Frank DiMeo Blog

Hanny and Jesse

What an amazing week! Things are definitely going full speed ahead, pedal to the metal, as we head into the last few weddings.

This week I had the pleasure of working with Hanny and Jesse for six out of seven days. On Monday we did an engagement shoot, Tuesday I made them prints to be mounted so everyone could sign them at the wedding, Wednesday Hanny and I did a walk through at Turning Stone Casino. Then we were together until late on Thursday while she was getting her Henna done. Shai Eynav joined us early Friday morning for the first three ceremonies and was with us until Monday morning (thank you Shai for all of your energy and dedication. It was an honor to have you there, and your images are awesome). Nathan Holritz, and Luke Walker were the icing on the cake when they entered with their guns blazing on Sunday. Add the videographers and at times there were nine people creating images. Wow!

It was an astounding event and far exceeded everyone’s expectations. The colors and culture are amazing, and it was an honor to be part of, and to record all of the Hindu/Christian traditions. There was so much energy in the air that it managed to carry us through to the very end. I was going on very little sleep, and my legs were actually numb, by the end but the images we captured are some of the best I have ever seen. I can’t thank my wonderful team of photographers enough. When the going got tough, they got tougher, and Nathan and Luke were just the shot in the arm we needed to get us through to the end (the shot of the boyz below is Nathan's, thanks bud). Please be sure to check everyone’s blog because there have posted some great images. I tried to post different images here so each blog would be a little different. It was a huge event with thousands of images so to narrow it down for a blog post was nearly impossible.

It was funny because friends and families were actually cheering us on by the time Nathan and Luke arrived. Nathan couldn’t believe it and said “Dude, they are cheering for you, how good must that feel?” It did feel good, real good. It is always great when people recognize how hard you are working and the effort that you are putting into their event. At the final dinner/reception on Sunday I put up a slide show with 678 images. I know it had to be the longest slide show ever presented, and people were just glued to it. Afterwards, it seemed as though we had attained celebrity status. Dozens of people came up to me and said that they were totally blown away by the images. “Incredible” was the word I heard most, followed by “thank you, thank you.” One new friend (we made so many) said he was going to tell the Indian world all about us because we did a much better job than he has ever seen. He said that even Indian photographers who are familiar with the ceremonies don’t capture it like we did. Another friend made me laugh when he said “to look at you, you would never believe it, you are such a big guy but you move like a cat, crawling on the floor, and in more crazy positions than one could ever imagine. I wouldn’t believe it if I hadn’t see it with my own eyes.”

The end result will be thousands of images, with each one being more amazing than the one before it. Below is just a taste from the different events. As always, you can click on the image to make it larger.

Thank you again Hanny, Jesse, your families, and friends for welcoming us with such open arms, making us feel like family, and looking out for us the whole time. It was a great pleasure and honor to do this with you.

Len and Michelle's slide show

Wow, I can’t believe I pulled this together for Len and Michelle in time. I am into my biggest wedding of the year (5 days of shooting, and another scouting) at Turning Stone Casino with Hanny and Jesse but I promised Len and Michelle I would have this ready for them before the 23rd when they go south to celebrate with Len’s family.

Lets just say that things have been pretty crazy lately as the season winds down. Lots of people are calling from this year and last year to order albums that weren’t part of their original package too, so it doesn’t look like things are going to slow down anytime soon.

The wedding this weekend is going to be off the wall! A bunch of my friends from around the country have agreed to show up and help shoot what promises to be an extravagant event. In total, there will be five top photographers shooting. Many have already referred to this group as the all-star team, and I’m sure it will live up to the name. I am so psyched to work with Shai Eynav, Brady Dillsworth, Luke Walker, and Nathan Holritz. We are going to rock the casino like never before.

o.k. Tons to do still.

Just wanted to get this out there for you Len and Michelle. Hope the family enjoys viewing it as much as I did creating it, and working with you and the north east families and friends.

Rebecca and Scott

Rebecca and Scott’s wedding this past weekend at the Radisson Hotel Corning was a lot of fun to do with a wonderful couple. The wedding party was almost eaten alive by these nasty black flies but everyone held out as long as possible to get some wonderful photos. Thanks everyone for braving it out like you did.

We started at Becky’s house in Elmira, (her Mom and Dad are so nice) then a horse and carriage took her and her parents to Our Lady of Lourdes Church for the ceremony and Scott joined her for the ride to Elmira College after that. They both really enjoyed the calm break the ride provided and I think it was a great idea because it gave them a chance to relax and enjoy each other a little before the reception.

This was the first time I photographed at The Radisson and I must say that it is a great place for a reception. The people are top notch, very friendly, and accommodating. A special shout out goes to Shelly Newberry for doing such an awesome job!

It was a great party with lots of dancing and fun. Thanks Rebecca, Scott, and everyone for being so kind and giving me the opportunity to do this with you.

Snug Harbor with Len and Michelle

I had the great pleasure of shooting Len and Michelle’s wedding this past weekend at Snug Harbor Inn. We also hooked up the day and night before for the Rehearsal dinner and bonfire. I have to say again that I have been so blessed with the couples and families that I shoot with. Michelle captured my heart the second I met her, Len, and her parents way back in May when she came up to me and said “The first thing I have to do is give you a huge hug and wish you the best with your son.” Then they sent me an awesome photo book on Red Rock Canyon (their home) as a thank you for the impromptu engagement shoot we did. At the wedding, the tables were all named after rock groups and guess where I sat? The Roger Waters table, I couldn’t believe it, so I asked Michelle if she knew that he was my favorite and she said “yes of course, I read it on your blog”, I don’t even remember writing it on my blog. I just can’t thank everyone enough for how closely they follow the blog, and all the wonderful comments and emails I receive daily. It is so very much appreciated to hear what everyone has to say. Please keep them coming because it makes my day to know that my images moved you in some way.

I apologize for taking a few days to get this post up for you Len and Michelle (my friends have been emailing me to see if everything is alright because this is the longest it has ever taken me) but it’s getting harder and harder to edit the wedding photos, and I caught a nasty cold over the weekend. There are so, so many awesome shots (from both days) that it is hard for me to get it down to a manageable 800 or so. When I did the first edit there were close to three hundred that were blog possibilities. Imagine trying to get that down to a 100 images for a slide show (which is huge), or even a 100 - 150 images for an album (good luck you two). Then take that a step further and try to get it down to twenty for the blog. It is nearly impossible and takes me days just to look through everything before making the final selections, and then hours of post-production work. I guess that is a good problem though.

George Cannon, one of my dearest friends, and a great photographer joined me to help out with the shooting. I knew he would do a great job, but his images still blew my socks off. Thank you so much George for being there and working as hard as you did. It was an honor to have you there with me my friend. The last three images are just a sample of what George added to the day.

One other thing, when I went to California for a Mike Colon work-shop with a bunch of photographer friends from around the country they immediately picked up on how I always say Niiiiiicccce, when I am shooting. They worked me over pretty good, but a bunch of great photographers around the country now say Nice… when THEY are shooting. Well it didn’t take long for Len, Michelle, and the bunch to pick up on it either, and they worked me good too. So I told them the Cali story and they said, “Frank, it is your thing man, don’t ever stop saying it, we love it!” So to all of you, your families, and friends, all I have to say is Niiiiiiiicccce! Thanks Len and Michelle you two are AWESOME!
Please click on the images to make them larger, and look out for the slide show soon.

Jen and Phillip

It rained constantly, but it was still a beautiful day for Jen and Phillip’s wedding at Cornell University, and Six Mile Creek Vineyards. The fabulous Michael Erb of Michael E Mobile Sound was the DJ, and as usual, he was on top of his game. You can always count on Michael to brighten any rainy day. I feel that Michael and I have become good friends this summer through our casual get-togethers, and it is always such a pleasure to be with him at a wedding.

Word-of-Mouth Catering was there too so need I say more? If you follow my blog then you know how I feel about Kate and Tina as well. These two rock! They and their crew work so hard, and are such a delight to be around. There was tons of food, and it was all so good! I especially loved the fried green tomatoes, which I know were a special request of Jen’s.

Rev. Janet Shortall did another beautiful ceremony in the magnificent Sage Chapel. I have done quite a few weddings with Janet now and she is my favorite.

Lets see, what else…oh yea, Jen and Phillip (-: I knew immediately after meeting these two that it was going to be great to work with them on their wedding. Jen and I have talked often, about a lot of things. She asked for recommendations on the DJ, the officiant, vintage limos, and even took my advice on what room to get at the Statler. It is great to help brides with this kind of information, but even greater when they pull together an awesome team of professionals like Jen did.

What can’t be predicted are the friends and families of the bride and groom (because I never met most of them and don’t know them). I just fell head over heels for Jen’s mom from the moment I met her. She and her husband are wonderful people, and I constantly heard her giggling at me all day long every time she knew I nailed a shot. I loved it, and appreciated that she was so in tune with what I was doing. Their friends were such a nice group of people. I spent Thursday evening with a bunch of them and they were all so warm and receptive to me the whole time we were together.

Thanks Jen, Phillip, and everyone for making it such a spectacular day!
Please click on the images below to see them larger, and here is the slide show

Working Together

Last year Luke Walker and I started dropping in on each other’s weddings when one of us had an open date. I have also shot with Brady Dillsworth, Robert Kaussner, Jason Groupp in NYC, and Greg Bumatay in California. In November I will join Garrett and Joy Nudd for back-to-back weddings in Florida. The results are always incredible. The final product is much better because two established professionals are inspiring, and pushing each other. The second shooter can experiment, be creative, and take more risks. The original shooter does not shoot less, in fact usually shoots more. It is a win/win situation for everyone involved and really ends up being a lot of fun. The bride and groom love it too because they paid for a top photographer and get two.

In a few weeks Hanny (one of my brides) will actually have five great photographers for her three-day extravagant event at Turning Stone Casino. Shai Eynav will be shooting the whole thing with me. Brady Dillsworth will be with us on Saturday for an event that will have 850 people, then Luke and Nathan Holritz from Chattanooga; TN. will join us on Sunday. It should be a spectacular finished product, made possible because we can all shelve our egos, work together, and have tons of fun. How great is that?

The other nice thing is that we take pix of each other. Here is one Brady took of me with the two cameras, as always, and another that Jason took. I was doing a shot of Berit and Marc with them dipping into me as I slid across the floor. Berit's dad Dennis ran up and said “How come you didn’t do that when I was dancing with her” so I said “lets do it” and J took this photo of me. The image I made is with it so when people ask how did you get that photo? Now you know.

I was in Buffalo last weekend and stopped in Lima NY on the way back to visit with a bunch of good friends and really talented photographers. Garrett and Joy Nudd were in town to help their college buddies with a project, and Ali was visiting Luke, so Neil and Liesl Cowley decided to have a picnic for a bunch of us. It was so great to see everyone and meet a few new local photographers too. Thanks Liesl and Neil for being such great hosts, and thank you Garrett and Joy for getting away to visit with us. The only sad thing is now I really miss you guys even more. I borrowed the pix from Luke’s blog, thanks bro, and thank you everybody for being so willing to live, share, and work together. That is what it is all about.