RJT Pictures Blog

It was senior year in college when she noticed him. They weren’t friends, in fact they had never actually spoken, but she had seen him around campus. Reflecting back today, she says that even before they had met she just knew he was “the one.” Three days before graduation she finally bit the bullet and went over and talked to him at a bar. He had just cut his long hair that day, so she thought of the perfect opening line. “Nice haircut,” she said with a smile. They were at college together in Syracruse, NY – where Drew’s family lives as well. After graduation, Joanne returned to her hometown of Trumbull, CT. Normally, a long distance relationship can be hard – but it would have been especially difficult on one that had just begun. But fate had other plans. Drew just happened to have an internship at a company in Shelton, only minutes from Trumbull, that summer. They were clearly meant to be.

Drew is an artist – he makes the most incredible sculptures. So it seemed natural that he should incorporate art into his proposal. He took a picture of the two of them – a close up of their faces – and created an incredible mosaic out of it, incorporating all of the pictures of them as a couple and all the pictures he had ever taken of her. (They showed us it in person, its beautiful.) That alone would have been amazing, but he took it one step further. He called every museum in NYC (Joanne works in the city), and asked if he could put the picture on display. He finally found one that let him. It was a gallery that had an exhibit they had been wanting to see anyway. So, they went to the exhibit. They walked through the entire exhibit, to every room. Finally they came upon the very last room. Drew walks in and turns to Joanne, “What do you think of this one?” He said, gesturing to the picture he had made. She looked at it for a minute, “That’s us!” she said. He got down on one knee right there in the gallery. Of course she said yes.

- Joanne & Drew -

We met Joanne and Drew on Sunday at their apartment in Croton-on-Hudson. We started the session out at the Boscobell House and Gardens in Garrison. It’s a gorgeous old mansion situated on 45 acres of woods with a breathtaking view of the Hudson River. Joanne and Drew chose the location because they think it has the best view of the river. They have also gone there a lot in the summer to picnic and watch live theater performances on the grounds.

From there we headed over to Peekskill, where there is a dock, a park and train station – all within a few feet of each other. We were there right around sunset, the sun setting on the water was perfect for some shots on the dock. Of course, we also had to do some train shots as well. (Anyone who knows Rob well probably knows that he loves taking photos around mass transportation – trains, planes, boats, etc.) After grabbing a bite to eat in a very cool brewery restaurant, we went back to Joanne and Drew’s apartment. They live in a really cool old building, built in the early 1900s. We took advantage of the hallways with the exposed brick and dramatic lighting. At some point someone mentioned that we could go up to the roof. We did hesitate for a second – we went straight up there. The moon was almost full (Gibbous) as Joanne told me – so it was casting some beautiful light onto the roof, resulting in some amazing photos. It seemed like the perfect way to finish the session.

So here are a few of our favorite photos from Joanne & Drew’s Engagement Session. Enjoy the photos and of course Rob’s commentary. Hope everyone had a great weekend!!

So sweet!

Did I mention that we love hands?!?

When we got to the roof top, we almost lost our mind when we saw how beautiful the moon was. I took this shot handheld (without a tripod). I was psyched to see how beautiful it came out. The stars, the moon… I LOVE IT!!!!

It was a job interview. Kristina, all dressed up in her suit, had just finished the interview and got on the elevator to go back to her car. Rob, in his sunglasses and carrying a gallon of juice, was coming back into work and waiting for the elevator. The doors opened and their eyes met. They didn’t say anything, but a connection was made. Thankfully she got the job. They talked casually for the first month, a few words around the office along with some exchanged e-mails – and then finally he asked her out. For their first date they went to SBC (Southport Brewing Company) for dinner followed by a romantic walk along the beach in Southport. They have been together ever since.

Two and a half years later, Rob takes her back to SBC, reliving that first date. Of course, dinner was followed by another trip to the beach – that much Kristina could have seen coming. But then Rob took her completely by surprise. They walked over to the bench they had sat at that first night and he got down on one knee and asked her to marry him.

- Kristina & Rob -

When it came time to pick a location to do their engagement session, the decision was easy. It had to be Southport beach. We met Kristina and Rob early Sunday morning. The sun was beautiful, the sky was an incredible shade of blue, and – the best part – it was low tide. We were so excited to see the tall beach grass (one of our favorite things) on one side of the beach. Since the tide was low, Kristina and Rob were able to walk all around in the tall grass – which we loved. We really explored the beach area which had a lot of cool textures – stone walls, large rocks, a lifeguard tower, and, of course, the bench were Rob proposed to Kristina. To add a little contrast to the beach, we also headed to downtown Fairfield for some fun shots by the train station.

We arrived at the beach in beautiful Southport right around 9:30am last Sunday. The sunlight was simply beautiful and it was low tide, meaning we could shoot in a lot more places than if it was high tide. We immediately spotted tall beach grass (one of my very favorite things ) and figured it was the perfect place to start.

This one is one of my favorites from this session.

After we spent some time at the beach, we headed to downtown Fairfield by the train station. We love shooting around trains (as you will also see in an upcoming engagement session that we just photographed ). On the way up to the platform we spotted this cool wall.

I LOVE this one!!