birchblazephotography.com » birch blaze studios

2011 Newport Folk Festival feat. Civil Wars & Pete Seeger

birch — Wed, 04 Apr 2012 20:20:41 +0000

Better late than never, right? Last summer Taylor and I experienced our first Newport Folk Festival together, together with my Daughter Maddie and my Son Dylan. Sometimes in the hustle and bustle of our wedding photography some of our personal imagery gets pushed aside. Seeing how the lineup for the 2012 Newport Folk Festival was recently announced, we thought this would be a good time to share our photologue of last year’s Festival. I have to say, that despite the heat both days (man, were those frozen lemonade vendors busy!), the Festival was phenomenal with MANY standouts such as The Civil Wars (check out their work on their Grammy-winning Barton Hollow album and the Hunger Games soundtrack), Brown Bird, Pokey LaFarge & The South City Three, Mountain Man, legend Earl Scruggs (who, sadly, passed away recently) and SO many more! If you’re a music lover, the Newport Folk Fest is a must-see. And there are many genres of music represented, not just folk. One of the highlights was getting to see a folk legend, Pete Seeger, who at age 92, closed out the Festival late Sunday afternoon with 2 songs he wrote/co-wrote, Turn, Turn, Turn and Where Have All The Flowers Gone? I was able to sneak my way up fairly close to the stage for this and came away with a pretty decent video, which you can view below. Of course, you could barely turn around at the Festival without bumping into a photographer and most were, as you might expect, vying for the best vantage point around all 3 stages. We took a few shots of performers doing their thing, but besides soaking up all the incredible music and talent, we mostly enjoyed shooting some of the offstage happenings. For 2012, we hope to make it for Sunday of the Festival—we have a wedding on Saturday—but even if we can’t, we’ll never forget the wonderful time we had last summer and I know we’ll be back…

Click here to view the embedded video.

Girl Anachronism

birch — Tue, 13 Mar 2012 20:43:27 +0000

“She may be young but she only likes old things and modern music it ain’t to her taste. She loves the natural light, captured in black and white…” -Ben Gibbard

The above images are the results of a senior photo shoot Taylor and I did with my Daughter Maddie, who as you have seen has a style all her own. The session took place this past December in New Hampshire and in Brattleboro, Vermont at the Latchis Hotel and Theater. We would like to thank the Latchis’ staff for graciously allowing us to use their beautiful theatre! We are extremely proud of these images and they are most representative of our style and the direction we wish to continue in :) -K&Tay

Married! Thomas + Denaie

birch — Mon, 12 Mar 2012 03:41:32 +0000

As we anxiously await the spring-heralding shout-out of the peepers here in NH, we share a wedding from the other end of this winter, Thomas and Denaie. Their whole lovely day took place in Wolfeboro, NH at the Wolfeboro Inn. The weather huffed and puffed but ultimately, it held off and allowed for a beautiful outdoor ceremony. We are very happy to share it, especially with Thomas and Denaie. They were one of our most enthusiastic couples of last year, and we hope it brings back some great memories!! Here are some of our favs…

a day in the wood {family lifestyle photographers}

birch — Thu, 08 Mar 2012 17:24:29 +0000

A few months ago, we got to spend the day with some people we love. It was a good day.

“And if every moment of our lives was cradled softly in the hands of a strange and gentle child, I’d not roll my eyes so.” – James Mercer

Jen & The Boys, Down on the Farm {family lifestyle photography}

birch — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 21:27:45 +0000

A few months back we had the pleasure of hanging out with Kevin, Jen, Tucker, Wyatt & Luke at their family farm here in the Lakes Region. I’ve known Jen since highschool and it’s so cool to reconnect with past memories and get a chance to photograph people you’ve known for years, documenting a slice of the life they’ve carved out for themselves. What an awesome family that is clearly pretty-much as close as a family can be and cherishing every minute they spend together as the nest starts to thin out a bit :) I’ve driven by the Full Moon Farm for years now, ever since moving to New Hampshire and every time I do it has something beautiful for my eyes whether it be a gorgeous sunset, an inviting sledding hill or even the, “wait-a-minute-was-that-what-I-think-it-was,” sight of an ostrich herd in NH, which they did indeed have a few years back. Thanks guys, for having us. We were so pleased to experience some down-on-the-farm living and preserve some of those swift-running memories for you…may they be at least as sweet as the Farm-brewed maple syrup you sent us home with!

Married! Eric + Ali {nh creative wedding photography}

birch — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 02:52:21 +0000

When Eric and Alison first contacted us in 2010, Eric told us he loved photography. When we were invited to check out some of his work and did, we were quite impressed, and honored. It’s definitely cool when a photography aficionado appreciates your work to the point of entrusting you with capturing one of the most important days of their life. It’s hard to believe that it’s been well over a year now since the first time we got to hang out with Eric & Ali while shooting their engagement session in the Squam Lake area. That was such a good time we knew their wedding at the Brass Heart Inn in Chocorua, New Hampshire would be pretty amazing and it was in more ways than one! When we arrived I (Kerry) got to chase the guys around during their spirited game of touch football. I knew I was doing my job getting into the heart of the action when during one play I deflected a pass with my head. That’s right, the ball bounced right off my noggin! The excitement didn’t stop there however…as you’ll see the outdoor ceremony was ‘punctuated’ with a torrential downpour. That had no effect whatsoever on the joy and emotion of the day and we all were well rewarded with a double rainbow right after the ceremony! When does that ever happen?? We’re so glad we were able to capture this and many other moments for Eric & Ali and their friends and family (tho’ I wasn’t quite able to come up with a shot of the football rebounding off my cranium…) Of course, the double rainbow was completely fitting for these two, it’s pretty easy to see they’ll be making the most of whatever comes their way for a long, long time :)

Married (twice)! Keri + Mohan {Indian-American Wedding Photography}

birch — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 03:54:11 +0000

I don’t think one could truly convey the superlatively beautiful nature of a Hindu wedding ceremony! You kinda’ have to be there. And we were…and we’ll never forget it. Keri and Mo began their 12+ hour wedding festivities with a Hindu ceremony. Something we found really endearing was how “family-centric” it was. Everyone was up there, mothers and fathers and brothers and cousins and uncles…and everyone had a part. There were fires, coconuts, blessings and lots of rice throwing! Almost everything has symbolic significance and there is so much love, which we were happy to be in the midst of. :)

Following the morning’s ceremony was an Indian luncheon and then everyone regrouped for Part II! The evening ceremony was at the beautiful Castle in the Clouds in Moultonboro, NH. The weather was less than stellar but everyone seemed to take it well and remain in good spirits. Happily, the rain even broke long enough for us to sneak in some portraits before the ceremony!

Undoubtedly, this is one of the most visually stunning weddings we have witnessed but also so heartily comprised of good, happy, in love people! We never get sick of that. Keri and Mo, you are of the wonderfulest kind! Thank you for sharing your day with us. Thank you also for sharing your beautiful families and your Chicken Tikka Masala! We hope you enjoy the recap. ;)

*Many expressions of amazement to 1. Mindy Rossignol of Private Weddings and Events for the most beautiful execution and planning! Wow. 2. Emily Herzig Floral Studio. Probably the most incredible arrangements I’ve ever seen. If you’re in need of either, these women are amazing!

Married! Sean + Emily, Part II

birch — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 00:52:08 +0000

Part II of Sean & Emily’s woodland wedding adventure (Check out Part I here…) kicks in as they finish up their First Look couple’s portraits and get down to the business of getting married! The lakeside ceremony was beautiful with plenty of smiles, laughs and poignancy. The vintage summer camp vibe was carried out to perfection and the food was amazing (major kudos to Windy Fields Farm for their emphasis on local harvest foods)! Being a part of such a special day in the lives of 2 people in such an ‘organic’ locale was not lost on us. We loved it! We hope Part II completes the picture for you…

Married! Sean + Emily

birch — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 19:23:47 +0000

This is Emily and Sean’s magical and wondrous wedding day! So wondrous, in fact, that we couldn’t fit it all into one post. So, today we will share Part I. We are almost disturbingly excited about this.
Truly, Emily and Sean’s wedding was one of the most beautiful weddings we have been to. It was beautiful in its simplicity and its inclusion of natural things. Emily and Sean put together so many details by themselves and with the help of friends. We met up with them at the camp a couple weeks before the wedding to get familiar with the surroundings and get a feel for how the day would flow. I remember walking around with Emily and a distinct feeling of pure joy as she described her plans of mason jars and burlap (among many other lovely things). The land was so beautiful….ferns and tall pines and that great balsam smell. A good place to be married.
We’re very well aware what a gift it is to meet truly good folks like E&S and that’s what they are. They’re like presents in the form of people and I’m sure all of their friends and family feel that way. It was a privilege to share their day with them! And lastly, I would like to say a little something about Sean and Emily’s green sofa, which I will continue to covet. Way to go guys. ;)

Part I…..

Married! Ben + Danielle {Portland, Maine Wedding Photographers}

birch — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 05:00:39 +0000

We LOVE Portland, Maine!!! Hang out there every chance we get. So of course, we’ve been chomping at the bit to shoot our first wedding in Portland… Ben & Danielle gave us that opportunity and we can’t think of a cooler couple to introduce us to the world of Portland wedding photography :) And, their reception was at none other than Grace, a restored church that is now a chic Portland eatery and ultra-cool wedding reception venue! Ben and Danielle chose Fort Williams Park to do their ‘First Look,’ and we especially loved the Goddard Mansion, a mid 1800′s Colonel’s mansion which is abandoned, but aging with it’s own grace and beauty. You’ll see Ben anxiously awaiting his Bride while tucked away around the corner of the grand stone ‘ruin.’ We also had a blast getting creative with the bridal party on the old Fort ramparts. Danielle was especially excited that her little guy, Duncan was able to make an appearance :) We had a great time with the happy couple and all their adoring friends and family and wish them all the happiness (and more!) of a Sunday morning stroll through the Old Port!