Sunday, March 29, 2009

Aaaaaaaaa (insert angelic choir singing here)

Tha's right ladies and gentlemen, I have officially in my posession (and used this past weekend at Rebecca and Michael's wedding) the Canon 5d Mark II!!!

This is an AMAZING camera. 21.1-megapixel full-frame CMOS sensor ....so for the non-photography geeks that means supreme quality and full frame is sort of the equivalent to the wide screen for video...you get more image.

But if that doesn't convince you, this wonderful baby here comes with HD video!! That's right; full HD video capture at 1920x1080 with HDMI output for HD viewing of stills and video! Sweeeeet!!!

Now, I am not a videographer...but you know who is? My fiancee! So...we've been scheming ways to use this greatness during a wedding day and combining our efforts into creating something amazing...like the video below that Canon released showing just how great this camera is...if you don't believe me, take a look for yourself!


Tuesday, March 24, 2009

I'm Engaged!!!

That's right ladies and gentlemen; Vanessa Joy is engaged to none other than wedding videographer Rob Adams!!

Yes we did in fact meet about 4 years ago working a wedding, but we didn't start dating until recently, and it was well worth the wait! I have never been happier in my entire life, I'm sure all of you "blushing brides" can completely understand!

So being that we are photographers...when my boyfriend proposed, he went all out. He completely took me by surprise right outside of Pronovias Dress shop (where I was going because I did know that we were going to be engaged soon and they were having a HUGE sale and yes I did find my dress that day!), and came with photographer friend of our Ahmet and Liz, his assistant/editor. And well, I won't say anymore because...you can watch it below!!

Sunday, March 15, 2009

Ritacco Center Bridal Show


A few Sundays ago I was able to do a bridal show partnering up with videographer Rob Adams at the Ritacco Center in Toms River. Bridal shows are always so busy and end up being a lot of fun, especially running into other people in the industry like Carrie (who's wedding I'm shooting with Marissa Levin in December) and meeting a lot of new people.

I have to admit, I'm not really a huge fan of bridal shows.. A few reasons really: 1) when the showcase starts the music is WAY too loud (I'm an old woman sometimes, I know) and 2) I feel like a factory wedding photography company talking to so many brides at one time. I very much try to have my brand resemble a boutique approach to wedding photography, personal and custom, not an assembly line where a bride feels like she's just another job.


But overall I did have a great time here (can you tell by the cheesy smile?) and so far its been a great way to meet new awesome brides! I was even able to put together some sweet sample albums from ASA Books and get a sign made as well! It's always fun when a lot of hard work comes together. Oooo, and I even brought my metal mural from my living room! Haha, hard to transport, but well worth it as it was an eye-catcher!

Friday, March 13, 2009

We all had to start somewhere!



Well, it's true isn't it?



I was going through some pictures this weekend trying to clean some things out of my personal computer and I stumbled across some of my first "professional" photos. After being slightly embarrassed at what I considered to be good photography at the time, I realized that, hey! it was a good start!



It's always good to do a little reflecting on how much you've grown over the years and having these photos was a great way to do it for me. Haha, I almost thought it best NOT to post these, but after some thought I think I should be proud of my work, even the old, imperfect stuff! So here's some of my old stuff...enJOY!




























Monday, March 2, 2009

Anthem of Hope

I love shooting weddings, but every once in a while I get a chance to do something on the other side of the photographic spectrum, and I love it!

Anthem of Hope was founded by my friend Darren Leblanc who's wife died a few months ago from brain cancer. If you don't know about Darren Leblanc, click on his name to go to his blog and just read a little about him and his life, it's quite an azaming story.

After his wife's death, Darren began Anthem of Hope as way to "bring hope to a hopeless world" and "to bring comfort to those affected by illness". For this venture, Darren is creating a DVD and Friday was one of the shoots. Luckily, Darren asked me to shoot some behind the scenes footage and we really had a great time creating something that will have such an impact on so many people in the future. I was able to meet cancer and heart disease survivors and hear them talk about some of their stories. It really was very powerful...Take a look!



As always I'm working with many talented people including makeup by Yvonne Moss, Justin LeBlanc (sound), Dan (video), Heather (hair), Colleen and Rachel (production) and Taylor and Kyleigh (wardrobe). Thanks for letting me work with all of you!!