Deena & Joe’s Philadelphia Engagement Session!

Deena and Joe are to be wed next may here in NYC– at the Brooklyn Botanic Gardens, one of my favorite venues… but they *live* in Philly– so when she came to my studio for a consultation we discussed the possiblity of shooting their engagement portraits there, and I thought why not?!  It’s actually not a bad train ride from NYC and I really enjoyed the adventure of shooting in a new location– it required lots of improvisation and quick thinking, and though shooting there offered similar types of scenery to NYC, the unfamiliarity made it very fresh and fun.  ONE thing I will tell you, there is some sort of stink-plant polluting the air in certain neighborhoods of Philly.  I forget what it was called and I guess it only stinks when the little fruit-nuts fall and get smushed on the streets, but boy was that a terrible smell.  Here are my favorites– aren’t they adorable?!

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pYvH0lwxJyY&hl=en&fs=1]

This is the train station (30th st) in Philly, it’s quite grand inside…

The one thing i knew going into this shoot was I would DEFINATELY be shooting them in front of this LOVE sign/sculpture… the rest was up for grabs.  Below, in front of the fountain behind the sculpture…

By the river, not far from the train station!  Much was within walking distance.. we shot for a good while and didn’t even hit all the spots we could have– I want to go back and do another one.  Anyone want a session in Philly?

I never seem to tire of piggy-back-ride shots.  They bring out the best smiles every time.

Fall foliage was peaking that weekend, check out those colors- NOT photoshopped!

I don’t know how they kept a straight face/smile here… we were surrounded by those stinky trees…

One of Philadelphias giant murals– we didn’t see many where we were walking but when I saw this I knew I had to include it somehow.  Whales rule.

All this, AND train tracks?  Yes, it would seem Philadelphia is an e-session heaven of sorts… good times!

Can’t wait for the wedding, you guys!

Deena & Joe's Philadelphia Engagement Session!

Deena and Joe are to be wed next may here in NYC– at the Brooklyn Botanic Gardens, one of my favorite venues… but they *live* in Philly– so when she came to my studio for a consultation we discussed the possiblity of shooting their engagement portraits there, and I thought why not?!  It’s actually not a bad train ride from NYC and I really enjoyed the adventure of shooting in a new location– it required lots of improvisation and quick thinking, and though shooting there offered similar types of scenery to NYC, the unfamiliarity made it very fresh and fun.  ONE thing I will tell you, there is some sort of stink-plant polluting the air in certain neighborhoods of Philly.  I forget what it was called and I guess it only stinks when the little fruit-nuts fall and get smushed on the streets, but boy was that a terrible smell.  Here are my favorites– aren’t they adorable?!

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pYvH0lwxJyY&hl=en&fs=1]

This is the train station (30th st) in Philly, it’s quite grand inside…

The one thing i knew going into this shoot was I would DEFINATELY be shooting them in front of this LOVE sign/sculpture… the rest was up for grabs.  Below, in front of the fountain behind the sculpture…

By the river, not far from the train station!  Much was within walking distance.. we shot for a good while and didn’t even hit all the spots we could have– I want to go back and do another one.  Anyone want a session in Philly?

I never seem to tire of piggy-back-ride shots.  They bring out the best smiles every time.

Fall foliage was peaking that weekend, check out those colors- NOT photoshopped!

I don’t know how they kept a straight face/smile here… we were surrounded by those stinky trees…

One of Philadelphias giant murals– we didn’t see many where we were walking but when I saw this I knew I had to include it somehow.  Whales rule.

All this, AND train tracks?  Yes, it would seem Philadelphia is an e-session heaven of sorts… good times!

Can’t wait for the wedding, you guys!

Adam and Shireen: Hitched!

So last Saturday I had the pleasure of shooting the wedding of Adam and Shireen at the SOHO Housing Works Bookstore. These two are both fellow Wesleyan alumni (though we weren’t there during the same time, I always get a thrill out of working with other grads and seeing where life has taken them– Wesleyan produces the most excellent people, I recommend it if you’re looking for a college to promote to any bright kids in your life!) Anyway they were looking forward to having a very intimate lower-key wedding in– of all places– A BOOKSTORE! I was thrilled, this would be a new challenge, and being an avid reader and lover of books myself (I actually have a major collection of dusty old volumes that i will never part with) I found this somewhat thrilling. I loved utilizing the balcony level and took them upstairs towards the end of the night so as to capture this beauty of them kissing ‘in the stacks’ so to speak…And my awesome 2nd photographer, Jeff (also a Wesleyan grad!!) set up one of my portable flashes outdoors in the adjacent alley so we could capture a nice end-of-the-wedding nightshot… complete with ‘hair light’–  Great shot, Jeff!Here are the rest of my favorites… Congratulations, Adam and Shireen!

I just love their expressions in this one above… doesn’t he look so proud to be marrying her?  And she’s just tickled!  Weddings are awesome everywhere but it’s something special to walk down a city street in your wedding finery and have people looking at you and shouting congratulations, it’s lots of fun.

The walls of shelving called for a little something special from my fisheye lens…

I was enthusiastic about the composition of this staircase/cupcake tower…nice placement by the caterering team.

And of course… the slideshow can be viewed at highest resolution on my facebook page… or here it is a bit smaller below…

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HHeSjQViJsw&fs=1&hl=en_US]
Cynthia Saba - October 25, 2010 - 12:47 am

Dear Shireen and Adam,
Congratulations and best wishes for a lifetime of happiness.
Cynthia

Shay - April 11, 2011 - 6:47 pm

I’m planning to get married in the same bookstore! What a lovely wedding, and a lovely couple. 🙂

sarahtew - April 13, 2011 - 12:42 am

Thanks for looking, please check out my new website at https://www.sarahtewphotography.com and get in touch when you’re looking to hire a wedding photographer, eh? I loved the bookstore wedding!

[…] back in the fall of 2010 I shot a sweet little wedding at Housing Works Bookstore for Adam and Shireen– it was my first wedding at the venue, which has become a favorite of mine lately… […]

Multimedia Coverage of NY Comic Con for CNET / CBS Interactive

Check out my slideshow, guys!  I am getting really into the audio aspect of this type of coverage, it’s so fun to gather these little interviews and even more fun to edit them together with atmosphere recordings in the background.  I love how open people are with audio recorders– I think it’s much safer feeling to talk into a voice recorder than into a video camera, you know?  Also I like the combination of stills and audio much more than video I think…

Zackary’s 2 years old!

Lydia asked if I would photograph her son Zackary’s 2nd birthday party at her house last weekend… I hadn’t seen him since he was around a year old and my how he’s grown– and what an adorable party!  She and her husband have renovated this cute little rowhouse not far from where I live in Williamsburg– it’s right across from a park and just right for raising kids– they had their basement/garage turned into a playroom of sorts and built a deck in the back yard space where the kids were blowing bubbles and generally playing.  The theme was guitars– as you’ll see in the pictures– Zackary’s daddy is a musician and as a result he is quite taken with the instrument himself.