Been Humbled Lately?

There are times when the star of the show is the photograph.  You know, the picture that speaks a thousand words.  One of the most famous examples of this is the Marines raising the flag at Iwo Jima.   Very little background or supporting information needed to tell this  story, the photo tells all.   There are also times when the photograph is not the star of the show.  In these situations the photo takes on a secondary journalistic role, to assist in telling the story.  Because, the story is much more important, this is one of those times.

Recently my cousin Jodi asked if I would be willing to take some photographs of her son Tyler who was involved in a fund raising event.     

Tyler Fadrigon

You see, Jodi's son Tyler and the brothers of Pi Kappa Alpha were sponsoring a  "Pike Cycle for Life" event  for fellow brother Taylor Trudeau.   While attending college at UNH, Taylor passed away in August 2008 after a year long battle with Leukemia.  In his mourning, the brothers of Gamma Mu and Taylor's mother Leslie created the Pike Cycle for Life and the Taylor Trudeau Cycle for Life fund raisers to honor his memory.   

"The mission of the Cycle for Life is to raise awareness for Leukemia, Lymphoma, and Melanoma. Our goal is to fund research to find a cure"

I had the chance to meet Taylor Trudeau's father John who travelled from Florida to help with the event.   What do you say when first meeting a man who lost his son at such an early age.  It, was a very humbling experience. 

 Those of you who have children know and have felt the indescribable love and constant worries for your child's well being and can only imagine what John and Leslie Trudeau have experienced.


In meeting John I found a kind, soft spoken man who was a joy to talk to.   

Tyler Fadrigon and John Trudeau

  

During our conversation,  he shared with me that one of the joys he has experienced with these events is the interaction with the young adults of the fraternities.    

"They are available all hours of the day and night, I will get emails that come in the middle of the night". 

All afternoon, I watched these  young adults show up, pay their donation, pedal, laugh and bring new hope, it was great!!!


I was so impressed with their decency and genuine concern for supporting John and this Cycle of Life Event.

There are currently 24 chapters nationwide.  All the monies raised are donated directly to research.  The mission of the Gamma Mu Chapter is to have all chapters nationwide join the Cycle for Life Event.

Tyler, John and the brothers of Pi Kappa Alpha

To see all the photos, check out the slide show at youtube.

Remember, Its Your Wedding....

Green is my favorite color,  you may like blue, that's okay were different. I am tall, I mean shorter than you.  I suspect there are many differences amongst us, which is good, no it is great!!  I embrace our differences and love the fact that we all bring something different to this world.  Imagine if we were all the same, boring........remember Star Trek and The Borg: "resistance is futile, you will be assimilated, we are one".  

As a wedding photographer I encourage couples to be creative, have fun, think out of the box, and most importantly to celebrate their uniqueness.
  

Here are few examples, that may get your creative juices flowing.....

• Send the president of the United States an invitation, you may bet a nice letter back which could be shared with your wedding guests:

The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20500

• Include an "About the Wedding Party" section in your programs or on the reception tables for your guests to learn more about the members of your bridal party. Not everyone will know that you and your Maid of Honor have been best friends since preschool.

• Pick a special ceremony start time, like 5:17 -- the exact time he/she proposed to you.
  
  
  
  
• Write a letter to your mom and dad, or friend or anyone special in your lives and have it waiting for them at their seat during the ceremony. It could be about anything: a thank you, how you hope your marriage turns out like theirs, your gratitude everything they have done for you, etc. They will be so touched and honored that you took the time to arrange for this and you'll have them in tears before you begin to walk down the aisle!

• Instead of having a traditional wedding guest book, have your guests write advice or draw pictures and well wishes on pieces of paper scattered on each table.  Crayons could be fun.  You can then take those pieces of paper and make your own scrapbook out of them. This way you actually have nice messages or drawings from your guests rather than just their name signed in a book.

•  Decorate the aisle with meaningful objects, such as dozens of seashells from around your grandparents' beach house

• Take a picture of where you went on your first date and place that where everyone can see.

Location, location, location...  

David and Alyssa were having a small intimate wedding and chose to exchange their vows at the Vesper Hill Children's Chapel in Camden, Maine.  

This is a unique location that friends and family will always reflect on with fond memories.  While having an outdoor wedding can be a gamble, it can well be worth the risk.  Mother Nature was pleased with David and Alyssa and she delivered a sunny, warm, beautiful summer day.

Music is a huge part of Rob and Amie's life, so music played a very special part of their wedding.  They gave everyone a music CD with all of their special unique wedding songs.  One of my favorites was Peter Gabriel's  "Book of Love".  

Writing with Light, yup way cool!!

I dragged Jessica and her bridesmaids out of the party just as it was gearing up, never a smart move for a wedding photographer.  The conversation went something like this: 

"Do you want to try something cool?"

"Where are we going", she asked.

"Oh how about the middle of the field",

"Did you say, the middle of the field, but its dark?"

"Exactly, it will be great!",

"Okay, were game".

This photo can be a little challenging to pull off as we all were literally standing in the dark using an 8-10 second exposure. On the 8th attempt we nailed it and Jessica and her bridesmaids will have a photo they will always remember.

A Day with the Thriftways

For a small community the greater Bangor area is extremely blessed with an abundance of culture and artistic venues.   On any given day you could take in the theatre, listen to the orchestra or spend the day viewing art. Don’t forget the folk festival or the huge success of the waterfront concerts that happens every summer.  

Central Maine's ability to prodice musicians is truly magical as we have some outstanding local talent.  Recently I had the pleasure of spending an afternoon with the “Thriftways” who are a Newport based blues/rock band. On Saturday we began a series of portfolio building photo shoots sponsored by their agent,  E&J Management.

I feel weather is relative to your current location and time of year.  For example, 26 degrees in January in Hawaii would be considered “bad weather”.  However, 26 degrees in January, in Maine could be considered, “good weather”.

Since the weather looked “good”, we agreed to start the shoot outdoors.

We used the man made weather forecast to make this decision and once again forget that mother nature likes to fool around and on this day she had a twinkle in her eye, this twinkle represented… snow.....

Lots of snow....

And more snow.....

While it was cold, and it was snowing, it failed to diminish the spirit and creativity of these two musicians, they were having fun and so was I.

 

We finished the day with some warm coffee, good conservation and plans of future shoots. 

Check out more pictures from the shoot here.