Some Playtime

I had the chance to hang out with lil b & lil s for some playtime at the park. We had so much fun. I love chasing little ones around with my camera!! These ages are so active and fun. B sang me 'Old McDonald' and picked lots of clover, while S ran around, rode the swings, slid down the slide, climbed the wall, etc... Thank you for bringing me a long!

Aren't they cuties??

Brooke and Michael Get Married!

You remember Brooke and Michael from our rainy, but Awesome, Washington DC engagement shoot. Well back then we said No Rain for the wedding!! We were blessed, however prepared! There was a big purchase of polka dot umbrellas, just in case. Awesome!

We had a beautiful day on Saturday and had a great time. I had my assistant, Jen, come along with me on this wedding and she did a wonderful job! Thank you for all of your help!

Brooke and Michael are such a sweet, sincere couple who are very much in love. The details were beautiful. So much thought and heart went into them all. We even saw Brooke's christening gown. So sweet. They were married at St. Louis de Marillac church in Upper St. Clair. The reception was held at the Radisson Greentree.

The flowers were done by the amazing Tutto Bella Florist. Amy and her team always do and amazing job!

We wish you too a long and happy marriage! Have fun on the honeymoon and we will talk soon. Thank you for having us!

Happy Birthday Damon!

Another year has passed and Damon has reached 'pre-teen' status. One more year and he will be an official teenager. Hopefully by then he will come out of the playroom and take a break from Xbox Live and the Xbox 360 :-) Wishful thinking!!

Happy birthday buddy, I love you.

Here he is with his brothers, while they helped him blow out his candles.

Simplicity with Film

Ah, simplicity. I love to keep things simple, but somehow manage to complicate them, more often than not. I guess you call that life. Anyways, today I received some film prints/scans that I have been waiting for. I just tried a new film processing lab in Los Angeles, CA called Richard Photo Lab. I am happy to say that I am extremely happy with the prints and scans I received. Thank you guys over at Richard Photo Lab! You will be seeing more of my film, for sure!! After receiving my package today, I have made a final decision to keep shooting some high speed black and white film. It is so much fun to shoot without immediately seeing the results. You send out the film and anticipate opening the package when it arrives. How much fun is that? haha. Well, for me it is!!

I had a roll of Tmax 400 and Tmax 3200 come back today and they are gorgeous! The simplicity of the whole deal is this. Shoot, Send, Receive, Enjoy. For some reason, when you throw digital in there, you have a tendency to want perfection (this is true in my case often). This makes it easy to pass on a great image, that may not be perfect.

Anyways, without complicating things further, by writing too much... Here is a series of 3 photos I took of Brayden one early evening in June. These were shot with Kodak Tmax 400 rated at 320 f/1.4 1/250 sec. Bridget and I are going to hang this series on the wall. So cute!! (OK, so I am biased.)

Note: My trusty ole Nikon N70 bit the dust so I just purchased a Nikon N80 for a screaming deal :-) It's great that nobody wants their film cameras anymore. hahaha

Crystal and Ryan

This past weekend's wedding was a special one for our family. Bridget's cousin, Crystal, was married to Ryan at South Hills Assembly of God and the reception followed at the Bradley House. It is always a joy to document family affairs, because everyone is relaxed with the camera. It was great to have Bridget's family together for fun and celebration. We all had a blast! The wedding was fantastic and the day was absolutely perfect. This unseasonable cool, but beautiful July weather is incredible.

We started the day at Grandma's house (Crystal and Ryan live in Florida) while the girls got ready. Crystal had her mother as her maid of honor and Grandma gave her away. It was very touching for everyone. Ryan's best man was his buddy, Adam and Ryan's daughter Emily, was the flower girl. A very small bridal party which makes coordinating formal shots, very simple :-).

After the wedding, we stopped for some shots at Jefferson Memorial (always a beautiful backdrop). Onto the reception after that. The party was great! Everyone was Dancing and having a great time. At one point, Crystal & Bridget's cousin, Danny, got up and sang Young M.C.'s 'Bust A Move.' It was awesome! You will see him in action, below.

Thanks everyone for having me along! Thanks to my buddy Trevar for assisting and shooting with me!!

Enjoy!

Crystal doing Grandma's makeup


Crystal zippin up mom








Crystal


Ryan


Uncle Steve did the ceremony







Ahhh, my favorite lighting.


First Dance


That is Bridget and my sister-in-law Erin. (two pregnant girls tearing up the dance floor)


Ryan and his mother, Julie


Even I got to dance with my beautiful wife!


Danny Bustin A Move.

50 Years for the Spinabellis

July 17 marked 50 wonderful years together for Luigi and Elena Spinabelli. They are just like family to us, so I was so happy to document their anniversary. July 16 we went to the church where they were married in the Strip District. It was so cool to go back to where it started. Luigi's brother and his wife were present too. They originally stood for them 50 years ago. How awesome! July 17 they had a reception at Rolling Hills Country Club for all of the close friends and family. As usual, it was a superb event! We always get filled with Parma Sausage Products (Luigi started Parma Sausage in the strip district in 1954) and other goodies before the meal is served. Great People, Great Food and Great Times! We love you guys! Thank you for having us be a part of your celebration. We wish 50 more wonderful years for you!!!

Here are some random shots from the event ( I got carried away....):