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Saturday, January 7th 2012
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Congrats to Sophia and Michael - their New Years wedding was quite the celebration! This was also our first time as a team capturing a wedding as the clock switched over. I would highly recommend the Peabody Essex Museum as a reception venue; not only was the staff friendly and helpful, but the architecture and ambiance made for some fantastic photography. I'd also like to say that you really haven't seen a wedding dance until you've been to a Greek wedding - happy new year everyone! Check out our Facebook page for even more shots!
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Wednesday, December 7th 2011
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Oh the weather outside is... fifty degrees and partly cloudy? It's been a warm holiday season thus far - so warm that we even had the priviledge of doing a beach session in the middle of November. It's going to be a fitting end when part of our studio crew heads to Florida to see family for Christmas.
Things are finally starting to slow down around here now that we're nearly halfway to January. It's been a busy fall and winter season and we want to thank all of our clients for keeping us moving for the past eight weeks or so. We wish the best to all of you going into the new year; keep an eye on our blog as we're beginning to ramp up for our first of the year promotions including a Valentine's Day special. Happy Holidays!
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Wednesday, October 26th 2011
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There may not have been a whole lot of sun in Ipswich, but at least we had a whole ton of space to photograph. Our first endeavor at the Crane Castle in Ipswich found us wandering what I can only imagine was 1/10th of the estate property with Shana & Lwidy - and what an estate it is! My only wish is that we could have gone inside, but after seeing some kids climbing the outdoor statues I can fully understand why no one is allowed through the front door. Congrats on your engagement you two! We look forward to getting some more awesome photos at the wedding next year!
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Wednesday, October 12th 2011
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We've never had a wedding where all of the shooting locations have been within a few miles of a each other - thanks to Luke and Breann for keeping it simple for us! The weather was on their side; following a nasty tropical storm and two weeks of rain, Luke and Breann somehow dodged the nasty weather and ended up with a cloudless day and temperatures pushing eighty! Congratulations you two - we hope Disney is treating you well.
Congrats are also in order for Lauren and Pete on their engagement! We had a great time at the Atkinson Country Club running around and getting some awesome pictures on a beautiful day. Pete was also kind enough to roll up in a gorgeous classic car and make my job a little easier. We'll have to raid the wine cellar when the wedding comes up next year.
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Saturday, August 27th 2011
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I'm pretty sure I never authorized anyone to end our summer - especially with a hurricane! While everyone has been stockpiling canned goods I've been in the studio putting in some serious photoshop hours. Here at the studio we're pretty convinced all that this incoming "tropical storm" will bring is slightly heavier then usual rain and some strong wind. Naturally we're still getting our digital ducks in a row today in the event that we lose power.
In other studio news, Dan and Kendra recently got engaged! We're sure this came as no surprise to those who know them but it's exciting nonetheless. Assuming he'd be retelling the story for some years to come, Dan popped the question at the top of a lighthouse in Newburyport (need to have a little style, right?) Interested parties can actually reserve the lighthouse for the evening and have their choice of a local restaurant deliver the food to them. Search google for "lighthouse dining Newburyport" and you'll be sure to find it; it's a one of a kind experience!
As you can see from the photos below it's been a PR kind of summer - we're looking to revamp our program for next year to provide you with even more ways to look your best so stay tuned. We're also just about finished getting a redesigned web ordering system in place so you'll be able to order images online with ease. Check back soon!
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Yesterday turned out to be a beautiful day for our beautiful young couple to get hitched at the Danversport Yacht Club! Congratulations to Kim and Steve and their army of a wedding party! I can't get over the fact that they had sixteen of their closest friends and family standing next to them for their vows - I would count myself lucky to have half that amount. It's quickly obvious after spending time with Kim and Steve why so many people were there to share their special day - the two of them are genuinely and wonderfully nice people.
Down to earth and accompanied by a bridal party with an attitude, the newlyweds and their guests made our job easy. We would also like to extend a personal thank you to both Kim and Steve for allowing us time to find the right exposure for sparklers. I hate to keep anyone away from a party like theirs, but they laughed and hung out patiently while we burnt through a handful of sparklers to get the perfect look (and refrained from burning down the Yacht Club).
We had a great time you two - we wish you all the best and can't wait until we have you back at our studio in a few weeks to check out your album! Speaking of which, it's time for a trip to CVS for some redbull to get down to that graphic design...
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As we mentioned last week, we recently had the pleasure of working with renowned children's author/illustrator Jeff Kinney(of "Diary of A Wimpy Kid" fame)! We just got approval to post a few of the images from that shoot so I wanted to share them with you and express how much fun we had. It's refreshing to meet someone so successful and yet so grounded - an especially profound kudos to Jeff for sticking with it for over twelve years before it took off. Clearly he has earned the success he is now enjoying.
I also found it interesting that he spends so much time now doing PR for his books that he hasn't had time to produce as much work as he used to. It's an interesting concept that one works very hard at something until it's at a point where they stop focusing on the work and start focusing on solely promoting the work. Fortunately he was able to dig up an old sketchbook and we got to see some of his doodles. Enjoy!
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We recently had the pleasure of working with renowned children's author/illustrator Jeff Kinney
(of "Diary of A Wimpy Kid" fame)!
As much fun as we had, we're only allowed to share certain images with you - while we wait for approval to come down the pipeline we'd like to share some of our product information with you that we've been running on Facebook.
The first product we'll be sharing in our series is our customized Image Boxes! Image Boxes for 4x6 and 5x7 proofs are available in two depths, and can be ordered with a vertical or horizontal opening. The smaller depth holds approximately 100 proofs and larger box holds approximately 250 proofs. A black elastic latch that stretches around a black screw post on the side of the box secures your investment and allows you to stand your box upright for presentation without the fear of the images tumbling everywhere! Our fabric insert also allows you to carefully remove images without the worry of damaging or otherwise harming your photos.
We'd also like to point out that we do all the custom graphic design work in house - no two image boxes are the same. Personalize your special day with a beautiful keepsake!
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Mini Cooper! The newest addition to the Callahan household couldn't avoid Rob's humor for long - and let me tell you, tiny little Cooper is absolutely adorable. Like most kids his age, he has a personality that always seems to reveal itself after looking back through the photos. We always like to joke around and ask who wears the pants in the relationship to determine how we pose family photographs. Initially Chris was nice enough to suggest that it depended on the day, but it was eventually decided that it was indeed the little man. It's his world, we're just in it.
Thank you Jen, Chris and Cooper - we had a great first trip to Wakefield.
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Wednesday, March 23rd 2011
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Well the snow melted just in time for the first day of spring - only for it to snow another few inches for good measure. Many of our clients ask us whether or not they should even be bothering with photography during this time of the year; after all, how could we be generating beautiful work when the scenery is less than desirable? I always like to get them focused on what they'll be wearing and where they would like to have the shoot take place. In the end they find out that the enjoyment they get out of the session and the fun we tend to have end up defining the space they are in - rarely is it the other way around.
We had the opportunity to be part of a few cool things the past few weeks - first, congrats to Brandon and Amanda on their engagement! Next we'd like to thank Kim & Tye for having us photograph their first open house next door to us at Urban Elements ! They had quite the turnout! Lastly, we attended a brunch function at the Tavern in the Square celebrating an 80th birthday party. I hope seventy people show up to my eightieth!
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While updating this entry I couldn't help but laugh at the first words of our last update; "No snow yet." I suppose I should have just kept my mouth shut. My apologies for not updating sooner - we should be keeping you more in the loop. To our defense we did have a heck of a time over the past few months getting our paperwork in order thanks to a few new programs we're running on our studio network. For those of you who have been running Parallels on your MAC for some time I applaud you - you are a better man than I. Those of you who have no idea what I'm referring to can start rejoicing now. Essentially the program allows an Apple computer to run the Windows OS in the background (which in turn allows Apple users to utilize PC-only programs). What an eyesore.
Although we don't have much to show you this time around (read: seventh circle of computer hell) we do feel it's one of the nicest images we've produced in quite some time. A client approached us about wanting to do some personal work for herself after dealing with some difficult times and we had a wonderful time working together and producing an outstanding body of work. While we take joy in reviewing our photography after a session has passed, sometimes we're aware of a keeper the second the shutter clicks. This was certainly one of those times. We hope she was as happy with the outcome as we were..
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Wednesday. December 15th 2010
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No snow yet and no rest either! We've been all over the place this past month working on everything from family photos to Christmas cards - and speaking of which: Happy holidays! For this update we're going to let the images do the talking (and we've uploaded quite a few more then we usually do) and get to work getting the last of our holiday prints ordered.
Happy holidays to you and yours from Lightshed Photography Studio - we'll see you in 2011!
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Saturday, November 13th 2010
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Growing up in the Berkshires I used to think you had more than a two week window for fall foliage but I've certainly been proven wrong this year. The trees definitely popped for a brief period but that window of time seems to grow slimmer with each passing year. Regardless, we got plenty of shooting done outdoors. Personally, the highlight came one day when we were scouting out places for family portraits. Looking for nice examples of the changing color we found ourselves in the Willows - quickly discouraged by the lack of leaves, Rob simply stated, "I guess that's why it's called the Willows huh?"
If you're looking to book a Christmas card session we would advise doing it very soon - November has almost filled and the turn around time isn't going to get any quicker as we approach the Holidays. We look forward to seeing you before the new year!
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Sunday, October 17th 2010
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Although we offered the service at our old studio in Peabody, we didn't imagine that headshots would become so popular upon our arrival in Salem. With the current influx of new businesses in town I guess we shouldn't be surprised, but we've had the good fortune of working with many established business owners as well. We've photographed everyone from lawyers to collection officers, authors, and graphic designers (bonus points if you can correctly match the headshots below with their occupation). Please inquire within, but only if you're looking for the following things: A) A relaxed atmosphere, B) comedic relief (my jokes never get old to me anyway) and C) all your headshot images provided in a custom designed CD case with full reproduction rights.
Families have also been a large part of our business the past few months - one of our favorite shoots was down at the wharf in Salem. If you're thinking about getting a family portrait taken, put some thought into the location; it doesn't occur to many people that we travel all over the place. Check out the Frigon family on the docks (pictured below) as well as cute little Neveah hamming it up for the camera!
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Tuesday, September 28th 2010
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Congratulations to Matt & Nicole! Due back soon from Italy, we had a blast with them up at Chesters in Lawrence, MA two weeks ago. A recently renovated mill, the furniture and architecture were a photographer's playground - it seemed like every time we turned a corner we got to try something entirely different. A tip of the hat to the entire day; it's rare that we get to work with a couple with such a unique vision for their wedding and they definitely pulled it off.
And from the other half of our team, congrats to Katie and Ryan! Set to the backdrop of Hamilton Hall in Salem, they had a beautiful ceremony followed by a party that lasted late into the evening. While there weren't any glowsticks (see last October's entry) there were glowing glasses and an airborne bridal party at one point! What a blast.
Much more coming soon - too many images to post in one update lately! Check back!
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For all the beautiful weather we've had, I feel as if we've spent too much of it indoors. It's surpisingly fitting; we New Englanders complain about the cold all winter and then spend half the summer in front of the air conditioner. Fortunately Julie and Tobey came along and gave us an excuse to go the beach for a few hours!
I can say in all honesty that we don't typically get kids as quick with a response as Tobey was. There was really no fooling or leading him - we more or less just followed him and let the shoot happen (while managing to squeeze in a number of PR shots for mom when he wasn't looking). He also has quite the fashion sense; keep your eyes peeled in the next ten years and you'll probably see him modeling the latest trends while telling you exactly how to feel about his clothing line.
So not only did we have a blast and get some great images, we also got to do it out of the office - thanks to Julie and Tobey spending some time with us!
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There was no stopping little Alex last weekend - if you put his two feet on the ground he was off. Most kids around that age are loving their new freedom of moving upright, but I can say with confidence that he would put most kids to shame. We slowly made our way through Salem towards the common where we ended with a few sets of him crawling around in the grass... even on all fours his enthusiasm had him crawling right out of the frame! We had a wonderful time Alex - we hope you and your folks did too!
Brusier, pictured below... well, there isn't much we need to say about Brusier. We were lucky enough to spend an hour or two with him last week as well. He's probably the cutest Boston Terrier we've ever seen. We're sure you'll love him too.
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This past Wednesday was the ribbon cutting with Kim Driscoll, the mayor of Salem! Thank you for those who were in attendence - we didn't really know what to expect since we've never done this sort of thing before. The only downside was that Rob was on vacation in NY and couldn't be here for the cutting with us - although, as we joked with the mayor, I think any one of us would have been glad to be in his position (minus the sunburn).
Check back soon - we're going to attempt to photoshop Rob into this picture - if the result is aesthetically pleasing, acceptable, not horrific, humourus we're going to post it up. Hope you all had a nice 4th!
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Wednesday, June 16th 2010
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At long last, welcome to main street! While our lack of involvement in our blog over the past few months may have indicated that we dropped off the face of the earth, we've actually been moving ourselves piece by piece to downtown Salem! Our gorgeous new space boasts two huge windows showcasing our work and the entrance to our brand new spot - not to mention, we rest on the main vein of Salem ( you can feel the train to Boston rumbling beneath us as proof). If you're looking for a tour of Salem, follow the Heritage Trail around downtown and when you're done make sure to follow it right to our doorstep!
Fresh from Florida, we got to show the Taylor family our new studio just days after it opened. It's been a few years since we'd seen them and this time they brought along a fourth addition: Jackson. We had a blast running around Salem with the little ones - check out some of the images below.
Check the site soon as we plan on adding a section that describes how exactly to park in town and get to us - see you soon!
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Wednesday, March 3rd 2010
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Ah, March. We're lucky we still have power to work on our imagery given the current state of things on the East Coast. As of Monday there were still numerous towns just north of here and in Southern Maine and New Hampshire without power for the fourth day in a row. Just the other day a friend of ours mentioned that he had resorted to charging his cell phone off of his laptop battery. I think I'll start backing up some our recent work to DVDs when I'm done here.
Pictured below are a few of the layouts from a new Boudoir series we're going to be offering for Valentine's and brides-to-be! A gift that is sure to be uniquely yours, our "Sassy N' Classy" series of books is sure to bring a coy smile to your companion's face. Along with this endeavor has come a new contact which will hopefully allow us to provide our clients with an on-sight MUA (Make-up artist/hair stylist)!
Lastly, February's bridal show went over extremely well - see us next at New England Bridal Affair's Bridal Show on the 21st! We'll be at the Radisson in Chelmsford all day with a selection of our newest work so prospective brides should definitley stop by - we hope to see you there.
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Thursday, January 21st 2010
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Happy New Year! We've been busy as can be over the past few weeks. Our most recent undertaking has been volunteering for the Northeast Animal Shelter in Salem. If you've been looking for any four-legged friends you owe it to yourself and them to swing by the shelter and see all these adorable animals for yourself. One of New England's largest no-kill shelters, NEAS has been around since 1976 and has placed over 90,000 dogs and cats in loving homes. Although we can't claim credit for every image on the site, we do our best to lighten the load for the rest of the volunteers and get some images taken and posted online. Please pay them a visit at www.northeastanimalshelter.org .
We'll also be making an appearance at Salvatore's in Lawrence, MA for an upcoming Bridal Show hosted by the New England Bridal Affair. Stop by on February 21st and say hello! More information coming soon. |
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Wednesday, December 3rd 2009
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As I sit at Starbucks sipping my Mocha doubleshot I feel like returning to my fine art college roots. Then again, most of my fine-art colleagues wouldn't be caught dead paying more than a dollar fifty for coffee (read: starving artist). I guess the yuppie culture absorbed me before I had the opportunity to fully embrace poverty.
On a related note, some of my fine art work can be found hanging at the North Adams Regional Hospital's current exhibition now through April of 2010. The seaside landscapes are a derivative of my thesis work from the Maine College of Art. I'd tell you more, but I'd rather you go see the show and read my artist statement there. The images are hanging on the 3rd floor next to the administrative offices for those of you who have the time and means to get there. For those that don't but just can't pass up on an opportunity to read about my work you can always email me here for more information.
Lastly, as much as I would LOVE to post the images from our Christmas card sessions, I just can't until everyone has had time to send them out and allow relatives to be surprised by what they see. Maybe if all you dedicated blog readers are good this year that will be our Christmas gift to you.
Below are some of the images from the gallery showing at NARH.
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Monday, October 19th 2009
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I can't really say we've photographed a wedding in which the bride and groom finish their first dance with glow stick performance reminiscent of a club rave. Or with a full bridal party paying homage to a "Superstar" movie moment in which questionable dancing is made more interesting by a healthy application of "The Robot." I also can't say I've been to a wedding that has gotten me as chocked up as this one.
Family in Indiana just seems to have a more intimate feel. There was an almost palpable sense of love in the church as the father of the bride tried to get through a prepared speech, only to frequently pause so as not to lose his composure (as seen below). While it's always our job as photographers to record these moments, we're sometimes lucky enough for it to also be a privilege.
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Thursday, October 1st 2009
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I'm pretty sure that we scored the last nice weekend in September to do this beach shoot - granted we had a significant amount of wind, but we stuck close to the sand dunes. The real trick was trying to get Mitchell to calm down and pay attention for more than a few seconds. Apparently close family members refer to him as "The Ballistic Mitchell." It's fitting!
Lately our thoughts have turned more to the cooler temperatures inhabiting our evenings out here on the North Shore. We'd love to shoot outside all year round but the climate is slowly but surely forcing us indoors. If you're looking to do something outside we're certainly willing but need brave clientele.
Speaking of the cool weather, I'd suggest getting a hold of us soon to book your Family Christmas Card session - I'll have another update shortly with some examples from last year. We've got some fun new things planned as well so stay tuned!
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Monday, September 14th 2009
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After going to school in Maine I was surprised to find that I hadn't been through this particular portion of York: Tim & Kate Estey tied the knot at the beautiful Dockside Guest Quarters on the fifth of September. Given the weather this month, the two were blessed with a rare weekend of clear skies and beautiful summer weather more indicative of July than September. After a touching toast, we were lucky to catch a glimpse of a slightly less traditional mother-son dance that defied the sometimes stuffy tradition of the slow dance. Microphone in hand, Tim proudly boasted, "What can I say - my mother and I roll in the same circles," after the applause died down. We hope you enjoyed your honeymoon in Sonoma Country; it was a pleasure photographing your wedding.
Over the weekend we were finally able to catch another break in the clouds to photograph Becca's senior photos. Touring through downtown Salem we certainly didn't miss much. The evening ended in the Salem Bay next to the Willows for a "Trash the dress" session that was backlit by a beautiful north shore sunset. Not a group to be deterred by the brisk September air, the group of us descended into the surf and had a blast. Thanks for being such a trooper Becca, the images look great!
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Thursday, August 27th 2009
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Nothing like a little walk in the park - even if allergies are present and the humidity is off the charts! We had the good fortune of playing with Alex, Jackson and Carly late last week and got some wonderful shots down in the Willows; those kids are troopers. What started off as a stroll in the park (seen below) ended up in the shallow water next to the Salem Yacht Club. We even brought along our talking duck, as shown in the last image in this update. We go to that length for you.
Also seen below is the adorable Isabell - we couldn't take a bad picture! This wee one was all smiles from the minute she came in the door and showed her daddy girl colors by smiling for dad for the better part of an hour as we easily took a hundred pictures of her. Great job Isabell!
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Wednesday, August 5th 2009
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Well the CultureFest was a blast! We met quite a few people and made a ton of contacts with local artists. It's only their third annual festival so if you missed it this year I would certainly consider checking it out next July. Up next on our public activities roster is the Jazz Fest in the Salem Willows. That'll be happening the weekend of August 15th - if you missed the last one, you owe it to us to come stop by! Not to mention that five lucky guests to the Culturefest won a free session with us!
Below are a few images from a prom that we shot a few months ago never quite made it into the updates - just wanted to share them with you. Also keep your eyes open for an update including a number of the selected images being submitted to the North Adams Regional Hospital gallery showing. It'll include a bunch of landscapes from the Gloucester/Rockport area.
We hope to see you at the Jazz Festival!
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Just a quick notice to let you all know that we can be found at this year's CultureFest in the Salem Common this weekend. Join us this Saturday from 10 AM to 8PM or Sunday from 10 AM to 6 PM to view some of our latest work and for a chance to win a free session with us! Plan to make a day of it; there's going to be plenty to do!
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Wednesday, June 24th 2009
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If rain on your wedding day is good luck then Katie and Riverton Pires are going to have a long happy life together! As shown in the images below, the weather was certainly not on our side this past Sunday - but as the DJ will attest to, the Pires/Doucette family was not going to let a little rain ruin their party.
You've never seen anyone hit the dance floor like these folks did. Four hours into the reception the dance floor was still packed. Congratulations Katie & Riverton - we wish you all the best in everything yet to come!
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We'd like to take a moment to congratulate Karma and Matt on their recent engagement! It was a blast doing their engagement photography and, as seen below, we certainly had some unique locations for imagery! You'll be seeing shots from their wedding right here in just about four short months!
You can also look forward to seeing more of our personal work hanging in the North Adams Regional Hospital later this year! Our images of the ocean caught the eye of their local curator and they've generously allowed us the opportunity to hang a fairly large collection on their walls! We'll keep you posted.
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Thursday, April 30th 2009
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A bit hectic lately, but still time to catch a sunrise or two over the ocean. The image below was taken at the Willows in Salem Easter morning around 5:45 AM. I think it's one of the few times that the east coast of Boston is as calm as the small town of Peru that Kendra calls home. One of the nifty things about water is that if you take a long exposure of it (in this case, about thirty seconds) it records more like mist on the image.
Speaking of Peru, (in Indiana) the puppies below are a brand new litter that Kendra's mother raised. These miniature pinchers are adorable, and each one certainly has a personality all its own. The little guy in the red collar at the bottom of this update only gave Kendra a split second to photograph him before leaping out of the barrel and sprinting torwards his brothers.
For more information on the puppies shown below, please visit www.sunrisepuppyacres.com .
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Saturday, March 28th 2009
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The layer of frost no longer forming on our cars should be a clear indication that spring has finally arrived; if that weren't enough, Kendra is insistent upon unleashing "spring cleaning" in our studio. This may also have something to do with me hiding in our office and updating our blog - but I digress.
In the spirit of spring renewal we are updating our website with a few more sections that will help clarify what we do here and what to expect upon coming in. However, we are only human and there may be another portion that better explains our credentials and allows us to toot our own horn.
Pictured below is one of the images we'll be posting in our "What to Expect" section. More coming soon.
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Saturday, March 14th 2009
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Who would have thought that advertising could be so expensive? Work on our Hospice benefit continues in the background this month as we search for affordable avenues for marketing our effort.
Fortunately for us word of mouth has worked out quite nicely - and how could it not with an adorable little girl like Scarlett in front of our lens? Scarlett is one of those children that makes everyone smile; mostly because she never stops smiling herself. She was up for being photographed in everything from the tutu pictured below to her father's chef coat. Not every child can make it through forty-five minutes of pictures without breaking a sweat, but she certainly took it like a champ.
We also kicked this month off with our first Senior Representative shoot of the year! It can certainly be said that the male photographers of this studio didn't have half the style that Amber has during her high school years. Dubbed the "Ed Hardy" pants, the outfit below worked perfectly with the industrial site used for the outdoor portion of the shoot. Talk about some fantastic images.
Stay tuned for the next update to see what else we've been cooking up the first quarter of this year!
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Saturday, February 14th 2009
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Happy Valentine's Day! Preperations for the Hospice benifit have been moving along nicely. Below is an exert from the promotion that will be hitting the printing press within the week:
During the month of _____, Lightshed Photography Studio will be
offering a special discounted photography package. All proceeds
from this promotion will be donated to Hospice, in loving memory
of one of our proprietor’s grandfathers, Matthew Czarnik.
“We cannot begin to mention each of the caregivers who came
to our home, for fear of inadvertently excluding someone. We can,
however, recall each and everyone and their personal impact on
dad’s life as well as our own. Every day was a unique experience
for us and personalized in a way that made us feel as though we
were the only family receiving services. We learned so many
things along the way, both practical and spiritual. We learned that
it is OK to assure a dying family member that he is never, never
alone. Most importantly we learned that we could have a positive
impact on the way that a loved one leaves this world”.
-Cynthia Mendel, Daughter
Participants in our fundraiser will receive a forty minute portrait
session and an 8/10 print in exchange for the donation of $100.
One-hundred percent of this money will be donated to Hospice.
Please contact Lightshed Photography Studio at (413)281-0123 or
email info@lightshedphoto.com. Your donation will ease the
suffering of those who are experiencing their final hours.
In other news, Shana (pictured below as Ms. June) is surprising her boyfriend with one of our custom 8.5 x 11 calendars for Valentine's Day. Twelve months of Shana is sure to put a smile on his face - check back at the end of 2009 for a series of special promotions we'll be running that is sure to nicely supplement the usual Valentine's routine of flowers and chocolate.
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Wednesday, January 21st 2009
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We are dedicating this entry to Dan's grandfather, Matthew S. Czarnik (1926 - 2009). Words cannot express how deeply sorry we are for his loss. A man of many talents, Matt spent his time working on everything from engines to plumbing to woodworking. After coming home from WWII, he focused on his family and raising his daughter Cynthia who would in turn eventually raise the young boy shown in the photo below. Dan and his grandfather were extremely close while he was growing up and while he will be greatly missed, Dan hopes to someday pass along the love and nurturing he received to his grandchildren.
It's certainly worth noting the value of what our studio does in the image below. As professional photographers we are all challenged with the task of pricing our work to enrich the lives of others while providing us with a means to make a living. Although Dan has had this image for many years, it's value today is truly priceless.
Please keep an eye on this site as we are currently putting together a fundraiser in his memory.
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Sunday, December 14th 2008
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When you're young you believe that grownups call the shots - you wait years until you finally have the ability to tell someone else what to do. We believe you're allowed to do this for a brief period of time until you have kids and realize that sometimes the little ones make the decisions. A few weeks ago we truly learned what it meant to let two newborns run the show. Layla and Hannah came into our studio with their own plan and you've never seen so many adults in one room working around an infant's schedule. Although young ones can be fickle with their decisions to play nice for the photographer, we certainly got a chance to capture many moments of these beautiful young girls. We hope they can look back on these images years from now and realize how truly loved they are.
Happy Holidays everyone - may you be as blessed as the many families we've photographed over the past few months.
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Saturday, October 11th 2008
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We used to be upset when we saw Valentine's Day merchandise in stores two days after Christmas, but here we are preparing Christmas cards in October! Fortunately we have a relatively easy job; taking a bad picture of Rudy is nearly impossible. Described by all those who know her as a "ham," (including her mother) she reminds us of why we started a studio in the first place. We love you Rudy, even though you enjoy running around the studio more than getting your picture taken.
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Saturday, September 13th 2008
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Although we typically like to speak to what we've been doing recently, we'd like to take a moment to congratulate Riverton and Katie on their beautiful baby boy! Katie can be found in our July 1st blog entry about a month before little Giovanni entered her world. Best of luck to all three of you - as you can see in the images below, we think they'll do just fine.
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Tuesday, August 19th 2008 |
To think that there was actually a point in our lives where summer meant sitting down and relaxing - our last trip to Indiana proved to be around seven straight days of photography. This is in no way a complaint; we had a wonderful time sharing in Katelyn's wedding. Ironically, the first blog post on this site features two of her senior photographs from only last June! Congratulations!
Not featured in today's update is some of the faculty photography we did for a fellow friend and photographer Bridgette Harmon. While not our particular cup of tea as far as photography projects go, we certainly have a lot of respect for the amount of work she has put into her business as it as grown tremendously over the past few years. We can only hope she continues to be as successful as she has been!
It's gotten to the point where I can no longer include photographs from the multiple projects we always seems to have on our plate. However, I love sharing and discussing our work so please stop by the studio to view all of our current projects - we'd love to have you!
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Tuesday, July 1st 2008 |
Following our Open House, June has been our busiest month thus far. We now focus our attention towards creating new images and using our new studio to its full potential. Our filing cabinet has recently been updated with a group of new blank files that will hopefully someday belong to you! The three following images are from our most recent maternity shoot. As seen directly below, Kendra fashions drapery around our guest, Katie, who takes the opportunity to quench her thirst as she awaits more posing instructions.
We look forward to our next session with Katie and her new-born child in late August!
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Thursday, June 19th 2008 |
The open house was a success! On June 15th we opened our doors to numerous visitors who came to view our studio as well as some of our recent work. Our guests were treated to a digital presentation of the studio getting it's feet off the ground as well as a large amount of our photographic works including the book Rob designed from his trip to Israel. There is a very good chance this event will turn into an annual affair - after all, everyone needs an excuse to have a little Chardonnay once in awhile.
Earlier this week we were also privileged to be part of the North Shore Mothers of Multiples 50th Banquet dinner. For those of you unfamiliar with NSMOM, the organization helps support mothers who have been blessed with twins, quadruplets, and so forth. Held at the Danvers Port Yacht Club, we had the relatively easy task of making this event appear beautiful. I would personally recommend stopping by their lower-level restaurant for those in this area who haven't been.
Below are some images from the open house.
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Thursday, May 29th 2008 |
Despite preperations for the open house taking up nearly all of our time, we've still managed to squeeze in a few photo shoots. We've recently been studying up on one of the latest trends in popular media today: the grunge effect. Not to be confused with the grunge movement of the early nineties, the style is rooted in a grittier, granier and overall dirtier look to imagery. However, with a little bit of effort, the style can be tweaked to produce a number of different looks. Luckily for us, Deena has a strong athletic background - after walking around for an hour in heels she was still able to spring into the air a few dozen times for the last shot on this blog entry.
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Tuesday, May 13th 2008 |
The long awaited date is finally set! On Sunday, the 15th of June we will be holding our first open house to commemorate the opening of the studio! We are currently in "negotiations" (if you will) with Peabody Town Hall to get everything verified as you need a license to do pretty much anything as a business in the city. Invitations (the back of which can be seen below) are currently being printed and should be arriving at doorsteps within the next week and a half. For those of you we do not know and who may be interested in attending you can always get directions from the "Contact" portion of this website - you are all invited and we would love to have you!
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Saturday, April 19th 2008 |
As promised we've included a few snapshots of the book Rob has been working on for the past three months. The images encompass a trip he took to Israel from April of 07 until May of 07. Returning with a few thousand images, editing them down has proved to be a long and daunting task. Kudos to Rob for sticking with it and producing what has proven to be a beautiful layout. Stop by the studio sometime within mid-May to see the hardcover copy.
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Friday, March 28th 2008 |
It's worth noting that airplanes can be held on the runway for in excess of forty minutes waiting for the first class beverage service to arrive. Other than that, our recent trip to Indiana was a success. A layover in Chicago meant that I finally got to see the windy city - I'm amazed that the downtown section looks even smaller then Boston from ten thousand feet up. We also got to witness some really interesting ice formations over lake Michigan (see below). Also below - a shot of Kendra and her favorite miniature pincher, Rusty, as well as a snapshot of Chris from a recent photo shoot.
The updated gallery is almost set to launch. With it will come a sneak peek at the coffee table book Rob has been working on for the past few months which highlights his trip to Israel. Don't miss it!
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Tuesday, February 26th 2008 |
Don't let our recent lackadaisical approach to our blog fool you - we've been going nonstop for quite some time now. Over the past few months we've managed to get our studio to a status of about 90% completion. We're also planning an update that will include alot of the work we've done for Brown Publishingh Network, a publishing company based out of Boston. It'll be nice to upload the collection as we've shot about fifteen childrens books for them and only just recently received permission to publish the work online. Here's a few images to entertain you until we get the next few hefty updates online - check back soon!
The image below is a recent shot of our waiting room, along with some sneak peeks at past and recent projects.
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Thursday, August 30th 2007 |
Over the past few weeks our studio has truly come much closer to fruition - what was once an eighty-foot long space with nothing but dust and chipped paint has evolved into much more than that. Weeks one and two saw the walls go up while weeks three and four saw them painted and the doors installed. As joyful as the painting was, (read: pain and monotony) we look forward to having the carpet installed and burying our concrete floor with something slightly more aesthetically pleasing.
Assuming that those of you reading this blog are clients or friends, you can find us at American Joe's Bar and Grill while not working on the studio. Originally responsible for employing 2/3 of our staff, our third and final business partner has joined Kendra and I in the fun world of food service. Hopefully after a few hundred more meals are served you will be joining us at Lightshed Photography Studio's grand opening, tentatively scheduled for early fall. Feel free to stop by Joe's and tip us out 20-30% until then.
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Friday, June 29th 2007 |
After completing the Hallmark Institute of Photography's intense 10-month program it was time to begin our studio - but first a trip to Indiana was in order for some much needed R&R. While much of our time was spent swimming and relaxing, we did manage to squeeze three separate photo shoots (across all five days) into our time off. Much to our budget's thanks, Kendra's friends and family needed a good deal of photographic work done and we were happy to pick up our first few jobs as an official "team." Below are two images from some senior photography we did for Kendra's cousin and some "less formal" photos of the three of us unwinding.
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