Max's Bar Mitzvah

Interesting Article

Here is a great article posted by a colleague of mine. When I say great, I don't necessarily mean happy and fun, but it does get the gears turning. I am a firm believer that adversity is the mother of invention. When times are tough, you can have a pity party or really get creative and get out of the hole you're in.

The Photography Business and the American Dream

Huh, Go Figure. It Rained.

Back in April, I did an e-session for Amanda and Jason, and as has been the case almost every day for the last two months, it was raining. I keep trying to remind myself of the days not too long ago when my backyard was dry and crunchy. I would watch the radar every day, praying for a mere sprinkle.

Now those days are an ancient memory, with my backyard under water and my usual fly fishing haunts raging torrents of chocolate milk. Even my boat, which is supposed to be right at home in a million gallons of water, can't be used because there is so much debris floating in the lake from the run off that I'm scared to use it. As my mom always says, "...and this too shall pass."

In the spirit of the never ending rain, here are some photos from their session in the rain.

Eat 'Em Up Tigers!

Rich and I drove to Detroit this past weekend for the wedding of Drago and Sarah. Poor Rich drove from Marlborough, Massachusetts to Canandaigua and then hoped in my car for another five hour drive to Michigan. We went through Canada which is an adventure itself. I don't know why, but I always get fidgety going through customs. One year, Sue and I went over to Fort Erie, across the border from Buffalo, to go to a hockey store specifically for goalies. I bought a goalie glove and had them ship it back to me to save on taxes. Approaching the border, Sue kept coaching me, "You live in the United States and you didn't buy anything." When I approached the agent, I obediently answered United States when he asked my citizenship. Then came that all important question. My heart pounded and my fingers trembled. "Did you buy anything?", he asked. I quickly replied, "No, it's being shipped." The look on Sue's face said it all. Oh great, we're going to jail!

We arrived in Michigan to a great light show from approaching thunderstorms. For the second week in a row, rain would be the theme, but once again several timely lulls in the action allowed us to get our planned photos in on Saturday.

Drago is Serbian, so there were a lot of traditions that were very similar to the Macedonian Orthodox wedding I photographed a few years ago. They were married in an ornate Serbian Orthodox church in Detroit. The ceremony was fascinating with crowns, incense, even the bride holding up a baby as she left the church. The reception featured a Serbian band and traditional Serbian dances.

After the ceremony, we traveled throughout metro Detroit to photograph Sarah and Drago with some of areas landmarks. Our first stop was to the Fox Theater and then across the street to Comerica Park as people were filing in for a Tigers game against the Royals. We borrowed some tickets from a scalper for a few photos and even took a photo with Detroit icon James Van Horne, the "Eat 'Em Up Tigers" guy.

Detroit has seen some rough times in recent years which is painfully evident in the amount of vacant and damaged houses and buildings. One of those places is the abandoned Detroit Train Station which was shut down in 1986. It is in rough shape but makes an awesome backdrop for some cool urban photos.

The weekend ended with breakfast in the hotel with Sarah and Drago and a few members of the wedding party. One was even still wearing his tux pants, but they were inside out with the pockets hanging down like a lop eared bunny. Some times it's best not to ask.

New Family Member

When we went down to the Jersey shore over Spring Break, we ended up bringing home a new friend from Point Pleasant Beach. He may not be the cutest thing around, but with his Sponge Bob shell, he stole my son's heart.

After doing some further reading on hermit crabs, we discovered that they are social creatures and like to live in small groups. So the next day, off we went to Petco to buy a more suitable home than the wire cage we got on the boardwalk, as well as a few more friends for "Gary".

Now that it's three weeks later, it turns out that I have a new pet from the Jersey shore. The novelty has worn off. The little creatures are nocturnal, spending most of the day buried in the peat moss bed. It's not all bad, if we get hungry we can have crab legs for dinner. What, it's better than hamster fillets.

And They're Off...

Last weekend, the Kentucky Derby was held, kicking off the first race of the Triple Crown. We also kicked off our summer wedding season last weekend, only our first steps out of the starting gate were right in to a puddle.

Ellen, Missy and I photographed the wedding of Kevin and Jennifer at Bristol Harbour last Saturday. I started the day on a beautiful sunlit morning photographing the groomsmen as they played a round of golf at Bristol Harbour. By the time we headed back there to meet the bride at 1:00, the sky turned black and began pelting us with a monsoon.

The day wasn't a wash out though. We were able to get all of our photos in between rain showers, even if we did get stuck in the elevator shaft waiting one of the showers out at Bristol Harbour condos. Kevin and Jennifer also got their ceremony in after the sun came back out. No one let the rain dampen their spirits. It was a great way to come out of the starting block for a great wedding season.

First Steps

To walk to China, you first have to step out your front door. Sometimes, while taking that first step, you may not even know you're own your way to China. However one thing is for sure, with out that first step, you're not going anywhere.

Earlier today, I picked up the mail at the studio and looked at the cover of the new Professional Photographer magazine from PPA. The issue is devoted to the art of the family portrait and on the cover is an image of a family on a couch in a field of wild flowers. Every Spring, our little corner of the world is either blessed or cursed with an amazing amount of dandelions. In an open field, one million dandelions looks like a golden fairy tale landscape, however, in my back yard just 100 of them ruins my weekend and causes back spasms.

I posted on Facebook "Wanted: Cool couch, field of dandelions, and a family to photograph on the cool couch in the field of dandelions." Who knew I would get such a response? I had offers for families, couches, suggestions on cool fields to use and even suggestions on cool fields at other times of year with different flowers. It was then that the thought occurred to me to do a series of photos of different couches, different fields and different families. What started out as a small trip down to the mailbox, turned in to an explosion of inspiration and the start of a long term project.

That first step of posting a single idea on Facebook may have started me on a journey way bigger than I could have imagined.

Next stop, Beijing.

Car Show and Art Gallery

This summer we will be having an art gallery of automotive art printed on metal on display at the AutoWash on 332 in Canandaigua. This is a unique, water proof gallery will be on display in the bays of the car wash. We will be kicking off the gallery on June 5th with a Car Show including the cars that will be in the gallery. There will be food, vendors, car wash discounts and more, so mark your calendars and help us kick off this one-of-a-kind gallery exhibit.

Mother's Day Sale

Buy any style SnapTote custom photo handbag and receive a free session with Mom. Call the studio at 

585-393-9242. 

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