Pike’s Pick of the Week

I went back through the year and pulled some of my favorite photos to share with you. There isnt any theme–most are from my wedding work and then some personal faves thrown in because they mean something special to me. Thanks to all of you for checking in on my blog from time to time and I hope you enjoy my postings for 2009 and keep coming back. Happy New Year!

Abby and Trevor were married at the Grand Isle Lake House ona gorgeous summer afternoon. They both looked so beautiful, it would have been difficult not to take great pictures for them.

Laura and Dan were another couple I adored working with. They were married in August at the Woodstock Inn and had a party to remember. The expression on Laura’s face in this photo told me just how happy she was on her wedding day.

I was mesmerized by these little boys as they they rode their buggy down the road while I was exploring New York’s Amish country this summer with my family. I still wonder what the boys were doing prior to that ride to have caused one of their hats to fall apart.

I took this photo in the lobby of the Disneyland Hotel, while there on a conference with Gillian last spring. It was about 10 pm and these two young women couldn’t keep their eyes open after a day of exploring the theme park.  The picture still makes me giggle.

After attending an awesome portrait seminar with photographer Arthur Rainville, I started playing with his idea of using interesting images projected on a screen behind my subject. To make this portrait of my daughter Emma for her Facebook page, I projected behind her some moving images from ITUNES and one video light to illuminate her face. She loved it and now all of her friends want similiar photos.

I actually put this image from Meg and Michael’s New Haven wedding on the back of my business card. I love the energy and movement and I couldnt have asked for nicer light.

What is there to say? This photo cracks me up!

I love hay bales and when I photographed Rebecca and David in an intimate ceremony on top of Mount Philo, I knew I wanted to take them back down to the bottom of the mountain to do some portraits in this scene.

This photo was part of an assignment I did for the Book, America At Home. The two women are mother and daughter and they still share a home together in Burlington’s New North end. The juxtaposition of the two women entering the room as the image of the new mother and her baby are projected on the TV screen made for the photo of the day and the one that was chosen for the book.

I photograph many brides and their dads and I always love the expression on the father’s face when he sees his “little girl” all dressed and ready for her wedding. On this occassion, it was the bride’s unbridled enthusiasm that got to me when she first saw her father. You can see in her face the little girl that once was and the love she has for one of the most important men in her life.

These beautiful girls are my neices and I photographed them for their mother while we were all on vacation in New York this summer. I love the late afternoon light and their youthful enthusiasm as they run toward the camera.

It is so fun to be a fly on the wall at events when you get to catch moments that most people would never get to see. Do you think this guy knew I was behind them?

How can you not love pretty little flower girls? Add some vignetting and you have a dreamy image ready for the wedding album.

When lucky, a photo you take at every wedding can provide something new and beautiful. I love this photo of Laura, her body language and the flow of both the dress and the drapery.

I love taking detail shots. The added element of the bridesmaid in the distance taking a photograph made this detail shot into something special.

Alicia and Scott were actually married in 2007 but I completed their wedding album this year and I love this album page and how these portraits are displayed.

Nothing is more fun for me than photographing a Bar or Bat Mitzvah. It is an event filled with joy and there are so many ceremonial moments that are wonderful to shoot. Here is Warren as he gets his traditional lift in the chair during the dancing of the Hava Nagila. I love seeing the little boy in his face and the the way he wears his backwards baseball cap on the day tha , by Jewish tradition, he becomes a man.

I photograph so many Bar Mitzvah portraits of kids reading or holding the Torah that I grab any opportunity when I can to do something different. This portrait of Matt, at his Bar Mitzvah at Temple Isaiah in Lexington, Ma., was made in an empty function hall with a great window to use as a backdrop. 

This is my alltime favorite photo taken at Shelburne Farms and I shot it just recently, during the last snowstorm. I love the ghosting image of the Farm Barn in the distance and the contrast of the skiiers making their way through the snow.

My friend Judy recently celebrated her 50th birthday with a party at the Firehouse Gallery in Burlington and I posted several photos from that event. This picture of her dancing with the walker given to her a gag sums up Judy and all of her incredible zest for life.

Here is another page from a recently created wedding album that I love. Josh and Sarah were married at the Waybury Inn on a gorgeous summer afternoon and after the ceremony we darted over to Breadstone campus to take these portraits.

Meg and Michael were married on a gorgeous day at Stowehof Resort in Stowe. I love this moment after the ceremony as they grab a kiss while making their exit.

Krystal and Andy were married on the farm they run in Middlebury surrounded by family and their many dogs. I dont think I shot a single portarit of them all day without at least once of their dogs joining in.

OK, that’s all for 2008. Hope to see you all in 2009…