Poughkeepsie (Cont)

Up to Poughkeepsie...

Up to Poughkeepsie for the Baptism of the Daughter of our good friends, Faith & Brian.
Sophia is a cutie and they just look so happy holding her, that I had to snap a pic.

New England in the Fall

My Wife and I make it a point to get a away for 4 long weekends a year, no matter what. Call it couples recharging or alone time, we call it an MMP. Marriage Maintainence Plan. No phones, no internet, no work, no distractions. The rules are go somewhere we have never been and focus on each other. This fall we decided to check out New England.

Wednesday night, we drive from Long Island to the Boston suburbs and spend the evening with the Grandparents. The older I get, the more I realize that the best parts of me come from my Grandfather. My wife might argue that my sense of humor and stubbornness come from him too, but I think it’s a fair trade.

Thursday we are NH bound. The folks who bring you “Live Free or Die” are fond of 50 cent tolls. We drove by mile after mile of beautiful countryside displaying nature’s fireworks, the fall foliage, in spite of the rain. We spent the afternoon wandering quaint towns like North Conway and Silver Lake and the evening enjoying the fireplace at the Cabernet Inn.

Friday we take a ride on one of the last operating steam trains in the US on the Conway Scenic Railway. Perhaps it was due to the rain, but we had the first class Parlor car Gertrude Emma to ourselves and spent a good deal of time on the back porch marveling at the spectacular, if damp, scenery. There are some sounds that make you smile no matter what. The sound of a steam train whistle is one of them, as it clickety clacks through the countryside.

Down East...

Then we headed Down East for some “Lobstah” at Newick’s in Dover, NH. We didn’t have the heart to pick out our victim, I mean meal, ourselves so the staff there chose a nice one from their tanks for us. If you have never been to Newick’s, it is THE place to go for unpretentious but serious seafood. You can see their boat in the harbor used to catch your lunch and like all the best places, it is mom and pop, started from a shack and grown to be a family tradition.

We walked off lunch around Newburyport, Mass and headed back down the ‘Pike to Newton and some quality time with the Grandparents. I got to play Bob Vila, and handled the many home maintenance items that a couple in their ‘90’s should not be doing.

Headin' South

Sunday, we slowly made our way South, stopping in Newport, RI for the day. Newport is just a magical town for sailors like me. I could stare out at that harbor for days and days. Except, there was a festival going on!

Oysters and Beer Every Day of the Year and I'll be fine...

I'm pretty sure Jimmy Buffet had Newport in mind when he wrote that line. We sampled the wonderful oysters, lobster fritters and other treats as we wandered around the Bowen’s Wharf Seafood Festival.

But Wait! That's not all....

On Newport’s famous Cliff Walk, we walked off lunch by taking turns at which estate we would buy should that lotto thing work out. You know the property taxes must be high when even the very, VERY rich can't afford it. Most of the mansions have been turned into museums or school buildings.

Once the sun went down, we headed back to Thames Street and sought comfort in the Brick Alley Pub.

Two words: Espresso Steak.

Ok, I am a steak fan, and I have heard of this before but never had a chance to try it. Let me tell you, they take a prime NY strip and dry rub it in ground espresso prior to grilling. What a wonderful smokey, complex flavor! And, it was just the thing to perk me up for the long drive home.

With the PDN expo coming up this week, there will surely be some exciting things going on. If you will be at the expo, and want to meet up, let me know. I would enjoy it.

Kali & Matt Wed at the Lily Lake Inn

One of the great things about being a wedding photographer is that I get to constantly surround myself with couples that are having the best day in their life and play an active role in making it that way. The other thing is getting to know and work with other professionals that share my passion for turning a moment in time, into a treasure to be shared.
One such professional is Janie, from Memories and More Photography in Stamford, CT. I worked with Janie to capture Matt and Kali's Wedding on October 6th at the Lily Lake Inn, in Wolcott, Connecticut.

You can check out more of Janie's work at www.memoriesandmorephoto.blogspot.com

Kali and Matt are such a great couple and you can really feel the chemistry between them. Great family and friends completed the celebration.

Grooms: Beware! This could go either way!

Grooms always think it will be a great idea to make sure the Bride has plenty of cake. An emphatic amount of cake. OK. They smush the cake into their Bride's mouth.

Gentlement, take warning. This is not always a good idea.

From the looks of things, this was not a planned event, but a sneak cake attack!

However in Matt's case he got lucky, because Kali was not only a good sport, but but got right into it and returned fire!

Look to the Weddings Portfolio on http://www.jmitchelphotography.com/ for the full event to be uploaded in the coming days.

You know Summer is finally over...

When Rockefeller Center closed the Rink Bar and starts the set up for the ice skating rink. I work my day job nearby and frequently walk by the Plaza to peoplewatch. In a matter of 24 hours we went from faint hint of frost on concrete to ice.

You know it's no longer Summer, when they are tuning up the Zamboni.

LBBCC Kayakathon

A glimpse of the day

September 9th 2007 LBBCC Kayakathon

A beautiful Sunday Morning on the bay provided the backdrop for the Long Beach Breast Cancer Coalition's Kayak-a-thon fund raiser. Empire Kayaks of Island Park, NY was the host and home base for this event. Full catalog of images can be found at http://jmitchelphotography.instaproofs.com/

Christine & John Wray's Wedding

August 11th, 2007 Dateline...Poland.

No, not that Poland.

Poland, Ohio.
Christina and John Wray married today at the Kidston Pavillion in Mill Creek Park. Surrounded in the lush Rose Garden, by family and friends, J. Mitchel Photography provided the couple with images that will bring them back to that moment, for years to come.
The Wedding Reception was held at the couples new home which provided a comfortable locale for the 100+ guests attending. You know you are not in NY anymore, when the caterer brings a couple of mobile hospitality kitchens that would make NASCAR envious. With a mobile BBQ smoker larger than a full size Humvee, and some very skilled chefs, the food was outrageous.
Take a peek at the pictures at http://jmitchelphotography.instaproofs.com/

Getting there, was another story.
I had been attending a weeklong certification class at Wharton, in Philly until the previous evening in support of the FINRA CRCP designation. That meant getting all the needed gear from my home base on LI, to Ohio, by way of Philly and Pittsburgh. Playing it safe, I split the gear between my assistant, the lovely Mrs. J. Mitchel, and myself. While I was apprehensive about getting $7k in gear through AMTRAK and airline security as carryon, we had it set up that if either bag didn't make it, we would still be able to shoot a great event. She was taking a flight from NY to Pittsburg on Friday Evening and I was leaving Philly for Pittsburg at about the same time. With good luck and only a few hours weather delays in NY, we met up in the Pittsburg airport for the drive to Poland, Ohio.
Maybe because it was night time, maybe it is because I come from the land of omnipresent construction delays...but the road to Poland as smooth as a baby's butt and there was no traffic.

The next day we were up with the sun for Bridal, Wedding and Formal shots. We had a much needed break in the afternoon, as the Reception did not start until 5PM.
Christine and John, man! Your friends know how to party! While most would have called the event over at Midnight, after the fireworks, some partied until the wee, wee hours.

The long road home from Ohio...

So, we had a long drive back to Pittsburg the next day for an early AM flight to NY.

The roads were empty. So empty, that apparently there had not been another car come thru the toll both on the PA Turnpike in a loooooong time. I felt bad waking her up, but I didn't have exact change I could place on the window edge.

The flight home the was uneventful save one detail. The Airtrain....totally not worth it. If there is one piece of advice you take from my ramblings, this is it. A cab would have made far more sense than lugging gear and bags from the terminal, to the Air Train, to the LIRR, then finally to our car at the station. Did I mention we missed the Babylon local by 8 minutes and had to wait an hour for the next train?