During the fall of every year I get a little bit homesick for my time in Germany. It’s the “Fest” time of the year when the leaves change, the weather cools, and the beer keg is tapped. The biggest Fest of all is of course Oktoberfest in Munich, but virtually every town of any size has their own version of a fall carnival with rides, games, and at least one good sized beer tent or Festzelt. I’ve certainly spent my share of time with a Massbier in my hand practicing my arm curls and Bavarian dialect.

In thinking about this a bit, I realize that it’s not the fests, landscapes, architecture, food, or even the beer that I miss. It’s the people I’ve had to leave behind. I spent time in Germany twice in my life, once as a military brat graduating high school in Frankfurt and spending a year of college in Munich (and a lot of time at O’Fest). My second stint was after graduate school when my son Thomas was born while living in Weiden. In total about ten years total.

In that time I’ve had a lot of life experiences in Germany. My first kiss, first beer and the birth of my first child all happened there. And I’ve also experienced the pain of divorce and serious illness while abroad. But through the good times and the bad I’ve made some tremendous relationships with people that I know will be lifelong friends. From my buddy Heinz who owns a pub in the old town to American friends now living all over the country I know they’ll still be there for me.

Even though I miss them and Germany it doesn’t mean that chapter in my life is completely over. Since coming to Boston I’ve met some new friends with ties to Germany and was lucky enough to travel back there last year to photograph Julia and Mike’s wedding. And living ten minutes from Logan airport, I know I could be back there after a (relatively) short flight. And if I get really the urge to go to the Bierfest, I can always fix myself a Wurst mit Kraut, pour myself a Festbier (preferably Spaten) and fire up the iPod with oompah music.

Yes, that’s a sonogram photo. But not of an actual turtle. It’s our baby girl who is due in early December.

We went to Barbados earlier in the summer and had an amazing experience where we went snorkeling with some sea turtles. It was a fantastic experience that I don’t think I’ll ever forget. Underneath the surface of the warm green sea water it’s completely quiet and peaceful with nothing to do other than swim with the tropical fish.

I’m not sure when exactly, but a few months ago I casually referred to our baby as “turtle” after seeing the first sonogram photo. It kind of looked like a sea turtle swimming around in the ocean.

And it seemed to me that’s what it must be like if you’re a growing baby – nothing to do really other than float around. Sounds pretty good to me.

After referring to the baby a couple of times as Turtle, the nickname stuck. And now we have friends and family that refer to her as Turtle as well. I think it’s kind of cute.

I don’t know how long the nickname will stick, but we’re decorating the nursery with a turtle theme just in case. And if Colleen and I can’t agree on a name soon, her legal name could end up being Turtle. But that’s for another post.
 
 

So I was home in Colorado visiting my family a couple weeks ago. Part of the ritual of coming home for a visit is meeting the newest furry member of the family. See, my mom has a soft spot for animals, particularly dogs and cats. She works with two rescue groups in Colorado and often has foster animals. I think it’s great. The world needs more people like her to help the animals who can’t help themselves.

This time the new member is Bella. She a coon hound mix that was bred to chase raccoons and other small animals up into trees. This means that she’s not a small dog and that she needs lots of exercise. And because she was a foster dog, she didn’t get really any training on how to be a good puppy.

She jumps when she’s not supposed to. She eats the cats’ food. She barks almost incessantly when she wants in, out, or sees anything that’s worth chasing. I came up from the basement half awake one day with a cup of hot coffee and nearly spilled it everywhere as she jumped all over me in a fit of excitement to wish me good morning.

But when the house quiets down and she’s had a good walking, Bella is a real sweetheart. She loves a good scratch behind the ear and will sit quietly on the couch next to you while writing blog posts. She’s not perfect, but few of us are. It helps to be reminded of that every once in awhile.

 
If you know some one who might be interested, City Cats in Arlington would love to hear from you!

Thanks guys for asking me to do your shoot and best of luck!

–Erik

So I ran around like a mad man getting everything ready. Cleaning the house, Christmas shopping and putting up the tree were all done in about three days. And in between I was still working my regular job at Tufts while also trying to get my business in order financially for the end of the year. I was busy, but that’s the way I generally like it.

My son Thomas and his step brother made it into Logan the day of the blizzard. Theirs was only one of two flights on the arrivals board that wasn’t either late or canceled. I was stoked. Everything was coming together perfectly.

Christmas morning came and we were up early. And then it hit me as we were unwrapping presents. I was getting sick. At first it was just a few aches and pains, but by the end of the day I was toast. Flat on the couch and not wanting to move. My perfect Christmas was unraveling.

The next ten days, yes ten days, were spent feeling sick at various levels. Coughing, headaches, nausea, I pretty much had it all. A few days after I got sick, Colleen got sick too. And another few days later Thomas was sick with what I had. It wasn’t the Christmas present I had intended to give everyone.

But we made it to the other side. The kids were desperate to get out of the house, so even though it was 60 degrees outside we went snow tubing. I wasn’t yet feeling like I could slide down a steep hill on my backside, so Colleen and I stayed in the lodge.

I had brought my camera along to get some snaps of the kids tubing. Thomas will be 15 in a couple of months and is at the age where he refuses to be the least bit interesting in front of the camera. So I thought I’d shoot some action shots when he was having a good time in the hopes of getting some nice images of the boys together. But after being told I could only shoot from the observation deck that plan pretty much fell apart. So I turned my camera towards a small pond right behind the lodge.

As I was shooting my mind began to wander. There’s something about being in a quiet spot in the woods that forces you to look inward. The holidays can certainly be stressful and getting sick on top of it made it worse. But when I took just a few minutes out from trying to make everything perfect, I realized that I had lost some perspective on what really mattered.

Once I got done shooting these pictures I felt better both physically and mentally. They’re just simple snap shots, but they’re a visual reminder to me to not lose sight of the important things in life.

Wishing you a great 2011.

–Erik

Definitely worth a visit if you ever get to Germany!

All I can say is that the festival is very Nantucket. There were daffodils blooming everywhere. Back in the 70′s the locals created the festival to celebrate spring while fostering a sense of community. The festival now includes an antique car parade, flower competition, and a tailgate party like no other. People get dressed up in funny costumes, with daffodils of course, and take a moment out to have some fun. I wandered around the tailgate party for a bit and grabbed some photos.

There were lots of beautiful antique cars like this one decorated with daffodils.

This crew had a 70s era yellow VW Bus decorated like the yellow submarine. Groovy baby!

Even the dogs were in the daffodil spirit.

It was a lot of fun. If you’re looking for a fun spring getaway weekend, I highly recommend checking it out.

Musings on Photography

It’s no suprise that the pictures we treasure most in our lives are those of our friends and loved ones. We put frames around them to hang them on the walls or to put them on the mantle. They’re there to remind us of the special people in our lives on a daily basis.

Weddings in particular are truly unique occasions that bring together these special people. From grade school friends to grandparents, those closest to you come together to celebrate your marriage while also renewing their own relationships with you.

The most powerful photographs for me are those pictures that record those relationships as those around you celebrate. It is my sincere hope to create timeless images that can be shared by future generations of your families.
 
 

Background

My passion for photography started as a teenager when my photojournalist mother gave me her old manual 35mm Pentax K. I ran countless roles of film through that camera taking pictures of the world around me. I’ve been making pictures with some kind of camera ever since and can’t imagine anything else I’d rather be doing.

My love for the craft led me to the New England School of Photography (NESOP) to study with some of the finest photographers in the northeast. I quickly found my place in a nurturing community of artists, beginning a course of study in portraiture. It was at NESOP that I discovered the beauty of wedding photography. With images made from a wedding the weekend before, group critique sessions helped form the foundations of my visual aesthetic. It was this circle of artists that helped me to become the photographer I am today.

My beautiful wife and I reside in Medford along with an elderly white fluffy cat.

This is a landscape view of the Rio Grande river just outside of Taos. From here in the mountains it winds all the way through New Mexico and becomes the border of the US as it flows down into Texas.

We were there at Christmas and the city was decked out in holiday decoration. The St Francis of Assisi Cathedral was beautiful. Most people think of New Mexico as a hot place, but let me tell you it was COLD, especially at night. I thought my fingers were going to freeze while making this picture.

We also visited the Loretto Chapel, which apparently is no longer a regular house of worship. The interior was beautiful.

The old adobe style of architecture still dominates and buildings like this were to be found all over town, in both large and small sizes.

The oldest church in America is at the San Miguel Mission. It’s very old world and like nothing else I’d ever seen. It definitely reminds you of being in Mexico.

We headed over the “railyard district” which is the newest development in Santa Fe, with lots of galleries and restaurants. We had a bite to eat and then wandered around a bit. Luckily there were no moving trains about….

Thanks to the models below who helped out on the workshop: Kendra Richards, Samm Weymouth, and Gabe Fries.

Below are a variety of images that all have a different feel to them. I processed them in black and white because I wanted to emphasize the different tones I was getting from the different lighting patterns. Have a look and let me know what you think!

Erik