Playing with the BIG BOYS!

What would you do if you found yourself in the middle of $55,000 worth of camera optics?

No, I didn’t steal them, but I ran one of the coolest optical comparison tests I have seen ever.
My day at Lenspro was a long one (I was sick as a dog!), but I think it might be one of the first tests that puts a side by side picture on the face of the many questions that many lens consumers ask.

I modified a sharpness target that fits perfectly in the aspect ratio of a Nikon frame and cut into it a custom made depth of field gauge and ran these lenses through the gauntlet.

AF-S NIKKOR 70-200mm f/2.8G ED VR II

AF-S NIKKOR 70-200mm f/2.8G ED VR II with TC2

AF-S VR NIKKOR 200mm f/2.0 G AF-S IF-ED Lens

AF-S VR Zoom- NIKKOR 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6G IF-ED

AF VR Zoom NIKKOR 80-400mm f/4.5-5.6D ED

AF-S NIKKOR 200-400mm f/4G ED VR II

AF-S VR NIKKOR 300mm f/2.8G IF-ED

AF-S NIKKOR 400mm f/2.8G ED VRII

AF-S NIKKOR 500mm f/4G ED VR II

AF-S NIKKOR 600mm f/4G ED VR

Sigma 120-300mm f/2.8

Sigma 150-500mm f/5-6.3 OS

The data will be coming soon on the Photog's Blog.

I have NO CLASS!

That is to say, our first basic photography class is complete = ).

So if I could imagine the ideal first photography class, what would it be like...hmmmmm....

How about a small class with very enthusiastic, easy going and patient students that all have the same name, use the same camera make and model and the same lens.

Wait a minute! That actually happened!

Talk about an easy first class from a teacher's perspective!

At first I was nervous to tell the potential students that there was only two signed up for the class and that they would bail becuase of it. I could not have been more wrong. I guess the 2 to 1 student to teacher ratio meant to them that this class was more like a private lesson!

To Mary and Mary, thanks !

As crazy as I was those days, I always left the class with a smile.

Thanks again for being such a great students!

Getting Dynamic!

Yet another workshop in the bag.

For the first time since we started hosting training/workshops at our studio, we set-up this one in our actual studio space. I think it went of very well.













As for Dan’s workshop….AWESOME!

Each day started in the studio and we hit it until lunch. Having that much pizza in two days just can’t be good for you though I wish it was. Lets see…pizza for lunch, left over pizza’s for supper…oh, and don’t forget those late night pizza snacks! We did that two days in a row! I am not kidding.

As both Gail and I have loved the work we have seen from Dan, we took turns as much as possible sitting in and trying to soak some of this up. As of right now…our minds are screaming with new ideas on how to light events and portraits.

So both afternoons we got to let Dan loose on our Studio grounds. Our first two models were are our future Bride and Groom, Pam and John. Having never met them before in the back of my head I had to wonder if this was a good idea or not. This could go really well …or… you know. When they showed up I thought to myself “know one is going to believe this”. Pam, a beautiful Bride to be and John, her handsome Groom.








They were sooooo patient the whole time. They looked like stars as the Papa Razzi was chasing them around with spot lights and strobe packs in tow.

A BIG thanks to both of them for being so nice and patient to all of us.

Next up was Dan's assistant Jim. An expert with the battery packs and lights, Jim was also one of Dan's photography subjects. You can't beat versatility like that.














We all again took turns working the lights and also combined light sources like halogens and LEDs.


The second day right after lunch we had Braeden’s one year cake smashing. What a cute boy! We did some existing light work with him.































Then came our “back-up model” (I have to laugh) Katie. We had to "rough it" as you can see!
















Daughter of one of our Sunday session students, she put the sauce in saucy.


A HUGE Thanks to Billy and the boys over at Performance Custom Cycle! Our neighbors at the Mill, the let us drop in and take over their shop for a little photo session amongst the bikes.

If that wasn't enough, they rolled out this award winning bike for us to drape our model on.

THANK YOU!


















Here is a little video I through together from day 2. (My apologies to the Day 1 attendees. I forgot the camera otherwise I would have done for Sunday as well.)





At the end of it all, we had a great time and many of our students went home with some sweet raffle gifts.
A big thanks to Hunts Photo, Lenspro To Go, Lustre Color, and of Course Dan Doke for providing the raffle gifts.

Ryan drove all the way up from Connecticut for the workshop, so we were happy to have him win one of Dan's DVD's.










Jasmine was one of our "ASA Scholarship" students from Northeaster University that took advantage of one of the complimentary seats.

This proved to us once again how much we love hands on workshops, let alone running them.

Among all the cool things that Dan showed and told us, one thing that I will always remember and take away from this class is what Dan kept saying throughout both sessions, and that is that you have to give the the Bride and Groom something they can not get from there Aunt or Uncle that attended the wedding with their camera.

I heard and understood it at the time, but I guess I really didn’t let it sink in. Sounds silly, but it really didn't hit me until a day or so after.

How embarrassing would it be as a “Professional” photographer to be shown up by a guest?

For Gail and I, that really solidified the need to ALWAYS be pushing the envelope in all the ways possible in any situation. I think that is what makes Dan, Dan. He finds the usual and makes it unusual.

Isn’t that what being a “Professional” is all about really? Or should I say “Passionate Professional”?

Thank you Dan!

Ramping up again at the studio...

So we are getting ramped up at the Studio as our busy part of the season is starting to appear on the horizon.




We met up again with Elizabeth and Julio, one of our past brides and grooms, and they brought a little someone along with them--we can't wait to meet her face-to-face. Liz is an absolutely beautiful expectant mom and she has that glow going. Without question, this is a great time in life for both of them as Gail and I both know, but guys, get your sleep while you still can!























Recently we invited Melinda to come in and help us show off some ideas we have for a little "Senior Flair" as we like to call it. Mom and Dad like the smile shots and we do always take those during the shoot, but photos like these are the type that our seniors like to Facebook. Gail and I are rather fond of them as well. Melinda gets to boasts our first Prom dress session. So much fun!






















Gabbi also claims another first on this cool Royal Red background. Her yellow shirt accented the goldnon the background perfectly! We've got lots of ideas to work on with on this one.





















And finally, Bridget showed off her skates as well as got a shot or two on the graffiti wall. She marked our first Senior Session from Billerica. Looking forward to capturing more!!! Stay tuned...

For Bragging Rights!... THE MGM GRAND!

So we did it, its official. The first Wedding Reception held inside the MGM Grand Hotel. Up to this point, they were all held over at an adjacent country club.
















We were given this cool opportunity by our Bride and Groom, Carissa and Steve.

I doctored up the sign image above to make it look like the Casino was actually running it. Carissa thought it was cool.














They pulled out all the stops for this one. The pre and post ceremony pics were held at the Father of the Bride's house. Partially perched on a stone ledge overlooking a lake, he constructed the stone stairways and walls that lead up from a beautifully landscaped lawn area to the main house. No shortage of areas to shoot formals here folks.

We just had to put the Guys on the ledge for this pic.














After the mass we returned to the Bride's father house again for all the formals.

From there, we headed over to the MGM Grand at Foxwoods.




We hit the lobby first and met with Ella the Event Coordinator who graciously allowed us a few moments to use the main lobby for some wedding party pictures (I could have spent an hour here easily). The decor inside was in fact...well...GRAND! The really cool part was the wedding party became the entertainment. Every time we would turn around we had a crowd of people watching.

We walked the entire wedding entourage (and I do mean entourage...9 ladies, 7 men, 5 children and the Bride and Groom) through the casino and up two escalators to the function room for the cocktail hour (funny, I don’t think I have ever worked a wedding with an escalator in it...huh...)



This presented us with a "D-ice" sculpture if you will, with built in Martini luge.













The reception hall was easily the largest we had ever worked with something like 15000-20000 square feet. I needed a fish eye just to get the whole head table in the shot! Remember it needed to accomodate 18 adults!

And yes, they partied it up.

After all the main reception events were covered, Gail sent me out on a "walk about" to find a nice spot to photograph the bride and groom to close out their album. We wanted to put them on the Casino floor, but you can not even point a camera in the general direction of the casino or it might be confiscated--we didn't test this theory.

So instead, and with a little help from one of the security guards, I found the front lawn that has a great view of the tower. Though a little foggy and rainy, I thought it would work. I made the call and Gail brought Carissa and Steve out to me. We snagged a couple of shots...I think it works...


We hired the two best men (yup, twins)to sport a little advertising ink for us and Carissa joined in.

After the last dance, we all headed over to the Shrine night club (which was right off the Casino floor) for the after party. What was really cool was that our wedding party got us the VIP treatment and we were whisked past the huge line to get in. Thanks guys!



After the club, we did get a little frivolous and gambled away about $5 in nickels at the slots machines = ).

I don't think we went to bed until about 4AM. Don't forget, that casino is jumping 24-7 and we had overnight babysitters! = )

We woke up at 8:30am that same morning to meet the Bride and her Bridesmaids over at the pool for our first "Trash the Dress" shoot. I jumped in first and got set-up with a camera while Gail shot long. By the time they were ready to go we had a crowd gathered around the pool (staff included). 1...2...3! SPLASH!





As we found out later, a lot of people were looking down from hotel tower itself! We spent the day checking out the establishment, ran into a few people we knew (one of which was our LandLord at the Studio!) and then headed home.

What an event!
















A big thanks to Carissa and Steve for a lot of great
firsts = ).


Bets Wishes!