A Love Fest in Saratoga

It was wedding time again, this time with Katie and Matt in Saratoga Springs.

Again I went as second shooter with Frank DiMeo and again it was a blast. Frank is a marvel to watch. And a creative genius. As we entered the Gideon Putnam Hotel where the wedding couple so kindly arranged for us to stay, Frank spotted two phone booths in the hall way and immediately his creative mind knew this was an ideal spot for some great images. He eventually shot the bride and groom there and the pictures were fabulous. But I’m getting ahead of myself.

Saratoga Springs is a gorgeous upstate town with the famous race track, amazing parks and gardens, springs and spas, Saratoga water, great shops and main street, and full of hospitality. The Gideon Putnam is a spa and resort hotel with incredible grounds and beautiful rooms, and an endless array of great locations to shoot.

We arrived on Friday and shot the wedding rehearsal dinner at the home of Matt’s parents. The weather was fantastic and the night was full of gifts and toasts and pictures both taken and shown.

The theme was tropical and the party went until late in the evening. Frank and I stayed up until the wee hours of the morning going over images and pulling out highlights for a Sunday slide show.

The wedding day began early as we drove around looking for Katie, the bride, who was supposed to be out running in the park with two of her friends. We never found her, but did find some great locations in the early morning light for later shoots. We met Katie and two of her wedding party at the hairdresser’s later then headed over to Katie’s mother’s house where they would be getting ready for the wedding taking place there later in the afternoon.

The house backs up to Saratoga Lake and was a beautiful setting. The girls were lighter than air about the house with make up and nails and dressing. Frank did a stunning job documenting the bride getting ready. I left the preparations to go to Matt’s place to cover the guys getting their act together.

The day was beautiful and clear, but quite warm, and there was a slight threat of rain late in the day. The showers, unfortunately, did materialize just in time to foil the group pictures at the wedding site and forcing a new plan at the Gideon where the reception was held.

The room was spectacular and as was to be expected, the party went well into the night. The rain stopped early enough to get outside and shoot the necessary group pictures before the light of day faded. The bride and groom had planned a slightly uncharacteristic but fun reception, foregoing the traditional wedding cake in favor of an ice cream sundae bar. And to augment their memories, a photo booth was installed outside the main dining area for snapshots of attendees and family. A great idea. There was no bouquet toss or garter routine. Just a continuous stream of dance music and a lot of fun.

Once the party ended, Frank and I, once again, went to work pulling out images from the entire day, to make a slide show that would be shown at the two brunches to follow on Sunday, and again went to bed with little time left for sleep. The slide shows the next day, narrowed to about three hundred images from twice that many that we had pulled out as possible images to use, were a big hit. It’s so amazing to have pictures available for everyone to see the next day. The technology today is just fantastic.

Katie and Matt were up for more pictures at 6:00 AM on Sunday and Frank went out with them to shoot at the early morning spots we had seen the day before. He had previsualized great stuff in advance and put it all together in that gorgeous light to make a spectacular series of shots with the wedding couple. (These will eventually show up on his blog for sure). I, on the other hand, took the opportunity to get some additional, much needed sleep. They came back to the Gideon and I met them for the final morning pictures in the phone booths and some great stuff in their bedroom. It’s so great to work with a couple that’s so into creating great images and great memories. They were so much fun to shoot and so obviously happy to be together. My thanks go out to Katie and Matt for taking good care of us, to their parents who were so hospitable and gracious, and to Frank for including me as part of a team. I learn from you every time.

All images are Copyright © George Cannon, all rights reserved.

The Dance of Life

With Father’s Day just around the corner, I wanted to share a little bit about my younger daughter (as if the Mother’s Day pictures were not enough). She is older now, just finishing her sophomore year in high school. How quickly they grow.

My daughter, Tessa, is a dancer.

This year’s dance season has just come to a close with her performances at Ithaca College. This year she was a member of the “dance team”, a group of high school age girls that have gone through successive years of dance study at Armstrong School of Dance.

The team girls not only take numerous classes, but also compete in various competitions and take workshops with top choreographers. They have done extremely well this year having qualified to compete in “Nationals” in New York City at the end of June.

I am constantly amazed at the poise, stamina, discipline, and determination which my daughter has exhibited all year taking seven dance classes a week and assistant teaching in one combo class of very young children, while also taking two gymnastics classes a week, keeping excellent grades, and a very full social calendar. Thank God for the energy of youth. Thank God for a season with only minor injuries and strains and blisters that heal. She makes her parents very proud. She also wears us out and taxes our schedules with daily transportation, food on the run, and out of town trips, shoes and tights and costumes. But it’s worth it.

Armstrong puts on an amazing series of dance performances over the first weekend in June each year. Scores of young dancers performing ballet, tap, lyrical, jazz, hip-hop, precision, and point, show off their talents on the stage of Ford Hall in the Whalen Music Center at Ithaca College. The early performances are the younger children, with a couple of numbers by the team girls to help “Wow” the parents and show them what their young offspring might accomplish if they just stick with it.

The older girls perform later massing on stage again and again in colorful costumes, entering and exiting with precision, amazingly organized back stage so as to allow for the numerous costume changes without collision or mishap. It’s a mammoth under taking. Karen Gorsky and her mother, Ann Armstrong, who are the heart and soul of Armstrong, run a well oiled machine and pull this off in a way that looks almost effortless, thanks to the help of several dance teachers, assistants, the team girls, and team mothers.

On Saturday nights, the finale is followed by tearful goodbyes to the senior girls who are usually leaving for college. Flowers are exchanged and the goodbyes and thank yous are said. And it is clear what a tight loving family this group becomes as they spend years together in pursuit of joy and movement and music.

I love it that my daughter dances. Our house is always alive with music playing from her room. At times the dining room lamp appears to dance as well, as her bedroom floor bounces and shakes from in house practices. A testament to the durability of our one hundred eighty year old house. Dance keeps her awash with joy (though often exhausted), toned and beautifully physically fit, and gives her a purpose and goal that has helped her to grow in so many wonderful ways. She is a girl of many friends and her team members are another source of friendship in a group outside her normal school social circle.

Tessa’s experiences through dance have shaped so much of who she is. Graceful and poised, light-hearted and determined, an awareness of gain and loss, a bonding with others in a deep and spiritual way. Between the pain and struggle of pushing the body to its limits and the emotional experience of feeling and living the music, the working together with a group that must perform as a whole, the inner growth of a young girl’s character is fed. The connection between dancer and instructor is that of student and mentor, yet sharing as sisters. It is personal, spiritual, community, and family. She is a fantastic girl that her Mom and I celebrate, and regardless of what ever path she chooses for her life, she is and will always be a dancer. And of that, we are very proud.

My dancer is also a poet, this poem dedicated to a former dance teacher.

La Danse De La Vie
[Dedicated to Margot Agostini]
By Tessa Cannon

My toes curl against the hardwood floor
My blistered feet glide gracefully
As my arms lift with poise
My porcelain fingers drifting gently
I am untouchable

But my wavy hair begins to fall
And old wounds begin to hurt again
I stumble

But as I leap and pirouette
My falter seems insignificant
But my feet slide from beneath me
And it seems
That as I hit the unyielding ground
My wounds dig deeper

But after the show is over
And my tights are ripped
And my dress is torn
And my uncombed hair gathers
Around my tear-stained face
I pick myself back up and dance again
For the voice inside my heart
Still sings

All images (except the formal dance portraits) are copyright © George Cannon / All rights reserved.

Copyright © Imageguy, all rights reserved.

Poem is Copyright © Tessa Cannon

It’s Wedding Season

Last Saturday I spent the day in Syracuse as a second shooter with my very good friend and photographer extraordinaire, Frank DiMeo, photographing Mike and Kristi’s wedding. This is not my regular bag but it is Frank’s and I love doing this with him. It’s great to see Frank work and I always feel like I’m at school when I’m watching him. He’s so creative and so good with people. But it was a blast and the entire wedding party and families were terrific.

Frank went to photograph the girls getting ready while I waited for the groomsmen at the church in Baldwinsville.

The church was large and spacious, but a tough lighting situation. The ceremony was beautiful, the minister allowing us free access to shoot whatever we wanted. He was humorous and easy while still remaining reverent and serious. A marvelous person.

Frank set up the after ceremony shots where the light was soft and full inside, then moved out to a beautiful garden outside. It’s so great to go along as the second shooter because he takes all the pressure off me since he’s responsible for all the “must get” pictures, and leaves me free to get creative, look for tight shots and special moments.

We followed the limo into Syracuse for more wedding party shots at Franklin Park, a beautiful little square in the middle of an area of historic factory buildings that have been artfully restored. The sky had clouded over and the light was soft and flattering. Frank set up the group shots and again left me free to watch and look for the a different perspective and happenings outside the posed pictures.

The reception was at the Oncenter, a huge space with a grand feeling. The DJ’s were fantastic and had people dancing all night.

Weddings are so inspiring for everyone, with love of family, young and old, good friends, romance, probably the most fun and festive occasion we experience. And rightfully so.

I thank Frank for taking me along and trusting in my photographic talents as a supporting member. And I thank Mike and Kristi for putting on such a great party. In spite of the fact that I was working, it was great fun.