Punam Bean Photography (observations)

Well, I suppose I just can’t get enough of the woman. Anna came over today to pick up her retouched headshots, and was kind enough to oblige me in a quick and rather random shoot that I’ve been wanting to do.

I contacted Dorene Vandermeer of Unveiled Bridal Designs a few months ago, and she was kind enough to make me a veil so I could take some pictures of it. My original vision was a vintage bride, just got married at city hall and looking simple and fabulous. I’m not sure I captured it here, because we were sort of shooting from the hip as I’ve had a few mishaps in my attempt to get some pictures done, but I’m pretty happy with the final result. Anna is beautiful, and she makes my job easy.

This veil… I love it so much. I am so sad I didn’t know about her when I got married. I got a veil from a millinier in NYC, it cost me $400, and I hated it! I didn’t even wear it! I even tore it apart to try and salvage it, but to no avail. And I couldn’t return it, because it was custom made. However! The veil that Dorene sent me was beautiful, and perfect. Thanks so much Dorene! Here are the pics:

I met Jayson a little over a month ago, and immediately I was struck by his earnestness. From the very beginning, he, and as of yesterday, his beautiful bride, have made me feel like an integral part of the wedding.

It was just me and Edwina yesterday morning, and it was also the very first time I met her, and I found myself taking on a few of the duties typical of a maid of honor. It was a day fraught with mishaps, and I enjoyed being part of every minute of it, because these are two very wonderful people.

The whole morning, everywhere Edwina and I went, people wouldn’t let me take photos. So I tried to sneak in as many as I could, but I was glad to have saved myself for a lively and vibrant everything else. They truly made me feel like a part of the day, and at the end of it, they were kind enough to thank me in their final speech. I was very touched.

I’d like to congratulate you, Mr. and Mrs Howard!

I fight with myself. I love to shoot film, but it puts a kink in my workflow. Wouldn’t it just be easier if I just forgot about it and enjoyed the already stunning results that are coming out of my digital camera? Sigh… but it’s so beautiful and I love it. There are certain compositions that I can create in film with the grain, saturation and contrast, that just look soooo much better in film. (I’m referring in particular to the feet photo a few posts down from here.) But today I’ve discovered a new product called DxO and I AM IN LOVE! Just look!:

With a Kodachrome 64 color setting and a little bit of grain to boot, and some nice touches of my own, I think this really looks like film! What do you think? It think the grain needs a little work, but I am in LOVE with the colors and contrast…

Jessica and I were in acting school together not very long ago, and before I even realized my ambitions to be a photographer, she asked me to photograph her wedding. (You can imagine the kind of deal she got!). Anyway, I love this woman, and I’ve grown to care for her and Craig very deeply. She was one of the most beautiful and radiant brides I’ve ever seen, and I found myself laughing and crying with her and her new husband, and her family through that fancy lens of mine.

After much toil (have I mentioned I love toil?!), I’ve put together a rather long slideshow of the event. It was just so beautiful and emotional and silly, I couldn’t narrow it down to much less than what follows. If you’re impatient, or you have having loading problems, feel free to skip ahead to the gallery. That’s the little button with the little squares on it.

Leave me a comment, let me know what you think! This being my first destination wedding, I was amazed at how easy it was to find things to photograph, surrounded by so much love and beauty! I definately want to sign up to do more of these. Any takers??

You can see the gallery here also.

Enjoy!

Greetings from Florida! I just flew in yesterday for my first destination wedding! So exciting! My very good friends Jessica and Craig are getting married tomorrow! I’ve never been to the south before, at least not in the East. I took this picture as we pulled into Fort Lauderdale. Once we got over Florida, the clouds were beautiful. From up here the high heat and humidity just seems worth it.

This evening we had a quick rehearsal, which I was thankful for because the light was a bit tricky, and I was invited to dinner as a guest at Buca di Beppo’s. Tomorrow, the lovely bride is getting ready at La Playa Resort and we have an whole hour to go around and take some pretty pictures! I could not be more thrilled! La Playa, you will find, if you follow the link, is such a beautiful and elegant resort, with lots of natural light coming through many high windows. I have to say that I really don’t mind if it rains. Not only will it quell the (feels like) 102 degree weather, but the rain clouds and possible utilization of umbrellas would be so awesome to work with! Some brides worry that it will rain on their wedding day, but I say bring it on! Let’s make some beautiful, unique wedding photos, lets get some umbrellas for kissing under, let’s get some rain clouds for setting scenes. I have informed Jessica of this, and she is happy to oblige if the situation warrants. That’s why I care for her very much.

Husbone is in Tennessee at the moment, making sweet music with various strung instruments.  Weekends like this are nice, when both of us have to go away, and we miss eachother a little bit, and are excited to see eachother when we come home, but we’ve both been busy doing other things. I am a little bummed he won’t be around for some dancing time tomorrow evening, as he and I have been known to cut a rug beyond recognition. If I had nothing else in common with that man, I could have married him just for that!

And on a side note, Jessica and I are going to be on the Rachel Ray show! All I know is that it will be on a Thursday, and beyond that, I am not at liberty to say. I’ll tell you all about it when it airs. We already filmed it, and though brief, we got to hang out on the stage for a minute with Rachel Ray herself and a Celebrity Guest. Who is it you ask? Well… I can’t tell you that…

Check back Monday for pictures from this weekends wedding! See you soon!