i love it when dads get misty eyed…
the appreciation of photographs – ode to the climbing tree
we all realize that the photographs we have of our loved ones become worth more to us as time passes on. this past weekend a 300 year old European Beech reminded me of just how quickly our photographs can sometimes appreciate in value…
The Climbing Tree held forth in a Frederick Law Olmstead designed park near the house in which I grew up. Of course she predated Olmstead’s work. She even predated George Washington’s work. This old tree had seen some history.
“…Her impossibly long and knotted arms twisted out and about every which way – each completely covered with what seemed to be a hundred of years of tattoos – carved scars bearing names and dates and mathematical formulas of lover’s initials circumscribed by hearts. She was an entire illustrated tree filled with evidence of those who stayed and enjoyed her at least long enough to make their mark. Those gravity and logic defying branches stretched long and low – perfect for climbing. She slowly waved them back and forth in the breeze begging passers to hop on one of her bark covered tendrils. For those climbing aboard she provided a ready-made Indiana Jones fantasy complete with a tangled sea of writhing snake roots waiting to snap at your ankles should you swing too low…”
Occasionally I would stop by with my kids and let them climb aboard as I had done when I was their age and of course, I’d take a few pictures.
but i didn’t give the photographs much thought or place any exceptional value on them – they were just cool snapshots of my kids.
That is until this weekend. On Sunday I was in the area again and went for a walk in the park and was stunned to find her gone.
My third thought (after, “who the heck would do such a thing”, and “why didn’t someone come up with a creative way to avoid this”) was “Oh man. I’m so glad I have those photographs!”
Sad fact that time eventually robs of us our youth, our beauty, our memories and ultimately, our existence – but the more of that we lose the more our photographs become worth to us.
And there you have it – the climbing tree reminded me of how quickly our photographs can appreciate in value. Quite simply, before this weekend, I had a few pretty cool pictures of my kids playing in a tree. I realize now I have irreplaceable treasures.
alison + bryce – the wedding day in greenwich, CT
Alison and Bryce were married in Greenwich, CT with the day’s festivities starting at the Delamar.
Bryce came out for the ceremony to The Imperial March (aka Darth Vader’s theme music). And the ringbearer sported a sweet corsage.
a quick retreat to Binny Park
and then cocktails….
The band, New York Edge, was great and they helped us get this shot at the end of the last dance.
the self-portrait studio – when guests are left to their own devices
i’m going to quote from our own website here – our little writeup on using a wedding self-portrait studio:
“Ok. You finally get all of your family and friends together – dressed up and looking sharp. Everybody brings along a camera to take a group shot. Oh, just let me get one picture… wait, let’s get her in this too… wait one sec…. look this way…. wait, put down your drink…. wait…look this way…. smile… wait, which button is it? Did the flash go off? Oh, you blinked… wait let’s do one more. Oh wait, do one with my camera too. And you never see them anyway. Not that that’s such a bad thing because they looked like crap. Our self-portrait studio is manned by a photographer, real equipment, real lighting, real fun. Guests take their own pictures with a remote and see the results instantly on screen. They keep going until they get what they love. They want a nice family formal – we’ll make sure they get it. Want a group shot of school friends – have at it. And after a few drinks…. they get kinda fun. High resolution files can be used to make great big images – not some little rinky dink strip that one person runs off with. No better way to memorialize your friends.”
And here’s what you get (I’ll skip past the nice family pictures to the, “sure we’ve had a few drinks” fun stuff) :
And then it starts to get out of control….
shabu + michael – the wedding at capitale
Early this morning, I met with Capitale’s Director of Catering, Larry Goldfarb and Amanda Len to chat about the upcoming year. For those of you who may not know, Capitale is a wonderful event space in the old Bowery Savings Bank building on… you guessed it… Bowery Street on the Lower East Side. If you want a grand Beaux Arts space that’ll fit between 200 and 400 people or so you can’t do much better than Stanford White’s stunning 1895 space.
I thought I would share some images from a wedding we photographed at Capitale in the fall.
They’ve got this great old mirrored brass elevator.
And there’s so much great culture to work with in the neighborhood!
Mike’s wonderful sense of humor…
alison + scott – engagement portraits in central park, nyc
from the files of – you never know what you’re going to get to work with while shooting in central park – comes Mr. Bubble.
It seems there’s someone trying to give The Naked Cowboy a run for his money…. he blows bubbles all day long at Bethesda Fountain.
check out the upside down reflection of the fountain in the left hand side of the bubble
and the right side up reflection in the right side….
Can’t wait to photograph their wedding at the Essex House this spring…
jen + james – engagement portraits in greenwich village
Jen and james live in greenwich village so we wandered around their locale for their engagement session.
erica + danny – the wedding at capitale
i wanted to share another fantastic wedding photographed by Ron and Chris.
erica and danny’s beautiful wedding at capitale.
you’ve got to love a bride in a wedding dress willing to get into a trash filled grafitti covered truck in chinatown -now that’s heart!
my favorite part of the following overview shot are danny and erica’s new york mets jerseys hanging over their chairs.
and off the newlywed’s walk into the sunset…
on the bowery.
the proposal at rockefeller center
when it comes to hiring a photographer to capture one of the biggest moments of your life – your proposal – few guys really have it all together and manage to think that far ahead.
craig is one of those guys.
he arranged to surprise his girlfriend, Clarena with an on-ice proposal at the skating rink at Rockefeller Center. and i arranged to be hiding in the wings to surreptitiously capture the big moment.
you’d be surprised to know how much planning has to go into getting a shot like this one… while still keeping half of your subjects unaware of what’s going on.
a pretty sweet moment planned by a pretty sweet guy
can’t get much more romantic than that.
here’s to all the guys that plan ahead…
by bd
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