Brighter days

It looks warm out and it is warm out!  I'm feeling much better today.  Thank you all for the get well wishes.  The sickness never got bad, it just put me under for a few days. 

I've been sitting at the computer a lot lately trying to get caught up on all this work.  My body feels like mush.  My eyes are strained.  Today we're going out in the nice weather to get some exercise.  Got to get these legs moving again. 

Todays photo is of Kristin, another bride who's expecting a baby!  Congrats Kristin and Tony!

Under the weather...

Short post today.  I've been waking up lately feeling a little under the weather.  This weather has been so up and down that it's best for me to ignore the outside completely and stay in bed.

The entire country had a pretty crazy winter, hang in folks, the summer is almost here!  In the meantime, stay healthy out there.

Todays photo is of Gary and his ring bearer hangin' out!

It's all about the light!

A lot of you have been asking me what time is best to have your ceremony.  

If you have your ceremony too early, in the summer months I have to fight with the mid-afternoon sun which is not attractive lighting.  If you're my client and you're trying to plan timing for pictures, try and push the ceremony into the afternoon.  Later the better so the suns position gives me better lighting.  Shooting between 12-3pm is not the best lighting for pictures.  I work fast so all I need is an hour for photos.  Shooting between 4-6pm is ideal.

Todays photo of the day is from a wedding I shot this past November.  It gets darker earlier in the fall months so the sun sets right before cocktail hour a.k.a "Magic Hour".

"Amateur photographers worry about equipment. Professionals worry about money.  Masters worry about LIGHT!"

Our Own Wedding Plans! (Part 2)

Here's Part 2 of how two wedding photographers/wine lovers are planning their own wedding.  If you didn't read (Part 1) click here to catch up!

Is it crazy that we planned our rehearsal dinner location before the wedding location?  The way we see it, we're so laid back and "go with the flow" kind of people that our wedding won't have a rehearsal.  In it's place we are having a "welcoming party" at Rubicon where our guests can relax and drink up the vino the night before the big day!

On the wedding day we won't be getting married until 6pm so we can let loose the night before!  Why so late?  It's all about the lighting to set the mood!

Danielle (left) enjoying the view with our wedding planner (right) on top of our wedding site at Kunde Estate's "Mountain Top".

Nobody can get married in Napa Valley unless the winery carries a special license.  The ones that do, we do not like.  So we took a drive into Sonoma Valley which is Napa's neighbor.  We visited Kunde Estate, the winery where Danielle's father is a wine club member.  Kunde Estate was the location where the movie Bottle Shock was filmed!

Kunde has many beautiful sites on their property where we can get married.  Our wedding planner took us to a brand new spot called "Mountain Top".  It's on top of the mountain overlooking all of Sonoma Valley with Napa Valley at our backs.  We will be the first wedding on this site!!!

This is the parking area and gate where the limo will park and drop off Danielle and her father.

"Mountain Top" has a couple obstacles we have to overcome.  "Mountain Top" doesn't have any power so we will have to rent a "Whisper quiet generator" and have a lighting technician/artist light the location.  We just got news that Kunde recently installed bathrooms on top of the mountain so we no longer have to rent a Johnny on the spot!

This is the view of Napa Valley as we look to the left.

This is the view of Kunde's grapes on the side of the mountain as we look to the right.

Seeing that the site has limited power we can't have a four course dinner on the site.  But that's okay.  All of our family and friends drink wine and when we do, we like to snack while we drink.  We found a caterer that will bring in a full range of cheeses, fruits, appetizers & h'orderves!  

Here's a shot of our bar on top of the mountain!  We'll have two wedding planners from Kunde and our caterer helping out with the food and drinks.

This is the view we get to enjoy as the sun sets, enjoy amazing wine, food, music and conversations! 

So what happens if it rains??  Since we have such a small group of people the wedding will be moved inside Kunde's wine caves that are just as beautiful as this site!  The wine caves are built into the side of a mountain.  Not bad for a "Plan B"!

To Be Continued...

Future Bride and grooms

It seems like all of my past bride and grooms are having babies right now.  They are being born left and right!  I'm so happy for everyone.  I hope I won't be chasing around bridal parties in 20+ years but if I am it would be an honor to shoot your kids wedding :)

Photo of the day is of Amy who just had a baby girl over the weekend!  Congratulations to ALL!

The NEW "Urban Couture" Book!

I apologize for no post yesterday, today I'll make it up to you by posting 15 new photos of our brand new "Urban Couture" Book!

Another great thing about visiting the Las Vegas WPPI convention was that I met my album Distributor in person!  They were very excited about a new book they were coming out with.  After looking at it in person I got excited myself and had to offer it to my clients!

I designed my studio sample using the photos from Shannon & Paul's "Notebook" themed Engagement Photo Shoot.

If you want the new book, ask me about price options for the upgrade!  

I hope you all love it as much as I do!

Who's Counting Anyway....

It's restaurant week here in Western, NY and that means a lot of participating restaurants have deals for $20.11.  Get out there and taste what Buffalo's best has to offer at a great price.  Tonight will be my fourth night in a row.

Todays photo is a family portrait.  Some cultures have a big party before the ceremony at the brides house.  I wanted to see if we could fit everyone into the living room.  Somehow they made it happen!  I lose track every time I try to count how many people are in this photo.  Can you?

Our Own Wedding Plans! (Part 1)

Ever wonder how two wedding photographers would plan their own wedding?  Danielle and I are going to have a small and intimate wedding with our closest friends and family in Napa Valley, California.  We love wine, we love Napa and we love to travel.  It's perfect!

Our "Welcoming/Rehearsal Dinner" will take place at the Rubicon Estate.  Formally known as Niebaum/Coppola currently owned by Francis Ford Coppola.  We've been visiting the winery every year since we've been together...

"Rubicon is the winery’s flagship wine and is made from grapes harvested from organically grown vineyards on the winery property." 

Rubicon Estate will be closed to the public and we will have the winery to ourselves!  We'll be having a four course dinner in a private room that's located in the Estate Wine Cellar called "Daniel's Cellar".  Lucky for us they have a larger table than pictured below...

We chose a dinner package that included decor, floral, music and special lighting.  We didn't want to go through any third parties since we are planning from New York!  We will have our photographer there to photograph the event since this dinner is a big part of our wedding...

We visited many of our other favorite wineries but Rubicon Estate went above and beyond for us and really made us feel at home.  Giving us private access to the Estate was very important to us.  During our visit they treated us to a VIP tasting in the private members room.  This clinched the decision for us!

To Be Continued.....

Under pressure!

Danielle is out of town for the day.  She is shopping for her own wedding dress.  She has the task to find a wedding dress that will be photographed in Napa Valley, CA for our Ceremony by our photographer, Rick Collins.  Then she'll be photographed in Hawaii on our Honeymoon by me!  And then she'll be photographed here in New York for our Reception!  The dress will be photographed in 3 different states by 3 different photographers and will travel 10,000 miles in 3 weeks!

We're getting a lot accomplished as far as our own wedding plans go.  We've locked down all of our locations in California and New York.  I will share the details of our plans in future blogs if you want to see what kind of wedding two wedding photographers will have.

Todays photo is of Kathleen who got married on New Years Eve.  She changed into a wedding cocktail dress for the midnight party of her reception.  I brought her outside in the streets shortly after the ball dropped.  It rained a lot during the day and cleared up and warmed up at night so it was nice to get her out in the streets for a photo shoot! 

One month countdown

One more month to go and wedding season will be in full swing!  I've learned a lot over the off-season and have made quite a few upgrades and can't wait to start using them.  2011 Brides, get excited!!!! 

Todays photo of the day is from a wedding I shot in New Jersey.  Meghan and Kevin chose a really nice park for photos.  On the day of the wedding there was a culture fair taking place.  We thought it would be fun to walk through.  This is another wedding where I will be posting a lot more photos from!