Ayer Photography Blog
Saturday, 28 January 2012
Keeping It Simple
Mood:
sharp
Topic: Pix of Week
I recently went out to Amazon.com to order a photography book. When I found it, I saw an advertizement for another book that Amazon suggested others purchased along with my choice. Since it was not that expensive, I ordered it and read it over the last week or so. The book was entitled, "Light and Lens - Photography In The Digital Age," by Robert Hirsch.
As a literary piece it is sorely lacking - reading as if it was written by several people, each with a different style, and each taking a few chapters. The style of the book and even who it appears to be targeted toward seems to vary wildly from chapter to chapter. This inconsistency along with a multitude of grammatical errors suggest the book was rushed to print bypassing the last few edits to clean up the language and make it flow as one book.
Grammar and style aside, the book does contain some interesting points that I would like to try to apply to my own photographic art.
These ideas grow out of the proposition that a good photographic image is an extension of the photographer and creates a response in the viewer. A good photograph, therefore engages and sustains the viewer's attention and elicits a response. In a sense it is like a good sermon - it is not so much what is said, but what is heard - that is important to judging the quality of the work. This causes us to think more about how the viewer will respond - particularly one who was not party to its creation.
This train of thought forces you to think about what you, the photographer, are trying to "say" with the image. While it may have overlap, it is not the same as asking yourself if you "captured" the moment? It is more akin to whether the final work "communicates" the moment to the viewer (if that was the intent)?
While there are many aspects to this question or approach, the one that struck me initially was the observation that the making of good photographs involves the practice of subtractive thinking.
The author pointed out, "anything touched by light can be photographed; thus the camera is an arbitrary and indiscriminate instrument." As a result it is easy to overcrowd the pictorial space with too much information. This, the author adds, "can generate a visual chaos in which the idea and motivation behind the picture gets lost. The critical power of a photographer is in choosing what to leave OUT of the picture!"
The author suggests that the photographer should "use subtractive composition by going directly for what (he) wants to include in the picture and subtracting all that is not necessary, even IF it means eliminating elements that interest you. ... Compositions suffer when you dilute your message with unneeded visual distractions. ... Instead of trying to make a picture that communicates three ideas, make three images that each communicates a single concept."
He goes on to discuss the quality of ideas. He says, "Selectivity also applies to the ideas that make up your pictures. Some ideas are better than others." Ansel Adams said, "There is nothing worse than a sharp image of a fuzzy concept."
Even then the author points out that the good photographer will lead the viewer. Rarely will a good photograph allow the viewer to wander. Most good photographs use focal point(s) to provide visual emphasis. These are elements that attract the eye and act as a visual guide toward a visual climax. Such focal point devices may be color, contrast, differential focus (depth of field), isolation, light (brighter whiter objects are perceived to come forward, whereas darker elements recede in the viewer's perception), placement, perspective, and relative or proportional size. One is played off against another, such as the way a limited depth of field can be used to focus attention on the primary subject and direct it away from a distracting background.
So, anyway, here is a simple application of some of these ideas in this week's picture. What is the point of this image? How about, life goes on, even when you get "dumped on" from above.
For the camera / photo enthusiasts, the shot specifics were:
Camera: Canon EOS 1D Mark IV
Lens: Canon EF 24-105mm f/4L USM at 80 mm (dist = 1.2m)
Exposure: 1/800, at f/4, and ISO 200
Settings: Manual Mode, Evaluative Metering, no flash
Keeping it real, however, the author also points out that, "one of the paradoxes of photographic imagery is that its meaning is innately unstable, for it can only be deduced upon being seen. ... Without captions describing the Five W's - who, what, where, when, and why - photographs can only find definition within the context of a viewer's outlook. In a quest for meaning, audiences do not merely consume images, but, like a Rorschach test, build and rebuild them, re-seeing them within their own comprehension of the past and present."
This helps to explain why, even in print competitions, there can be widely differing views of the impact of a given image between a field of only five (5) judges. Even viewing the exact same image in the exact same environment, it is the differences in their backgrounds that cause them to see and interpret what they see differently.
You get the point? Don't you?
Posted by Warren
Ayer Photography of Vermont
Posted by ayerphoto
at 6:34 PM EST
Updated: Saturday, 4 February 2012 2:44 PM EST
Monday, 23 January 2012
2012 VPP Annual Mtg - Photoshop For Fun & Profit
Mood:
quizzical
Topic: VT Professional Photographers
Spent the non-football part of my day yesterday at the Vermont Professional Photographers Annual Meeting. It was held earlier this year than last; and the location was moved to The Essex Resort & Spa in Essex, Vermont.
As is our practice, the actual business meeting part of the event is sandwiched into the break for lunch of a nationally renowned speaker. This year our speaker was Ella Carlson, who had served as a print judge at last year's convention, and will do so again at this year's convention in March.
Ella Carlson is a certified professional photographer who earned her Master of Photography degree in three years and the Photographic Craftsman degree the following year. She won the Photographer of the Year award in New Hampshire print competition in 2009, and then in 2010 and 2011, won the equivalent award in Massachusetts, the Professional Excellence Award, topping this past year’s competition with a perfect score of 100 and meriting with all six of her images.
She attained the level of Platinum level Photographer of the Year in the Electronic Imaging category this year and had a total of 4 loan prints in this year’s PPA competition. She’s been a PPA Photographer of the Year three additional times, with nine loan prints, plus two showcase prints. She also has seven Courts of Honor awards, four Fuji Masterpiece awards and four Kodak Gallery Awards. Her work has been published in several books and the PPA magazine, and has been exhibited in various venues.
Some of her award-winning fine art images can be seen on her website gallery at http://www.ellaprints.com . If you go and view any of these images, you will quickly realize that while they have their origins in digital images, they have been transformed to works of art through significant manipulation, enhancement, etc. using Adobe Photoshop and various plug-ins. And whether or not her style suits you, you have to admire and appreciate her skill with these digital tools.
At her session with us here in Vermont, Ella drew on her experience teaching Photoshop at the University of Massachusetts to give us a few pointers on using some Photoshop's key features. Her talk was billed as:
Photoshop® for Fun and Profit
The field of photography has gotten more and more competitive which means those of us who want to thrive need to have better skills, from capture through processing, so that we set ourselves apart. This talk will focus on ways to make the most of your images. From retouching to enhancements, from filters to hand painting, we'll talk about ways to take your images beyond the basics. This talk will be filled with useful techniques for making good images better as well as a few tips for rescuing the occasional “not so great” capture.
In some cases she took us on a mental journey unlayering some of her complex award-winning works of art, highlighting the digital techniques she used to produce key effects. Some of the features she demonstrated were: a) the history pallette including use of snapshots, b) various blending modes, especially multiply, screen, overlay and soft light, c) High Pass, d) a variety of techniques to make Quick Select more accurate in certain situations, e) a few techniques for mitgating the unwanted loss of anti-aliasing that certain effects cause, f) the Pen tool, g) Puppet Warp, h) Photo Merge for panoramas, i) Fade Cutout for reducing the effect of last operation, j) a couple of techniques for reducing halo that occur with such things as over sharpening, k) textures, l) content-aware fill, and m) JPG templates.
All in all, I think even the most experienced photographers in the room saw a few tips they thought they might be able to apply to their own work. In some cases, I saw uses for operations that seemed to have little use by themselves, but in conjuction with others, made certain complex tasks such as tedious selections potentially quicker.
Ella also shared some of her experience as a Certified Professional Photographer, as did some of our own members. They encouraged the others to consider taking the exam to become certified themselves; the next one will be given at our convention. A text for preparation is London, Stone & Upton's classic Photography text.
See the Vermont Professional Photographers for more information on the latest meetings, conventions, or membership.
Posted by Warren
Ayer Photography of Vermont
Posted by ayerphoto
at 12:29 PM EST
Updated: Monday, 23 January 2012 3:15 PM EST
Monday, 9 January 2012
Thinking Inside The Box
Mood:
bright
Topic: Pix of Week
As the autumn leaves fell on the state of Vermont, I purchased a Doug Box light box for portraiture. It is a key practical component of building a studio-like light setup using Speedlites instead of strobes. This has the huge advantage of being immensely lighter, much more portable, and takes up far less space when set up. I first practiced with the first key elements last fall and posted a few examples of my practice shots. I felt like I had a good handle on how it is used outside to complement natural light.
My next step was to try to augment it with additional Speedlites for use inside, where natural light may be minimal or non-existant. In this case spacing is more cramped giving rise to unwanted shadows and overly dark spaces.
My subject was again, my wife, Linda. We had a little natural light but it was a pretty overcast day making it a good day for our experiment - that of designing a portable setup that does not depend on natural light. In fact, the natural light through the window was so poor, I needed a flashlight to adjust the manually set power on the speed lights!
Here is the result of our experiment.
For the camera / photo enthusiasts, the shot specifics were:
Camera: Canon EOS 1D Mark IV
Lens: Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L USM at 70 mm (dist = 1.9m)
Exposure: 1/200, at f/3.5, and ISO 200
Settings: Manual Mode, Evaluative Metering
Lighting: 3 Speedlites - one mounted in Doug Box to camera left of subject set for proper exposure at camera settings, one mounted with a Harbor Digital Design Ultimate Light Box to camera right and adjusted about 2 stops lower for a little fill, and another Speedlite mounted above and behind the subject with a Harbor Digital Design Quickspot / honeycomb grid for hair/rim light. Lastly, we also mounted a large soft white reflector to camera right of subject. All were fired wirelessly with Pocket Wizards.
Pleased with these results we turned the tables and I became the subject while Linda operated the camera. We had to adjust the angles slightly to cut down on glare off my forehead and glasses, but otherwise used the same basic setup. We also found that my very thin gray hair needed far less hair light than Linda's thick mane.
And lastly, another one holding a camera.
So the conclusion of our experiment is that we are loving the Doug Box and the other modifiers for Speedlites that gives good results with a much much more portable and flexible setup than was possible with our studio strobes. One very important difference was for the hair light. A studio strobe outfitted with an appropriate grid severely limits posing options when setting up in a room with only 8 foot ceilings. With a Speedlite we were even able to properly light standing subjects.
Hmmm ... having come this far, we may never go back!
Happy Shooting!
Posted by Warren
Ayer Photography of Vermont
Posted by ayerphoto
at 4:22 PM EST
Updated: Wednesday, 18 January 2012 5:16 PM EST
Monday, 2 January 2012
A Matter Of Timing
Mood:
lyrical
Topic: Pix of Week
When I was walking our dog a week or so ago on Boxing Day (that is the day after Christmas Day) the light was poking through the clouds just right to create an intriguing pattern of light and dark on the new fallen snow on one of my neighbor's houses. I thought it would make a nice photo, so when we got back to our own house, I grabbed my camera and went back out to capture the shot. While it was only 30 minutes or so later, I found that the sun had burned a bigger hole in the cloud cover, and while still nice, it was not quite as intriguing as what it had been half an hour earlier.
I took the photo anyway.
For the camera / photo enthusiasts, the shot specifics were:
Camera: Canon EOS 1D Mark IV
Lens: Canon EF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM at 32 mm
Exposure: 1/250, at f/14, and ISO 200
Settings: Manual Mode, Evaluative Metering, No Flash
For me the photo tells the story that so many things depend on timing. In photography, especially where the natural light is dominant, the image can change dramatically in only a few minutes. I recall a video I saw a while back that was discussing photography on the sea shore. One of the issues in that shoot was to remain vigilant for high waves and a rapidly rising tide - within a matter of minutes the photographer's initial location was under water.
As wedding photographers, we also quickly came to realize that a significant aspect of being successful was being somewhere near the right place at the right time. This placed a premium on traveling light and being flexible and constantly surveying the crowd for the unexpected purely candid photo-op.
But this week's photo happened to have been taken back on Boxing Day! I had never heard of Boxing Day until I happened to have been vacationing in England over the Christmas holiday one year and wondered why everything was still shut down the day after Christmas. The hotel clerk explained to me that their traditions dictated that Christmas Day was for church and family, and the gift opening was reserved for the next day - Boxing Day - which was also a holiday! I remember thinking, "leave it to the British to be so civilized!" In some families it is hard to get them to wait until Christmas morning - I could not even imagine suggesting they wait one more day!
This of course is really a matter of tradition. And when a couple gets married, some times you see two different traditions suddenly come into conflict. In our case, my wife's family generally opts for opening gifts on Christmas eve, whereas in my family we fairly universally waited until after Christmas Day breakfast. In my family's case, this tradition arose because my Grandmother always came to visit and have Christmas breakfast and so she would not miss anything, we waited until after the meal and then opened gifts slowly and one at a time. After many years, you assume this is THE WAY IT IS DONE ... until you get married and come to understand that some families just do not do things that way. Because of my upbringing, I probably would think nothing of waiting until BOXING DAY, but my wife's family would probably revolt at the idea.
Weddings of course bring more differences in traditions to light than this. As photographers we have met some families where the bride and groom always meet before the ceremony (because that is the way it has always been done), and others where even to suggest such a thing would be considered sacrilegious.
The other aspect of this particular photo was that Christmas itself had lacked snow in our neighborhood, but we got a nice little cover overnight in time for Boxing Day! As I said, it is simply "a matter of timing!"
While I was at it, I decided to play around with the image and test out some on the Nik Software Color Efex Pro filters. With wedding images, we are restricted to fairly subtle effects that do not depart significant from reality, but since this was just for fun - some of the "traditional" constraints were absent.
Here is one example, using a SOLARIZATION filter ...
I wonder if our neighbor would like his house with a little less traditional look? If not now, maybe later. After all, it is a matter of timing?
Posted by Warren
Ayer Photography of Vermont
Posted by ayerphoto
at 5:09 PM EST
Updated: Friday, 13 January 2012 5:52 PM EST
Monday, 5 December 2011
St. Cyr - Theoret Wedding
Mood:
amorous
Topic: Weddings
Our last wedding of the 2011 wedding season was that of Jennifer St. Cyr and Scott Theoret. It would be our fourth at the Sunset Ballroom on Shelburne Road in South Burlington. In spite of its name, we had only seen a little color at sunset on previous occasions, but for this wedding the sun showed up in all its glory.
The wedding was planned to start at 4:00 pm, just 14 minutes before the official sunset at 4:14 pm. But as often happens, things do not always go as planned. The start was delayed as we waited for the last of the guests to make their way up the elevator, sign the guest photo album, and find their seat in the roof top ballroom of the Comfort Suites - otherwise known as the Sunset Ballroom. As it turned out the wedding ceremony actually started a few minutes after official sunset. And then as the short double-ring ceremony progressed we were all treated to a backdrop of blazing color that peaked as they said, "I do," and quickly disappeared into the night shortly after the recessional.
It was a beautiful evening as wedding decorations were intermingled with the hotel's Christmas decor. We even found ourselves using the Christmas tree in the lobby as a backdrop for some of our formal group shots.
I asked Jennifer how they met. She told me that both she and Scott were born and raised in Essex, Vermont. And while they had gone to the same schools, they had never met until after graduation. She said that they met at Big Lots seven years ago. Things did not click right away, but as she put it, "after wearing him down, we went on our first date at Pizza Hut," where they also had their first kiss!
But unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on how you look at it), Jennifer moved to Indiana. And it was this absence that apparently caused Scott to "figure out we were meant to be," as Jennifer puts it. And so they got back together and have been "like two peas in a pod."
Then they had their first child, Daniel, who Jennifer describes as "the perfect combination of us both." While he turned around and went the wrong way during rehearsal, at the actual wedding, Daniel was also the perfect ring bearer in his little tuxedo.
Jennifer says that they do not always agree on everything, but says that Scott "learned fast to just say, 'yes, dear'." Jennifer and Scott make a great couple - easy going and quick to laugh, even at themselves - clearly bringing a wonderful joy to everything they do together. It was a pleasure to photograph their special celebration.
Here are a few more photos from the day. First the best man showing me their rings.
And here is one of Jennifer in her room below the Ballroom waiting with her mother for the all clear to go up to begin the ceremony. Note, the beautful flowers from Betty' Flower Basket.
And here is another shot of some of her flowers just before the ceremony is to begin and you can see the sun heading for the horizon - just about to set.
And finally, a shot of her cake from Fischer's Fancies at Cupps Bakery.
Of course it takes a fairly large team of people to pull off a great wedding celebration like Scott and Jennifer's. Here are some of the professionals that worked together to make this day a delight!
Wedding Professionals:
To see additional photographs from Scott & Jennifer's wedding:
Posted by Warren
Posted by ayerphoto
at 12:56 PM EST
Updated: Sunday, 11 December 2011 3:25 PM EST
Saturday, 12 November 2011
Doug Box Off Camera Flash - Part 2
Mood:
accident prone
Topic: VT Professional Photographers
A couple of weeks ago, i posted some of my experience replicating the off-camera flash "recipe" suggested by Doug Box in his workshop with the Vermont Professional Photographers. It worked so well that when Linda suggested that I take a photo of her with our Bichon, Jeremiah, (primarily to show off how well his hair is returning after losing it all to chemo treatments for cancer), I thought it would be a good opportunity to try it again in a little different conditions.
While the day just seemed a little darker, the real difference was the wind. It was not much of a wind by stand around and talk standards, or take your dog for a walk standards, but way too windy for light flash setups with an umbrella. Barely got it set up and started to think about composition, when a gust blew over the umbrella. Fortunately, the speedlite and pocket wizard appeared to be unharmed, the same could not be said for my umbrella. It was mangled. I was able to bend it back into a workable shape - it will even fold back up, but I am not sure it could withstand another mangling and rebending without something fracturing.
So, the next few minutes were spent trying to get a quick usable photo between gusts, with one and sometimes two eyes always on the umbrella rather than on the task at hand. This kind of took a bit of the fun out of it, although I still liked the images. And I lost interest in trying to find a better spot with more interesting composition possibilities. So, here are a couple from the session.
If you compare to one of our earlier images of Jeremiah, you will see his hair is coming back relative to the most recent shot in the midst of his chemo, but still not back where it was before cancer, and not white, as the bichon frise breed is known for.
Obviously you can see the color is pretty well gone except for our burning bush (and that, I wish had color a little lower to the ground). The rest of the leaves are mostly brown.
I am already thinking about getting additional speedlites, since in a case like this where the backgound is darker, I would have liked a bit more separation from the hair for some angles. A little light on the hair might have been nice (if I only had another speedlite to spare and another pocket wizard).
Since I am using this post as my Pix Of The Week also, here are the shot specifics for the camera / photo enthusiasts:
Camera: Canon EOS 1D Mark IV
Lens: Canon EF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM at 95 mm
Exposure: 1/50, at f/8.0, and ISO 200
Settings: Manual Mode, Evaluative Metering
Flash: Off Camera with umbrella set so metered at about f/7.1 or f/8.0; and an on camera flash in E-TTL mode set at negative 3 eV flash compensation. The subject was about 3.4 m from camera.
So, the question is what additional lessons did I learn?
First, I decided that it would be very nice to have a sandbag or two (or equivalent) to relieve at least some of the anxiety of shooting with this technique, since the wind was not that bad on this particular session and would very likely have to shoot in similar circumstances again. I then recalled that Doug Box mentioned he had them, but had just not needed them on the calm day of the workshop (not to mention plenty of people available to act as assistants).
Second, I recall Doug Box mentioning that the DougBox softbox was a bit more aerodynamic than an umbrella and would not blow over as easily. Terry Norris also reminded me of this in a Facebook comment.
Third, as I thought about the possibility of working solo in similar circumstances I remember another tip from Doug that would have enabled me to hold the umbrella myself was a radio remote shutter trigger. His recommendation was the Aputure TrigMaster.
Fourth, as I thought this possibility through I realized another problem I have to worry about when triggering the shutter without looking. That is what is the camera focusing on? For a single subject this is not usually a big problem, nor for a large group - the subject usually fills enough of the frame to be pretty will assured whatever it focuses on is at the correct distance. For couples, however, it is often easy to have camera focus in the wrong spot if done blind. A Doug Box suggestion that solves this and other problems is to use back focus (AF-ON on Canon) and deactivate autofocus from the shutter button. I have not tried this yet, as it would need to be realtively instinctual, so I do not forget in the rush of a wedding and wind up with a bunch of out of focus shots. But, I can see this would be a very liberating mode of operating to adopt.
Lastly, Doug Box used a Canon WiFi transmitter to send his photos as he went along directly to his iPad with ShutterSnitch. This is a neat way to operate, but not cheap!
So, some resources are (including those from part 1):
1. The Doug Box softbox (location lighting system)
2. Manfrotto 458B Tripod
3. Gitzo GH 3750 QR head
4. Doug Box Photography site
5. Pocket Wizard
6. Matthews Senior Boa Weight Bag
7. Aputure TrigMaster
8. Canon Back-Button Auto Focus
9. Canon Wireless Transmitter
10. Shuttersnitch
11. Ram-Mount cradles for iPad
12. Nik Snapseed
13. Sekonic L-368 light meter
May you blow others away by the impact of your photos, and not get blown away during your own photo shooting!
Posted by Warren
Posted by ayerphoto
at 10:34 AM EST
Updated: Saturday, 12 November 2011 12:03 PM EST
Saturday, 29 October 2011
Doug Box Off Camera Flash
Mood:
a-ok
Topic: VT Professional Photographers
Last weekend I had the pleasure of attending the latest meeting of the Vermont Professional Photographers down at the senior center in Charlotte, Vermont. Now that was not because we are all seniors - because many of the attendees have yet to reach that age, but because they have a very nice new meeting room and close access to the lake for the shooting demo later in the day.
The special guest speaker was Doug Box. He is the third most merited photographer at the national level of the Professional Photographers of America and has been on their board for years. In addition he is a popular speaker, not only for his knowledge, but engaging style. This seminar in Vermont meant he has now spoken in 49 of the 50 states - I think he said he now only has to do one in Wyoming to make a complete set.
Doug's talk and demo centered a little on marketing and then a good deal on a particularly mobile version of shooting with off camera flash. Anybody who has shot with studio lights knows the advantage of shooting off camera - the trick is to come up with a mobile version that can be carried and set up by one person and easily moved from spot to spot as is common in the outdoor portraiture of Vermont. Doug's recipe fit those specifications to a tee and as I have tried it out using an umbrella rather than a Doug Box dome at home, I find it is quite applicable to a wide range of situations without significant modification (significant meaning additional heavy stuff to carry around - I am getting too old to play pack mule anymore).
Here is one of the images I took at home using the Doug Box recipe ...
I love the ability to control the background, main and fill lights all separately without needing to hire a kid to lug it all for you and take so long to set it up the light is almost gone by the time you finish - or in the case of this day, the subject got too cold to be willing to stand there any longer.
For the camera / photo enthusiasts, the shot specifics were:
Camera: Canon EOS 1D Mark IV
Lens: Canon EF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM at 105 mm
Exposure: 1/100, at f/6.3, and ISO 200
Settings: Aperature Priority (forgot to set back to manual after metering the background but it did not change much), Evaluative Metering
Flash: Off Camera with umbrella set so metered at about f/7.1 or f/8.0; and an on camera flash in E-TTL mode set at negative 1-2/3 flash compensation. The subject was about 4.5 m from camera.
While the image above was one of my favorites from the quick session, Linda's was this one among the leaves ...
We used the same basic technique except the background is part of the foreground for all practical purposes. Here is another one from the same session, but over by the "burning bush."
Having tried the technique and thinking about using it on a more regular basis, I can see a few things would be useful.
First is a taller light stand. Doug said he liked to use one that was 13 feet tall. I can see where that would be very handy when photographing larger groups. In that case the light would need to be a bit further away and therefore higher. Which in turn means a sandbag would be useful - on the day we were playing around there was the faintest of breezes and I could see much more wind on a higher umbrella and I would have had trouble keeping it upright.
Second was the Doug Box softbox itself. While there are many such solutions, this is the first one I saw that collapsed like an umbrella - making it much quicker to put together and close down. This is the single biggest reason I have been reluctant to use a softbox at a wedding, as we are almost always pressed for time and they were just too cumbersome without an assistant to lug stuff for you.
Third, was the tripod Doug used that was adjustable at the push of a button rather than adjusting each leg separately with a screw - which takes a lot of spontaneity out of the whole process.
So, some resources are:
1. The Doug Box softbox (location lighting system)
2. Manfrotto 458B Tripod
3. Gitzo GH 3750 QR head
4. Doug Box Photography site
May all your days be full of color!
Posted by Warren
Posted by ayerphoto
at 11:08 AM EDT
Updated: Saturday, 29 October 2011 2:06 PM EDT
Saturday, 1 October 2011
Toffee Puppy Still Here!
Mood:
incredulous
Topic: Pix of Week
This week's Photo of the Week is a little different. I was thinking about the fact that photos derive their significance from several different perspectives. For some it is their beauty, overall impact, use of light, the way they draw you in, and most often the story they tell.
This week's picture is simply about the story it tells. There is no attempt to make it any more than that, because I wanted to illustrate the fact, that every once in a while, the story is the thing; and not much else. This is one of those times.
Many of you have followed our postings about our small puppy, named Jeremiah. He is a Bichon Frise - normally pure white with long hair. He was five years old in April 2011. But in May 2011, he was diagnosed with lymphoma - an incurable form of cancer, that we have since learned is more common in dogs than I had ever realized. Once it was confirmed, we were told that statistically he would survive only another two months without treatment - meaning he would have been dead by now, had we done nothing.
So, we embarked on a course of chemo therapy, known as the Wisconsin Protocol. It is a series of multiple toxic chemicals given in four cycles of four treatments for a total of 16 over a period of 20 to 30 weeks. Some are relatively mild, while others can damage key organs like the heart in some dogs. Most of the time they just ravage the gastro-intestinal system resulting in nausea and / or diarhea.
We are happy to say we are now three quarters of the way through, having completed 12 of the 16 treatments. As expected some of them just resulted in lethargy and loss of apetite, but a few made him violently ill and one appeared to be affecting his heart. The good news, however, is that he is still with us and seems to be doing well on his "borrowed time!"
One interesting side effect - much like humans battling cancer, the chemo caused him to lose all of his original hair at one point. It was kind of interesting because Bichons as a breed do not shed - one of the reasons we got him. But as the chemo began to show its cumulative effects, his old hair began to fall out in clumps - to the point where there is now none of his original pure white hair remaining.
But then a funny thing happened. He began growing new hair - it is super soft and toffee or apricot colored - just like when he was born five years ago. So, he is hard to recognize as a Bichon Frise - because the thick puffy cotton-ball coat of hair has been replaced by a soft short toffee colored coat!
And so that is our picture for this week. Our Toffee Colored Puppy, who is beating the odds and is still alive! If you look closely, you will see the "toffee stains" on his forehead and back - his belly is still largely bare.
For the camera / photo enthusiasts, the shot specifics were:
Camera: Canon EOS 1D Mark IV
Lens: Canon EF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM at 40 mm
Exposure: 1/125, at f/7.1, and ISO 320
Settings: Shutter Priority, Spot Metering, Flash TTL
Clearly for us the story IS THE PICTURE! Here is hoping your dreams are "full of life."
Posted by Warren
Posted by ayerphoto
at 3:53 PM EDT
Updated: Friday, 7 October 2011 4:29 PM EDT
Monday, 26 September 2011
Lesage-Henson Wedding
Mood:
happy
Topic: Weddings
Once again rain threatened to dampen the spirits of one of our weddings, but in the end simply darkened the sky and kept the grass from drying out from the night before. Our first wedding of fall 2011 proceeded on schedule and without a single umbrella! The grass was a bit too wet in spots for wedding finery for some of the shots we had hoped for, but it still was a great day! We only saw a few sprinkles on our windshield while driving home after it was all over - great timing!
The wedding was that of Kristin Lesage and Matt Henson, whose name you may recognize from WCAX-TV. They got ready at The Essex Resort & Spa in Essex, Vermont, had their ceremony at the Chapel of Saint Michael the Archangel on the campus of Saint Michael's College in Colchester, Vermont, and ended the day at their reception in the Atrium of The Essex -- Vermont's Culinary Resort & Spa, in Essex, Vermont.
When I asked Kristin to share their story, she said that she ... "grew up in Colchester, Vermont. She attended Colchester High School and was graduated in 2002. After high school she went on to attend Saint Michael's College, graduating in 2006 with a bachelor of science in business administration.
"Matt grew up in the suburbs of Philadelphia and was graduated from Boyertown Area High School in 2000. He went on to attend Lyndon State College in Lyndonville, Vermont, where he was graduated in 2004 with a bachelor's degree in television broadcasting, a bachelor's degree in business administration, and an associate's degree in television production.
"Kristin and Matt finally met in February of 2006." Kristin says that they ... "met (to be totally cliche) when they were both least expecting it! Kristin, in her last semester of her senior year of college, had been recovering from a cold and was not feeling up to heading into downtown Burlington with friends on a Friday night. Matt, in his second year of the 'real world,' decided that after a long week of work, he would just stay in and relax.
"Needless to say, with some coaxing from friends, they both changed their minds. They both wound up at the right spot at the right time -- Rasputins! With the 'help' of a good friend, Kristin 'bumped into' Matt and they hit it off instantly."
When I asked how they became engaged, Kristin said that they had ... "decided to take a short weekend get-away to Jay Peak Resort in Jay, Vermont, for Columbus Day weekend. After making the hour and a half drive to Jay, they checked into their room and then decided to take a Tram ride to the top of the mountain to view the fall foliage. After taking the six and a half minute ride up to the top of the mountain (Matt said it felt much longer!), they discovered that it was already WINTER at the top of the mountain - with temperatures below freezing and very icy! Undaunted, they decided to brave the elements and go for a short walk down a trail till the next Tram was scheduled to take them back down the mountain.
"As they were walking, Kristin commented that her Uggs were not exactly the best footwear to have chosen for a hike. Matt quickly pulled his hands out of his pockets and responded with, 'here, hold onto my hand so you do not fall.' Kristin reached out to him and as their hands interlocked, she felt something nestled in between their hands. As she pulled her hand back, Matt turned his palm over to reveal an engagement ring and asked her to marry him." Apparently, she said, yes.
Kristin went on to explain that ... "Shortly after they became engaged, Kristin's parents threw an engagement party at Halvorson's Upstreet Cafe in downtown Burlington to celebrate. After spending the evening surrounded by friends and family, Kristin and Matt decided to cap off the night with their 'younger' family members and friends by checking out the Burlington 'late night scene.'
"They ended up at JP's pub on what turned out to be Karaoke night. Their friends volunteered Matt and Kristin to sing 'Time of my Life' in honor of the special time in their lives. While Matt, the television star, had no problem grabbing the microphone to take center stage, Kristin, the notably shyer one, immediately ran for the restroom. After one of her friends coaxed her back out, she reluctantly joined Matt on the stage. Matt (who had never before heard this tune) belted out the lyrics, while Kristin just mouthed along, making note of each friend who had a video camera or cell phone recording the moment.
"They chose to marry in September because it is to them one of the most beautiful times of the year in Vermont. Since much of Matt's family would be traveling from Pennsylvania, and college friends of both would be traveling from other states - they figured it would be a great excuse for them all to take a get-away weekend in Vermont! They really wanted to have an outdoor reception, but knew the weather can be unpredictable at that time of year. After visiting several potential reception venues, they settled on The Atrium at the Essex Resort & Spa. Because it is enclosed in glass, they figured this gave them the perfect feel of an outdoor wedding, but the comfort of indoors. For the ceremony, they chose the campus of Saint Michael's College, where Kristin had been a student when she met Matt."
When I asked about traditions they wanted to incorporate into their wedding festivities, Kristin said that ... "they were following the tradition of not seeing each other before their wedding ceremony. When they said 'good night' on Friday evening, they would not see each other again until she walks down the aisle in the chapel to become husband and wife."
Kristin also said that she "is incorporating a tradition from her parents' wedding into theirs. Her mother had carried white roses and ivy for her bridal bouquet - a combination that her grandmother had also carried in her wedding. Kristin planned to continue the tradition, but also adding some champagne colored roses and berries to tie in their own wedding colors. In addition, the 'something borrowed' was planned to be a beaded piece from the end of the sleeve of her mother's wedding gown."
"Matt, on the other hand, will be wearing his paternal grandfather's wedding band. This piece of jewelry had been passed on to him from his own father and paternal uncles." Kristin describes it as "a thin round gold band that will always remain a classic."
Matt also wore an antique stick tie pin in his vest. This pin had first been worn by his great great great grandfather on his wedding day in 1848. It was worn again by each succeeding generation on their wedding days in 1868, 1909, 1946, and last in 1980.
Kristin was one of the more organized brides we have encountered. I asked her if she had any advice for others planning their weddings. She said, "wedding planning can be one of the most special things you do (thus far) in your lives. Enjoy it as much as you can. It most certainly had its stressful points, but just remember to keep the end 'product' in sight.
"Be sure to keep on top of your details and always be looking for tasks that you can coplete now versus later. You will thank yourself once you are nearing the end and are rapidly approaching the wedding day itself!"
Wedding Professionals:
To see additional photographs from Matt & Kristin's wedding:
Posted by Warren
Posted by ayerphoto
at 10:27 AM EDT
Updated: Saturday, 1 October 2011 12:47 PM EDT
Love Story - Jaimie & Rick at the Hardwood Ranch in Elmore
Mood:
bright
Topic: Love Stories
Two years ago today, we were privileged to be able to photograph the wedding and reception of Jaimie and Rick. Several trees had already reached peak color for the foliage season and provided a beautiful backdrop to their outdoor wedding on a mountaintop in Elmore, Vermont. Our photographs and their love story were featured in the Fall 2010 issue of Vermont Bride Magazine.
But let Jaimie tell you their story in her own words ...
Jaimie & Richard
September 26, 2009 at the Hardwood Ranch in Elmore, VT
How we met
Rick and I were high school sweethearts. We met through mutual friends; we each went off to college but saw each other every weekend. Summers were great, since we got to see each other all the time. We began to talk about our future together and the direction in which we were headed. Rick makes me laugh and is the guy who doesn’t need to ever make a plan. I, on the other hand, am the organized planner!
Our engagement
We had decided to stay in Lamoille County and to build a home there. Rick and I looked at several pieces of land before settling on the perfect one for us. I continued to tell Rick that I wasn’t comfortable purchasing property with a “boyfriend.” He would shrug and agree. One week prior to purchasing the land and with me continuing to say I didn’t want to buy it with a “boyfriend,” Rick brought me up to the land to meet the realtor; we got there and no one was there. Rick suggested we walk out on the property and wait, which is what we did. We walked out to where we had planned on building our home and Rick got down on one knee and proposed. The realtor never did show up that evening! We then went to tell our parents and off to a romantic dinner that Rick had planned.
Our Wedding
Our rehearsal dinner was held at the Webster Barn in Hyde Park. We wanted to invite all of our relatives and out of town guests for a relaxed fun country evening so we decided on a hoedown for that night. Black Diamond Catering did a wonderful job for us followed by a video of me, which was a gift from my uncles, growing up until I met Rick and fell in love. There were some tears and lots of laughter while watching the video. After an evening of fiddle music and dancing, we went our separate ways to wait for the big day.
Rick and I were married on a perfect fall day in September at Harwood Ranch, my grandparents’ property in Elmore, Vermont, surrounded by our loving family and friends.
Everything was picture-perfect. Guests arrived to the sounds of a bag piper as they walked to the ceremony tent on a path lined with mums. We had beautiful flowers from Wildflower Designs and Central Market Florist.
During the ceremony we had a violinist who played in the background. Stuart Weppler, a long time family friend, was our Justice of the Peace. His sense of humor and kindness made our ceremony even more special. Violin music continued during our cocktail hour. After a delicious dinner by Black Diamond Catering and Suzanna’s Catering, dance music was provided by SuperSounds DJ under a candle lit tent until the wee hours of the morning. We were so lucky to have Ayer Photography who captured all the special moments and people at our rehearsal, rehearsal dinner, getting ready and the entire wedding event.
At the reception, guests had fun having their pictures taken in a photo booth. A scrap book was there for guests to leave a picture and write a note to us. Much to our guests’ surprise we also had a complete DVD of all the photos taken that night!
I chose a wedding dress from Fiori's Bridal in Essex. With the help of my matron of honor, bridesmaids, grandmother and mother I picked out the perfect dress. I was so happy; the staff at Fiori's made choosing my dress as fun and as easy as picking out the one perfect dress could be!
Special thanks to Autumn Trombley, my hairdresser, for taking such good care of me and my entourage on the big day. Autumn pampered me by making my hair and makeup perfect for the day.
During the evening we were entertained by a wonderful fireworks display from North Star Fireworks. This was a complete surprise to Rick and me from my parents, as they know how we just love fireworks!
The most amazing thing about our wedding day was the feeling in the ceremony and our reception. On that day, I was filled with a sense of total peace. After months of details (and admittedly, stress) and planning, I was finally here, on the day of my wedding. I had never felt so content, and so happy. I was completely, totally joyous. Perhaps it was being surrounded by my family and friends, so many from far away, while I celebrated one of the most precious moments in my life with Rick. I do know how intensely grateful I am for such a perfect day; one that I can still remember in vivid detail.
Wedding Professionals:
entertainment: Supersounds DJ CO | 802-899-2823 | Underhill, VT | www.supersounds.com
bridal gown: Fiori Bridal Boutique | 802-872-9663 | www.fioribridal.com
photography: Ayer Photography | 802-338-9193 | Colchester, VT | www.ayerphoto.com
wedding resource: Vermont Bride | 802-879-3157 | www.vermontbridemagazine.com
flowers Wildflower Designs | 800-657-5118 | Stowe, VT www.wildflowerdesignsstowe.com (beautiful flowers located in huge urns & ceremony tent).
caterer: (hors d’oeuvers) Susanna’s Catering | 802-635-9094 | www.susannascatering.com
violinist: Professor Fairbanks | 802-644-5708 | Jeffersonville, VT | www.professorfairbanks.com
engagement rings & wedding bands: Perrywinkle’s Fine Jewelry | 802-865-2624 | Burl., VT| www.perrywinkles.com
rehearsal dinner: Webster Barn | 802-851-8054 | Hyde Park, VT | www.websterbarn.com
Additional Professionals:
- Bridal gown: Fiori Bridal
- Bridesmaid dresses: Lubiana’s Bridal
- Ceremony & Reception: Hardwood Ranch, Elmore, VT
- Hair & Makeup: Artistic Roots Salon & Spa (Autumn Trombley), Morrisville, VT
- Tux: Arthur’s Department Store, Morrisville, VT
- Rentals: Northern VT Tent Rental
- Caterer: Black Diamond Catering
- Wedding Cake: Sherry Anderson, Morrisville, VT
- Bag Piper: Ian McDonald
- Additional flowers: Central Market Florist (note: bouquets & center pieces).
- Fireworks Display: Northstar Fireworks
This love story was published in the Fall 2010 issue of Vermont Bride Magazine with accompanying photographs by Ayer Photography of Vermont.
To see more photographs of Jaimie and Rick's wedding see our sample gallery.
Posted by ayerphoto
at 9:00 AM EDT
Updated: Monday, 26 September 2011 1:07 PM EDT
Newer | Latest | Older
