Picture This

Early Season Weddings

2009-06-30T08:44:00.004-05:00

It's been a busy early summer for me, doing wedding photography every weekend since Memorial Day. In spite of June's wet weather, I've enjoyed being there to document the happiness of the day. Below are some of my favorites:

In the photographs from top, the bride gets a kiss from her grandmother at the reception in Hanover, N.H.; the groom goes body surfing with a little help from his friends at a Boylston, Mass., reception; the couple shares a moment together before the ceremony in Woodstock, Vt.; the bride shows off a little piece of Montana she brought from home to her wedding in Franconia, N.H.; the couple laughs at the band's funny song while cutting the cake in Boylston, Mass.; the couple poses for a portrait in the ferns after their ceremony in Perkinsville, Vt.; energetic dancing takes place after dinner at a Quechee, Vt., reception; the couple poses for a portrait before their Quechee reception; along with everyone gathered at their Cambridge, Vt., reception, the couple sings a good-night song to their daughter; pedal tractors were popular with the younger set at the Cambridge reception; the flower girl walks to the ceremony in Lyndonville, Vt.

Upper Valley at Work

2009-04-07T23:31:00.006-05:00

Since last October, I have been making portraits of subjects profiled in the series Upper Valley at Work. The project teaches young people there are various ways to make a living and shows them the routes to get there. Click here to learn more about the project run by Center for School Success and the Upper Valley Business and Education Partnership.

From top to bottom are profile subjects Jason Johns, a newspaper photographer at the Valley News, shown in downtown White River Junction, Vt.; Inn at Idlewood owners Alexandre Michel Bird and Marcy Marceau, photographed at their Sharon, Vt., restaurant with their children JAMR, 9, and TOJ, 6; Director Mary Ellen Otis with a few of her charges at the Orange County Parent Child Center in Chelsea, Vt.; Tip Top Pottery owner Amy Robb at her White River Junction, Vt., business; Hypertherm's Ron Aubin, who teaches classes at the company's lab space in Lebanon, N.H.; and Sean Ross, who is the Forestry Operations Manager for The Lyme Timber Company, photographed at Boston Lot Lake in West Lebanon, N.H.

Tunbridge Hill Farm

2009-04-04T16:57:00.006-05:00

With mud season well underway, it's nice to look at the photographs I made over the past couple of summers at Tunbridge Hill Farm, an organic farm run by our neighbors Wendy and Jean Palthey. Our family also subscribes to Jean and Wendy's CSA program and we have enjoyed their food immensely.

Their farm is now online, with a Web site I helped put together. Click here to see it in living color.

At top, Wendy Palthey harvests mesclun under the watchful eye of Goldie the dog. The middle photographs show some of the crops grown at Tunbridge Hill Farm. In the bottom photo, worker Noah LePage nibbles on peas while picking them in early July.

Joy of Keeping Chickens - Cover to Cover Books

2009-03-15T21:38:00.008-05:00

Jennifer Megyesi brought chickens from her farm to our book signing at Cover to Cover Books on March 14 — they were a huge hit! Henry the Barred Rock rooster strutted around the store, greeting visitors. And a bantam hen was permissive in letting people pet her chicks. The bookstore says The Joy of Keeping Chickens has been very popular with their customers!

Joy of Keeping Chickens on Facebook

2009-01-18T11:25:00.004-05:00

I've created a Facebook page for The Joy of Keeping Chickens book, following on the heels of the Web site I created for the book last week. Become a fan, post photos and stories of your own chickens to the page. Click here to "chick" it out!

A Brisk Morning

2009-01-10T10:19:00.008-05:00

The thermometer dipped below zero last night, which made for some interesting pictures this morning. Out in the yard, the chickens were hopping around on one foot, more happy to be in the warmth of their coop.

A Day in the Life of Strafford

2008-12-08T08:11:00.005-05:00

On Saturday, Dec. 6, we had a successful fund-raiser for the Morrill Memorial & Harris Library in Strafford. A three-hour reception was held that also included a bake and wreath sale to benefit the library. The majority of the 35 photographs from A Day in the Life of Strafford were bid upon and dozens of copies of the DVD slide show were sold to raise over $1,000 for the library.

Copies of the $15 DVD are for still for sale at the library and Coburn's General Store in South Strafford. Or click here to place an order online.

The event went well due to all of the volunteer and financial help we had. Click here to read more about the project.

New Wedding Samples

2008-11-22T23:21:00.003-05:00

Another busy wedding season has come to a close — I've updated my Web site with new work from 2008. I met a lot of interesting people this year, which made for a successful season. Click here to see more.

From top to bottom are photographs from the weddings of Megan and Jason in Averill, Vt., in June, Racheal and Wes in Ferrisburgh, Vt., in September , Christina and Brendan in Hartland, Vt., in October and Mary Ellen and Austin in Pomfret, Vt., in September.

The Joy of Keeping Chickens

2008-11-16T08:28:00.003-05:00

The Joy of Keeping Chickens is off to the printer, due to hit the bookstores sometime in February. The cover has been revised with newer photographs. The look matches Jennifer Megyesi's excellent writing — I'm looking forward to getting out to promote the book.

Get Out and Vote!

2008-11-01T09:44:00.003-05:00

With the election only days away, I helped to create a Web Extra on the Valley News' site to assist readers in reviewing stories recently written about local and statewide races. Click here to take a look. And don't forget to vote on Tuesday!

Valley News' Web site

2008-10-23T06:23:00.003-05:00

As of this week, the Valley News has a freshened Web site. I helped out with my knowledge of Cascading Stylesheets to give the pages a different look. We are also putting up a lot more photography online for everyone to see, in the Gallery section. All of the photographers have collections posted of their favorite images as well. I'm very fortunate to work with such a talented staff.
If you haven't been there already, the Web Extras section highlights Jason Johns' excellent Zip Codes column and James M. Patterson's top-notch multimedia work. Go to www.vnews.com to see it all.

A Day in the Life of Strafford

2008-09-24T07:21:00.005-05:00

It's been a long while, but I finally have an update on the A Day in the Life of Strafford photo project, which I helped organize. The trustees of the Morrill Memorial & Harris Library have set a date for the fund-raising project's show and silent auction.

Approximately 30 photos will be on display in the Strafford village post office, the library and Coburn's General Store beginning on Nov. 1. The images up for bid will also be on a Web site at the same time. Bids will be opened at a reception at Kendall Mix's studio space next to the post office on Saturday, Dec. 6.

The reception will begin at 11 a.m., to give everyone one last chance to see the work and to put in their bids. The trustees are planning to have tea and desserts on hand. They will also have wreaths for sale outside.

At about 12:30 p.m., we will project a slide show of the work, followed by the opening of the winning bids for the matted and framed photographs. DVDs of the slide show will be for sale, with all of the proceeds to benefit the library.

It's going to be a fun day, as other organizations in town have their holiday fund-raisers on the same day. It has the promise of a good turnout.

So mark your calendar for Saturday, Dec. 6 — I'm looking forward to seeing everyone and to raising a bunch of money for the library!

Tunbridge World's Fair

2008-09-23T21:32:00.005-05:00

On Sept. 11-14, the Tunbridge World's Fair came back to town. I enjoyed photographing the cavalcade of animals, where participants lead their animals around the track and in front of a grandstand full of friends and family. The fair's agricultural roots are what keep bringing me back every year.

jillgrimesmd.com

2008-09-17T07:25:00.003-05:00

I recently completed a new site for Dr. Jill Grimes, a family physician and author based in Austin, Tex. She has a new book, Seductive Delusions: How Everyday People Catch STDs, coming out this fall. Jill has also appeared on XM Radio's ReachMD program with Jennifer Shu, whose site I also designed. Click here to read more about Dr. Grimes and her new book.

The Joy of Keeping Chickens

2008-09-01T14:05:00.013-05:00

Since the beginning of the year, I've been working on the book The Joy of Keeping Chickens, written by my very knowledgeable friend Jennifer Megyesi. I'm nearly finished with the final photo edit and am pretty happy with what I was able to get.

Putting what I've learned to the test, we now have a coop and chickens in our own backyard. Above is Rosie, the matriarch of the flock. We also have youngsters named (by our seven-year-old daughter) Goldie, Tick-Tock, Toto, Dorothy and Lucy.

Below are a selection of photographs I'm submitting. Produced by the talented editor Ann Treistman at Skyhorse Publishing in New York, the book should be in stores come February!

From above, a hen laid an egg in the pasture at Back Beyond Farm in Tunbridge, Vt.; Bradford Jones, 8, of Royalton, Vt., holds a newly-born chick that had just hatched from the incubator at Fat Rooster Farm; a henprint is left in the snow after she had walked to the coop to lay an egg at Luna Bleu Farm in South Royalton, Vt.; Apprentice Whitney Taylor of Wellsboro, Penn., holds Poopie Poo, a meat bird she had become attached to — it was destined for the butcher at Fat Rooster Farm but was saved at the end of the day; a Barred Plymouth Rock hen naps at Back Beyond Farm.

Living with Pigs - Norwich Bookstore

2008-08-05T06:12:00.004-05:00

Over the weekend, the Norwich Bookstore hosted Chuck Wooster and I and other local authors as part of their annual summer celebration. As you can see, we had a lot of interest in the two Tamworth piglets visiting from nearby Hogwash Farm. It was a nice morning to sit outside, listen to live jazz and hear the reactions to our project. Click here to see where we will be next to sign books. (And click here to check out the store's new Web site!).

A Day in the Life of Strafford

2008-07-07T00:09:00.012-05:00

A Day in the Life of Strafford photo project was in full swing on Saturday. It was great to see so many photographers in action (including a few of those shown below — James also gathered audio, at left, for a DVD slide show we will be putting together). Click here to read more about the fund-raiser for the Morrill Memorial & Harris Library. Stay tuned for the silent auction, to be held this Fall.

While I had to cut my day short to photograph a wedding in the evening, a few of the pictures I made from the day are shown below:

Living with Pigs arrives

2008-07-01T07:51:00.004-05:00

A box of books was delivered to our mud room yesterday, a day ahead of the official release of Living with Pigs. Just like the other two books in the series, it looks really great! It will be fun to promote the book with author Chuck Wooster. Click here to read more about it and see our upcoming appearances.

Tunbridge Tigers

2008-06-17T06:42:00.004-05:00

Talk about your perfect season. The Tunbridge Tigers t-ball team recently wrapped up a season where every batter hit 1.000 and every team finished a perfect 0-0-8. Road games required travelling to the next town. As the unofficial team photographer, I've collected a few of the moments from the season.

Memorial Day in Tunbridge

2008-05-26T14:15:00.010-05:00

A year ago, 18 photographers attended Tunbridge's Memorial Day celebration for "A Day in the Life of Tunbridge," a fundraiser for the steeple repair fund in town. Today, I went to see the Tunbridge Tigers t-ball team march in the parade and and to catch up with friends and neighbors. Up over the hill on July 5, we're planning "A Day in the Life of Strafford." Click here to read more about it.

The Joy of Keeping Chickens

2008-05-11T06:12:00.008-05:00

It's official: Skyhorse Publishing's Fall 2008-Winter 2009 catalog arrived in the mail the other day, with The Joy of Keeping Chickens as one of their featured titles. The book's publication date is set for February 2009. Here's what the catalog says:

THE JOY OF KEEPING CHICKENS
The Ultimate Guide to Raising Poultry for Fun or Profit
Jennifer Megyesi
Photography by Geoff Hansen

Finally backyard farmers who want to keep a few hens for eggs have a bible that's attractive enough to leave out on the coffee table, and inexpensive enough to purchase on a whim. This comprehensive guide, written in charming prose from the perspective of an organic farmer, will appeal to readers who are interested in raising chickens, or simply want the best knowledge about how to cook them. With this in mind, farmer and animal expert Jennifer Megyesi discusses all the basic details or raising the birds — general biology, health, food, choosing breeds, and so on — and she cuts through the smoke to identify what terms like "organic," "free-range," and so on really mean for poultry farmers and consumers.

No chicken book would be complete without information on how to show chickens for prizes, and this is no different, but The Joy of Keeping Chickens also stresses the importance of self-sustainability and organic living, and the satisfaction of keeping heirloom breeds. Readers will appreciate the comprehensive nature of this readable, informative guide, and Megyesi's enthusiasm about keeping chickens. Coupled with Geoff Hansen's gorgeous full-color photographs, this text makes for an instant classic in the category.

$14.95 paperback original (Can. $16.95)
ISBN 978-1-60239-313-4
6" x 9" - 288 pages
100 color photographs
Nature
FEBRUARY

marionwlent.com

2008-04-28T23:06:00.008-05:00

After making a few finishing touches to the design, I just posted Marion Lent's new Web site to marionwlent.com – Marion used to live down the road from us and is a very talented artist. She and her family recently moved to upstate New York. We miss Marion, but she'll do well in her new digs with her fun and fanciful work. Click here to see the site.

The Sweet Smell of Spring

2008-04-06T22:28:00.004-05:00

Under chilly skies this afternoon, I briefly helped Mike Bogardus bring in sap for his family's maple sugaring operation. With 600-700 buckets to empty, he's happy to have a hand. As one of his neighbors said, it's nice to be working (and, for me, making photographs) when there's not much happening between seasons.

livingwithpigs.com

2008-04-06T09:10:00.003-05:00

With the book's publication only a couple of months away, livingwithpigs.com is now online. Chuck Wooster's introduction to Living with Pigs is there, along with a few photos from the book. Stay tuned – appearances and reviews of the book will also be posted as they come along.

Chandler Gallery - 100 Local Artists

2008-04-03T07:10:00.022-05:00

As part of the celebration of the Chandler Gallery's centennial, a show of 100 local artists is to open on Saturday, April 5. Zola the Tamworth pig will continue her tour of local galleries, representing herself well in an 11x14 frame in the Randolph, Vt., space. There's a reception on Saturday, April 5, from 6-8 p.m. The gallery's hours are Thursdays from 4-6 p.m. and Saturdays and Sundays from 1-3 p.m. The show will be up until May 11.