Last Day of Summer, First Day of Fall, and Some Travel Portraits
Had a busy weekend of shoots. The season changed, everyone everywhere is sick, and someone told me "All the planets are doing things, I don't know what, but you know, the planet things where everyone goes crazy." So the vibes have been weird. I had some fun times though.
Friday I shot a wedding in York Harbor. It was a couple that I've shot with before who I like a lot. We did an engagement session a few months ago and a rainbow appeared in the middle of it. Their families all thought it was photoshopped. The wedding was at York Harbor Inn, a venue I have shot at before and love. The vibes were good all around. It was the last day of summer but man, it really felt like fall. The ceremony was later in the day, the sun was out, but it was CHILLY.
The highlight of the overall very nice wedding was the dance floor portion, when the bride's grandmother went OFF. It seemed like a tradition. At one point she froze in a dance pose and a bunch of people did a weird incantation dance to break her trance. It was unreal.
On Saturday I drove up to South Thomaston to shoot maybe the loosest, most laid back wedding I've ever shot. For this shoot I hired a new second shooter I hadn't worked with before. Gin Majka is a very talented mid-coast photographer. She's not a wedding photographer, she's definitely destined for much bigger things. She recently had some photos in The New York Times, she's worked for the national parks, and she's very active in the cold dip scene. This was such a laid back wedding, it was nice to have someone cool to hang out with during the down time.
It was laid back until the very end, then it got dramatic. One of the groom's fathers set off fireworks which set some grass on fire. Hats off to the bartenders and catering team for dragging their water and ice buckets through a goat pen to reach the fire and put it out. Exciting!
On Sunday I had a very unique assignment. I am often contacted by people who are visiting Maine on vacation and want portraits or family pictures. It's usually kind of boring to be totally honest. I don't accept many of those inquiries. This job was a little different. A woman named Jen contacted me and told me she was traveling alone for the first time and was having a very cool, very intense experience and she wanted it documented. Her sincerity and her interest in doing photos that were more than just traditional vacation photos really caught me. We got kind of a late start so half the shoot was done basically by moonlight. I'm impressed that any of those even came out.
I think it's safe to say that the busiest, more difficult part of my season is over and it will be fairly smooth sailing for the next month and a half. I'm looking forward to some easier times. I have a wedding and an engagement session this week, that's all. The week after will be a WILD wedding that you will have to wait to hear about. Stay tuned.