Recently, I packed up our mobile studio and headed over to Carleigh’s house to help her create a custom portrait session unlike any she had experienced before. Carleigh is one of our Class Of 2010 Senior Ambassadors for Minisink Valley High School.
It was a perfect day for a photography session because, for once, there was no rain in the forecast! I arrived at her house at about 1:00PM and helped her choose her first outfit. Since I wanted Carleigh to be comfortable for the first set of shots, we tried the ensemble below and headed outside into the tall grass they had in the yard (and we were careful not to step in any gopher holes).
With the summer sun kicking in full blast, we soon decided to head inside and use the mobile studio for some shots. The setup was in their living room and was soooo much cooler than outside! I started with some White-On-White and Classic Black and White shots to add to her portfolio …
Because no session is complete without sunglasses, we added them to some of the high-key photos we took. With her favorite music blaring, the great photos kept coming …
For the shot below, I wanted to try something that I saw in another photographer’s portfolio (who’s name completely escapes me right now). Because Carleigh loves shoes (and what girl doesn’t??), we took what she loved and added some of her style to get this great shot!
Wanting a grungy look, we started looking around for something that would work. Because we were working in the middle of farm land and not the city, we knew this might be a difficult task. Carleigh’s house had some stairs around back that seemed to work well with the clothing she had on …
As the session neared the end, I decided to have Carleigh put on her prom dress and run through the tall grass like a little kid would on summer break. This is one of my favs!
I know that I could go on forever about how much fun Carleigh, her mom and I had on the session – but I figured it would be best to just post her slideshow instead! Carleigh is going to make a great Class Of 2010 Senior Ambassador for Minisink Valley! Enjoy!
Miscellaneous•
July 1st, 2009•
After a very tough week because of my dad’s funeral, we had to pull ourselves together for our last big event of the spring – the 2009 Minisink Valley Graduation Ceremony.
Friday morning, the 26th of June, was a particularly tough morning as it was the last time the family got to see my dad before the funeral home finished what they needed to do. We were all emotionally drained from everything that had gone on during the last few days and none of us really had our heads in the right spot. However, Loretta and I had one last job to do for Minisink Valley before the school year closed out.
As we headed home, we noticed that the skies we nearly black – and sitting right over where we needed to go. We got back to my parent’s house and turned on the weather channel to see what was headed our way. The screen simply said – strong thunderstorms …
Though the skies were dark and the wind was picking up, we headed over to the school to meet up with our freelance photographers to go over the final game plan – should the ceremony continue. Unfortunately, just as we arrived, the office word came out that everything had been moved to Saturday morning – and it was a good thing too!
The black clouds that we saw were upon us in no time and the “strong thunderstorm” notice from the weather channel was a complete understatement. Lightning was crashing all around us, rain was coming down in buckets and the wind was strong enough to knock almost anything over. With that, we headed home and made sure we were ready for Saturday morning!
When the time rolled around, the weather was pretty iffy. A few pockets of rain doused the field while everyone was getting setup. Luckily, it all passed with about 30 minutes to spare. Just as the ceremony began, the sun came out and made for a beautiful but muggy day. With everyone happy to just have great weather, we started capturing some great shots of the graduates … including this extremely interesting one while everyone was walking in …
… as well as this “dreamy” looking one of a veteran receiving his honorary diploma.
While walking up and down the sides of the graduates, taking shots of them and their friends together, this one girl caught my attention simply because her shoes almost screamed at me for attention …
A blog post about a high school graduation (or any graduation for that matter) wouldn’t be complete without the usual “cap throwing” shot …
All in all, it was a nice ending to a rough week. It actually made me feel like I was back at my own graduation in 2001 …
Miscellaneous•
October 9th, 2008•
As a photographer, we face challenges every time we pick up the camera. From lighting to posing and into post-production retouching, we’re constantly working with things that are sometimes out of our control. This past weekend was no exception.
Friday night was filled with footballs games. The first was between the Junior Varsity teams for Minisink Valley and Middletown at the Minisink Valley High School. With the sun beaming brightly and very low in the sky, we had to contend with harsh shadows on all of the players. We were constantly adjusting our settings for the optimal shot. Later that night was the game between the Varsity teams for the same schools on the brand new Middletown High School field. While the lighting was perfect, the night was cold and keeping our fingers warm was enough of a challenge!
Saturday morning brought the same cold air as we set out for an entire day photographing the Minisink Valley Youth Soccer teams – all 900+ kids! As the clouds peeled back and let the sun shine down, things began to warm up … but gave us those harsh shadows that we love to hate.
Sunday morning followed with much warmer weather and a family session in New Jersey. With an energetic kid, a 7-month old baby and two extremely nice parents … there was nothing challenging about the day … until we packed up and got ready for something we knew would be tough for the both of us.
Our final shoot for the weekend was a portrait session. Not of a family or a child in the traditional sense – but of one family’s dog, Zeus, who was very much a child to them in his own right. Unfortunately, Zeus was dying of cancer. We had been asked to take some portraits of him (since he had never had them done) before his time came.
Knowing that you are taking some of the last shots of someone is an honor and a heartache at the same time. Having experienced this same feeling personally a little over a year ago, I know how hard it can be. So as we arrived, this incredibly massive Great Dane greeted us by the car and as we got our gear ready, settled down in the backyard under the shade of trees. As we maneuvered around each other, Zeus seemed to pose every so often and allow me those few short moments to capture him as if he were a perfectly crafted statue.
The hardest part of the session came when I needed to put down the camera – wondering if I could just get one more shot. We eventually packed everything up and headed home to try and take care of any last minute things before the weekend ended.
However, I was informed today that, sadly, Zeus was put to sleep yesterday to avoid any further suffering and pain. Our hearts and wishes go out to his parents.
Here were some of the shots from the best session all weekend …
Miscellaneous•
July 15th, 2008•
A few weeks ago, we announced that Minisink Valley High School had selected Wanamaker Photography to cover their graduation ceremonies. When the day finally arrived, I think we were a little more excited than a lot of the Seniors!
Since September, we had the opportunity to follow a bunch of the Seniors through many of the different sports that they played for Minisink Valley. From Football to Lacrosse to Baseball, we had captured hundreds of shots of each Senior … and now we had the opportunity to capture their final photo as they graduated from High School.
As we arrived at the school, the day brought with it uncertain weather. I continually checked the radar on my phone hoping for some luck. As the clouds became darker, I would check more often. We headed out to the field and started taking some pre-ceremony shots of the band, arriving parents and the Minisink Valley ROTC practicing for the main event …
As the Minisink Valley Seniors began walking out onto the field, everyone’s prayers were answered. The dark clouds disappeared and the sun poked through … as bright as ever!
As our coverage continued, we took over 3,000 photos of the graduates during candid moments and while receiving their diplomas. In the end, we were extremely happy that we could share in such a special day with all of the 2008 Minisink Valley High School Seniors!
* We took so many photos that it was extremely hard for us to pick a few for the blog and the homepage. If you are a 2008 Minisink Valley Graduate and would like to see all of the images we captured, please contact us and we will be more than happy to provide you with a special access code to our online gallery!
Miscellaneous•
June 24th, 2008•
We have great news for all of the seniors we’ve had the chance to follow through football, wrestling, lacrosse and baseball this year …
We’ve been asked to photograph the 2008 Minisink Valley Graduation on June 27th! We’ll be out in full force on the field capturing each and every senior receiving their diploma as well as all of the candid moment between friends. We look forward to sharing this incredible day with all of you!