Minisink Valley Graduation
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!
2008 Eldred Prom: Paparazzi Style!
Back in May, my baby brother, Robert, had his Senior Prom. I still cannot believe how fast time has gone by! It seems like just yesterday he was in Kindergarten! Anyways, enough looking to the past …
Being the photographer of the family, he asked us to follow him from the Eldred School to the Riverview Inn in Pennsylvania where the dance was being held. I accepted (of course) and decided to treat him like a celebrity that day!
As the time came closer, we kept checking the weather as it was supposed to rain on and off during his entire trip to the dance. As we arrived at the school, things seemed to hold off long enough for us to grab a couple of shots before heading in for the announcement of the couples. So we picked out some locations around the front of the school and grabbed a couple shots before heading in. In this shot, we asked Robert and his date, Katie, for a little attitude …
After the announcement of each couple, we headed back outside and got everything ready to head to our next stop … a local playground. Utilizing the kid that is in all of us, we decided to play on the swings for a bit and grabbed this shot …
After being attacked by the all of the bugs, we decided to head down to the Hawks Nest and test out some shots there. As we headed down along the river, the rain could hold out no more and downpoured on us. Forging ahead, we grabbed our umbrellas and towels and decided to give it a try anyways.
Robert and Katie were already parked further down the Hawks Nest with a heavily modified Subaru WRX. As we closed in on them, the rain began to let up and we setup our shots as quickly as possible. We’d check the traffic and when all seemed clear, Chris would jump out into the middle of the road and grab a few shots before the next car would come along. Here was one of his shots …
As the rain moved in again, we decided to head out and down to the Riverview for his last few shots before dancing the night away! On our way down, the rain let up and the lightbulb went off. We wanted to grab just a few more shots before heading to the dance … so we pulled off the road and headed out onto the bridge between Matamoras, PA and Port Jervis, NY. We grabbed our umbrella just in case that downpour followed us.
We started playing around with some different ideas once we got onto the bridge and captured as many shots as we could before the weather got ugly again. As cars passed by, the passengers kept looking at us trying to figure out what was going on. After capturing these shots, we decided to wrap things up and let Robert and Katie head out to their dance …
After leaving them at the dance, we headed back and literally started working on the images. Playing with them inside of Adobe Lightroom was incredible and everyone loved the shots. Robert and Katie felt like celebrities for the day as they had their own paparazzi following them around!
Now I get to look forward to his graduation!
Time To Recharge The Batteries!
Busy … Busy … Busy … That’s about the only way that I can describe the last month or so! Things have kept us going so much so that we haven’t even had a chance to update the blog!
Soccer, Baseball, Lacrosse, School and all of our other Spring events have all come to an end … which means we now have a chance to breath a little and look at what we’ve accomplished! It also gives us a chance to work on our creative ‘eye’ while getting things ready for the fall season!
As we look back over the last few months, we’ve covered numerous Minisink Valley Lacrosse and Baseball games, attended two of the area’s largest Irish Dance Feis Events, photographed Youth Soccer Players, attended Prom as a couple’s personal paparazzi, continued with our Senior Portrait Sessions and captured loving moments between couples during their Engagement Photo Session. Needless to say, we have a lot of photos ready to be blogged about!
Looking over the calendar for the next few months has a much lighter schedule for us, but plenty of exciting work we cannot wait to get to! The 2008 Eldred High School Graduation, an annual Puerto Rican Pig Roast, summer sports portraits for i9 Sports, numerous Weddings and some additional Senior and Family Portrait sessions!
Next month, we’ll also launch our new Wanamaker Photography VIP program … so details will soon follow!
Overall, it will be nice to have a bit of a breather where we can recharge our own batteries, enjoy what is shaping up to be a beautiful summer and start getting our gears into motion for the fall. Be sure to come back and check out our blog and website often as we’ll be updating it a lot with many of the incredible images we’ve captured over the last few months!
May 2008 Is Mother's Month
Pregnancy and birth are miraculous journeys. This amazing time of life is full of mystery, anticipation, joy, hope, and wonder. Feeling the powerful energy of birth and new life, watching as a new family is born unto each other. These things humble and amaze. These are the things that we celebrate when a baby is born.But there is another aspect of pregnancy and birth. There is an unexpected place in this journey where some families may find themselves. When a baby dies, a world is turned upside down. There is confusion, sadness, fear, and uncertainty that cannot be explained. There is sorrow where there should have been joy. During this time, it might be impossible for families to know what they might need in order to heal in the future.
This excerpt was taken directly from the website for an incredible organization called Now I Lay Me Down To Sleep. This organization provides a helping hand and a healing heart for families overcome by the grief and pain of losing their newborn child. While the idea of photographing their baby may not immediately occur to them, offering a gentle, compassionate photography service done in a sensitive manner is the heart and soul of the organization.
Image Courtesy NowILayMeDownToSleep.Org
The Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep Foundation (NILMDTS) administers a network of nearly 3,000 volunteer professional photographers in the United States and eight International countries. At a family’s request, a NILMDTS Affiliated Photographer will go to a hospital or hospice location and conduct a sensitive and private portrait session. The portraits are then professionally retouched and presented to the families on an archival DVD or CD that can be used to print portraits of their cherished baby.
We at Wanamaker Photography may not be emotionally ready to accept such incredible responsibility, but we feel the need to contribute to this organization any way we can.
Image Courtesy NowILayMeDownToSleep.Org
We have decided to label May 2008 as “Mother’s Month” in recognition of all the moms that have children and for those who have suffered the loss of a child. During the entire month of May, for any Maternity, Newborn or Young Child portrait session booked, we will donate $50 to the Now I Lay Me Down To Sleep Foundation, in your name, to help them continue this wonderful service.
To help give you a closer look at what the organization does and how it got started, we’ve edited a video (based on footage obtained from Photo Vision) that will take you on an emotion trip to the event that started it all. Sandy Puc, one of the founding members, recounts her first session with a little boy, named Maddox, who’s life was cut short before it even had a chance to really begin. Before you watch, I highly recommend that you keep a box of tissues close by!
If you are interested in more information on Now I Lay Me Down To Sleep, please visit their website, with information for Photographers and Families alike, at http://www.nowilaymedowntosleep.org. If you are interested in more information about our sessions, please contact us directly at 1-866-832-4001.
I hope this video impacts you as much as it did me!
Andrew Yeadon And The Dodge Challenger
Andrew Yeadon is a well known photographer and has photographed thousands of cars …
Recently, Top Gear Magazine commissioned a photoshoot of the new Dodge Challenger SRT8 and enlisted the services of Andrew. In turn, Andrew enlisted the help of StreetFire.net to video tape the entire shoot as well as an interview with himself covering just how he went about shooting a car for one of the world’s most respected automotive magazines.Â
Check out the video for a great behind-the-scenes look at a photoshoot that produced some absolutely incredible images!