Jennifer left me a blog comment a few weeks ago and I started emailing her about photography after that. She just photographed her first wedding this past week. I think she did a remarkable job… I’ll try to find my first wedding photos; they weren’t as nice as Jennifer’s . She put her favorite photos up on her blog so you should look at them.

Here is my favorite one that she took .

Jennifer McNulty’s first wedding

A prospective client that I am speaking with now recommended the musician Tony Lucca. I like his music, click on the LISTEN button on his home page to launch the music player. You can get his CD Canyon Songs online here .

Have a great day!

I highly suggest that you buy this video for $30.00 or stream it for $5.00. The streaming version is PC and old-Mac (I think) only and I could not find it on Netflix so if you are on Mac with an Intel processor buy the DVD and enjoy it. Make sure you watch the whole thing; you won’t be doing yourself any favors by shutting it off early… there are some great connections that are made in the last 10-15 minutes .

I received my first issue of the Harvard Business Review today; I am excited to start reading it .

Have a great day!

I beat my 5′2″ tall forty-something year old mother in a game of basketball today… I am really proud .

It is always tough to photograph nature during this time of the year because it is hunting season in western New York and the state land is open to shotgun hunters. The best light for photography (first hour or two of the day and the last hour or two of the day) is also the time when deer are most likely to move and the time when hunters are most likely to shoot. Since I don’t want to put myself in the position to get shot I probably won’t photograph much nature for another few weeks .

I hope we get a really snowy winter this year, I am looking forward to snow shoeing, cross country skiing and hiking to get some great winter photos. My father and I visited two of my uncles and my grandfather at their cabin in Farmersville in Cattaraugus County this weekend. I saw some great things that I want to photograph this winter in that area, there are a few clear cut forests that will look really pretty with a fresh snow fall.

Have a great day!

Four pieces of pumpkin pie, one piece of chocolate silk pie, a plate of turkey, tons of stuffing, a few hot rolls and a bowl full of fresh broccoli all helped to add up to a great Thanksgiving. It was really nice and I had a good time. I forgot to take pictures but I imagine that it looked a lot like your holiday .

After dinner I watched I Shouldn’t Be Alive on the Discovery Channel… that show is amazing! I never want to be put in the situations that those people survived, I could survive in the north country woods just fine (it is where I grew up ) but the ocean?! That would be very difficult for me, more mentally than physically.

My mother started cooking at around 6am and wrapped up just in time for dinner. All of the food was amazing and she made three pumpkin pies! My younger brother was not able to get the day off of work so he did not make it to Thanksgiving dinner .

I used to remember my dreams all of the time when I was a little kid but when I started college and then started my business I stopped remembering them. Just recently I have started remembering them again and that makes me happy. I don’t necessarily think that dreams are very meaningful but they are fun to recall. Tonight’s dream after my nap was interesting, hopefully it’ll happen .

I am writing the next issue of the newsletter, it should go out on the first Tuesday of December. If you want to sign up to get it send an email to weddings@bradydillsworth.com and I will make sure that it is sent to you .

Have a great day!

I just mailed my friend Cait a little over 100 rolls of color negative, bw and color slide 35mm film. I shoot digital and medium format film so 35mm isn’t really useful for me… I only shoot it when I am going to be in a situation that is too risky for my digital cameras where I don’t mind ruining a well used and paid for film camera but want to keep my expensive and new(ish) digital gear safe. I was given a few hundred rolls when many of my film shooting friends converted to digital about 2 or 3 years before me. I shot a lot of the film and still love using it but when I looked at my lab bill this year I noticed that of everything that I had processed only around 12 rolls were 35mm so I feel better giving a few dozen rolls to someone who will use it instead of hanging onto it for the next 10 years. At $8.00 per roll I will gladly buy a few rolls here and there when I want to go out and shoot film.

Here is the first half

Here is the second half

My friend Leland was on the stand yesterday in Florida for the current Williams trial as a witness. I watched it on Court TV’s internet stream, it was good to see him testify .

I hope you traveled safely and have a happy thanksgiving!

I have chronically cold hands. I don’t mean cold like they have a hard time getting warm, I mean cold like if I reach into the freezer to get something out my hands will be ice cold for an hour and if I hold onto whatever I got out of the freezer my hands will ache for most of the day. I don’t really know when it started or why but it is very difficult living with being that I love the outdoors so much, especially winter. If I am going to be in temperatures less than 50 degrees I have to wear gloves otherwise I lose the mobility and sense of feeling in my hands. I have worn all sorts of gloves and tried the chemical heat packs and nothing has been an adequate solution for hiking, snow shoeing or photographing until I received these gloves last year for Christmas. They actually keep my hands warm (and let me use a camera) and if I am moving around my hands sometimes even sweat! I bought three pair since they work so well, if you hands are always cold then try these gloves, they are worth it .

I have been reading a lot of books but I have not been writing many reviews. A few of the books have been worth reading and a few have just been OK. I’ll try to suggest some this week.

One of my favorite bakeries is not going to be creating wedding cakes next year. Pat Fedele (who made Jen and Jason’s wedding cake) said that he and his wife are going to be following other dreams. I am excited for them and will let you know what they go on to master next!

Tonight’s episode of House on Fox was amazing, I love the writing and the acting. It is my favorite show on TV and now we get to see what happens next since House may have met his match .

Have a great Thanksgiving!

Tom Hanks is my favorite actor… I just watched Philadelphia on A&E and it was really good, it is an old movie so I suggest renting it .

One of my photos from Hanny and Jesse’s wedding (that I shot with Frank DiMeo and others) took fifth place in the most recent WPJA contest. How do you like the photo?

This is what the judges had to say, “JUDGES COMMENTS: All across the frame, all the components of this image combine to create this really nice photo. The hands all raised, his clapping and the background light all are near perfect.”

Turning Stone Casino had the event really well lit so I was able to stand back in the distance from the dance floor and shoot 100% natural light. The great light pattern on the background is from an accent light on the wall by where the buffet line was . Jesse is clapping in the middle of the frame and his wife Hanny is just off to the right side with her hands in the air. The guests had picked them up and everyone was having an amazing time .

Watch this video and be inspired. I can only hope that he keeps this up for the rest of his life, could you imagine showing something like this to the grandkids in 50 years!

Have a great day!

Wow, many things to talk about with plenty of pictures from Thursday…

My grandmother and my cousin Tina visited today from Buffalo with her baby Mara. It was nice to see all three of them for a few minutes before I left to go to Rochester.

Jonathan and Rachel’s restaurant, Hyjea, is excellent! I had a chocolate and peanut butter shake and I highly recommend it. While I was there I ran into Sarah, who is one of my October 2007 clients, she had the day off of from work and was eating lunch with a friend. Check out the photo of their business card, it is very nice. If I haven’t given you a menu yet look at the selection on their website, I’ll gladly meet anyone there for lunch one day.

I wore my Brady Dillsworth shirt today . I think it is my favorite shirt of all time. I love how it makes my arms look bigger than a 13 year old girl’s . I didn’t feel like giving a creepy fake smile so I opted for a creepy real camera stare . You can order your own online at Spread Shirt. I met Brad’s girlfriend, Sue, for the first time today (sorry, I forgot to take a picture of her, she is cute though) and she said something about my shirt… she later said it was a joke, it better had been .

My friend Brad used to play pro tennis and became good friends with Venus and Serena Williams and between Brad and Leland, NEWYORK.COM founder, I have heard the stories and seen the photos many times. I was sitting on his couch and picked up a racket and gave it a gentle swing and told Brad that it was the lightest racket that I have ever felt… he said that it was Venus’s racket from 2001 and that it was carbon fiber with a weighted grip. The grip had lead tape under the wrap to lower the center of gravity to give her a faster recoil on her swing (that is probably not the real reason for the lead tape; Brad was on the phone when he told me and I wasn’t listening too closely). It had the original string from when she used it and the grip was worn too, I wouldn’t be shocked if it was the original sweaty grip . When I was at his condo today I realized how no one I know has ever seen all of his Venus and Serena stuff so I took some photos. Brad teaches tennis in Rochester and his family owns the hugely successful Manhattan Square Tennis Club, if you need tennis lessons I strongly suggest calling Brad (email me for his number) and setting up a time to play!

Venus’s racket from when she won Wimeledon and The US Open in 2001

One of Venus’s shoes that she wore during the Chase Championship at MSG in 2001

Venus and Brad

Serena

Serena

Leland Hardy, Richard Williams and Brad Thyroff at the Advanta Championship held at the Villanova Pavillion in 1999

Former 1998 Wimbeldon champion Jana Novotna’s racket, Brad was her hitting coach in 1997

I photographed the Rochester Razorsharks home opener ABA basketball game tonight. As usual, it was a great time where I ran into a lot of good friends and took some awesome photos. I saw Brad’s father, Joe, at the game and talked with him for about 15 minutes. He was impressed by how well my wedding work is going and I was impressed by how well his tennis club is doing! I met Joe at the PGA a few years ago when it came to Oak Hill Country Club in Rochester. I may have met him before that too, but sitting next to him at the grandstand at the last hole sticks out in my mind. I also saw Peter Parks, of Lifequest Financial, and spoke with him for a while. He is a lot of fun at the games (super-enthusiastic), Peter loves basketball and he has some great season tickets. Peter is an excellent person to talk to on the phone or to meet for lunch; since his wife had a child, 4-months ago, I haven’t had a chance to talk to Peter so it was nice seeing him. It turns out that the Razorsharks head coach, Coach Baker, grew up in Philadelphia, just like Leland’s family, and recognized the Hardy last name when Brad mentioned Leland to him. Coach Baker was friends and classmates with Leland’s brother who died in a SCUBA accident so Leland is going to come out to see a game and to catch up with Coach Baker. Lou Gramm from Foreigner sang the national anthem.

Basketball is so much tougher than weddings… I have tons of great moments that are 99% perfect, the only problems are that I am missing the ball in the shot or somebody’s face is blocked by an arm . I used my Nikon 85mm f/1.4D AF for the first half then switched to the 50mm f-1.4 for the second half, I let Brad use my 85mm lens for the second half and I am pretty sure that he loved it .

I had some great Chinese food tonight with Brad and Sue after the game. I loved the dumplings, tofu and soup!

I think that is everything, have a great day!