Engagement Photos at Hacklebarney State Park

Autumn is the perfect time for engagement photo sessions.  When this Eagle Scout and his fiance suggested their favorite state park in New Jersey, I jumped at the chance. 

The scenery was stunning and they were in their element.  

Playfulness and complete trust is what these two have in each other.

I'm really looking forward to photographing their wedding next year.

Autumn Wedding at Burnside Plantation

Edith wanted a wedding on the edge.  On the edge of two ecosystems, that is, or "ecotones".  An ecotone is the space created by the meeting of the two ecosystems, where you find not only the plants and animals of each ecosystem but additional species uniquely adapted to the conditions created by the meeting of the two.  In this place, you find an unexpected abundance of life. Their lives meet at the edge of two worlds: Edith's interest in the natural world and food equity, and Philip's work in architecture and the arts.

The historic buildings at Burnside Plantation evoke an era long past and give you a feeling of timelessness.  The natural setting with its orchard, gardens and trees appealed to the bride.

After their ceremony at Grace Episcopal Church in Allentown, Pennsylvania the couple sped off in a sporty convertible decorated with fluttering white balloons.

Flowers by The Twisted Tulip in Bethlehem.

It was only fitting that the bridal party was photographed surrounded by willow trees; after all, one of Edith's three academic degrees is in forestry.

The couple will be living in Boston where Phillip completed a building project expansion at The Museum of Fine Arts and is currently working on a project at The Clark Museum in Williamstown, MA.

The Bride Wore Blue at The Hotel Bethlehem

Laden with gold and yards of turqoise blue silk, Deepti married Paul in a multicultural ceremony at The Hotel Bethlehem .  Some of Paul's family members recited Irish blessings, others gave their blessings in Hebrew.  Deepti's relatives, who originated in the southern most tip of India, gave their blessings in the ancient Tamil language.

The bride and groom exchanged garlands of fragrant flowers in the Indian tradition.

Deepti's grandmother blessed the couple and scattered flowers over them followed by all the elders in the audience.

The groom was hoisted high in the air in the Jewish tradition as was the bride.

They both have bright futures in medicine,  helping and healing others.

Flowers by Elysian Fields Florals

Woodstone Winner's Engagement Photos at Lehigh University

My engagement session with this couple was a prize that was won by Liza at the Woodstone Golf Club Bridal Show earlier this year.     

She grew up in Nazareth, PA, and graduated from DeSales University as a physician's assistant. Her fiance, Kyle, grew up in Emmaus (his family originally hails from Ireland's County Cork) and is a graduate of Lehigh University.   

They'll be living in Philadelphia after their wedding but loved the idea of having an engagement session on Lehigh's beautiful campus.

What an adorable couple they make! 

I wish them happiness on their wedding day and always!

Banana Factory Wedding

He plays notes and she writes them to her students.
The bride and groom shared the same babysitter when they were children but didn't fall in love until after he graduated from Moravian College and she from the University of Pittsburgh.

Colin is a City of Bethlehem firefighter and Blakely is a teacher in the Easton Area School District.

After their wedding at College Hill Presbyterian Church in Easton, they took a stroll through downtown Bethlehem.

They stopped at Colin's alma mater. 

The reception was held at the Banana Factory.

The groom, who also plays the saxophone, performed a number with the East Edge Band.

Here are some photos from their engagement session earlier this summer:

Hot ICE does Slow Frieze at Lincoln Center!

At Monday night's Lincoln Center's Mostly Mozart Festival, ICE (International Contemporary Ensemble) burned up the stage with the help of two luminaries of the contemporary music world: conductor Ludovic Morlot and pianist Pierre-Laurent Aimard. The New York Times' review of the concert was glowing.

It was with great delight that I could photograph their rehearsals for the four days prior to the concert and watch such talented musicians work on these challenging musical pieces.

Claire Chase, the founder of the ensemble, during a practice session at the ICEhaus in Brooklyn with fellow flutist, Eric Lamb, who recently performed at Noble Arts Piano Studio in Historic Downtown Easton, Pennsylvania.

Last Tuesday evening (8/10) I attended the pre-concert recital with Claire Chase on flute and Jacob Greenberg on piano.  With her first selection Claire came bursting out of the gate like a race horse with an adaptation of Bach's massive organ piece, "Toccata and Fugue in D minor", unaccompanied on her magic flute!  After that astounding opening established her virtuosity, the audience hypnotically followed her pied piping into the second, more challenging contemporary piece, Donatoni's "Fili". The final piece, was her own jaw-dropping arrangement for flute of Paganini's "Caprice No. 24",  considered one of the most difficult pieces ever written for solo violin!  It was all over in 30 minutes but made a lasting impression. 

After days of experiencing "surround sound" music, everything began to look like sheet music, bars, measures and notes.

It looks like the top of a missile, and creates its own explosive sound --it's actually a tympani drum turned upside down!  (Adam Silwinski and Greg Beyer on percussion)

Visual rhythm inspired by musical rhythm.

(David Bowlin, Erik Carlson and Yonah Zur on violin)

It was also wonderful to see my friends Ellis Finger, director of Lafayette College's Williams Center for the Arts and recipient of the Association of Performing Arts Presenters William Dawson award, and his wife Phyllis, in attendance at this exciting musical adventure.

Horse and Rider

This week I made my way to Hope Lock Farm in Easton, Pennsylvania to photograph one of the more complex relationships between humans and animals: the one between horse and rider.  Having been a horse-loving adolescent, I looked forward to capturing the fondness that is obvious between these two close friends.

To learn more about the relationships between people and their horses check out the video series on 

PBS Nature: Horse and Rider.