Two Beautiful Rochester Weddings
Well, it’s officially been over two months since my last blog post, and so much has happened I don’t even know where to begin. I’ve been extremely busy with my wedding photography, school, and life in general.
Last week I returned to Salmon Creek to photograph the wedding of Rose and Jeremy Norred! On October 11, 2008 - Rose and Jeremy were blessed with absolutely perfect autumn weather complete with royal blue skies and warm, 70-degree weather. Their wedding was held outdoors on the grounds of the Salmon Creek C.C. with the reception being held at the same location.
The early-evening fall light was absolutely picture-perfect! With the sun hanging low in the sky and a lush, green canvas to photograph the formal wedding photographs against, it was truly a wonderful time all around. :)
My day began early in the morning, traveling from Rochester to Brockport to photograph wedding preparation photos of the bride. I spent a few hours at Rose’s house, photographing everything from the wedding party getting ready to Rose and her family applying make-up, before riding over in the limo to Salmon Creek. I was especially excited to use a new 85mm, 1.8f lens I purchased a week or so before the wedding, and I couldn’t have been happier with the results.
That new lens affords me the possibility of shooting weddings in very low lighting conditions, such as churches, chapels, and dim wedding reception halls; however, I’m able to maintain a very high shutter speed (resulting in crisper images).
The pre-ceremony and formal wedding photos were my favorite out of the day’s worth of shooting, in which I ended up with over 2,500 photographs between me and my colleague, who was instrumental in helping document such a magnificent wedding day. But, the best part for me is hearing about how satisfied clients are when the see their photographs. That’s worth every second I spend with my camera and my eye behind the lens - when a client writes and tells me just how happy I’ve made them. :)
On September 27, I photographed Tami & Joel Hebert’s wedding in Hamlin, NY which is just outside of Rochester. It was a beautiful fall day with the wedding ceremony being held at St. John Lutheran Church and the reception following at the Salmon Creek C.C. After shooting a few wedding formal pictures at the church, we made a quick stop for more formal wedding photographs at the Adams Basin Inn right alongside the Erie Canal.
The Inn is absolutely gorgeous and perfect for outside weddings (for those of you looking for your future wedding). The innkeepers were extremely friendly and very accommodating. :)
Salmon Creek C.C. is barely a minute down the road, which made for a quick drive to the reception where the real fun began! ;)
I had an amazing time photographing Tami and Joel’s wedding; Tami’s such a special lady and Joel is a really nice guy too - they truly are a wonderful couple and I’m honored to have been a part of their special day.
Niagara-on-the-Lake
I recently celebrated my one-year anniversary with my wife, Keziah, in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario, Canada. The town is beautiful and very well-appointed with exquisite dining, shops, and activities. We stayed at the Pillar and Post and couldn’t have enjoyed our stay more! :)
The area is very picturesque, especially in the fall. If I had an opportunity to photograph a wedding in Niagara-on-the-Lake, I would jump at it! There are so many wonderful locations for wedding photography in Niagara-on-the-Lake, in fact, when we arrived there was a wedding photographer taking photos at the Pillar and Post, and we later saw the same wedding photographer taking wedding photos near the “Hall of Trees.” :)
Here are some photos from our trip!
Drops of Jupiter.
Well, I missed the Perseids meteor shower which was apparently Tuesday morning at 2am.
But, I did happen to take a couple photographs of Jupiter and the Moon. In the picture below, Jupiter can be seen as the brightest object, other than the Moon itself, in the top-left corner of the photo.
It’s hard to tell, but the planet had an orange-ish glow. It appears more white in the picture though. :)
An Overdue Post.
I know it’s been some time since my last post, so I wanted to take a few moments and provide an update on what I’ve been focusing my energies on over the past few weeks.
While excellent, creative photography skills are essential to running a photography business, accurate accounting is also integral to the success of the venture. With that thought in mind, I registered for an accounting course during the summer and I’ve been heavily immersed in learning the roles and functions of accounting with respect to business operations as it relates to running a full service wedding photography business in Rochester, New York and the greater Upstate New York area.
The second area where I have been concentrating my time is researching and acquiring new photographic equipment that will augment the photography equipment I already own and allow me to provide an even higher level of quality wedding photography images to current and future clients.
While I believe it is the photographer and not the photographer’s equipment that is most paramount when selecting a wedding photographer - or any photographer for that matter, I also can’t ignore the importance of ensuring I’m using the best and highest quality equipment when capturing countless wedding memories for clients.
By investing in the best photographic equipment, I free myself to really focus on my main objective at every wedding I’m hired to photograph: create truly original and breath-taking fine art wedding photographs that are timeless.
Nothing stands still while photographing a wedding. And, there are no forgiving moments to change the batteries in a flash or wait for the flash to recycle. Understanding this, I recently invested in a rechargeable battery pack that offers an unparalleled 1-sec recycle time and is also in line with my company’s socially responsible “Green” philosophy of minimizing environment impact.
The battery’s ability to power over 1,000 full-power flashes and the elimination of battery waste from landfills is something wedding clients and the Company can both be happy about.
Finally, much of my time has been invested in assisting with the coordination of a fundraiser event to benefit the Lindsay Graygo Empowerment Scholarship, a scholarship established in the honour of former classmate Lindsay Graygo who passed away much too early this past February. The event date of August 13 is rapidly approaching and with it a need to finalize remaining details to ensure its success.
I’d encourage anyone interested in learning more about this very positive approach to an otherwise tragic event to read more at http://LindsayGraygoEmpowermentScholarship.org.
Within the next month I’m going to be focusing my energies on some really exciting developments that will be extremely beneficial to wedding clients in need of wedding photography!
I can’t speak about it at length right now, but I will give an update in the very near future. What I can tell you is this: I’ve never been excited about an upcoming development more than I am about this current one! :)
Until then, I continue to offer exceptional wedding and event photography to clients in the Rochester and Upstate New York areas. I have booked about a half dozen wedding photography shoots for 2009 already; so, if you’re considering a wedding photographer for your wedding in 2009 feel free to contact me to verify my availability and how we can collaborate on making your wedding photographs truly unique and amazing! :)
I’m always easy to get a hold of: 585.217.7510 or via e-mail ryan@ryantcollier.com.
:)
A Fantastic Family Portrait Session!
I had both the honour and priviledge of photographing the Buttarazzi family’s portraits today in Webster. The two hour photo session went by really fast, and all the children were execptionally well-behaved! (The adults were pretty attentive as well. :))
It was great to spend part of my afternoon with such a great group of individuals and a very loving family. Mr. and Mrs. Buttarazzi were so friendly and a real pleasure to work with and photograph.
I’m anxious to start post-producing the photographs! We ended up shooting photos at a few different locations on the grounds of the Webster Arboretum in Webster, NY.
Thanks to John, Katie, Mr. and Mrs. Buttarazzi and the entire Buttarazzi family for a great family portrait session today! ;)
Some New Friends and Some New Gear.
I met with my latest wedding couple, Kevin and Brittany, today at Starbucks to meet Brittany for the first time and to go over some great ideas that they both had for their wedding in June of 2009.
I can tell already their wedding will be fantastic, and I’m really looking forward to photographing their wedding next year!
Earlier today, I took delivery of some new photography gear that I will use immediately this upcoming weekend for my family portrait photography shoot in Webster. I purchased a new polarizing filter, UV filter, and some nifty cinch straps that will allow me to attach my tripod to my gear bag. I also picked up a new petal-style lens hood for my 17-85mm lens.
The lens filters were made by an Italian company, Hoya, and they are all multi-coated to reduce reflection, light scatter, and flare. :) The only downside is they’re about twice as expense as non-multi-coated photographic lens filters. :(
But, you can’t compensate for a fine piece of glass. ;)
I took a few snapshots of before and after pictures with the polarizer, the difference is remarkable!
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Occupation: Learner.
I worked mainly on preparing my NY sales tax return for the 1Q08 today.
Random thought, but if it’s one thing I’ve learned about me, it’s that when I get bored, I check out mentally. I need intellectual stimulation to survive. Not so much stuff to do, but I need stuff to learn. I crave knowledge!
I’ve often said that if I were ever to come into a large windfall of cash, that I would consider becoming a full-time student. Think about that - learning, full-time. And, always learning something completely new and different. I know that’s not a dream job to some, but to me it would be fantastic! How could one ever become bored with an infinite amount of knowledge to attain? If I got tired of learning one subject, I’d invest my time in another!
That’s when I know it’s time for me to move on from one thing to the next, when it become routine. I’m not saying that I don’t like routine, I just don’t like feeling as though my mind is being subjected to repetitive tasks. That is one of the main reasons that many of my friends have said I would make a good lawyer - there is always something to be researched or learned or discovered. :)
Tomorrow, I’m meeting my friend Craig for breakfast at Bruegger’s, it’s great that we’ve gotten back in the habit of getting together for breakfast at least once a week to solve the world’s problems. :) It’s really a great way to not only start the day, but to also kick start the weekend. I’ve completed not only my personal journal, but also 2 out of my 3 relaxation technique lab reports, leaving just my final report for the weekend. I feel very on top of things and as though I can take on anything!! :)
If it’s nice this weekend, I’d like to devote some time to researching some cutting edge wedding photography techniques - something that’s really new and exciting and different! That’s one way I try and set myself apart from the other Rochester, New York wedding photographers - I’m always learning and trying new ways of photographing weddings in the Rochester area!
Flooded.
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After about 30 minutes, the skies had cleared and the sun was beaming down. Craig and I watched as all that water disappeared into the storm drains - which was pretty neat because the water made a little tornado-esque vortex as it drained. Neat-oh!
Later tonight, when I got home, I decided to tackle my first relaxation technique for this week - meditation! It was a little weird at first, and took me a while to get settled in, but once I did it felt really good. I have to write a small lab report about it, so I’m not going to repeat information. But, it felt good - not only to cross it off my list of things to do, but physically, it was rejuvenating. :)
I think after photographing an engagement session or taking wedding photos, I might implement a little meditation time afterward to refresh and rejuvenate my mind! The next time I’m hired as a wedding photographer, I’m going to try and work in some meditation time. Shooting weddings is very much a non-stop job - I concentrate on delivering the best and most creative wedding photos possible, that it’s simply difficult for me to slow down. :)
Mobile Rochester Wedding Photographs.
I had to get up early this morning and participate in the community walk around for the home owner’s association that I’m a board member of. Basically, we had to walk around for 3 hours and make sure owner’s were taking care of their homes. After we completed the walk around, it started raining. And, it rained pretty much the rest of the day - washing out any chance of outside yard work. :(
I ended up puttering around the house, not really focused on any one thing. I was pretty drained both mentally and physically from the 3 hour walk around. I don’t like feeling that way because it is as though I’m being unproductive.
It was an early night for me, ending up going to sleep around 10pm - falling asleep to “Who Killed the Electric Car.” I think I got about 33 seconds into the film before waking up the next morning. :) I watched part of it at work on Friday, which led me to purchase the movie on iTunes Saturday afternoon.
Man, I love my iPhone. I was able to download the movie for $10, transfer it to my phone, and watch the movie on my TV via my phone. That - is pretty cool. :)
I also keep a selection of my most recent wedding photographs on my iPhone so I always have them to show whenever people are interested in hiring me as their wedding photographer. People in Rochester, NY and Upstate, New York are really nice to work with, and photographing weddings in Rochester is a lot of fun too! I really enjoy meeting with new people and photographing their weddings! :)
Lots of Wedding Photography!
Ooooooo, Friday the 13th!
I decided to spend some time at Starbucks just down the road to work on some school things and to just change my scenery for a few hours. I spent about 2 hours there transcribing journal entries and just clearing my mind of the chatter from the past week.
I’m not sure what the meditation process is, though I’m excited to learn about it in forth coming chapters from my stress class. I wonder if writing can be a form of meditation, specifically free-form writing where one just writes his or her thoughts down as they flow from his or her mind through the veins, reaching the fingertips as they strike the keys on a keyboard.
I do find that leading up to writing, if it’s something that’s been assigned to me, I am hesitant, I feel pressured much I am at work to produce creative works. I’m much more relaxed writing at my own pace, when I am not congested with racing thoughts or consumed by deadlines. I’m also much more productive as well.
This weekend, I need to work on a wedding photography proposal for a high school friend of mine who sent me an inquiry about shooting her wedding photos in 2010! I also talked to the ex-husband of an old acquaintance of mine; he is getting married in August and is looking for a wedding photographer. I offered him my card and drafted a few different wedding photography package options. I’m also getting ready to sign a contract to do some family portraits in July 5 - it’s gearing up to be a busy but productive summer! :)
I’ve also recently implemented my strategy for accepting credit cards and I’m excited to start offering that service to customers! :)
Relaxing Lunch Retreat.
Seeing as how I had hot dogs for lunch on Tuesday, ham on Wednesday, and today an offering of pork, I was a little bit cashed out on swine. So, I did what most would do if they found themselves in a position similar to mine - leave for lunch. :)
My good friend Craig and I decided to go to Wegmans for a very relaxing lunch retreat. The Wegmans in Penfield has picnic tables along the right side of the store, a fact that is very unknown to most - including myself until today. We ate our lunch in the bright sun and afterward laid on the tables while discussing how to solve the world’s problems. I took a picture of myself laying on the table with my iPhone and sent it to my wife so she could partake in my joy too! :)
Afterward, I went back to finishing up the web site for Lindsay. The site had been a very slow work in progress for about 2 or 3 months so finishing it felt extremely satisfying; however, it will always be a work in progress as we unveil new upcoming events and list progress reports.
Check it out! http://www.LindsayGraygoEmpowermentScholarship.org
Afterward, I finished up some lingering yard work left over from the past weekend, including repairing some lattice work and priming it before I get a chance to stain it THIS weekend - sometime after working on my mini-paper for my Stress Management class. ;)
I also spent some time in the evening retouching some wedding photos, and researching some locations in Upstate and Rochester, New York for wedding engagement photography sessions.
Routine Basics.
I find writing to be relaxing and words easy to come by. In fact, one of the biggest problems I have when I write is trimming back the words. I guess I have a lot to say!
I started writing this blog at the beginning of 2008, and while I was able to maintain writing every single day for the first month, I simply found it impossible to write every day. I should really keep a voice recorder handy and just dictate my thoughts at the end of the day. :)
Tomorrow I’m looking forward to catching up on a long-distance project with a group of friends from high school. We’re trying to organize a fund raiser for a fellow student who was murdered back in February. The proceeds from the fund raiser will be used to establish a scholarship in her name - the Lindsay Graygo Empowerment Scholarship!
I’m planning on tomorrow being a good day to hunker down a bit on that project, and a few others. :) For the most part, I’m in a good place with respect to my projects and my tasks that have deadlines approaching.
It’s hot right now - really hot, almost sweltering. In fact, at 12:32am, it’s 73 degrees outside. And, tomorrow is supposed to be 90! Someone kicked it up a notch alright. Bammm! I have a few more things to do before heading off to bed. I’m meeting my friend Craig for breakfast in the morning too, which will be nice as we have fallen out of our usual routine of weekly breakfasts. I’m definitely looking forward to it. :)
There is some photographic equipment that I’m looking to buy in the upcoming months, that should really come in handy photographing weddings here in Rochester, New York. Upstate is such a beautiful location to have your wedding photos taken, and the new equipment will surely augment New York’s beauty! :)
Finger Lakes Wedding Photography - James & Luba
Congratulations to James and Luba Mason on their marriage May 31, 2008!
I had the pleasure of photographing their wedding on Keuka Lake in Upstate New York this past weekend, along with my good friend Craig. It was a beautiful wedding with the ceremony taking place at Garrett Memorial Chapel and reception at the Esperanza Mansion - a truly remarkable setting for a gorgeous wedding couple.
Here are a few of my favourite images. Enjoy!
A Webster Site Visit.
The family portrait session that I’m going to be shooting in July will be shot on location at the Webster arboretum. Since I’ve never been there, I thought I would take advantage of the weather today and go do a site visit.
The arboretum was fantastic! I’m even more excited to shoot there in July! There are plenty of different areas at the location where I can shoot. I ended up spending about an hour or so there just exploring all the different angles that I can use for photographing the family portraits.
:)
Wedding Photography At Keuka Lake.
I photographed James and Luba’s wedding on Saturday and I’m very pleased with how the wedding photographs turned out.
I spent most of Saturday photographing the wedding, which was right next to Keuka Lake in Upstate, New York. I wrapped up taking photographs by 5:30 and I was able to manage a few hours at home afterward to import the nearly 2,700 wedding photos, select all the good images, kick out the bad, and have them posted online by 12am!
There were some really excellent images that I was able to capture that I hope to post in the coming days. This was the first wedding trying out a new post-production workflow and I was pleasantly surprised by how quick and efficient the new workflow is - it will dramatically cut down on the amount of time I spend post-processing photos.
On Sunday I received confirmation that I would be shooting some family portraits in July at the Webster Arboretum which I’m really excited about! I’ve never shot there before, so I’m looking forward to it!
The weather in Rochester, New York has been gorgeous, perfect wedding photography weather!! :)
Do West-Coasters Get SAD?
Today is the Chase Corporate Challenge at RIT and I’m excited because I’ll be getting out of work a little early to join the other 11,000 participants at this year’s race. Though, I’m on the fence if I’ll run, walk, or just hang back with my wife and help her out at her company’s tent. :)
I’m going to bring my camera and see if I can’t pop of a few shots before the race starts. If I end up not running, I’ll take a few pictures of the race start and of the first hundred finishers and my wife’s team’s picture too!
Portrait photography is something that I’m starting to really enjoy, along with wedding photography and fine art photography. There are so many beautiful locations in Rochester, New York and really in Upstate, New York in general. Photographing weddings in Rochester is truly exceptional!
It is beautiful outside! Something that I’ve noticed is that I’m much happier when the weather is very sunny and warm. I started reading forward into my Stress Management text, to get a jump start on things and not fall behind, and in the chapter the text refers to SAD, a phenomenon that occurs when people do not get enough sunshine - such as in the arctic circle. While I definitely do not suffer from SAD, it was interesting to read about the link between weather and personal health altogether.
There’s a consensus that folks on the West coast are a lot happier than us East coast folks, maybe there’s a correlation there. Can sunshine make one warm on the inside too?
Anywho - I’m excited for the weekend, as I’ll be photographing a wedding in Keuka Lake, New York which will kick start the wedding photography season in Rochester, New York. ;)
I’ll post some of the wedding photos later on in the weekend. It’s gorgeous outside - warm, sunny, and 70º!