From my earliest memories I’ve loved the pictures in books – drawings of characters in fairy tales, etchings of scenes in classic novels. These romantic images continue to inspire me as I travel the world telling true-life love stories through photographs. My style has been described as romantic, artistic, luminous, passionate, joyful, emotional, warm, and intimate.
I am a fine art wedding photographer. I adore the way that analogue film captures light and I shoot both film and digital because I believe that each has a unique and beautiful way of documenting a wedding day. When I see the potential for a stunning moment, I will give direction. Otherwise I want to be soft and unobtrusive so that you can enjoy your day. I believe that your wedding day is about you celebrating your love for each other. My luminous style comes from an obsession with light. This pairs perfectly with outdoor celebrations and naturally lit surroundings.
In addition to being a photographer, I am a former professional opera singer, a doting wife to my literature professor husband, and a lover of Victorian novels. I love writing letters by hand because it makes me feel like a character in Jane Austen. I think that the occasional meal made up entirely of chocolate chip cookie dough is perfectly acceptable, and I am a connoisseur of coffee ice cream. While I’m thrilled every time my work is featured on a blog or in print, nothing is sweeter than hearing how much my clients love their images. I feel deeply honored every time I pick up my camera and enter the world of a wedding.
I’m currently based in Boston but I love to travel and have an up-t0-date passport.
My work has been featured on Style Me Pretty, The Wedding Chicks, Ruffled, 100 Layer Cake, Elizabeth Anne Designs, Brides, Rêverie Magazine, The Knot, Style Unveiled, Merci New York, Brooklyn Bride, Lemonade & Lenses, Landlocked Bride, Fabulously Wed, GayWeddings.com, Destination Brides, Good Housekeeping, and The New York Times to name a few…
For more FAQ about me, scroll down….
A few of my favorite things, and the stories behind them…
BOOK:
Anna Karenina
I know I’m reading the work of a great writer when I find myself thinking the following:
“I have had this very thought a hundred times in my life but was never able to put it into words until I read them here on this page.” Reading Anna Karenina I had that thought countless times. Not only do I love Tolstoy’s famous(ly long) novel for the incredible psychological insights into his characters, but the first time I ever met my husband we discussed this book so it will always hold a particularly special place in my heart.
DESSERT:
Profiteroles. With coffee ice cream, of course!
I first had Profiteroles in my college years while studying abroad in Paris. They are awesome. If you ever see these gorgeous choux pastry creations on a menu you should order them. There’s a restaurant in my native state of Michigan called The Common Grill where they make them with the most gorgeous coffee ice cream and homemade chocolate sauce…. It’s also especially fun to say the word profiteroles with an obnoxiously bad French accent…
STORE:
Anthropologie or Target.
Basically, most of the things I own come from one of these fine establishments. I can easily spend an hour wandering through either.
MOVIE:
Amélie or Pride and Prejudice (And yes, I’m not ashamed to say that I mean the new one with Keira Knightley.) I would basically like to live inside these movies. Or at least have their respective set designers come and decorate my home.
TV SHOW:
Mad Men! I’m obsessed with the adventures of Don, Peggy, Roger, Joan and the whole crew… and with their wardrobes.
I also have been known to watch marathon sessions of most BRAVO reality shows. Though, try as I may, those housewifes are just too much for me…
PUNCTUATION:
I put this in because you may have noticed that I over-punctuate. It’s, like, problematic.
But I especially love the ellipses…for various reasons…because it implies…so much…stream of consciousness…or something.
WHEN I’M NOT SHOOTING, I ENJOY:
Reading or Cooking. I actually have a cooking blog that started out as sort of a journal from my last days as a New York opera singer and chronicles some of the adventures I had as I began to identify less as a NY opera diva and more as a photographer in Amish Country, Ohio. Those first few posts are painfully honest about what I was feeling at that time in my life. Sometimes I am amazed at how fearful I was at the prospect of leaving my New York life and trying something unknown. As a person who generally hates transitions I find it comforting to be reminded of how much good can come from leaving what I knew and exploring the road less traveled. I know now that packing up that life and starting a new one with my love in the Midwest was the best decision I have every made. When we got the news after just 4 years that we would be moving back to the East Coast (this time to Boston,) I did have a few days of that old transitional fear creep up on me. Knowing how well the last move turned out (after some initial growing pains) I feel very excited about the adventures our New England life will provide!
ALBUM:
Jazz singer Lizz Wright is my favorite recording artist in the world. I have had the opportunity to see her live 2x and the second time I totally cried. Like 12-year-old-girl- seeing-Bieber-cried. I went to see her performance with two of my dearest friends and we sat in the first row. I could have reached out and touched her (I didn’t, though, just in case you were feeling anxious…) I just felt so moved by her beautiful, soulful voice and presence that I found myself tearing up. On the one hand I was of embarrassed to be blubbering like a tweenybopper but at the same time I felt awestruck by the reminder that music can have such a deep effect on us.
PLACE:
My favorite place in the world is the Leelanau peninsula of Michigan in August. It’s where I spent every Summer as a kid. It’s where/when I got married. To me, Leelanau = family, friends, love,.. good times all around. That gorgeous azure shore of Lake Michigan in late Summer is more beautiful than any sea in the world.
PERSON:
My husband, Yuri.
Photo of us laughing from our wedding, by Melisa McKolay. How could I resist those dimples!?