The first home in Maine Boats, Homes & Harbors magazine

Even though I've been shooting pictures for publications since 1988 (newspapers for the first ten years, and magazines since 1998), there is still something special about that first time I see each of my photos in print. Perhaps it's being able to let go of a bit of anxiety over crops or color reproduction as every photographer wants her work displayed at its best, but mostly it's excitement about seeing the words and pictures finally come together in the completed piece. So, with that usual bit of anticipation I have been waiting for the latest issue of Maine Boats & Harbors to arrive so I could see the article on the Phippsburg cottage I photographed for the magazine back in late October. It was the first architectural shoot I had done for the magazine, and I wanted it to look good!The issue arrived earlier this week, but with a bit of a surprise: the magazine is now sporting a new name. As the letter from publisher John Hanson explained, a combination of factors led to the magazine's newly expanded name of Maine, Boats, Homes & Harbors. Of course there have been dozens of home stories in the magazine before mine, but it was sort of fun to note that I photographed the first home to appear in the magazine after Homes was officially added to the masthead.It was a beautiful house, a fun assignment, and the article turned out lovely. I hope many more follow.

Pictures from Susan & Andy's New Year's Eve wedding

Susan stopped in today to pick up proofs from her New Year's Eve Wedding, and it was a treat to see her again and to look back on the day.

Now that's she's taken delivery of the proofs I'd like to share a couple of my favorite shots from the day. So, here goes!

SOAPBOX: Microchip your pet

If I can take a minute for a purely personal issue, I'd like to encourage everyone to microchip their cats and dogs. Especially if your pet is apt to be outside / beyond the bounds of a fence.
Last Saturday, a darling black lab was roaming at large in our neighborhood. He was friendly, well cared for, and neutered--obviously someone's beloved pet--but no one recognized him and he had lost his collar, so we had no way to get him to his home. Brunswick's animal control office was closed until the following Tuesday, so it looked like this dog might be separated from his owner for at least three days.

We live only one block off busy Maine Street, so if the dog stayed at large, there was the chance he might get hit on Maine Street, so Gail next door grabbed him and put him in her fence until she was able to track down his owner.

The story had a happy ending: the dog was reunited with his owners later that day--a family that had just moved into the neighborhood. Someone had left the fence open by mistake. But, the incident got me moving quickly on something I'd toyed with for a while, getting my own Scoutie Dog (photo above) microchipped.

Scout had an appointment that Tuesday for his yearly shots, and when I asked the vet about microchipping, I was surprised at how easy and inexpensive the process is. The microchip, about the size of a grain of rice, is implanted without putting the dog to sleep. The vet uses a syringe to place the chip under the dog's skin near his shoulder blades. And, the total cost was under $60 including registering the chip's ID number with Home Again, which maintains the database of ID numbers and a 24-hour hot line for reuniting pets with their owners.

Now if Scoutie Dog slips out of the house--he has once in the past year--or if he slips his collar while on a walk--he has once in the past year--we have the chip as an extra precaution against losing him.

Busy week on the weddings front!

It's been busy around here this week with lots of projects in various stages of production.

Hannah and I have both been finishing up work on the proofs from Susan & Andy's intimate New Year's Eve wedding at The First Parish Church in Portland and their fun reception after at the Portland Regency Hotel in the Old Port. It was my first time to be the photographer for a New Year's Eve wedding, and I couldn't have had more fun. Susan & Andy booked Grupo Esperanza, a 10-piece Afro-Cuban band based in Portland, to play at the reception, and the spirited music got everyone in a terrific mood for the celebration. Time passed so quickly that 2006 was here before we knew it! (Let me add a note that the hotel staff was amazing. Every single person I interacted with--from valet to front desk to restaurant staff to waitstaff at the wedding reception--was exceptionally cheerful and anxious to please. No doubt the management puts a premium on service.)

We also have about seven albums in various stages of production. Six are couple albums and one is a sample of the new Flush Mount album style we've added to our album lines. We're anxious to show off the new sample, but we're still waiting on prints to come back from the lab. In the meantime, we've got a digital version of the sample album online at Sample Wedding Album. We built the sample using photos from Allie & Bryan's August 2005 wedding; the ceremony was at St. Bernard's Catholic Church in Rockland and the reception was at Cindy Lang's Field in Martinsville. Allie & Bryan were blessed with absolutely perfect weather for their Maine seaside reception. The photo above is of Allie & Bryan in the vintage Cadillac hired to transport them that day.

Midweek I met with Susan, who is getting married at the end of this week. Susan and Bob met through eHarmony. She posted her bio on a dare from a friend, and, well, the rest is history. They've picked a tiny 100-plus-year-old chapel on an island for the ceremony, and Susan and I met at the chapel on Wednesday just to look over the site and talk about the ceremony. Can't wait for the wedding next week! I hope we'll get just enough snow to put a Winter Wonderland flavor on the day.

Well, back to work! There are albums to be made.