One of the things that I enjoy most about being a photographer is all the interesting people you get to meet. Whether it is a wedding, portrait session or editorial work I get the chance to meet new people and learn about them as I listen to their stories. I am always amazed at the diversity of the people here in the Hudson Valley and even right here in my own back yard of Pine Bush!

Yesterday I had the opportunity to meet up with a local author, Michelle Zink, who knows a little something about stories because that is exactly what she does. Michelle writes books, primarily aimed at teens, and is getting ready to head out on her book tour so she asked me if I could come by as she needed some images for the tour. So of course I was happy to help and I met up with Michelle to do some shooting. It was fun to work with Michelle and I learned about her writing and some of the process behind the scenes with getting a book out to the readers. Very cool stuff and I am excited for her and can’t wait to hear about her tour! If you want to find out more about Michelle you can check out her MySpace page.

Thanks Michelle!

I also had the pleasure of meeting Michelle’s daughter, Rebekah, who was a great help, pulling double duty as lighting assistant and model stand-in. No need to have the client walk through the deep snow when you can get their daughter/my impromptu assistant to do it! And with that I’d like to also say thanks to Rebekah, you were a huge help!

Oh the places we will go!

From a previous post you may know that my wife and I spent the holidays with family in Iowa and Oklahoma. From there I dropped Laura off for a flight home while I headed out to a convention in Phoenix and to visit some friends along the way. Now a lot of folks might think that driving 6500+ miles is a little crazy, but for me it was an incredible experience and I would like to thank Laura for making it possible for me to head out on a vacation while she was stuck taking care of the horses during the coldest days of January… Hey, us wedding photographers have to do something when it’s cold here in the Hudson Valley!

To begin my journey I headed down towards Houston, TX where I met with several photographer friends of mine. First up was Jordan who was getting ready to shoot some new images for Mezzanotte Ristorante in Cypress, TX. Jordan is one heck of a versatile photographer and I have learned much from him over the years. And since I enjoy watching other photographers work, I got a chance to combine business and pleasure as I helped Jordan with some shots while snapping a few of my own as well. The owner and Executive Chef, Gerry Sarmiento, was a pleasure to meet and his staff and food were excellent! No fake stuff here, real food shot as it comes from the kitchen. One of the best perks of shooting food is many times you get to eat it after the shooting is finished. Thanks again Gerry!

After filling up on some great food I headed further south to Lake Jackson, TX to meet up with the folks from TriCoast Photography. For those that have been following my blog you know that Mike and Cody have been a great influence on me and I have enjoyed working with them when I have had the opportunity to do so. I would meet up with Mike, Cody and Suzy once again at the conference I was attending and where Mike and Cody were speaking, but this visit was all fun and games! Just a chance to hang out and catch up and tell stories for a couple of days. Thanks for the hospitality guys, it was great seeing you!

Once I left Lake Jackson and headed out driving toward Phoenix the main portion of the trip began. It was the primary reason that I didn’t fly out to the convention and that was so that I could take my time, get off the interstate and see some things that I would otherwise never get a chance to see. I took my camera and just went exploring. For three days I slowly worked my way across the back roads of the desert southwest. It was fantastic! As you know I primarily photograph people so the chance to try something out of my normal realm was really a lot of fun.The wide open spaces were incredible!

After crossing the desert I ended up in Phoenix where I spent a few days attending a convention for wedding photographers. I am always trying to learn new techniques or gain more knowledge so that I can better serve you, my clients. And to say that this convention offered a lot of new ideas is an understatement! Talk about trying to drink from a fire hose! I left there excited with what I had learned and am looking forward to the 2009 season! The brides of today have so many options when it comes to choosing a photographer that it can be overwhelming. Take your time and make sure you and your photographer share a common vision. With so many styles it can be difficult to find a good fit, but the time you take up front will really pay off when you get your images.

After the convention I headed back to NY and the Hudson Valley. The drive seemed much longer because as we all know, once you start heading home, you can’t get there fast enough. My travel this time took me a bit more north, through Albuquerque, Amarillo and St. Louis and finally on to home. Along the way I made a few stops and took a few more pictures but the weather was turning colder and I had been on the road for about 20 days so I was ready to just get home and get back to work. But seeing things like the Very Large Array and driving parts of historic Route 66 made the return trip well worth the effort.

If you have never done something like this I would certainly recommend giving it a try. Granted you don’t need to start with a 20 day trip, but even just getting off the beaten path for a day can be exciting. You never know what is around the next corner!  Of course I have a lot more photographs and I will certainly post more as I get a chance, but right now, it is back to work.

-Pete

Recently I had the opportunity to meet up with a friend of mine, Jason Groupp, who is a fantastic wedding photographer in NYC. Jason was doing an engagement session for his clients Penina and Benji and asked if I wanted to tag along. Shooting in the city is always fun, plus it was a chance for me to try out some new gear that I recently acquired while catching up with a friend, how could I pass up a trifecta like that?!

We had a great time shooting around New York, we hit the subway where Benji first told Penina he loved her, then off to some of the places that are special to them, such as Bryant Park and Grand Central Station. I’ll post a few of my shots here and at the end I will link to a little video Jason made for Penina and Benji.

Jason doing his thing…

Heading to Grand Central…

Grand Central Station is NYC

At the park…

What a great day! A little chilly, but beautiful nonetheless!

And here is a link to Jason’s video from the session: Penina and Benji I Heart NY Session

Thanks again Jason, Penina and Benji, I had a blast!

Over the holidays my wife and I went to visit our families in Iowa and Oklahoma. While in Iowa we had the opportunity to meet some new friends. We went along with my mother’s husband, Roy, while he made his rounds as a consultant for a livestock feed dealer. These days livestock farming is a lot different from what I remember growing up and two of the farmers, Rick and Abe, showed us some of the latest technology out there. With all the precautions to prevent disease it is a bit like going into a hospital operating room! Here are Roy and Laura all suited up for the visit! Quite a bit different than the attire I wear to weddings, that is for sure! And these suits aren’t to prevent us from catching something from the livestock, they are to prevent the livestock from catching something from us! And here we thought pigs were dirty, it turns out we are!

After getting ourselves suited up we got to meet some pigs…

All in all it was a pretty cool visit and we had a blast. It’s quite a bit different that what a wedding photographer normally shoots but that’s what vacation is for!

Thanks again to Rick, Abe and Roy, you guys were great and your hospitality is second to none!