Wedding:: Victoria and Skip

While I was still in school at Hallmark, I had the opportunity to photograph a couple for my final portfolio. While at this couple's house, they mentioned their granddaughter was getting married. They mentioned a family member was going to take some pictures, and casually mentioned they'd call their daughter and see if they would like me to come along and take pictures.

It was raining (hard) on and off the day of the wedding, but when I arrived to the bride's house, the skies cleared and the sun came out. Victoria and Skip live on this beautiful farm in Historic Deerfield, MA, which is the place where we took our very first field trip while in photography school. The church they were getting married in was just a stone's throw away from the house and has just as much history as some of the other buildings in the town.

Here's a picture that I found online:

First Church of Deerfield (photo credit: Google images)

Here are a few pictures as the events unfolded:

Getting ready in the farmhouse

Victoria's grandpa, who I met when I took a portrait
of him and his wife for my portfolio.

Loved the historicity to this church, especially its pews.

Victoria, Skip, and CC with Victoria's parents

Victoria, Skip and CC with both sets of parents

Victoria's beautiful bridal portrait. I used
this picture in my final portfolio for Hallmark.

The happy newlyweds

Victoria's brother Andrew and his (now)
fiancee Alicia.

Victoria's dad - Eric - and
granddaughter CC

Victoria's brother Andrew giving a toast.

Craig of Hillside Pizza did the catering
and made a special groom's cake
with a cow on it, as Skip is a farmer. 

Victoria and Skip - thanks for allowing me to come and document the events of your special day. Your family was so kind and I am glad that I had the opportunity to meet you. All the best as you begin your life as a married couple.

Photographer's Forum Finalist

An image I took in Cambodia was a finalist for a contest through Photographer's Forum magazine.

Click here to see my image.

Click here to see the 8 winners.

There are some incredibly talented photographers out there....

Washington, D.C.

A few weeks ago I took a visit to the DC area to see friends. I stayed at the house of a high school friend and his wife. It was wonderful to see them; they moved back to the DC area after being in Michigan for a bit of time.

While in town with them, I took the DC Metro. They went to work and I took to some walking and sightseeing before meeting up with two friends from college.

It was so great to just relax and walk around - taking in the sights of the city and its people was really refreshing.

Here are some photos from the day.....

The Capitol

the light on this newspaper was equally as gripping
as the image on its front page

Arun and me.....wish we lived closer to each other

Ricardo, who is leaving for England to pursue a dream

Entering the Metro station

Inside the station...so breathtaking

The "Patriot Flag" - which was, days earlier, at the 10th anniv.
of the 9/11 attacks in NYC. The flag was making its way to
each of the 50 states. It was only hung here for about an hour.

Life post-Hallmark

Well, hello blog-world. It's been awhile. I stopped blogging upon graduation because I ran out of space on my blog uploading all the pictures I did. I am seeking a remedy for this, but in the process, realized I have missed blogging about what's been going on in my life.

I graduated from Hallmark almost three months ago, and life since has looked a bit different than I thought. I have been seeking out jobs, when what I really think I should be doing is getting my own freelance portrait business off the ground. So...that's my goal right now.

But...throw into the mix that I am in need of back surgery, to hopefully relieve some pain from ruptured discs I have in my lower back. Surgery is scheduled for November 1 in Philadelphia.

So while things have been a bit up and down, I am looking forward to the fall season, taking pictures, and preparing for surgery.

And what blog post would be complete without a picture??

This picture is one of my favorites from this summer...an engagement pic of two friends (Jen and Derek), whose wedding is in January.

Hummingbird

My dad put out a hummingbird feeder this summer. He filled it with a water-sugar combination, but heard that there is a specific nectar they are really attracted to. So my dad used that and sure enough, hummingbirds became a regular feature out our back window. And if you don't already know by now, those birds are some of the hardest to capture on camera. They are so fast, and when they come to drink, they take a quick sip, fly away, and come back for more within a few minutes.

What beautiful and delicate birds...

Pablo Neruda wrote "Ode to the Hummingbird" :

The hummingbird
in flight
is a water-spark,
an incandescent drip
of American
fire,
the jungle's
flaming resume,
a heavenly,
precise
rainbow:
the hummingbird is
an arc,
a golden
thread,
a green
bonfire!
~~~~
To read the entire poem, click on the poem's title above.

Ricardo

I traveled to DC in June for an interview. While there, I had the opportunity to get together with a good friend - Ricardo - and take some head shots for him. Ricardo has been an English teacher for the past 5+ years, and resigned at the end of this past year. He is excited to pursue a dream and attend acting school in Bristol, England for the next year.

Ricardo has a heart of gold and cares for his friends so much. I have no doubts that he will do well in school this year. Ricardo, congrats on making the leap into the unknown in pursuit of this desire you have. Can't wait to hear the things you'll learn. I'll say, "I knew him when..."

 

 

 

 

Ricardo, great job being a model......thanks!

Kayla

My friend Kayla got married this past weekend. I was a bridesmaid and it was a bit nice to be on the other side of the camera for a change.

Kayla looked wonderful and her wedding pictures are even more glorious. Their photographer, Carmen, did a wonderful job.

Here's one I was able to capture of Kay
moments before she walked down the aisle
  

Here's a pic Carmen took of Kayla and me.....

Hallmark Institute of Photography Graduation

Let me step back in time a bit.....

September 29, 2008. First correspondence from Hallmark's Director of Admissions.
September 21, 2009. One year later. Made the decision to actualize my desire to attend photog. school.  
     Schedule interview. Prepare body of work to show them.
November 9, 2009. Interview at Hallmark.
November 20, 2009. Enrollment agreement sent. It's real.
June 11, 2010. Last day at my job.
June 19, 2010. Leave for Hong Kong for 4 weeks.
July 5, 2010. Leave Hong Kong a week earlier than expected b/c of ruptured discs in my back.
August 30, 2010. Move to MA for the start of school.
September 8, 2010. Orientation begins at Hallmark.

................time passes................

10 long months of intense training toward becoming a photographer.

Lots of assignments fulfilled in order to show proof of technical skills learned.

Friends met.

Batches of chocolate chip cookies made for friends and staff as a pick-me-up.

Seasons that changed.

Lots of snow. A record-breaking 2 snow days for Hallmark.

Spring finallllly comes.

June 1, 2011. Portfolio of images turned in.
       Watch this video that Hallmark posted about turning in our portfolios.

June 6, 2011. Portfolio review. I pass....phew!

        

June 24, 2011. Graduation Day. Some new (town) friends come to show their support. Mom and Dad are up from NJ for the special day. I walk across another stage and also find out that my portfolio awards me the distinction of being in the top 10% of my class.

June 25, 2011. My belongings are packed and we make the trek back to NJ.

Here are some pictures from Graduation. Mom took almost all these pics, as I wanted to be in them. She did pretty well, given that I had the camera on manual the whole time.

Ice Sculpture at the entrance of the auditorium

Ron and Fran, locals who became like grandparents
while I was in town

Roomies Julie (left) and Heidi (middle)

ML and me (ML and I shared meals together throughout
my time at Hallmark. What a blessing she's been.)

Mom and Dad showing their support, in more ways than one

My dear friend Jeff - a classmate at school with me.

President of Hallmark, George Rosa, and me

Featured Work

My work is currently being featured on the Hallmark homepage.

The below is a screenshot of what it looks like (click on it to see it larger):



If you'll notice in the middle of the page is also a "What's Happening" summary; Hallmark does a write-up each week about what's going on...and a picture of me is featured as I find out my portfolio is accepted. I know you can only read a brief portion of it on the first screenshot (above), so I took another one of the entire written piece (below).



It's always exciting to have your work be viewed in ways different than what you'd imagine.

Thanks Hallmark!

It's Movie Time!!!

If you want another (cooler) perspective of my year-end portfolio, check out this video I put together.

Sarah's Year End Portfolio

Throughout the final weeks of school, we have been learning Final Cut Pro (a video editing software) with Dennis O'Clair. He was so helpful in putting the touches on my video slideshow.

It is such an accomplishment (albeit small) to put this together and see my images in a whole new way.

Enjoy!!

My Final Portfolio - Part TWO

Here are the remaining pictures: