One of the main reasons I moved to New Hampshire was being in the woods in Autumn. Simply wonderful. Naturally, I love doing portrait sessions among the colorful trees. The Weeks family also wanted to take advantage of nature’s beauty for their portraits this year, so we met at Profile Falls in Bristol.

Last year, I shot some Christmas-themed photos for them. This year, however, they wanted most of the photos to be of their cute daughter, Hannah. They live in Plymouth, so Bristol made a nice in-between point for us to meet. Also, Profile Falls is a short, easy walk in the woods from the parking area (shorter distances to lug equipment is always a bonus).

Despite it being a little chilly on that late October afternoon, Hannah did a marvelous job. I work in a school and enjoy being around kids. Being able to have fun with them usually makes the session go much easier. As we went along, Hannah got more comfortable with being the focus of attention and started hamming it up some.

The results came out quite nice, I think. Of course, any day spent taking photos in Autumn woods in New Hampshire is a good day.

Mother Nature took care of the decorating when Maggie and Tony got married in Rollins Park in Concord, NH. The trees wore their best colors on the late October Sunday morning. Despite the day being chilly and damp, the gazebo where the two exchanged vows was filled the warmth of love.

Maggie and Tony decided on a simple ceremony with just their children and a few close friends. Emotions flowed as they each talked about their individual journeys that brought them here. Together.

After the ceremony, the kids played in the gazebo while Maggie, Tony, and I went to get some portraits. Rollins Park has some wonderful settings with a stone bridge and beautiful trees. Of course, you have to be even more careful about the backgrounds so you don’t get odd things in the background.

I’ve known Maggie for several years, so it was a pleasure to shoot her wedding. It turns out that Tony and I were in the same Army division, although years apart. I wish them all the best in their new lives together and hope they have a bright and happy future.

People love to photograph New Hampshire’s covered bridges and, of course, take advantage of them for portrait settings as well. For the Robert family, they were a natural fit since Chris is a bridge engineer. On yet another gorgeously sunny Sunday, we met at Rowell’s Bridge in Hopkinton.

Creating some nice family portraits with two small children can often be a bit of a challenge. Playing is so much more fun than posing for photos. However, I love kids and have experience substitute teaching in elementary schools. It’s fun just to play right along with them while trying to coax them into positions for good photos. More often than not, catching shots while they’re playing around winds up with a few wonderful images.

Norah, the youngest, bubbled over with energy and giggles. Maddy liked posing and even helped me pose her parents for a few shots of just them. That was pretty funny watching her giver directions to her parents (that they took quite well, I might add). Norah stood beside me and pretended to take photos of her parents.

It’s always a pleasure to have a portrait session with cute kids and a beautiful family.

The hills and mountains dressed in their finest Autumn colors, the sun beaming down from a clear sky, what could be a better setting for a wedding? Andrea and Ryan made a wonderful choice when they picked Dexter’s Inn, on a backroad in Sunapee, for their celebration. Mother Nature gave them a gorgeous gift as well. Although they live in Colorado, they decided to get married in New Hampshire where much of Ryan’s family lives. That, of course, meant some traveling for other friends and family, but Fall in New England is well worth it.

Weddings at New England country inns always make terrific places for photography. Quaint rooms, rock walls, and stately maples offer a bounty of beautiful photo spots. For example, Andrea and Ryan exchanged notes before the ceremony. Andrea read hers in a pink-cushioned sitting area in her room while Ryan read his sitting on a rock wall under a maple overlooking the colorful valley. I loved the romantic feel of both places while each was filled with emotion by the other’s words.

The ceremony, while simple, filled the valley stretched out in front of them with love and joy. Smiles shone as brightly as the afternoon sun. And then, with a kiss, the two were one.

Sometimes things work out just right to get excellent photos. A hill, the right time of day, a clear sky, and Andrea’s long veil came together perfectly to create some marvelous images. I’ve also found a lighting setup that works well for the large white tents used for many receptions. With strobes attached to the poles, I can run around all over and get nice lighting with different looks. This allowed for me to get some terrific photos during the toasts, speeches, and dancing.

I was glad to be a part of this beautiful day and wish Andrea and Ryan all the best in their future lives together!

Photography gift certificates make wonderful presents. (Hint, hint – Christmas is peeking around the corner.) Last year, Kim’s niece bought her a gift certificate for a family portrait session because it had been a while since the last time they had some done. Also, one of their sons had just joined the Marines.

We met at the Conservation Center, which is a beautiful natural area along the Merrimack River on the the north side of Concord, NH. Although the leaves had started to change, there wasn’t much color here on this lovely early October afternoon. Despite that, the light streaming through the trees and the tan Autumn grasses still made terrific settings for photos.

Just having finished boot camp, Wyatt wanted to wear his uniform in some of the photos. I like doing portraits of military people because I served ten years in the Army myself. Of course, we had to get some shots of him with the proud Mama and Papa in addition to ones of the whole family. People enjoy having some photos where everyone is dressed a bit nicer – but like to get casual and relaxed before long. They changed into jeans and sweatshirts for the second half of the shoot.

The young adult “kids” could only take so much posing for photos. After some final fun shots in a meadow, we wrapped up the session.

This past Saturday, I had the chance to photograph an event that means something special to me. The 2015 Get Your Rear in Gear and Janice Coburn Memorial Walk was held at Gould Hill Farm in Contoocook, NH. The event aims to raise awareness about colon cancer as well as fundraising. The reason this event means so much to me is because I’ve had colon cancer twice (I’m doing terrific now).

The weather cooperated yet again with a sunny day, although a bit cool at the start. Over 300 runners, walkers, and volunteers came out to support this great cause. The event collected more than $20,000 – part of which goes to help people afford colon cancer screenings. One of the speakers talked about how last year’s event helped her. Congresswoman Ann Kuster also came out to kickoff the activities.

The littler kids lined up first for a fun run around the field where they held the event. Afterwards, runners and walkers did two loops around a couple of sections of the orchards at farm. That worked out for me because I could take shortcuts to various parts of the course. I still got plenty of running in, but at least I didn’t have to try to keep up with the runners while caring my camera.

As a survivor, I would like to encourage people to make sure they get colon cancer screenings. Take it from me, a colonoscopy is significantly less inconvenient and uncomfortable than cancer treatment. Don’t make excuses, just do it. Besides, how often do you get a chance to see what you look like on the inside?

Couples love getting married in New Hampshire’s White Mountains in Autumn and I love photographing them. It’s always nice when nature helps with the decorating. Of course, it’s hard to predict the timing of the best color, so planning can be tricky. At the late September wedding of Glen and Emily at Indian Head Resort in Lincoln, the leaves had barely started turning. Nevertheless, the setting and the weather were spectacular.

The couple held their ceremony on the lawn of the resort where a nice-sized group of friends and family joined them. A small lake lay to one side, the mountains surrounded them, and the sun beamed down on the celebration. From my perspective as the photographer, not only did I enjoy the setting, but I was pleased with the JP as well. He stepped out of the way when the couple exchanged rings and embraced for their first kiss, which let me get some nice shots.

The wedding party was larger than most, but a fun group of people. I wanted to get a shot with them on a dock on the lake with the mountains in the background. Unfortunately, the dock developed a strong list to port with everyone standing on that one side. Me and two other people holding my lights just wasn’t enough counter balance to prevent a general flooding on the other side, so we had to move back to solid ground. We still got some beautiful images even thought we had to find another spot.

They held the reception inside – which I enjoyed since I was getting a tad toasted from being out in the sun most of the day (I had senior portraits outside in Concord that morning). Since getting a good lighting setup about a year ago, I have a great time shooting the First Dance and the general dancing as the night goes on. By the end, though, I’m often pretty worn out from carrying a camera around all day.

I wish Emily, Glen, and their kids all the best in the years to come!

A fair number of people usually find themselves less than thrilled with their or their children’s school portraits. It’s understandable because you have a horde of kids – many of which are less than thrilled to have their photo taken – the photographers have to herd through in a limited time. Spending some quality time with a photographer who’s focusing only on you inevitably results in much better photos. Of course, holding the portrait session on the beach at sunset helps a smidgen too.

My friend, Lisa, who lives in Rye, NH, asked me to come out to take some photos of her son who just started his freshman year in high school. Not one to turn down an opportunity to go the beach, I quickly said, “Sure, I can squeeze you into my schedule.” Well, shealso bribed me with dinner.

We headed to Rye Beach, just a couple of miles from where she lives. Due to various things, we didn’t have a whole lot of time before the sun set. I couldn’t help but think of the portraits I did earlier in the summer in Iceland. There, the sunset lasts forever. On the other hand, teen boys tend not to particularly enjoy spending hours posing for the camera, so the amount of time was just about right.

One thing I found especially striking in this setting was how much the look of the photos changed with me simply changing the direction I was shooting. Marcel and the lights stayed pretty much in the same places through a series of shots while I walked around to different positions. With the sunset behind him in some angles and the darkening sky in others, they gave drastically different feels to the images.

By the time we got done, we were all ready for dinner. I think they had some seafood on the menu.