Remember Fallen Coast Guardsmen
I had the pleasure of traveling back to my hometown of Grand Haven, Michigan not long ago to spend a great vacation with family and friends. It was the first time in ages my entire immediate family was together. We all stayed in one house, 13 in total (with 5 kids!) and we survived!
The trip began with a fun family reunion and then transitioned into one of my favorite events of the summer, the US Coast Guard Festival. Grand Haven is “Coast Guard City USA” and celebrates the Coast Guard for a full week with a variety of fun activities and concerts. It is capped off by a great parade and spectacular fireworks. The crowds are so big we put blankets down for the parade and fireworks days in advance!
One of the highlights of the week is the National Remembrance Ceremony for lost members of the Coast Guard during the past year, as well as to remember those lost in the Escanaba (http://www.uscg.mil/lantarea/cgcEscanaba/history.asp) 70 years ago. It was a very moving ceremony, complete with a 21 gun salute, the playing of Taps and a flyby of one of the Coast Guard helicopters. The most touching part was when the family and close friends of those that were lost placed flowers at the base of the memorial wreath.
I have incredibly heartfelt respect for those serving in our United States Coast Guard, along with the rest of our armed services. The USCG saved 3560 lives and over $77M in property last year, among many other things. Their motto of “Semper Paratus” means “always ready” and they’ve proved that since 1790.
Below I’ve included a few photographs from the memorial service.
Thank you to all of those that have served and continue to – we’re all grateful for your service. May the fallen rest in peace.
Vroom! Vroom!
What a day at the local drag strip last Friday! The inaugural National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) New England National event was held last week at our local drag race strip. This is “big time”, as in the pros in Top Fuel, Funny Cars and the like. This was a huge boost for this area and race track and thousands came out for the event that lasted all weekend with the final races on Sunday. Personally, I love racing, all types of racing, and I decided to head out for the Friday qualifying events.
I’ve been to NHRA races before (in the Dallas area) but it had been several years and admittedly, I forgot how amazing it is to watch these drag races. They are SO incredibly loud and when they take off from the starting block there is so much vibration and noise that it creates a feeling like no other inside you. They burst off the starting line so explosively that I could help but laugh and scream and eventually, take pictures! I started out in the preliminary line up area that they call “Nitro Alley” and was able to grab a few closeups of drivers and their cars. It was fun watching them go through their rituals of getting prepared, from getting in their firesafe suits to prayer with a chaplain to methodically getting strapped into the car. I also grabbed a few of the actual races. This was really my first attempt at anything like this and I’ll admit, it is hard trying to capture something going by you at over 300 miles per hour! I learned a lot and had an absolute blast… I can’t wait until next year!
Oh… and in the finals on Sunday for the Funny Cars it was a father-daughter duel. John Force versus his daughter, Courtney Force (pictured below). It was an excellent race and Courtney WON!
Sunshine, Ice Cream and Cute Kids!
Seriously, what more does one need to make you smile HUGE!? I had the pleasure of photographing 4 kiddos for a set of portraits that were given to their grandparents for their 50th anniversary recently. There were two sets of siblings and the sets are cousins. They arrived at our meet-up spot near the waterfront and I couldn’t stop grinning! They were sooooo stinking cute! Not only cute, such personalities that just shine and keep you laughing. Sure, I have no doubt they have their moments, but they were awesome kids for our little photo shoot!
We had a gorgeous and super sunny afternoon in the beautiful downtown are of my little New England seaside town. The challenge I found myself pondering was “just how in the world am I going to make this work with 4 kids ranging from 18 months to nearly 12 years old??”. I was thinking about everything from posing to making them laugh and smile to well, praying they don’t break down and cry! The other challenge is that I fully realize that time is of the essence with kids. We needed to work FAST! So, we grabbed a few photos under a tree near the waterfront first… they started to loosen up and understand what was going on, that maybe it’s not all THAT bad being in front of the camera. However, the direct sunlight was brutal and we needed to move toward shade. Off we went, trucking toward a garden area with some trees. We snapped a few more and kept moving until we decided to sneak inside a gate in front of an old, historic home in town. Hey, what can I say? I’m a photographer and we’re notorious for trespassing! 
The historic home was a soft color with a nice front stoop and best of all, shaded, so we had a nice backdrop for a few portraits. However, soon enough the youngest was definitely getting restless so we headed toward the bribery point. Yes, bribery. I had prepared the parents: we WILL get ice cream!!! The kids were thrilled and once they started licking those cones, it was nothing but smiles. Admittedly, I didn’t get ice cream and even I was all smiles. They were so fun and messy and just adorable. Funny, I’m sitting here grinning the whole time writing this for you, remember the time with them. I’ve included a few photos from our session below. I hope they bring a grin to your face too!
“Wedding of the Century!”
So many of Mike and Lisa’s friends were calling their wedding, the “wedding of the century” and I think it’s safe to say that the day lived up to their expectations! They have a reputation for hosting great parties and certainly did not disappoint! Despite the tumultuous forecast, the day was perfect for this gorgeous couple. The sunny skies provided a beautiful backdrop for their ceremony on the shores of the Atlantic ocean with classic New England stone walls and lighthouses in the distance.
The guys were first to be photographed, getting prepared at the groom’s house. We spent a little time indoors on a few details (which oddly included me ironing the best man’s shirt 
) Then we made our way outdoors for some group photos. They were good sports and we got a few serious photos and well, a few not so serious, which is just how it should be! From there, I scurried over to where the bride and bridesmaids were getting ready, capturing all of the little details along the way from makeup application to hair and getting dressed. We made our way out to the back yard and had the backdrop of the lake and granite staircase to work with for photos. The natural light seemed to love the bride. I think it erased the wedding jitters!
The ceremony took place and then they were all off to the reception at a local country club. The clouds had started to move in, but we still captured a few late evening photographs before more dancing, cake and the fun of the reception set in. I captured several hundred photos and will build these into a great story for the bride and groom in a very photojournalistic sort of way. I’m hoping that they can pass the album along to friends or family that weren’t at the wedding and those people can simply feel the excitement, fun and overall joy of the day. At the same time, they’ll be able to look back at these photos years from now and fondly remember the day surrounded by their close friends and family. Below is a small sample of some of the photographs.
Many congratulations and wishes of years of happiness to the bride and groom, Mike and Lisa!
Mike and Lisa
I just realized it’s May. Holy cow. How did that sneak up on me?! I think it doesn’t seem quite like May because it’s been a bit chilly right on the seacoast in my area. Well, do you know what May means? The start of wedding “season”! Of course, summer and warmer days are right around the corner too.
I had the pleasure of taking engagement photos for two people I consider great friends of mine, Mike and Lisa, a little over a week ago and thought I’d share my experience and some of the results with you. I think I do know their personalities fairly well, so I didn’t worry too much about that aspect of our time together, but I did want to find out where their favorite places were… where they could go and really be happy. My first thought was maybe to do some fun photographs on Mike’s Harley or in their backyard near the swimming pool. However, when I asked, without hesitation they both said they loved the beach. So, off to the beach we went!
Well, kind of. :-) We actually went to a park close to the beach with lots of fun rocks and trees. I’m glad they went along with this as the light was very harsh that morning, with the sun perched high in the sky and not a cloud around. For those that aren’t familiar with how that impacts photographs, I’ll just say that it makes it very difficult to control the light and photographs tend to be very “blown out”. Mike and Lisa were great sports and were willing to walk around and try just about anything. We made our way down near the water, took a few photographs in the trees and even had a little fun! ;-) Here are a few of the final photographs for them…
