Ellen & Phil - wedding photography

Some of my favorite photos from Ellen & Phil's wedding. They have been together since high school and despite the many knots Phil had tied in his days sailing, there was one knot still to tie... They had a beautiful ceremony and reception at the Orchard Lake Country Club. Despite a few early drizzles, they were able to have their ceremony outdoors, on the lake. To top it off, a full double rainbow (like this one) appeared during the reception. That has to be good luck! The Killer Flamingos kept the party rocking all night. It was a pleasure to work with Carolyn from the China Closet again (twice this summer!).

182:365 Home 9.21.10

neglected.

For the past 4 years, I've been trying to figure out what to do with this side of my backyard. It's next to the garage and has pretty much grown over with ivy. Matilda enjoys the occasional swing here and I put up the privacy fence last summer, but other than that, It just sits there. Maybe I'll get around to doing something next year.

On a technical note, I use 9 different exposures to composite this photos. Fun with photoshop!

181:365 people 9.20.10

The lonely road.

Ok, not really, I was just trying to be poetic. This old guy was apple picking all by himself and it seemed like we were intruding on his solitude. We, on the other hand, were having a great time picking/eating apples. It was Matilda's actual birthday today, but I decided that 3 Matilda pictures this week might be a little much. Look for more on her blog if you are having withdrawal.

180:365 people 9.19.10

Elmo's Red Monster's World...

The "red monster" (not to be mistaken with Elmo - which we can't call him because of trademark issues), came to Matilda's birthday party. Matilda referred to him as "big Elmo" because, well, he was much larger than her, even when on his knees and only slightly scary looking. He was a big hit at the party and only made a few kids cry. Big thanks to Uncle Ben (not the one of the minute-rice fame) for taking one for the team.

179:365 people 9.18.10

Crazy Cousins.

Alex and Jake. Sometimes I wonder if we are really related, but most days I'm glad we are.

178:365 people 9.17.10

Ready to go.

Matilda insisted that she needed her "laptop" for preschool. Never to early to start the college prep.

177:365 people 9.16.10

Top Chef.

This is Zack. Zack is one of those people you meet and know that they are going to be huge. I wouldn't be suprised to see him on the next Top Chef or open the next big restaurant. He's a creative and talented chef who demands and creates perfection on a plate (or on a paintbrush - as was the case for one of the dishes he created for this event). Check out his company, Cutting Edge Cuisine. I'm working with him to create some new images for his website that will do justice to the digestible art he creates.

176:365 people 9.15.10

The Presidents.

These are the presidents of the United Jewish Foundation of Metropolitan Detroit and the Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Detroit (JFMD), photographed before their joint annual meeting. JFMD has been one of my biggest clients over the past few years. I photograph all their major events, so getting new, interesting photos can sometimes be a challenge when I see a lot of the same people at each event. This was one of those moments where I was "chimping*" on the back of my camera and thought, hey, I may have something here. I was only using one flash, on-camera, and bounced if off the ceiling and wall next to me. It's amazing how that little flash can look like a big softbox when used correctly.

*chimping, for you non-photographers, is the term referring to one or more people looking at pictures on the back of a digital camera and going "ooh, ooh, ahh, ahh" - like a chimp. I try to avoid doing this, but sometimes it's inevitable.

175:365 people 9.14.10

thirsty??

Shot at a charity event I was photographing. Strangely enough, the same guy was at another event I photographed 2 nights later...

174:365 liquid 9.13.10

bubbles.

Sarah (my wife) got me addicted to drinking seltzer water or club soda, or soda water, or sparking water, or carbonated water, or as Matilda calls it "bubbles." Whatever you want to call it, it's very refreshing and makes regular water seem dull. We used to buy 2L bottles of it from Meijer and schlep them from the store to the house and then back to the store to return the empties. Needless to say, this was annoying and expensive. We would usually polish off a 2L per day, if not more.

Then, I found out about the soda stream. Anyone who enjoys carbonated beverages should have one. It's a little investment up front (we got ours as a holiday gift - thanks mom!), but it's only about 25cents per liter after that. There are also soda mix flavors that turn the bottle into flavored water or pop (yes, I call it pop - you may know it as soda). So put one on your chrisma-hanu-kwanza-ka list and enjoy.

173:365 liquid 9.12.10

clean.

(Almost) every night, I spray down the kitchen counter with Method all-purpose cleaner. Tonight, it sat on the counter a little longer so I could take a few photos before wiping it off.

172:365 liquid 9.11.10

Purple Rain.

This is what I was shooting when I took the above photo:

Awesome senior session - we didn't let a few raindrops stop us. They made the most of it and jumped in the fountain! Will post more soon.

169:365 Liquid 9.8.10

Bath water.

Oops. this one is a little out of order. That's what happens when I get behind on posting. Sorry.