Frank DiMeo Blog

Snug Harbor

Today I met Michelle and Len at the Snug Harbor Restaurant and Inn Inn to discuss their wedding day in September, and brought along my camera just incase. It was a rain on, rain off kind of day but they were in town from Colorado so we decided to do an impromptu engagement type shoot.

I also met Michelle’s Mom and Dad, Gail and John. It's funny how when you talk with someone a couple of times on the phone, and through e-mail, it seems like you have already met before you actually do meet. That is how it was again today. The four of them were so nice, and I can tell it is going to be a great time shooting the wedding with them.

Michelle and her Dad are going to come across the lake in a boat and the ceremony will be right at the harbor…can’t wait.

The Post I Couldn’t Wait To Make

Heather and I have been looking forward to the news we received today for what seems like a very long time. Gabriel had his third post-chemo/radiation tests on Thursday and today the doctors used the word REMISSION for the first time. That means Gabriel appears to be cancer free! Tomorrow he meets with the doctor who will be scheduled to remove the catheter from his chest. I can’t even begin to describe how elated we are.

Thank all of our friends, family, the wonderful people at Strong Hospital, and the Ronald McDonald house in Rochester for everything you guys have done to help us through this period in our lives. Thank you too for the thousands of prayers and best wishes. So many people have helped in so many different ways. We could never thank you enough, and we thank all of you from the bottom of our hearts.

Thank you also to my brides and grooms who decided to stick with me (not one of you bailed) after we found out, we appreciate your patience and understanding through all of this. I honestly feel that I lost a few new couples when they found out what we were up against, and understand why they decided to go elsewhere. I believe all things happen for a reason though, and apparently I wasn’t meant to photograph their weddings. This has been such a huge part of and change in our lives that it had to be shared with others and I do not regret doing so.

We decided last night if we received the news today we would get the kids a Weimaraner puppy to celebrate. So we drove all over the state today for a doctor appointment and to go meet Zeus, our new family member. On the way back from the hospital my friend Shai Eynav called to ask me something. As I said before in an earlier post, Shai covered the only wedding I had to miss which was scheduled for twelve hours after we found out about the tumor. So I’m sure you can see how ironic this was for all of us. Like I said, things happen for a reason. That happened to be Shai’s only free day of the season and we have developed a friendship I treasure because of it.

When we got home we gave Gabriel a large size Buzz Lightyear doll (it was supposed to be for his birthday in July but we couldn’t wait) and a special trophy we had made up for Bella (in anticipation of this day) that says “Worlds Greatest Big Sister”. The expression on her face was priceless, and Gabriel hasn’t let Buzz out of his sight since.

My heart goes out to all of the other families we met going through similar things with their children. I pray for your strength and a fast recovery.

Double Trouble

Well it could have been but Luke Walker, Megan Dailor, and I made sure it was double fun! I joined them yesterday to photograph a double wedding with twins. The other cool thing was that the reception was at Emerson Park Pavilion. I have shot there before but this was a great warm up for Jessica’s wedding in August (hi Jess, hope you are following the blog, we have to schedule your engagement shoot soon).

Christine married Matthew, and Linda married Jesse a half hour apart, plus the brides had to change dresses to be in the other wedding, and then change back again. It was a lot of work for everyone but a lot of fun too. It almost looks like one woman married two guys, can you tell them apart?

Eric introduced himself as the father of the brides, not many guys ever get to say something like that. I was amazed the whole time watching two of his daughters getting married back to back. He must have been the most exhausted because that is a lot of emotion to handle for one afternoon.

As always, it was a pleasure to shoot side by side with my main man Luke, and like usual, we rocked the house down!

Congratulations to everyone, and thanks for letting me share this great day with you.

Back in NYC

NYC again, new adventure’s, and a lot of fun!
Robert Kaussner, Luke Walker and I met up with our friend Jason Groupp to go to a Marcus Bell “Shooting from the Heart” seminar sponsored by GraphiStudio.

I was blown away by the sensitivity and compelling style of Marcus’s images. His photos capture feelings and emotions much like I aspire to do with my work. He is one of Australia’s top photographers and earns up to $50,000.00 per wedding. It was so inspiring that I wanted to get up and shoot a wedding after seeing a couple of his slide shows.

It was also great to learn more about GraphiStudio. The have a huge variety of outstanding products that I am really excited about offering to everyone in the future.

We had a lot of fun going out to eat and walking the streets in the big BIG CITY. Jason took us to Jimmy’s Corner, a veritable shrine to boxing with memorabilia from way back. Then we went out for some awesome Mexican food, met the naked cowboy, and braved some serious rain. I brought my point and wait, I mean point and shoot camera, and here are some of the images.

Thanks Liz and Jason for giving us a place to stay again, and for all the wonderful navigation in the city.

The Knot

I just finished getting my images together for advertising with The Knot. Wow, it is really hard to pick ten of my favorite images from everything that I shot this year. It is really interesting though because the ones that were sure things a few weddings ago, no longer make the final edit. There are still a lot that hit the cutting room floor though and that is one of the hardest parts of the whole experience. One thing for sure is that the web site is long overdue for a facelift and some new categories.

The other difficult thing is what do you say for the product description that doesn’t sound canned or like a million others. I did a lot of research reading what everyone else had and I noticed a few redundant approaches. Most are written like it is someone else talking about the photographer. Like Frank did this, and Frank did that, and then Frank did this. Another recurring theme is when people have won awards. That is all they talk about, like national award winner, internationally acclaimed photographer, or award winner. I have won a lot of huge awards that I am very proud of but I was thinking if someone wanted to know that then they could read my biography section.

Then there are the key words like unobtrusive, photojournalistic, artistic, non-traditional, naturally, sought after, you know what I mean, you have read them a thousand times. Again, I was thinking why do I have to say all that stuff? Shouldn’t the images do that kind of talking for me?

So after a lot of consideration, I decided that I would approach it a little differently and talk to the bride myself. I want her to know what kind of person I am, me, the real me. Not the award winner, or the so and so graduate, or how stealthy I can be. No window dressing, just me. So I hope it turns out to be a good move. Either way, I am happy with the decision because I want my weddings to be intimate events, and I am concerned about tomorrow too, not just today. Our relationship doesn’t have to end when you get your album. Instead, it should continue on so I am photographing your children when you have them, and all of the other special events in your life.

I hope I haven’t offended any photographers that use any of the above text in their product description. That wasn’t my intention, and thanks all of you for putting yourselves out there so that others like myself can learn from it.

So after all that, again I’m sorry to be so long winded in these posts but I try to be concise. I will understand if you only look at the pictures though :) this is what I wrote and here are the top ten images (for the next five minutes, anyway).
“It is an honor when a bride decides to have me photograph such a monumental day in her life. Putting her trust in me forms a bond from that moment on, and continues long after the wedding. We will laugh together, cry together, and create memories that you will treasure forever together. My images are much more than pretty pictures of people. They capture fleeting moments, pieces of life, and are filled with emotion. Most importantly, I promise to exceed your expectations.”

Cornell Fashion

Wow, it has been a busy week of shooting, and sorry but this is a long post that took forever to put together.
I photographed student fashion designs for Susan Ashdown , Van Dyk Lewis, and the Department of Textiles and Apparel at Cornell for many years when I worked for University Photo. Last year someone else did it because I left Cornell to devote all my energy into my own business. This year Susan e-mailed and asked if I would be interested in shooting it freelance and I’m glad I did. The work this year is incredible and I really think the students have a good shot at winning.
The photos are for The International Textile & Apparel Association, Inc. competition. The ITAA is a professional, educational association composed of scholars, educators, and students in the textile, apparel, and merchandising disciplines in higher education. ITAA welcomes professionals employed in those fields that wish to join with members of the Association in the pursuit of knowledge, interchange of ideas, and dissemination of knowledge through meetings, special events, and publications. The purpose of the ITAA Design Exhibition is to provide an arena for design work to be juried and shown as a form of scholarship. Graduate, undergraduate and professional designs will be juried as separate categories.

The rules for photography are very specific and must be diligently adhered to for the design to even be considered. So lighting and pose are pretty much predetermined, leaving little room for technical creativity. The light can still have a beautiful quality (if it is done right) and I try to push the pose, and composition as far as possible.

The images here are not for the competition though. They are just examples of playing around in photoshop after the shoot. The end result is much more artistic than the originals, and I hope the designers don’t mind that I took the liberty to have a little fun with their stuff. Please leave some comments if you visit.

My good friend Robert Kaussner let me borrow his 74” Octa Light Bank (which is incredible) so I took him out to lunch at the Vietnam Restaurant, and dinner at Thai Cuisine ("The Best Thai Food in New York State including New York City" - Getaways For Gourmets) to thank him. Actually it was way better than renting one because I had some great meals at two of my favorite restaurants, and was able to spend a little time with Bob.

The designers are
Andriana Petrova - “Spectacularly Incognito” (the dress made of mirrors). I positioned the designer and professors in different places to reflect their faces in the dress.

Quham Adeniyi - “We're Gonna Party and Have Fun” (pink sweater and short pin striped shorts).

Olivia Ong - “Fusion” (lavender jacket and skirt with gold bikini top)

Philip Kim - “Bordeaux” (black and purple dress with squares and feathers)

Courtney Ward - “Untitled” (black and red tuxedo dress and jacket)

Michelle Diamond - “Untitled” (brightly colored wrap tunic with green sash)

Susan Dauber -“Desire” (black backless dress with gold polka-dot trim)
Can you guess what part of the body this is?

Susan Dauber -“Flower Cocktail” (beige and maroon flowered dress with sash)

I would especially like to thank Lindsay Lyman-Clarke for doing an outstanding job organizing everything and helping it to go as smooth as possible. Like I said, you were the best I have worked with yet!

Thank you Susan for the wonderful feedback too “Believe me, when our students are chosen, it is partly due to your work. Their designs were just as good as they always are last year when you didn't do our photography, and we did not have nearly as many successful entries. We will let you know how it comes out this year - we generally hear sometime in July.”

Good luck to everyone, I will keep you posted if someone wins, but in my book they are all winners.

I love you Heather

Today is our 8th wedding anniversary and I just wanted to thank my beautiful wife Heather for all the wonderful years we have had together, and for giving me two of the most precious gifts, our beautiful kids, Bella, and Gabriel.
Heather is one of the most amazing, caring, giving people I have ever met, and it is no wonder I love her so! She is my pillar of strength and has always been 100% behind whatever crazy thing I decide to do next. She deserves a humanitarian award just for putting up with me all these years.
She works twelve-hour shifts (Midnights) at Arnot Odgen Hospital (which is an hour away) in the Neo-Natal intensive care unit. For those of you that know, I’m sure I don’t have to tell you what kind of special person it takes to do her job. Here is a big shout out to all her co-workers that I hope are reading this with her.
So I was testing out my new lighting kit yesterday and I’m sure that she is going to love it that I posted these pictures of her still half asleep from just waking after another rough night. Sorry Heather, I just wanted to wish you a Happy anniversary and tell the world I love you!

Today is also my sister DeeAnn Tompkins birthday. Hope today and all your days are as wonderful to you as you are to all of us DeeAnn. Happy Birthday.

Wahoo!!!!

I borrowed the title for this post from an e-mail Becky wrote to me after the engagement shoot we did last night with Luke Walker. That pretty much sums it up, and it would be tough to come up with anything better so thanks Becky.

Wahoo is right! Becky wrote the awesome e-mail I posted a couple of weeks ago about shooting her wedding next year. We knew her and Rob would be great to photograph, but they ROCKED the house down!

It gets better and better every time Luke and I shoot together! Both of us inspire each other, drive each other, and push each other to new levels. Neither of us is satisfied with anything less than WOW! These are special times people while we are together, so you have to get on board and come shoot with us. You can get us as a team if you want but we still drop in on each other’s gigs when we can for no additional charge. We do it because we love what we do and we love to do it together.

Here is Becky’s wahoo e-mail, (hope you don’t mind but I edited out some of the more personal stuff Becky)
Hi Frank,
It was SO fun hanging out w/ you. Thank you Thank you Thank you. What you do is so cool!!!
Please make sure that you tell Luke we had fun and we appreciated his being there!!! I really hope to see him again!
I'd pay you ten times as much if I could!!!! I can't tell you how super stoked I am about you shooting the wedding! We're so thrilled to be supporting the work/the art that you do.
Have a great night.
Warmest regards,
Becky

Luke and I had a riot too Becky, how could we go wrong with your pizzazz and how awesome the two of you are together. The smoothies after were icing on the cake (-:
Here are some of my shots, and one a guy on the commons nailed for us (I think our karma blasted into him). I’m sure Luke has some blow your socks off images too but I will leave those to his blog so make sure you check it out.

Watch out for May 20th. I will be joining Luke to shoot one of his weddings with twin girls getting married. It should be the next great shooting chapter in our wonderful friendship together.

Becky, what can I say, you and Rob are the greatest! I’m looking forward to the wedding in 14 months, and many good times together, before and after for many years to come.

A Grande Night

Maria DeSantis from The Desantis Orchestra and Marybeth Longo from Video Network hooked up with GM Jason Fulton from The Genesee Grande Hotel to host a meet and greet for some of the premier wedding vendors in the area. It was great to see everyone again and to meet a lot of new people too.

I was really impressed with Jason, the guy is 31 years old, has five daughters, and really has it going on at The Grande. After spending some time in Las Vegas he decided to move back to Geneva with his family and manage things at the Hotel. The place is first class all the way and I can’t wait to shoot a wedding there. They spent over 14 million turning it into one of the best places anywhere. Jason gave Luke Walker, Robert Kaussner and myself a tour that blew all of our socks off. If you are looking for a place that just rings of class then look no further, this is it.

I also met Rebecca McManus, another great Syracuse photographer from Rebecca’s Photography. Luke has had nothing but great things to say about Rebecca, and now I can see why.

This is the third such event since Luke, Bob, and I had ours. They are a great way for all of us to meet in a relaxed environment and I know it will help all of us serve our clients better.