Susan and Tom

This weekend I had two weddings, both at Ventosa Vineyards on Seneca Lake. My brother Rich came out to shoot both weddings with me, which will lead to a big announcement that we'll get to a little later. Yesterday's wedding was with Susan and Tom. They got married on the balcony overlooking the vineyard at Ventosa. It was a beautiful, sun soaked day. Susan's son Jake was just bursting with excitement. He even had his own limo ride from the hotel to Belhurst Castle where the bride was getting ready. RJ and the staff at Ventosa put on a great party, as did the staff from Out of the Ordinary Special Events.

Going Over to the Dark Side

I took my first leap yesterday toward switching to the Dark Side. I bought a Mac. I have been a frustrated PC user for 15 years now and I've had enough. I want to be a photographer, not a computer trouble shooter which seems to take up half of my day at the studio. It started out innocently with a trip to the Apple Store in Eastview Mall to look at the iPhone. I have a Verizon PDA phone, which also happens to run Windows and it's the worst piece of junk I have ever owned. It was a great Christmas gift from Sue, how was she to know it would not function properly? So we walk in to the Apple Store and it was like the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. The staff was courteous and knowledgeable, and the products are extremely innovative. It is a combination that a lot of other businesses should take notice of. I ended up buying the iPod Touch since it is basically an iPhone with out the phone part, since I am locked in to a Verizon plan for a PDA I can't use. The iPod touch has a great calendar feature that wirelessly syncs to the hand unit where ever there is a wireless hot spot. When the Verizon contract expires, I will get an iPhone and give the iPod to Sue. I was so impressed with the store when we bought the iPod that I went back two days later and bought an iMac after one of the computers at the studio developed a permanent brain cramp. I can't afford to make the leap all at once to Mac, but every time a new computer is necessary we will be one step closer. Don't get your hopes up Canon shooters, I'm sticking with Nikon.

25,000 Hits

The blog officially hit 25,000 hits last night. I don't know the real number since it didn't have a hit counter for the first 6 months, but it should be kind of close to accurate since it takes a while to get the word out. It amazes me how something that didn't exist a short time ago has become such an important part of my business and my life. I want to create a book of my blog. Over the past two years I have poured 100s of hours and my soul into it and the fear of a server crash at Blogspot is very real. I found a company that can do this at Blurb.com, but it will have to wait until the busy season calms down a bit. I also have the Twins book to complete which has priority. I want to thank all 25,068 readers for coming to the blog and sharing my journey with me, even if 21,348 hits were from my mom. :)

More New Stuff

I wanted to share with you a few more of the cool products we have been getting in. Here is a example of one of the coffee table album options we can do, and one of the two sided custom purses. The album is an 11x14 two tone leather album.

Ben and Belinda

Amanda and I did the third wedding of the weekend at Belhurst Castle with Ben and Belinda. We worked with the guys from R-Salon in Webster. They do an amazing job with the hair and make up. The color theme of the wedding was a deep royal blue, or should I say Mazda3 blue in honor of my car. We even snuck my car in a photo as a background color swatch.
I couldn't believe it was mid-September with the heat. Even though it was hotter than the toasted Pop-Tart, it was a great wedding to end the weekend. Congrats Ben and Belinda!

Tabitha and Dan

MK and I just finished the second of three weddings this weekend. This was also in the Meritage room at Belhurst Castle and we worked with Joe from Q-Music again. It was like Deja Vu. Tomorrow I will be in the same room for the hat trick. Today's wedding was with Tabitha and Dan. You could tell how much in love they were by the way they looked at each other, like nothing else in the world existed.

Kate Lee on You Tube

My friend Kate Lee has a new short documentary on You Tube. She is so talented, I never get tired of listening to her.

Kristin and Paul

MK and I just returned from the first of three weddings this weekend at Belhurst Castle. I should have just gotten a room there since I have to be back in less than 12 hours. Today's wedding was with Kristin and Paul. They were really cute together and super nice. We weren't able to do many photos outside because of the rain, but we got some great, soft window light shots.

9-11 Reflection

Seven years ago today began as a special day. It was Sarah's first day of preschool. We got up in the morning and focused our attention on her excitement, oblivious to the atrocities raining down on our country. It wasn't until an hour or so after we dropped her off that we began to piece together what was going on. I remember standing in the post office and over hearing conversations of a plane hitting one of the towers, but I was only picking up parts of it so it was unclear. When I returned to my car I turned on the radio to the horror that we were being attacked. I had an appointment at the studio so I was again out of the loop, only this time my heart and my mind were racing with the fear of the unknown. After the appointment I quickly locked up the studio and headed for home. Once again I switched on the radio only to hear the broadcasters horror as the second tower fell. I couldn't believe what I was hearing. Growing up in New York, the towers were not only a symbol of strength but as immovable as mountains. My first feelings of loss were toward the buildings themselves until the reports began to roll in of the death toll. For the next 36 hours straight, my wife and I didn't leave the house, standing vigil in front of the TV in disbelief. We finally ventured out the next evening for a candlelight prayer on the steps of St. Mary's. People didn't say much. Every one's eyes were red and tired. The blank stares of emotional exhaustion were on every one's face. The sense that our security and freedom had been ripped out from underneath us filled the air. The path that lay ahead of us never seemed so unclear.
Now, seven years later, the path is visible, only it does not go in the same direction anymore. It made a sharp turn toward a new sense of values. Several times since 9-11-01 the path has come to a screeching halt. It has been my job as a father, a husband, a son, a brother and an American to build a new path each time, without ever forgetting where the path came from. Go forth in peace. -Steve

POTY #2

I recently received notification by the Professional Photographer's of America that I will be receiving the Photographer of the Year award for the second consecutive year. All four of my images received blue ribbons in the state and international print competitions with one of my images being accepted into the PPA Loan Collection. The image, "Dejected", was one of the images that I shot for the broadcast of our Trash the Dress session on "Inside Edition" which aired last January.

I'm totally thrilled to receive this for the second year in a row. It's such an honor to be recognized by my colleagues in the industry that I totally look up to. It also gives me an excuse to go to Phoenix in the middle of winter. I actually have a conference in Vegas a few days before the Phoenix conference, so I'm going to drive from Vegas to Phoenix and enjoy the desert a bit. I will also be stopping in Sedona, AZ to do a Trash the Dress session with one of my wedding clients from earlier this year.