the sweetest days photography

All righty then!

2011-02-27T20:18:00.002-05:00

I have recovered my account here in the blogging world and have lots to share... be back tomorrow. I'm testing this out to make sure it's working ok now. :) Thanks!

What to wear?

2010-09-10T15:35:00.001-04:00

I had a conversation the other day with a new friend who is a wonderful photographer that also used to be a wedding planner. We got to talking about what we wear to weddings and to be honest she shocked me with the story of a photog that showed up in blue jeans and a T-shirt for a wedding she was coordinating. He said he had to be 'comfortable'. Seriously?

I remember when I first started out I attended a wedding of a friend and of course I was watching the photographer too! Again, stunned by what she thought was appropriate for a elegant church wedding. How about turquoise capri pants and a shirt with fringe, flip flops, big turquoise earrings and even a turquoise hair clip? Um... well, you get the picture, right?

So here's the 'required' uniform that we wear when we shoot. Black. Until they come out with something darker. :)

Thanks to Kasey, Jeremy and Melissa for being such fabulous photographers and awesome friends!! Hope you don't mind the "behind the scenes" photographs! :)

Full service photographers!

2010-09-01T14:14:00.001-04:00

I've seen some photographers advertise this, not sure what they mean exactly, but I do know what it means for us. Most of the time you will always see us with our cameras, it's what we do, we don't want to miss a single shot! But you might also find us helping the groom pin his boutonnière or delivering that special gift to his bride before the ceremony... and then there are other times when we put the cameras down completely.... just to be able to assist the bride with her dress! Of course it helps that I was a bridal seamstress for many years and have dressed hundreds and hundreds of brides. What can I say, when it comes to weddings, I love absolutely everything about them! A big thanks to Melissa Wilson for catching these shots! :)

The rules.

2010-08-26T13:27:00.001-04:00

Valeen Thivierge

The rules. Most every church has them, some more than others. I won't begin to go into the rules that my daughter encountered when she was planning her wedding because quite honestly, no one would ever believe them. I do still have the signed 'rule list', but it wouldn't be very nice to post it, just trust me it was beyond anything I'd ever seen or read. So even having said all that, I do still respect the church rules. It was the way I was brought up and in my opinion, it's part of being a professional photographer.

Unfortunately, because some in the past haven't had the respect they should for the ceremony and for where they are, it has made it harder and harder for the rest of us to get all the shots you want during the ceremony. I have talked to priests, ministers, and justices of the peace and other officiants who all would like to accommodate the couple's wishes, but they know what can happen, because it has... and regretfully have had to make these rules.

To me, there is no reason for a photographer to stand over the shoulder of the JP for most of the ceremony to get 'the shot'... or to fire off hundreds of flashes, blinding the minister while he tries to read and annoying everyone in the place too!! Especially when you can get shots like this without a flash and they don't even know you're there!

So on to the biggest rule that nearly every church has. No Flash. Most wedding photographers will tell you that while the lighting in a church is beautiful to look at, it's very difficult to shoot and made even harder with the rules of 'no flash'. We will do what we can with the light we have available and the professional grade cameras that are excellent in low light, but the photographer has to know what to do with it, another reason to hire a pro for your wedding.

Here are a few examples of shots done with 'no flash'...different lighting, different effects. And oh, by the way, I love my Nikon for being a superb low light camera. :)

Oh, the Blog!

2010-08-26T12:47:00.001-04:00

Valeen Thivierge

Yes, I know.... my blog took the summer off. Apparently it went on summer vacation. But just to let you know, we didn't! Beautiful weddings, fabulous families, precious babies, adorable pets, non-stuffy portraits, and even our first boudoir session too! I have so much to show you and will start posting much more regularly with lots of photos, random thoughts, rants and raves and everything in between.

First up... Facebook. I love it. All the posts should show up there too, either under my name (see above) or Sweetest Days Photography. There's something about the feed, etc... and right now I don't know that I have it worked out just right, hopefully I do so please friend us on FB and you should see the latest blog posts and pics as soon as they are posted. :)

Twitter.... mmmmm... nope, not there yet. Do you really want to know what I'm doing and where I'm going all the time? Probably not, I don't want to bore you to tears. LOL Of course that may all be subject to change in the future...

Now... on to the next post! :)

Megan and Michael got Married

2010-06-24T19:55:00.001-04:00

During the average wedding season we travel all over the state (and beyond) but sometimes a wedding can be in our own backyard... almost literally! Megan and Michael live in Florida but came back to Connecticut for their wedding this past Saturday. The wedding was in one of the littlest towns in CT (Baltic) and the reception was tented in her parents yard. The weather turned out perfect and everything else did too!

Once we got to know each other a little, they were more than happy to do whatever I asked, and they even came up with some fun ideas once we got back to the reception. I love when a couple has a good time with the photos and these guys definitely did! Here's a quick sneak peek, more to come.... and yes, this is part of Baltic! :)

A crazy year... so far.

2010-06-16T11:25:00.001-04:00

Posted by Valeen Thivierge

Once again I am so far behind in blogging and I don't know that I can catch up, but I'll try. I really wanted to challenge myself a little bit and try something different, so I got the bright idea to try my hand at photographing dogs and cats. Okay, first off, I am a cat person, not to say I don't love dogs too, but I've always had cats up till a few years ago. You know the old saying about working with kids and animals, well I really don't know if it's true, but I can tell you cats can tell you to pretty much 'go to hell' with just one look. Dogs on the other hand are just so happy that you have treats for them, they'll do just about anything! I swear Abby would even perk up her ears if her 'mommy' told her to! :)

So here is Abby, Cosmo, Mr. Dittles, and Sicily.

No Facebook at work?

2010-05-25T15:47:00.001-04:00

by Valeen Thivierge

I just found out that some of my clients haven't been able to see any of my Facebook updates because it is blocked where they work. Seriously? :) Okay, okay... I get it, so I'm going to make sure I post updates here so they can check 'em out (even at work!)

And sometimes... it rains.

2010-05-13T14:59:00.001-04:00

by Valeen Thivierge

I don't think they even noticed.... :)

Sarah and Jay got married!

2010-05-13T14:31:00.001-04:00

posted by Valeen Thivierge

I had the privilege of being part of a beautiful wedding recently at the Officer's Club in Newport RI, what a fabulous venue! Apparently you have to have a Navy connection to get in there, but it is spectacular! I'll have some more images up shortly, but just had to post this one, love the way Jay is shaking hands with Dad but only has eyes for his gorgeous bride. :)

So many things coming up...

2010-03-25T15:22:00.001-04:00

Yes, it a teaser! I can't tell you how excited I am about all the weddings that are coming up this year, the first will be in Newport in a couple of weeks and I just can't wait! We have also (finally!) decided to venture out more and are looking for some real life models. So I'm looking for some women (all ages) that are wanting to bring sexy back a bit. Hint, hint! Send me an email direct at valeen@thesweetestdays.com and I'll get right back to you!

Beach Day with Raya

2010-03-23T13:17:00.001-04:00

Meet Raya. My daughter recently adopted her, she is almost a year old and is a fabulous black Labrador, we are all in love with her!

We took her down to Weekapaug last week, her first time at the beach ever and she loved it! She even ran right into the water...and right back out again as quick as she could, it was cold!!! So we have officially expanded into taking photographs of all our beloved 4 legged friends and family members now. :) Shoot us an email if you're interested, we can come to your home or go on location!

I think this one is my favorite. :)

~Valeen

I'm in trouble.

2010-03-23T13:05:00.001-04:00

I have just been informed that I'm in trouble, I have not updated my blog in way too long, again! As I hang my head in shame, I'm thinking of all the things I want to write.... so let's just jump right in!

First, Happy Spring! Happy Vernal Equinox!! Either way, it's here and I for one am so glad winter is over! It seemed like it lasted forever this year, but then again, I think I say that every year. lol So even though today is rainy and yucky, the past few days were awesome and there will be more to come, I can't wait. :)

Love that light!

2010-01-07T17:14:00.001-05:00

Beautiful light and gorgeous couple... I love my job! :)

Happy New Year!

2010-01-06T18:34:00.001-05:00

Twenty-ten! Wow! Can you believe it??

We hope your holidays were wonderful, awesome, and fabulous! And yes, we have been away from blogging for a while but plan to get back on track starting now. :) It really was a crazy couple of months with so much going on and lots of great weddings to finish, it was an incredible year! Thank you all so much!

We have met with some wonderful couples for this year and even for 2011 already, the calendar is filling up quickly, so if you've been waiting till the holidays were over to get going on your planning, it's officially time to book your venues, florists, DJ's, bands, and photographers (us, of course!). Seriously, many popular dates are already booked, so please call and set up a consultation as soon as you can. :)

Here's hoping all your dreams come true this year!

Emily and Jay got married!

2009-11-11T14:28:00.001-05:00

We just posted a new slide show to the website, so make sure you check it out! We had such a good time with them, they are such a wonderful couple and I just loved the family, too! Kasey went to school with Emily brother, so she knew lots of people there and they even invited Jeremy to come down and join the party! I know I say it all the time, but it's true, we just have THE BEST couples ever!!

Here's a pic of the car that they had that day. Some cars are just more awesome than others and this is one of them. Believe it or not, years and years ago, it was used to plow the streets of Manchester!! The owner said it was a love/hate relationship with years and years of restoration, but I think it's magnificent!

Apologies!

2009-11-03T16:05:00.001-05:00

I am running a little behind due to the flu that left me sick for a week. Agh!! Bad timing and I know now (per the doctor's visit today) that I will never get another flu shot either. Okay... back to work! So much to do and lots to post! :)

What's new?

2009-10-21T17:19:00.001-04:00

Well, besides working on editing some gorgeous weddings and designing some albums, I got a chance to put our new logo on the website and the blog, changed a few things on the home page, too. :) Sarah & Chris's slide show is up and Jen & Marty's is almost done, too! Yep, been busy!! :) Now we're going to head out to NYC tomorrow to find out what's new and cool at the Photoplus Expo! Should be fun!

The Sweetest Day is Today!

2009-10-17T12:42:00.001-04:00

Believe it or not, we had no idea about this holiday when we named our company 6 years ago. But pretty cool, huh? :)

The Sweetest day is Saturday, October 17 and is not really just another made for retail holiday but it seems to have evolved into that. It's not exactly Valentine's Day, it was started when a Cleveland candy store owner brought little "sweet" treats to orphans.
In other words, the sweetness was in helping others. It was always on the third Saturday of each October, leading people to call it "The Sweetest Day of the Year". Now it is all about sweethearts in 2009 and we will try and help in case you need a plan.
First, try and make it a traditional sweet day, times are tough so make a donation of time, food or any kind of help to one of your local charities. Even a little bit helps. ~ By Ginger Marks for the National Ledger

Valeen

September's Ten Eyck Tuesday!

2009-09-28T07:10:00.002-04:00

I'm finally back on the blog...sorry I have been MIA for so long!!! So earlier in the month I had the opportunity to participate in one of Carla Ten Eyck's workshops and needless to say it was a pretty AWESOME day! Not only is Carla as funny in person as she is on her blog, she is CRAZY talented and had planned a fabulous day for us. The theme of this month's workshop was "weddings" which was so appropriate. Carla and her team gathered a bunch of very talented vendors together who donated their services for the day and added to that a sweet location that had awesome natural light. Needless to say everyone was able to get some fun and fabulous shots. Just thought I would share a few of my favorites from the day!

How cool is that peacock feather!!

and who doesn't love a little sun flare??

Pink may not be my favorite color but these were gorgeous flowers!

LOVE this hairpiece!

And of course you have to get a shoe shot...especially when they are this cute!

How HOT are these two...

Come on..who doesn't love blue cake!

I also had a blast with all the other crazy photographers that were there too. Thanks again to Carla and her team for a wonderful day! Happy Monday!

-Kasey :)

Yummy!

2009-09-25T14:54:00.001-04:00

And yes, they tasted as good as they looked! Honestly, the best cupcakes ever! :)

I am almost done editing Lauren and Chris's fabulous wedding aboard the Lexington. Watch for the slide show coming to the website soon!!

~ Valeen

We love the details!

2009-09-20T12:15:00.001-04:00

You couldn't miss us last week at the Mystic Seaport because The Sweetest Days had 2 wedding there at the same time! Kasey and Jeremy covered a beautiful wedding up at the Seamen's Inne and I was at the Boat Shed on the grounds of the Seaport. I'll have lots to post from those as well as a couple more I'm working on but I had to post some of the details from Jen and Marty's wedding. I couldn't believe all the thoughtful and beautiful things that they provided for their guests and well and the gorgeous decorations, perfect for the outside venue. Love it!!

~ Val

So perfectly adorable!

2009-09-18T08:50:00.001-04:00

Once again I got my 'fix' of Flowergirls, this time at Lauren and Chris's wedding in Greenwich. I'm thinking that a great off-season project would be to create a photo book of all the flowergirls I've had the opportunity to photograph. More on that insanely awesome wedding later, but here's a favorite image for now. I loved watching them totally mesmerized watching the bride get ready...

~ Val

In case you missed it...

2009-09-17T15:16:00.001-04:00

...we updated the website with 2 new slide shows. Check them out when you can! We can't begin to describe how wonderful our couples are, how spectacular their weddings have been... we thank you all so very much for letting us be part of your day.

Erin and Larry at Lake of Isles in Ledyard, CT...

Courtney and Mike at The Nylo in Warwick and The Quidnessett Country Club in Naragansett RI

Flowergirls

2009-08-27T13:30:00.001-04:00

Okay, everyone knows that I just love Flowergirls! Maybe it's because I was one in my uncle's wedding years ago and can still relate? So what if I can remember the gorgeous red silk dress the maid of honor wore? And the real rose petals I carried? And my aunt's incredible tulle skirted dress like it was yesterday and yet I can't remember to return the movies I rented this weekend?

There is something wonderful and magical being "The Flowergirl" and I just love watching them and of course taking a ridiculous amount of photographs of them too! What can I say??

One of my favorite models!

2009-08-25T11:02:00.001-04:00

Just a little sneak peek at the baby and family session I did Saturday morning...she is such a little doll. :)

Connecticut Weddings

2009-08-19T17:30:00.001-04:00

We have had such a wonderful, busy,and crazy year so far! I have been informed by a few of my readers and some of my brides too that I haven't update the blog in a while. I know, I know! I think about it all the time, and then I swear I get writer's block when I go to start typing! LOL

Well, we have been going full out getting the weddings edited and if you haven't checked in a while there are new slide shows! So when you get a minute, check out these super fabulous weddings!

Amy & Joe at Crystal Peak

Cara & Kevin at St. Clement's Castle

Amanda & Stephen at Tunxis Plantation

Marilyn & Michael at Fisher's Island and the Seamen's Inne Boat Shed

Kasey Update! Also wanted to let you know that Kasey's surgery was a success and she's been working hard at Physical Therapy so she can get back to shooting with me! It was a pretty complicated procedure on her knee, but should be good as new after a while. :)

This is a pic of her the week before the surgery, shooting a wedding with camera in hand and brace on the leg!

I've been having some fun quick wedding shoots with my friend Marie Tyler Wiley, a totally awesome Justice of the Peace. It seems that CT is a destination wedding spot now and I have met many fun couples from Texas, Alabama and Tennessee, it's been great! Although I have to say my southern twang from living down South for a few years growing up does come out when chatting with them and it even surprises me! Did I really say "Y'all want to go over to those rocks?" Yep! I did.

Okay... back to editing... Lori, I'm working on your wedding now! :)

~ Val

Start Spreading the News....

2009-08-09T12:23:00.001-04:00

Erin and Larry are married!

I had some serious fun at the wedding Friday night at the Lake of Isles, it was great! I'm going to post more, especially seeing that Erin told me that I haven't been keeping up on my blog! Too funny! So more to come, but here's a little song and dance by the bride and groom when New York, New York was played... what a blast!

The Big Yellow Bus!

2009-07-22T11:30:00.001-04:00

Just a quick pic from our recent adventure where we took the ferry out to Fisher's Island for a wedding. They had gotten a school bus to use to take the guests to the church and back, which actually was fun since it's been ages since I was on a school bus! :) But, as you can see, the bus was a bit big for the ferry, I can only image what it looked like to the other boats on the water!

New Baby Photographs... Michael David

2009-07-21T16:09:00.001-04:00

My niece Erin and her husband had a beautiful baby boy on the Fourth of July! He really is just the cutest little guy and I loved taking some pictures for them.

Welcome to the world sweet Michael.

~Valeen

Enjoying Summer Old Skool Style!

2009-07-21T15:00:00.001-04:00

Inflatable pool.... $5.00 Summertime Happiness... Priceless

Relax a little...

2009-07-05T20:00:00.001-04:00

One of my favorite places, a real treasure. If you haven't discovered it yet, take some time to go to the boardwalk in Niantic. Thanks to Tony and Christine for telling me about it... and I even found your plaque today too! Note that these were all taken with a little point and shoot camera, I gave George the day off. :)

Not sure what these flowers are, but if anyone knows, please give a shout back.

This is when I wish I had George with me, because that little speck out there looked like a pirate ship!

~ Valeen

Where did the time go?

2009-07-03T18:18:00.001-04:00

Here I was just thinking I was getting caught up on my editing and blogging, maybe I spoke to soon? :) So many things I want to write and blog, but of course, there doesn't ever seem to be enough time. We shot a beautiful wedding at St. Clement's Castle and then another at Tunxis Plantation, then had a fun e-session at Rocky Neck and then a wedding on Wednesday in Noank (yes, in that unbelievable thunderstorm that lasted for hours) and then another Thursday at the Stonington Lighthouse...whew!! Bet you didn't know Connecticut is actually a destination wedding location. So cool to have met couples from Texas and Tennessee this week! Watch for lots of posts to come next week as I get caught up on those and post some of our favorites here for you to see, like this one. :)

Happiness is....

2009-07-03T18:00:00.001-04:00

...being the Flowergirl! This little one completely had me with that smile at our wedding on Saturday. I told her she reminded me of Tinkerbell, and guess what? That's what she was for Halloween... too cute !

Amy and Joe are married!

2009-06-30T17:05:00.001-04:00

We are a little behind in our blogging, but a little ahead on our editing so guess what? There's a brand new slide show up on the website, check it out! Such an awesome wedding and just really a special couple, too. I think you can see the happiness in their faces here. :) Thanks so much for letting us be part of your day!!

~Valeen

All you need is mud....

2009-06-25T22:34:00.001-04:00

So how do you go from this...

to this?

You add this special ingredient called MUD! (can be found virtually anywhere after it rains for 17 out of the first 20 days of June!)

So if you read the previous blog post from Val, you know that I had a race last weekend that didn't go quite as planned (As I sit at my computer typing with my right-hand only). But I promised Val I would get some muddy pics and I would hate to have to break a promise. There was definitely enough mud to go around and this was by far the slickest, wettest, muddiest course I have ever ridden on! I really wasn't surprised when I went hurling off of my mountain bike superman-style onto the mud covered rock slab in front of about 15 people! I guess it goes with the territory!

So today I thought we could dirty up the blog a little...

Does this mud make my butt look big??

This was my husband's favorite shot so I had to include it! (after all he was the man behind the camera on this one, hehe)

And this was the result of my fall...

My hand is actually looking good in this pic too! I don't know about you guys and gals but I have had it with the rainy days and mud. Bring on the sunshine!!! I am sooo looking forward to shooting another wedding on Saturday! The coolest part about the wedding this weekend, besides our awesome couple, is that the reception is at the fabulous Tunxis Plantation Country Club, which is where we got married a short 9 months ago! Can't wait to go back!

Remember to Keep Smiling!

Uh oh!

2009-06-25T10:26:00.001-04:00

I was going to send Kasey a note and tease her that I still haven't gotten any pics of her downhill mountain bike racing and covered with mud...which of course would just be so much fun to blog! And then she called me to tell me that the race didn't go so good and she might have broken her hand!! Oh No!!! MRI today, so keep your fingers crossed she's ok.

But are you ready for this? She got outfitted with a brace from the doctor already, wanted it in black so she can still shoot the wedding this weekend!! The girl rocks!! Now where can I get a little Nikon sticker to put on it? :)

Sharing the love

2009-06-25T10:20:00.001-04:00

I received this email and wanted to share it... this is why I love my job so much. :)

It's been 3 years since our wedding and I still view the slideshow on the website on our anniversary. It's a beautiful slideshow. Your pictures are wonderful. It's such a great thing to take a few minutes to look back on and remember the feeling of that day after three years of marriage and a new baby girl. Your slide show really captures the memory of the day.

Best,

Erin

Thank you Erin, for making my day!

Rants and Raves - Dear Wedding Guest

2009-06-16T12:36:00.001-04:00

Uh oh.

Sorry, but someone's gotta say it. Guess that's going to be me today.

Dear Wedding Guest,

Yay! Your friend, cousin, co-worker, or anyone else that you might be close to just got engaged and you know you'll be invited! Now here's some things that you might want to think about.

That couple thought long and hard about who to invite. Weddings are expensive. Some were 'have-to's' and some were 'want-to's'. Either way, you made the list and that's a big deal. They spent time a lot of time on those 'save the date' cards you got too, so mark it on the calendar, ok? The invitation comes and there's this little card in there that wants to know if you're coming or not. It's called an RSVP and it's important. It means that you need to let them know YES or NO. Unless it's a 'Regrets Only' invitation, then you would let them know only if you are NOT going. There is a date on that card and that's important too, the couple needs to let the venue know how many meals to prepare. Keep in mind, these meals are not cheap, ok? Please do not wait until the bride, groom, mom etc have to call you to find out, they have a lot to do and that is just not a nice thing to do to them, it's really stressful too.

So now what do you wear? Here's a thought... unless it's a pig roast out on the farm, please DO NOT show up in a t-shirt and jeans. (Yes, we've seen that at some amazing high end venues) Something classy would be nice, but if that's asking too much, clean and well fitting would be the good. Oh, and if you know that the couple have selected a certain color and you show up in a "I can wear it again" bridesmaids dress in that same color from another cousin's wedding, it's not cool, ok?

Now, here's comes the amazing part. Show up on time. You had the save the date. You got the invitation. You got directions. You probably have a computer and can use Mapquest and Google to find out how to get there and how long it might take. My guess is you have a GPS too. Use it. There is really no good excuse to show up halfway through the ceremony. Traffic is another story, but it doesn't happen that often and if you think it might be bad, leave early. If you don't want to go to the ceremony, we'll see you at the reception.

We love guests, we really do!! And we are more than happy to make sure you get that shot you want, that you will treasure forever but we really want you to think about something. Your friends spent a lot of money to hire professional photographers to capture their day and when you stand in the middle of the aisle taking a picture with your camera phone of the bride as she starts to walk down that aisle, hoping to see her beloved waiting for her, do you really think she wants that view blocked? Do you really think that they are going to love the shot I get of your behinds right in front of the camera?

Open bar? That is courtesy of the bridal couple and/or their family and they are paying for every single drink poured. It doesn't mean that it's an "all you can drink buffet" of alcohol. We can't even begin to tell you of the horror stories we've heard... don't think your drunken state goes unnoticed, from the broken windows (seriously), the spilled drinks, the obnoxious behavior, some things that can't even be written here....it's all becomes a reflection of the bridal couple and sometimes, it costs them even more money for damages. If you know any of the fabulous wedding coordinators that put their heart and soul into making sure everything is perfect, they can tell you stories I can't begin to tell you here.

We are observers at a wedding, we stay in the background, we document the day, it's our job and we love it. You might not even know that we are there, but we are and we see more than you can imagine.

Thanks for reading my extra long rant today. Now that I got that off my mind, I can focus on some awesome raves and the incredible weddings I'll be posting soon.

~Val

Fun times with Katelyn and Emily!

2009-06-12T13:06:00.001-04:00

Just a little pic to remind myself that summer will be here sometime! This was taken in April, almost two months ago! Remember those 3 days that were in the 90's and we really thought it was a preview of things to come? Well, probably still is, but just not today. :)

Off to help out on a wedding for a friend today and then Cara and Kevin are getting married tomorrow, so it'll be a busy weekend. Gotta run, have fun!!

Red Shoes Rock!

2009-06-08T14:58:00.001-04:00

I love red and I just LOVE red shoes!! Here's a sneak peek at our wedding from Saturday... Amy and Joe.. you guys rock! Bet you can tell from this photo what kind of day we had and how much fun their wedding was! More to come!

~Valeen

TGIF

2009-06-05T16:18:00.001-04:00

All set to shoot a great wedding tomorrow with Krista and my newest 2nd...um... make that 3rd shooter, Camryn Holt who has come all the way up from Tennessee for this!! Okay, well maybe she was here for something else too, but how can you beat having a blast shooting a wedding with us?? :) You can see her work at www.camrynholt.com too. It's been a crazy busy week with appointments, editing weddings and e-sessions and designing some albums too. But ya know what? I still LOVE my job!!

Stacy and Peter's slide show is up... but it's still on 'secret link' until I get a chance to review and release it...so if you know where that is, take a peek and let me know what you think. Of course if you don't know where that is, I'll have it ready on Monday (if not before.) :) That's Peter in the picture with his 'mustache'!

Krista and Tim's album is done and ordered too! If you want to see that...click here. Krista and Timothy's Wedding Album They love it and Katelyn is totally mesmerized watching it, which is so cute! She can watch it over and over again!! Of course it just goes to prove that little girls start dreaming of being Cinderella at their own wedding at a very young age. (Images are by Sue Cunningham, the photographer for the wedding and the one who got me into "the business") :)

Oh, and I gotta report that Kasey came in 1st place on the downhill mountain bike race she did last weekend!! Woohooo!! That girl is nuts!! She said that she was covered with mud, so she didn't get pictures!! What the??? Gonna have to fix that next time... lol She's hanging with family and friends in Newport this weekend, have fun!!

Catch ya later!

~Valeen

Smile Aiden... You're 1!

2009-06-03T21:53:00.001-04:00

So last week I had the opportunity to photograph my cousin's son Aiden. You may remember him from and earlier post...you know, the one who had Red Sox cupcakes for his birthday! It was time for his big 12 month old photo shoot so we spent an hour taking pics at Wickham Park in Manchester and it was a blast! I knew it was going to be a great day when I pulled up to their house and he was standing in the doorway with dad and he was all smiles. Aiden was as happy as could be so I knew we would get some awesome shots....

It was Aiden's first time walking barefoot in the grass!

Look at those cute little piggies...

Watch out girls..He's gonna be a heartbreaker!

And last but not least, the happy family! How cute are they?

Thanks Jimmy and Cindy! Keep smiling!

-Kasey :)

Oh I am so there!!

2009-05-31T11:02:00.002-04:00

I have a super wedding couple who are getting married in August and guess where the reception will be? Yep! Is that gorgeous or what? Check out the website here; http://www.prestigeyachtcharters.com/yacht_lexington.asp

This is going to be one awesome summer! :)

~Valeen

Album Design

2009-05-27T14:59:00.002-04:00

I have been having so much fun designing albums the past few weeks which is really crazy because I used to cringe even thinking about it. I think it was something along the line of 'writer's block', it can be overwhelming to decide the images, the design, what to keep, what not to include, wondering what the couple will like vs. what you like...whew! But then one of my brides told me to pick the images because she couldn't decide and when I was done, she loved it, no changes!! Oh yeah!!! Love that!! So I had a sample album delivered today and now have uploaded another, and another... this could get addicting! :)

April Showers bring May hail???

2009-05-25T10:30:00.001-04:00

When I woke up Sunday morning, I looked outside and it appeared to be shaping up to be a spectacular day! The sun was shining and the birds were chirping. I just figured the weather forecast on the news the night before was wrong because they were predicting a rainy day. So I went about my day doing fun things like cleaning. haha.

Then 3 o'clock rolled around and the sky turned black and it started pouring buckets! Almost instantly it turned to hail and it was practically coming down sideways. It was fast and furious and HUGE pieces of hail were pelting our bay window, our cars, and our helpless little shrubs in the front of our house. It lasted for a good 10-15 minutes and then it stopped. The sun started to come back out so I decided to shoot some pics!

Our poor little hydrangea plant has holes in it's leaves now from the hail!!

My husband had the other camera out too so he could get some pics and he snagged one of me...

and this is the shot i got!

Enjoy the rest of your hail-free memorial day weekend! Keep smiling!

-Kasey :)

Stacy and Peter Part 1

2009-05-24T14:56:00.001-04:00

Yesterday we were at Connecticut College in New London for an absolutely beautiful wedding. The weather couldn't have been better and Harkness Chapel is one of my favoritest places! Yes, that's a word, at least it is for me!! :)

More and more often, we are booking weddings without even meeting the couple! It's crazy and I never thought it would happen so much, but sometimes we don't even get to talk ahead of time. This was the case yesterday, and I just have to say that the trust of our couples have in those that refer us is wonderful, thank you so much!

So for Memorial Day weekend... meet Peter and Stacy! I will be blogging more but had to post one of my favorites!

~ Valeen

Weekends fly by when you are having fun!

2009-05-18T19:51:00.001-04:00

This past weekend was GREAT! I must have taken almost 600 pics! Between an engagement shoot, a 1st birthday party, and a baby shower, my camera sure got a workout ! It was so great because I got to meet new people, catch up with old friends, and hang out with the family. What more could you ask for? So here is my weekend in pics....

It first started with Lena and Gregg's engagement shoot. They are such a sweet couple and I'm so excited to shoot their wedding in November!

Then it was off to Aiden's 1st Birthday party. Isn't he such a cutie? Soooo big!

Val you would have loved the cupcakes! This one is for you...

On Sunday I ventured over to my best friend Peggy's house for her sister's baby shower. Check out these AMAZING flower arrangements she made!

And at the shower was this little cutie-pie named Taylor. How can you not smile at this adorable face!

What is even cuter is that instead of crawling like most 1 year old's do, she does butt scoots across the floor and this was her in action...

So that was my weekend in a nutshell! Hope these made you smile and have a Happy Monday!

-Kasey :)

Lena and Gregg's Engagement Session - Harkness Park, Waterford, CT

2009-05-17T16:38:00.001-04:00

There is something magical about Harkness Park in Waterford. You can use a lot of words to describe it and never mind the fact that it has a mansion, a beach, endless perfect gardens, lighthouses, archways, ponds, frogs, trees, rocks, ivy, pillars, flowers.... but yesterday...it had something extra special. Fog. Yep, fog. Can I tell you how excited I was to wake up to fog yesterday morning and then just hope against hope that it didn't burn off by the time we got there?

Kasey and I met up with Lena and Gregg and just started shooting right there by the parking lot. They were so much fun and we had a blast with them, I can't wait for the wedding in November.

So... hundreds of shots later... with wet pant legs, sand and grass covered feet, and with a bit of a Wuthering Heights feeling, here's a little sneak preview.

Gregg thought it would be fun to get this shot, something about frogs and princes!

Laugh for the day!

2009-05-14T14:39:00.001-04:00

"The only real difference between genius and stupidity is that genius has limits."

Thanks to my niece Corrissa for posting this on Facebook, too funny!

Cha-Cha-Cha Changes!

2009-05-13T14:42:00.001-04:00

Okay, it's supposed to be that old song, but I don't know how many "cha"s go before it, and no, I'm not taking dance classes either! Stop laughing!!! It's not that funny!!! :) Well, okay, maybe it is! LOL

Anyhow...as they say, without change there can be no butterflies. I love that quote, and it's true. Some changes are forced upon you, others you choose, but either way, it's an opportunity to go in new directions. We've been working on our BRAND and I'm totally excited. The new logo, direct from Scotland, is done! Now just the finishing touches on new website, some new packages, services and lots more.

This pic was taken outside in the garden. The butterfly is NOT "Photoshopped" into the image, it was very real. And I just planted more zinnias to attract them all back again this year too! :)

~ Valeen

398

2009-05-12T17:56:00.003-04:00

So how does it happen that I don't read the blogs that I follow for a couple of days and now I have 398 to go through?? If you need me, I'll be at my computer for the next few hours. :)

For all the Moms out there...

2009-05-10T10:42:00.002-04:00

Analisa & Stephen (part 2)

2009-05-09T12:07:00.018-04:00

So I just wanted to share a couple more pics from the wedding we did a couple of weeks ago.

Love the dress...

Loving Analisa in the dress!

What a cute couple!

And I will leave you on one final note... Shouldn't shoes be the centerpiece of every mantel? (hehe)

Congrats to Analisa & Stephen! Remember to keep smiling!

Dogwoods and Dandelions and Mother's Day

2009-05-08T11:14:00.002-04:00

I woke up this morning thinking about the pink dogwood that blooms outside my bedroom window. It is so pretty right now and I knew I wanted to take a photograph of it, more to play with ISO's and settings and all that 'stuff' (yeah, I know, I'm real technical!) So I got George (and you know that's my D3, right?) and a few lenses and went outside.

What a day!! Wow! I started shooting and as I looked around, I saw that there were so many perfectly gorgeous flowers and shrubs in bloom, well it was amazing! And it got me thinking about Mother's Day...

I see all the ads on TV to buy this and that for mom, like you can't show your love without spending a fortune. (Yes, those diamond studs ARE dazzling!) And all the arrangements and dozens of roses from the store are beautiful and thoughtful... but I really think the best gift you'll ever receive will be the bouquet that your little one picked by themselves in the backyard.

So for all the moms out there... I wish you all the joy and love in the world! Happy Mother's Day! :)

And let's not forget the all time favorite!

~ Valeen

Rants and Raves

2009-05-01T11:21:00.002-04:00

A couple of things really bothered me this week and I had to write a little about them.

One was the closing of yet another bridal shop. Apparently the shop was in business 10 years and closed without warning leaving 18 brides without their dresses. Now, even taking into consideration that the news is sometimes not 100% accurate, even ONE bride left without her dress just days or weeks before the wedding is one too many. I think the worst part of this is that it happens so often. I've worked at a few different bridal shops in the past and even though they are now closed, not once was a bride's order not filled and delivered. Not Once. There is no excuse for this, not ever.

And the other rant... finding out just how badly couples have been treated by their wedding photographer. OMG! I am truly stunned at some of the tactics that are used and the complete lack of integrity. Worst part of hearing all this? Is that I've heard the identical stories from DIFFERENT couples and even from some venue staffers and DJ's I know. It's depressing and makes it difficult for all the wonderful, talented and awesome photographers out there.

Today was just Rants... so many Raves too and I'll post more, just needed to get that out there.

More editing

2009-04-30T19:07:00.002-04:00

Playing with that dance shot...

Sneak Peek... Analisa and Stephen got married.

2009-04-30T16:49:00.002-04:00

Once again our poor little blog has been somewhat neglected and I know I keep promising to write more often, but it's been crazy busy, especially since I thought this is was the 'off season'!

So here's a quick sneak peek of the wedding Kasey and I shot on Sunday. Of course we always have fun getting together and this was no exception. We have the best times and the best job ever!

I experimented a little with texture overlays on the first one and the second is right out of the camera, the first dance, one of my favorite shots of the day. :)

Valeen

Internet Issues

2009-04-25T21:42:00.002-04:00

Just a quick note to let you know that if you sent an email/etc to me and I have not gotten back to you, please resend. We just had a new dedicated cable line put in and an upgraded modem so hopefully there will be no more problems and outages, like yesterday when the internet was out more than 20 times!!! AGH!!!

More posts to come... my visit to Lake of Isles, a little pre-summer pool fun and getting ready for a wedding tomorrow too! We are going to rock it out!

Sometimes a picture says it all.

2009-04-15T15:07:00.001-04:00

Why are Professional Photographers so expensive?

2009-04-13T16:54:00.002-04:00

by Shawn Ritcher

Shawn is a photographer in CA and has written this article, with his permission I'm posting it here. If you have any comments or questions, let us know, ok? :) ~ Valeen

In this digital age where everyone has digital cameras, scanners and home "photo printers", when people upload their photos to a local drug store website and pick them up a few hours later, we hear this all the time - How in the world do Professional Photographers charge $55 for an 8x10 when they cost just $1.50 at the drug store?

Here's why.

Simply put, you're not just paying for the actual photograph, you're paying for time and expertise. First, let's look at the actual time involved. If you don't read this entire page, at least read this first part.

For a two hour portrait session:

- one hour of travel to and from the session
- two hours of shooting
- 30 minutes of setup, preparation, talking to the client etc.
- 30 minutes to load the photos onto a computer (2 - 4 Gb of data)
- 30 minutes to back up the files on an external drive
- 3 - 4 hours of Photoshop time including cropping, contrast, color, sharpening, saving a copy for print and a copy for the internet and backing up the edited photographs
- 2 - 3 hours to talk to the client, answer questions, receive their order and payment, order their prints, receive and verify prints, package prints, schedule shipment and drop package off at Fed Ex.
- For local customers, we also print a set of all of their photos, and meet them at our studio to review the photos and place their order. Meeting and travel time averages 2 hours.

You can see how one two hour session easily turns into more than ten hours of work from start to finish. So when you see a Photographer charging a $200 session fee for a two hour photo shoot, you are not paying them $100 / hour.

For an eight hour wedding:

- I won't bore you with the details, but an eight hour wedding typically amounts to at least two to three full 40 hour work weeks worth of time. Again, if they are charging you $4,000 for an eight hour wedding, you are not paying them $500 / hour.

Now for the expertise.

Shooting professional photography is a skill, acquired through years of experience. Even though a quality camera now costs under $2,000 taking professional portraits involves much more than a nice camera.

Most Professional Photographers take years to go from buying their first decent camera to making money with their photography. In addition to learning how to use the camera itself, there is a mountain of other equipment involved, as well as numerous software programs used to edit and print photographs, run a website etc.

And let's not forget that you actually have to have people skills, be able to communicate, make people comfortable in front of the camera - and posing people to make them look their best in a photograph is a skill all by itself.

Think of it this way - the next time you pay $X to get your hair done, a pair of scissors only costs $1.50. But you gladly pay a lot more to hire a Professional.

What about the cheap studios at the mall?

Please don't compare us to the chain store studios. But if you must, consider all of the time and work that we put into our photographs, compared to what they do. Good luck getting a two hour photo shoot at a chain store. Not to mention they won't come to the beach! And of course, look at our work compared to theirs. You get what you pay for.

The truth is, most of the mall and chain store studios lose money. In fact, in 2007 Wal-Mart closed 500 of their portrait studios because of the financial drain they were putting on the company. What the chain stores bet on is that you'll come in for some quick and cheap photos, and while you're there, you'll also spend $200 on other things. They don't have to make money, they are just there to get you in the door.

Conclusion

We hope that those who have taken the time to read this page will have a better understanding of why professional photographs cost so much more than the ones that you get from your local drug store.

Thank you for taking the time to read this.

Shawn, Pamela & Gavin Richter
Caught on Film Photography

Kasey's First Blog Post!

2009-04-09T12:47:00.002-04:00

What do we crazy photographers do when we aren't shooting weddings???

We take pictures of everything else silly! Once you have the photography bug, you can't make it go away. (Why would you want it to anyway? lol) So the last couple of weeks I have been able to get some great shots just around our house. Who would have imagined it? I first got excited when I started to get out of work and it was still light out. Sunset shots!

Then when little purple flowers began to sprout up, I thought to myself, Spring is finally here!!

Who cares if the flowers are growing right in the middle of our front lawn...It makes for good pics! Besides, it gives the neighbors something to talk about when they see me all crouched down in the front yard with my camera!

Now I really started to get excited when Jeremy (my hubby) spotted a bunny in the backyard. So I quickly grabbed the camera so I could try to get a shot of the bunny just in time for Easter! I quietly opened the door and tiptoed onto the deck. I snapped a couple of photos and the bunny stayed still. I then decided to take a couple of steps closer and sit on the stairs and I got yet another couple of pictures. The bunny didn't move.

So this is when I started to look stupid to the neighbors....I got down in the grass and was doing an army style crawl (you know when you are flat on your stomach and using your arms and elbows to slither across the grass) to get closer to this brave little bunny. I would crawl forward one foot, take a pic, crawl another foot, take a pic, crawl one more foot and bam! The bunny just took off!! My opportunity was over. Don't worry though, I would get another shot to photograph nature...

It was Saturday morning and Jeremy and I were on our way out to run some errands and I spotted this little bird in our front bushes but I was in a rush so there was no time to grab the camera. We got back about an hour or so later and the bird was still there. How exciting! So guess what I did, I had Jeremy stand guard and I went in for my camera. I came outside and started to get a couple of pics and the bird didn't fly away!

So I decided to get a little closer, and closer, and closer. I thought, "wow, this bird must like me because it's not moving!" Jeremy began to get curious and grabbed a stick and poked the bird. It didn't move. What a fun killer! The bird was indeed dead! It didn't stop me from taking pics though...who would know it was dead when they looked at the pics? LOL!

Val - Thanks for having me on the team! Always remember to keep smiling!

-Kasey :)

Tracie and Scott are married!

2009-04-09T10:53:00.002-04:00

A beautiful wedding and a wonderful couple! I just posted a new slide show for Tracie and Scott who got married last month at The Water's Edge Resort in Westbrook. Even though it was freezing, everyone was so good about going outside for some shots and you can't even see the goosebumps in the pictures! :) It was a great time, we have THE BEST couples!! Brian J. shot this wedding with me, but it was a "one shot" gig for him (yes, pun intended!) as he is now in Washington DC working for the State Department. How cool is that?? :) This is his shot, working the flare!

Sweet!

Meet Kasey!

2009-04-08T15:16:00.002-04:00

I wanted everyone to meet Kasey! :) She has shot a couple of events with me over the past few months but I wanted to make the 'official' introduction. She will be shooting a lot with me this year and I know it's going to be a blast! She's also going to be blogging here as well, so check it out... I know the first post is going to be hysterical, she told me about what's she's been doing and I swear I was crying from laughing so much.

A little background on how we met? Kasey was a bridesmaid in a couple of weddings that we shot over the past couple years (her best friends Christine & Tony and Alise & Jim) and we shot her wedding to the absolutely wonderful Jeremy last September, too! And you know what was super cool?? They booked us before they set the date for their wedding!! :) Sweet! (I love it when that happens!)

A great big Kool-aid smile to Kasey! It's going to be a great year!

Val

At the Mohegan Sun - Wedding Photography

2009-03-30T12:45:00.002-04:00

The Mohegan Sun for a wedding? Yes!! A very intimate affair with just the Bride and Groom, me and the JP. I can't put their names here yet because they haven't told their families they got married! Oh, I should say we weren't alone, there were about a million other people there who decided to head out to the casino Saturday night!! It was absolutely the craziest I've ever seen that place!

I gave myself an hour to get there and check it out and to meet them, we hadn't even talked on the phone! And even though it only takes me about 15 minutes for the drive to the Casino, I was lucky to get there at all. As soon as I took the exit and the cars were lined up, I started to wonder what was going on.

Then I started seeing the signs... Valet Closed. Parking Garage Closed. Uh oh. I headed out to the Winter entrance where I usually park...Closed. I mean CLOSED, torn up and fenced off closed. Uh oh. After circling around, I decided the best and only way to get there was the shuttle bus, along with those million other people, of course. When I got on the bus, the driver tells me that no way are they going to let me in with the gear bag I had. Really? Huh? Didn't figure on that!! So he said to go to the hotel, and then cross over, etc, etc, etc. ....yeah, right... like I have time for that...did I mention it's almost 7 and the wedding is supposed to be taking place like...NOW??

Hmmmmm... now what? I went back to my car, dumped everything out of my purse and loaded George (yeah, I name my camera!) and a flash and my license and barely zipped it up and headed back to the Shuttle bus station... and waited while 2 buses full of people go by!! Agh!! My turn!! Yay! And where does this bus go? Some 'who knows where' place somewhere in the casino...sheesh!! I get there, get out, and try to find where the heck the bar is from where I am and, I'll tell ya, it wasn't around the corner! lol

Finally found the bar, the staff there was great...met my couple and a few of their newfound friends that stayed for the wedding. The JP still wasn't there (same problem) but everything was cool. Whew!!

I have to say it was so much fun regardless of the craziness and it made me think that there certainly wasn't a recession that night!

So here's a little preview shot... I love secret weddings!! :)

Sweet Baby!

2009-03-19T15:59:00.002-04:00

It's been just crazy this month! Weddings, families and babies, oh my!! I'm loving every minute of it! Here's a preview of Brooke with more to come!

Awaiting Spring...

2009-03-11T17:42:00.002-04:00

This weekend was so beautiful... I saw the green of the daffodils and crocus peeking through, then Wham! More snow! It didn't last, but like everyone else, I have Spring fever!! I also have a total mess of a yard, sheesh! I think it needs professional help. Anyone know a really awesome landscaper? :)

So anyhow... while waiting for my flowers to come up... I have these to make me smile. :)

Think Spring!

~ Valeen

What not to do with a $45,000 car!

2009-03-06T12:44:00.002-05:00

Under this pile of snow is was a really nice BMW convertible, want to bet he's hating winter right about now? BTW, he parked it there on purpose before the storm.

So much going on!

2009-02-23T11:46:00.002-05:00

I haven't blogged in a while, I know. So I'm going to get started again now, but so much going on I'm not sure where to start!!! First a big thank you to all those who sent me get well wishes, now 'all better' and getting caught up. Well, if there is such a thing!!

We shot a really wonderful wedding on Valentine's Day this year, is that romantic or what?? I'll blog more about the wedding shortly, but right now I'm putting together a small 'mom' album so that my bride's mother can take some photographs back home to Europe from her daughter's wedding. I found out that European weddings are somewhat different from American weddings, so I want to learn more about those difference and other cultures too. (It's on my to do list)

More posts to come... more news... a great season ahead... very cool stuff. :)

Just loving Monday!!

~Valeen

Best Wedding Venues in Connecticut

2009-02-07T19:09:00.002-05:00

I went through some of the weddings that we have already booked so far this year and it's going to be a blast! Lots of places we've already worked, and a couple of new ones too. I'm totally psyched and can't wait! So anyone looking for awesome places to have their wedding and/or reception, check out these gorgeous venues. Gotta love it!! :)

Mystic Seaport and the Seamen's Inne, Mystic, CT

The Water's Edge, Westbrook, CT

St. Clements Castle, Portland, CT

Fisher's Island, NY

Lake of Isles, North Stonington, CT

Saybrook Point Inn, Old Saybrook, CT

Ski Sundown, New Hartford, CT

Harkness Mansion, Waterford, CT

Branford House, Avery Point, Groton, CT

Quidnessett Country Club, N. Kingstown, RI

Lord Thompson Manor, Thompson, CT

Tunxis Plantation, Farmington, CT

These are some of my favorite places for so many reasons besides the fact that they are all absolutely gorgeous! Like maybe the food is fabulous too?? Right Jeremy?

There are more places and vendors that I love to work with so I decided that I'll be adding a page on the website to help you with your plans. If anyone has suggestions and a good referral, let me know, ok?

Happy Planning!

~ Valeen Thivierge

Cara and Kevin Engagement Shoot

2009-02-03T16:14:00.002-05:00

Last week we (me and Kasey!) took off to Hammonasset State Park for a really awesome e-session with Cara and Kevin, these two were so much fun we could have stayed all day except it had to be twenty below zero on the beach! They had me freezing when they actually took their coats off for some of the shots!! Must be why I'm feeling cold just editing them today. :) Anyhow, they were so much fun, we can't wait for the wedding, it should be much warmer, right??

Thanks for a fun time and, honestly, we really can't wait for the wedding!! :)

~ Valeen Thivierge

www.thesweetestdays.com

Superbowl, oh yeah!!

2009-02-02T13:16:00.002-05:00

So... did you happen to catch that game last night? :)

~ Valeen Thivierge

Facebook, hard drives, wi-fi, and more!

2009-01-27T12:23:00.002-05:00

I know, I know, I've been neglecting my blog. I admit it. Part of it has been having fun on Facebook, just a little too addicting but finding friends reconnecting too! So there! LOL Say hi when you can! (Valeen Thivierge for those of you who don't know.)

But I've been working too. It's the off season, well sorta... and I'm determined to have all my technology up to date and working the way it's supposed to. Of course it went great yesterday, but today there was no wi-fi. None. So I had to re-install programs and all that STUFF that drives you nuts, but hey, I DID IT!! And it's working great again, on all the computers!! WOOOO HOOOO !!!

Went to Mystic 4 on last Monday and had fun there, got to see some friends and meet some new ones, so it was cool. Then had an awesome e-session down to Hammonasset Beach on Saturday, it was freezing cold, but they were down with it... and so were we! It was gorgeous though, my first time being there. More on that in another post...just wanted to catch up some.

Okay, so off to edit the engagement shots... Kasey is sending me hers too, even though I got a couple as a preview already and they rock!!! Yeah!! Check back for those too!!

4 going on 14!

2009-01-25T11:50:00.002-05:00

I'll post the series of shots I did with Katelyn working her new sunglasses with some attitude later this week, but gotta love those baby blues!!

I love this shot and love my D-3! Right out of the camera! :) Yeah!!

~Valeen Thivierge

Facebook!

2009-01-15T11:29:00.002-05:00

So I'm finally on Facebook and about time, right? Something tells me this can be soooo addictive! LOL

Monday, Monday!

2009-01-12T17:34:00.002-05:00

Okay, I'm not a Monday hater. How can I be? For me it's a chance for a new start to a new week, and heck, I don't work a 9-5 M-F so that makes a difference. And yes, I'm an optimist. Oh well. I tried to be a pessimist, how depressing!!! I tried to be a realist, but I like my rose colored glasses too much, so there!! :)

Today I realize I read way too many blogs, so I'm deleting some that aren't fun, or interesting or informative. Or in some cases, there's this one...that has just way too much information. I could read it all day and still not be caught up. So that one's going too. Simplify!! Yeah!! That's it!

And I realize too that I'm just not that big a fan of video on blogs. I wasn't sure why, but now I know. They take too long. I'm a super fast reader (thanks to a speed reading class in 3rd grade, not kidding!) I can read a novel in a day and I just don't have the time to sit watch the video. So I don't feel bad about it anymore. But I know that they can be really good, I'm going to try to watch a few more, if they are interesting and I just might be posting more too since I got one of those little pocket size digital video recorders. We'll see. Confused yet?

Okay,so I was watching this one and found it funny because just today I read that some group wants to ban all cell phones in cars, even hands-free. Hmmmmm... so here's the video from [b]ecker. And here's some other things they should ban, as they are just as distracting, right?

***And before anyone goes all postal on me, it's from a blog post of someone being sarcastic, ok?***

No cell phones
No CB's (if the still exist)
No pets in the car
No kids in the car. Multiple charges for multiple kids.
No passengers in the car
No radios, CD players, etc, in the car.(Knew of a girl who hit the guardrails while changing stations!) OMG, arrest her!!
No Makeup.
No shaving.
No reading a Map.(do they still make them?) Okay...so No GPS.
No naughtiness.(Yep, saw it myself from the bus window!)
No... jeez, what did I miss?
No heat controls.
No AC Controls.
Come on now, people, let's focus!
No.... How about no more stupid laws and just have a law against Stupid People. Now that one I like!!
Enjoy your day, and don't leave the house!:)

Smile everyone, it's Monday!

~Valeen

Bride Wars

2009-01-09T15:02:00.002-05:00

Everyone knows I watch ALL the wedding movies! I can't help it, I'm a complete Hopeless Romantic. So Bride Wars is released today and I just don't think it's one I want to see. The previews are okay, but I've read some reviews that are terrible.... they are saying the funniest line is about the Vera Wang dress and they put that on one of the trailers. Hmmmm.... so if you go, let me know what you think, ok?

~Valeen

Too Cute!!

2009-01-07T19:48:00.002-05:00

I couldn't think of a better title for this because I'd just laugh each time I'd look at the picture! :)

~Val

Sexy!

2009-01-07T11:12:00.002-05:00

I got a link this morning that made me smile... according to an article from CareerBuilder.com, photographers are #8 on the list of "10 Sexy Careers You Never Thought Of"... but heck, we already knew that!!! :)

Click here if you want to read more! Sexy!

(Only #8, what's up with that??? Come on guys, we gotta work harder to get to #1)

Brrrr.... Don't you just love Winter??

2009-01-07T11:05:00.002-05:00

Happy New Year Everyone!

2009-01-01T10:37:00.002-05:00

Wishing everyone a wonderful, crazy, happy, fabulous, silly and prosperous New Year! Kool-aid Smiles, everyone!!!

New Slide show is online!

2008-12-28T15:48:00.002-05:00

I just posted Tracy and Bryan's wedding slide show on the home page of the website www.thesweetestdays.com so check it out when you can. They were an awesome couple to work with and although it was freezing cold that day, it was a blast!! Thanks for letting us be part of your day!!

~Valeen

A little more Christmas Fun

2008-12-26T14:47:00.002-05:00

I know the blog posts are kinda out of order but what the heck, right? It's all about the holiday and I had to share a few more. Okay, I'm going to say it, I have a gorgeous family!!! I had planned on making some amazing Christmas cards and sending them out this year, but... um....well, I got the flu, it got crazy and I didn't get them sent... So here's a big MERRY CHRISTMAS from all of us!

Our very own "Mr. McDreamy!" ... Matthew... he walks in the room and all the girls start to giggle and completely freak out!! Watch out Hollywood!!

Ah Ha!!! Caught ya' chimping!!

Twins! Okay, not really... but I think you can tell they are related!

Love this pic!

Katelyn went to see The Nutcracker this year, can you tell? Here come the ballet classes!

Daddy and Em. And also kind of a before and after set of pictures. Sweet and cute to start....

And then.... ROCKSTAR!!

Of course, now I have to introduce you to my two newest photographers, trust me, you'll love their work! (If they aren't fighting over the camera!)

Katelyn and Emily! Watch out world! They are going to completely change the way we take a picture in the future!! ("I got my first camera when I was 4, and I've been snapping pics ever since")

Love to all! Merry Christmas!!

~Valeen

Quick snap...

2008-12-26T12:02:00.002-05:00

Taken out the back door on Christmas night... the sky was simply gorgeous and a minute later, it was gone.

Silent night...

2008-12-26T11:50:00.002-05:00

Um... no, not really... but does it matter when it's your very first Christmas? It was fine with him that total chaos reigned... and what I wouldn't have given to do the same thing! :)

I had a wonderful Christmas and I hope you did too!

Merry Christmas!

2008-12-24T13:18:00.002-05:00

Merry Christmas to All, and to All a Good Night!

We hope you have the best holiday with your family and friends, may the spirit of the season be with you always.

~Valeen

Ten Eyck Tuesdays Rock!

2008-12-19T17:23:00.002-05:00

Tuesday was awesome! I have to tell you that I was nervous about it though and I'm not sure why, it really was the BEST day! I had so much fun, learned so much and met some great new people too! (They even offered to come help paint and renovate a room in my house for a studio, how awesome cool fabulous is that???)

Carla is really one of the most wonderful and talented people I've ever had the joy of meeting. A kindred spirit, from the unbelievable Victorian house (with a purple couch!) to our shared love of our D3's and of the name George! I also got to meet the fabulous smokin' hot Mr. Eric Foley and his super special, utterly gorgeous wife Erin, they were up for absolutely anything we asked them to do, and they did it with style!! Just check out these shots of them and you have to agree!

I still can NOT believe that they were taken in a parking garage and a gravel parking lot in West Hartford. :)

~ Valeen

Monday thoughts...

2008-12-15T15:15:00.002-05:00

Love does not make the world go round. Love is what makes the ride worthwhile.

~ Franklin P Jones

John Michael Cooper

2008-12-12T18:41:00.001-05:00

Wedding photography has seen a bit of a renaissance in the last several years. The trend of "not your mother's wedding photographer" caught on, quickly grew and effectively changed the industry as we know it. Things like "trash the dress" sessions and injecting elements of photojournalism and high style fashion photography into the wedding arena are now commonplace. Thinking outside the box is expected.

Regardless of your particular tastes in photography or what you hope your photographer will achieve (or did achieve) with your wedding pictures, I hope you can draw some thoughts from this particular artist. John Michael Cooper is truly a pioneer in pushing the boundaries of wedding photography, hell photography in general. He breaks the rules every time out and does his own thing.

There are a couple of iconic images created by John (whose business name is altF and be warned the images on this site are not for everyone) that will soon be retired from public view, at least for a while. Well at least those of us that have been around this business for a while would certainly consider them "iconic" if such a term can be used within the confines if this specific line of work.

You can visit John's blog to learn more about Joan and Ophelia, and the images, and perhaps even buy prints if you are so inclined, before they are retired. There aren't many left.

And in the spirit of professional courtesy and doing what is right, I am disclosing right here and now that I totally stole these directly from John's blog and pasted them here. Honestly, I doubt he cares.

Thank you John for inspiring, pushing the limits, doing what you do, and especially for how much you give back to this business and to us as photographers. We are all waiting to see what trend you will start next.

-Bruce

Hitler rants about the Nikon D3X

2008-12-11T18:48:00.001-05:00

Ok, ok we're camera geeks here at TSD but hey I know how many questions we get about cameras and photography and I KNOW how many of our clients are camera geeks too so I know some of you out there in blog-land will enjoy this one ;)

Apparently the Fuehrer is upset with what Nikon is trying to ~~soak us~~ charge for the new flagship D3X top of the line camera. Poor guy. He can throw quite the hissy. Who knew!

-Bruce

Time off!

2008-12-11T13:09:00.004-05:00

Lounging around all day.... sleeping in... eating whatever you feel like... unlimited drinks... ah, a beautiful resort vacation!

(or maybe in bed on a gloomy rainy day with the flu in New England) Agh!!

Don't ya love getting time off and not being able to enjoy it??

We need a bigger house!

2008-12-08T09:11:00.002-05:00

I have a problem, at least according to my family and there must be a support group for it somewhere. It has something to do with picking a tree that is way too big for the house, every single time!! So this is AFTER we cut a foot off the bottom, and a foot off the top...

Got out the landscaping tools and trimmed it down a little...okay, okay, a lot!! And right when it was almost done....Crash!!! In slow motion and just missed the little guy on the floor! He thought the garland was nice though!

Tom was not amused.

So after some intense work on the stand (which was brand new!) and the trunk (too soft!) and vacuuming for an hour, and redecorating the whole thing...oh, by the way, nothing broke... it's perfect! (Well, sorta!) And what the heck, the Barbies love it!

I have been officially banned from picking out the tree next year!! :)

~Valeen

Can we say.....

2008-12-04T15:50:00.002-05:00

CUTE?? Some people just know how to work the camera, at any age!

~ Valeen

Ten Eyck Tuesday Workshop, 12/2/08

2008-12-04T00:12:00.001-05:00

I had the privilege of attending a very inspiring photography workshop with the wonderful, amazing, fab-u-licious, one-and-only, uber-talented Carla Ten Eyck at her home/studio in Hartford yesterday. And yes, you will know you've made it when someone refers to YOU as fab-u-licious and uber-talented in the same sentence!

What a day!! Here's the cast of characters that went along with me for this crazy ride that had us thinking so far outside the box, I think one or two of us had tremors. Seriously.

Jason Henriques of West Haven. Down IN IT. If you've shot with me, or had me at your wedding, you know I spend a lot of time on the ground. I like this guy.

Cheryl Cronin joined us from balmy Branford. Shhh, don't tell anyone, she's wearing long johns in this shot. Shhh. She's looking a little nervous here 'cause I'm getting too close. But by the end of the day she was fine :)

Andrea Walpurgis from Shades of Images in Enfield. It was so cool to see different photographers get their take on the same setup. Little different angle, different lens, whatever. Love it!

While they were workin' that angle, I grabbed this shot. Sort of looks infra-red-ish, right?

So we spent a good portion of the day moving from spot to spot in Elizabeth Park in Hartford. And speaking of characters, our subjects for the day were Carla's second in command, Mr. Mike Romano and his super-pooch Max. We each took turns setting up shots, trying to think creatively while Ms. Ten Eyck followed us around ruthlessly yelling "what aperture are you at, AND WHY??" I'm kidding of course. It was shutter speed...

One of the first shots on Carla's blog is of me on the ground (there's something new, I think Val could make an entire slide show of just shots of me on the ground). Anywho, here's what I was doing:

Look up the term "big-ass dog" in the dictionary and you'll find a picture of Max. Holy cow. 220 pounds of pure canine. I love this shot of his paws but there's really nothing to give you a sense of scale. So I'll tell you the scale: BIG.

The man, the myth, the legend: Carla Ten Eyck. No wait, maybe Mike's the man, Carla's the myth and the legend? Or I guess it could be Mike's the man and the myth and Carla's the legend. Aw, the hell with it, I forgot where I was going with this anyway...

So I'm a country boy, and Carla's a city girl. When you're strolling through a park with a city girl in her home city, and she happens to be an awesome photographer who also happens to see something interesting, you should probably pay attention.

"Killer sea grass..." she says. "And look at that light!"

Ok, I see weeds. But we'll go with "sea grass". This is why she's teaching and I'm the student. Go to her blog and look at the rock-star shots of Mike and Max against the sea grass. No really go ahead, I'll wait...

Killer right??? Weeds. And light. Sheesh!

I love the vines and ivy that were framing this shot. (Special thanks to Andrea on the reflector!)

This one's for Carla. She LOVES dog drool. Pyscho this girl is, I tell ya! Slimy dog drool, can you imagine? LOVES it!

A park bench, a hedge, Mike and Max. We spent a lot of time in this area really thinking about angles and light and composition. Lots of different stuff from this one spot.

Here's Carla stuffing her camera bag into the hedge. No worries, she got the shot!

I love the washed out look with this one. Max has a wrinkly face but what's really strange is that he also has lines of soft black fur that make the wrinkles look deeper than they really are. Almost like tiger stripes.

I think Max has an aiming problem. Headed for the cheerio but got Mike's nose instead :)

Again we're still in the same spot and Carla's challenge to us was to get portraits without moving Mike at all. Same spot. Same light. Same everything. Think grasshoppa, think!

Mike busted out the hat, which was such a cool look with the jacket. Here's my take on the shot Carla mentioned on her blog. Again, different angle, different lens, same moment in time, completely different shot!

Carla rockin' the 100 mm macro. Gotta get me one! Mike rockin' the poker face. I swear, every cop I know can do this face. At will. They must teach it at the academy...

A little "direct positive" in Lightroom. For some reason I'm thinking album cover here, dunno. Nickelback maybe?? Hmmm...

And I'll finish back where I started, on the ground! My favorite shot of the day. Max looks so intimidating here. Don't be fooled, he's a peach!

Thanks to everyone for such an inspiring day! CARLA YOU ROCK!Can't wait to hook back up again sometime! Special special SPECIAL thanks to Mike Romano and Max, you guys were great today and so patient with us! Mike, get Max that steak ok?!

And for you photographers out there, the next Ten Eyck Tuesday workshop is already full (Val will be attending) but I hear there's still some spots in the January 6th class. What are you waiting for?? Git to it and send Carla an email: carla@carlateneyck.com You'll be glad you did!!

-Bruce

Beth and Jeremy

2008-12-02T21:05:00.002-05:00

This was such an awesome wedding and we had a blast shooting it! How can you go wrong with a beautiful couple, St. Patrick's Cathedral for the ceremony and Harkness Mansion for the Reception? Oh, and then there were the horses! The amazing, fabulous, wonderful horses that Beth gets to work with all the time. They are Shires, which are actually bigger than the Clydesdales! They also thought Beth's bouquet would taste pretty good too! :)

The slide show will be up soon, but I just had to post a few sneak peeks!

~ Valeen

Note to self...

2008-12-01T12:40:00.002-05:00

When multitasking and feeling oh so very efficient, don't forget you were thawing out chicken in the microwave till the next morning. Yuck. And no, there won't be any picture of that. ;)

Kicks and Pics!

2008-11-29T08:29:00.002-05:00

A couple of weeks ago I got to be a part of a fundraiser held by Enshin Karate in Griswold! What a kick!! Literally!! LOL In an effort to raise money for the local food pantry, the students got pledges and donations based on the amount of times they could kick a punching bag in 5 minutes, well, let's just say that you might not want to pledge by the kick, because they are going to surprise you!! There were thousands and thousands of kicks, by the students and instructors, from age 6 to 40!! It was wild!! And be best part?? They dropped off a check for over $1000 to the food pantry before Thanksgiving. How cool is that?

So a HUGE shout out to everyone who participated and especially to the parents, because without their dedication and help, none of this would be possible, you guys are the BEST!!

Images will be up on Pictage shortly, enjoy!!

~ Valeen

Alicia and Lee

2008-11-27T23:24:00.001-05:00

Kasey and I shot Alicia and Lee's wedding back in October, we had such a great time shooting together (go figure!) and I just wanted to post a few shots here on the blog.

This wedding was in Putnam, with the reception in Webster, Mass., and boy did we catch everything right in peak foliage season! Plus the crystal clear blue day didn't hurt either!

Alicia and Lee thanks so much for having us! Your slide show will be done soon so keep an eye out for it. And Happy Thanksgiving!!

-Bruce

Happy Thanksgiving!

2008-11-26T18:34:00.002-05:00

Hey everyone! I wanted to wish you the best Thanksgiving! I am so thankful for all my family and friends and the completely awesome couples that I worked with this year, it was amazing!! The season is pretty much over for weddings, so I'll finish up some post production and then get busy on that website re-do and a few other things I simply haven't had the time for quite yet. I'm excited about some of the new ideas I've gotten and look forward to sharing even more with you very soon! :)

Enjoy the day tomorrow... and Black Friday too!! Gotta go bake a pie! LOL

~Valeen

Brrrrrrr!!

2008-11-24T19:55:00.002-05:00

Tracy and Bryan got married on Saturday and it was cold!! OMG!! It was a beautiful wedding and I had such fun shooting it, too! I've known Tracy for years and had the pleasure of meeting Bryan a few months ago and they are just wonderful together! They wanted some shots down by the Sea Wall in New Haven and if they were out there in the cold, so was I! :) It lasted all of about one minute, I think the wind chill was zero!

And one from the church... the girls all wore this fabulous shade of red, and the flowers were all red... my favorite!!!

Because it was so cold, we had to improvise on the portraits... in a booth at the restaurant where they had a little pre-reception party, I love this shot.

Thanks for letting us be part of your day!

~ Valeen