Snow White

Last Saturday, snuggled tightly between two snow storms, was the wedding of Jerry and Shannon in Rochester. I was at a hockey tournament in Jamestown for Sarah's team when the first snow storm hit on Friday. We were nice and comfortable in the hotel while the rest of her team battled through snowy conditions to get there in time for the game. The Thruway was closed near Hamburg due to numerous accidents, so many of them had to take the longer route down Route 86.

I woke up early Saturday morning to make the trip back to Rochester. By then the roads were acceptable. The wedding went flawlessly. We had a great time shooting at Durand Eastman Park on one of the frozen ponds and then we went down to High Falls before heading east to Shadow Lake.

During the reception the next snow storm began making the perfect setting for the winter wonderland photos Shannon was hoping for.

Right after the reception, I got back in the car and headed straight back to Jamestown for the rest of the tournament. That was not a fun drive. Traveling 119 miles at night in a snow storm is not recommended for the faint of heart.

I arrived in Jamestown at 2:00 a.m. only to be up again at 6:30 for an 8:00 a.m. game. My body is still recovering from the lack of sleep.

End of Winter DVD Sale

The other day I walked outside as the snow was thawing and to my surprise I saw the tops of the Daffodils emerging from the ground. I don't care what the groundhog says, Daffodils are a sure sign that Spring is rapidly approaching. I like winter. I'm an ice fisherman and a hockey player, so winter has it's allure for me. Nevertheless, seeing life emerging from winter's grip brings with it the excitement of warmer days and the end of the annual slow season at the studio.

With some exciting connections developing in South Florida, my goal is to have the slow season disappear with some winter weddings in much warmer locales. Until that happens though, we will continue to offer a sale or two on some of our items to make the slow season a little less, well, slow.

With that in mind, we are starting our winter DVD sale for weddings. Through the end of March, our two options for hi-res wedding images with reproduction rights will be discounted by $200 for the full set or discounted by $100 for the set of 200 images. Call the studio at 585-393-9242 to take advantage of this limited time offer.

50% Off Sale Extended

When I offered the 50% Off Sale, I forgot to take in to account that it coincided with the week the kids were off from school, so we were not in the studio very much to answer questions. In light of that, I am extending the sale by another week to allow people who may have been away on vacation to take advantage of it.

50% Off

Print Sale

Extended Through 3/10

*Sale is for regular priced prints only and does not apply to specialty products

or special promotion pricing.

50% Off Sale Begins Sunday

Beginning this Sunday through February 28, we will be having our annual Winter Print Sale. The sale is for 50% Off our regular reprint prices. Check back through March for different sales on some of our specialty products.

Call the studio at 585-393-9242 to receive your discount. Our online proofing service will not discount the order and will charge your card the full amount.

Ask and Ye Shall Receive

When I met with Ron and Jennifer last month to go over details of their February 19 wedding at Belhurst Castle, what she wanted most were the scenic snow photos that make winter weddings so magical. With this past weeks thaw it seemed like we would have been better off planning a bachelor party with mud wrestling. Jennifer must have slept with her pajamas on inside out and a wooden spoon under her pillow like a kid wishing for a snow day from school. She got her wish.

I woke to a fresh coating of snow along with 50 mph wind gusts. This was hardly the fairy tale winter weather I was hoping for, but snow is better than mud. It took over an hour to make the 25 minute drive to Belhurst. It was snowing harder than it had all season with whiteout conditions making driving treacherous. Nevertheless, we arrived in one piece and believe it or not, a few minutes early.

Things ran a little behind with the weather to allow for guests who may have been held up. The ceremony was held at the Zion Church across the road from Belhurst. After the emotional and humorous ceremony, we were treated to a herd of about 10 deer walking by right outside the church windows.

Once back at Belhurst, we did some outdoor snow photos, although the wind was a factor in limiting the amount of time we had out there. We still ended up with some really cool shots.

In total we probably ended up with about six inches of snow and now we are under a Winter Storm Warning for tomorrow with another half a foot or more expected. Jennifer certainly got her wish and than some.

Priceless

Sarah had a hockey game yesterday in Amherst just outside of Buffalo. Since the Islanders were playing the Sabres in an afternoon game the next day, we decided to stay in Buffalo for the weekend and get tickets. I tried out Stub Hub for the first time and it was awesome. I was able to get four tickets relatively cheaply for an NHL game. They were nose bleed seats 1 row from the top. The view was great if you don't mind looking down at the game with the feeling that your perched on a window ledge of a 10 story building. I cheered from my seat because if I stood up to cheer I may have ended up 30 rows further down in a heap with my legs dangling over my head.

 I've been an Islander fan my whole life. We used to watch the Islanders from my home in Jericho on Long Island on WHT. Our neighborhood had underground wires so for years we couldn't get cable tv. WHT was our saviour with premium tv delivered over the airwaves via a special antenna on the roof. There was a special box on top of our tv that would receive the signal. It also had it's own speaker since the sound would not transmit to the tv. We used to record the games and movies with our original VCR which was the size of a Volkswagon. We would have to plug in a microphone to the VCR and place it next to the WHT box to record the sound. We would have to put a sign on the door leading to the basement where the box was that we were recording a movie so no one would make noise coming down stairs. Inevitably, every movie we had included whispering voices and commentary like Mystery Science Theater. The recorded Islander games came complete with cheers from home. I have reorded Stanley Cup games from 1980-1983 when the Islanders won four cups in a  row. It was a great time to be an Islander fan watching greats like Billy Smith, Mike Bossy, Brian Trottier, Bobby Nystrom and more. It was the dream team of the 80s.

We got to the game early so we could watch the teams warm up. Cade, wanting to be like his dad, is also an Islander fan. He has several Islander jerseys and watches them on tv with me. We root for the Sabres as well unless they are playing the Islanders. Today was different though. Cade became a true Islander fan today on his own. We went down to the tunnel where the players enter the ice and he reached his hand over to high five the team as they came out on to the ice. Every player high fived him, "even the goalies" he grinned from ear to ear. We watched the warm ups and as each player left the ice, he got another high five. As Islander defenseman Andrew MacDonald left the ice, he picked up a puck and handed it to Cade and gave him knuckles. Cade turned to me with the biggest smile I've ever seen. I don't think his feet were touching the ground. As we made the trek back up to our seats in the clouds, the smile never disappeared. "I can't stop tingling," he said. He's an Islander fan for life.

Islander/Sabre tickets, $167.

Islander jersey, $59

Parking $8

Seeing my kids smile so hard it hurts their cheeks, priceless.

Fleece Fundraiser

We're doing a fundraiser for the Canandaigua Knights youth hockey organization with our custom designed fleece blankets. We're donating 10% back to the Knights for every blanket session we do. We started out with player blankets and have now branched out to team blankets. Now parents can cheer on their player or team in style while keeping warm. Here are some of the designs we've done so far.

Sound Bites

Early in January, before my shoulder decided to dislocate itself, I was playing goal in a hockey game with a group of guys I don't normally play with. It was a casual game so someone decided to put on music over the rinks speaker system. The music was not my taste at all, but the worse part was the volume. It was so loud I couldn't communicate with my teammates effectively. I didn't realize until then how much I relied on sound when I play goal, not just to communicate, but to react to the development of the play. I realized that I used sound much like a fish uses vibration to find prey, by listening to sound of the skates and sticks on the ice or the sound of their movement in my blind spot. With the volume of the music, I felt I was at a tremendous disadvantage.

The Rochester area has a large population of hearing impaired individuals. Even though the music was loud and I could hear more than I wanted to, it almost had the same effect of being hearing impaired by removing my ability to use that sense during the game. Even though it was only for a short period of time, I found myself adapting to make up for that loss.

I started thinking about other areas of my life that relied more on sound then I realized. The first thing that came to mind, which was no surprise, was how much I used sound while I am driving. Listening for other things in my surroundings while driving, such as other cars or emergency vehicles is a given. I'm referring more to the things you don't notice you're listening to like changes in road conditions by the sound of the tires or my shift points based on engine noise. Last summer, I accelerated from a light next to a truck with my windows open. My shift points were way off because I couldn't hear my engine.

Photography is no doubt seen as a visual medium. I began to wonder how much of a role sound played while I'm photographing. Much like playing goal, photographing in a fast paced environment such as sporting events makes use of all your senses, especially sound. But what about something a little less intense like a wedding? I'm going to be more aware of it now to see how much I use it other than to avoid being trampled on the dance floor by a long lost aunt who had one too many cocktails at the open bar.

Well Wed

The latest issue of WellWed New York magazine is out. It is one the best magazines out for weddings across Upstate New York and is also the nicest out of any wedding magazine across the country. As an advertiser, they are always checking in with me to see how things are going. They just sent me a box of the latest issue so if you want one stop by the studio.

Serena and Jeremy