Shira & Jason's Engagement

A couple of weeks ago, my very good friend Jason told me about his plan to propose to his girlfriend Shira. His plan was to propose to her at the Fulton Ferry Landing near the Brooklyn Bridge at approximately 8:30 p.m. and then take her to the River Cafe for dinner.

Jason asked me if I could "surreptitiously" photograph the engagement so that he could surprise her with the pictures the next day. Of course I agreed.

In preparation for the shoot, Jason and I went to the Fulton Ferry Landing the week prior to check out the lighting conditions in the evening. What we found made for a very challenging photo shoot. There were NO LIGHT SOURCES on the pier of any kind. No lamp posts, nothing. The only thing providing any light at all was the moon. Needless to say, we could barely read our watches in the darkness.

I knew immediately that I would have to shoot at a slow shutter speed with a tripod in order to capture the lights of the Manhattan skyline. In addition, I would need to use a powerful flash in order to illuminate Shira and Jason from a distance of approximately 40-50 feet.

The equipment I used for the shoot was a Canon 5D camera, 70-200mm f/2.8L IS lens, a Canon Speedlite 580EX II flash, an external battery pack for the flash and a Bogen Manfrotto tripod. The external battery pack was necessary in order to provide fast recycling times for the flash in the 45-50 degree weather.

Jason proposed to Shira on Monday night and it went perfectly. She was so excited that she did not even notice the flashes going off. It was so dark that I had to quickly focus the lens manually for each shot as I changed focal length because the camera's autofocus did not work accurately in such low light at such a distance.

Here's a quick shot sequence:







Here's Jason giving me the "thumbs up". Congratulations Shira and Jason!!!



Photo info:
All photos in the sequence were taken at 1/6 sec., f/5.6, ISO 800, manual mode, ETTL flash at -2/3 flash compensation.
1) 70 mm focal length
2) 155 mm focal length
3) 155 mm focal length
4) 200 mm focal length
5) 90 mm focal length, slight panning.

Sister and brother

I took a couple of quick portraits for their parents.

Jackie & Wade's Wedding

Recently, I made my way to Connecticut to shoot Jackie and Wade's wedding. What a fun couple they were to work with! I thoroughly enjoyed covering their wedding day.

We started the day at Jackie's parent's house where she planned to get ready. I got there a little early so I took the opportunity to take some pictures of her dress, flowers and other things.

Wade did a great job with the engagement ring.



Jackie picked out a beautiful bouquet:




A fun shot of Jackie's shoes with my fisheye lens.






Jackie's mom and sister helping her get ready.


Learning to bustle the dress.


What a cute flower girl. She did a great job!


Jackie making her grand entrance.








Jackie looks so happy in this picture.












Proud father dancing with his daughter.


Wade dancing with his mom.






Jackie dancing with Wade's dad.



Welcome to the family, Jackie!


Sing along.


Congratulations Jackie and Wade!

Cousins

This beautiful, happy, baby girl was only four months old when these pictures were taken. In the first two pictures she's smiling at her 2 year old cousin.




I love how the older cousin looks so excited to be holding her younger cousin and taking a picture with her.



Photo info: All photos taken with Canon 5D and 50mm f/1.4 lens, manual mode, no flash, window light.
1) 1/125 sec., f/2.0, ISO 200
2) 1/125 sec., f/2.0, ISO 200
3) 1/80 sec., f/2.0, ISO 200

Clouds on a breezy day

Photo info:
Canon 5D @ 44mm with 24-70mm f/2.8L lens, 1/800 sec., f/8.0, ISO 100, manual mode, high contrast black and white conversion

Joanne & Tom's Wedding

Here are just a few pictures from Joanne and Tom's wedding on Long Island. By the way, Tom's a huge New York Yankees fan. Note the Yankees emblem spotlighted on the dance floor in the first picture and the Yankees themed figurine in the third.








Photo info:
1) Canon 5D @ 43mm with 24-70mm f/2.8L lens, 1/40 sec., f/2.8, ISO 1600, manual mode, no flash.
2) Canon 5D @ 50mm with 50mm f/1.4 lens, 1/60 sec., f/2.2, ISO 1600, manual mode, no flash.
3) Canon 5D @ 50mm with 50mm f/1.4 lens, 1/30 sec., f/2.8, ISO 1600, manual mode, no flash.
4) Canon 5D @ 50mm with 50mm f/1.4 lens, 1/40 sec., f/1.4, ISO 800, manual mode, no flash.

NYC Pics #6: Manhattan Municipal Building

The Manhattan Municipal Building is located at 1 Centre Street at the intersection of Chambers Street and Centre Street. At 40 stories tall, it is one of the largest governmental buildings in the world. Construction of the building was completed in 1915.





Photo info:
1) Canon 5D @ 24mm, 1/640 sec, f/7.1, ISO 200, manual mode, high contrast b&w conversion
2) Canon 5D @ 35mm, 1/80 sec, f/14, ISO 200, manual mode, b&w conversion

Man smoking near subway

Photo info: Canon 5D @ 35mm, 1/160 sec., f/10, ISO 100, manual mode.

NYC Pics #5: Statue of Atlas

These pictures are of the statue of Atlas at Rockefeller Center facing Fifth Avenue, opposite St. Patrick's Cathedral, in Midtown Manhattan.