Frank DiMeo Blog

Kelly and Brian...WOW!

It is 4:00 am, and a week has passed since the wedding as I write this. After being able to reflect for a while, I think I know what I want to say about Kelly and Brian’s wedding.

Wow, this wedding is definitely one that I am sorry to have in my past instead of my future. There are so many wonderful things to talk about, but the best place to start is with the bride herself. It is a pleasure to be around her, she is amazingly calm about everything, and her beauty is breathtaking. I guess the best way to put it is, the woman has got it together. Obviously, the groom does too, because he married her.

This is the first time that I have photographed a wedding for a sibling from a previous wedding. Last year I was fortunate enough to be the main photographer when Kelly’s sister Hanny married Jesse. I knew Kelly and Brian were going to get married soon, and really hoped they would call me, and that I would be available. It is also another exposure to the extended Hindu wedding ceremonies. It makes me wish my wife and I could get married again and have our own Indian events. They are truly that magnificent!

I have come to know the family pretty well after spending almost two weeks together with them for both weddings. The father is truly a gentleman. To watch him guide the other father’s through the ceremony is a beautiful thing to witness. The grandmother has the presence of a saint, all she has to do is look at you, and you feel blessed. The mom and her brothers and sisters fill you with their generosity and friendliness. Rocky, the brother… well I have never seen women stand in line before just to have their picture taken with a man. He is very handsome, has a great personality, and a whole lot more. He has the rest of these wonderful people in his life, and it shows. They all share and exhibit so much love, respect, and kindness with each other, and everyone else in their lives. It is an amazing thing to be a part of, and is definitely something all of us can appreciate. I have grown quite fond of all of them, and will miss them until I am fortunate enough to have our paths cross again.

The other great thing about this wedding is that I was able to have my good friend (and an excellent photographer) Shai Eynav by my side for all of it. Shai helped me with Hanny’s wedding, and there is no one I would trust more to do this with. This is also the first time that I have produced a slideshow using images from another photographer and myself (images #12-#15 on this post are Shai's too). We have both come to the conclusion that to do these huge weddings right, we should do them together. It is impossible for one person to cover everything, and Shai and I are so in sync that we do it in a way not many people are capable of. Once again, the two of us shot over one hundred gigs of images. That is an unbelievable amount of digital files, and utterly unheard of in the days of film. Individually, we are both successful, busy photographers, so it has to be worth it for us to do these together. That raises the price considerably but there is no better way to go if you want to have full coverage. I have to say that I whole-heartedly recommend this to all of my future Hindu brides.

Thank you Kelly, Brian, your families, friends, and Shai for everything. It has been an honor, and a pleasure to create these wonderful memories for all of us to hold on to and appreciate for a long time to come.

As always click on an image to see it larger, and click here for the slide show. I have to warn you that it is over twelve minutes long, so please kick back and relax. Mark, my groom from the last wedding post offered to mix some music for me like he did for his slideshow, but Kelly and Brian like the “True Companion” song by Marc Cohn so much that they didn’t mind if it repeated.

Happy Halloween

Whew, to say it has been a crazy year would be an understatement. Last year rolled right into this year with no break, and this year has been non-stop. This post is a thank you and an explanation at the same time. It is not meant to make excuses, but rather to provide explanations. I am a few blog posts behind and just wanted to reach out to everyone. I know everyone is waiting anxiously, and patiently, and I thank you. Please trust that I am doing the best I can, and continue to work long hours, day after day. My couples tell me the wait is no longer than the average time most wedding photographers take to deliver images, but I really hate to have anyone waiting for anything.

One of the things slowing me down is the slideshows I do for everyone. They are very labor intensive, and sometimes take three days to edit, and produce. They are also very popular, a huge hit, and very much appreciated. I certainly don’t want to stop doing them for people. However, this is definitely a service I will need to charge for in the future, because the extra work involved is staggering. Currently, I intend to do them for everyone, so please keep in mind how much you enjoyed yours, and why I feel it is fair for everyone to experience their own. Thank you again, I understand and would want everything yesterday too. Your patience has been, and continues to be appreciated.

Another thing slowing things down are the engagement sessions I do for everyone. This is another free add on part of my business that I do because I feel it is essential to make a special connection. Most photographers charge for this service and spend a very limited time with their couples. I’m sure that anyone who has done one with me will attest that money and time definitely are not a factor here for me. I do it because I love what I do and I want to be sure that you, your families, and friends are going to love it to. They can be difficult to orchestrate because my couples and I don’t always live in the same area. We do them when our paths cross, and they usually have full schedules taking care of other wedding day details.

The last thing is that my commercial and publication work has not slowed down at all. In fact it is busier than ever. The upcoming issue of the Cornell Law School Magazine will feature an image I recently shot of Sandra Day O’Connor on the cover. I do not advertise for this type of work, and only do it by word of mouth for a few select people that love my work, and working together. I included a jpeg of the cover in the post because it is a great example of what the new high-end Canon cameras can do. This image was shot with the EOS-1D Mark III at an iso of 3200 (this quality was technically impossible before the advent of this camera) with no additional flash at all. The room was very intimate and quiet, so any flash would have been far too obtrusive. It is an amazing testament for Canon that the image meets the standards necessary to be on the cover of a Law School Magazine.

Thank you if you have made it this far. I have never been accused of not having much to say. Please let me shout out to all of my loyal blog followers and ask for your comments. Many have asked that I do another Halloween post like last year. That is what this post originally started out as. My last wedding of the year is coming up on the 11th, then I have to go in for surgery on the 13th, and will be recovering for a week or so. Look forward to a flood of blog posts after that. I can’t wait to share some new work with you that I am really excited about. I hope you all had a wonderful Halloween, and I wish you the best for the holidays.

Now, for the images… Both of my kids have developed into such a characters. One gaze directly into their eyes is sure to melt your heart. I am so blessed to have my son Gabriel, daughter Bella, and my wife Heather in my life. I went to school with them the other day and took a few photos. Of course, Gabriel was the red Power Ranger, and Bella was Hannah Montana. Heather donned her Hannah wig for the shot of them together. I also included a couple images from Gabriel’s 4th birthday party and a few others because it has been so long since I posted anything personal. Can you guess which ones I took with my cameras, and which ones my wife took with her point and shoot? As always, click on an image to see it larger, and click here for the slide show.

Thanks again everyone. Have fun, live, love, and enjoy every moment of every day.

Katherine & Mark...True Love in Buffalo

You know…sometimes we are in the presence of something that is much greater than we could ever imagine. It is a special part of life that sort of just happens around us when suddenly we realize “Hey this is one of those moments”. Mark and Katherine definitely exist in one of these spaces. They exude what fairytale books refer to as “True Love”.

It seems like I have been shooting and shooting more than ever this year. People that don’t know what is going on are probably wondering what I have been up to because I am so far behind on my blog posts. People that do know what is going on are probably thinking “Yea, we know how busy and in demand you are but we NEED to see the magic you captured for us. All of it, and more! We can’t get enough!” I really appreciate everyone’s anticipation, excitement, and most of all understanding. It gives me fuel to do what I love to do so much.

I say it all the time, and I never say something that I don’t feel and mean with my whole heart. But honestly, my couples come from somewhere. I’m not sure where, or how they always find me, but I have been blessed with the best couples any one could ever hope for. Mark and Katherine certainly are one of the special couples I am talking about, and a person with a camera just needs to be in their presence to record the magic that flows off of them in great abundance. This magic is something I am always looking for, but it is nice when it just hits you in the face too. It refreshes and revitalizes the spirit of everyone lucky enough to be touched by it, and we are all better human beings, being human because of it.

I just want to thank Mark, Katherine, their families, and friends for welcoming me into the family like you did and making me feel so comfortable. There sure is something special about those Ohioans that makes me consider moving there. You all were/are the best, and it was a pleasure doing this together with you. Thank you to the Avanti Mansion in Buffalo for providing such a wonderful atmosphere, and helping to make all of this possible. A very special thank you goes out to Jamie for being so incredible and all of her help. This is one dynamite woman guys, someone is going grab her and not let go real soon. I hope you call me when that day comes Jamie, and I will be there to photograph it for you, no matter how near or far it is. Thank you also to Molly, just for being Molly.

Near the end, almost everyone got together for a group hug on the dance floor. It sort of encapsulated what the whole day was about. Katherine and Mark, I wish you lots of love and best wishes on your journey together. May the sun continue to shine on you, as you shine on everyone around you.

Please click an image to see it larger, and click here for their slideshow.