Dinner at Rebecca's

It was almost a year ago that Rebecca, the mastermind behind A Daily Something, planned and produced a beautiful and simple dinner party at her stunning 300-year-old, stone-walled Quaker farmhouse. And I had the pleasure of being there to shoot it. The house is amazing, as you can imagine from the description. We recently got the story published in Issue 7 of The Simple Things. I wanted to share some of the many outtakes that I dug up while going through my archives. I shot a mix of digital and film for this.

Can't you just feel the coziness of the space?
Take a little peek at the story below.

Playing tourist

Back in November, Trent and Dara — the formidable duo behind Trent Bailey Photography — had me shoot their Christmas card photo. On top of a tour bus in Times Square! What we didn't predict was the pouring rain (I mean, how magical would it have been if it had been snow?). In a way, it worked out because no one wanted to brave the rain on top of the bus. We had it all to ourselves.

(All Contax 645, Portra 800 I think.)

These guys photograph so well. It was a pleasure!

Kinfolk Vol. 5 and Outtakes (2 of 2)

For Vol. 5 of Kinfolk, I also had the opportunity to photograph Jennifer Causey for an interview feature. Jen is a veteran blogger (blogging way before it was cool) and has quite the prolific photography portfolio (i, ii). It's always a huge pleasure to shoot other photographers (they know what works with light and how to set a great scene), but the experience is still a bit tinged with intimidation for me (What will they think of how I work? Am I doing it wrong? Can they do it better? We photographers can be critical people! These are all the silly worries that live in the back of my head.).

It was very much an honor to shoot Jen and her space - she effortlessly created a beautiful scene. Shoots like this one hardly feel like work to me. Below are some outtakes (almost all shot on Contax 645 and Portra 160).

Sam + Gus

Short for Samantha and Augustine. I was excited about this wedding since the original inquiry - because it was going to be held at Public, a restaurant in Nolita that I love. I remember the first or second time I went to Public, I saw that the middle area looked like it had been set up for a wedding, and I thought, "Damn do I want to shoot a wedding here!" I love the space, but I also knew that it was going to be dark, very dark. And while I obviously prefer natural light (I mean, who doesn't?), I like the challenge of getting good flash-lit shots. Most of the photos from my previous wedding blog posts are naturally or at least ambiently lit. In this post, there's definitely a higher percentage of flash-lit shots than ever.

Though it isn't obvious from these first few photos, shot at Sam's adorable studio apartment where she and her girlfriends got ready together.

On to the ceremony. One thing I've noticed with so many brides is that during the vow exchange, they look like they're laughing uncontrollably in the photos. Actually it's more their natural reaction to the fact that they are choked up and can't get the rest of the words out. (Erm, I may or may not shed a tear(s) every time this happens too.)

More details from the night. The two moody shots near the middle are, as you'd expect, not flash-lit. It's always nice to turn the flash off for a few that capture the atmosphere.



Congratulations again to these two. I feel very lucky to have met so many great couples this year.

Tomorrow, I'm shooting a wedding in NJ for this lovely pair. The season's madness is not over yet!

Olana

A few stragglers from our Vermont/Upstate NY trip - these were taken on the Olana grounds on Portra 160. I wanted to wait for sunset, but alas, we were racing back to the city to return a rental car.

Friends and the apartment

Cozbi was in town a few weeks back and I took the opportunity to shoot her in the (tiny) apartment. Then Pei came over, and I grabbed a few of her too. :) All on 400H (a film I haven't used in forever!) and Contax 645.

Had to finish the roll, so here are some gratuitous photos of the apartment and an Avedon cameo.

Happy weekend!

In Dorset, VT

Went a little overboard and shot this same pink flower three ways. Portra 160 and the shade seem to go together muuuuch better (re: my complaining in previous post). There's another half roll shot of Vermont still sitting in my Contax that I just can't seem to finish off. Dontcha hate when that happens?

More on vermont

A few film images from our short Vermont trip - some from a nature trail we stumbled upon and most from Bromley Mountain, which (as you may have guessed) is normally a ski resort in the winter. These are all Portra 160 (my go-to film nowadays) and some converted to b/w. I was a bit disappointed with this set - I think largely due to the harsh sunlight I was shooting most of these in. I would try to wait for a bit of cloud cover but overall, it was just way too bright that day. I can only imagine what it'd be like shooting these scenes around sunset or golden hour... alas.

At the Dorset Farmers Market

Beautiful goods and produce on film at the Dorset Farmers Market in Vermont.