Four years ago, I photographed Cara and Dean’s fun wedding in Barnard, Vt. The fun continues when they asked me back again to spend time with their growing family. I did portraits and documented their children Baiah and William as they played and danced (and pouted a bit, too).
Plowing Day
Last fall, I photographed Floyd McPhetres as part of the Our Town photo project. In 1998, he started the Central Vermont Tractor Club for a group of local tractor aficionados. They get together twice a year to plow a farmer’s field — I told Floyd I would be interested in covering it for the Valley News, which I did last weekend. “For some reason, tractor clubs tend to attract nice people,” he said. I agree.
More photos from the event can be seen in the newspaper’s online gallery here.
From top: With puddles remaining from this fall’s wet weather, Bob Bushway, of South Strafford, plows at White Rock Farm in Royalton, Vt., with his 1980 Allis Chalmers AC 5040. The annual plowing day was postponed a week due to wet weather; Floyd McPhetres, of Tunbridge, Vt., laughs while leaning on his 1951 Farmall H before the start of the club’s annual fall plowing day. His tractor was bought new by a neighboring Royalton (Vt.) farmer. McPhetres started the club in 1998; Ronald Schoolcraft, of Randolph Center, Vt., leads a quartet of club members plowing under a corn field. Behind Schoolcraft are, from right, Gordon Conant, or Randolph, Allen Williams, of Randolph Center, and Chris McPhetres, of Royalton; Schoolcraft shows Joe Williams, of Randolph Center, the work he has done to his 1952 Ferguson TO30 after the club finished plowing 12 acres of corn at White Rock Farm. Williams came to the event to help his two sons set up their tractors and to watch.
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Tara & Scott
Featured today in Archival Quality, Tara gets attention from one of her bridesmaids while preparing for her wedding at Mountain Meadows Lodge in Killington, Vt. The relaxed feeling of Scott and Tara’s wedding fit well at the inn, one of my favorite places to photograph weddings.
Award-winner
The New Hampshire Press Association recently announced winners in their annual Best Media Contest. My photograph for the Valley News of muddy players at the end of a football game won first place in the Daily Sports Photo category. It is nice to be recognized for my work as a photographer, especially when I know so many talented journalists across the state.
Mascoma Valley High School’s Zach Warner is congratulated by his teammates after his interception stopped a late game drive in Canaan, N.H.
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May not be reprinted without permission
Sharla & Dennis
How does someone get married at Fenway Park, the home of the Boston Red Sox? Sharla and Dennis just called and asked! They called me, too, to be their photographer. The November 2003 wedding was one of the first at the ballpark, and this photo is one of my Archival Quality picks.
James Nachtwey
Today in Archival Quality: Alumnus James Nachtwey returned to Dartmouth College in 1994 to show and talk about his work as a photographer covering conflicts across the world. Nachtwey had a news conference at the Hood Museum of Art, which I covered for the Valley News. His work is the true definition of documentary photography — being in the right place at the right time. Profiled a few years later in the documentary film War Photographer, Nachtwey returns to the college this year as a Roth Distinguished Visiting Scholar.
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Whitney & Daniel
Over Columbus Day weekend, Whitney and Daniel celebrated their marriage at Amee Farm in Pittsfield, Vt., with friends and family. They also asked me to photograph the rehearsal at a nearby home in Killington, Vt., where the ceremony was held. I enjoyed hearing more about how everyone’s lives connected with the couple. A wet weekend sure didn’t dampen everyone’s enthusiasm! More photos from the wedding can be seen on my Facebook page.
Finding the Doorbell
My friendship with Cindy Pierce is featured in today’s installment of Archival Quality. I first met Cindy when I photographed her wedding in 1996. Nearly five years later, Cindy called to say she was developing a new show, Finding the Doorbell, and needed help with publicity photography and a web site. Cindy and I had many laughs while doing portraits around Pierce’s Inn, the rustic inn she and her husband Bruce own. Cindy now speaks to college students across the country about sex and relationships — check out her new web site to read all about it!
Jemima & Todd
In this installment of Archival Quality, five years ago today I photographed Jemima and Todd’s wedding at her family’s Hartland, Vt., farm. It was a glorious (and photogenic!) fall day. But this image, taken later on under the tent, was my favorite because I caught a private moment amongst the day’s flurry of activity.
Eat More Kale
Welcome to the first installment of Archival Quality, a series looking at favorite photos of mine from over 30 years as a photographer.
Up first: Every summer our dinner table is graced with wonderful organic produce grown by our neighbors, Wendy and Jean Palthey, at Tunbridge Hill Farm. A couple of years ago I visited their farm first thing in the morning. As the sun cut through the morning fog, I noticed large dew drops on their Red Russian Kale. I’m glad I brought my macros lens!
