Travel recap

You've already seen the slideshow from Lauren and Jamey's gorgeous Jamaica wedding. After we left there, we stayed in Miami for a few nights (to process the wedding) at the Angler's Boutique Resort in South Beach. We were very impressed with the amazing staff, fresh, clean decor and attention to detail.


We had the pleasure of spending an evening with the uber talented and super sincere photographer Carlos Baez and his family. It was such a treat to see Carlos on his home turf and in his element as a fantastic father.

Then we headed back to the Caribbean for Machell and Effie's wedding in the Dominican Republic. Wedding guests stayed at the Barcelo Capella Resort in Juan Dolio (the wedding was a few miles down the road at a fantastic waterfront restaurant). And while the view was lovely, this mega (500 rooms!) all-inclusive, buffet-style resort was a huge change from our boutique hotel experience to this point. I think we prefer the more quiet, intimate setting compared to this lively, international scene. We also were quite nervous in the DR about our gear's safety, but luckily, have no bad tales to report like some other guests unfortunately experienced (and thanks to Think Tank Photo's locking bags and cases).





My emilie inc. tote was perfect for stowing a book, iPod, room key, water and sunblock!

Look for wedding pictures later this week!

hello, from Miami

J and I have had an amazing time on our 11 day working vacation so far! We are now in Miami for a brief mid-week visit (we're staying at a fantastic boutique hotel called Angler's Resort in South Beach) before heading to the Dominican Republic for another wedding on Friday.

We spent the previous 6 days in Jamaica, in the west end of Negril for Bostonians Lauren and Jamey’s wedding at the Rockhouse Hotel. The wedding was fantastic, and I’ll post more about that soon once I have sorted through the more than 4,000 images we took (!). Aside from wedding-related activities, we soaked up a lot of sun (and I caught up on a bunch of This American Life podcasts, a favorite), snorkeled with a personal guide in a gorgeous coral reef (definitely hire Famous Vincent and his glass bottom boat), jumped from cliffs (J was a bit more brave than me!), and watched some off the most amazing sunsets I’ve ever seen (complete with dolphins and even a rainbow!).

I can’t say enough good things about Rockhouse- the location (among the cliffs, as the name implies), the food (we stuffed ourselves silly), the staff (everyone- and I mean everyone- is so friendly and accommodating) and the spa (we indulged in a couples massage perched high atop the water at sunset). It’s very clean and this time of year, there were very few bugs (I used all non-scented lotions, sunscreen, etc., and managed to leave with only 3 bites). The Rockhouse has created a secluded oasis that we’d recommend to anyone looking for a little r&r. We weren’t as impressed with the 7-mile beach part of Negril, but did venture down there a few times for some reggae and change of scenery.

So a few weeks ago I replaced my very outdated point & shoot Canon Powershot with a Sony Cybershot DCS T70 and had a blast snapping away. I am so impressed the results! The fill flash is fantastic, as is the macro capabilities. And, of course, it’s pink. If you need a new p&s, look into getting one! (Don't worry, they come in other colors, too!).


On to some of our snapshots:
This is a view from the water of Rockhouse.

The beautiful pool area. J and I took up residence at this little private patio.

Exploring the resort's many such private nooks.

Pretty entryway to one of the villas (definitely splurge for a villa).

Us, still without a tan on our first day.

Very happy with the close-up feature.



The pathways and exterior walls are all the same stone.

:)

Happy hour on the deck for sunset.

The cliff's at Rick's Cafe.

J jumped from that bridge to the right of the villa. I said I would, too (especially since he bet me that I wouldn't, and agreed to go grocery shopping for a month if I did), but I was too chicken and settled on a smaller jump.

Famous Vincent and his son after our morning snorkel trip. He's been doing these private tours for 27 years in Negril!

In Miami, we were playing around with the smile feature on the camera... it takes a picture automatically when the subject it is pointed at smiles. Technology is wild! Nice sunburn, huh?

Hope you are all having a great week! Ya Mon!

out of town 4/24-5/4

I'll be out of town tomorrow through Sunday, May 4th, for destination weddings in Jamaica and the Dominican Republic. I will be able to check voicemails and emails on Wednesday, April 30th only, when we'll be staying in Miami for a night between island visits. I promise to return all messages as soon as possible. Have a great week!!

Speaking in Charlotte

I'm very happy to be among the blooming trees and blossoming flowers of spring in Charlotte, NC, this weekend as I hear it is snowing today in Maine!

I'm in Charlotte as a faculty member for the Southern Short Course, the oldest photojournalism conference for news photographers (this is the 59th year!). It's my first time attending and I initially thought it was connected with the Northern Short Course (I attended many NSC conferences in my journalism days) and NPPA (National Press Photographers Association, which I have been a member for 10 years) but I have since learned they they are independent of each other. Many people apparently make this mistake, too!

Marc Kawanishi, the conference's CEO, actually found me a few months ago through mutual friends on Facebook of all places. So never underestimate the power of online networking sites! He invited me to come and speak about News Wedding Photographers, my second business, paired with Grover Sanschagrin of SportsShooter.com and Photo Shelter.

I spoke about how popular wedding photojournalism is, the importance of being a wedding photographer (I think many people overlook how important a role we play as historians documenting the beginning a couple's family legacy on their wedding day), how I got started in weddings and why, and later about how to establish your own business. I showed a slideshow of images from members of News Wedding Photographers because I don't think everyone knows about the bold new world of wedding photojournalism and instead, think of how I used to think of wedding photography before I got into it: posed! I'm so thrilled that the journalism approach has trickled into weddings so that the stiff, traditional wedding photographs of our parents' generation will stay in the past.

The feedback I've received so far has been great. And it was especially fun to have former newspaper colleagues and even college classmates in the audience who I haven't seen for a long time.

Tonight, I'm participating in three hours of student portfolio critiques. Tomorrow is a long day of lectures and I'll have a table at a trade show to talk to folks about News Wedding Photographers. And later, I'll be a panelist in a round-table discussion on daily and long-term storytelling projects before another round of portfolio critiques in the evening.

I'll be one tired puppy when I get home on Sunday night, but very excitedly anticipating my studio lease starting on Tuesday!!

Travel recap

What a week! J and I had a wonderful time traveling to photograph the Key West nuptials of Lyndsay and Andrew and exploring the island (we loved Key West so much more than we expected we might). Check back later next week for some of their pictures!

Then we flew to Las Vegas for the annual WPPI convention. Among 11,000 other photographers, I roamed the enormous trade show, talked to folks about Roots, browsed some new products, and listened to some fascinating photographers talk about topics such as their websites, lighting and motivation. It was inspiring, exciting, and exhausting!

After the trade show closed, the nights were spent partying with photographers hosted at parties by Sara France (we had fun with a photo booth and temporary tattoo artist), BluDomain (a spooky house outside town with a tarot card reader, hypnotist and card games), [b]ecker (even tho the a/c was out in his suite from the power outage!), FW6 (such a treat to see these friends- both new and old- just two weeks after the workshop in Texas), Pictage (yummy food and conversation at Tao) and Photo LoveCat (instead of renting a suite or house, Anne rented an entire bar at the Rio for the night! Go Anne!).

You can get a sense of the excitement of the week by checking out the video by Ron Dawson by clicking below.

Ron is a very talented videographer in California who also has created a weekly audio podcast called F-Stop Beyond. I was interviewed for an upcoming podcast where Ron, like Barbara Walters twin, easily guided me to pour out every last bit of my personal and professional life. I'll let you know when that is posted, unless I'm too embarrassed!

out of town: Key West and Vegas

We're on our way to Key West to photograph a wedding this weekend, and then to Vegas for the annual WPPI photography convention. I'll be sure to update the blog with our travels!

Texas- recap

It's been a few days since I've been home from Texas and I am busy catching up on those necessary things like emails, voicemails, and sleep! It's good to be home, but boy, I miss my friends from the workshop.

For those who aren't familiar, the Foundation Workshop is an intense photojournalism experience for wedding photographers (and inspiration for my Roots Workshop!). This year's group included 5 teams of 5 students, each with a team leader, two shooting mentors, a team assistant and a crew of volunteers and support staff. It was a huge group (as you can see from the previous post of our group photo).

It's difficult to put into words what the experience in Texas was like for me. Initially, I was nervous for my presentation on Monday morning so my concentration was making it through that (it was actually quite fun and many of the students told me they got a lot out of it). Then the focus shifted to our individual groups as the students received their assignments. I was a mentor for Brooks Whittington's team, a ridiculously talented wedding photojournalist from Dallas whose pure pj I respect and admire. Allegra and Tem Juarez rounded out the staff for our team. The participants varied in background and ability, but came together to produce an amazing body of work.

This is our fearless leader, Brooks.


And this is me, giving my presentation on Monday (Thanks, Ben).


A shooting exercise at a local carnival with Tina and Bill (Thanks, Joe).


Hard at work compiling our team slideshow for the presentation night (Thanks, Allegra).


Coming up for air!


Aga Agnieszka, from NY, was assigned to cover a dance school. Aga had a frustrating first day, but knocked it out of the park when she gained some confidence to try again on day 2.





Ande Aguilar from Texas was assigned to cover the daily life of a firehouse.



Anil Tohani, from London (!), was assigned to a stable.





Joe Wang, from Maryland, was also assigned to a dance school, this one ballet.





And Kerry Ryan, from Seattle, was assigned to the day in the life of a family.





I am oozing with pride over their accomplishments in such a short amount of time. To be thrown into the documentary world with no prior experience and leave with some killer stories is a testament to the commitment of the staff and students who make this a worthwhile experience. In between all the sweat and tears, friendships have been formed that will last a lifetime! Thanks to Huy and Bill for inviting me to be a part of it!

Hello, from Texas

Having a really great time in Texas! Here's our group picture by Ben Chrisman. This is such a big group compared to last year!


We're busy, busy, so I'll be sure to write more soon about what we've been up to. Hope you're having a great week!

out of town: Texas

I'm heading to Texas on Sunday for a week to teach at the Foundation Workshop just outside Dallas. FW6 is a photojournalism workshop for wedding photographers- much like my Roots Workshop. You may recall I did this last year, too. I can't believe a whole year has already flown by! Wow!

I will be one of three speakers on Monday morning as the workshop kicks off, and the rest of the week I'll be mentoring students while they are out on assignments and at night during the critique session. There's a whole slew of talented folks attending... the workshop has nearly tripled in size! Watch the blog for pictures.

I'll do my best to return phone calls and emails quickly. This workshop packs a lot of work, fun and very little sleep.

Vrai Photography in Chicago

On Thursday, I flew to Chicago to attend the launch party of my dear friend Tina who recently re-branded her photography business from Kristina Carter Photography to Vrai (be sure to check out her new beautiful liveBooks site here). She rented FlatFile Galleries and collaborated with some fantastic vendors to treat industry professionals to a warm evening inside as snow fell outside. Unfortunately, that snow prevented more than half of Tina's guests from coming. But we had a great time regardless!

The girls. (L to R) Friends Rachel and Erin of LaCour flew in from Atlanta to celebrate with Tina.

A shot of the many photographers in attendance including Bob and Dawn Davis, Dave Wittig, Amanda Hein, Kristi and Tasha of Dolce Studios, and Becca Spears of Wirken Photography. Dave Luebke was also there showing Couture Book.


More pictures on Tina's blog here.

After the party, a huge contingency of photographers went to sip raspberry mojitos at Carnivale and then to sing karaoke at Carol's Pub into the wee hours of the morning. I was up for 26 hours on Thursday!

Friday, I awoke to a voicemail from the airline that my flight had be canceled because of the snow. I booked a flight on another airline via DC, only to have my DC connection canceled because of weather in the northeast. My dear friend Margaret (and frequent blog idea material contributer) picked me up at the airport in DC to sleep for a few hours at her place before I hopped an early flight to Boston this morning. After taking a bus to Portland, I finally arrived home after spending more time in airports than in Chicago! Amazingly enough, my bag beat me to the airport in Portland. I was shocked when I stopped in to start the claim process and it was waiting for me!

Congratulations, Tina! I am so proud of you and was so happy to be a part of your big night. Thanks for being such a wonderful host, too, and allowing me to stay in your great home. Can't wait to see you again in Texas later this month!

Southern Short Course faculty

I have been asked to travel to Charlotte, North Carolina, to speak to a group of news photographers about my second business, News Wedding Photographers, at the Southern Short Course sponsored by the National Press Photographers Association (NPPA) at the end of March.

I have been a member of NPPA for 11 years and have gone to many of these conferences as an attendee. I am thrilled to participate now as a speaker among industry greats such as Pulitzer Prize winning photojournalist Rick Loomis, Michael Williamson from the Washington Post, Cathaleen Curtiss from AOL and David Hobby of Strobist.com.

I will conduct an hour and a half session with Grover Sanschagrin from PhotoShelter.com and SportsShooter.com about making extra money (Grover will direct his chat toward selling photos online and I will speak about being a wedding photographer- something many news photographers do on the weekends). I will also take part in eight hours of portfolio reviews on two separate evenings, as well as man a table for News Wedding Photographers in the vendor show. It's going to be a busy few days!

You can check out the full faculty line-up by clicking here and the schedule of events by clicking here.

vacation wrap-up

Sigh. This week FLEW! I can't believe we head home to sub-zero temps tomorrow already!

Today we had a great lunch at T. Cooks at the Royal Palms Resort in Phoenix. It's become a tradition to have lunch there with my grandma each time I visit. So today, J, his mom Barbara and my grandmother all had a lovely lunch together. Yum! I just love the decor and scenery at the Royal Palms. I'd love to come back and photograph a wedding there, so if you're planning a wedding there and are still looking for a photographer- call me! I know my grandma and J's parents would love us to come back, and soon!

Quick snapshots of J and his mother, and me and my grandmother.


So remember that image I posted of us toasting our wine glasses in Sedona just a few days ago on the blog? Less than 12 hours after, I received an email from Amara Resort's media relations manager asking if the resort could use that picture on their website and in their promotional materials. Wow! Now, that's the power of the blog! In exchange, I received a few night's stay for a future trip. So, again, if you are looking for a wedding photographer in Sedona and Katrina & Andrew and Cameron Clark are booked, give a call! I won't need a place to stay.

Likewise, I received an email from someone who mentioned she Googled "pink and brown shower curtain," was directed to a December 2006 post on my blog and wondered where I bought mine. Pretty wild, huh?

We've had a wonderful week, but we are looking forward to returning home to those puppy dog wags and snuggles that will be waiting for us at the door tomorrow night!

One Light Workshop

J and I took Zack Arias' super popular One Light Workshop today. Hosted at Melissa Jill's house in a suburb of Phoenix, 12 students had a 12 hour crash course on everything you need to know about using one light in various situations. Half of the day was spent on technical nuts & bolts instruction (I was having college photo class flashbacks!) and the other half was outside implementing those tips. It was a great refresher, and also helpful, fun, and inspiring to spend the day with a handful of wedding and portrait photographers- some of whom I am lucky to already know from other photography workshops and forums.

Zack talking us through how he approaches light at a scene.

Zack is very good at big, expressive gestures.

Have I mentioned yet today how much I love my new 24mm 1.4? Look how sharp Zack is!

Melissa Jill capturing the pocket wizard set-up. All together now: Oooooooh. ;)

This is an example of one of the scenarios he set up. In the background behind the model are palm trees, a parking garage and a busy road. Zack gets down low to shoot up toward the model to eliminate a cluttered background.

First, we took a quick ambient exposure, and then introduced a softbox. Lovely. We repeated this against a wall, among some shrubs, and at night on a park bench changing different variables (light placement, the strength of the light source, the angle of the model, etc).

Chimping

Who's that handsome guy multi-tasking? Making work calls and shooting at the workshop.

A few participants raved about their ShootSac's (Sergio had a sweet Boda Bag I liked, and Zack suggested a ThinkTank shoulder bag). I'm not sure I'll ever be ready to trade in my pj Domke bag for one of these trendy types.

To illustrate one of my favorites points to remember while on a photo assignment, I watched the other workshop participants. Rule 1: Get the shot...

Rule #2: Then make a better shot! Get down low...

Get in close...

And try a different angle...

Earlier at the house, Melissa's miniature schnauzer puppy Dixie settled right in with the workshop participants on the couch.

Foundation Forum friends Sergio (from Tucson) and Gulnara (from NYC).

The Foundation Forum attendees L to R: Sergio, Gulnara, me and Ray (we needed one light on us in this shot!).

Now I'm going to sleep! That was a long day!

Update: This is our group picture!

out of town: Arizona

After a very busy '07 wedding season, J and I finally took a vacation this week. Well, sorta. We're mixing vacation with visiting family, networking and attending a photo workshop. I'll post more about those things later, but for now, I'll tell you about the mini vacation bit!

We spent two nights in Sedona at the Amara Resort (a lovely, modern creek-side gem). We purposely didn't really make any set plans, so we were flexible to explore the town, it's beautiful red rocks, hiking trails and winding dirt roads at our leisure. We were delighted to have coffee with Katrina Wallace and Andrew Mejia of Sedona Bride one morning. And later treated ourselves to the most intense deep tissue massage I have ever had. We had a picnic by Cathedral Rock. And explored the artist community of Jerome, one mile up!

It's very infrequent that we're able to sneak away from work, so likewise we tried to give ourselves a break from lugging around our gear. Below are a few snapshots from when I did take my camera out of the bag. ;)

The view from the top of the driveway at our resort (Snoopy rock on the left).

Toasting at the resort's fire pit.

Mmmm... beautiful morning light.

On a hike somewhere in the middle of that rich red rock.

Ooops! A few scratches on the rental car from off-roading. J's convinced he'll be able to buff those out.

I pulled my camera out a few times. J? He traveled light, with his iPhone camera. ;)

I recently purchased a 24mm 1.4. I love it! It captures detail beautifully.

Check back at the end of the week to see what we've been up to in the Phoenix area! Hope you are all having a great week!

out of town: where??

We were surprised to see a favorite Maine shop where we are. Any guesses?

eye sight for insight

I received this excellent thank you gift from liveBooks for speaking at their booth at PPE. What a cool idea, huh? I'm touched. Be sure to check out the Seva Foundation website and see what great things they're up to if you are not familiar with the organization. My pleasure, liveBooks!

(click image to enlarge to read)

NY wrap-up

Wow. What an experience! Many thanks to those of you who came to hear me talk at the liveBooks booth at PPE yesterday! It was so wonderful to share my experiences with you, hear yours and field some questions, too, especially from Susannah Dambmann, Larissa and Ryan of Chace + Smith Photography, Chris and Heather DiPiazza, George Pejoves and Barbara Williams.

I don't have any pictures of me speaking, but this is what the scene looked like (taken w/ my point & shoot- please excuse the poor image quality!). I spoke in front of those chairs on the left side. J has a sweet little video on his blog of the liveBooks booth scene **here**.


We drove home last night (intently listening to the Sox game!!), and are busy catching up on work today. I'm heading up near Bar Harbor tomorrow for another assignment for Ladies' Home Journal.

NY update and Pink Ink blog interview

Having a blast in New York! I have seen so many friends during the last few days- both from the wedding and news world- at the PhotoPlus Expo.

On Wednesday evening we attended a party at Jason Groupp's studio and caught up with Marcus Bell, Becker and Jessica Claire (crazy red eye on the picture of us), LaCour, the Bebb's, Carlos Baez, Ron Dawson, Amber Holritz, Dane Sanders, Phil Mantas, Frank DiMeo, Shari Silk, and Frederick Van.

Thursday was spent walking the trade show with my first boss from the Cape Cod Times, Arnold Miller (now the multimedia editor at NewsDay and Roots Workshop instructor) and photographer Steve Heaslip. I was thrilled to see Ed Kashi, National Geo photog and my photo professor from my study abroad during college nearly 10 years ago. I also caught up with David Jay, Garrett Nudd, Dasha Wright and David Murray.

After a visit with my college roommates Matt and Josh last night, we stopped by the PhotoShelter party before going to 230 5th Avenue- a swanky rooftop lounge (w/ palm trees!) overlooking the Empire State Building. It was a perfectly warm night to spend with Jon Lucich and Corey Miller (J's colleagues from liveBooks), Mark Adams and others. We ended the night at a biker bar in the meat-packing district with Dave Luebke and the Eaton's- craziness. ;)

Today I visited with friends from my newspaper days, and had coffee with a couple whose wedding I am photographing in the Dominican Republic in May. The bride, Machell, is a style editor at Bride's Magazine so I am very much looking forward to the details of their destination wedding.

A quick Q&A with Pink Ink Studios was posted on their blog **here** as part of their Friday "blog mixer" parties. Take a peek at their product line when you have a minute, and not just because they love pink as much as I do. The designers are extremely talented.

I'm now practicing my talk for the liveBooks booth tomorrow. I've had nightmares all week that no one will show, so fingers crossed I can deliver a good talk to those who do! Wish me luck!

PhotoPlus Expo, NYC

We're heading to Boston tomorrow night, and then to NYC through Saturday for the Photo Plus Expo at the Javits Center- a huge photography conference and tradeshow. Unlike the wedding photography conference I go to in Las Vegas each winter, this encompasses all areas of photography- fashion, editorial, fine art, weddings, travel, portraiture- you name it! There will be 20,000 photographers and vendors attending.

I am very excited to be speaking at the liveBooks booth at 11:30a on Saturday morning. If you are attending please stop by and introduce yourself!

Here is my talk topic (click image to enlarge):We'll also be attending parties for PhotoShelter, Digital Railroad and GraphiStudio.

I'll have access to email and phone while I am traveling, so don't be afraid to get in touch. Have a great week!

DC portrait schedule

As previously posted, I will be in DC 5/3-7. My schedule is very busy with portrait appointments and a wedding, but I do still have some availability on Friday, 5/4. Please let me know if you would like to have your child, pet or family photographed in your home. I'd love to see you!