Despite September being my busiest month, I did manage to snag a Saturday to spend with my family. Except that Saturday morning was rainy. So what do you do with an energetic toddler on a rainy Saturday morning? We went to the Providence Children’s Museum! The Providence Children’s Museum is a “touch everything” place, with tons of hands on exhibits for kids to experience. We had a blast!

Debbie and Eric’s wedding day was the perfect summer day. We started out with the girls at the Vista Motel in Gloucester, a cool Motel on a bluff overlooking the ocean. I love motels, and this one brought to mind the Brat Pack and lazy summer afternoons. After taking full advantage of the venue’s motelness we headed out to the Harbor Room where the ceremony was performed in a tent right next to the water. Next we headed to the beach for some photos of the family and the happy couple. Finally back to the Harbor Room for a delicious lobster feast!

Click here to see a few more:http://www.pbase.com/jamisonwexlerphoto/debbieeric

I am the official photographer for the super talented DJEuro out of central FL. Well truth be told, I have to be…he’s my little brother! At family get togethers, I go watch him play, and enjoy comped drinks as part of his entourage, and we shoot promo shots. Last weekend he made an appearance up here in Boston at the Roxy, and I was in tow to capture the event. Next day we played around on some old railroad tracks hooking him up with some new photos. Then he was off to play an event in Philly and then to SC before arriving home in Ocala.

First at the Roxy:

Then on to the promo shoot:

Part two of my catching up posts. Danielle is an aspiring model that lives in a neighboring town. A couple of weekends ago, Michael and I had the privilege of taking some photos for her portfolio. After assisting me all summer, Michael got a camera of his own. This was his first shoot, and I couldn’t be more proud…the kid’s got talent!

So we’ll start with a few of Michael’s:

I took a couple too

So here’s hw behind I am - Luke turned 2 on July 20, and I am just now getting around to blogging about it! Anyway, we held a small gathering for him on the 28th. My 16yo brother, Michael, has been assisting me all summer wth my photography business, so for the party, he was assigned to take the photos. That means I am actualy IN a few of them!

“Some assembly required”

Looking through the telescope at the tiny invisible men living in our carpet.

Opening his new beloved Diego backpack, courtesy of his friend Aubrey

And his new deadly schoolbus. Pull it back and it zooms really fast…usually into a wall or off a table!

The dinosaur bedecked cake

At the end I wrestled the camera away from Uncle Michael to take a shot of him and Luke having fun.

I love being in my 30’s - it’s the decade where I feel more centered ad at peace than any other time in my life. At the same time I hate the passage of time, because as I get older, those I love do as well. On Sunday I lost my 3rd granparent in the last 4 years.

Grandma Wexler was a unique woman. She was one of those people that took over the room when she walked in the door. She was a smart, strong, no-nonsense woman, whose quick tongue was powered by her love for her family. I will miss her huge hugs and her “Grandma Wexler Kisses”…and her Mundel Bread (best in the world!)

Here’s a photo from her visit when Luke was just a month old - she took a solo train ride up the east coast, stopping to visit friends all the way up.

And one from my brother, Stephen’s, wedding in April, with a large chunk of the Wexler clan: (from the left)…Uncle Kevin, Mom, Michael (brother), Stacie (cousin) John (her FI), Lisa (SIL) Aunt Cindy, Stephen (brother), Me, Grandma, and Uncle Mark.

photo courtesy of Steven Frischling

We spent last weekend in Lewisburg PA. On Saturday morning Lewisburg had their annual Independence day parade. It was Luke’s first parade, and his Grandmama made sure that he was dressed patriotically - along with his cousin, Addison. He was engrossed!

First one of Luke and Addison gearing up for the parade:

Mmmmmm Cookies!

I met someone famous this weekend…one of Luke’s favorite celebrities…the one, the only, Thomas the Tank Engine. Thomas made the log journey from whatever-that-island-is-called where he lives to make an appearance at Edaville Railroad in Carver, MA. Luke had the time of his life…and Melanie and I enjoyed his delight. Of course we took photos.

Enjoying the ride…all weekend he relived it saying repeatedly “I ride Thomas!”

A rare photo of the two of us together, enjoying the spinny, humpy, caterpillar…actually, Luke was enjoying it, I was trying to keep my lunch down. Melanie’s working the camera.

And the star himself…how does Thomas stay so danged happy all the time…I think he smokes…

The gift shop people were “nice” enough to put out lots of product for the kids to try out…

One last ride…

Every year I like to take on one wedding for free. I love the idea of being able to help out a couple who want to declare their love for one another, but don’t have the budget for a fancy affair at the Ritz… I try to make it a win-win affait, where I get to try something new or different in exchange for my services.

Last year I was able to share in the wedding of Kadian & Jas - and got some really kick butt images for my portfolio from the firehouse where they got married: http://www.pbase.com/jamisonwexlerphoto/kadianjan

This year I’d like to try something a little different. I currently use expensive high end professional digital bodies, lenses, and lights for all of the weddings I am hired to cover. I want to prove that it’s the photographer that makes the photos, not the tools he/she chooses to use.

So for this year’s free wedding, I will be trading my usual kit for a very basic setup consisting of an entry level Canon Rebel XT, with an 18-55mm kit lens, a $70 50mm portrait lens, and a basic 420ex flash. That’s it.

My goal is to produce stunning images with this humble setup and post my images and feelings here on the blog.

So if you are getting married on one of the following weekends: August 11/12, November 3/4, 17/18, 24/25, don’t have the budget for a professional wedding photographer, and live within 60 miles of my home in Grafton, MA, please contact me at freewedding@jamisonwexler.com. If selected, you will receive 6 hours of photographic coverage, and a CD containing approximately 200-300 color corrected high resolution digital files for you to make your own prints!

I bought my first real digital camera back in 2002…a 2 megapixel Canon A40. At the time I was traveling a lot for business, and wanted to take photos of the places I visited to send back to Melanie at home. Little did I know the passion for photography that would be fueled by that camera!

Anyway, this is one of the first photos I took with the A40. We were living in Worcester, just a few blocks away from Worcester Polytechnic Institute. The fountain in the ceter of campus was one of Maya’s favorite cooling off spots on a hot summer day.

This week I had a rare Saturday off, so we decided to let Maya relive her puppy days and visit the WPI fountain once again. And of course, we knew that Luke would love it!

And the rest of the adventure is here:
http://www.pbase.com/jamisonwexlerphoto/summer07