R.E. + KELL. E.'s Wedding Reception

Last Friday night we attended the wedding reception of our friends Richard Esposito & his lovely wife Kelley, who were married last month in California. I was pretty cool to be a guest at a wedding---that doesn't happen too much for us, because we're usually the photographers when we're at a wedding. The illustrious Matt Grazier was the official photographer for the evening, and Carla & Mike set up a photo booth for us all to make fools of our self in. It's hard to keep a bunch of crazy photographers out of a photo booth.....we are naturally goof balls!

I stole these pics of off Carla's blog and R.E.'s blog to share with everyone. I'll link to a slideshow of the foto booth later when Carla or R.E. gets a chance to put that up.


The illustrious Mr. Grazier



Having WAY too good of a time with everyone!!



My Carla, what big "wah wahs" you have!



Well you know...



What what!!!



Officer Mike with the lovely Carla. Hey you can't say that on television!!!



I love you Carla!! My sista from another mista...



Steve Depino looking all suave.



Every girl's crazy about a sharp dressed man. Steve and my Paulie chillin' in their sharp get-ups.



Us women photographers looking all hot.. but notice how I'm kind of blurry (that's kind of how the night was for me ; )



Me and Paulie dancing the night away to Def Leopard & Bon Jovi.



Paul & Carla pouring some sugar on....sorry bad Def Leopard reference.



We had a blast...Congrats R.E. & Kell E (my new nickname for Kelley)!!!

Kristi + Joe's Love Shoot

In the early spring, we had a fantastically fun engagement shoot up in Killington Ski Resort in Vermont, with our fabulous couple Kristi & Joe. Kristi & Joe are high school sweethearts, avid snowboarders, and have a cute little cabin in Vermont where they get away almost every weekend during the winter. Paul is a good skier, but I've only skied a few times in my life, so he ended up shooting the action shots up on the mountain. I was going to try to ski while we were there, but it was incredibly cold and windy- the kind of wind that takes your breath away. So, I thought it might be best not to kill my unexperienced self. Lucky for me, our good photographer friends Jacklyn & Chris happened to be at Killington for the weekend also, so I spent a couple hours hangin' with them in the lodge while Paul, Kristi and Joe were off taking AWESOME action fotos!!

Paul & I had such an amazing time fotographing and just hanging out with Kristi & Joe. They are such down to earth, awesome people, and we are very much looking forward to their wedding in October.


CLICK HERE TO SEE THE AWESOME SLIDESHOW!!!

We were going to set their slideshow to the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band's Walkin' in the Sunshine, but had a hard time finding the song. We watched Juno a couple nights ago, and heard this very adorable song by Barry Louis Polisar on the sountrack that reminded us of Kristi & Joe's playful spirt with each other. We thought it fit them perfectly, so enjoy!!





How cute are they?







One of my faves!



Oh yah?!! Take this!



Check out Joe's reflection!



Another one of my faves!



How adorable is Kristi?



Wicked!!!



Narly, Dude!



That ain't right!!



At their favorite pub.. Mogul's Sports Pub, where all the locals hang : )





Beautiful light...



It was so cold and windy!!





Giddy-up!!



Kristi & Joe's cute little cabin, where we hung for the weekend...



Warming up at Bentley's Restaurant in Woodstock later that evening, over burgers & beer.



On the way back to the cabin, we found a cool, covered bridge to shoot in. We set up the car's headlights to backlight this awesome shot!!!



We ended up staying on Sunday to hang with Jack & Chris--check out Jacklyn's awesome blog post to see fotos of our fun time with them.

Lil' Madelyn!

A couple weeks ago I had the pleasure of fotographing little Madelyn, who just turned one!! Madelyn's parents are Sara & Mike, a past bride & groom of ours, and We love it when our brides & grooms come back to us as they start their families. We did a maternity session for Sara when she was pregnant with Madelyn, and also a newborn session when little Mattie arrived!! It's such a wonderful honor to capture important moments in our customer's lives....we LOVE our job!

And to all of our past couple's out there reading this, we thought this would be a good opportunity to let everyone know that we have a program you might not know about called Fotographers for Life, which entitles our past brides & grooms to 5% off all portrait sessions, prints & products for life!! It's just our little way of saying thank you, and that we would be honored be your fotographer for life! So, if you've been meaning to make an appointment for portraits of your children, or a family portrait, give us a call!

Without further ado, here is beautiful little red-head Mattie!!

CLICK HERE TO SEE THE SLIDESHOW!!!!!!







Daddy loves Mattie!!



So does Mommy!





Wow, my feet are standing in grass!





I'm so funny!



I'm so little!

Happy Birthday Little Sister!

I just want to wish my beautiful little sister Addi a HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!! I can't believe it, but my little baby sister is turning 18 today!!!!!!! Oh my god, I remember with distinct clarity changing her diapers, and being her second mommy! Last week I drove to my hometown of East Hampton to take some fotos of her going to her first prom---enjoy!

CLICK HERE FOR THE ROCKIN' SLIDESHOW!!!!

Addi & her date, Chris




No prom would be complete without a cheesy prom pose! Awe!



Who says prom fotos can't be stylish?



A very cool image taken by my Paulie : )



I wore lavender to my first prom too...ahh...the memories!





Gorgeous!



Simply fabulous!



Does she not look like a mini-me? Hey, what can I say....good looks run in the family : )



No prom shoot is complete without a feet shot! This one's for Carla ; )



I love you baby sister : )



I hope you guys had fun and stayed out of trouble...Love your big sista' Krystal



The three sistas'!

Photographers Love the DAM Workshop

Thanks to all those who attended our DAM Lightroom workshop last week. Thanks also to our sponsors, Krystyle Designs, Pictage, Simonds Photographic, ISODISC, O'Reilly Media, Drobo, and Steve DePino's Pro Actions for providing great discounts and giveaways. Special thanks to Tim Riley, inventor of RPG Keys. A great new invention for Lightroom Users (see below).



Here are some highlights from the event.

Everyone brought their computers so we could demonstrate what we taught. Here's Megan LaBarbera, a photo veteran and Claudia Garcia who is just starting out in her professional photographic journey.

Here's Dave Murray enjoying his new and first Apple... the MacBook Pro (and enjoying the workshop too). What you can't tell from this photo is that he just installed a great little app for MacBooks... .

Paul tries to help Claudia, however she is using a PC :)

"These are not the droids you are looking for"(Star Wars for all the youngins)
Workshop participants were among the first to see the new RPG Keys in action. One thing that LightRoom doesn't let you do by itself is to make adjustments to your photos with keystrokes only. This handy keyboard lets you use your fingers to make quick adjustments (and ratings) to photographs so that you can blaze through your photo shoots much more quickly. This almost eliminates the need for a mouse in Lightroom (with the exception of cropping, and the spot removal, red-eye and white balance tools. VERY COOL! Check it out here.

Chris Duggan winner of one of our great giveaways from CD Dimensions!

Michelle is LOVIN the DAM Workshop

Mike Simonds giving away more DAM Stuff!

Dave & Mike having a blast!
After all the hard work we headed back to Matt's studio for some awesome pizza, beer and camaraderie.

Stay tuned for more DAM Workshops by checking DAM Workshops, We hope to see you next time.

Jeannette + Daniel's Wedding Book!!

Last October Paul & I fotographed the wedding of Jeannette + Dan at St. Clements Castle in Portland, CT. It was a romantic, rainy day wedding, and I recently finished a gorgeous book design for them. I designed this book to be a spine-on-top book, which is a new, fun style of book offered by Kambara. When open, the book will be a 16x20 spread! I can see this book being printed on metallic paper, with a linen finish, to bring out the brilliance of the both the vibrant & subtle colors of the images. Enjoy!

Click here to view the entire stylin'design by Krystal (a.k.a. KryStyle!)!!!

Here are just a few of my favs:

The first page, which will show through the translucent front cover of the book when closed.



Subtle, soft color:





Bold, vibrant color! Flowers by our favorite botanical artists, Tony & Cat at Datura in Middletown, CT.

Ann + Walt's Love Book!

Here is a Love Book design I've been working on for our lovely clients Ann & Walt, who's wedding we shot last September. We shot this "Get to Know You" Love shoot to close to their wedding date to be able to order a book for in time for their wedding. Usually our clients use these books for guests to write lovely messages to the couple during cocktail hour, but these books are also just a great way to have a fabulous book of your fun "Get to Know You" shoot. Some couples have been opting for two copies: one to write in, and the other not to. We went sailing with Ann + Walt, which was fantastically fun for both them and Paul & I! We really encourage our brides & grooms to think of a fun activity that they enjoy to do together, or a location that is special to them to spend the day fotographing. Think of us as your own personal paparazzi, but in a good way : )

Here are a few of my fav spreads, and be sure to CLICK HERE for a fabulous, summer breezy slideshow of the whole book!!!!

Michael and Meaghan in NYC

Earlier this month we fotographed an amazing wedding at the Waldorf=Astoria in NYC. Michael and Meaghan had a beautiful wedding on a early spring day. Their friends and family traveled from Honduras, Ireland and other countries far and wide to come together to give their blessing to this amazing couple. Michael and Meaghan surrounded themselves with their closest family and friends, and everyone was full of life and spirit. We felt very fortunate to be part of this beautiful couple's wedding day, helping them start their married life together with this grand event. Here are a few of our favorites from the day. Please stay tuned for a slide show of the weekend's events.

Lil' Lennon!

Meet my little nephew Lennon! I fotographed him & my sister Kalee (Lennon's mommy) the same day as my niece Miley (from my last post). He is such a little sweetheart, and maybe I'm biased because he is my nephew, but he is one of the cutest little kids ever- check out his dimples & precious little curls! I really love the way these fotos came out, not only because I feel I captured Lennon's personality, but also because I feel I really captured the bond between mother & child.

Kalee, here is your beautiful slideshow!!!!

Below are some of my favs---but be sure to watch the slideshow!













The budding musician...



My absolute favorite shot....



Lennon reminds me of my brother Donald when he was little here....



What a happy kid!

Smiley Miley!

Meet my beautiful little niece Miley. I fotographed her 6 month session for my brother Joe and my soon-to-be sister-in-law Becky. Miley is such a happy, smiley baby and I had such a ball fotographing her!! Check out her chubby cheeks! and legs! and hands!


Click here to see Miley's slideshow!!!



Look at these chubby legs!!





Mommy's so funny!!



All tuckered out...



Who can resist chubby little hands?




How precious is my little niece?



One of my favorites...





What a doll!



So sweet...



Miley, Auntie Krystal can't wait spend another day with you taking pictures! But don't grow up to quickly...

Lil' Donte's Newborn Fotos

You might recognize the Rossi Family from a few months back, when we fotographed their maternity session. Well little Donte is here, and we went to his grandparents Patty & John home to fotograph him as a tiny little newborn!!! Patty & John own a wonderful business here in Stafford called Baker's Furniture & Fine Reproductions, and their beautiful home is a showcase of the finely crafted furnishings that they have at the store. So, of course Donte's parents Melody & Tim wanted to incorporate a few pieces into the images of their newborn son. Along with a lovely reproduction rocker, we made some images a lovely bedspread, next the fireplace (how cozy!), and with a REAL, rescued carousel horse from Newport!!! It's always very exciting with our subjects think about how to personalize the portraits we create. We had such a wonderful time with the whole family, and LOVE how the images turned out! We might be doing a Miracle of Life program with this family, so stay tuned to see little Donte as he grows!!

Click here to watch a beautiful slideshow of little Donte.

How cute is he?



I LOVE this shot!!



Doesn't this make you want to take a nappy?



Snuggled up on a lovely hand-made rocker....





Beautiful, soft infared closeups....so soft & baby like!





With the happy daddy! I love skin on skin portraits.



Nursing with mommy....shot in a mirror.



How cute is this? All content & smiley!



I see you!



No, that wasn't the carousel horse....this is!! Isn't it lovely? Can't wait to fotograph him on this horse again when he's a little older and can sit.



Stretch!!



An asleep again..... the life of a baby : ) Anyone for a nap on a fur rug by a fire?





With the happy grandparents.....

DAM Lightroom® Seminar

Yes boys and girls its here, the DAM lightroom Seminar brought to you by Paul McNerney of Studio Foto, Matt Wagner of Matthew J Wagner Fine Photography and Drobo. This is a one day intensive course covering DAM(digital asset management) and the uses of lightroom in a wedding a portrait studio.



04/30/08
at the Farmington Inn on rt4 in Farmington CT





The schedule of the day is as follows:

8am - Registration + Continental Breakfast

9am ~ Noon - DAM Basics & Hardware Configuration

• File naming and its importance.
• Lightroom® vs. Bridge and why they are very different.
• Rating Methods ~ leaving room to grow.
• Planning a hardware system.
• Understanding connectivity
•Photographers responsibility to their industry.

Noon ~ 12:30pm - Lunch

12:30 ~ 3:30 - Using Lightroom® part I
•Importing
•Keywording - do it!
•Culling/Rough edit
•Developing presets and batching.

12:30 ~ 3:30 - Using Lightroom® part II
•Using slideshow module as a sales tool
•Web Module as an alternative to web proofing.
•Slideshow pro
•Print module - Magazine Submissions and album sign-off sheets

5pm ~ ? - Pizza and beer with Matt and Paul - Pick our brain or just chat :)

All this for only $199
Sign up before 4/18/08 and recieve $50 off.

***View Seminar web site here***