What is the typical age of a ring bearer? The younger the cuter! Must he be old enough to understand the importance of his role? No matter the age of the ring bearer, the rings are usually kept in the safekeeping of the best man. The trick is getting the ring bearer to walk down the aisle. More often than not; the shy younger ring bearer will stop after a few short steps and begins to look scared.

Don’t worry mommy is waiting at the end of the aisle with the arms open and candy in her hands.

As humans we tend to gravitate towards a preference because we are creatures of habit; so when someone asks us about our favorites we are excited to tell all.

What’s my favorite piece of equipment? Well, if you know me or have plenty of free time on your hand to read through my blog posts, then you’ll probably know my answer. “I have no favorites and/or preferences”!

I apologize for the let down, but let me explain. I’m a person that doesn’t like to be pigeonholed. As I have learned from Takuan Soho’s, “The Unfettered Mind”: the placement of the mind in a sword fight is very important; if you put your mind and attention on a specific spot you will be cut by the sword. When you focus on the tree, you will miss the forest. When one falls in love with a favorite piece of equipment or a favorite style, one may no longer see other beauties or opportunities; this is very good for a marriage but not great for photography.

I will not limit myself to one lens; so in my arsenal of lenses, which are the eyes of my cameras, I have a long range telephoto zoom which is like a high power rifle for a sniper; I have a mid-range zoom which is like an AK 47 for running and shooting; I have a short-range zoom which is like an Uzi for spraying at close distance. I also use prime lenses which are for stealth and low light shooting. (I’m not a proponent or opponent of guns; this is just a visual analogy). Without a preference I can tell a story with a broader range of possibilities, but I would shoot a wedding with a point and shoot camera if that’s all I am given. As a photographer, I aspire to be consistent in the quality of my work; which will not only require a technical mastery of my tools, but also a flexible creative approach to each subject that appears in front of my lens.

From the following slideshow; can you find the long, the short and the in between shots?

I do not blog every wedding I photographed and do not intent to do so in the future. As I have mentioned before my reason is….. it stops my mind from thinking creatively. Blogging every wedding does have it’s advantages, but it may eventually become a repetitive, dull and mechanical chore that will thwart my creative flow.

Bruce Lee’s style of martial arts, Jeet Kune Do, was whatever that’s useful he incorporated into his art and whatever that’s useless he discard. His fighting method was a collection of the techniques from western boxing, fencing, wrestling and Asian martial arts. He used to joke that a black belt is only good for holding up pants. He followed the principle of let no way be the way; therefore, no style be the style. His style allows one to continue to change and improve without holding onto a particular style, thought, or thing. “Be like water, my friend”, as he had said.

My approach to weddings is story based and not base on a specific technique or style; thus my moniker, theStoryteller, was born. This approach has allowed me to continue to create stories year after year without getting bogged down in form or style. The stories of my loyal brides and grooms have kept my inspiration and creativity alive. My style is the style of my dear customers and every one of them is unique and special!

Life is meant to be lived meaningfully and uniquely. As an artist; I will work with brides and grooms to achieve a style that’s uniquely their own and will not use a cookie cutter method to present their special day.

I have heard from many brides and recently from a groom that I should showcase the weddings on my site that I only present prospective clients. After listening to the comments from this groom, I decide to put up this teaser.

Is it possible to plan a wedding in four months? Sure, why not? Listen to the story of Brooke and Michael and you’ll agree that anything is possible when there’s love and faith. Four months after their engagement they were happily married at The Castle at Skylands Manor.

Music playing in the slide show is by cellist, Chun-Hsin Chang, a former Willi Wong bride.

The Skylands Manor
90 Route 46 East
Mountain Lakes, NJ 07046
973.256.9380

Viney and Blesson’s wedding reminded me of the movie, “My Big Fat Greek Wedding”. They had 500 – 700 guests. It was a family and community event!

With most of the time assigned to family and the CSI community (CSI stands for Church of South India, not the forensic crime drama on TV); we had very little one on one time with Viney and Blesson. We had about only 12 minutes for their private photo session.

With that limitation, we had to rely on capturing the bulk of their photos documentary style. That meant seizing the moment and not let any opportunity go by. In other words, there will be no second chances for better shots, keep your eyes open and keen, fingers on the trigger and don’t stop to wait for the shots to happen.

One thing that was a blessing for us was the rules of the church. They were lenient as long as we were unobtrusive. That allowed us to capture dramatic shots of Viney and Blesson during their wedding ceremony.

Words of advice for the control freak in us photographers… if we are grateful for what life offers us, especially when things seem to be out of our control, it will allow us to see beauty anywhere and everywhere. Be prepared, let go, and embrace what we have at the moment and life’s perfection will appear right in front of our eyes. If we come with a preconceived notion and/or looking for control and not willing to embrace the moment; all life’s beauty may vanish in front of us.

Viney and Blesson’s wedding was a revelation and a challenge to me as a photographer. It was also an affirmation to life…that life is more beautiful when you let go of your ego and preconceptions. Life does not have to be the way you insist it to be; it just is.

Thank you Viney and Blesson for a great experience and a beautiful wedding!

Villa Lombardi’s
877 Main Street
Holbrook, NY 11741
631.471.6609