I always love finding a reason to go to Boston.  I love how the cities' culture is infused with the colleges and university's cultures. That coupled with its rich history creates a hip, fresh, but at the same time quaint feel that I love.  Liz and James met there during college and so they wanted to take photos on their campuses (Liz went to Wellesley and James went to Boston College). They brought me up, housed me, and took me around their beautiful campuses.

After the shoot we grilled steaks and vegetables and enjoyed a beautiful afternoon. I asked Liz if she liked Boston and she told me she loved it and will probably be there for a long time. I don't blame them. 

It was over dinner with friends that I found out Sarah + Sunpyo were engaged.  After the initial excitement and congratulations, I shouted across the table, "I'm not going to shoot your wedding!" and without missing a beat they told me, "we don't want you to!" Shooting weddings for friends, especially close friends, is awesome but at the same time you want to be celebrating with them, not being on the clock. And with Sarah & Sunpyo's wedding I knew I wanted to celebrate. 

I did offer to take their engagement photos and so we went out to Stonybrook University where they met to take photos. I know so many people that went to Stonybook but realized I've never been there. So during the shoot, they took me to Se-Port deli where I had one of the most amazing and most one of the unhealthiest sandwiches in my life.  Afterwards, we went to the famed J&R steaks, home of the 72 oz steak challenge. I didn't have the courage to do the challenge, so I had a small 24 oz ribeye instead. 

I went up to school last week to have a screening of the video. It was shown at the end of a school wide meeting to plan for the new year and also looking back on the year past.  I feel like it was an apt time to show this video about the founding year of their school. The school was growing yet again with a new class of kindergarteners and teachers and changes were being made, both big and small. But two years ago, they were building this school from the ground up. And the hopes, dreams, and collaboration of these amazing teachers were going to be its foundation.

While I was standing in the back of the room, watching the video with them, I sensed how that foundation has been solid.  Their vision about educating the whole child and instilling in them values to be nice and work hard has not changed till now.  It's been amazing to have such intimate access and trust of the teachers and students for the past two years. I look forward to working with them for years to come.

She had absolutely no idea. Even till the day of the event, Steph thought they were going to a painting lesson at a studio in Williamsburg. But what Steph walked into was a beautifully decorated space that showed all the memories, photos, and inside jokes Dave and her shared throughout their relationship. Every detail was perfectly placed, and meticulously thought out through months of preparation, and a few sleepless nights.

He took her through each part of the room, photos on the wall, polaroids hanging off a string, and excerpts from their chats mounted on a board, each piece surrounded by candles and Steph's favorite flowers.  The finale of the surprise was a video that Dave had prepared that showed photos and all the nicknames that they called each other. After the video, Dave got down on his knees and told Steph, "I've called you all these names throughout our relationship, but there's one I'd love to call you for the rest of my life: my wife."

Friends came by after the proposal to celebrate and Steph got to video chat with her family to show off her new ring and fiancé.

Steph and Dave, thank you for letting me be a part of such a beautiful event. Congratulations to you both!

Here's a video my friend and wonderful videographer Fred Lee made of the proposal.

This was the plan:  Julia and a friend will be hanging out in Battery Park on a bench and as they are talking someone comes up to her and gives her a notebook for her to read.  Her friend would have to take an important phone call and walks away.  As she's reading the book, Chris will come up behind her, get on his knees, and proposes to her as she flips over the last page.

The only problem was that last night was too cold to do anything outside, let alone sit on a bench by the water where it's the coldest and windiest. Julia, wearing sandals and a skirt really didn't want to go, but had to give into her friend's insistent request. The cold may have dulled her senses to what was actually going on, because she was completely surprised and of course said, "yes."  After the proposal, friends were waiting for us at a restaurant where they got to celebrate, hear the story and show the beautiful book Chris made for her.

Congratulations to you both!

For the photographers: these photos were taken with the 5D Mark III and edited in LR4. I was shooting as high as 10,000 ISO at one point and the images still came out amazing. With this camera and a good prime lens, it's unstoppable.

It's a long practiced tradition in Korean and Chinese culture to throw a big party for your child's first 100 days, or first year birthday. The idea came from the fact that long ago, infant mortality rates were so high in Korea and China that if a child lived for 100 days or longer it was a reason to celebrate. Now, that tradition has become more of a time for family and friends to get together and celebrate the birth of a new life and a family.

Jordan's parents, Tim and Young Hae are some of my closest friends whom I've known since I was in college. It's been amazing being there from them dating, getting engaged, married, and now with their first son. I normally don't photograph kid's birthday parties, since I'd much rather play with kids than take photographs of them, but for Tim, Young Hae, and Jordan I had to be there.

I love you three so much. Happy birthday Jordan!

Ellie's one of the most passionate friends I know. Her dream is to rescue and take care of dogs for the rest of her life, but she also wants to be an actress so she asked me if I could take some headshots of her to submit for auditions.  That quickly turned into a full blown photo shoot with different outfits and our friends helping out as assistants.

Being so used to taking photos of couples and events, this was a challenge for me but it was a ton of fun and Ellie was great to work with. We're planning to do more shoots in the future so stay tuned for more photos!

It started out as dinner in the city and watching the Knicks lose to the Bulls, but ended with breakfast in Montauk.

We were on my roof drinking Shock Tops, smoking cigars, and looking up flights leaving to Dublin or Los Angeles that night, when we realized going out to the tip of Long Island to watch the sunrise was a much cheaper and reasonable idea.  And as we passed exit 65 on the Long Island Expressway at 3 in the morning, singing "Kiss from a Rose" at the top of our lungs, a reasonable idea turned into an awesome one.

We ended up being underdressed and standing in the rain to see a cloudy sunrise, but we were proud of ourselves for coming up with such a great idea. The trick we found out, is to pretend every night is a Friday night.

A wedding is about two people becoming one. Neither science or math can prove such a union, even though it's plainly evident. It's a matter of the heart and the strength of one's word. And in such a union, and on such a day, nothing is left out. With their family and closest friends around them, they share everything about themselves; the good and bad, the victories and failures, and the blessings and losses.

And in the midst of all that I'm there. I'm there because the couple invited me as a trusted witness to capture what happens that day.

They trust me.

There is a gravity to such a gesture. It makes you humble and grateful.  It makes us vulnerable with each other. It creates a connection between the couple and me that goes beyond mere "payment of services rendered." And it's in those connections that I thrive, and where this becomes more than a job.

A few weeks later after their wedding I'm able to give back what they had given me. And as they hold those beautiful yet fleeting moments in their hands, the photos become more than just images.  They become anchors of where they settled and started a life together. And for the years to come, as they share the photos with loved ones and each other, they will say, "Here is love.  Here is what really matters in life."

The grass may be greener on the other side, but in Ireland, it really is greener. The rolling hills with sheep, horses, and ruined castles on them were sights I never saw before in my life. I booked this trip on whim at a restaurant when a friend convinced me to go.  It came faster than I thought after the new year, because before I knew it, we were in Dublin early thursday morning renting our car for the trip.

Four days of good food and drinks, great people, and amazing scenery made this trip unforgettable. People asked me since I got back how the trip was, the best way I can explain is through these photos.

Some people go out to a nice dinner, others get presents for one another, but Chelsea and Mike decided that for their one year anniversary, they wanted to dress up and brave the New York City winter for a photo shoot.  Photos never show how cold or windy it was when the photo was taken. All we see if the smile and the moment of courage to stand up to the chill. We ended the night with photos at a lounge in Chelsea's apartment building. We debated on whether or not we wanted to go back out to Times Square but realized we should call it a night while we could still feel our fingers.

So the morning of the shoot, Ada calls me and says, "Minnow, I woke up this morning with what I think is food poisoning. My stomach hurts but I'm so excited for the shoot and I don't want to miss it. But I may have to. I'm so sorry." A couple hours later, she calls back telling me that if Kim Kardashian can do it, so can she. And so, Ada braved the pain and the cold to have the photos shoot. She looked beautiful and Andrew looked like a million dollars next to Ada.

They were the last couple I took photographs for in 2011 but one of the first that I booked for last year. They are a couple that takes life as it comes with grace and joy. Austin's in Massachusetts and Stephanie is in Pennsylvania as a veterinarian but even though they are a part, they are still one; that's the magic you see when two people have known each other for so long and are meant to be together.

Thank you both for such a great end to an amazing year.