So I’ll just cut to the chase – here’s a selection of senior pictures I did at Great Bay Charter School. Unlike the ordinary senior picture shoot that involves going to the woods, beach or some other exotic location for a few hours, these were kids that needed senior pictures done, were at or near ( or past!) the yearbook’s deadline, and had to be done in 5-6 minutes each.

Oh, and one student who I just wanted to photograph so I convinced her to sit for a couple of minutes – she just made me promise not to ask her to smile. No problem there – I never ask subjects to smile.

I keep getting trapped in verbiage – it seems as hard to stop this post as it was to start it – enough already! Here’s the photos.

Emails back and forth for three days leading up to the shoot – and finally at 8:30 that morning Lisa said, “Let’s go for it, no matter what.”

Now that is my kind of bride! We met at the entrance to the island, I stowed my truck and the three of us headed for the beach, much of which was posted off limits because the plovers are nesting right now. That didn’t matter – there were so many choices for great places to shoot we could have stayed there forever.

The rain never materialized, the temperatures weren’t nearly as chilly as predicted – though it wasn’t t-shirt weather – and we had a great time.

The absolute moment came when Lisa and Joe kicked off their shoes and waded into the water…yep, next was two people screaming their heads off…it is the North Atlantic after all … and they came bursting back onto the beach. Sadly or smartly, I didn’t get the picture of the reaction. Call me a wimp if you want, but I had stayed on dry land! I’d like to think it was a smart move.

Here’s some photos from the session.

Look out the window, watching the branches sway, rock and roll actually – big limbs still even in the wind gusts, smaller ones doing the dance though. The sky that intense shade of blue that happens at the false dawn, more intense than can be named or if there’s a name I don’t know it..reminds me of being out on the water duck hunting years ago, hearing the birds but not quite seeing them, remembering just how cold cold could be.

WOW its so incredibly beautiful….quick, camera, tripod, memory card…not going out, set it up on kitchen table…shoot few frames…long exposures which I’ve been meaning to play with lately…not even concerned about shooting through the glass…just the need to make some frames, can I capture the mood, the cold, the intensity?

Coffee’s ready – good to be alive!

A few weeks ago I was doing a bit of volunteer work at the New Outlook Teen Center in Exeter, helping out with the beginning of a photo class since the person teaching it had a conflict and couldn’t be there for the beginning. When the teacher got there we had the opportunity to talk and she said she’d liike to do some classes with me…how cool is that, since the person – her name is Jaye Carr – is a pretty darn good photographer already.

Our first session was mainly focused on goals, expectations…and having a love affair with light. I am always struck by how few photographers really take the time to study and either appreciate or figure out how to modify or supplement the light that’s there. While we were talking I grabbed a few frames of Jaye…I was liking the light and the interest that was so evident in her eyes.

I imagine there will be more photos from the classs as we go along – as well as a guest post from Jaye!

Realizing how much I miss this part of my life has me cooking up some ideas for a few pretty awesome workshops I’m planning on putting together for late summer and early fall. Stay tuned for details – and until then, here’s a few photos of Jaye.

OK, we allowed for the weather but here’s what we didn’t count on.

Parking in Harvard Square doesn’t exist. Out of desperation I finally threw the car in a garage near the hair salon. And then after the salon I walked to the church because there was no parking anywhere near the church either. Missing the ceremony you’re supposed to shoot isn’t high on the cool list – even with brides as cool as Elizabeth.

The ceremony was over at 3:15, not 3:00, then a receiving line, then a few photos at the church, then a few more…and a few more. Then I had to walk back to the garage for my car, then stuck in traffic because some sort of police activity…got back to the church after 4. Sunset, by the way, was at 4:30. I’m sweating bullets now!

We drive to Memorial Drive ( and actually managed to find places for both the limo and me to park) and there’s now about 10 minutes of shooting time – great light but the Public Garden clearly isn’t going to happen.

Balancing late afternoon/sunset light and a little fill flash is an imperfect science – its just not set-it and forget-it time, so the shooting was slowed down a bit.

End result – way cool photos! Sometimes you can fall in a cesspool and come out smelling like a rose – this was one of those days. And we even managed a couple of photos in the exhibit halls of the museum – the folks there were kind enough to let me park very illeagily to shoot quickly then move my car into the garage.

Couple of photos from the salon, especially the cutest junior bridesmaid I’ve seen in a long time and a photo of this amazing church where the ceremony was held.

Great way to wrap up the season…and now I should have a little more time to return to a regular schedule of posts. Enjoy the photos.

So, Seth approaches me this summer and tells me about two kids he’s working with – he really believes they can go places in theater, on stage, in front of camera. They need head shots and how much would I charge, they don’t have a lot of money but Seth will pay. . .

You have to understand, only a rock could remain unaffected by Seth’s enthusiasm and beliefs. I’m no rock, I say let’s do it, the money be damned.

I’ll introduce you to Kiara today, Casey at a later date. Keep your eyes on this young lady – you’ll see her name on a marquee or in the magazines in the future – sassy, irreverent, personality plus and uncontrollably beautiful. we found some interesting backgrounds, some cool light and shot tons of photographs. Everything was done available light – not my standard approach – but I thing the light worked. Here’s a few photos from the shoot.

Its always a challenge to shoot and give a sense of people using a  facility without having the clients be identified, so mentally I was prepared to shoot lots of silhouettes and backs of heads.

When I wandered into a spin studio I saw an instructor doing what I thought was yoga amongst the stationary bikes. Although there wasn’t a ton of it, the light was really cool, the colors of the room and bikes were outstanding and the instructor, Michele Tillson, was so into her routine of stretching that she barely noticed I was there.

Turns out it wasn’t yoga but Body Flow, which as Michele explains is now being taught all over the world. Originally the program was started by a gentleman named Les Mills,from Australia. Its described as controlled breathing,concentration and a carefully structured series of stretches,moves and poses to music that creates a holistic workout that brings the body into a state of harmony and balance. It has 10 tracks to go through: first is a Tai chi warm up, next…sun salutations,yoga standing strength , Balances, Hip Openers, Core Work, Twists and Forward bends, followed by mindful relaxation.

Looked pretty amazing to me, made some neat photos – want to check it out? Synergy’s website is http://www.synergyfit.com

The advantage to doing it so close to the actual wedding day – it was a great way to relieve the stress that builds as the date approaches.

As we walked by a frozen beaver pond she remarked that it had been a great winter – lots of snow, cold, no slush. It made me think about the complaining I’ve done this season because, you know, she is right – its been a great winter. Lots of snow, cold, no slush.

Made me appreciate perspective and what I’ve got.

The economy may be in the tank but we’ve got it pretty good – as we suffer through the recession, depression, whatever you want to call it, we still have it better than so many other places in the world – its just we’ve come to expect luxury.

Perspective, what a great thing.

Thanks Donna.