Shannon & Davey’s Wedding in Mexico (Part 1)

kmcookephoto — Sun, 20 Nov 2011 02:31:52 +0000

What an unforgettable experience! Shannon and Davey’s wedding in Mexico was absolutely gorgeous and I am grateful that I was able to travel to a beautiful resort in the Riviera Maya, Mexico to photograph it. The backdrop of the ocean created a spectacular setting that any photographer would love. More than that, the bride and groom were all about the pictures! They were loads of fun to work with – climbing a lifeguard tower and jumping in the pool are not things that I would ask most couples (and their wedding party) to do, but Shannon and Davey were game for just about anything.

I can’t explain how stunning Shannon was, how enamored Davey looked when he saw her walking down the aisle, and how much fun the 30+ people that traveled all the way to Mexico had at this wedding. I can only hope to work with more couples that are this in love, this happy, and of course, this enthusiastic to be photographed.

Here are some of my favorites – more to come of their reception in their hometown the following weekend….

Denita and Tim’s Wedding

kmcookephoto — Mon, 12 Sep 2011 13:16:46 +0000

I can not explain what an absolutely wonderful time I had at Tim and Denita’s wedding – a gorgeous day, a beautiful couple, and a great party. It is such a huge honor for me to be at a wedding capturing the tender moments and exciting times for the bride and groom. Tim & Denita were married at the Mountain Fare Inn in Campton, NH, which is owned by Tim’s parents – such a fabulous place to have a wedding!

I don’t know if I have ever been to a wedding where the dance floor was packed from the moment the music started and it lasted all night – maybe it was the Aussie influence from Denita’s side, maybe it was all of the skiers in the group, and maybe it was just a fantastic party! (the final photo below seems to sum up the night….).

As always, I want to thank Tim & Denita for allowing me to be in their faces all day, for being in their personal space, and for allowing me to capture the moments on their special day. Best wishes for a long and happy life together!

Below is a preview of the photos from that day……

Gomer Family Photos

kmcookephoto — Sun, 28 Aug 2011 14:29:07 +0000

After taking Jonathan’s photos, I met the Gomer family the next day to take their family portraits. The family has been vacationing at Deer Park Resort for over 20 years, so we met there to take their portraits which was perfect because it is one of my favorite places to go. This was a new one for me, because all of the family members were adults and it was quick and easy to get a handful of group photos that they loved.

Jonathon’s Senior Portraits

kmcookephoto — Sat, 27 Aug 2011 14:57:03 +0000

OK, this was something that I am not used to – a teenage boy that was not only willing to have his picture taken, but also cooperative when taking his senior pictures! Jonathon is used to being in front of the camera because he is a model (no pressure on the photographer!), he was great to work with and took direction well. I wish that all boys in high school were as easy as this to photograph…..I doubt that will be the case in my future. At the end of the day he had some great pictures to use for his senior photo as well as his modeling portfolio.

Here are some of my faves from the day……

Debbie’s Boys……Adorable Little Men!

kmcookephoto — Sat, 13 Aug 2011 15:41:51 +0000

Ok, so these are really Mark and Colleen’s handsome little boys, but my friend Debbie (YiaYia) adores them and asked me to photograph them. How lucky am I? They are both so cute and very funny. We didn’t get quite as many pictures as we were hoping, but when you combine an infant and a toddler in one session it isn’t an easy task to stay on track . Either way, there were still some great moments with these handsome little men. Can’t wait to plan another date and do it again.

Below are a few shots of these cuties….

Raymie & Clyde Engagement Photos

kmcookephoto — Wed, 27 Jul 2011 23:52:34 +0000

OK, so these were more like pre-wedding photos considering that Raymie & Clyde are getting married in less than two months (!), but we will call them engagement photos just the same. I met these absolutely wonderful people a few months ago at Loon Mountain, which is where they are getting married this Fall. I consider myself very fortunate for having the chance to spend an afternoon snapping photo after smiling photo of this happy couple. They were a true pleasure to work with – especially considering that it was yet another scorcher 100 degree day. Somehow we laughed through the sweltering heat and pretended that we weren’t melting the entire time – it made for a very long ride to the top of Loon in what used to be known as a gondola, but now I call a sauna in the sky - but the views and the photos were worth it.

Below are some of my favorites from the day – many of the ones I love are of Raymie busting out laughing while Clyde either stood perfectly posed looking at me, or glanced at her with a look of absolute adoration in his eyes. At one point when I mentioned that I kept calling Clyde “Raymie”, Raymie replied “That is because we are like one, Clyde and Raymie, Raymie and Clyde, we just go together….”. You get a true sense of that love if you are fortunate enough to spend time with them. Although I am not going to be there on their big day, I wish them all the best and am sure that they will spend many years laughing and smiling together.

So here are my faves…….

A typical moment from the day.....

Kempers, Michalak, & Zbitnoff Family Portrait Session

kmcookephoto — Mon, 25 Jul 2011 20:13:32 +0000

As I headed out to meet this family, all I could think was “What am I going to do? I don’t even know how to pronounce their names!” Rest assured, that pronouncing their last names was the toughest part of my day. Once I met the family - all 12 of them – I was immediately at ease because they are kind, fun, easy to work with and definitely entertaining. It was an absolute scorcher of a day and it was especially tough on the young ones who were less than thrilled to be dragged around and posed.

Thankfully we got some great family portraits done and then had time to hang out, relax and watch the kids be kids – smiles abound when cartwheeling and doing handstands. During that time I was able to get some 100% genuine smiles, which made me a very happy photographer. Some photos weren’t “perfect” by photography standards, but they all showed the pure bliss of summertime fun for these cousins spending time together and I was happy that I was able to capture it.

As always, a huge thank you to the Kempers, Michalak, & Zbitnoff families for allowing me to capture these moments. Here are some of my favorites from the day…….

If the kids have to do it, the adults have to do it too!

And finally, we let the fun begin!!!

Happy kids – the photo shoot is over!!!

New London Wedding

kmcookephoto — Thu, 14 Jul 2011 18:19:25 +0000

I was fortunate to work with Katie Dow last month to shoot a wedding in New London, NH at the Lake Sunapee Country Club. What a gorgeous setting for a wedding! The bride and groom along with their friends and family had a beautiful wedding on a beautiful afternoon in June. Here are a few of my favorite pictures that I took from the day. Thank you to Katie Dow for inviting me to work with her – check out more photos from the Paquin Wedding here.

Sam & Ollie

kmcookephoto — Wed, 13 Jul 2011 20:39:39 +0000

Lucky for me, I have lots of friends with adorable kids to photograph! Melanie & Dave’s boys, Sam and Ollie were no exception. Well, I thought that it was going to be Sam & Ollie (together), but due to the heat and the nature of trying to photograph and infant and a toddler together, it was mostly Sam… and some of Ollie. We thought that it was going to be a cool morning with some clouds to keep the sun from heating us up too much, but we were wrong. By 10am I think that it was about 90 in the sun, which made it a little warm for a photo session, but thankfully the kids were great and Mel, Dave and I suffered through the heat in hopes that we would get some good pictures of the boys. While getting them together wasn’t easy, we were able to get a few great ones – thanks in part to Dave & Mel remembering to break out the bubbles!

Thanks to Melanie and Dave for sharing their day and their adorable boys with me! Here are some of my favorites from the day……

Baby Ewan!!

kmcookephoto — Mon, 20 Jun 2011 01:51:12 +0000

Baby Ewan is here and he is adorable! These were taken a month ago but I didn’t get a chance to post them here yet, so I decided to post them before he gets any older. I am very fortunate to have the opportunity to photograph such a beautiful little person and I hope that I get to create a photo journal of him. As always, I like taking portraits either at home or outdoors, it seems to make the photographs much more personal and a little more special, and this was no exception. Thanks to Beth and Chris for allowing me into their home (again).

So, without further ado, here is Baby Ewan…..