this well with a mini-session, I can’t wait to see how fantastic a full blow one is going to look…

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Saturday, January 14, 2012

Julie and Rob: A New Year’s Eve Event…

Posted in Wedding

Hello all and welcome to 2012!  I’m so excited with how it’s been going so far: a lot of inquiries, some great meetings and I’m almost finished filling my 2012 schedule.  I’ve even gotten some 2013 inquiries as well…HOLY COW!  Wow, are some of you brides and grooms uber-organized!!!

This post, however, is about Julie and Rob.  I had a few moments, throughout this New Year’s Eve event, where I felt OLD.  See, I remember Julie just starting out in high school while incognito with my alter ego of art teacher.  She always was chipper and upbeat and had a smile with tons of wattage.  Rob brings out that smile so well…I am so happy to have had the honor of seeing Julie transform from a young girl into a beautiful and accomplished woman.  As you can see from their engagement session (back in August 2011) and from below, Julie is a stylist.  Heck, even on her wedding day she was styling hair; she said it kept her “calm.”  I say “honey, have another mimosa”…but honestly, I get where she’s coming from.  I know they’ll have to pry a camera from my hands on my wedding day to my handsome man.

 

Take a look below at how amazing the two of them looked and some of the details they picked out for the day…

 

And then we were off to the church in East Boston.  The ceremony went wonderfully and we then decided to do some formals on the altar.  I have to say, THAT’s where the entertainment kicked in!  See, Julie and Rob find family extremely important and made sure to include as many of them in their day as possible.  Two such participants were Julie’s nephews Connor and Derek, who were in the 2 year old range.  Now, I welcome people that enjoy including children in their day, as long as they’re ready for the unpredictable.   And let me tell you, in the 13 years I have done this, kids are DEFINITELY unpredictable!  Julie and Rob were so nonplussed by it all and just took in the kids’ everchanging moods.  It made for a wonderful time for all ages!

 

 

After some more photo goodness at the hotel (who knew a mirrored elevator would provided such great images!), the party began.  A highlight was a friendly “competition” between the Gibbons and the Schells while singing “Sweet Caroline”…while it pretty much was a foregone conclusion that the Gibbons clan would win – I mean, hey, I’ve seen them in action before at sister Christy’s wedding and they’re FORMIDABLE – all was well and the bride and groom kicked off the New Year’s with a bang!

Thank you so much, Rob and Julie, for allowing me to be a part of your day…

 

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Sunday, January 1, 2012

Jenna and Tom

Posted in Wedding

I had the privilege of photographing Jenna and Tom’s wedding on Veteran’s Day, 2011, working with the always fabulous BlueLine Entertainment.  I was also lucky enough to have as my second shooter Samantha Melanson, who did an outstanding job catching the guys and candids throughout the day.

Tom is a 1st Lieutenant in the US Army and just recently completed a tour of Afghanistan.  As many of my readers know, military causes are near and dear to my heart, so it seemed only natural that I would photograph a veteran’s special day ON Veteran’s Day.  Harrington Farm in Princeton, MA provided a gorgeous backdrop…

 

 

Honest to goodness, Jenna has the most gorgeous eyes; I think they complement her wickedly funny sense of humor quite well!  After some formals of Jenna and Tom’s prep, we did a “first look” for the two of them, although the outside pictures didn’t last long.  November in Central Massachusetts proved quite windy and chilly!

 

 

After a few family formals in front of Harrington Farm’s stone fireplace, I whisked Tom upstairs for some formals while Jenna and the girls put on some last minute touch-ups.  Although as you all know I’m a Navy girl, he sure did look so handsome in his dress blues.  While we were photographing these portraits, I noticed Jenna’s present to Tom, a Boston Red Sox watch, and asked about the story behind it.  It turns out that this was their second wedding: their first was done at Fenway Park while Tom was on leave from the Army this past January 2011.  In fact, I began to notice a LOT of Red Sox accents throughout the wedding site (pssst…check out the jerseys from their first ceremony hanging on the back of the chairs)…

 

 

After a teary but spirited ceremony, Jenna and Tom were serenaded not once, but THREE times by her brother’s a cappella group, Pitch Please.  It was kind of like being in an episode of Glee…sans Mr. Shue.  The rest of the reception didn’t disappoint; a full moon, beautiful and thoughtful touches with the decor, many inside jokes among Jenna’s sorority sisters and a cake cutting done with an Army saber.  All and all it was a fantastic evening spent with a great group of people.

 

 

 

 

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