Guilty of Relaxation

Yesterday was a day well needed. Jennifer and I took the afternoon off and just enjoyed each others company. We walked down from our home on West 23rd to the Village and just enjoyed the spring air. So many people ask, "How can you work together, live together, and spend virtually every moment together?" I am not sure the answer, but we just happen to love each others company and couldn't imagine it any other way. So, we are guilty of a little relaxation time, but it was well deserved and needed to say the least.

We took some photos along the way, and asked a passer by to take this photo of us after stopping for Gelato.. Yummy... We captured some really great textures that will be used in our senior portraits. In fact, we have spent a great deal of time capturing unique textures from all over the world that allow us to enhance the creative depth of our imagery. So, most any time we take time for ourselves, we still find ourselves working a little. That is the great part of a creative career. There is nothing we love more than creating something from nothing. I think that is also why we love business so much as well.

Today, Jennifer is at the office, I am getting our gear ready for a Bar-Mitzvah tonight. Also, learning on Lynda.com about the new Adobe CS3 creative suite that just debuted. I am sooo excited about the way the the Adobe Flash and Photoshop integrate. This will be huge leap forward in workflow for our studio. Once I get my hands on it, I will blog a little about the new release. Till next time...

A few trials, a few tribulations

Its been a busy few days having wedding consultations, capturing engagement portraits in NYC and we are gearing up for a Bar-Mitzvah tomorrow in Westchester. Thursday night we attended a wonderful party to launch a new Priscilla of Boston store in Manhattan. It was great because we knew so many people there from so many different places. Their new store on 40th between 7th and 8th was gorgeous, very private, and is a charming oasis in bustling midtown.

For the many photographers who have emailed about joining DigitalGUGUtv, it is coming along, but truth be told, we have a few obstacles to overcome before launching. The code that has to be written to connect it to PayPal correctly is far more difficult than anticipated. Mostly because we don't serve the site ourselves, and going back and forth with the technical support team has been crazy. So, when there is time, it is being worked on, but it may be put on a back burner for a while as our current assignments are top priority. The segments are all done, it is just the final piece of the puzzle that is haunting us. Rest assured it will come in time.

We are in the thick of the busiest spring in history, and without question one of our most exciting years. With close to 40 weddings booked for the summer, we will only be able to take on 5 or 6 more events before we have to turn away business for 2007. No business owner wants to turn down assignments, but we feel that we have to keep a balance so that we can keep our service at peak. It's great to be busy and in demand, but it can be challenging as well.

Well, I guess those are the trials and tribulations of the week. Look forward to sharing some images that we are excited about from our recent assignments coming up in our next few blog entries.

Meaningful Photographs

Back from an incredible two weeks of image making, and feeling like we've been in a whirlwind. Congratulations to my nephew Jason and his new wife Anna. Jennifer spent the week in Palm Beach capturing one of the most beautiful weddings you will ever see. Special thanks to to our good friend Tom Munoz, a fabulous photographer out of Fort Lauderdale, and Christie Maring who joined Jennifer's team to capture nuptials at Maralago. So, a big congratulations to Robin and Daniel as well. You are all going to LOVE your images!

I had the privilege of watching my sisters son say his vows and it was incredible to be on the inside of the wedding experience capturing my own family's feelings for one another. This experience has strengthened my passion for my career and helps afirm that what we do matters a great deal more than is often given credit. It was great to work along side my brother Bobby Maring again who owns another Maring studio in North Carolina with his wife Christie. As you can see, we both followed in our mom and Dad's footsteps.

As tears welled up in the brides eyes, they welled up in mine. These moments are always powerful because we always feel that parent child or couple relationship through the lens. Our own emotions can challenge us sometimes to say the least. It's a beautiful thing.

Jennifer pulled out our wedding album a couple of weeks ago and we flipped through it. Like many couples, it doesn't get pulled out often. But because we put priority on having amazing photographs, when we do, it is meaningful, and strangely enough, it is a luxurious feeling as well because of the quality of feel of the pages and leather covers. We hold our books with pride. And, during those moments we realize, each and every time, that our photographs are the most valuable assets we own. More valued than our home, our cars, or anything else for that matter. It is wonderful to remember and see the spirit of people who have passed away and are always in our hearts. Nothing replacing photography that captures the heart and soul.

It is good to be back home in Manhattan and Connecticut. Now, the post production begins and we get to relive these moments with clarity and create the most valuable possession that each couple will ever own. What a great feeling.

Brides Magazine Feature

I got a copy of the latest issue of Brides Magazine and we have a three page feature showcasing the Brides Magazine / Disney Dream Team Wedding. I am psyched the editors picked the image in front of the castle for a full page spread. I caught up with Millie, the editor of Brides, at Bridal Fashion Week and she mentioned that it was one of her favorite wedding images ever. Thanks for the kind words Millie... It was one of mine as well.

Well, the bags are packed and we are headed to the airport in just a couple of hours. On the way to North Carolina and Palm Beach for weddings this weekend. It will be nice to leave the rain and cold behind for a few days. New England and NYC have been pretty harsh this spring.

Bridal Fashion Week

It's been a fantastic three days shooting fashion in Manhattan. We've captured the runway shows of Amsale, Kenneth Pool, Reem Acra, Melissa Sweet, Priscilla of Boston, Anna Maier, Anne Barge, and so many others. We closed last night with a crazy over the top runway debut of Kirstie Kelly's new line for Disney Dream Weddings at Gotham Hall. Kirstie showcased over 50 new designs and each one was nearly a show stopper.

The couture designs for fall 07 were certainly luxurious and all of the photographs we captured of the runway and designs will be featured and available on TogetherInStyle.com in the next few weeks along with behind the scenes interviews with each designer hosted by Jennifer Maring.


Check out a few images from Kenneth Pool's Platinum Collection for Priscilla of Boston. Held in Studio 3 at Splashlight in Manhattan, Priscilla of Boston had an incredible showing. Kenneth never seems to disapoint, and this season again his runway radiated luxury and uniqueness.

Now we are back home in CT reviewing the images and preparing them for press. Tomorrow we leave for North Carolina and Palm Beach for weddings. We'll try to post remotely if we can. Otherwise, you'll hear from us when we return...

The Long Tail

Well, we are back from Vegas and recovered from a long week of working hard. We had a lot going on! But it was fun and great to see friends we don't get to see all that often. We were pretty psyched to get third place in the wedding details category in the International Photography Awards.

During one of our classes, a photographer mentioned the Long Tail theory when we were talking about Together In Style, the web television network that is geared towards luxury weddings that we are co-creating. While in the Vegas airport, I noticed a book with that title so decided to pick it up and read it on the flight home.

I was glued to it and the concept is so right on. Incredible statistics on the future of entertainment, marketing, and how people spend their time. Did you know that today's top rated TV shows wouldn't have even come in top 10 in the 70's for number of people watching? How about that the last biggest selling record was from INSYNC and that chances are no other band will ever sell that many records again due to file sharing and ITunes? How about the fact that people don't listen to the radio as much due to this plus satellite radio?

So what does this mean? Well for one it means that the information age is the first time in history that Americans aren't paying much attention to who is number 1. It isn't about who or what is the next big hit. Why? Because record companies, television producers, radio executives, and movie producers can't compete with the sales records or proven track records of creating hits as they once could.

The future is in the niche'. People, especially teens, aren't watching TV, listening to the radio, or going to the movies nearly as much. This is a completely different generation. People are spending a great deal of time online looking for their niche' and the things that they like as individuals rather than paying attention to what is hot.

I found it very interesting, and highly recommend The Long Tail by Chris Anderson for anyone who wants a peak into tomorrow's, or better yet, today's marketing strategies online. It confirmed for us that there are major changes in the way companies should be marketing and was a solid read that was fun, educational, and influential.