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Monthly Archives: December 2008

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New Year’s Eve in Ireland (2005-06)

December 31, 2008 – 9:51 pm

To celebrate the New Year, we decided to post a video from our best New Year’s Eve ever.

Dublin, December 31, 2005

We arrived in Ireland a couple of days after Christmas. For the first couple of days we explored the city. In our explorations we discovered a very cool pub. It was a three-story building along one of the cobblestone streets in the Temple Bar area of Dublin. On the first floor was a traditional bar, similar to one you’d find in New York or Boston, with a cover band playing a lot of American hits. The second floor was an adorable restaurant serving that felt like the kind of place you’d find in a country inn. The top floor was our favorite – it was a true Irish pub filled with locals and a traditional Irish band. As soon as we discovered this place we knew it was where we wanted to celebrate the New Year.

New Year’s Eve day we had dinner at the restaurant on the second floor, surrounded by people from all over Europe. It was such a cool experience – the couple next to us was from France, the group to the other side of us were from Australia. Walking through the tables you could hear several different languages being spoken but there was one common thread, everyone seemed so happy. After dinner we headed upstairs to the pub to celebrate for the couple of hours till the New Year. The band was in full force and the room was packed – so much so the floor was bouncing. Rob and I looked at each other almost in disbelief that we had found such a cool place to be for the last few hours of 2005. After hours of classic Irish songs, the band leader let us know midnight was just a few minutes away. To mark the moment, he pulled out a poem by William Butler Yeats, “The Fiddler of Dooney,” and read it to the crowd. Definitely a once in a lifetime expereince – where else in the world could you hear a poem read in a bar before the New Year? I have to say hearing them play Auld Lang Syne and giving Rob a big kiss at midnight, I think we both knew 2006 was going to be a great year. And it was.

By Robert J. Trenske | Posted in Personal, Rob & Kathleen, Travel | Comments (2)

Erica from Ambiance Chic Wedding Designs

December 29, 2008 – 4:37 pm

Last Tuesday Rob and I spend the afternoon with Erica Kates. Erica is the owner of Ambiance Chic Wedding Design – a wedding planning studio that specializes in helping you find your specific wedding style and helping you make it a reality. Since we first met Erica in July she has blown us away with how quickly her business has grown. Not that we were very surprised, it was clear even then that she was going to do amazing work. We’ll be photographing several of the weddings she’s planning in 2009. We can’t wait to see what she’ll be doing for all of them.

Erica has an energy about her that is contagious – she had us laughing the whole afternoon. We found a cool brick building on the beach and Erica didn’t hesitate to trudge through the snow-covered sand in her awesome high heels. Since it was VERY chilly we decided to head indoors for the rest of the shoot – thankfully we found some really fun locations.

Erica recently opened a store front in downtown Manchester – if you’re in the area you should definitely make an appointment to visit it and sit down with her and her staff. In the meantime here are some of our favorite photos from her session!

By Robert J. Trenske | Posted in Portraits | Comments (4)

Merry Christmas Everyone!!

December 25, 2008 – 2:09 pm

From us to you, we hope that you all have a wonderful, safe and Happy Christmas!!

By Robert J. Trenske | Posted in Personal, Rob & Kathleen | Comments (1)

A Christmas Memory

December 23, 2008 – 5:46 pm

1950s New Jersey

He walks down the street on his way home, his hands stained with dye from the fabric factory. It’s tedious work but it pays the bills. It’s worth it when he walks through the door and sees the happy faces of his wife, three little girls and two sons. The oldest has already shown her natural maternal instinct, even at such a young age. She helps with her siblings and takes excellent care of her dolls. She runs over to him. He smiles down at her, reaches into his pocket and presents her small bunch of remnant fabric. It’s not much but she knows exactly what to do with it. Since her grandmother has taught her how to sew, she knows these swatches of fabric would be perfect for her doll. The doll she named after her own middle name, the name she hopes to give her daughter someday…Kathleen.

1980s New Jersey

My parents always made Christmas special for my brothers and me. There are too many amazing memories to even begin to list them all. But this year something got me thinking about my grandfather. My mother has always said that he really set the tone for Christmas for her. He loved the holiday – loved giving gifts, having everyone all together. Some of her favorite memories are decorating the tree with her siblings on Christmas Eve, shopping with him for her younger siblings as she got older, and – yes, getting fabric from him to make clothes for her dolls. I’m not entirely sure he would do that at Christmas time, but the way my mother passed that tradition down to me during this time of year.

Like most little girls, I had a favorite doll. She was a Cabbage Patch Kid. I got her by an odd chance. The year they came out I was a little too young for them, so my mother wasn’t even paying attention to the craze that has begun over them. She was walking around a store with me in the cart and a saleswoman walked over to her. “You have a little girl,” she said. “You’re going to want one of these.” And she handed my mother one of the dolls. My mom might have put it back since I was too young, but she glanced at the doll. She had a adoption certificate in the box like all Cabbage Patch Kids. Her name was Mildred – the same name as my grandmother. My mom took it as a sign. Mildred was by my side from that point on.

I only parted with her once a year – on Christmas Eve. My mother told me that if I left her for Santa, Mrs. Claus would clean and mend her. Since I was the kind of little girl that loved making mud pies and running around in the yard (I have three older brothers – I had to keep up) - my doll was desperately in need of repair come December.

Christmas morning it was like I got a brand new doll - with neat hair, a clean face… and the very best part – a brand new outfit. The first year of this tradition, my mother and I were going to wear matching outfits for Christmas (very cute when I’m 5 – today not so much). So when I came downstairs that morning there was Mildred – dressed in the very same outfit. I was mystified – how did Mrs. Claus know? My favorite year was when my mom made a whole trunk full of new clothes for Mildred. And of course there was a matching trunk (normal size) filled with dress-up clothes for me. And they were all the same for every costume there was for me, there was a matching one for my doll.

My grandfather was there on Christmas day every time my Mom did one of those gifts. And even though he’s no longer with us, I know he’d be happy to know that the simple act of bringing home fabric swatches launched a tradition and special memories for both his daughter and granddaughter.

Merry Christmas Mom & Dad – we love you and can’t wait to see you.

Kathleen & Rob

On the left, my mother and I when I was about 4. On the right, me and my Poppy, her father.

Mildred and I in matching outfits - photography was something quite different back then, so please excuse the image quality.

By Kathleen | Posted in Personal, Rob & Kathleen | Comments (2)

Engagements 2008!!

December 19, 2008 – 1:10 am

It’s that time of year again!! Time to look back at all the wonderful couples we had the incredible pleasure to work with. We can’t even begin to express how much we loved getting to know these absolutely wonderful people. It is so awesome to be able to share and capture moments from their most important days. Our clients are the best!!

We are going to start with some highlights from the engagement sessions that we photographed this year. In about a week or so we will be putting up a slideshow of some of our favorite images from each wedding. For now, sit back, relax and enjoy some of our personal favorites from our 2008 engagement sessions.

By Robert J. Trenske | Posted in Engagement Sessions, Slideshows | Comments (8)

Kristel & Michael’s Engagement Session in NYC

December 12, 2008 – 1:24 am

It’s a story that could have been told 100 years ago. A job opportunity brings a young man to America. Shortly after his arrival to Manhattan, he meets a woman who is also relatively new to the states. They have dinner. They fall in love. He proposes.

- Kristel & Michael -

Kristel moved in NYC after being raised in South Africa. Michael came from Canada. Only in a city like New York could two people from completely different parts of the world find each other so quickly.

When Michael moved to NYC, he decided to go online to try to meet some new people. He saw Kristel’s profile online and contacted her right away – she was the first woman he went on a date with in since being in the city. It was last first date each of them would go on. They have been together ever since.

We met Kristel in Michael last Saturday in Grand Central Terminal. They recently moved to Connecticut, but decided to do their engagement session in NYC because it’s where they met, fell in love, and lived for the last three years. It was an awesome session. Kristel is so laid back and easy to talk to, she made everything seem at calm – even in the middle of the busiest city in the world. Michael has an energy about him, he was constantly making Kristel (and us) laugh throughout the day. You can see in the pictures that they just look right together, and they make everyone around them smile. I know we were.

Kristel and Michael, thank you so much for a wonderful day. We really enjoyed getting to know you both and listening to your awesome stories. We’re looking forward to seeing you again in April.

We met Kristel & Mike at Grand Central Station last Saturday. We really love this building and thought it would be a nice central place to meet. Plus it was a little chilly out so before we braved the cool weather we spent some time inside.

We love the energy in this building, it is always so crazy with people coming in from all over the place and never having enough time. To get this shot, I was half on my back and half on my side in the middle of everyone. I think a couple of people almost tripped over me, but hey all for the good shot, right?!

Kristel and Mike were so wonderful to work with and willing to show how much they love each other no matter how many other people were around.

We spent some time walking around GCS finding some fun nooks to take pictures in. The photo on the left is Kathleen’s and the one on the right is mine.

After we spent a few minutes at Grand Central, we headed over to Central Park. It had warmed up slightly and the weather (despite the weather reports) was remarkably enjoyable.

I love the classic feel of this one, it is one of my personal favorites from this session.

While walking around the park, we found some wonderful long grass so of course we had spend some of our time there.

Here is one of my shots…

…And here is Kathleen’s from the same moment.

I told you, we really love the tall grass, it adds such nice detail.

Also very classic

One of the things that we like about Central Park are all the tree-lined pathways throughout. It is such a nice oasis from the craziness of the city.

Kathleen captured this shot while we were in The Mall and I simply LOVE IT!!

Kristel & Mike are such a great couple, they were all about having as much fun as possible while we were shooting. This one is my shot…

…And this is Kathleen’s from just a moment later.

What did I tell you? They really gave us a lot of fun things to work with!!

A nice wide shot just because we really like this stage area.

A nice portrait before…

…Mike broke out a couple of his dance moves with some street performers. How cool is that!?!

Ok on the left, I included it because it really made us laugh!!

The top right is Kathleen’s and the bottom right is mine.

HAHA

This one is by far my favorite from Kristel & Mike’s session. I just really love everything about it.

So sweet!

After the park we finished Kristel & Mike’s session up on the Brooklyn Bridge. We also love all the energy up there. It is such a rush to walk over the bridge, there are incredible views of the city and well it is just really cool.

This is one of Kathleen’s favorites!

Same moment as the photo before, just closer. Which one do you like better?

We took a quick break about halfway across the bridge.

…And one more break just a couple of minutes later.

Kristel & Mike, we had an amazing time spending the day with you, you are both so much fun and we can’t wait for your wedding!!Rob & Kathleen

By Robert J. Trenske | Posted in Engagement Sessions | Comments (8)

Khadija & Tim’s Wedding

December 9, 2008 – 11:35 pm

The day after Thanksgiving, Rob and I (and Sue) worked off our turkey by shooting our last wedding of the season – Khadija & Tim’s.

We started the day at the Courtyard in Waterbury, where both Khadija and Tim were getting ready. When we arrived in Khadija’s room she was surrounded by her mom and her bridesmaids. All of them were buzzing around helping things get organized and making sure everything went smoothly. Khadija didn’t seem stressed at all – she just seemed ready to marry Tim. While she was getting her makeup done, her mother and the makeup artist were talking about how Khadija had done such an incredible job with the planning. She had all of the perfect details – the dress, the shoes, the hair accessories, a cape – she had even put together her own bouquet. Once she put on the dress and walked over to the mirror, it was clear everything had come into place – she looked beautiful.

Tim and Khadija decided to see each other before the ceremony at the hotel. Once we told Tim that Khadija was coming down to meet him, he stood outside the main entrance with his back to the door. As the door opened and he heard her coming, Tim couldn’t help but smile. Khadija walked over and placed her hand on his shoulder and he turned. The bridal party standing around them became silent as the two met eyes and then shared a big hug.

The ceremony incorporated a lot of Tim’s Native American customs, the one that really touched us was the candle lighting. Every guest was given a candle when they came into the chapel. Once the ceremony was ready to begin, the elders of the family (the grandmothers), lit their candles and started down the aisle. They lit the candle of the first person in each seat along the aisle, and those people lit the candle of the person next to them and so on, and soon the entire room was filled with candle light. The bridemaids started down the aisle next carrying lanterns. Khadija came down the aisle with the light of the glowing candles surrounding her. It was beautiful. Once she and Tim lit the unity candle at the front of the altar, the guests blew out their candles. Just one of the many touches that made Khadija and Tim’s day magical.

Khadija & Tim thank you so much for choosing us to capture your day. Here are some of our favorites, (as always with commentary from Rob).

We really loved the design of Khadija’s dress, we couldn’t wait until she put it on, it was really beautiful.

Her silver shoes were perfect for their late November wedding.

I love the feeling of this shot, the emotion seen through the hands of the makeup artist and the expression on Khadija’s face, I just like it.

Khadija rarely stopped smiling, after all this was her wedding day!

Kathleen captured this one of Khadija’s hands while her mother and bride’s maids were helping her get her dress on.

The details of a wedding day are really wonderful to photograph.

Like many weddings that occur late in the year, Khadija & Tim decided to see each other before hand. I love the look on Tim’s face as he turns around to look at Khadija for the first time.

We had a very limited amount of day light left so we took a couple of quick photos before heading off to their ceremony.

It was unique to see the bride pinning the boutonniere on the groom, but it made for a very sweet moment.

We arrived at Mahann’s about twenty minutes after the sun had completely gone down, but that did not stop Khadija & Tim from braving the bitter cold to get some fun pictures. I love using only available light to create some artistic images. This one is my view…

…And this is Kathleen’s. I love the little bit of blue color still left in the sky. This shot was also done only with available light.

Speaking of only available light, this one really makes me happy, kind of moody huh?!

This is quickly becoming a signature portrait that we love to do. I really love how beautiful brides look from this angle as Khadija does in this shot.

Their ceremony was really beautiful, at the beginning of the ceremony as part of a Native American Ritual, the two grandmother’s shared the flame from their candle with everyone in attendance until everyone was lighting the room by candle light. This is how Khadija walked down the aisle. It was really emotional.