Jess and I were still dating but we were sure already we were going to marry each other, we were dancing together at a friend’s wedding, and in the middle of one of those conversations where everything around you disappears and all there is left is you and the bright future in front of you.
We didn’t even realize that we were being photographed.
As soon as we saw the picture we just knew we needed to have it. I’ve never felt that way about a photograph and came to realize that it wasn’t the photograph but what it represented.
Now we have this image on our wall, right at the entrance of our home. I feel lucky that I get to see this image every day. As soon as I walk inside. It reminds me of what’s important, why I’m here, and to make sure that when life happens (a bad day at work, horrible traffic, kids crying for no reason, appliances breaking on payday, etc.) that I remember what’s truly important, what was said at that moment. The beginning of our lives together as a future family.
I know my children will treasure this picture.
We now have a the record of a moment that has much more value than the mere paper on which it was printed. I’ve decided that this was a gift too important for couples not to have.
This is why through my photographic career I’ve strived to make this moment happen for other couples, and I believe that I’m now giving this to other couples.
Blog
Philadelphia Wedding // Angie + John
Posted by miguel on Jan 2, 2011 in Wedding | 4 comments
Ceremony: St. Philip Neri Church, Lafayette Hill PA
Reception: Paradiso, Philadelphia PA
Makeup: Cheekadee
You have met Angie + John here before. John commissioned pictures of his guitar for their living room. I wanted to get some pictures of the final result of the photographs hanging on their wall, and to celebrate I took some pictures of them. They looked so good together in those pictures that they decided to get married ! (well that’s my version).
Angie is one of the best brides I’ve ever worked with. So organized that we had all of the details for the day in order months before the wedding. As I do with all my brides I always check at certain points before the big day to make sure there are no questions, to know if there are any changes in the pictures the bride/groom want and/or any changes in the schedule. The conversations were mostly not about the wedding because all was in place. It was an awesome/no-stress event.
It was a beautiful wedding with a guitar player and a bag pipe that played while they walked down the aisle
It was also New Year’s Eve so all of the guests were ready to have a good time ensured by a great Jazz band.
The bag pipe player with the newly wed couple.
A different take on the wedding portrait.
After Angie, John’s daughter was the center of attention.
The talented groom juggling
The maid of honor’s speech was very touching
Happy New Year Angie + John!!!
Ron the best man helped with the light for this shot down Broad Street.
Thank you Angie + John for letting us be part of your wonderful day!!
Miguel + Jess
Philadelphia Portrait Photographer // The Buntings
Posted by miguel on Dec 20, 2010 in Family, Portraits | 1 comment
Location: Elverson, PA
I know what you might be thinking and the answer is YES… you have seen some of these faces before. Perhaps at this Family Portrait or at this Wedding or this Slide-show.
For this occasion, Aaron was finally in town after 3 tours in Iraq/Afghanistan. It was also Thanksgiving so it couldn’t have been more appropriate to capture the whole family together.
It is easy to say that everybody is proud of Aaron for serving this country so selflessly. One thing I came to learn by knowing this great family is that this is a team effort; it is not just the brave ones fighting but also the brave families left behind supporting them. There are a lot of battles fought daily by these families that never make it to the front page. There is a lot of quiet strength, patience and virtue in the families behind the brave ones on the front lines.
So, once again we are proud to have them as our guests in our blog. I hope you enjoy the pictures:
Cheers,
Miguel
Chester County Portrait Photographer – The Kellys
Posted by miguel on Nov 30, 2010 in Family, Portraits | 0 comments
Location: Chester County
Word of mouth is awesome!
We got to know the Kelly’s through Kirsten + Ben (Kirsten and Kristen go to the same college and yes our plan is to take over that place). We headed out to the same location and tried to capture something completely different; since Kristen, Rachel and Mark were up to it we had some fun trying to discover new places. As I said before, this place is amazing so it wasn’t too hard. It was a little bit on the chilly side but not too bad.
Check out some of my favorites below:
Jumped into the empty pool, it almost looks like snow…
Thank you Kristen, Rachel and Mark.. (or Melanie, Beatrix and Rupert…. I’m terrible with names)
Miguel
Kirsten + Ben // Portrait in Chester County
Posted by miguel on Nov 2, 2010 in Portraits | 1 comment
Location : Private Residence in Chester County.
We barely scratched the surface for the location because we were running on a tight schedule; the beautiful Kirsten and Ben were game (it helps that Ben knows this place like the back of his hand and that he lives 1/2 block away). We had a great time exploring the grounds. Here are the results:
This little house is a replica of a Thailand prayer house
A bridge that crosses the pond
The pond, Ben usually comes here to catch some Bass…
Grounds have lined trees
The well.. and yes wishes were made
A hand carved goddess
The inside of the little prayer house, the light was just right and the location called for a more “formal” pose
Caught in the moment
Picnic house above the pond
Ben volunteered to carry Kirsten from a long walk…
Thanks Kirsten + Ben, you guys were great!
Miguel
The Smith Family in Boiling Springs // an encore!
Posted by miguel on Oct 19, 2010 in Children, Family, Portraits | 2 comments
The Smiths are making an encore appearance in our blog and we couldn’t have been happier to spend the day with them!
Documenting a family is such an honor for us. We hang out, experience who they are, how they interact with each other. We become part of them for a day. The results are much different from the stiff, super-posed stuff you usually get with family portraits. We do feel lucky that we get to witness such intimate family moments.
To immerse ourselves in the moment sometimes we are just a fly on the wall…
Sometimes we hide…. and get caught!
Sometimes we just have to get down and dirty (not that I’m complaining… look at that smile! mine was almost as big behind the camera)
Sometimes we go outside and play “pretend” with heavy artillery
Other times we just have to become the target and take one for the team…
Sometimes the best results are achieved by just watching from afar and letting things happen…
And sometimes all we do is just turn around and be lucky to have a camera in our hands
Now, don’t get us wrong. we do give some direction when we encounter an opportunity for a good shot …..
Or two….
Thank you Megan, John, Nate and Patrick for having us over. It was fun!
Miguel
Briana + Vince // Chambersburg Country Club
Posted by miguel on Oct 5, 2010 in Wedding | 0 comments
Location: Chambersburg Country Club, Chambersburg PA.
Had the pleasure to work as a backup for the great photographer and friend Lisa Rhinehart. It started as an email from Lisa asking if I was able to be there “just in case” since she was under the weather. Once I got on the phone with her I thought I was talking to Barry White. She did sound very sick but luckily she was back to her own self by the wedding day (and from the images she showed me from her camera she owned this wedding!).
Briana and Vince turned out to be a great couple surrounded with great friends and family. It was a pleasure to be part of their day.
Here are some highlights from the day. Enjoy!
This is Vincent’s gift to Briana, nice!
The beautiful Briana and her bridesmaids.
The grooms hanging around, and yes, it was fun!
Great times at the reception!
Thank you Lisa (and Kris) and congratulations to Briana and Vincent!
Miguel
Kara + Jason // Valley Green Inn Wedding
Posted by miguel on Sep 7, 2010 in Wedding | 5 comments
Florist: Jenna Coghlan
Kara and Jason got married right on the heels of hurricane Earl; fortunately we did not get a drop of rain!… We were off to a good start!
Their wedding was very intimate and should I say interesting in a great way. If you know Kara you would understand. She has a sense of humor that is as witty as is sharp and not only that, she keeps a straight face most of the time so you don’t know if she is being serious or just pulling your chain…. until you see that twinkle in her eyes.
Jason is one laid back fellow (you have to be to be around Kara) with a very warm disposition. When people refer to him the first thing that comes out is that he is a great father, which bring us to one of the most beautiful babies we have seen in a while, little Avery.
So as you can imagine this was a fun wedding
Avery was such a great sport, not a cry and always smiling for the camera…. what a ham!
In the middle of the ceremony Kara and Jason broke out into a karaoke version of “Don’t go breaking my heart”
And…. during the father/daughter dance Dave and Kara broke into a disco/hip-hop medley in the middle of “I loved her first”… I told you she is something else!
But still, a father’s heart will melt away in this moment
Kara’s sister Kelley… you can tell it runs in the family
Kelley reminisced about growing up with Kara and the “pretend” games they played which some they recorded. Kelley brought one of the recordings with their grandmother singing…
We had a great time documenting this very special day for Kara and Jason
Congratulations Kara, Jason and Avery !
Miguel
Ocean City NJ Famliy Portrait // The Bauers
Posted by miguel on Aug 2, 2010 in Children, Family, Portraits | 4 comments
Location: Ocean City, New Jersey.
We spent an awesome weekend with the Bauers in Ocean City (we do have the best clients!). The weather Saturday was perfect so we headed out early to the beach for the portraits (sorry kids, I know it was hard) but as you will see we had a blast.
I also got to ride on a wave runner, fish (caught a small Robin, while fishing for flounder.. fail!), got to see my son Ryan for the first time on the beach and ate like a king on Sunday night!… not a bad weekend at all!
Below are some of my favorites of the day… there were too many!
Enjoy
Andrew wanted to go skim-boarding pretty bad… can you tell?
We were calling Riley “mini-model”
This one really captures the Bauer’s personality… loving parents, beautiful daughter, full of energy son!
And this is why Andrew wanted to go skim-boarding… the little guy is great at it!
The beautiful Megan… there is more to this picture but I swore secrecy… you will need to ask her : )
Jake and Riley… it was also Jake’s b-day (happy b-day man!), a proud dad!
Chillaxin’ O.C. style !
A good looking family indeed!
Thank you for a great weekend Megan, Jake, Riley and Andrew !!!
Miguel
Wedding in Lancaster PA
Posted by miguel on Jul 1, 2010 in Wedding | 0 comments
Location: Lancaster PA
Ceremony: Salem United Methodist Church Manheim, PA
Reception: Eden Resort Lancaster, PA
Primary Photographer: Jason Prezant
Had the opportunity to be second to Jason Prezant , a great photographer based in Delaware, I was thrilled to have the opportunity to work with him. You should check his post about this wedding.
It was a hot day but a very enjoyable wedding. One thing that I like about weddings, since I became a parent, is how proud the parents of the bride and groom look during the day. You can feel all the emotions bottled up in their faces.
Below are some of my favorites, enjoy!
The next two are my favorites, the father of the bride was so proud!
Caught this during the bouquet toss, a maid of honor got hit (unintentionally)…. still funny
Thank you Jason and of course Sandy + David.
Miguel
Welkinweir // Venue
Posted by miguel on May 28, 2010 in Vendor | 0 comments
So we actually went to Welkinweir to shoot Bause Landry’s setup, I’ve never been at Welkinweir before but quickly realized that this is a sort of a “kid in a candy store” setup for a photographer.
Welkinweir is actually a nonprofit arboretum and gardens (197 acres), open to the public daily (free) and it is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, you should check it out!
Below are some pictures of the grounds, enjoy.
Are you interested in wedding pictures at this venue? Check the slideshow examples of our work below!
Cheers,
Miguel