No matter how long we’re in this business, we should never stop learning and growing and pushing ourselves. One of the ways I did this in 2012 was to try to push myself to capture the first kiss in creative ways. There’s a good reason I hadn’t done this before, of course — this is an extremely important moment that really doesn’t need embellishing, so it’s more important to just capture it than to be fancy and risk not capturing it. But this is an outgrowth of using second shooters and assistants I really trust. When I see a shot that can benefit from a risky technique, I tell them beforehand “OK, your job is just to get the first kiss straight-up and close, keep it simple. I’m going to do something wacky.”

For Annie and Bill the wackiness was a tilt-shift to capture the overhead lights, as well as an SB-900 I’d placed behind the altar before the ceremony started, turning a very dark scene into this.
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Lens: 45mm f/2.8 PC-E
Camera: Nikon D3s
Place: The Foundry

It was an amazing day, especially thanks to the guidance of planner Christine at Exquisite Affairs Productions and the help of John Edgar and assistance from Dave Paek. John actually grew up in Scotland, so he was my cultural attaché. But even he couldn’t fully translate the heavy dialect of the grandfather’s nonetheless hilarious speech.

Randy kids, wild adults, waving kilts, grand marches, and lots and lots of alcohol. All of the destination, none of the plane travel. Thank you.

*I support this trend. I’ve photographed weddings on every day of the week in 2012, which is not a common feat.

Fantastic people, it turns out. The sort of people who wedding photography clichés are based on, because they just sort of do that stuff in real life. The photo in the cab, 100 percent blissful, heads together in a world-class nuzzle? That was just how they were sitting, on their own. They have the type of connection where, when she came down the aisle at the Central Park Ladies’ Pavillion ceremony, he met her halfway … and kissed her.

Sure, breaking tradition keeps me on my toes, but it’s also beautiful to watch.

They followed with an intimate, thirtysomething-person reception at the Alger House, with modern Jazz music from Cate Cox, including a stint with her Dad serenading everyone to the Doors.

A beautiful, fantastic day, despite exactly eight minutes of rain (the ceremony was saved from being moved indoors by the amazingly precise Dark Sky app on my iPhone). Sometimes it’s the jolts in life that get you where you need to be.

Thanks to Kacy Jahanbini for the help and great photos in this last-minute scramble.

I’m impatient today. I’m working on the blog post right now, but I finished stitching this together (It’s a five-image panorama) and said “Hey, I want to share this.”

So here you are. More to come.
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Camera: Camera: Nikon D800
Lens: Nikon 85mm f/1.4G

Seriously, who knew?

PS: If you like shooting Brenizer Method images, you’ll want to watch this blog in the next couple weeks. Trust me.
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Camera: Camera: Nikon D4
Lens: 28-image “Brenizer method” panorama with the Sigma 85mm f/1.4 (equivalent of 27m f/0.44 according to Brett’s calculator)

There are a lot worse places to be snowed in than Guastavino’s, though, a restaurant and event space with gorgeous architecture and style. The entire day from getting ready to the last moments of the reception was in the building, which eliminates about nine of the top 10 potential stressors on a wedding day.

Take Manhattan chic, add embarrassing and fun stories from family, a father rocking out on the mic with the band, belly dancers, rambunctious kids, and a kind, warm couple who couldn’t stop looking at each other all night, and you have a heck of a wedding.

My girlfriend, a fantastic modern dancer who performs at the Metropolitain Opera among other places, can spot dancers as they walk down the street. We’ve been at a restaurant, and the waitress comes up to our table, and she’ll ask “Where do you dance?” After this long in the industry, I like to think I can look at people and say “Man, they are going to have a fantastic wedding.” And it has almost nothing to do with income — it’s about love of life and family, vivaciousness and creativity. And when I saw Maly’s work through mutual photographer friends, I knew she had that in spades.

For a long time, I did not know that she had also admired my work and that, even though she knew countless photographers (a third of the wedding guests were photographers in some capacity), I was her pick for the day the awesome wedding would finally come.

And man … I was right. There’s nothing to say about this wedding that won’t use an unseemly amount of exclamation points. Every element they filled the fantastic Metropolitain Building with was carefully hand-made, including the stunning cake made by Maly’s mother. Even though these are the most detail shots I’ve ever posted, I’m actually holding back most of the detail awesomeness, either because they should be published in a new-bride-oriented blog or because I want to horde them for myself so I can shamelessly rip them off when I get married. But also because every moment of the day was as filled with life and joy as the couple themselves.

Look at the pictures, watch this cinematic trailer by the great videographer team at Three Ring Media, and try not to fall in love with Maly and Craig. I dare you.

Now, I finally strapped on a camera and headed for Ground Zero, but I was met with a site of raucous celebration, not despair. Osama is dead; we even have the body so there won’t be Osama sighting for the next 50 years, and New Yorkers were in the mood to celebrate. Given that it was 1 a.m., most of the ones really ready to celebrate in public were the college kids who were ready to go anyway, which ensured the atmosphere would be of revelry, not contemplation, though we were among the graves of Osama victims.

But if any city is ready for an impromptu rally at 1 a.m., it’s this one. And I’m glad to call it my home.

UPDATE: I wasn’t there to do video, but here’s a quick one I took to just get a sense of the crowd. Also, my friends at B&H Photo asked how I did this technically, given that it was 1 a.m. under low and very tricky lighting. Images have very little editing as befits photojournalism, but I knew I’d have to capture action in near-darkness, so I brought my “night vision” set-up: Two Nikon D3s‘s with the Nikon 24mm f/1.4, 35mm f/1.4, and Sigma 85mm f/1.4. Under sodium-vapor streetlights, white balance gets truly wacky, so I used Nikon Capture NX2 to process, as it has the best white balance control of any program I’ve used.

Otherwise, the main skills were things I learned in years as a newspaper photographer, such as how to politely elbow your way through a surging crowd and get where the action is.

Students, including a girl on her 21st birthday, use street poles to show their patriotism.

Revelers spray champagne onto the crowds below

After spraying the crowd, he enjoys some of the champagne for himself

Who knew New Yorkers had so many spare flags?

And the crowd goes wild for the cameras

A woman walks past a one-man candlelight vigil

Nothing says pride like face paint

The crowd chants for peace

Marching past the 9/11 memorial

Scaling Mount Patriotism…

“Lady, do NOT go up there! You are wearing a DRESS!”

City worker takes it in…

Moments like these are more important than car hoods

The only time I have ever seen a New Yorker happy to be stuck in traffic.

The sign of the night…

Let your colonial flag fly…

Tossed toilet paper hangs above as the crowd surges

Texting in the USA…

I can’t get enough of these guys.

Carried above the crowd

Vigilant.

UPDATE: There’s a lot going on in the comments, some of it I find quite distasteful. Here’s my view as someone who was there, in it if not of it:

I would prefer Osama have come quietly, but, he didn’t. I don’t really trust these events to be related truthfully given the value of propaganda, but the whole “firing back and using a wife as a human shield” thing, if true, makes me pretty comfortable with their decision to fire back.

In short, Americans aren’t particularly obsessed with death — we’re absolutely obsessed with WINNING. And in asymmetric warfare, the events of May 1, whether he had come quietly or not, is as close to a win as we can possibly come.