http://www.nickelcitystudios.com/ Nickel City Studios Blog en-us http://www.nickelcitystudios.com/index.cfm?postID=226 http://www.nickelcitystudios.com/index.cfm?postID=226 Fri, 03 Sep 2010 21:22:00 GMT Rich: After we photographed that perfect little munchkin, Trey, we got back into our couples work with two of our kick-ass 2011 wedding clients. We hadn't done an engagement (or couples or whatever we call these photo-shoots these days) at Delaware Park in a while so we decided, with it being so beautiful and green now, it'd work perfectly. And it did - and we had a really rad time hanging out with Alana and Mike.

Alyssa: Not only was it beautiful and green, but the light was just stunning for us. I had a blast. Plus, these two = gorgeous!

Alyssa: So, it's funny - a lot of these photos are very golden, and today wasn't super hot, and it's September, so I feel like it's fall, but it was really about 90 while we were shooting these. Luckily, I have the best husband of all who carried my gear for me. Not that it helped; we both had totally gross sweat lines where our camera straps were by the time we were done, but I'm so, so glad we shot when we did. Seriously, look at that light! It's killer!!

Rich: Do you think we hint enough at what times we like to schedule shoots on the blog? Maybe a little.

Anyway - we are, as always, working until 9 at night writing this post and watching television and prepping gear for tomorrow's wedding - and this dude on the history channel is about to jump from about 40 feet up into a pool of cold water - 12 inches deep. Now, I've done some pretty dumb stuff in my day, but I've never thought to myself, "Hey, you know what - I should figure out how to survive a belly-flop from three stories up."

Rich: Also, I love that some genius at the Olmstead Parks Conservancy was like, "Hey, we'll stop mowing down certain areas and call it a 'natural regeneration area.'" I kid, I'm sure it's all good and a great idea for the park - and it gives us some great spaces to play, visually.

Also, back to this great couple - I freaking love this one, hon.

Alyssa: Thanks - that might be my fav, too. So, yeah, the belly flop - I don't know how much beer he had to figure that one out, but there it was. A 30-foot belly flop into a pool 12 inches deep. Kinda weird. Not that this whole show isn't - Stan Lee's super humans... a bunch of people doing crazy, crazy stuff, like a guy using his body to run electricity. Huh...

Rich: We are so apropos it hurts. Maybe we should try blogging in the mornings.

So, there's this one awesome willow tree you can walk entirely inside of. Someday, if that whole lottery-winning thing works out, I want a big yard with a willow tree I can hang out inside of all day. I definitely won't look as good as Alana and Mike do in the willow tree, but I'll definitely have a smile on my face!

Alyssa: Yeah - we're only one of about everyone I know who's banking on that lotto thing. It probably would help if we bought a ticket every now and then though... but yeah, definitely a willow tree. :) Maybe we can even do that without winning the lottery. I hear you can get trees for under a mil.

Alyssa: How ridiculous is it that Alana's eyes are literally the same shade of ridiculously awesome blue as that shirt. Love it.

Alyssa: I think this is my favorite fo yours, babe...

Alyssa: Oop! No, I lied. :) This one definitely is :)

Rich: Thank you - but I know you're just buttering me up because of how happy I know you are about this next one ;).

Rich: Alana, Mike - thank you so much hanging with us and making just some great photos :) You guys re awesome and we love that we got to work with you now - but we're gonna hate having to wait till next year to photograph your wedding! Have a great, long (if you get it off) weekend and we'll be out there, shootin away as much as we can. Thanks for reading!

]]> http://www.nickelcitystudios.com/index.cfm?postID=227 http://www.nickelcitystudios.com/index.cfm?postID=227 Fri, 03 Sep 2010 20:37:00 GMT Rich: Hey, and we're back after a whopping whole day of not writing a blog post - with two. First off, an incredibly adorable kiddo his parents call "trey." We could barely keep up with this little guy, and it was great.

Alyssa: The one above = definitely my fav. I love how much kids and dogs are alike - Murphy at this age and our dogs would fight over sticks and leaves in our yard. We've talked a bit about how much we like shooting families, although our schedule often gets filled up with big people first, but of all little people, this is my favorite age to shoot - Trey is just turning one, and his personality is coming through, he's all kinds of moving around and he's so into discovering the things around him. It's so cool when water or some leaves are way cooler than big expensive toys. So rad!

Rich: Yeah - as well we know with Murphy on the doorstep of four, those days are quickly fading. Things are a lot simpler when you're one, and everything is kindof perfect.

Rich: This one might well be my favorite. I can't get over how much I love shooting kids. I assume it's because we have a kid now - and what the hell, I'll throw it out there - we've got another on the way! So, right now, being around babies and toddlers is a ton of fun, and I'm trying to get my head right for round two of having an infant :)

Alyssa: Oh! Fair enough, I guess we're announcing our pregnancy on the blog... wasn't exactly my first choice, but if you like, there it is. We're pretty excited, though. We haven't had the easiest time with it, so we're really happy. Like this adorable family!

Alyssa: I like that whenever we're tell folks we just want them to play with their kids, all dads inherently toss their kid in the air, throw them over their should or hang them upside down. And sometimes, all three :)

Rich: It's a dad thing - you just want to wrestle and roll around with your kiddo, you know? Toss 'em in the air - it always gets a laugh, even as they get older. I remember Murphy giggling like nuts when I would toss him as a one-year-old. Heck, he loves it now, I just get a little less height on him now that he's pushing 38 pounds.

It's actually been a hell of a week. We've been sick a couple of the days, but we got to hear the as-yet-unnamed baby's heartbeat for the first time, we had a couple of great shoots the past coupla days and we cold-turkey quit facebook, which is kindof weird - but a really good feeling. We kept the fan or "like" or whatever page up, but we ditched our personal accounts and, I gotta tell you, it feels kindof cool to feel like I'm getting back a minimum of an aggregate hour a day I used to spend looking a newsfeed.

Alyssa: A little less... ha! You used to get serious air, he now gets maybe a foot. So, Ming... Ming did not like that I spent the first 15 minutes calling her Toto. For real, we're walking up, and Rich hears her barking, and said something about Toto, so I sat there calling her that forever. Thank you, babe, for not correcting me that I was totally using the wrong name and just letting me sound like an idiot. Maybe she would've like me more if I hadn't been mocking her.

Alyssa: Being a parent really is the coolest thing on Earth. For real.

Rich: It is - so, so, so much :). Every time I think having kids can't get better - our kid surprises me. I'm sure all parents feel that way. I really, really wish we had spent the time and money on having portraits of Murphy taken at around one. We've had a couple family portrait sessions done in the last year and a half, and I can't stress how awesome it is to have those.

Alyssa: It's crazy nerve-wracking for sure - Laura mentioned she really didn't need family shots, but really wanted stuff of Trey, and I get it. As an adult, you get paranoid about getting your photo taken. Most of your life, people have whipped out a camera, flashed you two feet from your face, while you're mid-talking or eating, and it's not fun. Truly, the most common things we hear when brides come in to meet with us are "I don't like my photo taken," and "I'm not comfortable in front of a camera." But there's no way I'm not getting photos of an adorable happy family while I'm shooting kids - I truly regret not having photos of us with Murphy for the first 3 years (literally, we had three photos with all three of us in the shot, and two of them were drawn on a machine at Chuck E. Cheese). This age is so cool, and I wish we had these for us at this age, but also for Murphy when he's an adult with a family of his own. This = exactly what you want your kid to see when he goes back to see what his childhood was like.

Alyssa: That thing I said about upside down...

Alyssa: ...and tossed in the air? Check and check.

Rich: And, for real, the kid is a poser. A couple different times I swooped in close for a couple frames and he paused and cracked a smile. Awesome :).

Rich: Thank you guys for having us out to capture your family! And thank you, so much, for booking so far out due to our insane wedding schedule. Next year we'll be taking less weddings so we can hopefully do some more family portrait stuff. If you want to book something with us mid-winter or next spring, give us a shout now! Okay, sorry for the mini sales pitch. I'm psyched Alyssa picked this one as the last photo - I freaking love it :). Cheers, you guys, on having such a beautiful, happy, perfect baby.

]]> http://www.nickelcitystudios.com/index.cfm?postID=225 http://www.nickelcitystudios.com/index.cfm?postID=225 Thu, 02 Sep 2010 22:45:00 GMT Alyssa: So, it was finally time for Kim + Adam's wedding Saturday! It feels like forever since we got together with them at the tail end of last summer, and they are two of the cutest people ever, so we were super stoked to shoot them again. Adam + family = cutest reaction to an aisle walk ever!

Rich: Oh, no doubt. Kim was dying to have that reaction shot of Adam as she came down the aisle, and you nailed it.

When I walked into Kim and Adam's house Saturday morning, I was blown away by the sheer number of photos Kim and Adam have up on the walls, in albums, printed on wine labels, you name it - it's just kindof awesome to see and made me feel a ton of pressure to kick ass all day long...which is a good thing, I like that pressure.

I also loved Kim's details - like the photo in her bouquet of her mom (she had special photos in all the girls' bouquets - super rad). And, in case you're wondering - I actually did the blog order this week in our attempt to change things up a bit...no real rhyme or reason :).

Alyssa: I'm so proud of you :) For real, though, thanks for doing it - I think you did a great job... as did Kim + Adam on their couple's session. Way hot.

Alyssa: Maybe my fav...

Alyssa: We got to shoot at Chez Ann on Chippewa, which I was super, super stoked to shoot in, again. It's one of my favorite salon spots to shoot in - really funky, lots of light... loved being in there!

Rich: Nice - yeah, I remember you raving about shooting in that place before - I dig everything you pulled in there - some really great stuff at the beginning of the slideshow (you know, not that I'm trying to sell you on watching it or anything...). When we got the church with the guys, a surprise was waiting for Adam - a totally sweet piper playing for him (and who stayed for the wedding to play the couple up and down - it was awesome.)

Alyssa: As the daughter + grandkid of pipers, I'm always so excited to have pipers at weddings - especially because we just don't see them that often. This shot is gorgeous, babe.

Rich: Thanks - hey, don't praise the selection too much. I literally just went bw/color/bw/color and then came upstairs from the studio :) Hey - these aren't even necessarily our favorite photos. For instance, my very favorite from the whole day is in the slideshow, but not up here. But I'm done being all pseudo-meta about the blog and talking about it incessantly. I'm just psyched we're staying excited about what we're doing as the season winds down for us.

Alyssa: One thing I absolutely adore about Kim is how ridiculously happy she is - with the exception of the emotional parts of the day, she was laughing the entire time. Happy bride = major win.

Rich: Adam, too, man - it was one of those days where everyone was happy no matter what. Kim had the wedding day planned perfectly and even Adam's little wardrobe malfunction which will remain off the blog didn't slow the couple down.

Alyssa: Ha! I'd forgotten about that - I don't know how, but I totally forgot about that, like, hour of the day!

Rich: Kleinhan's for the reception was so dope. The only thing that could have made it better was having Strictly Hip play it - oh, wait, Adam and Kim locked that on, too! Live bands are a huge win for receptions.

Alyssa: So, we were shooting some of Adam + Kim, and Adam's like, so maybe you could just take some of Kim. Ha! But she killed it alone while Adam was definitely not finishing his beer :)

Rich: hah :)

Alyssa: I love this - and not just because of that gorgeous photographer in the background :)

Rich: You mean the video guy? Like, you didn't move that he wasn't shooting directly over your shoulder. I'm pretty happy I give us the air of being completely incompetent and you look SO competent doing your job that I never have to deal with stuff like that :P. I kid, the video guy was great to work with and I appreciated the shit out of him lending me that rim light all night long with his on-camera light.

Also - this is so $$$.

Alyssa: Emotional goodness between dad + daughter? Check!

Alyssa: Times two!

Rich: GREAT first dance, too. You know what one of my favorite parts of a wedding day has been lately? When a bride watches her new husband dancing with his mom and him watching her with her dad, etc. I really dig that.

Alyssa: Definitely my favorite of yours, babe. I love this.

Rich: Thanks - hey, you just can't get more or your tall grass than at Tifft, right?

Alyssa: For real, Kim you are the best.

Rich: Eh, you're okay, too, Adam. Thanks, again, bro for making me feel so welcome and gor having some really great friends and family to spend a day shooting with.

Alyssa: And Kim's totally rad morning-after gift for her dad :) Guys, thanks so much for being super rad, and for having us with you. You, your friends and family are awesome, and we had a blast shooting you!

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]]> http://www.nickelcitystudios.com/index.cfm?postID=224 http://www.nickelcitystudios.com/index.cfm?postID=224 Wed, 01 Sep 2010 15:59:00 GMT Alyssa: Hey guys - so we're kind of hard up for sitters right now - one of our awesome sitters got married and moved, and we're really in need of a few people who might want to watch Murph while we're out shooting. We haven't had great luck with finding people off craigslist, so we thought maybe someone we know who reads this blog might be looking for some part-time work or know someone, maybe a sibling going through college, with fairly flexible hours looking for some part time work.

The hours are usually evenings or weekends, though we do some weekday shoots, but we'd love to talk to anyone who might be interested, even if you only have weekends or evenings or weekdays open. Please email us if you're interested or pass it on to your friends/family who might be able to help! Thanks! richandalyssa@nickelcitystudios.com

]]> http://www.nickelcitystudios.com/index.cfm?postID=223 http://www.nickelcitystudios.com/index.cfm?postID=223 Wed, 25 Aug 2010 22:35:00 GMT Rich: I just can't do it. I cannot find an appropriate superlative or even set of adjectives to describe how much we love Adam and Ashlee, who just got married on one of the most fun, passionate, and happy freaking day we've ever gotten to be a part of.

We've been dying to get into these photos and get them posted, but we've been crazy sick all week, and we didn't want to rush through such a happy day. It's true, we linger a little longer on the photos we love the most and when we (as we often do) get emotionally involved in our work, this is a really, really rewarding job.

Oh yeah, and this is the start of us just randomly posting images. Our inspiration is our photo buddy Fer Juaristi, down in Mexico, who just lets it all hang out in his blog posts and makes them memorable and interesting while not necessarily posting (as Momma Love said in the comments last week :P ) the shots people expect us to post. Hopefully it'll work better for us and show folks how we think through a wedding day, visually. And a whole crapload more are in the slideshow, in order, so dig in :).

Alyssa: It was actually really freeing to pick my favorite photos and not feel obligated to chose shots that "tell the story." As Rich said, they're in the slideshow in order, so I really love the idea of just having our favorites in the post.

Alyssa: So, Adam + Ashlee - they're kind of awesome. You know how there's that six-degree of separation? I've said forever that I think Buffalo has about a three-degree of separation, and Ashlee's mom told me the coolest story at the reception. There was this photo of Ashlee when she was four, and it was always her mom's absolutely favorite photo of her. Holding flowers, sitting in front of this log cabinesque building in her jeans + sweater and being all adorable four-year-old Ashlee. Turns out, it was Adam's property and the spot he waited for the bus his whole life. I just thought that was the coolest story ever.

Rich: That is pretty rad :). We talk about that a lot, too - you know, taking a photo or set of photos that is going to be a touchstone for couples and their families. I know I have a single, defining photo for me of my grandparents and of my parents, etc. And, I have to point out, these aren't necessary MY favorite photos posted here - but I'm an awful self-editor (I think most photographers are) and I cannot tell you how much I appreciate you doing the selecting and slideshow prep. Because, honestly - I tried to do the slideshow once and I couldn't get through the timing - I get distracted WAY too easily and forget to hit the transitions.

I will say that it was completely awesome when we arrived at Ashlee's folk's house and they were asking about Murphy and Ashlee's mom was having her move where she was getting her makeup done by Allie, her sister, into better light for photos...I mean, it was great. I love the hell out of a whole family who reads the blog. You guys are incredible. Both sides of the aisle, too. It was not hard to see where Adam and Ashlee come from and why they make such an incredible couple.

Alyssa: Thanks - I really do like selecting for the blog. I like having the power in our relationship :)

Yeah, both of these families were amazing, and I was so stoked we got to be there for this day. Also, I love this photo :)

Alyssa: I am also totally smitten with this shot of yours - gorgeous.

Rich: Right on - hey, just because you don't ever wear a dress doesn't mean you wear the pants. As our three-year-old would say, "Do we need to get in a fight?"

Alyssa: Ha! We walk into Ashlee's parents' home, and it is filled with all kinds of amazing - her mom likes vintage pieces, and I was in heaven shooting her details there. Seriously, awesome.

Alyssa: It was a crazy emotional day - I think my spouse over here even teared up a little when they finally saw each other. ;)

Rich: Good lord, yeah. Like, both sets of parents were crying, Adam and Ashlee were crying, so I said fuck-it and let my inner emotional cripple roll with it. Hey, I'm still a tough guy and have the Marine Corps ribbons to prove it - but, dammit, I'm gonna let a couple drop at an intense wedding like this - just a humbling amount of love and pure, happy relief to be getting married.

Rich: And we finally got to shoot a bridal party in a place we've been wanting to take a bridal party for a long time. And it didn't rain on us AT ALL while we were out shooting - rained like crazy during the reception, but for once this summer it worked out for us and we had a great couples session with a-squared.

Alyssa: I would've been crazy bummed if it had rained during our couple's session considering the last time we shot them, it was so cold, we would jump in the car, put our fingers in the heating vents, man up and jump out again for a couple shots. Winter photos are so rad, but man, can they be brutal. So, luckily this time, no rain. Just crazy, crazy heat...

Rich: I also love it when we can commiserate with our couples about the heinous conditions we've previously shot them in. That was brutal - like, what, I think it was 6 that day or something unbelievable?

Alyssa: I love this shot of yours - I love it when folks have both parents walk them down the aisle; I just think it's rad. And I love that you caught this moment.

Rich: Hah - thanks - it was a pretty effortless day. When there is so much going on that's so damned happy....well, like I said up there a few frames back, it was a great freaking day to be a wedding photographer.

Alyssa: Not only was there lots of tears at this wedding, there were lots of hugs :) Super cute.

Rich: Thanks - and how great was it that Ash rocked flip-flops all day on her wedding day? Hey - so did we.

Alyssa: Also, babies. I loved that there were kids running around like crazy at this wedding - Ashlee + Adam are maybe two of the most kid-friendly people ever. I loved that Ashlee dropped into casual conversation their kid-timeline. I can't wait to see the adorable you two make!

Rich: Yep - we're gonna have to get in on that with some cameras, guys. And I mean AFTER the kids are born, you know we don't shoot boudoir or porn. Sorry - I just realized I typed some weird shit about "getting in" your reproductive issues. I should just shut the hell up and get on out so we can post this for you guys :).

Rich: Hell yeah.

Alyssa: I'd never seen someone do custom pint glasses before - waaaay rad.

Rich: Boom, and we're done. Hey - that way to blog was pretty refreshing, considering we were starting to feel like we were getting somewhat repetitious. Anyway, like I said before - I promised 10:30 and it's 10:35 - so I've gotta press "save" and let you guys know how much we love ya and how happy we are how the whole wedding went down. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

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]]> http://www.nickelcitystudios.com/index.cfm?postID=222 http://www.nickelcitystudios.com/index.cfm?postID=222 Fri, 20 Aug 2010 23:01:00 GMT Rich: Aaaaaand, we're back. It's late as all get out on a Friday evening before a wedding and here we are posting photos on our blog. We're kind of wild and crazy like that. Our nuts wedding shooting schedule is making our summer fly by. We had so many plans and places we wanted to go and things we wanted to do - and now it's almost September and we're down to something like ten weddings left this year and we haven't done a tenth of the things we wanted to do and said we were going to do. I swear we were shooting brides in the snow like two days ago, too. We're taking pretty much all of November and December off this year, though, and we can't wait. That's going to be our summer and our time to woodshed and rebuild and get better.

So, we had a pretty bad-ass shoot with Kristen and Brandon earlier this week, hi-lighted not just by some new places to shoot but a really amazing surprise courtesy of our awesome bride-to-be....you'll see here in a second.

But first off, my favorite frame, Alyssa. I saw you playing with this one as we were trying out some new processing techniques and I still just freaking love it...great stuff :)

Alyssa: Thanks - I was pretty stoked with that one, too :) Kristen was just about as adorable as I could've asked for.

Alyssa: So, Kristen pulled some massive strings and got us on to the Buffalo Fire Department ship, the Edward M. Cotter. She's 110 years old and awesome. We always say that the location doesn't really matter, but man is it fun to get new places, especially when they're as rad as this!

Rich: Heck yes :) It's no secret I'm kindof a huge fan of any sort of boat or watercraft, and I don't recall we've ever gotten to shoot on one before (our old jobs, excluding, of course). I think this was my favorite of the whole shoot. I absolutely love how Kristen laughs with Brandon.

Alyssa: We also wandered around the surrounding neighborhood as the sun was getting just about perfect. And we were totally right by the General Mills plant. Weirdest thing ever - I have never, ever, ever smelled anything aside from Cheerios being made, and while we were wandering around, some sort of cinnamon delishesness was floating in the air (Cinnamon Toast Crunch, perhaps?), and my stomach just about ate itself. I know everyone is proud of the city smelling like Cheerios and all, but if it could smell like that cinnamon all the time, I would be a much more pleasant person. It was just about amazing.

Rich: Alyssa just said, as I stared at the tv instead of typing on the laptop, "I gave you an opening to talk about cereal..." Sooooooo, I like cereal? What the hell, Alyssa?

Anyway - we do need to hurry this up because I just promised Kristen on our facebook page we would have this posted by 11 at the latest. Let's get on with it!

Rich: There's nothing quite like laying on this crazy steel bridge and your wife sortof nonchalantly mentioning there's a giant truck about to run you over. It's cool though, got the shot. And HOLD THE PHONE - Alyssa, did you just flip the channel from the roast of David Hasselhoff to a show called "Left at the Altar"?? What the hell is wrong with television??

Alyssa: It was a commercial break! Clearly, I'm not going to not come back to David Hasselhoff's roast - I love these stupid things.

Alyssa: Oh look! A overgrown, grassy... um, field... :) But it looks gorgeous, huh :)

Alyssa: Like.

Rich: Thank you - that one really worked out, huh? I might get that one printed - we need some new stuff on the studio walls :).

Alyssa: For real, though - why is Hulk Hogan wearing a boa?

Rich: hah! I don't know - because, as a child of the 80s and 90s, he's still completely awesome??

I think this little section of Buffalo might quickly become my favorite, random place to shoot....

Rich: ...but the boat was really kick-ass. Thank you so much for hooking that up, Kristen! We have some really cool stuff to show you for the sesh :).

Alyssa: Yeah, it was a really, really fun area to shoot - you guys were awesome. Thank you so much for being so rad - we had a blast, and hope you guys are having a blast on your vacation!

]]> http://www.nickelcitystudios.com/index.cfm?postID=221 http://www.nickelcitystudios.com/index.cfm?postID=221 Thu, 19 Aug 2010 09:57:00 GMT Alyssa: Blogging drives me nuts. For some reason, I have this weird sense of guilt and obligation to show photos from all parts of the day from each wedding we shoot. When sometimes, like this day, I just wanted to post photos from Jen + Nick's couples' session, because well I loved the whole day, I am just so in love with the photos from that session. So, I tried to convince myself this would be the post where I break out of this mold I've built on the blog and just show you what I wanted to. After all, selections from the whole day are in the slideshow, so if you want to see the whole day, you certainly can. So, why not use the blog just to show my favorites - even if they are all from getting ready or the portrait session or just from dancing?

But then I sat down to select, and I just couldn't do it. I totally felt guilty. I don't even know why - it's my blog, I should do what I want, but then I started over thinking things, like a mad man (or, well, a girl), and started thinking, what if Jen + Nick think I don't love their photos (which I totally do), and I'm only proud of their couple's session? What if they think I didn't like their wedding (which I totally did!) which is why their post is different from the rest of them?

So, that's where I'm at. I want to change how I do this blog, but I don't know how to begin. So, my past + future couples, would you be weirded out or start questioning why if your post was different then the rest? I feel like once I change how I post, then it's fine, but I also don't want to hurt anyone's feelings by having theirs be the first different one. Am I being a totally psycho here? Oy. Anyway...

So, Jen + Nick! We got to shoot their amazing day, Saturday, out in Orchard Park. We got to the house, and when I saw Jen's dress, I think I actually squealed. I loved it. So, of course, I asked where she found it - turns out she saw it on a national wedding blog, saw in the comments the type of dress it was, then tried like heck to find someone in town to carry the line (no one did), or who could order it for her (no one would), so she ended up ordering it from somewhere crazy, like Indiana (not that Indiana's crazy - just far for a wedding dress!) and having it shipped here. A lot of work for a dress, but when it's the perfect one... and it was. She looked stunning in it...

Alyssa: She also has an etsy fetish - which I totally get. What an addicting little corner of the internet. I can spend a lot of money there, but how can you not when people do such amazingly awesome, unique wedding details? Seriously, adorable.

Rich: So good! That dress is easily the prettiest dress I've ever seen on a bride. But to your blogging point, yeah - I'm right there with ya. Wedding photography blogs are so effing ubiquitous now. We shoot, we process, we post, we gush. Hey - we're often husband and wife teams - how original :P. And for good reason - our couples pick us and we pick them because we LIKE them and we really get into the idea of them being together forever and how we can be a tiny part of that during the wedding process. And we do work our asses off - this is the most demanding job I've ever had, and that's really saying something. But it does sometimes feel that we're all just waiting for the next thing to be told how to blog, or what to blog or how to process. There is nothing I have seen quite so lemming-like as the national wedding photography community after being part of it the past four years.

But those of you who swing by when we have a new post (and maybe or maybe not even read the crap we say), we really do appreciate it. We'll keep on thinking of how we can change the site to make it more interesting and more valuable to everybody. The bottom line is we want to make what we post work for our clients, first and foremost, but we also want to make sure we're working to keep things true to our general vision of the quality we want to be producing.

Anyway, back to your regularly-scheduled wedding photography post :).

Alyssa: I loved this - one of my favorites from the day...

Rich: Nice, really awesome stuff, hon. These are some of the best getting-ready photos I've ever seen!

Alyssa: Jen's folks had a beautiful home with lots of natural light coming in - it really makes a difference to get ready in a space with nice window light coming in and not with the curtains drawn and solely lit with an overhead, yellow light fixture. I had a blast shooting in this light!

Rich: Wedding tiiiiiime.

Alyssa: Thank you, guest flash!

Alyssa: So, we headed to this little naturey-trail area, and it was a bit overcast, so I mistakingly thought it would be a reasonable temperature. It wasn't. I think, and this is a ballpark, it may have been about 15,000 degrees outside. These two, in full-formal attire, still managed to kill their shoot. I cannot begin to thank them for being up for their photos, when clearly, all any sane person wanted to do was sit in some AC with a cup of ice.

Rich: Jen wanted her photos - and Jen GOT her photos. We picked a place off of Google Maps, checked it out, and it turned out that it worked perfectly. We got the tall grass, we got the light - we got really sweaty, too...but it was all worth it.

Alyssa: We let them hop in the limo for maybe 15 seconds before we got to this little spot - I couldn't help it - I loved this fence. Gorgeous, guys!

Alyssa: And then, the field of purple flowers. Sigh. This, while sweating like mad and turning purple, may have been the happiest I've ever been on a wedding day. We saw this field and knew we had to go here, and Jen + Nick were amazing. Nick, in these photos, is currently miserable. See, this field also had an immense amount of bees swarming in it, and Nick had just recently been stung for the first time since childhood, and really wasn't all that stoked about being near the bees, but Jen's one thing she wanted in her wedding photos was tall grassy/fieldy photos. And Nick, being an awesome new husband, totally dealt with the incredible heat, but also the possibility of getting stung to make her happy. Go Nick!

Alyssa: So, here's the thing. We've been with a few brides on their wedding days, and most are pretty paranoid about getting their dress dirty. To the point where I won't suggest them sitting or laying down, because I won't be the person who gets pollen or mud or a grass stain on the most expensive article of clothing they'll ever purchase. I would feel awful and guilty and miserable if I caused some sort of problem with the dress. Of course, only standing limits the different feels of the wedding photos, but that's something that just is on a wedding day. So, when Jen was like, so, I really just want to lay in this field, I about kissed her. For real - that was the greatest thing anyone has ever said to me, because of course I was dying to have her lay in the field, but I was totally nervous her dress would get a spot on it, then I'd be the idiot who ruined her dress. So, yay Jen for being the awesome-est ever! I love everything about this.

Rich: So the reception was at the Orchard Park Country Club, which is a great place to have your wedding reception if you're out there looking. Colleen has always been really amazing to work with for us and we've heard nothing but good things from all of our clients who use the OPCC.

Check out the surprise groom's cake!

Rich: And we'll wrap up with a few dances...we had so much fun Saturday. A big, big, big thank you to both of you guys, all of your friends and your family. Yes, I have a couple of amazing photos of your groomsman getting his ass powder vacuumed up by your Dad, Nick. You're going to love them - but Alyssa decided we'd back off that since we had so many other photos that, you know, focused on you guys and were really good....so no ass-vacuuming. This time. (EDIT - Alyssa just told me there is, in fact, a classic, ass-vacuuming shot in the slideshow. Now you know you have to watch.)

Rich: My favorite here at the end. Have a great day, everybody - thanks to all of ya, and hit the slideshow for more!

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]]> http://www.nickelcitystudios.com/index.cfm?postID=220 http://www.nickelcitystudios.com/index.cfm?postID=220 Fri, 13 Aug 2010 14:14:00 GMT Rich: Alyssa and Murphy are off visiting good friends today while I prep for tomorrow's wedding, so I'm going to me a one-man blogging machine and type some words around these photos we took at Amberle and Andy's wedding last weekend.

I say I'm "solo-blogging" but that's about as big a misnomer as you could imagine. The truth is, Alyssa selects all the blog images, compiles them and then prepares the slideshows, too. I just show up and type a few things here and there, honestly.

I bring this up because since I have a chance to type this one all myself, I also have a chance to say a big ole "Thank You" to my partner and best friend. She makes our whole business run and who is (and has the Dunder Mifflin mug to prove it) the World's Best Boss. I don't think any of our clients or the people we meet when we're out and about photographing weddings and family portraits and engagement stuff really understand how much pressure she puts on herself and how incredibly hard she works to make everyone happy and still somehow maintains her sanity to be an amazing mom and a great wife. It's incredible to watch and she often makes it look so effortless that it's easy to take for granted that she's kindof magic.

So here's to my wife, who taught me how to drive stick, tell a story and find the light, and who has kept me from doing incalculably stupid things an incalculable number of times over the last six years.

And here's to Amberle and Andy, who I sincerely hope continue to make each other incredibly happy the rest of their lives. Congrats, guys - here's some shots from Saturday!

Rich: I can't speak to too many of the details of the girls getting prepped, but I did get to hang out at the salon for a while prior to the ceremony at the Botanical Gardens, and Amberle couldn't have had nicer bridesmaids and just the sweetest mom. It was a definite pleasure getting to meet all of you girls,

Rich: And, yes, Amberle really is this adorable pretty much all the time.

Rich: Over at the Gardens (you know, the Botanical ones) we did a first-look type thing because Amberle wanted to get a lot of her family formal shots out of the way prior to her ceremony - which is always a good idea if you're up for it. Andy is such a playful, fun guy that it really made for a nice moment. I mean, Amberle did assure us she would cry and she came through :)

We try to back way off of these, just because we want to let it happen as naturally as possible when you're so emotional and there are two photographers with long lenses clicking away. A first-look definitely isn't in the cards for everyone, whether it be due to time constraints or tradition, but when it works - man does it work.

Rich: Thanks, guys, for letting us share this moment with you.

Rich: Okay, now let's just amp that cuteness knob to about 11, shall we? Let's get to the ceremony.

Rich: And it was like that - Andy and Amberle had a lot of fun with it and I know it meant a lot to Andy to have one of his professors/mentors from his theology department there to lead the service. I know we mentioned it in their e-shoot post a few posts back, but Andy has been out in Massachusetts getting some advanced degree work done and his next stop in life is to enter the Chaplain Corps of the US Army. When you think about how much their lives are about to change, it's really cool that they waited till this moment to get married even though they've been together for, I think, a good seven years. I'm really excited for these two - have fun with your move, guys!

Rich: If Alyssa were here, I would definitely tell her how sick this photograph is - just classic and beautiful :).

Rich: I love this photograph of Alyssa's, and I love that you can see the setting sun starting to break over the greenhouse roof. We usually don't get to do a couple's session on the day of a wedding close to sunset - but if you can give us that time, even if it's ten minutes during dinner or whenever, DO IT. The light is just gorgeous and you look amazing in it :).

Rich: My favorite :)

Rich: Maybe my second favorite?

Rich: Anyway, I would be remiss in my blogging duties not to give Amberle and her family and friends props for pulling off a pretty epically-DIY wedding. They did the flowers themselves, the cake themselves - heck, A's mom even made her veil. It was nice to see all the personal details and touches and it should be empowering to a lot of other brides out there to know you can do a lot yourself and make doing a lot of stuff yourself a whole lot of fun. I'll have to let Amberle speak up in the comment section, but I can't imagine she would have changed doing any of the stuff she did or her family did, even with the amount of time/effort involved.

Rich: Newlyweds :)

Rich: Sisters :)

Rich: And then there's this - just Alyssa looking around taking awesome stuff all over the place. I absolutely love this photo and I wish I'd taken it - great one, hon.

Rich: And then, we had a whole lot of awesome dancing under the dome and it was completely awesome.

Rich: Thanks a lot for having us there, guys and a big thank you to all the friends and family of A + A that we've gotten to meet and know through the whole wedding process. It's been a lot of fun :) Enjoy the slideshow!

Also, you'll notice we've been keeping the wedding posts a touch shorter image-wise, but making the slideshows much longer. After the feedback we got, we think it makes more sense to do it this way. The slideshow is mostly for the bride and groom and their fam/friends and people who just want to see more of a wedding post. This way it keeps the front page of our site faster to load and easier to manage. Thanks!

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]]> http://www.nickelcitystudios.com/index.cfm?postID=219 http://www.nickelcitystudios.com/index.cfm?postID=219 Wed, 11 Aug 2010 22:21:00 GMT Alyssa: We are late bloggers, again, this week - we were running around like nuts today, so we've just finally gotten the time to sit down and give this super awesome wedding the blog-time it deserves. We had our last double for a while this weekend, starting with Liza + Christopher. They are both super rad people who we adored on their rad (but cold!) e-shoot and couldn't wait to shoot with them again.

Alyssa: Liza's house was in full swing when I got there, and pretty much immediately, she had her stunning dress on, and Liza just looked perfect.

Alyssa: And, really, before I knew it, we were in the limo off to St. Joe's!

Rich: Maybe my favorite part of St. Joe's - the little window that brides can peek out of prior to the ceremony from their little spot in the narthex. I felt borderline cheesy waiting for Liza to look out, but I can't help it - this stuff makes me happy.

Alyssa: It's not cheesy - I love that shot! Had you asked her to look out, eh, maybe, but you're determined! St. Joe's may very well be my favorite church in the city - I know it's pretty dark in there, but I'm a photographer who likes color - give me a blue ceiling, and I'm smitten!

Rich: Heck yeah :) And we had a super happy bride and groom to compliment the church. Heck, forget the church - give me a happy bride and groom!

Rich: I like it when the Deacon stands in the aisle and has the couple face him during ceremonies - makes for some interesting shooting angles - but I really like how, even in a big ole church like St. Joe's, it makes the service somehow more intimate.

Alyssa: I think it's because you (the guests) just see the sides of their faces or the backs of their heads the entire ceremony, and we got to see Liza + Chris for a good chunk of the ceremony. It definitely makes it more intimate... that's the perfect word.

Rich: I'd be curious if there wasn't some sort of spiritual significance to it, too - but that's just my religious studies nerd side talkin'. Nice kiss shot!

Alyssa: Thanks! So, we'd gone over to the historical society to take some shots, and it started raining on us... at first just a little... and then, kind of a lot. So, much of their couple's session was with one of us holding an umbrella over their head, and one of us shooting :) Definitely a new experience for me!

Rich: I was dropping F-bombs like it was 1940 and the Blitz was on. Like, I try to never show that I'm pissed about the weather in front of clients, but come on, SKY. It's been nuts this year with the rain. We at least got a few moments of just sprinkling to do some bridal party stuff, but the whole so-called couple's session was a drenched mess....but guess what, it didn't matter because Liza and Chris are a brilliant couple - like, they shine and shooting with them is just unconscious, rain or not.

Alyssa: Love this...

Rich: Thanks, but you kicked my ass :) This is great.

Alyssa: ... but this is definitely my favorite of yours from the day. Gorgeous. It's so sweet - Chris's brother said during his speech that one day, Chris had come home from work and told his mother that he'd had to muster all his courage to ask out the most beautiful woman he'd ever met. And he might be right - stunning.

Rich: GREAT best man speech. And thanks, you know I love my black and whites.....and this one makes me really smile:

Rich: Adorable photo of the flower girl - and what the heck, is this ouf of order? Whatever - she's crazy cute :).

Rich: Hey - speaking of the best man speech - it's Chris's brother!

Rich: So, you know how you find out someone you've met has this amazing talent that you only find out about later? Well, we knew Chris was a music teacher, but holy crap - turns out he's the lead alto for this big band that plays at the Colored Musician's Club here in Buffalo. So, his bandmates came out to play the reception and it was FREAKING AWESOME. I mean, I'm a music nerd and played with a big band in college (guitar, somewhat poorly) and these guys blew me away. It's so easy to shoot when you have a sick soundtrack.

Rich: Gah - crazy first dance shot, baby!

Alyssa: Thanks - yeah, the 20-piece big band was crazy sick. I loved every minute of it.

Alyssa: I love a mid-reception birthday party :)

Alyssa: So, Chris plays with the big band, but he also has this smaller group, and they got up to play, and it was ridiculous. LIke, you assume a guy who is a music teacher has probably gotten to be a pretty good musician, but Chris was amazing. And I know I use that word all the time, but like, really amazing. Like, extra, super, special amazing!

Alyssa: And our night ended with a bouquet toss - love it when our brides super concentrate for it :) Guys, thank you both so much for having us with you - your family and friends are awesome, and it was such a rad day!

Rich: Heck yes - and thank you for being so warm and so kind with us, and just generally amazingly laid back and happy on your wedding day. You two are perfect for each other, and you're completely and thoroughly kick-ass.

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]]> http://www.nickelcitystudios.com/index.cfm?postID=218 http://www.nickelcitystudios.com/index.cfm?postID=218 Thu, 05 Aug 2010 22:47:00 GMT Alyssa: So, after last week's crazy blogging, we promised just one this week, and here it is! We shot Sara + Jeff's wedding Saturday, and it was awesome. When we arrived, I was frantically trying to remember how many bridesmaids Sara said she was going to have, because there were about 30 girls getting ready at the house. Now, Sara is totally awesome and exactly the kind of girl you'd imagine COULD have 30 bridesmaids, but it turns out, their group of friends "thing" is to all get ready together before one of their weddings. Which is crazy, but it was a good kind of crazy - they were all relaxed and had a great time, and Sara was just ridiculously happy and calm through the whole day. It really was just a fun wedding to get to shoot.

Alyssa: And part of that was how absolutely amazingly happy Sara was to be marrying Jeff. She was so ridiculously adorable the entire day :)

Alyssa: As was her pretty spectacularly amazing family. I dug her dad right away when Rich noticed he was a piper - my dad and grandpa were pretty big pipers, and we grew up at parades and with kilt jokes, and it's not super often you meet someone who plays the pipes. Throughout the day, we also learned how amazing her family is - I don't know that I've met a more giving and selfless family. At one point, Sara's dad was telling me a story about her mom, in the height of her pretty busy career, still managing to make 24 quilts to donate a year. He looked at me and said, "I married the right woman." I thought that was possibly the cutest thing ever.

Rich: Gah - this shot is sick, Alyssa!

Rich: I hung out for a little while with the girls and then headed over to the hotel room Jeff was using - and, apparently, Jeff had sent a card over to Sarah the morning of the wedding, so I got to play courier for Sarah's card, which is kindof the perfect way to get to hand off a card and take a rad shot.

Rich: Thank you, Avant hotel...

Alyssa: Seriously, I want to shoot there! What a cool space. And I love this one of yours!

Rich: Thanks - it's been cool to switch up who starts out in back before the ceremony starts. You are so dead on with everything you wrote up top about both families we got to spend time with Saturday - awesome to see and awesome to try and capture what it all means during an emotional, incredible day.

Alyssa: So, we shoot in a lot of churches, and I can say that this one, with this father, is my absolute favorite. I know that being a priest is a job and, like any job, can probably be tiring at some point in your life, but this man still clearly loves what he does and wants everyone else to love it to. I think that's rad.

Rich: Father Dan, right? We've gotten to experience him once before, and he is the raddest priest ever. You ever hear someone quote scripture like they were performing Shakespeare? It's like that.

Alyssa: He's also big on having the couple do the ceremony - instead of just repeating what he says, he has the couples say it without prompting. I think it's cool that instead of just getting through the ceremony, he focuses on what it's truly about - the couple joining themselves together.

Rich: And here's my favorite. Enough said - Colleen at the Orchard Park CC is not only an incredible planner and wedding day honcho, but she provides transportation, complete with signage. Sarah and Jeff supplied the adorable.

Alyssa: Yeah, that's pretty ridiculously sick. 'nuf said.

Alyssa: So, it was pretty drizzly rainy the whole shoot, but it totally held off enough to get some great stuff of these two. When we finished up, there was still time before the reception started, and I was like, "well, you guys can have some time to yourselves, unless you want to shoot some more." And Sara, without missing a beat, said "shoot some more!" I loved it!!

Alyssa: And then the reception started... and these two did not stop. Seriously, I think they were going, going, going for the entirety of the reception, and they just had so much fun.

Rich: We get pretty beat up at weddings, physically, mentally, etc, and I just kind of suck it up remembering that it's pretty intense for our couple, too. They might not be doing the squatting and kneeling and gear-hauling we do, but if they keep their energy - I can do the same.

Alyssa: The 30 girls getting ready with Sara = packed dance floor. Which = awesomeness.

Alyssa: I love this girl - this was the girl who, at the start of her e-shoot, said, "I've been waiting my whole life for someone to take pictures of me all day!" She's hysterical.

Rich: This is, of course, is the oczepiny or "unveiling" ceremony you get to see in good old Western New York with our old, proud Polish traditions. Right now, I have "As lovely green grass grows" stuck in my head - and it probably will be all night....

Rich: You've got to watch the slideshow on this one, folks. I know we probably say it a lot, but this blog post was ridiculously hard to select for and there's a lot of great stuff in there. Fun day, great couple - thank you all so much :). Have a great weekend and think of us - you know we'll be shootin!

Rich: (embeded object)

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