Katelyn's Bachelorette Weekend: Part I

A few weeks ago I traveled to Geneva, New York for my good friend Katelyn's bachelorette party. I still have yet to go through the pictures I took of our 8-vineyard wine tour (yup, you read that correctly), but I did take a quick break from the wedding editing to go through some of the shots I took on our first night there.

If you've never been to the Finger Lakes region of New York, hop in your car, and make the drive. It was completely worth the 9 hour drive (yup, you read that correctly too), for both the scenery and the company.

We spent the first night of the weekend at the Ramada in Geneva. I rode most of the way with my friend Kristen, and to be honest, we weren't expecting much from the Ramada (we both travel a lot for work and have developed a bit of a snotty side when it comes to hotel preference. Not that I need the Ritz, but I don't tend to slum it in my Hampton Inns either).

When we pulled up to the hotel we were greeted with a huge building right on Seneca Lake. A tent was set up out back, probably from a wedding that had happened earlier in the day, live music was playing on the patio, and people were dancing, drinking, and having a blast.

The true beauty of the evening though was the sunset. I don't know the last time I saw one so pretty. The sky reflecting off of the lake made for a gorgeous blue and purple tones in both the water and the sky. It was so hard to put my camera down at all while we walked the pathways behind the hotel. I only hoped I was able to capture the beauty of what was in front of us.

I still have a long way to go when it comes to scenic photography. I'm no Ansel Adams, but I love to take scenic shots. Having a photographer's eye is such a cool way to live..I really think I appreciate what I see around me so much more than I used to.

Anyway, here are some of the photos I took that evening. I'll have many more to share when I can get another little break from the wedding photos to go through the rest. And as always, if you are interested in purchasing any of my photos you can email me directly at kristina@kristinaobrien.com.

 

Memorial Day, 2011

(For those of you who also follow my professional blog, you can stop rubbing your eyes and checking your address bar..this is posted twice. :) I just had to share these photos!)

I meant to post this earlier today, but the sun was shining, it was a perfect 85 degrees outside, and I was thrilled to be outside with my family to celebrate this Memorial Day.

It still was important to me though, to write this post, and to post it today, even though there are only a mere 2.5 hours left to it. On Saturday, I was in Boston, shooting Laura and Preston's engagement photos. I used to live in Boston, and haven't been downtown in awhile, so I thought I'd go a bit early, feeling lucky for the opportunity to be in the city with my camera.

I stepped out of the parking garage on the Common, and was just about to cross the street into the Public Garden when I looked behind me and gasped, (actually it was more of an "ooooooooooooooh!" Just ask my husband who was on the phone with me at the time. I think I might have actually hung up on him, I was so excited). On the hill of the common were thousands, and I mean thousands of American flags. I simply could not resist.

It was amazing. I learned that they were placed in memory of fallen Massachusetts service members. There were so many, I couldn't stop taking pictures.

I was so amazed by the whole thing that I spent most of my free time just looking at it. It was simply breathtaking. The last shot I took was of this yellow rose, attached to one of the flags towards the front. I wondered who placed it there, and who it was in memory of.

I hope you all enjoyed your Memorial Day. I also hope you took a minute or more to stop, remember, and thank those who have given their lives for our freedom, and also to the service members and their families who are currently serving our country.