Before and After

Much as a chef can envision the final result while staring a pile of raw ingredients, as a visual artist, I can see the finished work of art while looking at the raw ingredients in front of me. One such moment was while I was in Detroit at the abandoned Detroit Train Station. All the ingredients were there, the location under the rail over pass, the light spilling in through the holes above, and a bride and groom willing to indulge in my vision. The image that came out of the camera was cool and with a little enhancement made the slide show we played at the reception, however it was not my complete vision. With a little Photoshop magic, the end result is what I would imagine if Kincaid were lost in Detroit. Here are the images before and after the magic.

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Danielle and Steve

Mother Nature seems to know when Memorial Weekend and Labor Day Weekend are. They weather always seems to change right on cue, ushering in the following season. This year was no different with the first of this years hot, humid weather.

Rich and I set up camp this weekend in Geneva for back-to-back weddings, the first of which was at the Geneva Ramada. Danielle and Steve traveled to the Finger Lakes to tie the knot on the north end of Seneca Lake. The ceremony included a Ketubah signing, an old Jewish marriage contract, traditionally signed before the wedding ceremony. They also did the Hora and the chair dance during the reception.

Danielle and Steve set aside time between the ceremony and reception to do photos in downtown Geneva. We took them to a few of the murals that decorate some of the buildings in town for an artistic, urban feel to some of the photos.

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.