http://www.nickelcitystudios.com/ Nickel City Studios Blog en-us http://www.nickelcitystudios.com/index.cfm?postID=163 http://www.nickelcitystudios.com/index.cfm?postID=163 Wed, 10 Mar 2010 16:44:00 GMT Alyssa: We had a couple e-shoots this week in the absolutely fabulous weather - and I can't even begin to say how happy I was. Both because it was so nice to finish up a shoot and still have feeling in our fingers, but also because we scored big with two fabulous couples. The first was Sara + Jeff who were in from out of town and whom you absolutely fall in love with immediately upon meeting. They are both so happy and are the type of people who laugh alot, which is absolutely my favorite!!

Rich: I hear that frame, a lot.

But, what you were taking about - 100 percent agree - I'm pretty reserved, normally, and these two had me cracking up instantly. I just realized as I went through and did my edits we actually had to tell them to "be serious" a couple times, which is funny because a lot of times I hate that I sound like the mall photographer with the rubber ducky above the camera saying, "Smile!!" - but cameras make most people nervous and we usually have to work pretty hard to make people feel comfortable and relaxed while we all do our thing. And we were warm!! There's really nothing I like more right this second than pointing a camera at the almost-Spring sun.

Rich: Money.

Alyssa: Yeah, about fifteen seconds in, Sara was like, "Yay, a camera pointed at me for an hour and a half!" But if she was being sarcastic, I'm clueless, because they were both so relaxed instantaneously in front of us. Awe. Some. Ness.

Alyssa: Seriously, I might have snapped four serious shots the whole day (which is awesome, because clearly I want their photos to be who they are - which is happy and fun)... this is one, and I'm in love with it!

Rich: You know it - this one was the first frame I took - I can't wait to see you two in your wedding gear - we are going to have a blast.

Alyssa: I love this one of yours, Rich - it's funny, when you were shooting it, I thought you were doing something different, and I was super excited when I saw this. It was just different, and I love that surprise of going through your photos and seeing something new pop out!

Rich: Yep, that's me - "different" - hah! Thanks, hon :)

Alyssa: Different is better than special, non?

Gorgeous... you know, we've been talking about this alot lately with our couples - we'll have them in kind of random places for their photos - this shot, Sara and Jeff are in the middle of the street - because what we're looking for is pretty light, and I'm so happy to have awesome clients who trust us to put them in the middle of the street if that's where the light is (side note to Sara + Jeff - I promise at the wedding, one of us will be on the lookout for cars, instead of both with our faces in the cameras!! :) ) and go with it.

Rich: I just like shouting "Game On!" at engagement shoots. Did we mention we also shot inside of Canisius High School? That's where the interior stuff is done - very, very rad building and a place that I'm very happy Sara was able to get us access to.

Rich: I guarantee you, Sara, that you = photogenic :)

Alyssa: Gah! I love this.

Rich: Me too. No lie, I love Spring like anyone who has been in Buffalo all winter but maybe, just a little bit, I'm going to miss the snow covering everything and looking so damned pretty. Here's a couple more to tide you over, and thanks - we don't say it nearly enough - for taking the time to read this and look at our photos and our couples.

Rich: The building maintenance guy at Canisius opened the auditorium for us and we had to do this. There's always something about movie theater-style seats - I associate dark theaters with cute, new romances and the romances that can always look cute and new no matter how old they are, kindof like how Sara and Jeff look downright effortless when they're together.

Let's do this again SOON, guys :) - Like, at your wedding coming up. We are sufficiently stoked and are completely ready to work with you two again. Thank you so much for being awesome, even when we ask you to stand in the middle of the road.

]]> http://www.nickelcitystudios.com/index.cfm?postID=162 http://www.nickelcitystudios.com/index.cfm?postID=162 Sat, 06 Mar 2010 12:21:00 GMT Alyssa: So, we totally meant to blog this last night, but then we ended up with a feverish baby, and we spent the night comforting him. So, a little late, but better than never, here's Keila + Mark. We met up with them Thursday afternoon, and making another guest appearance was the sun! It was really super bright - so much so that we all ended up squinting and tearing up a bit, so I think we're dangerously close to Spring! It was really nice having the sun on our back during the shoot - especially since we all ended up with totally wet feet, since there was still a good foot of snow in some places. But it was really an awesome afternoon.

Rich: First of all, hellaciously bright sun. It was like shooting on another planet after the gray days of the past couple months. Totally awesome. and how do you not love a couple like this? We were talking about how they want to move to Florida and open a chiropractic practice and call it, "Oh, Snap!" Marketing brilliance. Seriously!

Alyssa: They are absolutely hysterical, and I really had a ton of fun shooting them.

Rich: SICK!

Alyssa: Thanks - just a different take on that :) I was pretty pleased with how that came out :)

Rich: I was pretty pleased by how, "hey, let's randomly take a walk around this marina" worked out. Well, I mean, wearing chuck's in melting snow is a pretty stupid idea - and we seem to always be wearing chuck's in snow lately. Oh well - sloppy, wet chuck's are kindof a sign of Spring anyway, right?

Alyssa: A lot full of piers? I'll take it!

Alyssa: I love this of yours, babe - gorgeous...

Rich: Thanks :) You know, making photographs in really hard, direct sun can be a lot of fun sometimes. In Buffalo, things are all over the place this time of year. We were definitely freezing our asses off, but the sun was absolutely incredible. It's been a goal of mine to not get freaked out, in a photographic sense, by any lighting condition. I was always "taught" to either find open shade or use some sort of fill flash when you're out in sun like this - and I first learned how to use a camera when I was stationed in Hawaii, so it was always a struggle to get it "right" for the gunny, you know? It's been pretty rad working with you - because you don't GAF, babe - any light is useable, awesome light and you ain't skered :).

Rich: This is my favorite you shot - I dunno, I just love it.

Alyssa: Thanks :) Yeah, I love the sun - I'll take it any day of the week.

Alyssa: Keila is looking at me like I'm insane. Yeeaaah, but it's fun :)

Rich: I get that look from people ALL the time - it's the "what the hell is wrong with this bald dude?" look. Hey - speaking of which, I need to tangent for a sec. I was having this debate with Alyssa about bald guys. I think Michael Jordan made bald extremely cool, but black dudes have been cool and bald for a really long time. What white dudes could you say made shaved-bald cool? I was going with Patrick Stewart - maybe Destro? And then I hit on Andre Agassi because he was known FOR his crazy look and long hair and then went all classic white at shaved bald and rocked that pretty hard. What do you guys think? Am I kidding myself that bald is cool at all? I need some reassurance here because I have ZERO options if bald and white ain't workin.

Alyssa: Yeah, I believe I tossed out Patrick Stewart, and YOU tossed out Xavier or whatever ridiculous X-men dorkiness you seem to think is cool. Which turned into the argument that you cannot used a cartoon character in your search for which white guy was the first to embrace baldness. He's a cartoon.

Rich: First - a legendary comic book character is not a "cartoon" and, second, I forgot about Prof. X. Now I KNOW bald is awesome Hi - welcome back to our blog? Have I alienated, like, every bride ever talking about how much of a colossal freaking nerd I am?

Alyssa: Seriously, Keila's eyes are stupid cool. Rich always notices people's eyes, and when he pointed out Keila's, I kind of just stopped, because they really are that awesome.

Alyssa: Guys - thank you so much for putting up with us and hanging out. You both rocked so hard and we can't wait to see you guys again soon!!

]]> http://www.nickelcitystudios.com/index.cfm?postID=161 http://www.nickelcitystudios.com/index.cfm?postID=161 Sun, 28 Feb 2010 22:45:00 GMT Rich: Wedding two of 2010! We had a really excellent e-shoot with Terri and Dave at Niagara Falls and we couldn't wait to get back up there for the wedding. Dave is one of the more hilarious groom's we've ever worked with and add in Terri and they're kindof an epic couple. Both super smart, both super warm and friendly and their wedding day was a lot of fun for us. They even got married in the morning, which is one of our favorite things that couples rarely do.

Alyssa: I do always love a morning wedding - it gives you the whole day to celebrate! So, we started pretty early with Terri + Dave since they decided to do a first look and portraits before the ceremony.

Rich: It was completely rad. Dave pointed out to me that not only did they have a ton of guests from out of town (and country) they wanted to get an early start the next day and there was kindof an important hockey game on that night.

Alyssa: We headed down to the falls to do Terri + Dave's portraits - and it couldn't have been more beautiful. The sun even made a rare appearance for the first time in a few months! :)

Alyssa: Seriously, these two couldn't be more gorgeous! I love this one! (But don't let that gorgeous sun fool you - it was pretty brisk!)

Rich: It was straight up freezing, let's not mince words. We must have looked hilarious - we had two photographers, two videographers (Frank from 17 video production shot the wedding with us) and a handful of friends and family. It was rad!

Alyssa: Yeah, we (and by we, I mean Terri + Dave!) definitely were drawing some attention from tourists :)

Alyssa: I love this one of yours, babe - definitely my favorite of yours!!

Rich: Hey, thanks :) Laughing couple for the win!

Alyssa: I know this post is pretty couple's-session intensive, but they gave us an hour, and we loved it! :)

Alyssa: Gorgeous.

Alyssa: And then it was time for the ceremony!

Rich: Favorite emotional reaction moment, maybe ever. It was amazing to see how much it meant to Terri that her parents both went up the aisle to meet her and walk her down together.

Alyssa: The room was really rad and let in a ton of gorgeous light through the ceremony. Loved it!

Rich: Did we mention this was at the Niagara Falls Convention Center? I was pretty impressed by the place - it looks kindof unassuming from the outside, but the hall T + D got married in was great with huge windows giving us nice sidelight the whole ceremony.

Alyssa: This was my favorite moment - by far. Seriously, these two are the cutest ever!

Rich: That was easily my favorite shot of the whole day :). Awesome, awesome couple.

Alyssa: Listen to us - we're so full of love for this wedding! :) It really was a fantastic day, though - sorry if we sound repetitious!

Alyssa: Terri + Dave went right into the horah at the start of the reception. You killed it, babe!

Rich: Hey - Jewish wedding absolutely rock. I love this immensely.

Rich: We made some jokes about facebook statuses and weddings - cause, hey, it's 2010, the FIRST thing you do when you get married and you get on the computer is update your relationship status and last name, amiright? Dave was on top of it before they got introduced at the receptions. I was like, "Hey, I'm a giant damned dork, but can we take this cheese-ball shot with the iPhone?"

Rich: CHECK THE YARMULKE BUFFALO! Dave wins for the coolest groom accessory of the year, no one is going to top that - calling it now.

Alyssa: Yeah - Terri got it for him - rad, rad present!

Alyssa: Guys - it was an amazing day. Thank you both so much for allowing us to be there with you guys. You have an amazing group of family and friends, and we were thrilled to be able to capture your day!

]]> http://www.nickelcitystudios.com/index.cfm?postID=160 http://www.nickelcitystudios.com/index.cfm?postID=160 Tue, 23 Feb 2010 18:24:00 GMT Alyssa: When we first moved back to Buffalo, we offered to shoot anything and everything we could get our hands on. One of the people we met then was Coni, the jeweler and designer behind Bitty Bitty Pretty, who was looking for shots of her adorable one year old Logan. Well, he's quickly grown up, and we headed over to visit them this weekend to take some family shots to celebrate his fourth birthday (I cannot believe he's that old already - time FLIES!).

Rich: Dude, Logan is a total trip. He's had his awesome, outgoing personality since we first met him and it's pretty amazing to see him grow up into a little person. He's incredibly into Transformers and Superheroes, so we get along pretty well. Logan totally gets me.

Rich: Even when we put his family in the middle of the street :)

Alyssa: He was too funny - the whole time we were there, he was never Logan - he would correct us and have us refer to his superhero-of-the-minute name :) He's also a total ham for the camera - and the camera loves him. He's one handsome kid.

Rich: Ironhide, my man wanted to be called ironhide. Now, to school all you non-lovers of robots in disguise, in my day, Ironhide was a frickin mini-van. Why is this interesting to me? Well, the only actual transformer I ever got was for Christmas one year when my parents got me my very own Ironhide. The back part of the minivan turned into this little platform that had a rocket launcher. Pretty sweet stuff, right there. Otherwise, I was the kid with go-bots. Enter this past Christmas, when my amazing wife bought be an Optimus Prime that is pretty sweet. It is horribly embarrassing for her, because Optimus made a couple of un-licensed appearances during client meetings early this year and is now banned from the studio.

Ironihide is significantly cooler now, apparently - I haven't seen the new movies or whatever, but I think Logan told me he's a truck now. What, kids today don't want a minivan toy? We had to play with minivans and dammit we LIKED IT.

Alyssa: One thing about Logan I've always been amazed by is his eyes. He has some of the most gorgeous eyes I've ever seen.

Rich: Good-looking parents = good-looking kids.

Alyssa: Seriously, Rich - I love, love, love this!!

Alyssa: Logan would run upstairs for a minute, and he would come sliding down the stairs on his butt. I swear, every time I thought he was falling down the stairs!

Rich: ROCK OUT!!!

Rich: This is definitely my favorite other than that first awesome frame of yours, honey. You're right - Logan has killer eyes...

Rich: ...even when he's too cool to not be wearing his shades and flossin.

Alyssa: Guys, thank you so much for having us over. Logan is awesome, and we had a blast!!

]]> http://www.nickelcitystudios.com/index.cfm?postID=159 http://www.nickelcitystudios.com/index.cfm?postID=159 Mon, 15 Feb 2010 21:20:00 GMT Alyssa: When we finished up at the salon, some of Sarah's bridesmaid's gave me a lift to the church and on the way, asked me if I had any favorite weddings. And, of course, I do. I know it would seem obvious that to a photographer, weddings held in really off-beat spots or with unique and personal details are fun to shoot, but the truth is, that the weddings that are absolutely my favorites to shoot are the one's like Sarah + Nate's. When I showed up to the salon, Sarah couldn't stop laughing and having a good time. Someone mentioned if they'd heard if the cake had made it yet, and her response was, "eh, can't do anything about it!" And those are my favorite brides and weddings - ones who realize things can and will go wrong but don't worry about it and just enjoy the day for what it is about - not a wedding, but a marriage.

It was absolutely the perfect way to start off our 2010 wedding season!

Rich: I love this shot, Alyssa...

Alyssa: Thanks :) The beauty of mimosas? There are always some coffee stir-ers nearby for mixing :)

Rich: Aaand, we're back :) You're so right, hon. Another thing I once heard a minister say to a groom, and I loved, is that the whole wedding day will be a reflection of the couple. If they're happy, everyone will be happy. If they dance and have a good time, so will everyone else. Good, good advice. And, of course, Sarah and Nate had a good time.

Alyssa: Did the minister mention anything about the pizza oven or sprinkler? They definitely had a circle going :)

Sarah had a 1984 penny for her shoe, but it went missing sometime before the salon, so everyone, and I mean, EVERYONE in the salon, was digging for a 1984 penny for her. Even some random ladies who were getting their hair did were digging for change. They found one, though :)

Alyssa: We popped over to the church for some last-minute getting ready before the ceremony...

Rich: I love a birdcage-y veil - awesome choice, Sarah!

Alyssa: It was actually too poofy when they got it, and someone tailored it for Sarah. Mom flipping it over :)

Rich: Before the ceremony, I took off from the salon and headed to meet up with Nate and his guys - take this, reflection queen. Nate and the best dude looking up how to fold their pocket squares.

Rich: class.

Alyssa: Love both of those babe :) And then it was time for the wedding!

Alyssa: Sarah hand painted this - yeah, awesome.

Rich: I looked down the aisle from where I was kneeling and front, and it looked SO awesome. Personal details are one of the things that make great weddings...as does laughter...

Alyssa: So, the plan was to hit up Chestnut Ridge for photos baring terrible weather. It was 25 out, which doesn't seem terrible, so we headed over. And I'm sure that every person in the following photos will have a Pavlovian reaction to me if they ever see me again to include: turning and bolting upon seeing me, uncontrollable swearing and/or biting. To say it was cold really doesn't do it justice. I felt like 25 should be fine, but it was so ridiculously cold. Luckily we headed in by the fire between groups, and they were all amazing to do it, but I felt like these big, awesome snowflakes were not something we could give up on. Not too many people get to have that kind of gorgeousness in their wedding photos (it literally started snowing when we arrived, stopped about a half hour after we finished), and I couldn't pass it up.

Rich: I still can't feel my fingers - and I was wearing gloves while shooting. But it was pretty epic!

Alyssa: I love it when my husband photoshops my waistline. No really, I'm totally fine pretending my waist looks like that. :)

Rich: I don't know what you're talking about, baby. I just had to shoot that because - YOU REFUSE TO WEAR A COAT OUTDOORS EVEN WHEN IT'S A BLIZZARD AND OH BY THE WAY YOU ALSO HAD YOUR SLEEVES ROLLED UP. You are freaking out of your freaking mind.

Alyssa: Perfect, Rich. I love, love, love this.

Rich: Dude, I love this couple :) Oh, yeah - and I love Sarah's choice of bridal footwear. Note to DC and NOVA and Baltimore and all you people who got snow for once - this is how a real snow city does things.

Rich: First ring shot of 2010, ftw. Obviously I can say it's my favorite so far, but I think this one might even stand the test and make the details post in early 2011...also, this is why I wear a black sweater to weddings for an insta-backdrop.

Rich: If you're going to choreograph your first dance - nail it like this :).

Alyssa: Before they headed on to the floor, Nate said he might have been more nervous about the dance than anything else. Seriously, swaying back and forth is easy - choreography - that's for the hardcore!

Alyssa: Thank you, guest flash!

Rich: Nice, hah - I work so hard to rim light people and you just get a guest to do it for you because you're a damned ninja. I could try for fifteen straight weddings to do that and miss...sick. Nate's brother DJ, besides having a similar hairdresser to me, is a really, really funny dude.

Rich: Listen - Alyssa is making me watch the Bachelor while we write this post - if this moron chooses Vienna, I'm moving back to Canada and will build a tiny igloo for myself, as is customary there, in which I'll spend my days. What an idiot.

I mean, I watching the Olympics, of course....what's on right now? Oh, Ice Dancing....fml.

Alyssa: :) I love you, Rich. Guys, thank you so much for having us with you. Your wedding was awesome, and you guys are absolutely amazing!!

]]> http://www.nickelcitystudios.com/index.cfm?postID=157 http://www.nickelcitystudios.com/index.cfm?postID=157 Thu, 11 Feb 2010 18:49:00 GMT Alyssa: After our time out in the snow and cold Saturday, we headed to East Amherst to meet Addison and Alexa, two gorgeous one-year-old twins. Their folks have been working on their new house, and we had a blast shooting there. They've made a very modern space and it had the world's greatest light (yay for light!) coming in through this giant floor to ceiling window. It took a few minutes for Addison and Alexa to warm up to us (I blame Rich. He makes me cry sometimes too), but then we got some serious play time in.

Alyssa: Because whose day isn't better with a ride on Dad's head?

Alyssa: This is the coolest space ever. The left is the two-story foyer. The right is the two-story living room, and this is the world's coolest walkway over the rooms. I want this in our next house. Seriously, I would be like a kid walking across it constantly. Like, oh no, I forgot my socks. I have to go across this walkway again! Seriously, It's ridiculously fun.

Rich: I love taking photographs of babies. Adorable, awesome, babies. We had an absolute blast chasing these kiddos around.

Rich: That upper walkway? Excellent vantage point you don' t normally get with babies.

Rich: We know a few friends and have some family members with twins - and I have no idea how you guys manage to do it! Our friend Jen, who is in mom-of-twins group with A + A, is kindof superwoman in our eyes.

ADORABLE.

Rich: This was definitely my favorite "twins moment." I hope we have a girl someday - but I don't know about tights. I saw the twins' parents putting them on and I only remember how difficult socks used to be to keep on. Are tights actually easier to keep on?

Alyssa: Dude, of course they are. That's the point of tights - they can pull all they want, but they can never get them off. Genius! I love that they look like mini-Elastigirls in that shot. Total rubber legs :)

Alyssa: These chairs are so rad - I wanted to take a break and sit in them!

Alyssa: Love this... We were playing a game under the table and she gave me this heh-maybe-you-aren't-as-lame-as-you-seem smile. Heart melting!

Alyssa: Guys, thank you so much for having us out to meet the girls. They are absolute sweethearts and, of course, gorgeous. We had so much fun with them - thanks again!

]]> http://www.nickelcitystudios.com/index.cfm?postID=156 http://www.nickelcitystudios.com/index.cfm?postID=156 Tue, 09 Feb 2010 20:15:00 GMT Alyssa: Lindsey + Jim win. They 100%, hands down, no contest win the Nickel City Award for most physically painful e-shoot ever. You see, earlier this winter, we decided that we really just couldn't shoot below 25 degrees. It just got horrible for everyone involved, but Saturday, when it was 13, we really couldn't cancel on Lindsey + Jim because they were in from out of town. So, I put on my fleece PJ pants under my jeans, my two pairs of socks, my insulated boots, my long johns, t-shirt, hoodie, coat, scarf and gloves and hopped in the car with Rich, dressed in his jeans, a pair of dress socks and wellingtons (dork! He really didn't believe me when I told him it was 13 out!) and went to meet up with Lindsey + Jim.

It was cold. It was really, ridiculously cold. It was so cold that my teeth hurt. So, Lindsey + Jim win. They were troopers. They were not dressed for the tundra like I was, and I cannot even imagine how cold they were, but they did it and rocked it. It's funny - I love these winter shoots so much - and even though I remember thinking how brutally cold it was to be out for an hour and a half, I look at these photos, and I'm like, meh, it couldn't have been as bad as I'm remembering. Look how happy these two look. They don't look frozen at all.

Rich: Favorite moment of the e-shoot? You mentioning you could see frost on my nose hair. That was extra special. Yeah, this time of year we are all about some winter shooting - but it was interesting, and by interesting, I of course mean my hands were so cold I could barely change lenses and the wind chill coming off the water had to be in the negatives.

And, for the record, I wore my ridiculous wader boots because you forbid me from wearing my old Marine Corps combat boots, which you hate. Everyone - guess what Jim, my fellow former Marine was wearing when we showed up? Yep, MCCBs - because if you own them, why wouldn't you wear them in the snow instead of the 29 dollar wellingtons you bought at Gander Mountain? Next shoot when it's that cold - I'm wearing my damned boots.

Luckily, Lindsey and Jim are amazingly cool and a lot of fun to be around. We did a lot of laughing and crying because of the heinous wind, but in the end we all got together from some really fun photos.

Alyssa: Love this one of yours, Rich!

Alyssa: When I was going through the photos, I really couldn't believe how much these two laugh. It really was a ton of fun.

Rich just told me he was the dodge ball champion of the Marine detachment as he's pummeling our child with a ball. He's three, Rich. Really. Maybe the "champion" could help the three year old out in the dodge ball "game."

Rich: Unfair and out of context, all of it. If our child wants to play dodgeball, I'm going to bring the pain. He has to learn under fire. Tiger Woods' dad started with him at a young age. Scratch that, no longer a good example. Either way, I will forge a dodgeball legend. I'm sure it'll be an Olympic sport by 2028 when Murphy is at his peak.

Dude, I love these outdoor shoots. I guess it really wasn't so bad after all...

Rich: All that annoyance of the re-building on this highway is at least giving us some nice-looking bridges to play with.

Rich: This shot cracks me up - looks at how bent the reeds are. The wind SUCKED.

Alyssa: Ha! Yeah, the wind was out of control - I didn't notice the reeds, but that's funny.

You make me laugh (re: Tiger Woods). But I'm kind of surprised dodgeball is not an Olympic Sport. They do have curling, trampoline, curling, the one where you shoot and ski (why?), curling, racewalking, curling, steeplechase (the people version), and had solo synchronized swimming. Why not dodgeball? We should start a Dodgeball '12 committee.

This photo makes me happy.

Alyssa: And the dock I'm making them lay on is totally not frigid! :)

Rich: hah - nothing outside that morning was NOT frigid. And I think we actually neglected to mention that we started our shoot at 9 am. The Olympics are kindof becoming an afterthought on some levels, at least here in the states. I think we're so inward-facing when it comes to the rest of the world that most of us would much rather care about the Super Bowl or the World Series than cheering for Team USA (cue U-S-A chant). That kindof sucks, I loved the Olympics as a kid and I still really do. I actually think the winter olympics are a little more compelling than the summer games. Ryan Miller is totally going to take home the hockey gold this year with Team USA on his back. Gonna happen. Write it down. Rich is calling it. Screw you, Canada.

Rich: I'm not really trying to be artistic here - I think the camera just froze. Srsly.

Rich: Lindsey wanted to shoot a little down by the water, since their place is on the beach and it's a big part of their life. Done and done.

Rich: This is my favorite, hands-down.

Alyssa: Oh, snap! Even in winter, Alyssa finds some tall grass! Win!!

Alyssa: Guys, thank you so much for bearing with us. I know it was not the ideal day to shoot, but you guys totally rocked it, and we were so happy we got to freeze our butts off with you two! Thanks, again!!

]]> http://www.nickelcitystudios.com/index.cfm?postID=154 http://www.nickelcitystudios.com/index.cfm?postID=154 Thu, 04 Feb 2010 11:18:00 GMT Alyssa: We love babies. We love shooting babies, we love being around babies, and we'd love to have more babies. But since we only take a limited number of shoots a year, and newborns have to be booked last-minute, our time is usually filled really far out with our engagement shoots and weddings... except for the dead of winter. So, we were ridiculously thrilled when one of our awesomest couples from last summer wanted to get a newborn shoot for their good friends who had their first son, Finn, in January. We headed over yesterday morning for a really rad shoot with Finn and his absolutely awesome parents, Jenn and Nick.

Rich: It's an understatement of universal proportions to say that it's a pretty amazing thing to be around a newborn and his new parents. Our little guy is getting older (I'm currently watching him help mandolin-slice homemade potato chips in our kitchen) and I sometimes struggle to remember how heavy and warm the responsibility of being a parent felt, like this huge power had just been handed to me from somewhere to be everything that another life needed me to be. Being around babies reminds me immediately of that feeling and just what an unfathomable gift it is to have a child. I joked with Nick and Jenn about it and I wonder how many other parents felt the same way I did when we put Murphy into our car three years ago for the first time, on our own, to take care of him. ("They're just going to GIVE us our baby? Like, we are in charge now??)

Jenn and Nick are already old pros, though, a few weeks in. Their baby, Finn, gets them and they totally get him. I'm not sure I've ever met more chill, focused parents.

Alyssa: And they're awesome - how many kids are going to get to bring friends over to see the family piranha tank?? Super rad!

Alyssa: I love this one of yours, Rich.

Rich: Thank you, hon. I was trying to think of what Nick would always remember from that first month, looking down at his little guy and shoot that, you know? You get so burned out from lack of sleep and how everything has changed and then you look down and hey, everything is fine :).

Alyssa: I couldn't get over how alert Finn is. At four weeks, he'd been awake since before 5 a.m. and was still going strong at our 9 a.m. shoot. We tried to get him to pass out for a few sleeping baby shots, but then Rich was all like, hey! We didn't do any naked baby shots yet, and anyone who's ever had a child knows just about how much newborns in Buffalo in winter like to be naked. So, clearly, he immediately woke up, and was furious. He looked right at me as if I had something to do with waking him from his amazing and wonderful sleep by allowing the cold air to hit his skin, so I pointed at Rich. Totally not my fault, little dude!

Rich: Hey - I just know how you are with baby butts, Alyssa. If there is a tiny butt somewhere in your vicinity - it's your favorite thing ever. Finn also has NO problem eating, which is rad for Nick and Jenn. You can tell he'd kindof just like to be eating all the time right now. At one point we got the binky extracted for just a moment - and Finn went for Nick's nose to try and latch. Heart-meltingly adorable.

You guys made an absolutely gorgeous baby.

Alyssa: Heh - yeah, I am completely smitten with baby butts. Heck, I still think Murph's is the cutest thing ever, and he's three. Hopefully, by the time it's no longer cute, he'll also think it's no longer funny to yank his pants down and ask if we can see his butt, so I won't know it's devolved into not cute.

Rich: My favorite of yours!

Alyssa: Gah - mini toes. Seriously, babies are so stinkin' cute!

Alyssa: Guys, thank you so much for letting us come over and meet Finn (and Max - Rich swears our next dog is now going to be an American Bulldog. I keep reminding him that Max just could be the world's coolest dog, and it might have nothing to do with the breed, but he's focused!). You guys are awesome, and Finn is so ridiculously cute and sweet. Enjoy this time - it really goes too fast!

]]> http://www.nickelcitystudios.com/index.cfm?postID=153 http://www.nickelcitystudios.com/index.cfm?postID=153 Mon, 18 Jan 2010 20:45:00 GMT Alyssa: We took a little time off from the blog and work last week to head down to Nashville for a convention. Which may be the most lame thing we've ever done - used our couple free days off to go to a wedding photographer's convention. We really are that lame. Anyway, we came back and jumped right back into things with Liza and Christopher. We were supposed to shoot them last year, but as the weather was the worst ever, we had to reschedule a couple times due to rain and decided to go with a winter shoot. So, when we woke up yesterday, and the reports were for 38 and rainy, I thought the weather gods really just hated us. I mean, 38 and rainy in mid-January?!? Luckily, the rain held off, and we got to hang out with Liza and Christopher for a couple hours, and it was SO nice to get back to shooting after our time off!

Rich: Photography conventions - kindof lame. Learning a few things that we can apply to take better photos and run a better business to make our clients happier? Kindof awesome. Plus we ate out a bunch and got to see a movie together for the first time in a couple years - so that was pretty awesome, too.

We had a LOT of fun on this shoot, telling stories, talking about dogs (Liza and Chris adopted a golden) and generally having a blast. I love this one the best :)

Alyssa: Thanks! I liked that one (and this next one!) a ton too. I also like that the highlights of our trip were eating out and watching Sherlock Holmes. :) Which was fantastic - I don't know why Robert Downey Jr. wasn't all over action films before Iron Man.

Rich: And, with regrets to how protective folks here in the B-LO are of there local cuisine, it's driven us nuts that we haven't been able to hit up a Jack in the Box or Papa John's since we moved here from Kailua. We've been getting on a serious health food kick lately (we bought a grassfed cow, we're eating all organic and raw as much as possible and the pajamas Alyssa are wearing smell suspiciously like patchouli - if I hear a phish bootleg pop up on iTunes, we may rethink this.)

Alyssa: Yeah, Papa John's was a MAJOR win! But, not as big a win as getting to shoot Liza and Christopher! ... What? Too cheesy? :) Usually when we start out, folks are a little nervous, but L + C were super comfortable right away, which was a giant win for us - especially with their mega-watt smiles. Awe. Some.

Rich: Super fun couple! :)

Alyssa: Liza's one place she really wanted to shoot was around the cool stone bridge, which I will never complain about. I seriously love this bridge!

Rich: yep, we were feeling extra goofy :)

Alyssa: One of the biggest wins of this shoot was that by the end of it, we all still had feeling in our fingers. Seriously, I can hang with this 38 degree winter.

Rich: I know, right? And no freezing couples while still getting some snow on the ground. It was a rad, rad time.

Rich: My favorite I shot - seeing stuff like this is definitely getting me excited for August.

Rich: Eliza and Christopher - thank you guys. One of the best things about an e-shoot is that it really gets us excited about the wedding day and the couple we're going to be shooting with. When we started doing the wedding thing, we had no idea how much fun it was going to be. Getting to know the people we have and to hang out with so many couples with so many different stories and plans for a future together is just about the best thing ever. We know we probably won't be doing this forever, but while it lasts it's the best.

]]> http://www.nickelcitystudios.com/index.cfm?postID=151 http://www.nickelcitystudios.com/index.cfm?postID=151 Tue, 12 Jan 2010 09:33:00 GMT Alyssa: Our last favorites post of the year was really, really hard for us to narrow down. So, these are our favorite e-shoot shots from the year, but if you want to see the rest that we loved that didn't make the blog post, check out this slideshow! We really couldn't have made any of these images without the ridiculously cool, kick-ass, trusting, awesome clients we get to work with. We love all our clients and cannot wait to get into this group's weddings this year. It's going to be amazing, and I can't wait to see you all again for the big one!!

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