Rainy Day Rites

This first photo of Kathy and Joe was a request. We are trying to duplicate Kathy's parents' wedding photo of them in the limo. The original I guess was from the 50's or early 60's. Even though most of us wedding photographers sort of put down the old school wedding photographers of that time, at its best, I can certainly see a parallel between the 50's wedding photographers and the Hollywood portrait photographers of that same era, such as Horst, check out the link and see what I mean.

KKathy and Joes wedding took place September 11th in New Jersey. Though Kathy and Joe planned an outdoor ceremony, the weather didn't feel too much like cooperating. Nonetheless, the mood of their wedding day way just perfect! Getting ready shots and family portraits all took place at the Short Hills Hilton. Afterwards, the bride and groom portraits were done at The Park Savoy, under the entry way so we were able to take advantage of the soft diffused light that only a rainy day can give us.

inner and dancing took place at the Park Savoy in Florham Park, NJ and from the first song on the place rocked! Everyone was on the dance floor from the get go and they never left. To Kathy and Joe, music was obviously important and the band they hired were unbelievable! Thirteen pieces of absolute funk! The best the New York City area has to offer. Unfortunately, I didn't get the name of the band, perhaps someone could fill me in? Want to see more of Kathy and Joe's photos? Just click here.

Eight Months Fifteen Days

June 25,26,27...

An Indian Extravaganza!

eema and Nat's wedding, a three day affair, was held in Detroit  last weekend. A hundred percent Indian wedding with all the bells and whistles. It's funny that even though attended by nearly 500 people, somehow Seema and Nat's wedding seemed very intimate to me. Perhaps it was just that we were with them for almost four days and got to know people a little better than usual, or maybe there was just that much joy and celebration around us. No matter what it was, in so many ways it was one of the most relaxed and fun loving weddings I have ever photographed. Before I get into more details regarding this event, let me tell you a little about Seema and Nat.

eema, as you can see by the photos, is very elegant and beautiful. Beyond the exterior beauty there is an underlying calmness and inner light that is immediately apparent to anyone who comes in contact with her. She is highly educated, motivated and well loved. She comes from a very large family whose love and support was immediately felt. All throughout the three day ritual and festivities I never noticed anything but self assuredness and serene confidence.

Nat...well, Nat is Nat. He seems to draw people to him in his quiet way. One feels almost immediately, an intimacy and kinship with him without even realizing it. The next thing you know you discover that he has been teasing you, drawing you along with a tale about something and by the time you find out that you have been taken, well...there's a sort of smirk on his face which is the only clue that you've been had.

For those of you who are not familiar with an Indian wedding or have never attended one, they are large and long. Nat's mom told me that she attended a wedding in India that had 3,500 guests! Can you imagine that? Indian weddings couldn't be more different that what we do here in the West. They can last up to four days! The ceremony itself can take up a full day, though most Indian weddings in the West last about 3 hours.

Mehndhi Party

he festivities start with a mendhi party, the mehndi or henna motif is not only the adoration of the bride rather it epitomizes her transformation from a virgin girl to a temptress for her husband. As per The Kama Sutra, henna is one of the sixty four arts of women. Popular motifs of the bridal mehndhi are conchshells, flowers, kalash, peacock, doli and baraat patterns. The intricate motifs of the bridal henna also hide the husband’s name. It is said that the husband’s name in the intricate henna motifs is made for the groom who has to find out his name in his bride’s mehndhi as an evidence of his sharp eyes and active brain to impress his girl.

Puja

he next morning we met at Seema's parents house for the puja. Puja is the act of showing reverence to a god, as spirit or another aspect of the divine through invocations, prayers, songs and rituals. All family members attend as well as a priest. As a Westerner, I really couldn't tell you what went on in detail, all I could tell you is that the puja was very moving, colorful and a visual treat indeed!

Sangeet

hat evening we all met at the Roostertail, Motown's original supper club situated on the Detroit River. Some of the entertainers appearing over the years at the Roostertail have been The Four Tops, The Temptations, Michael Jackson, Diana Ross and on and on, and Friday Night was our night.

The event Friday night was the Sangeet. The sangeet party mainly involves traditional dance, which is known as garba and dandia raas, which is dancing with sticks. The raas garba usually ends with a light supper for all those attending. In Punjabis, the giddha nad bhangra are the popular dance forms for the sangeet night ceremony.

Baraat

Saturday was the final and main event. It begins in the morning with the baraat. The baraat is the arrival of the groom on the day of the wedding, at the venue, usually on a horse. The groom's family members, relatives and friends accompany him to the wedding venue, in a marriage procession called 'baraat'. Groom's friends and relatives are called the 'baraati'. Nat's horse turned out to be an elephant! Over the years I've photographed dozens of Indian weddings but this was the first elephant I've seen in a baraat! Directly after the baraat was the wedding ceremony which is beyond description. I guess that's why we take photos.

After a few  hours break, we began the evening celebration dinner dance with food and dance a plenty. To see more of Seema and Nat's wedding photos click here.

Tribeca Kool

Champagne toast at Tribeca Wines.

June 6, first June wedding of the year found us starting the day at Kyong and Brad's Tribeca loft. Luck was with us all this Saturday as the weather all week was pretty miserable. Rain and cold, rain and cold...but Saturday morning, as ordered, brilliant blue skies and that yellow thing that hangs in the sky - was out! Their loft in Tribeca provided us with a well lit space, not to mention some very good art pieces hanging on the walls. As you can see by some of these photos, we had a very photogenic and easy bride to work with. One of my favorites of the day is Kyong lying on the couch with Brad in the background seemingly ignoring her.

Duane Park Tribeca

The Lighthouse at Chelsea Piers

Wedding ceremony at the Lighthouse, Chelsea Piers.

The ceremony was on the terrace with the sun just about to set, creating a very warm and romantic light. Kyong and Brads's first dance was awesome to say the least and got the party rockin'. Great attention was paid to details and the flowers and design was created by Floralia Decorators, who by far are the best in the biz! The videographers for the event were a cool married couple who started doing video for weddings, of all places, Australia! I meant to ask them how they wound up in Australia, but with all of us being busy covering the event, I didn't get a chance. Here's a link to their website Fresh Weddings, perhaps you can ask them for me. And of course, food and libations by Abagail Kirsh.

To see more of Kyong and Brad click here to get to their proof site.

New York City

Scene One

hristine and Steve's wedding day started with the bride in New York at the Plaza Athenee Hotel. Christine was looking exquisite and in some kind of zen like state. I rarely see such calm and confidence in a bride. You can see and feel her self assurance in the photos especially the portrait session. Christine really gets it! She truly has a talent for relaxing and being herself in front of a camera. Meanwhile, Steve was getting ready in Westbury and was photographed by my second, Rob Lowell. To view more photos ,click here.

The bride in her limo.

The ceremony took place at Old Saint Pat's on Mott and Spring Streets. I am told that Old Saint Pat's is 200 years old and well kept up. A celebrity unto his own, Saint Pat's is an amazing place to have a wedding! The photographs come out extremely well and the colors, wow, warm and rich as you can see.

Ceremony at Old Saint Pat's, Mott and Spring Streets NYC.

The portrait session was done near the water at Battery Park New York City , as a host of tourists provided us with the needed attention and encouragement.

Bride and groom in Battery Park.

The Bride at Battery Park.

Russo's on the Bay

Scene Two

Ballroom at Russo's on the Bay.

Wedding reception at Russo's on the Bay.

A few weeks before the wedding.

Addison, Savannah and Hudson

The Third Portrait Session

Addison

In the box

hotographed Faith and Dan's wedding more than five years ago and here we are just finishing up a portrait session with their third child, Addison. Who in my mind personifies the Gerber baby to the max! It's really something special when not only do I photograph a couple's wedding but they sort of accept me as an honorary member of their family by allowing me to document some of their life and children. More photos of children can be seen at our website.

Hudson

The three of them together

From Studio Photography

and how we get there.....

To Wedding Photography

Rowe Bound

Fabrice Bound

Hollywood 1940 Style

F or the near future... I would like to take brides and grooms and make it all even more special and give even more... I propose a separate day shoot of the bride and groom in a real editorial style photo shoot. Holly wood portraits, sets, vintage cars, whatever ideas and fantasies that we can come up with, from fashion to the comical. Letting our imagination to run riot. Anyone up for this? More can be seen on my website at 'Healthy Bodies" and "Portraits".

The gown in these two photographs were provided by Liz at Designerloft and the gown's designer is, Yumikatsura.

Yumikatsura Gown

Portrait of Ron Kopels as a Bookie

Contact

I have been building a new website these past six months and on the contact page it called for a photograph. I thought the typical and expected thing would to have a photograph of myself or something of that ilk, but me being me, I needed to do something a little more ambitious. I asked myself who uses phones often? Secretaries, marketers, telephone operators and bookies! Yeah that was it a shot of a bookie in his office, blackboard behind him, lots of phones, vintage phones, thats it! 1940,1950 look, black and white. Now where do I find a model? In my own backyard, Ron is a good friend of too many years and perfect for the shot. What do you think? Comments are welcome. By the way, he's a Fulbright winning architect.

Jennifer and Jared

Roosevelt Hotel Ballrom

Near Grand Central New York City

Y

Jennifer and Jared as well as there families were great to work for, the whole day was practically stress-free...just an easy, happy couple.

Hora