Shameless Self Gratuitous Maximus

Rarely do I ever receive any mail at my residence that doesn't usually end up in the trash, tons and tons of newspaper, coupons, etc; essentially a waste of natural resources, however today when I took my little garbage bag down to the mail box I had a huge surprise inside!

I received a very nice thank you note from Steph & Jeff regarding their engagement session and had to share it..

Thanks guys, it really means a great deal to me.



What matters to me most is at the end of the day being able to move someone emotionally with the work I do. To me that is the ultimate since of existentialism (at least in my book).

Thank you guys...

-Rick O

Jared James Today is Live!

Week or so ago, I posted about how stoked I was about doing a session with Jared back in March for his upcoming web site launch as well as his new book Enjoy Success Today.

I received an email from him last evening that his website has gone live! You can check his site out by clicking on the image below or pointing your web browser to www.jaredjamestoday.com.



He will also be doing a book signing locally in July, so be sure to check out his website for more information.

Good luck Jared!

-Rick O

Steph & Jeff's e-Shoot

This past Saturday late afternoon I had the pleasure of doing a little engagement session with Steph & Jeff! This is probably starting to sound like a broken record, but I really had an awesome time working with them. I guess I've just been blessed to have met so many fantastic couples over the last year.

Several years ago Stephanie was bar tending on the side a little bit and Jeffrey happened to have an apartment right up over the bar (how cool is that!) - Eventually Steph got the hint that Jeff was interested in her after spending 4 hours at a time just hanging around and talking, eventually one thing led to another and they are getting married later this year.

When Jeff first contacted me, we discussed a bit of the details and then he wanted to have me come and meet Stephanie and go over the details with her as well. Little to my surprise when I arrived, there was a house full of people! His Mom & Dad were there, his little sister was there, his older sister showed up - wow talk about being put on the spot!

Steph & Jeff didn't have an exact location they wanted so we ended up shooting here in Milford, we started at Anchor Beach, went to Gulf Beach then headed to downtown Milford and walked all over the place, even found some cool little hidden locations.

It was low tide and I was finally able to try out a couple ideas I had been thinking of for some time. Starting out with this first shot of Steph & Jeff on the stairs that during high-tide actually are mostly covered with water down at Anchor Beach. I really love the way Jeff is adoring Steph here and her genuine smile says she is feeling the same!



Before we actually went to the beach side of Gulf Beach we went across the street to one of the parking areas, that's where I grabbed this shot of them sitting on the telephone pole!



Once we went to the beach I thought it would be neat to shoot down at them, so I went up on the lifeguard thing-a-ma-jingy. I get such terrible vertigo, but thought it was worth it!!



Again, it was low tide so I was finally able to get some under-the-pier shots - you can see the water level is normally right about where their heads are! These two were totally natural, they were so into each other it was awesome.



I absolutely loved this next shot - the columns are so vast and the angle was just really working for this shot (IMHO)



We found this little hideaway by accident - I just loved all of the scenery behind them.



And, we of course ended up at the duck pond for a couple as well.



It was a great day guys and I had a fantastic time, looking forward to your wedding in September.

-Rick O

Little M at Gulf Beach

On Saturday morning I did a little session with Madelaine and her daughter Meilani at Gulf Beach! She had more energy than a nuclear power plant and I think finally after running up and down the pier she tired out for a short time and I was able to get a few shots in :)

Here are a couple of my favorites!



Totally cute here doing her own thing - I think she was camera shy!



I liked this in color too, but really am digging it in B&W, the wind blowing through her hair and she seems to be in her own little world.



I really like Mom's hand in this with Meilani just holding onto her finger!



-Rick O

R. Patryce Bryant - I'll Trust

Last Saturday I had the very unexpected (last minute) opportunity to cover Miss Bryant's CD release party. She literally called me Friday and I happened to have a cancellation, so I was there on Sat.

I wanted to spend a good 15-20 minutes prior to her sound check to get some decent portrait shots outside, but I was only able to squeeze 7 or so minutes of her time! What a 7 minutes it was too!!! Bam Bam Bam - felt like Emeril there for a bit!

I was absolutely blown away by her voice and her lungs, I mean the sound check gave me goosebumps even if it was the same 8 bars over and over, but, she is obviously a perfectionist and when she went on later that evening - she nailed it as did the band.

Patryce I wish you all the luck with your new CD and stay grounded as you are and I think all of your hard work and devotion will definitely pay off...

This image was one of the first I took that evening, I just saw that reserved row sign and had to do something with it!



Here are some of the images from our 7-minute-shoot-out! This image just shows how peaceful this wonderfully talented woman is.. I didn't know her personality all that well at this point, so was being on my best professional behavior!



I saw this fence, and had to use it as a prop, in several images actually. The look on her face here had me confused at first (she's giving me that "what in the world is wrong with this guy look")



But that look only lasted a minute when she made some silly comment and cracked herself up!



Of course, without a doubt I needed to shoot her through the fence as well!



Patryce it was a pleasure working with you!!!

-Rick O

Jared James - Enjoy Success Today

Back in March Jared asked me if I would do a photo session with him as he was in the process of not only setting up a whole new website for his business, but also in the middle of writing a book!

I received an email from him yesterday and attached to it, was the cover of his book from his publisher! I must say I was totally psyched when I saw that two of the images from the session were used for the cover of his book "Enjoy Success Today"

His book is about balancing a successful career/business while maintaining one's family obligations and marital relations. Jared, is not one of these people who simply expresses what one should do, but who actually walks the walk and leads by example.

Jared, I wish you all the luck with your new venture, and I am sure you will continue to stay grounded in the years to come, regardless of the amount of financial success you achieve, I know you will continue to maintain personal success in all of your relations.

Here is the cover of the book - be sure to look for it in bookstores next month. I'll also do a follow up post when his website goes live.



-Rick O

Karie's Maternity Session

I've been doing photography for a little bit now and am always intrigued at the thought of trying something new, not new in general, but new for me. :)

I have had several inquiries for maternity sessions, yet had no experience or examples of my work; that is until this past Saturday when I was blessed with the opportunity to do a session with Karie.

I'll be honest, it was going to be really hard to mess this up, because she is just absolutely stunning and has that wonderful mom-to-be glow just bouncing off of her in every direction.

I asked Claudia (Karie's sis-in-law) if her husband had a long-sleeved white dress shirt, I just had this feeling that it would look great on Karie and just really scream sexy yet sophisticated and eloquent.

I only had about 45 minutes with her and it is probably a good thing, because I think she was getting a little tired towards the end.

I'll start off with the baby bump - her belly really looked cute and to be honest I thought she was maybe 3 or 4 months pregnant, whenever she said she was 7 months along, I just couldn't believe it..



This next shot, to me simply states: you can be pregnant and still look incredible!



The next image just screams A-D-O-R-A-B-L-E.

Karie, you really look so cute in this image. The expression on your face just really really shows how incredibly happy you are.



I like this next shot as well, she just seems to be thinking about everything (like - Rick are we almost done here!!!)



Honestly Karie you definitely belong on a cover of one of those parenting or mom-to-be magazines.

I know you and Shane are 1000 miles away or so, but when you visit with the little one, you definitely have to give me a call - I'd love to do a session with you, Shane and your daughter!

-Rick O

Johanna & Andres Laverde

Last Saturday I had the pleasure of photographing Johanna & Andres wedding down in Stamford. I first met Johanna and her mom Gloria at Gloria's sisters wedding last June when I photographed Luz & Mike Guarente's wedding.

There were lots of shots to choose from, but here are some of my favorites, starting with Johanna getting her hair done.



These next two shots were done in her bedroom - she has some awesome color paint on the walls and the window was huge and letting in all of this wonderful light.





After she was dressed she went to sit by the front window and was waiting for her ride to arrive, you can definitely tell she is thinking about the day and what is to come.



A few detail shots of her flowers, dress, the invitation as well as a bit of Andres attire!



Something about Andres colors and this awesome natural light coming in through his window at his parents house was captivating.



I went outside with Andres and grabbed this shot of him.



After the ceremony we went outside for a bit, letting them take in what just happened!



Andres just looks so GQ'ish in this next shot!



Had to definitely get a shot of them holding hands!



Johanna had looked down for a moment and I thought it was a real nice look so I asked her to do it again so I could capture that moment.



A few of the reception details in this next photo.



Johanna and her Dad during the Father/Daughter dance, you can see how emotional he was and it was very touching.



Johanna sharing a tender moment with her little one.



Grandpa sharing a little tender moment too - I really loved this shot and the bond they are sharing.



Once it was dark outside I grabbed Johanna & Andres for a couple more and had them stand under the parking lots spot light.



I really had a great time at your wedding guys and look forward to working with you again in the future.

-Rick O