My Vermont Wedding Photographer

St. Patrick's Day at The HUB in Johnson, Vermont

Quite a story behind today's post. Actually quite a bunch of stories, and they're all good! But what else would you expect on St. Patrick's Day?

Ah, where to begin? Well, let's start with the fact that our little hometown of Johnson, Vermont was blessed for many years by Mr. Beard's presence in it. He ran the local hardware store for decades and recently passed away at a ripe old age, but not before selling the building to Danielle and her partner Ernie, who re-opened it as The Hub, a really amazing pizza, beer and wine club with live music. That's the first story.

The second one is about our neighbors who live across the street from us for the last 10 years, the Clarks. Well Gary and Laura's son Roland has grown up to be, at the ripe old age of 11 or so, an outstanding violin player. Roland has already toured with the Vermont Symphony Orchestra, sat in with nationally known bluegrass bands at Higher Ground, as well as with anybody else who happens to be playing around Lamoille County.

Gotta sneak a third story in here. When Veronique and I got married back in 2002, we had our reception at the Governor's Mansion in Hyde Park. And we hired the Mud City Ramblers to play. It turned out to be their first wedding gig, at least that what they told me tonight, as they kicked off the festivities at The Hub! No matter, I love first times!

Anyway, Roland sat in with them tonight and did really well, filling the joint with friends and family as well as rapt "first-timers". Then Gary joined him on stage for some extended duets of traditional Irish music, which was music to my Irish ears. Ahhh.... meanwhile pizzas were getting thrown, pints were getting pulled and the standing-room-only crowd was having a ball.

To top things off, a bunch of Johnson State College music students took the stage with their very own James Brown tribute act, replete with an array of horns and positively electrified the house!

Veronique and I managed to squeeze off a few "rolls" of "film" - we actually took over 500 photos! Luckily we didn't pop off a single flash, so nobody seemed to mind us taking pictures too much. How do we do it? Here are our 20 faves...

Katherine and Tom's Elopement and Portrait Session

Every now and then we have the great honor and privilege of being the only people in attendance at a wedding. In the old days these were called elopements, a term which implied a sense of escape, adventure and perhaps breaking the rules.

Nowadays there are many other reasons for two people in love to tie the knot in a very private and personal way. Whatever their reasons, these couples provide us, as photographers, with a delightful prospect: unfettered access and total freedom to make images that we can compose and refine with almost no time constraints.

Katherine and Tom were married in a "Country Wedding" at the Green Mountain Inn today by Mitzi Spears, one of our favorite Stowe Justices of the Peace. We had time both before and after the brief ceremony to play photographically with our subjects and we are delighted with the results. A special bonus was that the bride loves black and white photography, and so below you will find 20 of our favorites in classic B&W.

Because we shoot digitally, the original image is captured in RGB color, and we can convert it to B&W in an infinite variety of blends, perhaps emphasizing the yellows and downplaying the reds, and this in turn can lift the shadows, suppress the highlights, make the background go away, it's truly magical in the digital darkroom!

Samantha and Richard's Wedding Day Celebration

One might assume that a wedding held on a Monday in the month of March in Vermont might be a small and rather modest affair, but nothing could be farther from the truth about the wedding of Samantha and Richard! They treated themselves to a weeklong overseas snowboarding holiday, coming with their families and friends all the way from England for a warm, glowing celebration fit for a princess!

The Green Mountain Inn's newly redone Village Room provided abundant natural light, and a real sense of elegance, as well as a wonderful sense of privacy, for their wedding ceremony and reception.

The Metcalf Brazilian Dreadnought Guitar

If you're a musician, and especially one who plays acoustic guitar, you might want to check out Tim Metcalf, a luthier down in Greensboro, Tennessee. Tim makes some pretty darned sweet guitars, that not only look unbelievable, but play and sound that way as well.

Below you will find a series of photos of my hand-built Metcalf Brazilian Dreadnought. This beauty has -

    Solid Brazilian rosewood sides and back

    Very nice Kermodie hybrid spruce top. VERY similar in properties to Appalachian red spruce (I think it's better)

    Honduran Rosewood binding

    Abalone purfling around top and headstock

    Bold side and back line purfling

    Oversize sound hole

    Bone pins, nut and saddle

    Solid mahogany neck, 1 11/16 at nut

    Gold Grover vintage tuners

    Vintage-style tortoise pick guard

    BIG sound! Great intonation. Nice action!

For me, the icing on this cake are the solid Brazilian Rosewood sides and back. Long revered as the ultimate tonewood, BR has not been used by the major guitar manufacturers (Martin, etc...) since the late 1960's, because it was declared to be endangered. There are international laws that limit its export from Brazil, but a few sets manage to meet the qualifications and make it out every now and then, sometimes cut from salvaged wood or even stumps. Apart from the absolutely stunning shades of gold, silver, purple and brown, BR is known for its wonderfully complex overtones and thunderous bass. I am no genius on the guitar, but I sure enjoy sitting back and strumming and picking on my Metcalf Brazilian! Thanks Tim!

I am no genius on the guitar, but I sure enjoy sitting back and strumming and picking on my Metcalf Brazilian! Thanks Tim!

The Peacheaters play the Rusty Nail in Stowe

Veronique and I had the pleasure last night of photographing "The Peacheaters, an Allman Brothers Experience" at the Rusty Nail in Stowe, Vermont. Their name is inspired by the famous "Eat a Peach" album that the Allmans released back in 1972.

The band contacted us because they were looking for fresh images to convey the Allman Brothers "vibe" they live for, and seek to keep alive by touring everywhere from Nantucket to Stowe each year.

Having seen the original ABB at the Fillmore East and also at Carnegie Hall back in the day, I am also a huge fan of their music, and I have to say that JB and his brethren are doing a great job of keeping it alive!