Heart Smiles

 This is Teppo and MJ.

They are happy. They have fun together. They are getting married.

They got engaged a few weeks ago. The wedding was going to be in August but things changed and now it is in April.  They needed photos for invitations ASAP, so we spent the afternoon on Saturday walking around Cambridge with my camera.

MJ has camera phobia like I used to (and sometimes still do).  I told her not to worry or focus on the camera and just try to have fun.  I don't approach people (in this case engagement) photos as a glamour session - but rather as a means to announce your good news and show the world how much you enjoy being together.  

It's not about "see how beautiful I am" (and MJ is beautiful); it's about "see how happy I am."  Real happiness has a beauty all it's own.

I think they did a wonderful job.

Smiles abound. 

The Truth - Dan & Claire

A thought transfixed me:

for the first time in my life I saw the truth as it is set into song by so many poets,

proclaimed as the final wisdom by so many thinkers.

The truth --

that love is the ultimate and highest goal to which man can aspire.

Then I grasped the meaning of the greatest secret that human poetry
and human thought and belief have to impart:

The salvation of man is through love and in love. 

-Viktor E. Frankl, Man's Search for Meaning

On December 22nd 2009 my wonderful friend and former roommate Claire married the equally wonderful love of  her life Dan. They had a beautiful wedding and very classy reception to compliment the great story that is theirs.

I was honored to be asked to take some snapshots at their reception.  It was held at the Museum of Contemporary Art in La Jolla, CA,and was a challenge in extreme low light photography.  But with a few makeshift napkin filters and a forgiving friend who understood the limitations and gave me some artistic license we were able to get a few good ones. And, with a happy couple, a live jazz band, and a room full of people who love do dance, how could you possibly go wrong!

(Oh..and her grandmother caught the bouquet!)