Making Memories

GeoTagged, [N42.41296, E71.02939]

I realize that someday my girls will get to a time in their lives that hanging out with dad won't be the optimal thing they want to do on a Sunday.

Today isn't one of those days thankfully. Read more!

Annual Gingerbread House Party

As I've gotten older, got married, had kids, etc. the wife and I have implemented traditions of our own with family and friends. One such tradition is the annual gingerbread house party. Here some of my fav pics from last night's bash.

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Labor Day Weekend 2008

It's Monday. I'm all BBQed out. Here are some pics that were taken over the weekend that I processed, i.e. my wife was the camerawoman this weekend. I had the weekend off, though my processing makes good photos better IMHO. Enjoy.

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Salem Willows

Took the family to Salem Willows recently. Here are some of my favorite pics from then. Flickr set here.

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Roberta & Eric - their wedding story

I recently had the pleasure of shooting a family wedding, sorta of. Roberta and Eric hired me last year to shoot their wedding day on the cusp of seeing what I did at Roberta's cousin's wedding - Tiffany and Amen.

You're probably looking at the pictures below and saying, family?

Yes, family.

You see, Roberta is Tiffany's cousin. Tiffany has a brother Donald who is married to my aunt Theresa. So there you have it...family!

This group of people is one I am very family with. It started with shooting their family reunion. Every few years this massive family gets together, dresses to the nines, and has a ball. I've become the family photographer and slowly but surely as the family gets added to through marriages and births I get to meet more and more people. So it's never awkward shooting one of these events because it's all hugs and kisses.

As for Roberta and Eric, they were a pleasure to work with. They were probably the easiest couple to work with. They basically did what I said to do and when I said to do it. You see, the thing people like about my work the best is that I work quick. After all, there's a party to get to. The last thing people want to be doing is taking pictures when it's time to party.

This was also the easiest assignment. Everything was in one location. Everything was at Christina's in Foxboro - a very nice place if you're looking for an all-in one-venue. Roberta got ready there, the ceremony was there, and the reception was there. It was fantastic. No running around. I could take my time and really enjoy the shoot.

Here are some of my favorites:

Putting on make-up

Flower girls

Their wedding program

Eric (second from right) and his boys

Another way to shoot the ceremony, without shooting the ceremony

Sharing a moment

Flower girls and selective coloring

First steps as husband and wife

To see their slide show, please click here. Read more!

Anina & Tom - their wedding story

Anina and Tom are a couple who hired me through Craig's List - the only sort of advertising I do for my wedding services. I was a little gun-shy at first because you really never know who you're going to be dealing with when you are meeting strangers (90% of my photography business is referral business).

Needless to say, I was pleasantly surprised by Anina and Tom. They were a fantastic couple to work with. Their wedding was great. I reported to the bride's family's home in South Deerfield, MA. The ceremony was held on the campus of UMass Amherst, Johnson Chapel. The wedding had an old New England/Italian feel to it - canoli's an all! (grandmother made some killer canoli's. I managed to sneak a couple home for the wife!)

Here are some of my favorites from the day:
Bride's Brother right before the madness begun

Bride's dress

The first time Anina and Tom saw each other on their wedding day

Groom before the ceremony

Johnson Chapel, UMass Aherst, scene of the ceremony

Bride's brother playing "Time In A Bottle," by Jim Croce

Sharing a moment

To check out the story of their day, please click here. Their engagement session can be found here. Read more!

Canon G9

I've been on vacation at the beach all week and I've yet to pull out my Canon 30Ds. I've been primarily using my Canon G9 and I gotta tell ya, it's been producing some really sharp, colorful pics.

I've posted some here, but you can check out the stream on Flickr here. Read more!

Sand Castle event, Hampton Beach

Here's a few pics from the sand castle event at Hampton Beach, NH.




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Pics from vacation: Seabrook, NH

Sample of some of the pics I've taken this far while vacationing in Seabrook, NH.





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Skyline over trinity church

Skyline over trinity church
Originally uploaded by bigguyd

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Boston Public Library

Boston Public Library
Originally uploaded by bigguyd

A visual metaphor for good and evil? Night and day? Ying and yang? Read more!

The real mystic river

Taken while on the train. The more and more I use the camera on the BB Pearl the more I am impressed with image quality.

Edit: Adrian Walker of the Globe had a nice piece about life coming back to this stretch of water. Read more!

Southwick Zoo pics

southwick_20080425_0013
Originally uploaded by Donald E. Martelli

Went to the Southwick Zoo yesterday with the family and friends. Had a great time. Kids enjoyed themselves. Weather was great. Kids behaved. An all around good time. Check out the set on flickr.

p.s. notice the Boston Red Sox "tattoo" on my daughter's arm. That's right, representation.
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