It was the summer of 2006. The state of Connecticut was in the midst of two heated political contests - Ned Lamont running for Senate and John DeStefano aiming for the Governor's office. A particularly prominent endorsement for one of the candidates brought together much of the staff for both campaigns, with many of the Democratic party's new rising stars gathered at a church in Bethel for the event. Chrissy, a New Haven native, was excited to be supporting her mayor's run for the Capitol and working hard to make connections with her fellow campaigners at the event.
Web-savvy campaigns were taking the political world by storm in 2006 and Chrissy made a point to talk to some of the Lamont campaign's bloggers, sharing with them some optimistic polling results for their candidate. The bloggers called over to someone in the crowd to share the news. Dressed in shorts, a t-shirt and a backwards hat, Tim came walking over. Chrissy had no idea who he was and, based on his attire and use of excited colorful language when she told him the news, she was not particularly impressed and she walked away. She may not have been impressed but Tim most certainly was. Even as he called some friends and the local news to share the polling results, he did manage to ask around about just who was that cute girl who had given them the results in the first place. He wanted to get to know her.
The campaigns were in full swing, leaving neither Tim or Chrissy with much free time. Two weeks went by and things finally slowed down a bit after the primaries. Tim welcomed the slower pace mostly because it meant that he would have time find that girl again. If only their paths would cross once more. He showed up at another event, this time much more dressed up than before in hopes that she would be there. He scanned the crowd, asked around, but Chrissy no where to be found. Tim's blogger friends reached out to Chrissy, inviting her to meet them a local bar in New Haven. Chrissy agreed, seeing it as an opportunity to make more professional connections. The bloggers happened to bring along Tim (not a coincidence, she would find out later). It was then that Chrissy discovered that the guy in the backwards hat that she hadn't impressed her weeks before was, in fact, kind of a big deal. A pioneer of netroots campaigning, Tim had been brought up to Connecticut specifically to work on the Lamont campaign. That alone should have impressed her - and it did - but that night Chrissy was struck by Tim's sense of humor, his shy smile and how comfortable she felt around him. The bloggers made excuses to end the night early, giving Chrissy and Tim the opportunity to get to know each other better. The night went so well that by the end of the evening, Chrissy was debating what she would do when Tim gave her a kiss goodnight. Instead he asked her for her e-mail and gave her a firm handshake. Clearly, that was not what she was expecting. Thankfully, Tim made up for it with the witty e-mails that followed. A first date (and first kiss) happened soon after.
By November, Lamont and DeStefano lost their campaigns, but Chrissy and Tim won big. They found each other. And isn't that the best kind of victory?
One visit to our website, our blog, our studio, even our home and it's pretty clear that we seem to have a fascination making all things old new again. For me, it goes back to high school when I started to collect old suitcases. Long before the blogs and Etsy made it popular, I was filling my room with my Great Aunt's luggage and even packing them up for overnight trips. A duffle bag would have been much more logical, and practical, I suppose. But there was something about these suitcases. They made me wonder - where had the been to? How many people used it before I did? It made me think of the time when traveling was a luxury, when flying was new and traveling in style included what was on your baggage cart.
Typewriters were next. Writing had always been a passion of mine and I longed for the time when you would actually pick up a blank piece of paper, slide it into the typewriter and listen to the click, clack of the keys while you watched the page fill with your words. Then I started to go back to hand written letters. There was just something about them. Going out to the mailbox and discovering it, ripping open the envelope and gently unfolding the note to read the message. It has a sense of ceremony, a nod to a time before e-mail and text messaging took the romance out of correspondence.
When we got together, Rob not only embraced my quirky collection (a significant nod to his commitment to me when I have a 60 pound steamer trunk that we have moved several times, to several states), but he introduced me to one of his own - his collection of vintage cameras. The funny thing about vintage cameras? They usually still work. Because before digital took over, cameras were really simple. Less parts, no technology that could get outdated. We could pick them up and use them. And we did. And every time we did we would wonder - who used this before? What images has this captured before? And we would feel good that we were using it again - letting it return to it's original purpose, not using it as simply decoration.
All of which why it's logical that we gravitated to an older home filled with original molding, metal radiators and yard full of mature trees. It's why our studio is in a pre-war Manhattan building. But in our house and in our studio, we merge the old with the new. We have my typewriters right next to our Mac Pro, wheel our new luggage right past my stacks of vintage suitcases. We embrace the convenience, ease and functionality of the items of today while still seeing the value of the old way of doing things.
Even in our work, we have prided ourselves on producing classic images with the top of the line digital cameras. We want images that stand the test of time just as our parents and grandparent's images have. On display in our studio we have old family wedding photos, images that are 40, 60 years old. And they still look just as beautiful today as they did then. Shot on film, those images have the ultimate timeless look - something we have been missing. We longed for the time when a camera would be loaded with film, images thoughtfully composed and shot, film slowly developed until ultimately the image emerged. When we would shoot with our vintage cameras, we would love the results - the look and the feel of the film prints. We loved bringing photography back to it's rawest form. It was something we were aching to incorporate into our current work - to mix the old and the new as we have done in every other aspect of our lives. And today, we are thrilled to announce that we will be doing exactly that.
** From now on, we will be offering wedding photography packages that include both digital and film. Shooting with both digital and film cameras, we will be able to give our couples the best of both worlds - merging together the best of what they each have to offer, creating images that will truly stand the test of time.**
While in Paris in 2009 we bought an old film camera at a Parisian Flea Market. In a city still in love with film, we had no problem finding one of our favorite black and white films and were able to photograph this city as we think it should be captured - in black and white and with timeless film. This shot is of the rooftops in one of our absolute favorite neighborhoods in Paris - Montmartre.
* All of our current 2012 couples and those already scheduled for 2013 can add this option. E-mail us at info@robertandkathleen.com to find out more information. If you have not yet scheduled your wedding photography with us, when you are ready your package will include both digital and film! *
Six months. Six happy, hectic months. Six months of getting to hold you, watching you grow, seeing your personality taking shape. It seems like it's flown by so fast, like just yesterday I was getting to see your Daddy hold you for the first time. Now you can sit up and clap your hands and smile at us with your two little teeth. The weird thing is, as fast as the time has flown by, I can barely remember what it was like before. Life before you were in it feels like a distant memory. And all those silly things I thought were so important before, they just don't matter anymore. And the things we love have been brought so much more into focus now. Our family, our friends, our work, you make them all that much more precious.
We have made a commitment to spend as much time with you as possible. That means that we have to put in long hours during other times of the day and divide up the work days so that we can each get to do both - work and spend time with you. But it's so worth it. And we never forget for a minute how lucky we are to get to do that - to make our own schedule so that we can watch you grow up. And, most of all, that we have couples who trust us with their memories and see our vision for how to capture their love for one another. So as difficult as it is to leave you for the day when we have to go photograph a wedding, we just remember that what we're doing will be invaluable for another young family someday - to be able to show their sweet little children the photos from the day they got married.
After our own wedding, we understood the value of the images from the day that much more because we realized just how fleeting each moment of that single day is, especially after we lived it ourselves. Now that we have a you, we have come to a deeper realization of the importance of not only those images, but all the moments in life - because really, you truly come to realize that every moment is fleeting, especially when your little one is growing up so fast.
Happy 6 months, little man! We hope to make your life as wonderful as you have made ours.
Here's a very small sampling of some of our favorite shots from the last six months - a mix of professional shots and snapshots from our iPhones.
** And to all of our couples out there - thank you for believing in us and trusting us with your most precious moments. We never take that for granted and truly appreciate that you make it possible for us to do what we love and have our own business. **
They may not have gone to college together, but Anne and Adam still managed to be set up by their respective college roommates. Roommates who, in their infinite wisdom, recognized that there was something possible between them. So armed with basic knowledge about one another, Anne and Adam set out for a blind lunch date in the West Village. They talked for hours and ending up walking down to the river, neither one quite ready for that first date to end. Many more long dates followed. As Anne and Adam got to know more about one another, they discovered just how right it felt when they were together. Soon they became each other's first call when something good happened, their last call before you go to bed, the shoulder she leaned on, the forehead he kissed. And they couldn't help but be grateful that their roommates had seen exactly what they needed and brought them together.
After several months together, they started talking about marriage and went ring shopping together since Adam wanted to make sure it was a mutual decision. But he wanted to make sure that the proposal was a surprise. He threw Anne off, telling her that it was going to take much longer to get the ring made. In reality, he had it already when they set off for a friend's wedding in Oregon. They had decided earlier that they would make the trip into a vacation, taking a week to explore the state, climb Mount Hood and camp out on the shores of Oregon's beaches. On the sixth day of that ten day vacation, Anne thought they were camping on the beach. Adam brought her to the beach, walked with her along the shore. He told her how he felt about her, the way she made him feel and then distracted her for a moment so he could get down on one knee. She looked over and saw him and it was as though everything else disappeared. All she could see was him, the man she loved, asking to spend the rest of his life with her. How could she say anything but yes as quickly as possible? Once she said yes, Adam turned her around and showed her the Inn they would be staying in that night, where champagne was waiting for them and they could sit, watch the sunset together and talk for hours about their future together. And, perhaps, give a call to those roommates and thank them for arranging the first date that started it all.
Anne & Adam, we had so much fun with you both - thank you for introducing new parts of the city to us. We can't wait till June!
