Remember when there were still leaves on the trees? It was beautiful, and not that long ago. I met up with Bridget and Anthony on a late fall day when the leaves were crisp and bright for an anniversary session. I call it an anniversary session because they generally take place any time after the wedding, but for these two it was planned to commemorate their first anniversary. One whole year together, jam packed with moving, buying a house, getting a dog and all kinds of other adventures. Not only was it a year from their wedding day, we shot these on Bridget’s birthday so I felt a little bit honored to add to the birthday fun by taking pictures. In fact, I think having photos shot for your birthday is such a great idea I might have to ask Matt to give me some for mine!

You can’t leave your dog at home when you’re getting family pictures! She was adorable and well behaved even though they warned me that she has lots of energy.

To end the session, we headed back to their house for a little outdoor movie screening in the backyard. By the time it was set up it was a little too cold to stay out and enjoy, but I think it’s something they’ll try again in the summer. A fun romantic way to end the night!

I have been saving these photos up. When I photographed Peter + Sophie’s engagement session we had an adventure. I was in DC for another engagement session, was able to also meet up with them to photograph the one that they won from the free session I gave away last spring. Long story short, one broken car and a rental mustang later we were back in business and ready to treat ourselves to a delicious lunch. Peter had first suggested Ted’s Bulletin because of their homemade poptarts, and it was enough to lure us in. When we walked through the door I was immediately impressed by the overall feel of the restaurant. I had a clear voice, one that I couldn’t stop listening to. The cozy booths and old-fashioned counter harkened back a few decades but a clean and modern feel kept things from becoming overly nostalgic. Classic black and white films played on a big screen in the main dining room and the familiar lines of Casablanca made it feel like home. It reminded me vaguely of Sanders (which you Michiganders may know) and I couldn’t help but order one, maybe two – okay three poptarts. for the road. I immediately thought of the potential to take pictures there and after the last of the busy lunch crowd departed we went for it – after asking the manager’s permission of course. It was too good of a location to pass up. I photographed Peter and Sophie’s date at Ted’s Bulletin and ended my adventure with them in DC there. Since they are getting married on Saturday it’s the perfect time to share these and I hope you enjoy. I think I need to do more of these kinds of shoots, especially when it means good food is involved!

It’s Friday, the sun is shining and I have some fabulous photos to share with you guys. Jordan and Jess contacted me to see if we could plan a shoot and when I got their email I jumped for joy. I love to do what I have referred to before as “anniversary sessions” or engagement style shoots for people that are married. It’s amazing what a few years of marriage will do for a couple – they know each other so well, have no pressure of wedding planning and the stress that can go along with that, and aren’t afraid to have fun in front of the camera.

Now I love sessions with a great theme, prop or story but there are times when keeping it simple works best. Good light, location and a couple in love are all you really need to make it work and with this session we had all of that and more. Jordan and Jess were traveling from California to New York just so they could have photos taken with me – ok, that’s not true they were visiting Jordan’s family in Rochester – so we decided to focus on location over theme and story to make things work.

With thunderstorm warnings and impending rain it looked like weather would get in our way but the evening we ended up with was perfect. The stars aligned and everything came together as Rochester looked it’s best with lilacs in full bloom. I had such a great time photographing Jordan and Jess who were naturals in front of the camera and am so glad they came out to Rochester… but I’m okay if next time you want to do the shoot in California!

For part two of the shoot we went even further downtown for an urban setting and changed up outfits into something a bit dressier. Jess, you are simply gorgeous!

Look at those Louboutin’s. The sun set although the night was young and we wrapped things up right there on the water’s edge. Mark this one down as a success.

To tell you that Liz and Matt met over donuts at work simplifies the story of two interesting and complex people to a casual everyday encounter. It leads you to believe that their relationship is ordinary when it is so much more than that. For these engineers, meeting over donuts was just the beginning. They soon hit it off and began their adventure together sharing their love for food, fun, and dressing up in the most creative Halloween costume.

I know Liz from way back; we went to high school together back in Michigan. Matt on the other hand is from the Syracuse area, which is not that far from where I currently live in western New York. Rather than try and meet up in either of those two places, Liz and Matt decided to have their engagement session out in D.C. where it all began. They wanted to capture their time living in the city so incorporating landmarks was a priority. I came out there last week just in time for the cherry blossoms and had a great time photographing them around the city and getting to know them as a couple. They shared their love for food with me and took me to some fabulous spots – including a trip to Georgetown Cupcake for a post birthday treat. Honestly they couldn’t have been more welcoming and I can’t wait for their wedding this summer at the Grosse Pointe Academy. I hope you enjoy all of the variety and Liz + Matt I can’t wait to hear what you think!

Can you believe we got a picture here without any other people? Right after a big bus group walked up the stairs, so it was perfect timing.

Gorgeous day and of course gorgeous couple. Liz and Matt decided to go with a color palette of navy and pink, which will also be present at their wedding. The blossoms were a perfect fit and added a delicate touch to the scene.

Love this view of the city from the bridge. I was actually here just over a year ago, you might remember this photo I shot here from Dawn + David’s wedding. The second part of the session took place on the roof and clubhouse of the building Liz and Matt live in. The views were amazing and we thankfully avoided the rain we were dodging to shoot at both of these locations.

I’ll end it with this photo to leave these two alone. Looking forward to August!

It’s not every day that you fall in love, but when you find someone you love keep falling for them each day. That’s what makes love grow and change and get stronger, something that certainly couldn’t happen without time. Jon and Julie have been married for several years and I photographed them to document the point in their relationship they are at now, and have some fun shooting an “anniversary session” where they dusted off their wedding clothes and put a new twist on them. So, there’s two parts to this session and I’m starting with the casual country shots complete with haybales, quilts, and of course the open fields that surround where I live.

I love them! the pictures and the people. stay tuned for part two debuting tomorrow!

Enough about running (for now) and back to a week ago. An overcast morning, and charming small town, and a couple in love… with their two dogs. When I heard that Tom and Madeline had two mini dachshunds I knew they should bring along to their esession and here’s a preview of what I captured:

Of course, while I’m waiting, they are working. I checked in with Mike and Nikki and asked them to share their progress and experience as they prepare for the wedding. I know how much work they are putting in and I thought you would all enjoy seeing how they pull everything together. They left their Manhattan home to visit over the 4th of July and Mike wrote about their trip and plans for the wedding:

July 3, 2010 – 113 days and counting.

It’s 10am on Saturday morning and I can already feel the beads of sweat forming on my back. Looking out on the rolling Virginia hills in front of me I can see the heat coming off the corn fields. It’s hot now, and it’s only going to get worse. Eighteen hours and one short plane ride ago we were on an air conditioned trading floor in Manhattan, and I was part of a group frantically trying to wrap up the mid year performance estimate to send to our anxious investors. But that was our real lives back at the hedge fund in New York. For this long Fourth of July weekend, and many more to come for the next several months, we’ll be down here on the Jebson’s farm sweating it out and putting in a lot of elbow grease to make their cute farm into our ideal wedding location.

This is the farm Nikki grew up in; it’s a beef farm with nearly 100 head of cattle and sits on about 150+ acres of land in Culpeper, VA, which is about 1.5 hours southwest of Washington DC. For her, this is home. For me, it’s a world away from my suburban New Jersey upbringing, and even further from my stuffy New York City studio. The Jebsons’ seem to think of this as work, for me it’s like I’m in a giant sandbox, with all my trucks, only the box is much bigger and the trucks are real. If they think that I think digging things up with backhoes is work they’re sorely mistaken.

It’s not the first time we’ve been here to work; back in June we came down for a weekend to start knocking out fences and plant a garden. This weekend we will finish the demolition, start some cleaning, and focus on painting. Every wedding guest is going to receive a homemade jar of pickled green beans and cucumbers, Mrs. Jebson’s specialty. We wanted to incorporate as many aspects of the farm as possible and this being a beef farm, the reception’s main course was an easy call.

For the ceremony we’ll be getting married on top of a hill just behind the house. It’s the highest point on the farm and in October the sun will be setting just off our shoulders but far enough to the left not to make our guests squint. We’ll face the mountains to the west, with vast cornfields down the hill to our right and cow pastures down the other side of the hill to the left. Mr. Jebson will use the tractor and planting equipment to smooth out the hill, so the land will be flattened and our guests will sit comfortably on rows of square hay bales.

Behind the ceremony, closer to the house, there is a cluster of four barns, three of them are rectangular and line up parallel to each other. One barn closer to the house is the cattle barn, where one or a few cows are kept when they’re not in the fields. It’s the biggest and most suitable for the reception with big sliding doors, a couple open sides, and it’s made of really old oak. Unfortunately it’s also full of 100 year old hay, old doors, broken tools, and just about anything else you can imagine saying “eh, just throw it in the barn” to. My main job this weekend was to continue ripping down one of the older and more beat up sides. Additionally we started cleaning it out, which means getting all the hay out and identifying what can be thrown out and what can be salvaged elsewhere. After we finish cleaning it out Mr. Jebson is going to lay a new floor of concrete.

The forth barn near the house, and closest to the ceremony is named the calf barn because that’s where they often put the babies to nurse them after birth. Nikki, armed with an electrical paint gun contraption made this white cinderblock structure a classic barn red. We also painted the windowsills white for good measure. This is the most completed thing we’ve done so far and it looks great.

There is a square fenced in area between the calf barn and the reception barn and this is where we’ll have outdoor seating around a bon fire complete with whiskey and cigars. The fence, which has been ripped down, was old and not in very good shape. Later this summer we will be building a new one and painting it white. Right now it’s hard to imagine but in three months these buildings which are more suited for barn cats and tractors are going to host an elegant dinner for nearly 200 people!

Thanks for sharing your progress and I can’t wait to document the wedding and see the hard work you’ve put in!

While this was classified as a maternity session, I think it is more aptly named a “before the baby” session. I think I like the sound of that better, and it opens up the doors for the creative freedom that took place. Taking these photos was a great way to document the unique time in Ryan and Christie’s lives as they prepare for their son to join them. Some call it the calm before the storm.

Having photographed Ryan and Christie before(and been friends with them for a while) they trusted me to do something new and different especially for a before the baby session. We set out to capture bright summer images early one morning and end the session in the nearby creek. 

They are going to be great parents… but I can’t help but love the surprise face on Ryan below

Did I mention that the session took place on Ryan and Christie’s 3 year anniversary? It’s hard to believe three years has gone by already but it’s awesome to see what time brings. Oh yeah and the lensbaby shots I talked about yesterday – here’s more of them. I love the bokeh + blurred background!

Part II of the session was planned around a refreshing walk through the creek, which gave Christie the opportunity to show off her belly! Now I know pregnancy and bathing suits aren’t for everyone, but they are for me – and Christie who looks amazing with only a month to go! In fact, the water wasn’t at all deep enough for swimming, but I think it would be awesome to do something even more in the water – any takers? It was refreshing to be at the creek as the sun came out and the day started to heat up.

Christie posed for a few while Ryan caught some crayfish… and makes pregnancy look easy. Didn’t I say the session was the start of her modeling career? I love the drama and range of tones in the black and white images.

to end the day, a kiss. It was a successful before the baby session if you ask me, and a great way to add to the celebration of their anniversary. Now it’s just time to wait for Griffin to arrive!

Before I do a full post on Ryan + Christie’s session I wanted to share this image in particular, taken with my lensbaby. If you’re not familiar with cameras you are probably wondering what in the world a lensbaby is… and to find out more you should follow the link. The basics are that the lens moves and allows you to have one point in focus with everything else being dramatically out of focus (I guess you could say it’s like a trick lens…  like when you listen to the song and start to hear robotic voices… that’s what I’ll compare a lensbaby to). Anyways, when I bought my lensbaby I was excited but it took me a while to use it. Since it can create such dramatic images at first I think I didn’t use it because I wasn’t sure it would meld with my style and the other images I captured. I didn’t want robotic voices in the song for the heck of it (and we’ve all heard those songs + seen those images), but after seeing what I captured (from the ones that are in focus – it’s super tricky manual focus) I love how it looks. Now you can expect a few robotic voices, just enough to keep things interesting.

Three years ago on this day Ryan and Christie were married. I was lucky enough to be at the wedding, as a guest and photographer, on a hot New York day much like today. Now three years later, they are weeks away from welcoming a baby boy into their family… and doesn’t Christie look amazing? I heard her secret was swimming throughout the pregnancy, which is why it was appropriate for us to head down to the creek for part of the maternity session. Congratulations you two on three years, and look out for the rest of these soon!