So this might be old news by now - but I didn't have time to update things over the holidays. Adam and Janells wedding was easily the highlight of my career so far - big words, but I mean it. Sleep deprivation, $2k camera body down the drain, lacerated finger, and a trip that was over in the blink of an eye - all made right by the greatest friends, the most beautiful country, and a sterling new marriage. I can't wait to go back.

in the meantime, check out the new galleries HERE and HERE

As part of my wedding packages, I include an "engagement shoot" with the couple well before the wedding day. I apologize for the seemingly unnecessary use of quotations, but in all fairness it's not really an engagement shoot. By the time the couple is in front of the camera, most of the time they've already been engaged for some time so it's really more of a portrait shoot with an engaged couple as I'm not the type of shooter to coerce people into reenacting the event in front of the camera for novelty. Semantics aside, the real purpose of the shoot (selfishly) is to get comfortable with the bride and groom to be long before the wedding, to loosen up, goof off, and try to lose the stigma of that creepy guy following you around with a camera. If it were up to me, I'd never shoot a wedding without a session beforehand, because that quick 1hr before the big day makes an enormous difference in the quality of the images during the wedding. It transforms the relationship between me and the couple from a professional one, to a more colloquial one, and I think the difference is made evident in the final selections.

We did the same with our wedding photographer, and it was great to experience things from the other side of the lens. Annie and I were a little awkward in front of the camera at first, but by the end of the shoot we were both pretty comfortable with how our photographer worked and we learned how to interact with him or just ignore him and enjoy each other in front of the camera. Not only was it reassuring come the wedding day when we could just relax while did his job in the background, but it was equally reassuring as a photographer myself to see the value in my own method.

So, all that boring stuff being said, I made some pictures with a lovely couple last week in the bitter cold; they were absolute champs about it. I was fortunate enough to have a good friend of mine, Benjamin Bisson come assist with lights. Benjamin was one of my groomsmen, and one the wedding day and our engagement shoot he got wrangled into doing the same job for our photographer, so i was pretty confident in his ability to be a voice activated light stand. Despite the weather though, we managed to make some great images; here are a few:

Had some work in Camden last week, first time back in town since CIFF. This time  'round though, the weather was not nearly as accommodating and the atmosphere lacked the same excitement and festiveness as the warmer months. Maybe it's just because it's sad to see all the wooden boats under wraps. Anyway, some photos:

It's a special Tuesday - the first of 2012. And as per custom, here's my annual playlist. Nothing groundbreaking here, but these are the tracks that painted my 2011 and made the immeasurable amount of time spent on airplanes, in cars, and behind a computer screen more enjoyable - save for one, which I have only really listened to once - and to be honest, I didn't really pay that much attention to it at the time as I was distracted by my outstandingly radiant wife as we danced together for the first time.

Download the mix: HERE