Things to Remember Before Your Wedding Day

1. Remove restraining order against your groom, lest he be arrested on your wedding night.

Green Photography

Well, "going green" has been all the rage lately, and somewhere along the way, Lisa and I got a little swept up in it, too. Lisa's been an avid plastic recycler for years, admonishing me whenever I absent-mindedly tossed something out that could go in our weekly recycling pickup. In turn, I've been increasingly aware of the impact of wasting energy has on both the environment, not to mention our wallets.

So far we've swapped out 2/3 of the lights in our house with compact fluorescent bulbs. CF bulbs use about 1/4 the electricity as regular (incandescent) bulbs, and pay for themselves many times over, not only in electricity savings, but the long life of these bulbs. (Side note: I'm currently building some photographic lighting units that use daylight balanced CF bulbs, so stay tuned for more news about that down the road.) One more advantage to CF bulbs? Since they use less electricity, they generate less waste heat, which in turn saves you money on air conditioning in the summer! Win-win-win!

I've also taken to using some hypermiling techniques to reduce the amount of gasoline I use when I drive. CleanMPG.com has tips & discussions about ways to save gasoline when you drive, but if you want the cliff notes version, make sure your tires are inflated to at least their recommended PSI, don't speed, don't accelerate if you think/know you're going to have to slow down at a stop sign/traffic light coming up, and if you're at a long stop light or in a traffic jam, turn the engine off until you're able to move. There are more ways, but doing most of these ought to increase your fuel economy by 10% or more, and who doesn't want to save at the fuel pump these days?

It's FMP's goal to reduce our net energy usage by 50% within 3 years. A lofty goal, for sure, but one that's within reach. Right now, we're exploring solar photovoltaic, solar hot water, and geothermal options to offset/reduce our carbon footprint. Two other options that aren't going to work for our site are wind turbines & micro hydro, but if you're lucky enough to live somewhere that these are an option to you, I heartily recommend you take advantage of them.

But going green isn't just about using less (net) energy, it's also about being friendlier to the environment. Since we began in 2003, Forever Moments Photography has been 100% digital-based. Our cameras no longer use film, so there are no harmful chemicals being used for developing. Our proofing is digital & ink based, so again, the harsh chemicals that have been a part of the photographic process are eliminated at this stage as well. The only point we use prints containing silver are for enlargements & album prints.

New this summer, however, we will start offering giclée archival ink/pigment based prints in addition to traditional silver gelatin. Details to follow, but please leave comments in the meantime.

A Celebration Interrupted

The Lede: From China, Disaster Caught in a Wedding Lens
By Patrick J. Lyons
Published: May 23, 2008

A photographer happened to be taking portraits of a bride and groom outside an old missionary church when the earthquake struck, leaving him with striking images of before, during, and after.

[read more]

Happy Accidents, Magic Moments, and an Anniversary

Four years ago this week, a small 'mistake' turned into a new way for me to use on-camera flash at a wedding. Lisa and I were photographing Shawna & Michael's wedding when we had a unexpected surprise thrown at us (and the bride.) The bride's father had been in declining health, had been hospitilized, and wasn't going to be able to attend the wedding. Well, wouldn't you know that he pulled some strings and was able to get permission to attend the reception for a few hours. This was the family's surprise to Shawna, and consequently to Lisa & me as well. Fortunately, Lisa & I were on hand & equipped as we were tipped off just seconds before Dad made his presence known to his daughter - it was a very special moment, one we were thrilled to have been able to capture & document for them.

(Side note: If you have anything sneaky planned, tell us! And tell your friends & relatives that if they have anything sneaky planned, tell us! For the record, we're excellent secret keepers.)

Well, since we now had Dad at the reception site, we wanted to get a few more formal photos with him and the family. (We'd finished the other formals at sunset by the Hudson River before arriving at the reception hall.) And the happy accident? Well, it happened in the rush to group and photograph Dad with his daughter, new Son-in-Law, and the rest of the family. Instead of bouncing light off the ceiling, as I'd always been taught & had done, I'd forgotten to redirect the light upwards when I rotate the camera for some vertical-oriented portraits, and instead bounced the light off a lightly colored wall nearby. The result?



Well, the soft directional lighting was absolutely gorgeous & it opened my eyes to an entirely new way to direct light from almost anywhere I wanted it.

So Happy Anniversary, Shawna & Michael, and thanks for the photo lesson!

The Shoemaker's Children

You would think with 2 parents who are photographers, that we'd have wall-to-wall photos of our bouncing baby boy. Truth be told, I always feel guilty shooting, much less editing personal photos when there's work to be done for the business. In fact, Lisa & I still don't have our own wedding album from 2005, even though I've had the images for 2 1/2 years! I have hundreds (thousands?) of landscape images from our photo safari out to California & Yosemite last year that I still have to cull, edit, and print. As they say, the shoemaker's children go barefoot.

That being said, I did sneak a few minutes recently to capture some images of Ian, as he changes almost daily. There's always something new in how he looks, how he sounds, how he interacts with the world. This one's my favorite:

Mallory & Pete

Recently we had the distinct pleasure of photographing an engagement session with one of our fall couples, Mallory & Pete. We met up with them in the village of Cold Spring for an outdoor shoot in one of the Hudson Valley's most beautiful river towns. The weather co-operated quite nicely for a March shoot & we got some fabulous results.

Here are a few of my favorites:

A Year in the Life of... You?

As we embark on a new life with our new little life, I thought about how well documented (in images, at least) Ian's life will be. What a fantastic gift we're going to be able to give him when he's older... and give to ourselves in our golden years looking back on all the incredible memories we've created, experiences we've had, flipping album pages and recalling stories of midnight feedings, first words, first steps, skinned knees, and crayon-colored walls. Our only problem will be getting photos of Ian with both Lisa and me in the frame!

But it also made me think about being able to provide this other people. How fantastic would it be to have a professional photographer virtually "on call"? Be able to schedule mini-photo shoots throughout an entire year to capture it forever. Heck, it doesn't even need to be about kids... you could have a professional photographer at every party you throw, from New Year's to Labor Day to Halloween! Schedule a family portrait over Thanksgiving weekend, get some photos of your niece's first communion, or maybe just some special portraits of you and your special someone to send out over the holidays.

Lisa and I talked it over, and we came up with an idea. We're going to offer a "Year in the Life" special package this year with tremendous value. You get:

• 12 (twelve) 30-minute photo sessions (can be combined with up to 3 sessions [1.5 hrs] at a time.) You pick the times & the places. (Note: individual dates/times are subject to photographer availability)
• A 16x20 gallery wrap wall print
• An 8x8 hardcover art book, custom designed by FMP, filled with photos from the year
• 12 (twelve) 8x10 prints
• 24 (twenty-four) 5x7 prints
• 48 (forty-eight) wallet-sized prints
• 50 (fifty) folded, press-printed custom holiday cards with envelopes
• Plus Free travel to all shoots within 15 miles of our studio

...all for our special introductory price of $2,008!

This offer is only available for a limited time. Once we book up, we won't be accepting any more reservations for 2008, nor will this price likely be repeated again. Please contact us for current package availability.