Archive for August, 2009

lacy and gene wedding at the racebrook country club

I met Lacy last year when she was the maid of honor at her best friend Samira’s wedding- she had the sassiest pink shoes on with her dress and from that point on I knew we would get along! So when she got engaged to Gene we were on deck to photograph their wedding at the Racebrook Country Club in Orange CT earlier in August.

Now if I think I’m friends with Lacy, well her Mom was quickly inching her way into my favor very quickly! She was quick with a laugh and had THE coolest closet FULL, and when I say full I mean, like dream full- of the best shoes in the world! Picture cute Barbie shoes? And then picture them being real! There was Sunny’s closet! Full of cool shoes with things like pink feathers and pineapples and sequins and just prettiness! And she had a tiara. Enough said!

So Lacy’s details we just so pretty, I could hardly contain myself. Check out her flowers. They had the prettiest most delicate silver handle! Which is what gave me the idea of putting them on the silver tea set. That, and I wanted  another shameless sneaky self portrait, however distorted it is!

See how pretty the handle is? These hand bags were gifts for the brides maids- and their bouquets were so pretty!! A family friend was the florist and did an excellent job!!

Vera Wang bridesmaids dresses. Check out the texture!!

Shoes abound!! The ones on the left were Sunny’s. I couldn’t resist!!

Lacy’s gown was also a Vera Wang and I thought it was the most feminine and beautiful dress

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It was SO hot on their wedding day, but it didn’t get anyone down!

Check out the detail of the dress- this is Mike’s shot

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Again, Mike is always quick around the kids- he is SO excellent at really getting them in their element- these are both his shots

One of my favorite scenarios to shoot, the flower girl watching the bride

More details of her rings and the flowers

The bridesmaids were pumped to see Lacy all done up!

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Lacy and Gene had a lemon theme running throughout their wedding- I just loved how they worked it onto the pews and all over (the shot on the right is Mike’s)

Here is Gene right as he sees Lacy coming down the aisle

They even had lemon trees on the altar

Mike snagged this awesome shot of them coming down the aisle

And Mike also got this one, I love how he focused on the lemons and got them at just the right moment

And they had parasols!!! what’s not to love about these???

 

 

 

Another Mike Romano kid special- this little guy was so cute!

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It’s like Mike Romano special day today here- another favorite of mine was this shot of his

OK this one too!!!! He was tearing it UP!!!!

Gene is big into John Deere hats, so all of his guys got one

Mike Romano strikes again- I love his take on this sparkler shot as they were announced in there were a bunch of people with these going on!!

Lemony details made for some lemony pictures!!!

So one of my favorite things to do is to snag my couples during their reception if the light or weather is doing something cool lie fog or snow. These guys had literally just sat down to eat but jumped at the chance to run out and grab some shots!!

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See how different the picture becomes when she just looks at me and smiles? Way to work it Miss Lacy!!

Mike. Seriously. All Mike. Maybe my favorite shot all day- the texture and tiny bit of light he got on the bouquet, was just the most perfect amount!!

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Me working my negative space! I love the look on her face, it’s so cute!

And the final Mike Romano shot of the day…. !

Here Lacy and her Dad were tearing up the dance floor!!!

 

 

Lacy and Gene, congratulations on your wedding!!! Mike and I had a BLAST, and Sunny your meatballs were out of this WORLD!!!

 

XXOO

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see more >>> Weddings

Samira — Fabulous pictures from a fabulous day!!! Love them all! Great work, Carla and Mike!   ( September 1, 2009 @ 7:25 am )

Claire Nicotra — LOVE THE PHOTOS!!!! EXCEPTIONAL JOB.....CARLA AN MIKE YOU ARE THE BEST!! LACY & GENE HAVE GREAT MEMORIES FOREVER THANKS TO YOU!!!!! IT WAS A FABULOUS WEDDING!!!!!!!!!!!!!   ( September 1, 2009 @ 7:58 am )

Aunt Sharyn — Absolutley beautiful ---Lacy and gene look so happy -loved all the comments as well -Great job and fun wedding !! Sunny does make the best meatballs !!!!   ( September 1, 2009 @ 8:40 am )

Ruthann Beckerman — As Sunny would say OH MY GOD Great reliving a fabulous evening Love Ruthann   ( September 1, 2009 @ 12:52 pm )

mary saleh — Carla and Mike did it again!!! So great to see the special details of the day...e.g., the cross on the beautiful bridal bouquet, the bows on the wedding programs, the lemons on the napkin rings,...and the list goes on!! Beautiful memories from a beautiful wedding day!!   ( September 1, 2009 @ 2:50 pm )

Peter Means — Congratulations Lacy, Gene, Sunny and Topper! We miss you all and hope to meet Gene someday. Peter, Liz, Ellis and Kiran   ( September 1, 2009 @ 9:33 pm )

liz means — What a fabulously elegant wedding and the bride looked like a princess!! congratulations to Lacy and Gene. You make a lovely couple. liz   ( September 1, 2009 @ 11:01 pm )

nick and ging new jersey engagement session

 

I’m going to open by dispelling a bad stereotype:
Jersey ain’t all that dirty!
I love it, in fact!
Although the traffic to get there I can do without, but that goes without saying… So on to our regularly scheduled programming…. the main reason why Mike and I were in Jersey to begin with- our fabulous engagement session with our  extremely photogenic and witty couple ging and Nick. So we go to this pretty cool park, right? I know, I know- parks challenge me! But I rose to the challenge and this is what I came back with:
a pretty freaking cool greenhouse makes for a pretty freaking cool background for which to place my willing subjects…


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So then they tell me they have a bamboo forest for us to shoot in!! And I’m like…. @#^^%$**&?)_(**@@#$!!!!!!

Care Bears: Journey to Joke-a-Lot video

and then?

I am all about embracing the light- side light, back light, soft light, broad light, short light, back light, one fish two fish red fish blue fish! Let this blog post be the Dr. Seuss book of light for you!

Check the image up above again. Side light / back light. Don’t be scared.

Now look down. Shoot INTO the light, Carol Ann! I’ll hold your hand.

Now, check me out and where I am, on the edge of the bamboo forest. Rocking my boot. Sweatin’.

Nice, pretty soft light. Even prettier subjects!!!

Like really?? I just love how different both of these shots are- just by having Ging lift her head and make eye contact changes the whole look

Here Mr. Mike Romano puts them into a bamboo time out- even worse he makes ME squish in behind them to hold the light! It was a tight squeeze but I took one for the team

The light started getting warmer and warmer, so we went out to a field to really get the full scope of it and just let it wrap around them

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Then there was this tree, right.

So after we played in the tree we went out to the garden and Mike took advantage of the light and a nice quiet moment Ging and Nick were having

OK, take a walk through my brain time:

So we are in a garden, with zinnias. Green zinnias! One of my favorite flowers ever. They have nice, strong stems, right? So the first thing I think of is this shot-

balancing her ring on one of them- with Ging and Nick in the back ground- I shot this with my 24-70 mm 2.8

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and then it evolves into this shot, with me shooting from above still with the 24-70 mm 2.8 I like this lens because it lets me get nice and close

And then? We see this bee?  I borrow Mike’s steady bee-friendly hands and his 70 mm 2.8 macro lens….

Viola! The final product

So after the sun had worked it’s warm flare magic we ducked behind this wall of awesome foliage, I believe it’s morning glories

So once I got them situated there I let them hang out and worked it a bit…. I was able to feature Nick’s really cool white eyelashes

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How photogenic is Ging??? Oh. MY. GOOOOOOOOD!!!

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So then we played wiffle ball- Nick is a master wiffle ball player

So then Mike played wiffle ball with Nick. Or was it a ploy to throw balls at me??? And my camera!!!

Mike caught this awesome expression of Nick’s while they played

And then we rolled into Hoboken to check out the New York City skyline, but started here with the soccer game going on in the back

So then it gets dark. And this makes Mike and I happy because then we get to play with our flashes and our pocket wizards! And yet life goes on around us…. Mommy’s out walking their babies…. people hanging out

So we work the two light Willy set up (one on either side of them)- 2 flashes, four pocket wizards, two shooters and two happy and willing clients

And then we rock the two light willy set up by moving one light to the right of the frame , and the other behind them to back light them

This one is Mike Romano all the way

Same lighting scenario, just shooting a little wider- and making them laugh with my stupid noises

But then they settle back into their snuggle

Mike Romano, up at bat- and knocks it out of the park

So while Mike shoots I take this shot below of their cuddle / wrestle session

 

Thank you SOOOOOOO much Ging and Nick for letting us have fun with you guys and letting us do our thing!!!

We can’t WAIT to photograph your wedding!!

 

XXOO


see more >>> tips and tricks

Eric Foley — Great shoot C10! Love the bamboo!   ( August 28, 2009 @ 12:17 am )

robert norman — rock the bamboo, baby!   ( August 28, 2009 @ 12:37 am )

Ging — Can't say how much fun we had with you and Mike.. despite the hot sticky weather! you guys are awesome. LOVE love love (that's triple love) the photos!! cant wait to see the rest!   ( August 28, 2009 @ 7:43 am )

Mooks — Oh gosh...where can I even begin???!!!Looooove the greenhouse photo...adore the bamboo shoot...and the city lights/boardwalk situation is also quite lovely. I'm loving it...tis' art...I would hang these on my wall...seriously...amazing. Oh oh...and I really really like the black and white zeroing in on the white eyelashes...so cool. Ging looks gorgeous...and Nick looks GQ....it's all of excellence!!   ( August 28, 2009 @ 9:52 am )

nicole — awesome shoot, guys! beautiful couple! what happened to your foot? hey, are matias and i gonna see you guys in sf in a few weeks? ;)   ( August 28, 2009 @ 5:09 pm )

Nick — Carla and Mike! These pix are sooooo sweeeeeeeeet! Ging and I are literally in an Apple Store right now looking at the shots through an iMac... not only am I excited about you guys shooting our wedding, but now I want one of these iMacs!!!   ( August 29, 2009 @ 7:56 pm )

Susannah McGlamery — could they be anymore beautiful??? holy smokes. the bamboo is amazing. actually, let me stop. they're all so gorgeous. but i'm not sure if it's you or them. okay, maybe both???   ( September 3, 2009 @ 9:24 pm )

derek and aleks minneapolis wedding part 2

Derek and Aleks, the final installment!

Dramatic, I know since there was only one before it!

Here are my two good buddies Gustav and Martin from way back in the RIT days of film and darkrooms and Watercolor class with Shep. I love these two guys like brothers and am so glad that they were a part of Derek’s day. Plus they looks super handsome all dressed up!!

One of my favorite images of the year. Derek shares a big hug with his Mom right before the ceremony…

I came in here because someone told me Aleks was here…. and she was all alone, just sitting and thinking. Moments later the flower girls came in, I love her reaction

One of my other favorite boys from RIT, Chris Wideawake with his cool Holga camera. Yes it is film!

Derek’s grandfather takes a moment before the ceremony to take it all in….

Now this threw me for a loop. I was not only ALLOWED but ENCOURAGED to be up on the ALTAR DURING THE CEREMONY!!! Yikes, right??? This was a first for me and I was UBER aware of how everyone must have been staring and wondering why I was where I was. The priest made me!! Well, not really but if he didn’t really encourage me I wouldn’t have really gotten anything but their backs… I was still in a corner and shot this with my 70-200 but I felt like I was dressed like a clown and everyone was watching me! No one cared, actually!

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My favorite part of the ceremony was the crowns. And the scalding hot wax that poor Derek and Aleks had to put up with! They were troopers

My favorite bridesmaids ensemble this year…. all greens, all different but SO LOVELY!!! This was taken by Jaime!

Derek is such a flailer and I love him for it!! Here he was running to go get something and had the bouquet and did a leap into the air!

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Hand made rings, hand made little vest- the lace was from one of her sister’s dresses!

And a pink school bus. Just, cuz.

Gotta come prepared for the rain

Schmartin and Gus, my bookend boys!

Another of my favorite images all year. D Till looking all awesome!!!!

And who doesn’t love a flower girl shot??

Symmetry, symmetry symmetry….. I love it

I also love this. These two guys were so awesome and cooperative! They drove the trolley that Derek rented for us to shoot in. Yeah, you heard me.

This guy!!  This is Gus later in life

Check these two OUT!!!! This trolley was mint and they could work IT

The color of the seats was just beautiful

The driver let us stop and get out and shoot!

So we took full advantage

Derek and Schmartin were roommates back in Art House and have remained close. This is how they show affection

I love this shot of Derek

And I love this shot of Aleks! Not even off the bus for one second and someone approaches her with a shot of moonshine and she was all over it!!! I love how her pinky is extended ever so gently

My favorite cake cutting shot of the year!

These guys had such a sweet first dance..

Her dance with her father was very emotional

And then we capped the night off with cigar smoking! Stinky but great to shoot in!!

love love love

 

Well D Till and the Mrs. D Till- this was such a blast and an honor to be there to see and meet your families and all of your non RIT friends, they were awesome!!! I can’t wait to hear how Italy was and for our next crazy time together!!!

Mr. Destiny film

 

I love you guys!!!

 

XXXOOO


see more >>> Weddings

Katie Slater — love both installments! the crazy animals, the pink bus, the crowns and the obvious love and admiration that you have for your buddies! :)   ( August 27, 2009 @ 3:35 pm )

Susannah McGlamery — no duct tape? i love the pics and all of the wonderful details of these crazy super folks!   ( August 27, 2009 @ 7:53 pm )

aleks — Yay! Thanks for posting, Carla!!! These look great!   ( August 27, 2009 @ 10:18 pm )

eric langlois — that is THE SICKEST cake shot I have ever seen, anywhere, by anyone, on the planet. Seriously....I bow down to your awesomeness. I'm not worthy, I'm not worthy!!!! honestly.... I'm not just saying that. :)   ( August 27, 2009 @ 10:57 pm )

Robin Dini — That cake cutting shot is off the hook!!!! but seriously, a pink bus and a trolley!? who's better than you baby??? LOVE how you worked your transportation.   ( August 28, 2009 @ 2:30 pm )

Kathleen Rozanski-Saunders — OMG!!! I LOVE all of them!! AWESOME. It was great to see Derek and Gus!! PINK BUS! LOL... Derek- big congrats!!!!   ( September 3, 2009 @ 2:47 pm )