Playing catch up

As usual, I'm running a bit behind on the bogging front, so I had better get my act together. There are a lot of things happening around here, from weddings to web sites (basically, from w to w), so here goes.

Two weekends ago I had the privilege of photographing the wedding of Rochelle Ochs and John Adams (no, not that John Adams) on the Chesapeake Bay. There's always a little bit of added incentive when a bride or groom come from an artistic background, and with John and Rochelle it was doubly the case. John is an accomplished painter whose work has been exhibited in galleries around the northeast. His work is very complex and you can view it here. I'll let John's artist's statement speak for itself:

"The repetitive meditative action is reflected in the work. Tension between the atmospheric random marks and the regulated rhythm of horizontal lines creates a visual vibration, which resonates endlessly (confined to the object none the less). In other paintings, the structural lines take the form of a drip, forming a counterpoint for the chaotic mark making. Juxtaposing a textural, physical paint surface with a slick, subtle panel may also form tension which draws the viewer in. Sometimes radio code and call numbers (from HAM radio magazines from the mid twentieth century) form a layer of atmosphere, teetering between abstract mark and letter or numeral."

I'm glad I let him say that!

Rochelle spends her days as I do--looking at pictures for a living. She's a photo editor at AOL, where several of my old USA Today buddies work. People will sometimes ask if there's more pressure shooting the wedding of a photography professional. I honestly find that it's less pressure thing than a simple desire to please someone who appreciates good photography.

(Truth be told, there was one funny moment that perhaps only a photo editor bride would have appreciated: during their ceremony, the sun began to set, leaving Rochelle in full golden light and John, two feet away, in utter shade. This is a frequent occurrence at outdoor ceremonies, where a bride and groom are facing each other. Someone has to be in the light, right? As the officiant asked people to greet their neighbors, and commotion ensued, I motioned to Rochelle to move her position a foot to the right. I figured if any bride would have understood, she would.)

Rochelle and John had a glorious summer day for their event. Their ceremony was all of ten feet from the Chesapeake. Afterwards we found some glistening wheat grass and made some nice family pictures. Rochelle's dad was beaming as he watched for a nearby bench. He's a wonderful man.

Given that we were practically on top of the water, I asked one of the ladies from the reception venue if there was away to get down to the beach. She looked at me like I was from Mars, though the question still doesn't strike me as odd, given where we were. Ah, liability concerns, 'ya gotta love 'em. Without skipping a beat, and to the apparent horror of said reception lady, I yelled to some folks on the neighboring property and asked if we could come over and take some pics. "Sure can!" came the welcoming response. And so we all traipsed on over, Rochelle in heels, maneuvering past the endless rows of stacked crab pots, down the rickety dock that extended over the water. Those folks were so sweet, constantly asking us if we wanted a beer. It never hurts to ask, right?


Matt

p.s. The web site is back in action: www.mattmendelsohn.com. There are some issues with loading times on some of the galleries, particularly the image-heavy wedding section. We hope to get these loading times corrected next week. But everything else is fully functional.