The Most Important People……Check this out!

Jessica and Steven Patenaude were united in marriage for their continued love story, June 1, 2013.

Jessica Willis and Steven Patenaude have a relationship that dates back to their days in high school when they were in DECA together. They were friends and they fell in love, Jessica noted that Steven was persistent.

Both sent each other a present and a note to enjoy as they were preparing for their day and both cried tears of joy when they read their notes. “Remember it’s our family and friends that will be with us today, the most important people in our lives,” Jessica wrote.

The day was beautiful, complete with sun, wind, a bit of rain and yes, even a rainbow, a symbol of luck!

Thank you Jessica and Steven, for trusting me with the artistic interpretation of your special day!

Don R. Whipple, Master Photographer, Craftsman

Check out this video of their wedding day!

http://video214.com/play/r4MmmfbZiPqefOiMdxxOCg/s/dark

Dreams do come true….

Dreams do come true.

I have worked for many years with a wonderful family, the Gray family, from Canaan, Vermont. On Saturday, May 25, 2013, Kristina Gray was married to Samuel Rosen.

Their dream was to be married outdoors, on the shore of the First Connecticut Lake located at the very Northern tip of New Hampshire. With family and friends…and a photographer, that’s me, braving the elements of snow, sleet, rain and a chilling breeze, those dreams came true. The forecast for the evening, snow with accumulations of over 2 inches.

This wedding will never be forgotten, as everyone had to persevere with the warmth of our hearts and the joy of sharing their special day. As a professional photographer, this was a challenging moment, cameras and light sources don’t like rain.

I am thankful for my years of education in my profession, as I had to call on many techniques that I have learned over the years to make spectacular images in this challenging environment.

I am also extremely thankful that I was their chosen photographer, to face those challenges, to meet those dreams and to make beautiful art!

Congratulations to Kristina and Samuel!

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Underwater Photography

Just spent almost two hours doing underwater photography with Danielle, a fantastic dancer from here in the North Country. At Sunday’s North Country Union High School Dance Concert, there was a display of great dance images that I made with the students. Danielle was a feature of this particular exhibit. Check out this photograph, taken under water this evening…it was an amazing experience!

Thought Provoking Play by North Country Union High School

WOW! I just experienced a spectacular evening that was entertaining but most importantly, moving and thought provoking. The assignment was to photograph a play and try out some very new high tech camera gear. The play was Rachael Cory, presented by a theater group at North Country Union High School and I must say that it was a very rewarding experience!

The play was about teenage suicide, but really was more than that – a look at the behavior of everyday people in society and their lack of sensitivity resulting in a tragic outcome of a young lady internalizing the burdens of that society to a breaking point.

This play was written by Robert Wing, and English teacher at North Country Union High School and directed by Cheri Skurdall. At the end of each performance the cast and teachers shared the process they took to bring the performance to the stage and the wonderful collaboration between the playwright, director and students. This is a delicate subject for these young people to approach, however, the insight they shared of the process was amazing.

It was brilliant and I must say these students are my heroes! As I said before—WOW!

Check out the images on my website under “online events” under the title “Rachael Cory”.

Master Photographer Craftsman

I have reached a goal, Master Photographer Craftsman!

The past two weeks have been a whirlwind of effort and energy as I embarked on the preparation for the annual competitions. The task required complex image making for six photographs to very high standards with the goal of meeting twelve criteria for wowing the judges. Each photograph took me between six and ten hours to complete.

The first competition at the Vermont Professional Photographer’s convention last week resulted in 3 blue ribbons, 3 red ribbons and the George Reed Award for best depiction of a Vermont Theme.

Swirl

This weekend is the Professional Photographers of New England regional competition. I have four images there where I have 3 blues and 1 red and one print, “Who’s the Boss” featuring the Patenaudes from Newport Center, scored an incredible 90.

Who's the Boss

The two other images that earned blues included “Adoration” featuring Gwynne Jones and her horse, Misty in a golden field of grass and “True Vermonter”, a portrait of Mr. Roy Davis in his sugar house in Derby Line, Vermont.

Adoration

True Vermonter

Now for the great news! The high scores in this round of competition now complete my journey to be awarded the distinct title of “Master Photographer Craftsman” from the Professional Photographers of America. I will receive the award in New Orleans in January.

Now I am off to prepare for one more competition at the National Level in three weeks…another 10 hours of printmaking to go!