Last July I had the distinct honor to travel to Tanzania Africa with 14 other wedding photographers. It was an absolutely amazing trip on so many levels. The purpose of the trip was to raise awareness in the Wedding and Portrait Photography industry about Thirst Relief and the need for clean drinking water. We had so many sponsorships for this trip to make it a success. We will be forever grateful for your generosity! This trip touched all of us in different ways. When I first came home from the trip, I was pretty much speechless for about two weeks. It hit me deep in my heart of hearts and I just wasn’t sure how to process it all and to translate the impact to others. I am still finding ways to describe the experience. One thing I do know is that something in me has been ignited to continue helping those in need in Africa.

I am headed back this March to Nairobi, Kenya which is north of Tanzania, on a missions trip with the college ministry of my church. This is a very exciting opportunity for me again to document the people of Africa and the needs/challenges that they face. We are hoping this trip begins a long term relationship with various ministries over there in connection with the Kibera Slums.

Back to Tanzania and Thirst Relief: If you haven’t already please visit Thirst Relief’s website to learn more about the need for clean drinking water in Africa and other parts of the world. The statistics are staggering when you read about illness and death related to dirty water. This trip gave us a chance to share with the world what we saw and experienced. Grace Ormonde of Wedding Style Magazine was one of our sponsors that enabled us to get our message out (especially to the Wedding Photography world). This Spring/Summer 2010 Issue has a feature spread about our trip and Thirst Relief.

I was fortunate enough to have one of my images published in the spread.

We all captured so many beautiful images! I am so thankful to have been a part of this group.

To read the article in its entirity please follow this link: Quenching the Thirst.

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You will recognize them from their engagement pictures we photographed this past October. I can’t say enough good things about their families and friends. Between the location, participants and guests, this wedding was perfect. New Years Day was a very cold day, so we where fortunate to stay indoors. There was so much activity going on throughout the day, that we were always finding new moments to capture.

I had my good friend and photographer, Dan Speicher, helping me with this wedding. It was great to have Dan along as usual. He always manages to capture unique moments and a different perspective from me.

Here are a few of my favorites.

This was the first time we met face to face and the pleasure was all mine. This was the second cold weather engagement shoot for me over the past month. It changes things up and enables us to create great pictures with a different backdrop and overall feel.

Here are a few of my favorite pictures from the session.

Enjoy these few of my favorites from the shoot!  

They also have two really big, I mean REALLY BIG cats. Matt is highly allergic, which is quite comical. He loves his Randi though! He was such a trooper to allow the cats in the photos, per Randi’s request. Never questioned or complained True love for sure!

Thank you Randi and Matt for the wonderful evening we had on the North Shore and for your Engagement Photographs. Also thank you for the trip to the Southside (even though Matt lost me) to meet the cats. Can’t wait to see you again soon!

Enjoy these few favorites of mine.

We were at the Rivers Club for the Ceremony and Celebration on Saturday. Amanda of The Rivers Club coordinated everything perfectly and had a stellar event. Lisa Johnson of Kiss and Makeup worked her usual magic on Veronica and the girls. Finally, Jeremy Ganss was there to mix the music all night (phenomenal job as always).

Veronica and Jason planned an intimate wedding of about 85 guests, which made it even more sincere. All of their close family and friends were there to witness their vows. The rain held off as we went between the Rivers Club and the Omni WIlliam Penn for some family formal photographs. The Omni’s lobby is an excellent backdrop for these family images.

Veronica and Jason are a lovely couple, that I am happy to have met. I can’t wait to share all of the images with them upon their return from the honeymoon. In the meantime here are a few of my favorites from the day.

As Jennifer walked down the aisle, Jason’s joy was so apparent in his eyes and his stance. It was beautiful. Jennifer’s father gave her to him and they were married.

After the ceremony we headed to the reception hall at the Cathedral Room @ St. Nicholas which was an excellent venue for cocktail hour and the celebration. Excellent toasts, meals and entertainment filled the hall throughout the evening.

Towards the end of the night, Jennifer’s father came out and sang, “I loved her first” to the couple. It was another touching moment with three of them in the spotlight. A great finale to a wonderful day.

Jennifer, Jason and family thank you for having us a long! Enjoy Jamaica and we will talk to you soon.

Here are a few of my favs from the day.

My assistant for the day, Lin-Li grabbed this shot. I love it!

Anyways, we had beautiful weather and backdrop for their shoot. I look forward to the wedding next June. Enjoy these few images while we get the gallery ready to release to you. Thanks again for meeting me and helping me find my way around! Enjoy and talk to you soon.

I love the onlookers here. People watching in NYC is the absolute best.