Madonna: George Mason University, Class of 2022

2022 marks George Mason University’s 50th Anniversary, and what a perfect year to revisit my alma mater.

This May, Madonna is part of George Mason University’s Class of 2022, graduating with a BS in Civil Engineering.  To celebrate, Donna, Rubin, and I spent some time touring some of GMU’s most iconic and scenic spots; you might remember Rubin and Donna from their surprise airport proposal in 2020.

This was both fun and relaxing for me, revisiting some of my favorite spots around campus, and seeing how much of it has changed or stayed the same since I graduated in 2012.  We started in the Engineering Building, which was a new building when I attended, and I got to see some of the completed construction that was just starting when I left - I’ve only been back on campus a few times since graduating.  The most notable change is the introduction of the food delivery robots, which operate like mini-Teslas; they even tried to interfere / attack us during the shoot a few times.  I, for one, welcome our new delivery robot overlords.

After the portrait session, I explored a bit more at dusk to see a bit more - walking around campus in shorts and a polo with a backpack and camera - that part hasn’t changed; the difference is my backpack in college wasn’t leather from Tumi, and I didn’t walk around with TWO cameras and a set of remote strobes on me between classes.

David and Kathleen: The Proposal

Spring is here, and this April kicked off with a fun vineyard proposal in Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley.  Sweethearts for eight years, David and Kathleen vacationed in Virginia’s wine country, but David had been planning to pop the question this weekend for months.  Circumstances made this one a hard secret to keep, and Kathleen came so close to finding out, but as soon as the couple arrived at the vineyard and found the picnic awaiting them, David eagerly dropped to one knee.

She said yes, and was in shock the rest of the day of wine and adventure!

Megan: Victorian Trenchcoat

Following our first photoshoot together that combined Steampunk corsetry in an old textile mill, Megan and I incorporated some of our foggy graveyard photoshoot idea that never materialized into a similarly moody morning photoshoot, exploring the same textile mill’s grounds in a Victorian trenchcoat.  Although there wasn’t fog like we’d aimed for, the crumbling and overgrown stone walls paired with Megan’s ivy earrings and black lace heels brought mystical vibes to the overcast grounds, with the din of water coursing through generation equipment in the mill’s spillway immediately behind our wall drew us even further out of the 21st century in our secluded corner originating in the industrial revolution.

Having now shot with Megan twice, I can only think of a handful of people I’ve shot with who have run through poses so effortlessly; it’s a blessing in that everything we shoot looks incredible, and a curse in that EVERYTHING we shoot looks incredible (so it’s difficult to narrow down in post): a struggle Megan and I gleefully lamented going through the photos following both our shoots together.

If you don’t already, you can follow Megan’s spooky and spectacular photography of storms, cemeteries, and astrophotography on Instagram.

Like all proper creatives with pent-up artistic energy, Megan and I continue to have shared, evolving ides for photoshoots, and hopefully the next time we see each other the stars will align to bring another passion project or two together.

Until next time,

The Queen of Halloween & The Duke of Spook bid you well in 2022!

Behind the Scenes

Because of the lighting setup on our fist shoot, I didn’t even attempt any Polaroid captures, but since this photoshoot was captured simply with the same run-and-gun fill-flash technique Polaroids traditionally lean on, it was seamless freezing a few moments in time on the classic instant format; all it required was pausing for each moment for the very mechanical image capturing process to work its analog magic.

This is only the second selfie I’ve taken with a Polaroid. Polaroid selfies are both easy because the camera is so light and the shutter release is in an easy spot, but more difficult because of the tighter framing and inherent time-delayed unknowns of film photography, even on an “instant” film - modern Polaroid chemistry takes 10min to display an image, and over 20min to fully develop. It’s a format I didn’t get the chance to play with until just as the Pandemic began, but I’ve fallen in love with its beautiful imperfection and mandatory physicality.

Ilana and Chris: Engaged

For as long as I’ve practiced photography, I’ve had an off-and-on relationship with film. As a child, digital cameras didn’t exist yet for the consumer market, so my first camera was a cheap Kodak C400 point-and-shoot that used the short-lived Kodak Advantix APS film format: a now-discontinued film format that was meant to modernize and simplify film photography for the entry-level consumer. The APS format, aside from its 1.6x crop factor limiting its resolution compared to 135 film, was quite progressive in its ability to store exposure and print metadata magnetically on the film, similar to cinematography formats, but was discontinued not long after its introduction as digital cameras became more prevalent.

In college I learned to develop, process, and print film with traditional darkroom practices, which I found relaxing, but only for fun, as I’d been shooting digitally for years at that point. Since then, I only shoot film for fun, embracing its imperfection as beauty, and its pastel color palette influencing my digital retouching style to some extent. Flash forward to today, and while I’d always been fascinated by the Polaroid format, I’d never even shot a single Polaroid until I treated myself to a Polaroid instant camera for my birthday in 2020. I’ve found it to be an even more enjoyable film format than traditional 35mm film, because who doesn’t love instant gratification in the Instagram age - Instagram’s icon is even based off the design of a Polaroid camera.

The Polaroid format is just fun; not only do you have results “instantly” (it takes about 10min for the image to develop), but there’s a delight in being able to give people prints on-the-spot; oftentimes, in the Instagram age, even though a digital image may be more “perfect,” it’s the imperfect, moment captured physically that we remember the most.

At the start of one of my long-distance runs, I found a rare spot in the US: A Daihatsu Rocky with the 5 speed manual in Marine Blue, a color that was only offered in 1992. Mostly sold in other countries, Daihatsu only sold vehicles in the US from 1987 to 1992, only selling 3 models: The Charade, Rocky, and their possibly most known vehicle in the US among enthusiasts, the Hijet cabover microvan / kei truck. The Rocky was powered by the same 94HP I4 engine that powered the Charade, and was offered with a 5 speed manual or 4 speed automatic transmission providing power to all four wheels. In 1992 ten color options were offered, and the choice of a removable soft top, or hard top with removable panels was offered. Being the car and photo geek I am, I took a Polaroid of it and left it as a gift to the owner; anyone who owns this has to be an interesting car geek.

This is how I met Chris and Ilana… and I was right: they’re even bigger car geeks than I am! A few months after I took this photo, they found me and as it turned out were recently engaged and looking for a photographer to capture their engagement and wedding. We met to go over details, but ended up talking for hours about cars we’ve owned, driven, and wrenched on. Cars aren’t just a hobby for Chris; he rebuilds classic cars to their original condition with frame-off restorations by day, and builds vehicles in his own collection with Ilana for racing, cruising, and showing on their off time. Chris and Ilana even have a spunky pupper named Maverick!

This Fall, we’d planned to shoot an engagement session including their beloved Daihatsu Rocky, even discussing going off-roading in it to get pictures with it in its natural habitat. Unfortunately, being the uncommon bird it is in North America, its natural habitat has instead been more in the shop, as parts are hard to come by for an older and barely sold truck in the US - its estimated that only three are still in existence on the East Coast, with Chris and Ilana’s being the only one that still runs and drives. The day of our shoot, the Rocky’s leaky radiator gave out, sadly sidelining it out of the photoshoot, but we still made the best of the day hiking around the Virginia shoreline at sunset.

Portia and Nick: Married October 2nd, 2021

Just as Summer was drawing to a close and Autumn was beginning to shift the trees’ colors warmer, Portia and Nick, accompanied by their family and friends, gathered at the quaint Ballenger Farm in Hamilton, Virginia to say “I do” and dance the night away celebrating tying the knot.

The farm has free range chickens, much to the entertainment of younger guests, and a lucky black barn cat that wants allllll the cuddles - he even curled up in my lap for a few minutes while I was on the ground capturing a low angle!  The chickens; oh my goodness, I just have to say, I captured a photo that ranks among those I’m most proud of in recent time during Portia and Nick’s ceremony - the free range chickens freely roamed, including one keen to be included in the wedding, photobombing the readings!  Truly one of my most favorite captures at a wedding in years, and it’s a great example of how I approach weddings and all events with a photojournalistic eye and mindset.

As night fell on the dinner party, Portia and Nick shared their first dance under the stars to a medley sung by a close friend to wish the newlyweds well as they start a new chapter together.  Afterwards, everyone retired to the patio to dance and enjoy drinks and dessert.