There's still time!

We have a few appointment openings left for this weekend's Santa photos at the studio. If you can't commit to an appointment, we do have walk-in times from 3:30-5:00 both Saturday and Sunday. We've been feverishly setting up our backdrops to give you more options this year. Don't miss out on the best Santa this side of the North Pole. We hope to see you there.

Like Father, Like Son

Cade had his first hockey game in goal today. He's a chip off the old block taking after both Sue and me as goalies. He stopped several breakaways and came away with a 3-3 tie in Scottsville. Way to go little man. We're proud of you.

Callie and Sam

As weddings go, this was one of the best. Rich came out from Massachusetts to shoot with Amanda and me. It's interesting to have three photographers at a wedding. We had Amanda climbing trees and railings on bridges to get cool shots. We went to Durand Eastman Park and the carousel at the Medley Center in Irondequoit. The ceremony was at Chapel Hill and the reception was at Mario's Via Abruzzi. Callie and Sam were so cool. Several members of the bridal party were former brides of mine, so it was one big happy family today.

Twins Book on Channel 10

With today being a year since Sandi's death, it was a great tribute for Lynette Adams from News 10 NBC in Rochester to come to the studio to do a story on the twins project we are doing. Here is the video clip from the broadcast. Just to elaborate on the comment at the end of the story, we are in the process of finishing the book. We hope to have it done and printed for Christmas. We have wrapped up the photo sessions for this edition of the book, but we will continue to do the sessions for anyone who is interested. We are going to create a blog specifically for the twins sessions and possibly even a second volume of the book if the demand is there. Some people have written some great stories on their experience as twins or as parents of twins. We could not fit all of them in the book so they will be on the twins blog as well when it's complete. For those interested in purchasing a copy of the book to benefit the scholarship fund, it is not too late. Pricing and order information will be available in the next few weeks. Please e-mail us with your interest in obtaining a copy so we can forward the information to you and so we can order enough books to be ready for Christmas.

Here are a few samples of the page spreads that we have so far.

Encore

I thought it fitting to repost this from last February. It's my daughter Sarah's tribute to her Aunt Sandi, singing "I Miss You" with Miley Cyrus.

It's Here

The day is here and so far I'm pretty at peace with it. I think a bunch of things came together last year that were a little more spread out this year, so it was like taking baby bites instead of one big gulp. Last November 7th was on a Wednesday. Sue and I were photographing the Bloomfield Nursery School that day. We had just finished with the morning class and went out to get something to eat before the we had to return for the afternoon class. It was snowing the first flakes of the year. On our way back to Canandaigua we got a call that Sandi hadn't shown up for work. That's when the day started to unravel into a surreal nightmare.

This year, the first snow was quite a few weeks ago. The thought crossed my mind that the first snow will never be the same again. I still got excited over it, but I don't think it will ever go by that I don't think of that day.

I photographed Bloomfield Nursery School again this past Wednesday. That was a bit difficult for me. Even though it was only November 5th, it was a tangible place and day of the week to sink my memory into. The two main differences this time were that Sue wasn't with me and it was 70 degrees out.

Now it's November 7th. Looking at the date typed out in front of me makes my stomach turn. If I go about my business everything is fine, but if I let my mind retrace my steps of that day, I can bring myself right back there until I shake it off.

The last year has been a roller coaster ride. It started with unimaginable grief and sadness. That turned into numbness for the pain but was also filled with an overwhelming amount of love for my wife and kids and the rest of my family. Life's daily problems were placed into such a state of insignificance it was hardly worth giving them any time. The overwhelming clarity of what really mattered was as bright as the sun. Over the course of the year, daily problems were given a little more attention each day until eventually the clarity was clouded over. My goal is to take November 7th and not only reflect on the gift that Sandi was in my life, but to take a step back and renew my sense of what's important.

Winter Wedding Web Page

Our web page devoted to winter weddings is live. Check it out here, http://www.cheslerphoto.com/winterweddings.htm.
Thanks to Ellen from Lake Effects Web Design for her continuing effort on our extensive website.

Pass It On

We need your help. Below is a small, e-mail sized poster for our Santa photos. If you know people who might be interested in visiting with the best Santa ever, copy and paste this image into your e-mail and pass it on. As an incentive, anyone who passes this along and their recipient books an appointment, the sender will receive a free 5x7. Click on the image for a larger version then right click on it and save it to your computer.

Election Eve

On the eve of what will inevitably be an historic election regardless of the outcome, we have to look beyond the issues and look to ourselves for how we want this country to be. It is our right and privilege to vote, but whether Republican or Democrat, we have to change the course of this country of ours from the ground up. We can't start from the top and expect all our problems to be solved.

Joe Photo, a colleague of mine in the photo industry put it very eloquently on his blog, "I suggest that you be the change that you want to see in the world, beginning today. If you effect change in your family and community the effect will continue to ripple. Don't wait for your government to magically make the United States the country you believe it should be while you sit back and complain or do nothing. Be the change."

Fear of the Unknown

This coming Friday will be a year since we tragically lost Sandi. Chances are the day is going to pass uneventfully with just a lot of reflecting on the way she touched our lives. Nevertheless, I am still stressing out about it. I don't know what to expect. We are closing the studio on Friday so each of us can reflect in our own personal way.