Chris and Jenn's Engagement Shoot

Chris and Jenn were in town for a short visit from Philadelphia, so we got together to shoot their engagement portraits this week down at Chris's family's cottage in Angola. We started out on the beach with their recently adopted retired greyhound.

We let her get out of the heat and hung out on the beach for a while.

Then we headed over to Tubby's for some ice cream.

While we were hanging out eating, Chris spotted a field of gorgeous, purple wildflowers, and I believe his words were, "Purple! Green! Photos!" So, we headed over, and the sun was starting to set, putting a gorgeous golden light over everything.

This shot of Jenn was my favorite shot of the day.

And we had to take a photo with a nod to one of the greatest shirts I've ever seen.

Thanks for hanging out with us, you two. You are seriously adorable, and we can't wait to shoot your wedding.

Erin and Jon

I'll start off this post with one of those cool, "in-between" moments that we like. Meet Erin, gathering herself before making "the walk":

Erin and Jon got married last weekend at Niagara University's Alumni Chapel. Jon had gone to school there and since he played sports there, well - let's just say there were a couple of different reasons this couple chose their venue that will be revealed in a few photos...

Erin and Jon had their little one, Alex, along - which is really tough. We know, because Alex is just a few months older than Murphy. Luckily, bubbles are the solution to most two-year-old problems!

So, we knew things were going to be a little different when Erin told us about her sparkly wedding Converse slip-ons, but we weren't sure if she was joking or not when she asked us if we could skate. Well, we got the message when it was goodbye Chucks, hello Bauers!

Pretty rad, huh? Jon had gotten a hold of one of his buddies from his days at Niagara - and we got access to the rink!
I'm not sure, but I might have seen Jon putting on the foil. Nevertheless, Alyssa caught the couple "between the pipes," being cute during our group portrait session.

Jon did give me a little assist in keeping the girls' session loose...

Nice wrister! Seriously, getting to hang out on a rink with Erin and Jon and their bridal party was pretty rad, especially on such a hot day. We can even forgive the fact that Jon was definitely wearing a Red Wings t-shirt under his tux :).

Erin and Jon had their reception in Amherst, and we got to hang out with some really fun people all night! We'll leave this off with one last shot...we were loving Alex and his fascination with the giant cake :).

Dear Murphy - Strong Museum of Play

Hey little buddy, since this is our first "Dear Murphy" post over on this blog, we'll have to catch some people up to date. Basically, we've been keeping a running blog of your life since you were born almost two years ago and now we want to consolidate it with our "work blog."

Without further adieu, here's your latest exploits from when we rounded up the crew and headed to Rochester last week to hang out at the Strong Museum of Play

You are so into "GOOOOOOing" that we pull out your car seat - and well, you get impatient:

First things first, we couldn't start the journey with your Cousin Mackenzie and Aunt Kyle without the requisite Super Mighty Combo.

You had about two bites of your "Buffito" and then it was pass-out time. I wish I could be 22 months old and just go to sleep in random places - and wake up in randomly awesome new places.

The sky was gorgeous on the way over - since it's been raining like crazy here in Buffalo the past few days I thought I'd hook this photo up:

Your cousin Mackenzie was enjoying the ride over with her mom:

We have to give some love to the old Kodak building - driving over to Rochester is like a little pilgrimage each time. I still use Tri-x obsessively when I feel like shooting film.

The first thing we saw when we went into the Strong Museum was a Berenstain Bear.

We also saw Clifford the Big Red Dog, but your cousin wasn't so sure about him (see foreground). Mackenzie is awesome - she basically accused Clifford of fraud, saying, "You're look like you're stuffed and not real." Good call, kiddo.

The next photos are from the Butterfly Garden exhibit at the museum - it was really cool and had hundreds and hundreds of butterflies.

And, for some reason, a turtle that Mackenzie was really into:

So, we learned a lot at the Strong Museum - but I'm not entirely sure the knowledge of how to use a chop saw is something your mom and dad need for you right now...

Then we played some giant chess...well, relative to you the pieces were pretty big:

Sand pit time:

Okay, so I'm slacking on the narrative - I get that. They have a pretty sweet Clifford exhibit that we really enjoyed - and by "we", I mean you drove the boat to Birdwell Island for about 20 minutes while I made "toot toot" noises.

Before we took off for the day we all did some posing at the Sesame Street exhibit - first with Mackenzie:

Then with your aunt Kyle, Mackenzie, Mommy and you!

That's all for this post - so wave to all your fans from the carousel.

Well done, buddy.

Either later tonight or tomorrow first thing we'll have photos from this week's wedding up. Thanks for stopping by the blog :)

Juli and Willie

I wanted to subtitle this post, "The Best Wedding Present Ever," because I truely could have done an entire blog post about Juli's amazing present to Willie. However, this post is not about her wedding present, it's about her fantastic wedding. I don't think I've ever seen the level of family participation in the wedding preparation as I did at Juli's. She got ready at her parents home, while her family ran around putting the final touches on the reception site -- their backyard.

When the van arrived with the flowers, I was a bit floored by the never-ending supply of flora that was carried into the house and yard. They were, in a word, stunning arrangements. The bouquets were some of the most beautiful I've seen. Juli told me she told the florist she wanted each of the bouquets to be different and unique, but similar and ended the direction at that. They each had a unique flower, but all the same color palette. I don't think florists often get brides who give them so much artistic freedom, and in the end, Juli was thrilled with result. This is one of the bouquets with the rings.

Meanwhile, Rich was with Willie and the groomsmen getting ready. I loved this portrait of the group. It's difficult to get a shot like this -- to get the reflection well-lit and sharp, you often have to blow out the skin, but Rich nailed it and was able to keep all the detail.

At Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Church, Juli walked down the aisle with her father and a piece of her mother -- that's her mom's veil. She changed into a shorter one after the ceremony, but I thought it was a really amazing gesture. Plus, the veil worked perfectly with her absolutely stunning (though, I'm told, quite heavy) lace and beaded gown.

We only shot a couple of quick portraits on the steps of the church. Again, this is why I totally love having the both of us shooting -- Rich took this informal portrait (that also set the stage for a Fourth of July weekend wedding) while I was setting up the second shot of the bridal party.

Then we headed back over to her family's land for some more intimate portraits of the two of them. When I went out to Juli's parent's house a few months ago, we chatted around their table and Juli mentioned she wasn't sure where to do the portraits. Then we walked out back and I saw the small lake (they call it a pond, but it must be 50 feet across), perfectly landscaped gardens and the grape fields. And I thought, "Huh, I think this might do." These first two, again, are a simultaneous moment -- I'm able to set up a posed shot, and Rich can get a little creative with the angle, without taking extra time to set up different poses.

This is one of my favorite shots of the day, because I love a daytime silhouette, and you don't often get the right lighting and the right landscape at the same time. But they had a beautiful hill, some grape fields, and the sun in the right direction to make it work.

Okay, so I've already raved about the flowers, but I have to give a shout out to the cake, as well. It was straight out of a Martha Stewart magazine. She had each tier separated by a different color of fresh flowers, and I think it's just gorgeous.

As I mentioned before, Juli had a surprise present for Willie that made the rest of us recent brides look terrible. Seriously, how do you compete with a Mister Softee truck arriving at the reception?

As you can tell by his affection for the truck, Willie loves Mister Softee. Apparently, he's known to chase the truck down, and, rumor has it, that the Mister Softee in his neighborhood knows him by name. Clearly, Willie was thrilled by the present, and he made sure everyone knew, he married the best woman, ever. And seriously, with a surprise like that, I think he just might have.

After everyone got their ice cream, it was time for some dancing under the tent. Juli's parents worked so hard, personally, on getting all the details to work perfectly for the wedding. I'm told, shy of setting up the tent, her dad did almost everything else. I think it was a family effort, though. One of Juli's bridesmaids told me when she'd talked to Juli earlier in the week, she was busy toasting walnuts for the salads.

The evening wrapped up with a spectacular fireworks display. From across the "pond," her uncle set off a phenomenal 30-minute show. It was a perfect way to end an amazing day, and Rich and I were so thrilled to be a part of it. Congratulations, you two.