Monday, March 30, 2009

ARTISTS’ RECEPTION TOMORROW

PLEASE JOIN US FOR AN ARTISTS’ RECEPTION ON TUESDAY EVENING MARCH 31st 2009 (4:00 – 7:00 P.M.)

CAFÉ GEORGE BY PAULA PROUDLY PRESENTS:
PHOTOGRAPHY OF: PATRICIA BRUNDAGE, LISA & TOM CUCHARA, FRED MOTT, JAMES SANTERRE AND LINDA THOMAS

DATE: MARCH-APRIL 2009VIEW: MONDAY-FRIDAY 7:00–4:00
PLACE: 300 GEORGE STREET NEW HAVEN, CT

EXCELLENT PHOTOGRAPHY
DELICIOUS FOOD & DRINK
MEET THE ARTISTS

Monday, March 23, 2009

Indiana Jones

We photographed Tom on Tuesday -- he was a lot of fun to work with! We got to try some silhouettes and two different backgrounds, one our brand new cobblestone (also looks like a giraffe hide).

Here are a few photos from the session...To see more photos from his session take a look on our website in this gallery http://tlc.smugmug.com/gallery/7682854_kqELx. We will be posting more photos in his gallery soon.









I just love this pose!!!




The left is my favorite chocolate action versus the traditional black and white on the right.




The Black and White processed photos came out quite dramatic!


The left photo was the background lights turned off (yielding a nice gray background) and the main lights illuminating Tom, while the right image was with the background lights turned on and the main lights not illuminating Tom. The resulting silhouette is very unique -- I especially cannot wait to see that one printed.

Sunday, March 22, 2009

Our new Logo

As you know we are trying to be more consistent with our "name", hence the change in our blog name to http://www.breaphotos.blogspot.com/. We now have a new logo, so you will start to see this appear on more printed and internet materials

Saturday, March 21, 2009

Trash the Dress

There’s a lot more fun to be had with your wedding gown than just wrapping it in tissue paper!!

Good Morning America recently had a segment on dress trashing.

In case you haven’t heard of it before, it’s when the bride (with or without groom) does a ‘unique’ photo shoot after the wedding. Most are NOT actually trashing the dress but rather just not worrying about getting it slightly dirty or wet. Most of the time the dress can actually be cleaned and reused afterwards, except in some extreme cases (like those shown on the Good Morning America episode). On their wedding day Brides tend to be picky about where they sit and what they do while getting pictures taken , so trashing their dress after the honeymoon allows them to get the pictures they really want. Although the name suggests these women are trashing their dresses, it's not totally true. Most of the dresses can be taken to the dry cleaners and come back looking just like new.

This new trend is both an exhibition of freedom from the stress of wedding planning as well as an art form unto itself! One of the pioneers of this type of art is John Michael Cooper (out of Vegas). It’s becoming quite popular now, and this national exposure only further solidifies it as a new form of expression.



With the vows taken and the honeymoon over, most brides shake down their wedding dress, wrap it in acid-free tissue paper and pack it away, never to be seen again. But there is another option. A growing number of adventurous brides have chosen to throw caution to the wind and their big-day dresses to the elements. The idea behind Trash the Dress is simple - instead of letting your gown fester in the back of a cupboard, slip it back on for a photoshoot where you can let loose and have some fun and you end up with some distinctive photographs that are a world away from traditional wedding portraits. These type of pictures have struck a chord with women all over the world, revealing the complex feelings they have about the wedding dress – after all the fuss, fittings and huge expense, you are left with an item you wear only once. The popularity of the Trash the Dress website suggests that it’s more than a passing fad.

It's more apparent than ever that Brides and Grooms are looking for unique images of their wedding experience. A wedding album filled with pose after pose is classical but perhaps stale compared to Trash the Dress session. Today's wedding photography is about capturing the actual experience, the emotion, and some creative pictures that represent the personality of the couple. Trash the Dress is more than just a fun filled photo opp. It represents the mind set of many of today's couples, as well as today's photographers and videographers. Couples want to capture their unique experience in fun creative ways.

Yvonne Barrett, a vivacious 33-year-old jewellery designer, married in November 2006 and trashed her dress on her husband's farm in Norfolk. “My wedding photographer suggested it, and I thought it was a wonderful idea,” she says. “I had such a good time in the dress, I really wanted to put it on one last time. Before the wedding, I was so precious about my dress, and worried about getting a mark on it, but afterwards, it sort of lost its value. It did its job and I wasn’t sentimentally attached to it. My friends and family were shocked when I told them I was planning to wreck it, though. I think we all have this idea of the dress being sacred.” Barrett walked though fields, petting cows and sheep, and ended the shoot by lying in a brook. “It was liberating and lots of fun,” she recalls. “After it was all over, I was quite prepared to do it again. We did the shoot on our farm, which was special. It is great to have pictures of me in my wedding dress where we live as man and wife.”

Galina Walls, who photographed Barrett, says a shoot is a fittingly dramatic way to say farewell to the gown you may have spent your life thinking about. “Brides spend a long time preparing for their wedding and, when it’s over, they want to extend the magic. It’s a way of saying goodbye,” she says. She adds that, “on the wedding day itself, you are so time-restricted, you have to grab photographs when you can, and the images are often quite generic. The dress can become a hindrance. People always say ‘Watch the dress’, or ‘Don’t stand on the dress’. This gives you the chance to relax and live in the dress, and that freedom makes for beautiful pictures”.

HOW TO GET TRASHED
  • Slide down a big, twirly slide in a children’s playground.
  • Walk in your favorite running brook.
  • Walk along the surf of your favorite beach
  • Lie in the sand on your favorite beach
  • Climb a photogenic tree and swing from the branches.
  • Run through a field of flowers, corn...
  • Take a roll in a hay barn
  • Go horse-riding.
  • Go on all the rides at a country fête, especially the rotating swings, the Ferris wheel and the merry-go-round.
  • Walk thru a fountain
  • Walk down a dusty road, even lie down
  • Stand in the water next to your favorite waterfall
  • Visit an urban area
  • Walk along the railroad tracks
  • Walk thru the grocery store in your dress.
  • Dress trashing can be as tame or as wild as your imagination.
We are currently offering FREE trash the dress sessions (simply purchase a print credit towards an album or enlargements). Rather than just wearing this once why not create some unusual photos of you at a park, playground, fountain, waterfall, beach, etc. and ensure that you will have some really "not stale photographs".

These are the images you can't get on most wedding days but would be so cool to have. If you are intrigued by the possibilities, contact us and we can work out a unique shoot just for you. We are currently offering FREE trash the dress sessions (simply purchase a print credit for your own album/enlargements). Remember a trashing doesn't always mean a trashing, often just a dry cleaning that you were going to do anyway ;-)

Friday, March 13, 2009

Leilani @ 4 weeks old

Here are a few more photos from our Saturday session with this cute little one. I had a chance to play with some of the images. The words were created via Wordle an interesting site that lets you create word art from a stream of words (or a website/blog).




Our Images on display Photo Expo 09 (Milford)

Tom and I have six framed photographs hanging at the Photo Expo 2009. There are plenty of awesome photographs hanging on these walls, come see! Most of the framed photographs are also for sale.

Photo Expo 2009 , Milford (203) 878-6647 The Milford Fine Arts Council will host this event at the Center for the Arts in Milford. Stop in to see a wide array of photographs taken by local enthusiasts whom wish to share their pieces with the public. The amazing photos will be on display Wednesday, Thursday and Friday from 10 am to 5 pm through the 27th.

Wednesday, March 11, 2009

4 week old Leilani

Here are a few photos from our recent session with little Leilani this past Saturday. I just LOVE the basket photograph!
From one week old to four weeks old she changed sooo much! She will be asking for the car keys in no time! No longer does she have that "curl" so cute in newborns -- she was all stretched out (and strongly pushing with her feet against Mom in some of our poses!).
We cannot wait to get this cute little one back into our Studio!








Pregnant? Considering a newborn session? Schedule your appointment with us during your 8th month based on your due date (we will adjust it if need be when your baby is actually born). All newborn sessions (babies under three weeks of age, but preferably under 8 days) are complimentary.

Babies can loose the ” newborn baby curl” within about 10 days of birth. If your looking for that little rump to be up and the baby to be moldable, try to shoot within this window. Baby acne also tends to set in after three weeks.

We try to coordinate with the mother beforehand and to plan the sleepiest time for the shoot. The sleepier the better, and no one would have a better idea of when that is than you.

Before you come in with this angelic sleepy baby, make sure to dress him or her in something easy to take off without disturbing them. Clothing that does NOT have to go over the head is good or even bring the baby in a swaddler. You need to be able to undress the baby without losing the deep slumber.

EXHIBITION AT CAFÉ GEORGE


Come join us!

CAFÉ GEORGE BY PAULA PROUDLY PRESENTS:
PHOTOGRAPHY OF: PATRICIA BRUNDAGE, LISA & TOM CUCHARA, FRED MOTT, JAMES SANTERRE AND LINDA THOMAS

DATE: MARCH-APRIL 2009
VIEW: MONDAY-FRIDAY 7:00–4:00

PLACE: 300 GEORGE STREET NEW HAVEN, CT

PLEASE JOIN US FOR AN ARTISTS’ RECEPTION ON TUESDAY EVENING MARCH 31st 2009 4:00 – 7:00 P.M.
EXCELLENT PHOTOGRAPHY
DELICIOUS FOOD & DRINK
MEET THE ARTISTS
The nature photographs that Tom and I have on display at this CAFE can be seen on our website: http://tlc.smugmug.com/gallery/7524852_tDuvx#485953054_EXKfW

Friday, March 6, 2009

Exhibition at the 300 George CAFE

Tom and I are part of a five person photography exhibition at the CAFE at 300 George St http://www.cafegeorgebypaula.com/ in New Haven. The other talented photographers that have photographs on display are Pat Brundage, James Santerre and Linda Thomas.

We will be having an Artists' Reception and will provide more information about it as it draws closer!

The nature photographs that Tom and I have on display at this CAFE can be seen on our website: http://tlc.smugmug.com/gallery/7524852_tDuvx#485953054_EXKfW

Wednesday, March 4, 2009

Leilani has arrived

Leilani entered the world on Feb 6th at 9:04pm.

Here are a few photos of the little beauty from her 8 day old photo session...











We also created some Fantasy "Mommy and Baby" womb photographs from the session. Gotta Love em!



More Lauren and Sara

Here are few more photos from the portrait session with Lauren, Sara and Nancy.















Lauren and Sara

We great time photographing Lauren and Sara (and their Mom) a couple of weeks ago. These young ladies were a lot of fun and the session went by very fast. They brought their iPod and one of the fun things that we did was an iPod person with each of them.


Here is a short video of some of the photographs from their session. I will post some more photographs from their session soon -- there were a lot of great photographs. You can download the MP4 file and play it.