Finally Switched back to NIKON!!!

Here are a few test snaps which I took with my new gear yesterday (Thanksgiving morning) of my son which we are so in love with that we are going to actually use for our holiday card...





After ~9 years as a Canon digital shooter (primarily because back in my early PJ days Canon was the only digital option for the rigors of news photography), I’ve finally switched back to the camera system I had learned to love during my B&W and color film days in Art School and before as an budding Photojournalist. Now that Nikon has matched (some would say exceeded) Canon’s digital pro bodies, I’m thrilled to be able to switch back to the amazing superiority Nikkor optics while maintaining the high-res RAW file quality and consistent real life color I require...

My Last Wedding of the Season: Kelsa Ingalls to Matthew DeBrabant, Mountain Top Inn, Chittenden VT, November 7, 2008

Beautiful late Fall day for a wedding - though well into Stick Season, Kelsa & Matt’s sunset wedding wasn’t too cold for most – we did manage to accomplish some of the formals immediately following still up on the hill, but since most of the family bolted indoors we had to finish the rest in front of the fire; which worked out fine. The Mountain Top still had there tent up with all the sides down and pumping in heat from all four corners was plenty warm once all the additional body heat arrived…

I managed a few romantic posed moments down by the water prior to the ceremony that I’m sure Kelsa & Matt love. Here is a selection of my favorites from their day.

The Perfect Fall Foliage Wedding of Stacie Caldwell & Gordon Randall - October 11th 2009

I had the pleasure of documenting the ceremony of this fun couple just down the road in Fayston VT. Though they hired me for only 2 hours, I still managed to create a few cool moments - here are my favorites.

Peace! Spencer

The Wedding Story of Nikki Gingerelli & Nick Jabour along the backside of Mt. Mansfield - October 9th, 2009

Through the fear of impending rain or perhaps even snow, this cool couple from Boston and local/Jersey family opted for an outdoor fall foliage wedding followed by an evening reception. What fun we obviously all had - it didn't rain or snow of course (though the next weekend we received 2" in the valleys and as much as 9" on the mountain tops). Here are just a few of my favorite images, the rest of which are available to view on Pictage.com if you are a friend.

Peace! Spencer

Diana Carlino & Andrew Coffey's Killington VT Wedding Story - Saturday, September 26, 2009

When I suggested “let’s go for hike up to the peak”, I never expected her to emphatically reply “YES!”…

…and so right after the brief formal session, off we went – THE WHOLE WEDDING PARTY.

AWESOME:

Here's to the the Yankees playing the Red Sox in game 7 later this month for the 2009 ALCS.

Katie Southerton & Russ Atkin's Wedding Weekend - September 19, 2009 - Our Lady of the Snows, Woodstock VT & The Hawk Inn Resort

An absolutely amazing wedding weekend in the heart of Vermont! Katie & Russ and all their friends were a true joy to work with and I miss all of them so much already. Jessica at the Hawk Inn & Mountain Resort really knows how to throw a party!

I loved the jaunt through Woodstock and really didn’t mind at all getting my feet wet in the stream behind the Hawk Inn. Here’s about 100 of my favorites which show off just how much FUN we all had…

Peace!

Spencer

PS: Some also show the REAL LIFE & EMOTIONAL aspects of the weekend too + a few other really cool shots I just had to include.

Pictage Slideshow BETA

Here are a groom's favorite images from his August 1st 2009 Wedding Story; rehearsal & wedding in Burlington, VT, with formals & reception at the Shelburne Museum:



Here is another selection of a bride's favorites from her May 31st 2009 Wedding Story at the Inn at the Round Barn Farm in Waitsfield, VT:



Please let me know what you think. Peace! Spencer

Jillian & Justin’s Love Story at the Inn at the Round Barn Farm in the Mad River Valley of Vermont – the weekend of September 12, 2009.

I truly love documenting weddings at the Round Barn in Waitsfield VT, not because it’s only 5 minutes from my home and that I know the Mad River Valley so well, not because the night ends early (so the local cows get proper rest) and then we get the option to go to another venue for post-parties, not because Anne-Marie & Tim and all the staff (including Cooper) are total professionals, not even because the food is absolutely amazing and from all local farms, but really just because EVERYTHING seems to just flow so well no matter how hard I try to make each Round Barn wedding into its own unique story.

Last weekend I created a really fun story for these two South Carolina lovers and their closest friends from all over the county including 11 groomsmen and 7 bridesmaids + all the little ones. Again, everything just flowed through as if it were destiny – I even tossed in the mix a bit by taking the couple to a local covered bridge after the ceremony and though they didn’t tell ANYONE that they were going, when we returned it was like we never missed a step… That’s all really because the Round Barn took such great care of every little detail that most didn’t even notice we were missing. Plus you’ll notice that we had a little bit of fall foliage already…

Needless to say I had a blast, so here are 90 of my favorite images from the weekend.

I miss you all already.

Peace! Spencer

Carolinne Messihi & Dylan Griffin's Wedding Story - Private Home, N. Ferrisburgh, VT - Sunday, September 6, 2009

I shot two weddings last weekend, the second of which for another adorable couple, but this time from NYC and the groom is a fellow professional photographer. I often times find that when I shoot two weddings in a weekend, the 2^nd gets cooler results as I’m already “in the groove” - compare the 2, let me know what you think...

Peace! Spencer

Madaieine Krebs & TJ Kingsbury's Wedding Story at The Skinner Barn in Waitsfield, VT - Saturday, September 5th 2009

I shot two weddings last weekend, the first of which for an adorable local Mad River Valley couple at the Skinner Barn here in Waitsfield, VT:




















The other vendors:
Wendy & John Neal - Catering
NOW IS NOW - Band
Emily Vontrapp - Flowers
Samantha Buczek - Cooridinator

Kate Reusch & Cody Patno’s Wedding in Montpelier, VT - Saint Augustine Church and The Capital Plaza – August 29th 2009.

Kate wrote me the following email the next morning:

“Hi Spencer,

Just a quick note to say thank you! Everyone at the wedding commented on how incredible the slideshow was and the hotel staff said that you were extremely talented photographer (which we already knew!)...they have a lot of different vendors come through and said that by far you were one of the best they have seen and a joy to work with.

You made Cody and I (and the rest of the bridal party) feel extremely comfortable and we really appreciate all the running back and forth you did in order to find the perfect shots. We hope you were able to enjoy your self at least a little bit!

We leave for our honeymoon tomorrow morning and will try to get online down there to get our "sneak peak" next weekend. We're excited to see them!

Thank you again for everything,

Kate and Cody.”

Well, here it is; needless to say I had a blast documenting their day and I look forward to hearing from them when they return – here are just a few of my favorites, of which & all the remaining over 600 will be available to view & order at pictage.com once Kate & Cody have released them.

Peace! Spencer

Kathy & Tim’s Wedding at the Grand Isle Lake House, Saturday August 22, 2009.

For these fellow journalists, I produced a tighter edit of just over 400 images, of which here are just a few of my favorites in B&W with a few toned. You can view these and more, and also in color, on Pictage.com as soon as they are released. Grand Isle Lake House is a cool spot for a wedding – you get the whole place all to yourselves – I look forward to the opportunity of documenting another wedding there soon.

Peace!

Stephanie & Jason's Wedding Weekend - St. Joseph's Co-Cathedral & Ticonderoga at The Shelburne Museum - August 1st 2009

Beautiful weekend, beautiful day, beautiful couple, beautiful family - everything was beautiful! Here are merely 1/2 of my favorites; the rest of which and all of the over 600 images will be available to view & order on Pictage.com once Steph and Jay have returned from Hawaii and released them. Peace! Spencer

Free E-Session with Stephanie & Jeff, August 3, 2009

Each year one lucky couple who meets me at a bridal show can win a free engagement session here in the Mad River Valley – last Fall Stephanie Veilleux & Jeff Danaher from Colchester won at the VT VOWS Show, and so because of the rainy summer we finally found time yesterday afternoon to meet up. They both like the outdoors and Jeff is big into fishing so they wanted to find a place to "wade around" a bit. I think I found a nice spot; here are a few of my favs from the shoot.

Jenna & Rob's Wedding Story - Mountain Top Inn - July 25 2009

Hopefully I am not jinxing the rest of my weddings– it was nice to not have to think about rain this past weekend (kind of strange though at the same time, as I was getting used to it). I’m just as happy to work within rain as I am within the hottest days of summer – sort of…

Anyway this past weekend I had the pleasure of working with Chelsea and her crew up at MT Top Inn down in Chittenden VT. Again I can’t stress enough how simple they make every detail – they take care of everything; if that’s what you want, there are few other places in the state that do it as well!

Jenna & Rob and all of there friends and family are very cool – here are a selection of my favorites, all of which and more will be available to view online at Pictage.com as soon as they return from Hawaii.

Peace!

Spencer

Carmen & Matthew's Wedding Story - The Trapp Family Lodge, Stowe VT - July 18th 2009

A large part of the reason I love my job so much is the fact that for 1-2 days over every weekend in the summer and a few in the fall, winter & spring, I get to spend the whole time with the most loving people on earth and share/witness/document/create their most beautiful moments. For this reason I get a little misty eyed during ceremonies because I reflect that someone I recently lost will never share moments like these and that I will never be able to see him dance with the love of his life… So I persevere for him, and believe that he helps me be an even better wedding photographer because I share/witness/document/create these moments not only through my eyes but also as if these where his.

Anyway, I digress a bit, the only real sad part of my job is that in most cases I rarely if ever get a chance to hang out with these loving couples ever again – I just get to know that the moments I share/witness/document/create are moments that everyone who attended will cherish forever, so that too keeps me going.

I truly love spending this time with every couple who’s wedding story I showcase, but a few each year really touch my soul in a special way, of which only two other couples than Carmen & Matthew so far have, there is some characteristic within them alike I can’t describe that so draws me to them – I wholeheartedly yearn to not lose touch with these special people – only time will tell.

Here are a few of Carmen & Mathew’s wedding weekend moments; perhaps you can see what I mean; all of the over 1000 images can be seen on Pictage.com after Carmen & Mathew have returned from Greece and are “plugged back in”.






























































































The Trapp Family Lodge is an amazing spot in Vermont for a wedding, not only is it an absolutely beautiful location in the heart of Stowe but mostly because they take care of everything on location so that the only thing the Bride & Groom have to worry about is each other. I'm quite certain it is now my most favorite venue.

Peace! Spencer

The Wedding Story of Kate Gagnon & Owen Osborn - Warren VT - July 11, 2009

Turned into a magical weekend for both families and friends who made it up to this gorgeous country house in the woods above Warren village in Vermont (~1 mile from my house). I had a blast documenting this story and before I get started spilling – sometimes I feel like writing more than others, but all of my weddings this summer so far have been real success stories - which have helped me continue to LOVE MY JOB!!!

Yet again, mother nature was extremely nice to me this past Saturday, and we were extremely lucky that the skies didn’t open up an hour sooner – which would have made for some very wet guests and one ruined hand-sewn, hand-dyed wedding dress… In fact she held out all day ‘til near the end of the cocktail hour and by then most of the guests were in the tent ready to eat. When rain did arrive, did it ever, tent walls flapping away with thunder & lightning and the sky went dark, but by the end of the family toasts the rain eased, the sun peered through on the horizon and some of us ran out to witness a double rainbow.

Seems to becoming sort of a pattern this summer, but at least it’s just rain after all - we could be worrying about much worse things – like being way to HOT… Had this been the winter we would all be skipping life to go skiing in the most amazing freshies everyday – can you just imagine? As I type this it is utterly pouring out yet again and now I start worrying about this next weekends weather… Most of my gear is weather proof so you need not worry about me or the images I create, as I thrive within the challenge and actually love making weather photos…

The Osborn home is tucked away at the end of a dirt road among all the others up here in the mountains of Vermont – a quaint little place with solar panels, country flowers, with it’s own sugar-shack, all with a peaceful view of the southern mountains… A path cut through the woods brings you next door to this oversized mansion of sorts where the gals stayed the weekend and got ready. Before the ceremony we did a few family and wedding party creative formals here on the stone patio with enough time left for everyone to make it back over next door prior to the ceremony to relax a bit and finish a little prep. This ceremony, like many others, made me cry a bit behind my lens (I’d rather not go into why), everything was so perfect for Kate & Owen that afternoon…

Here are a few of my most favorite moments captured from the weekend; you can view all the over 700 images on Pictage.com through the Prints tab within my website once Kate & Owen have released them and as an extra little sneak peek I’ve prepared a multimedia slideshow you can watch by clicking here.

Peace!

Spencer








































Kate just wrote me this about each of the other vendors:
Band: Starline Rhythm Boys (awesome).
Cupcakes: Mary Laulis, Bridge Street Bakery (she does much fancier stuff than we had, and is known for her decorating).
Caterer: Elder Hill Catering in Bristol, VT. Ian and Nancy. No website, and I believe I was their only wedding this summer. They were AMAZING to work with. Ian is the chef at Middlebury, so my mom found out about them through the chef at Amherst College where she works. They need a website.
Officiant: Owen's uncle, Frederick H. Osborn III. He isn't an official wedding officiant, but the family has weddings at the family house in Garrison, NY.
Tent: Celebration Rentals in Brandon. They work closely with Ian and Nancy, so she suggested them because of that.
Peonies: Mountain Flower Farm - organic farm right near you on Roxbury Mtn Road.

The Dress was made by one of Kate’s best friends: Jacqueline Kilmartin of Lillian Jackson Textile Design.

Molly & Zach's E-Session, Downtown Stowe VT

I met up with Molly & Zach yesterday afternoon to walk around Stowe a bit for an environmental engagement session - here are a few examples of the moments created...










I look forward to documenting their wedding story next August at the Stowehof.

Peace! Spencer

Adrienne & John’s 4th of July Wet Wedding Weekend Wonderland – Middlebury, VT 2009

WOW just doesn’t cover it here, so I’m going to let the images speak for themselves, but to say the least it was a blast documenting my largest wedding so far this year at the Illick Estate as Adrienne joined John’s MacIntyre clan… 3 photographers, 4 days, 300 guests, 11 piece band, 10 groomsmen, 9 bridesmaids, best fireworks I’ve ever seen in the state & RAIN producing a fair amount of standing water under the tent which stopped no one from having a blast: