Blog from the Back Yard

Years ago, when I was a kid, many people were married in a home, their parents, a relative, or friends. Home marriages sort of fell out of favor in the 80s and 90s when we raced to find ways to spend our money in new and lavish ways.

Haylei and Craig had a lavish home wedding last week in sunny Herndon, Virginia. What made it special, unique, and lavish was the warmth, the love, the friendship that was evident and radiated from the bride and groom to each other and all of the guests.

It was warm, that Saturday, no it was HOT, darn Hot. Julie and Spike Williams of Williams Realty opened their home, with its cool pool, and booked the neighborhood Gazebo which overlooked a wonderful lake to host the Festivities. Reverend Daniel Kane tied the knot in front of family and friends and a horse and buggy. More on that later.

The guests assembled in the sun on hot white chairs and waited and waited for the bride. The groom was waiting, and then we HEARD the bride appear, clip, clop, clippty clop, she appeared in the distance in a white dress, sitting on red velvet, in horse drawn carriage. Haylei’s coach drove down the hill and made a wide turn, stopping at a long white runner which was straining to come loose and blow away in the wind. Dad went to work and escorted a beautiful daughter down the isle to Craig. Reverend Kane did his thing and the two became one.

Then it was party time. The bride and groom luxuriated in the carriage and started on a planned jaunt around the neighborhood. Up the hill they went and stopped. Guess what, it is hard for the horse to traverse a hill with a steel coach a driver, a bride and groom and a broken bridle. To make a long story short, 3 more attempts failed. Then the riders dismounted and the handler rolled the carriage back. The carriage driver and the horse handler got a running start and all barely made it over the crest of the hill with the driver and handler pulling. Once they made it, all the guests went straight for the cool ones. The musicians were old friends of the couple, knew their favorites, and just went to town. Splash, splash, splash, and three kids were in the pool, cool ones were disappearing, and the Sal-n-Don’s caterers were smoking up two barbeques with a great feast.

OBTW, the cupcake weddingcake was perfect for a poolside celebration and survived the heat.

Emdog333 Gets Bit by the Love Bug

Her email name is EMDOG333. Her real name is Emily. Emily lives in Barryville, VA and wanted to get married in Winchester, in a brand new wedding and banquet hall that specialized in steamship round of beef.

She had a secret plan, one that is very common in Asia and at Asian weddings. She was going to change dresses in the middle of the party. The plan worked and surprised everyone. She had a beautiful silk gown with a big train that was so heavy that two of the bridesmaids had to help her get it over her head. It worked for the ceremony, entrance, first dance "walking the walk"with her new hubby and dinner. Her "plan" was to wear a light weight gown for the "heavy dancing." When she casually came in wearing what can be described as a ball gown out of a movie set, heads tuned. It was a "stunner" as the Brits say.

Each gown was exquisite in it own way and both were perfect for EMDOG333.

P.S. The beef was really yummy!!!!

Plagiarism is the Sincerest Form of Flattery

Photographers never know how a shoot will turn out until it is over. There are too many variables. When Donald Keith Photography photographed Jami and Jeff, , 7 years ago no one had any idea Jami would seek me out and ask me to photograph a renewal ceremony, 2 days shy of their 7 th anniversary.

They had a brush with poor health, were fortunate to have it in the past, and decided to renew their vows. The bride scanned the images from the original wedding and provided them to all the guests as a souvenir on a DVD. The photographer, minister, and maid of honor were the same. The colors were the similar, as were many of the guests. When I viewed the CD, I saw them and the wedding 7 years ago. The taste of her dad's back yard bar-b-que returned to my mouth. This time the ceremony was in West Virginia's beautiful Cacapon State Park. Fantastic location for a wedding.

Renewals for the same couple, generational events (Parents-children) for a family, and multiple family events (2 or more wedding of siblings) only come with years in the business and the gray hair that goes with it.

Predeparture E-mails

Two important last minute emails arrived in the last36 hours. One was from the Congress Co-chair. He asked me to be his official photographer, something I have done for him in the past. My immediate reply, it will be my pleasure.

The second was from our B and B. My radar alarm bells went off and my thinking was "Now what? and gingerly opened the email like you do a paper envelope when you don't want to read the contents. It was a shock!! A cordial welcome e-mail from the owner telling us we were in the Julia room and asking what time we would arrive. What a pleasant surprise.

My response was: "How nice to get a welcome email from our home away from home. My brother and I arrive separately in Venice at 0940 and 1015 AM. We have to process, get money, find the luggage, buy a Venizia pass etc. Then it is time for a gelato. After that we will water taxi, train, or bus to the island. Then it is time for coffee and pastry. We hope to arrive at your home ~ 1400-1500 hours. Is that good for you? By that time and after all that heavy lifting, we might need another gelato.

Getting Ready –Part 2

The pace picks up as you get ready to depart for an international destination. Emails fly through the ether and demand immediate reading since there is potential for changes in SOMETHING. In Part I of this post you read that I was the senior twin (twin A) of a twin set. Not any more. The organizing committee demoted me to the rank of my brother’s son. Given the fact he has no children, I will readily assume this position. In fact, my name tag will say Donald Keith, Louis Keith’s son. This will further confuse all who know me and still mistake me for Louis. They will say, “Louis, since when do you have a beard? My reply will be the standard twin response, “excuse me, who are you?” This piles good natured embarrasment onto bewilderment. Way cool to be a twin who refuses to grow up.

The B and B

I spent 16 hours on the net looking for a hotel in Venice before striking pay dirt. We are in a 6 room B and B, called the Residenza Rivera, located in Dorsoduro Est. It sounds charming and the reviews are very complimentary. The location, the location, the location, is great. Take a look at some of the photos from the internet. My twin brother, Louis (MD, PhD) will stay there with me for 4 nights and then we move to a venue on the island of San Clemente for two days where we will attend the First World Congress on Twin Pregnancy. We have not seen each other for several months and are really looking forward to the trip. Our plan is an activity followed by a gelato, from morning until night. Louis says the pistachio is to die for, my preference is the berry flavors.

Getting Ready

International travel is always fun for me. Years ago, my travels took me to Europe three to four times a year. Not any more. Now, it is one trip every who knows when, Well the when is next week when I go to Venice to help a buddy hang an exhibition on twins. It is at the San Clemente Palace Hotel and Resort in Venice.Since my photograph is one of these he will present, I have a stake in seeing the show hung properly. Nevertheless, I am changing the way I pack. A lot less clothes, a lot more camera and computer equipment. My twin brother (younger) says I carry too much, but I remind him how I used to take my toys as a kid; now the toys are more expensive and heavier. Therefore, I will carry fewer clothes to appease him. My big debate is one or two cameras. He says one; my gut says two. How can a photographer survive Venice with only one camera????

Be My Bride!!

Let me kiss you with everlasting life

Faces

Photo contests never excited me, however, some knowledgeable people say some of my images are winners. The question in my mind is, it worth all of the time and trouble of printing to EXACTING standards, wrapping and shipping the prints as if they were made of glass to prevent damage, and a zillion other rules?

yata, yata, yata. I have a business to run.

But hey, that was the analog world and now today’s language is digital. You can enter with 2-300 clicks on your computer. So I did.

The contest is “,Faces” with a celebrity category. To win any contest, you need an “eye catcher.” And it takes a great deal of luck to capture the image. Most Americans know one of my candidates very well. Her photograph is called a “A Woman in Love” and the other is known to the Brits, her name is “HRH Anne, the Princess Royal.”

Arlington Cemetery, the Bitter and the Sweet

Photographing a funeral is never easy; it is like walking on eggs. You want to make a record of the event but you do not want to intrude. It is even a greater challenge when you know the deceased well, like 12 years, as part of your work family. When the survivors tell 100 mourners no photographs, except mine, you try your best, your very best.

Full military honors are a beautiful ceremony; I agonize if I want this as a final tribute for 24 years, 4 months and 11 days of service. Besides the burial team, bugler playing taps,and firing squad, there is a band, a marching platoon, and the colors. All in all, there are a lot of people involved and it is a ceremony that has no mistakes allowed or tolerated.

The weather cooperated, the sun was out after a day of rain, the mud won, and the tears flowed, as should be. Don’s minister was eloquent, the bugler crisp, the final volley jarring as it always is, and a grateful nation paid final respects to one of it sons.

Snatching Victory Out of the Jaws of Defeat Part 2

Check out more of my slideshows!



If you read part one, you could have guesed that the hitches in this couple getting hitched were still there and tying things up. The wedding was postponed a week and rescheduled for the following Saturday. On Thursday or Friday, a small voice, popped up onto the phone:

ahem, cough, pause, could we reschedule to Sunday? Since all was paid for, the answer was a standard, absolutely. And so it went, Sunday came around, the bride and groom, resplendent in pink, arrived for some outdoor park photographs, DONE.

Then the schlep to Waldorf MD, 50 miles from the studio for the wedding. The church was one-step below a MEGA CHURCH in size, HUGE! Remember, this is a two person wedding. The minister, several deacons, and two other women were present. My suggestion was, walk yourself down the aisle. That is what she did, the wedding went off without a hitch, and they are hitched. DONE!!!!!!!!!!

The bride, now wife, left the next morning for a week of business travel, hubby stayed home. Such is the life of a Washington bride. OBTW, there was a Robin Egg Blue bag for me. Monogrammed cufflinks; classy woman. 

July 12, another wedding, same couple, 120 guests. Not done.

3 Yankee Photgraphers

an entry by Associate Rachel Fus

Have you ever heard that phrase "a square is a rectangle but a rectangle is not a square"? Well, when Don approached me a few weeks back about doing a different sort of project a similar thought went through my mind: 

An album is a book, but a book is not an album.

Don FTP'd me the takes of three different photographers (himself included) from a trip they took together to Charleston and Hilton Head. His guidelines were simple: a softcover, coffee table book, 5.5 x 5.5in, illustrating the different perspectives the photogs had on the same scenes. 

Through an extensive filing system using keywords in Bridge, I edited down the 900+ images to less than 50. There's a lot left to do (TEXT!) but here's the first draft.

Jacob #2

Yakov Gindin and Katie Palmer photographed this Bar Mitzvah.

Yakov and Katie photographed this Bar Mitzvah. It was in a hotel, and very different from the Synagogue’s morning’s service. The Havdalah service is the closing service for the Sabbath and the highlight is the lighting of the candle which signifies the close of the day of rest and the start if the first day of the week. Having two photographers at an event provides customers with a four eye perspective. We miss very little that way.

Jacob #2 used a beautiful, specially made prayer book for his Bar Mitzvah that excerpted the evening service and nothing else. This allowed the guests to take it home as a remembrance of the service and Jacob’s torah reading. It’s Hebrew and English prayers were annotated with the reader’s name, making it meaningful for the many people participating in the ritual.

When you look at all the photos of the party, you know the kids had a good time.

Jacob #1

When you have two Bar Mitzvahs the same day with the young men having the same name you have to be creative in your filing system...and blogging. So for the ease of all, Jacob #1 is the morning affair and Jacob #2 for the evening event.

Peter photographed Jacob #1. He did his usual masterful technical job, perfect exposures, great lighting, and an emphasis on the emotions and relationships in the family and at the party afterward. He communicated with the DJ and made sure all was ready for the Hora, where the celebrant and his family are jerked into the air on a chair by 4 husky males and are waltzed around the room rising and falling to the whims of the carriers. What is fun to see is the look of shock and wide-open mouth as the chair jerks into the air and the stomach stays where it was, on the floor. A man made air pocket, same unexpected feeling.

Writing Blogs

Many people have a hard time writing their blog. This is not one of my issues, for me it is time to write and reflect. 

Back in my sophomore year of SSHS, I sent a column in to the now defunct Chicago Daily Calumet, one of the country’s oldest daily neighborhood papers. The story was about the school’s rifle team. They sent me a check $for $1.00 and asked for more. More what? That buck got me very creative, motivating me to cover the entire range of athletic events in the school, INCLUDING women’s sports before most paid any attention to them. 

Reporting on girls’ volleyball, swimming, and square dancing as competitive sports increased my opportunities to earn that buck. If our school competed with other schools, it merited a story. The editors loved it. Students loved it, seeing their name in print the first time. Parents loved it, buying papers to send to grandparents, and at a buck a column, my camera, toys and darkroom loved it.

Bring on the blogs.

34 ACTIONS TO GO

Did you know there are  approximately 17 actions a professional photographer has to go thru in his “workflow” after the photographs are captured and before they are ready to leave the studio to go to the processing plant or be delivered to the customer?

 OBTW, none of these chores are “glamorous” by any stretch of the imagination. 

First there is downloading and making the back-ups. At Keith and Associates, Fine Photography, we make 3 duplicates of all images, one for our hard drive and two on DVD, which we place in the archive. A simple chore is combining all of the photographs in a time sequence from both photographers cameras (this usually means 4 compact flash cards but it could be 6 or 7) but if camera clocks do not match before the event, it becomes a nightmare. 

Then comes editing, re-numbering, and placing into user-friendly buckets for upload to IMAGEQUIX. Burning client DVDs is next. 

Whew. We try to have all actions completed in 3 days. No matter how fast we do it, someone wants it faster.

SNATCHING VICTORY OUT OF THE JAWS OF DEFEAT

My cell rang at 7:20 PM Friday night. Sheepishly a little voice, "we have been, cough, talking, cough cough, ahem, throat clearing, COULD YOU PHOTOGRAPHY MY WEDDING TOMORROW?” Yikes!! Unfortunately, the day was full, so it was an east-west head nod. Sorry. Thank you. Good-bye. 

Ring ring. Me again. Can you take some photographs of us in our hotel late in the afternoon, in Herndon, the next town over? ABSOLUTELY! Price and time agreed.

Fast forward to Saturday 11 AM. 

Change in plans, can we just come to your studio and take some photographs? ABSOLUTELY, 1 PM agreed. 

1 PM 

Ring ring.  Just leaving house, no groom, no photos, money for shoot next weekend. Okaaaaaaaaaay???????

Slow forward to 2 PM. 

Knock knock. Wedding # 1: paid in full. Wedding # 2 (in July): deposit placed, contract in works.

Keith and Associates, Fine Photography treats all customers with dignity and respect. It really pays off.

PS: The deposits came in a beautiful, hand written thank you note. SWEET, classy lady.

Published in Modern Bride

Vinita and Lewis came to me with an unusual request. Could I ph0t0graph both of their weddings, a Naval Academy church wedding on Saturday, back to back with a traditional Hindu ceremony Sunday?

Of course! OBTW, we need two albums. Moreover, our budget is XYZ. I gulped and said yes.

The result was a great primer for four other Hindu weddings I photographed. 5 of Vinita and Lewis's imaged were even published in Modern Bride.

You never know what the day will bring. My lessons in ethnic wedding protocall was nothing; the groom had to go to dancing school.

Volleyboys

The last time I visited South Lakes High School was when my daughter went to Flint Hill Prep and the several members of the school's basketball team were in a summer league there. Some of these pleayers went to the NBA (Dennis Scott, Grant Hill, Randolph Childress, George Lynch, and Serge Zwikker). Roll after roll of their photos are in my archives.

On March 25, South Lakes will host a fundraising event. Volleyboys is a twice-annual event that draws a large crowd to watch teams of boys representing each class battle it out for the title of Volleyboys Champion. A silent auction is part of this spring event and when the coach asked me for a donation, I said Count me in!

I will donate a family portrait session for the auction.

An album for your mother

an entry by Staff Photographer (and general assistant) Rachel Fus

I was just thinking I needed to refresh my graphics skills when Don asked if I could do an album for him. I was admittedly rusty to begin with but coupled with new layout software (on a PC, no less!) and a bride who prioritized 300 images as "must have, "and this job started to take a little longer than expected.

Mpix, the program from Miller's Professional Imaging, was easily downloaded (once I acquired all the correct account information) and turned out to be very user friendly. But then came the images. As I started laying out each page I realized our bride had chosen several images of the same pose instead of choosing her favorite expression of the series.

Dear Future Bride laying out her album, I DON'T KNOW YOU! I DON'T KNOW WHICH EXPRESSION YOU LIKE THE MOST! WHAT "SIDE" IS YOUR BEST!

...I did my best.

As I got deeper into the project, I realized there were key items missing. I do a series of spreads by significant event: getting ready, walking down the aisle, exchanging rings., etc. Those were all there, but the first dance wasn't and neither was cutting the cake, which leads me to my second point:

Dear Future Bride Laying Out Her Album, An album should be more than just a conglomeration of pictures. An album must tell a story without the benefit of words; the sequence of events, the emotions must be conveyed through images alone.

So here's the product thus far. It's been edited by Don and now it's off to the bride herself. Check back to see if she makes any changes!