CINEMATICbyDavidM

Nillie & Jesse Day3: Mehendi

David Mielcarek — Fri, 27 Aug 2010 19:39:33 +0000

Weddings in India, Pakistan and Bangladesh are considered to be a sacred and sanctified ceremony. They can often be long ritualistic and elaborate affairs with lots of pre-wedding, wedding and post wedding ceremonies. The occasion of Mehndi ceremony is often one of the most important pre-wedding rituals especially for the bride. It is a fun filled ritual, which is celebrated mainly by the bride’s family. Different regions of the country celebrate the ritual in a different way according to their own marriage customs, rituals, and culture. Mehndi ceremonies take place outside the Indian sub-continent amongst the Asian community and places like Birmingham in the UK are such known hotspots for lavish Mehndi celebrations.

The ceremony is mainly held at the bride’s house or at a banquet hall on the eve of the marriage ceremony or few days before the marriage. Generally the bride and groom attend the event together and on the occasion a professional henna artist or a relative applies mehndi to the bride’s hands and feet the designs are very intricate. Often hidden within the mehndi pattern the name or initials of the groom are applied.

The event generally has a celebratory festival feel to it with the women dancing and singing traditional songs and the girls wearing vivid colours such as hot pink and yellow, often if the bride to be wishes to tease her future groom she will make him wear purple. The groom usually wears jutti instead of western footwear. [SOURCE: Wikipedia]

My detail photography choice for today was: BRACELETS!

Jennine + Christopher = how to cook a successful e-session!

David Mielcarek — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 19:10:53 +0000

I very often feel like careful planning of your engagement session shoot is one of the keys to success. Even if it has to be rescheduled several times, it is totally worth it to wait for the perfect weather conditions. One of the myths regarding photography is the overcast sky. I don’t like it because it’s boring! I like playing with the sun, especially late in the day when it’s close to sunset time. The color and quality of the light are the most beautiful right before the sunset. Plus – if you schedule your session properly, it gives you a chance to also shoot after sunset which in urban setting may give an opportunity to capture a lot of cool shots. All you need is a few wide open lenses and some city lights in the background. So here’s the technical 101 of my engagement session photography in a nutshell: location, timing, weather. The location is as important as good atmospheric conditions. It helps to talk to your clients beforehands and ask what is important to them, where would be their favorite spot to shoot? They may give you a lot of great ideas and if not just keep your eyes open when you are driving around – good and unique locations can be found almost anywhere!

Now there’s another key element that makes or breaks the session. The subjects. The bride and groom. Usually photographers that represent a distinctive style get hired by couples that share their vision and idea of what “good” photography IS…and when you connect with your clients well you are simply having lots of fun while shooting. When you are having fun (and you have done your homework on the technical and equipment side) you are adding flare to your images (literally as well as methaporicaly) therefore the final result is just…super cool. Of course it also helps when the bride is as gorgeous as Jennine and the groom as handsome and cool as Christopher. In this case, apart from all the aforementioned elements being in place – the photographer’s job really is easy. Aim the camera at your couple and ask them to act as if they were on a date, without paying attention to you. Click! You got it! Enjoy!

Nillie & Jesse Day2: pool party!

David Mielcarek — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 14:22:30 +0000

We are definitely in a festive mood here in the state of Delaware with Nillie and Jesse while their wedding celebration week continues. The weather cooperated perfectly for their pool party on the second day of the joyous week. Music, Bahama style t-shirts, margaritas, mohitos, great food and smiles all around – that is what I was seeing when I joined them for the happy evening of August 25. Photos are below, stay tuned for Day3 coming to this blog in about 24 hours

Renu & Bobby = NYC e-session with a lot of flare!

David Mielcarek — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 17:39:55 +0000

It is a late summer afternoon in Manhattan. Myself and my friend Marcin Sliwinski are meeting with Renu and Bobby for their engagement session shoot. The conditions couldn’t be better. We are about to explore the Meat Packing district area of the city. It offers plenty to work with, there are photos waiting to be taken pretty much wherever you turn. We are also lucky with the weather. Fortunately we picked a good day right in the middle of the 2010 summer heat wave that turned out to be not so extremely hot. The best of it all however.. is our lovely couple! They are fun to work with, fun to be around, easy-going, patient and willing to go with our crazy ideas. We finish the session just around the sunset time feeling there’s a good variety of photos recorded on our cards but… you be the judge! Comments – as always – are welcome! Stay tuned for the wedding coverage this October!

Nillie & Jesse Day1: dinner and dancing!

David Mielcarek — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 17:32:10 +0000

The wedding season of 2010 is in its peak and right in the very middle of it I am bringing you a five day “almost” live coverage of Nillie and Jessie’s wedding. The celebrations begin on Tuesday, August 24 at the Palace of Asia restaurant in Willmington, DE. The first day was marked by dancing in an explosion of colors and music, dining with family and celebrating in a joyful and spirit surrounded by friends. Nillie and Jesse certainly had a great time and so did I being able to capture the event. There is a lot to come during the next four days. Please check in daily for posts documenting each step of this adventure. The big finale is happening on Saturday when I will be joined by Mr David Lim to photograph two ceremonies and a reception that you don’t want to miss! Now let’s look at some images!

Dare Devil e-session with Nillie and Jesse!

David Mielcarek — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 16:50:18 +0000

I do like to push the envelope with engagement session photography. I would do almost anything to stay current and fresh, keep coming up with new ideas, locations and ways to photograph people in love. Working with Nillie and Jesse was a creative process from the very beginning, the way they talked about photography during our first consultation and discussed possible concepts I knew we were exactly on the same page. During the actual shoot their adventurous spirit really came out and we ended up with really crazy, almost stunt-like shots in our inventory:

Yes, the train was moving! As you can imagine we scared the …. out of a few family members and friends sharing this photo right after the session. Hold your breath though, the couple was not in danger of being hit by the train while creating this image. The train and them jumping over the tracks were shot separately and then put together in Photoshop… but it was fun to execute and it definitely gives us ideas for the future By “us” I mean myself and the author of this dare project: Marcin Sliwinski. Now the rest of our favorites from the shoot:

Maryteresa + Omar = mingle, dance, indulge and toast!

David Mielcarek — Wed, 04 Aug 2010 05:21:35 +0000

Let me tell you about Maryteresa and Omar and why they are a special couple. What I love about them most is that there is so much passion and heart in everything they do. When they dance they only look at each other. When they toast they do it with a full meaning of joy and celebration. When they talk about their love for each other and their family it is never without a true and deep emotion. When they kiss… it’s a ceremony of it’s own each and every time. Surrounded by a plethora of gorgeous details by Eclatante Design and Beautiful Blooms myself and Mr David Lim photographed Maryteresa and Omar’s wedding at the incredible Cairnwood Estate. I am so excited to bring this coverage to you and to my website, please have a look at some of our favorite shots:

Jamie + John, a couple to die for!

David Mielcarek — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 14:10:32 +0000

They have style, they have looks, they have great sense of humor! They’re full of energy and good vibe, they very lively, extremely happy together and simply a blast to work with! Sound like a photographer’s dream client? If it does then it’s for a good reason. When I was talking to Jamie about the location for their engagement session at some point she mentioned Atlantic City and I thought “excellent!”. I imagined boardwalk shots, some beach shots and a night session with all the lights and neons AC has to offer. All of this visualization came true plus a lot more. I didn’t take into consideration the fantastic interiors of the hotels and casinos. You have to work selectively and pick your angles right but when you give it some attention you can create amazing images. Of course good models help and Jamie and John definitely have it in them! Thanks again for your patience and enthusiasm my fearless couple! My only wish is that we didn’t have to wait till September 2011 to shoot your wedding! Let’s see the favorites:

Alexandra + Jay = New beginnings in old’e city!

David Mielcarek — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 16:05:45 +0000

For those of you who love soccer (like me, I was born and raised in Europe = soccer was THE sport of my childhood) June 26 was not the greatest day. US lost their Word Cup game to Ghana. Now we have to wait four years for another chance to make their presence in World Cup. For Alexandra and Jay however this was a very happy and important day. Exactly at the same moment when US team fate was being decided at a stadium in South Africa the couple was exchanging their vows during the ceremony in a beautiful, historic church in the middle of center city Philadelphia. I am absolutely certain their commitment to each other will outlast any soccer fans disappointment over the 2010 World Cup After a brief outdoors photo session in 90+ degree high humidity weather we moved inside the Curtis Center for a gorgeous reception party. Here’s a small selection of favorite images by myself and my wingman Thomas Weir:

Janine + Kevin = a lovely affair in Connecticut!

David Mielcarek — Thu, 15 Jul 2010 18:21:06 +0000

One great thing about wedding photography is that you often get to come back to the same circle of friends. Janine and Kevin’s wedding was the third one I got to photograph in the same family and sixth if you count in the very close referrals I received from them over the past few years. It is always a pleasure, always a lot of fun and overall a very rewarding experience. With Mr David Lim on my team I knew we would rock it out and couldn’t wait to start working with Janine and Kevin. Starting in a funky and cool looking hotel through the adventure with the wheelbarrows, a quick visit to the local mall for a carousel ride to the reception at the magnificent Candlewood Inn everything went just perfectly well. The bride and groom were pretty, handsome and happy. Their bridal party a truly great group of joyous comrades and their reception guests a fun crowd that definitely knew how to party! Here’s our coverage, Janine and Kevin – thank you so much for having us!