Emma's Bat Mitzvah

Last weekend Rich and I photographed Emma's Bat Mitzvah in New Rochelle, just outside of NYC. I drove down on Friday and photographed Emma with her family, almost like I would with a high school senior. Most of the drive down, the scenery was the bland browns of winter with the leaves well past peak. As I got to within about 15 miles of the coast, it was like traveling back in time several weeks with the foliage in full color. I did photos at their house before we headed down to Glen Island Park on Long Island Sound, where the party was to be held the next day. The scenery was spectacular with the different inlets and islands in the harbor. For a brief moment, I missed the growing up on Long Island and boating in Oyster Bay on Long Island Sound with my Dad.

Mustang Calendar

After many hours of shooting over the summer and many more editing, our 2011 Mustangs of the Finger Lakes calendar is back from the printer. This would make the perfect gift for any car enthusiast, especially the local one's who can see the cars in this calendar up close and personal at area cruise nights.

The calendars are on sale for $20 each and can be purchased by calling the studio at 585-393-9242 or by printing the order form image below and mailing it in. There are a limited number of calendars available to be guaranteed for Christmas delivery. If they sell out we will have more printed, however I can not guarantee the time frame.

Here are a few sample pages.

Three Years

It's hard to believe it's been three years since Sandi's death. So much has changed since she was killed, yet her presence is still so tangible it feels like she hasn't missed a thing.

Three years. It seems like an eternity when you're waiting for something you want, like getting your drivers license or graduating high school. When you don't want the time to pass though, that same amount of time disappears in a flash, like turning 40.

Thinking of all the things that have happened since November 7, 2007, it seems like a long time ago. Thoughts of that day itself though are still fresh, like it happened just days ago. Thankfully, 99% of my thoughts are from the awesome memories we had together.

I was going through some old photos at my Mom's house down in Florida when I came across a photo of Sandi from the Dansville Balloon Festival in September of 2007. My stomach flipped when I realized it was just weeks before she was killed. If we had known then that there was such a short time left, what would we have done differently? The real question though is if we knew how she was going to be taken from us, what would we have done differently to stop it?
There are some people who don't reach their true potential until after their death when the legacy they leave behind profoundly effects people. Sandi, however, was one of those rare people who had that profound effect on people in life. Her presence in our lives was a gift and she is missed immeasurably.

Here Comes Santa Clause

I wanted to send out another reminder that Santa will be at the studio November 20-21 from 10:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. For those of you who have joined us before, we'd love to see you again. For those of you who haven't, check out the photos below to see the best Santa ever. He is the real deal. No "Santa's Helper" here with the fake beard and hair. We will be doing 15 minute sessions by appointment with 4 different studio sets available. The session is $75 and includes 1-8x10, 2-5x7s and 25 4x5.5 custom designed Holidays Cards. We are about 50% full and expect the rest to fill up quickly. If you want to book your session, call the studio at 585-393-9242.

If Santa isn't your thing, we will also be doing Winter themed barn photos on December 4th or 5th with the same pricing structure as the Santa photos.

Book Ends

Whenever I travel with my sister Ellen, we inevitably start talking about the book ends of the travel. The book ends happen on the flight home, when the time between the flight to the destination and the return flight gets compressed in the blink of an eye. It always amazes us how fast the time in between goes, like a grape being squashed between two fingers.

I went down to Florida last week to visit my aging Grandparents. They are 95 and 98 years old and poised to celebrate their 75th wedding anniversary this coming Spring. When you look back at their lives, what comes to mind is the legacy they have built as the heads of the family. Family is everything to them. You should see the pride in their eyes when they talk about their children, grandchildren, great grandchildren and even great great grandchildren. What doesn't come to mind is how much money they made, how big their house was, what kind of car they drove, etc... It's all insignificant at that age. When the book ends of life slam together and compress everything in between, what will the summary on the back of the book say? What it all boils down to is how much they were loved and how much love they gave. We come in to this world as helpless infants and for many of us, we'll leave the same way. The important thing is how much love did we fit in the middle.