Justin & Mary

Update your RSS!!

2008-10-31T10:29:00.001-04:00

Hey Guys! So, we just noticed a big spike in people subscribing to the RSS feed for our old blog and we just wanted to make sure you guys weren't subscribing to this one by mistake. If you're on Google Reader, sometimes when you search for www.justinmarantz.com it still brings up this blog. So just make sure it's giving you the right one! Ahhh the joys of technology!! :)

Goodbye Old Blog!!

2008-09-29T07:24:00.010-04:00

You've been good to us. You've stood right beside us for the past year and 10 months as our business grew and we went from engaged people to full on married folks. You watched the birth of our PUG and been there every step of the way as it grew into the family that it is today. You've seen us sick, scared, happy and as always, obsessed with WVU football. You've brought us together with all of our new clients turned friends and been there every step of the way as they became a part of our lives. Yes, you've been good to us dear, dear blog. And you will always be such a big part of who we are. But the time has come for us to move on. You will always be here as a silent reminder of where we've been, but it's time to look forward to where we're going. We will miss you.

Much Love,
J&M

From now on our lives, our love, and our photography will be documented at:

www.justinandmaryblog.com

***Note for new clients: our website is located at the above address as well. So make sure you check that out!

See ya on the flip side!

Signing off

2008-09-26T10:30:00.001-04:00

Married: Katie & Colin in Stonington, CT

2008-09-23T16:05:00.007-04:00

"You doin ok? Can I get you anything?"

I looked up from my camera to find Katie standing beside me, her kind eyes smiling. And I just smiled and shook my head. From anyone else, this might have come as a surprising question from a bride on her wedding day....

...but that's just Katie.

Through the course of the day I heard her ask this question of no less than twenty other people surrounding her- the proof and possession of a true giver's heart. And one by one they would each just smile and shake their heads, too overcome by the generosity and thoughtfulness that one single person could possess. She is elegance and grace and goodness defined. A timeless iconic beauty- think Hepburn meets Holmes- mixed with just enough witty banter to make everyone around her just want to be her friend. Because you can just tell that she's the kind of friend who loves with her whole heart and hugs like she means it.

But that's just Katie.

And Katie would not be complete without her Colin. Because while Katie gives to take care of everyone else, Colin is the one who takes care of her. And you only have to see him look at her once to know that he always will.

Married: Katie & Colin

This rosary belonged to Katie's grandmother who wore it on her wedding day, before giving it to Katie's mom to wear on her wedding day. Katie had the amazing Yumiko of Hana Floral Design wrap it around her bouquet so she could continue the tradition.

This was the crazy fog rolling in off the water.

Katie's exquisite Vera Wang gown:

Katie and her beautiful mom, Brenda (who we just LOVE!!)

The handsome Colin:

The rain held off for most of the day until we got through the ceremony, but just as we started setting up this group shot the skies opened and the rain came down. But these guys were such troopers so we just rolled with it.

Absolutely stunning!

Katie & Colin had this car to carry the bridal party, but we had to grab a shot of it because this is the very same car that Justin & I had for our wedding!!

First Dip:

It was such an emotional day from the beginning to the end. I'm not 100% sure when exactly I cried for the first time (because there were just SO many times that day), but I'm willing to bet that THIS had something to do with it: Katie with her dad Bernie

We just want to give a HUGE thanks to the entire staff of the Inn at Mystic and the one and only Traci Romano for putting on such an amazing wedding for Katie & Colin. These guys are the best of the best and we were just so honored to be working alongside them.

Katie, Colin, Brenda & Bernie: you guys treated us like family from minute one, and from here on out that's exactly what you'll always be to us. We cannot thank you enough for everything. We love you guys!!

Catchin up!!

2008-09-19T18:44:00.002-04:00

Whew! I'm so sorry about the TOTAL lack of blogging in the past week! Justin & I both came down with something right after we got back from LA and we have just been laying low for the past couple of days. We've got a ton of catching up to do and we're also working on something really BIG that we hope to launch in the next week or two. But since you've been waiting so patiently, we thought we'd give you a little preview. There will be MUCH more to come on this soon, but here's just a little glimpse into what we've been working on:

Sneak Peak: Natalie & Chris

2008-09-14T18:17:00.005-04:00

Boy!! With all these sneak peaks we are going to be crazy busy all week trying to get the full posts up! Here are a couple from our incredible wedding last night at the beautiful Norwich Inn.

Sneak Peak: Melanie & Alton

2008-09-12T21:19:00.004-04:00

Well we got in around midnight last night, long enough to sleep in our own bed! And then we got back in the car today to head out to Norwich for the weekend wedding of Natalie & Chris, kicking off with their barbecue rehearsal dinner tonight!! We'll of course be showing you more from that, but first we just wanted to post a little sneak peak from an anniversary shoot we did while we were out in LA.

From the inside of an improv studio....where it all began.

Sneak Peak: Katie & Colin

2008-09-07T18:44:00.005-04:00

Whew! What a crazy coupla days! Yesterday we had such a fun time shooting Katie & Colin's wedding with the amazing Erik Maziarz along to help us out. Today we drove back home for two meetings and to finish getting ready for our talk before heading out to LA tomorrow. But you know we couldn't take off without posting at least one sneak peak from the wedding...ok, or maybe two! Last night I think we hit an all new record for number of people coming up and telling us they read along on the blog, so I know there are a lot of anxious people waiting on this!! :)

This one was a team effort. I came up with the idea and Erik helped me set it up. Then Justin pushed the button. :) The picture in the foreground is Katie's grandma (her mom's mom):

Katie & her girls just GOT IT!! I'd say pose and they were like ummmm, ok!! And then they'd rock out something like this. C'MON!!! They could seriously be professional bridesmaids! Shoot me an email if you'd like to hire them for your wedding.

Tomorrow we'll be heading out to LA to speak at the Pictage Partner Conference (PartnerCon) for our second time. There will be about 400 photographers there and it's always such an amazing, inspiring time. If you haven't been to one you should definitely plan on going next year!! You can check out more info HERE. We'll definitely be posting more about that and, of course, more from the wedding when get back next week!

Not Quite Married Yet: Katie & Colin

2008-09-05T23:45:00.003-04:00

Justin & I are out in Mystic for the weekend wedding of Katie & Colin. Tonight we got to hang out with them at their rehearsal and their killer rehearsal dinner at the Mystic Aquarium, where the special guests of honor were two super fun and playful beluga whales. More on that to come, but it's late now and we need to get some sleep for the big day tomorrow. But before we go, I just had to blog this shot of Katie & her dad that Justin grabbed at the rehearsal. Yea, the tears are gonna start early for me on this one!

Just love these two!!

I promise. To be the best part of waking up.

2008-09-05T07:58:00.008-04:00

My eyes flutter open and I wait for the round, silver clock beside our bed to come into focus. I blink. And blink again. Close one eye and then the other and then back again, until finally the little hands start to appear. Seven twenty three.

I throw back our double stacked duvet and swing my legs over the side of the bed, gingerly stretching for my feet to find the floor. My cloud pajamas are twisted almost the entire way around my body and it takes a second to figure out how exactly to detangle them. I stand. I stretch. A little wobbly, I find my way across the room. One hand rubbing my eyes, the other reaching for the door. Because I've found that when you use both hands to rub your eyes, the doors tend to find you.

I pause long enough by the hallway mirror to smile at the sorry state of my hair, before making my way to the kitchen to flip on the burner for our burnt orange sienna tea pot. The flames crack a few times before stretching their way out around the bottom of the kettle. I guess everything has its own way of waking up.

I make my way to the couch to wrap myself in my great grandma's quilt and start my day with some quiet time and a good inspirational book....or a celebrity gossip magazine. Y'know whatever's closer.

Just then I hear the familiar tap, tap, tap and the jingle jangle of my favorite part of the morning. Cooper's teddy bear face appears around the corner in the kitchen and he stops, head cocked to one side, as if to say "Are you crazy?? It's 7:23 in the morning."

He sighs, takes a few steps, stretches into his best downward dog, and then tap tap taps his way on over to the couch. He climbs up and flops his head into my lap with one more sigh that says, "y'know...you're lucky I love you." I pat his a head a few times and with that, he's off to sleep again.

But for me, it's what I love most about waking up.

Ask & Learn Wednesday!

2008-09-03T15:21:00.006-04:00

Hey guys! Just wanted to let Pictage photographers know that we'll be on the forums tonight for a live Ask & Learn chat starting at 7pm East Coast time!

Click here to say hi!

Let's Bring On the Mountaineers!!

2008-09-01T14:16:00.012-04:00

The smoke from the tunnel was still dancing around the field in small, quickly disappearing swirls of clouds. Just then the sun broke through the overcast sky, and sent yellow lines of light streaking through the haze to the ground below. Sitting in row 2 of section 102, I was surrounded by an ocean of gold 60,000 strong.

And I've never felt so big and yet so small in my whole life.

The crowd was roaring as kick off drew near. But I sat in silence. Staring up at the brand new score board of the Milan Puskar Stadium, I watched as the graphics heralded in a brand new era. A brand new era indeed.

Just nine months ago, we were a team betrayed. Left days before a bowl game with no coach, no time, and according to 84% of the country, no chance at rising up to a win over Oklahoma in the Sugar Bowl. But as the gentleman's shirt next to me proclaimed...

"84% Wrong."

I watched the highlights from that bowl game with a rising pride in my chest and a lump in my throat. For that is the spirit of what it truly means to be a Mountaineer. And the further away I go from home in this life, the more important it is for me to be reminded of that. And often.

Of integrity. Of rising up. Of doing the hard work to get the job done. No matter who doubts you. No matter who says that you can't.

I sat there in that stadium as the smoke danced toward the sun and stared out at an ocean of gold surrounding me. All of them. Standing there so full of hope, and so full of the promise that only a brand new season in a brand new era can offer. Just then the tears broke through behind my sunglasses and were sent streaking across the flying WV tattoo on my cheek below.

And I've never felt so big and yet so small.

Yea, there's no doubt about it. It was a damn good day to be a Mountaineer.

We're so excited we got to hang out with our awesome friends (and also past clients!) Erica & Matt!!

The view from our seats. Not bad, eh? :)

We like the football, we like the football, we like to play the football game!

Ok, so the score TOTALLY got cut off but as predicted we CRUSHED 'em 48 to 21.

"Yea OUR Sportscenter highlight goes like this."

Married: Melanie & Brett

2008-08-28T15:56:00.006-04:00

She took a deep breath and looked up at the sapphire sky. "Do you believe the day we got?" Just then the phone rang and from the smile on her face, anyone could tell it was him. Telling her he loved her, telling her he couldn't wait to see her at the end of the aisle. The beginning of their long walk together.

Just before the doors opened, she took a deep breath and peeked through the window. "Do you believe it's here already?" Just then she caught a glimpse of something and from the smile on her face, anyone could tell it was him. Standing there loving her, anxiously waiting to see her. And ready to start their long walk. Together.

Married: Melanie & Brett

Last weekend, Justin and I drove "down the shore" in New Jersey to shoot the wedding of his cousin, Melanie, to her Brett. It was so cool for us because Justin's entire family was there and they finally got to see us in action, all ninja style and such! :) Check it out!

Melanie's GORGEOUS dress was actually jaw-dropping.

The flowers were all white and so elegant.

Shoes!

I LOVE this shot of all the hands that Justin got!

Her necklace was made from a recreation of one that Jackie Kennedy owned. How cool is that?

Heading to the ceremony

The beautiful Mellie!

The handsome Brett

Waiting to go down the aisle

Brett's first glimpse of Melanie

The guys!

The girls!

How cute is he? Cheek pinchin cute, that's how!

They gave out champagne and chocolate covered strawberries as their favors. Umm...yes please!

Check out that dress!

I grabbed this shot in the mirror of the girls helping Mellie with her bustle. I love how moody it came out!

Melanie & Brett, I hope you guys are having an AMAZING time in Cabo basking in the sunshine. Walking along the beach....together. We can't wait to see you when you get back!

Yep, it's that time of year again...

2008-08-28T08:59:00.013-04:00

Justin walks into the office where I'm no doubt just finishing up some very important online shopping. He blows his imaginary whistle and throws one of our brand new Crate & Barrel dish towels on the floor.

I'm intrigued.

This BETTER be good if he's throwing my brand new Crate & Barrel Rococo Stripe dish towels on the floor, where they will no doubt come back completely covered in Cooper fur.

"Encroachment to neutral zone. Number 23 on the opposing team. 10 yard penalty. Repeat first down."

Uh huh.

I stare at him, head cocked to one side. I look down at my dish towel and back up again. Yep, still NO idea what he's talking about. So I ask: "What are you talking about?"

Apparently one of many facial scrubs and cleansers had somehow found its way out of the TWO SHELVES I COMMAND in our medicine cabinet and into his one, itty bitty, already overly crowded man space.

Like he said, encroachment into the neutral zone.

He was incensed. This was an injustice. And if there is one thing my Justin is all about it's justice. Now any other time he would have just hidden that bottle from me until I drove myself crazy trying to find it. Yea, that'd show me.

But now. Oh yes, now. Things. Are. Different.

For tomorrow we make our way ten hours south to my wild & wonderful home state of West Virginia to watch them CRUSH Villanova in the season opener. For those of you who are long time blog readers, you know all too well by now that we BLEED blue & gold, baby!

Yes, football season is once again upon us. Just knocking at the door.

And with it, it heralds in four glorious months of resolving our marital disputes & differences... with imaginary whistles and Crate & Barrel dish towels.

Married: Teryn & Brian in Stonington, CT

2008-08-27T15:52:00.008-04:00

Nope, you're not reading that wrong! We had two, count em TWO, Teryn (Taren) & Brian's two weeks in a row! Seriously, what are the odds of that??

This Teryn & Brian actually live in Michigan, but they came to CT to have their yummy new englandy wedding at a private home in Stonington borough. First of all, let me just say that if you live in New England and you HAVEN'T been to Stonington yet, you must go now. Seriously, stop reading the blog and go get in your car right now! It is perhaps the most adorable town ever made. Don't believe me? Head on over to our girl Julia's blog (who was along to second shoot with us on this one) and check out some of her gorgeous shots all around town.

Now, on to the fun stuff!

Do you believe these walls?? Every single room in this house had a different amazing wallpaper like this. The three of us just wandered around drooling from room to room!

Teryn's mom was just beaming all day. She was so proud of her girl!

Teryn's girls helping her do the dive.

I love this moment! Teryn's sister Allie was actually half way up her dress helping her get her shorts off after she got the dress on. And they were both laughing so hard that all they could do was crack up every time she tried!

More of those gorgeous walls!

The handsome groom waiting for Teryn to get to the lighthouse in Stonington for their "first look" before the ceremony. These guys opted to do that so they could do all of their portraits first and then get right to the cocktail hour after the ceremony. It's a really cool way of doing things!

A close up of that awesome tie!

The moment when Brian turned around and saw Teryn for the first time. He was so cute and in awe of her and I have to admit that I had to walk off some tears that were welling up before I turned into a fanning mess!

Would you LOOK at how he looks at her?!?

Then we brought the bridal party in for some fun. Love the blue dresses that Teryn picked out for them.

The guys chillin on a wall

The beautiful flowers were done by Yumiko at Hana Floral Design who is INSANELY talented!

Brian's grandma just turned 97 and flew all the way here from California to see him get married. Is she not the cutest thing you've ever seen? I just wanted to pinch her cheeks all night long!

Ok, this would be the moment when I officially lost it. This was right before Teryn was about to walk down the aisle and the emotion of it all finally got to her dad who started to cry. And laugh. And then cry some more. There was no point in hiding it at that point. I just cried right along with him.

We actually weren't able to shoot in the church during the ceremony, so the next thing for us was to hit up the party at the cocktail hour. The signature Mango Mojitos that Gourmet Galley put together were INCREDIBLE!

Yea. Umm....THIS was the house. I know right!

Teryn & Brian grab a rare quiet moment together.

Brian's brother gave a CRAZY HILARIOUS and emotional toast! Since Teryn used to play tennis (umm at Wimbledon!) and now coaches at Michigan, the toast closed with "Remember, only in tennis can you lose with Love." How awesome is that?!?!

Ahhhh!!! These two! You're killing me! :)

The luminaries lining the dock at sunset

And the beautiful tent with that amazing house in the background. What an awesome night!

Teryn & Brian thank you so much for taking such good care of us and making us feel so welcome. We hope you're having a blast in Bora Bora. Enjoy every minute of each other and just soak it all in. So much love to you both!

Prom Night

2008-08-26T15:52:00.005-04:00

Most of the week, the day to day of life takes over and the hours slip by so fast that in a minute they are gone. (Yea just think about that one for a second). But there is one night of the week that serves as a shelter against the storm. A safe haven where fun runs free and and you leave your to-do list behind. Wow. That just totally turned into a Beaches commercial right there.

But I digress.

That night is Date Night. A night of fun & freedom that rolls around once every seven days and is as much a part of the fabric of our marriage as not leaving your shoes in the middle of the floor for your loved one to trip over. You know... for instance. :)

But honestly, what would a night of love & romance be without a little healthy competition thrown in there for good measure? So we decided to up the ante. To start taking turns and switch off every week with who was in charge of planning date night.

Oh yea baby, let the games begin.

For the longest time, It was a decided tie with each of us only slightly one upping the other's previous date night before. My personal favorite was my treasure hunt that took us all over New Haven and ended up at the premiere of National Treasure 2 which Justin had been dying to see. Pretty creative, eh? Not going to be able to top that one for a loooong time to come, right?

Uh, yea. Not so much.

This past Friday, J called me and told me to get all dressed up and be ready by 8:30. I was picturing dinner out or maybe a cool concert....but was I WAY off. I emerged from the bathroom at 8:45 (what, that's early for me!) to the sound of Sir Mix a Lot doot, doot, dooting from the living room. And as I rounded the corner, I saw streamers and balloons in my high school colors and Justin in a suit & tie holding a corsage. It was Prom Night, baby!!! The movie "Prom Night" that is. Because he knows me. And he knows that the ONLY thing I love more than a really good scary movie, is a really good challenge.

Game on, baby! Game on.

Yes, my high school mascot was a lumberjack. The Richwood Lumberjacks to be precise. Don't hate. Just cause your mascot was a bird or something scary like that. Pshhhh.

Married: Taren & Brian

2008-08-21T18:46:00.004-04:00

If you've been reading our blog for any length of time now, you know just how much we LOVE our McKinneys!! And by that I mean their ENTIRE extended circle of family & friends. We first met Taren & Brian at Lon & Melissa's wedding (who we also just adore!!) last September and have since shot two engagement shoots with them as well as a family shoot for Taren's sister Shannon. So by the time the wedding rolled around we felt like we were part of the fam. We even got to go hang out with these guys at the rehearsal dinner on Friday night and they sat us at the head table with them!! Seriously?? Yea, like I said, LOVE THEM!!

Soooo without further ado, here are some of our favorites from the day!

I LOVE this shot I got of Taren in front of the Audrey Hepburn painting at the salon.

Her dress from The White Dress by the Shore was so gorgeous! It was all flowy and amazing...very midsummer nights dream!

I grabbed this shot of the gals checking out their flip flops by this incredible window light. I love how the symmetry is slightly weighted to one side like they used a lot in "The Man Who Wasn't There" (which we just watched with our PUG last night). Watch it if you haven't seen it!! It's awesome!!

Justin grabbed this killer shot of the girls getting ready to leave.

I was loving these lil' dresses so much and all the gold shoes that this shot instantly came to mind. I really love how it all started to look like a painting with a lil' Totally Rad Actions lovin.

This is one of the things I love most about having two shooters. J grabbed this shot of the girls looking down at me while I was grabbing a quick group shot. It's one of my favorite from the whole day!

The flowers were absolutely stunning. Seriously stunning. Wild Orchid in Middletown did them and we were just blown away!

The church!!

Hi!! These two guys were the ringbearers. Are you kidding me?!? Adorable!! My gal Val was with us again to second shoot, and between the three of us we just COULD NOT stop shooting them!!!

Yea...seriously!

Brian was so happy to see Taren!! I got all teary watchin the two of them and seeing how happy they were!

A couple of quick portraits with new Mr & Mrs

Taren was SUCH a gorgeous bride! Just incredible...her eyes are AMAZING!! ahhhh! Yea, gotta love that 85 1.4!

Cool shot!

2008-08-21T09:34:00.008-04:00

While looking back through Josh & Beth's engagement shoot from this past May in San Francisco, I came across these two frames that I thought were pretty interesting side by side. For this one I was across the walkway with the 200mm when this biker rode through my shot (which seems to be happening a lot lately!). Both Josh & Beth and I were all standing still for the two frames, so you're just seeing the front of the bike in the first one an the back of the bike in the second one. Pretty cool!

Meet: Kim & Joel

2008-08-15T09:46:00.005-04:00

Kim & Joel have no shortage of things they like to do together. In fact, their answer to this question on the Get to Know You Sheet filled up the entire front page and spilled on to the back. As Joel put it, "anything & everything, so long as it's with Kim." It was a veritable theme-making smorgasbord just ripe for the picking. Just give me an oversized hat and some gardening gloves and I'm good to go! But, as is always the case, one theme had to emerge from the crowd as the quintessential Kim & Joel. And it did. Oh yes, it did.

Golf!

They just love it. Mini golf. Big golf. Glow in the dark golf. Heck they'll even take to putting in the golf store if they have to. Just add in some yellow golf gloves and a visor to match and you've got yourself a photo shoot!

And faced with the prospect of all this yummy golf goodness. We. Were. In.

Meet: Kim & Joel
Their Theme: Tee for Two (yea, yea I know...go ahead and hate me!! )

All these shots were edited using the new Totally Rad Actions set with I LOVE. Love love love love LURV!!! They are so choice. If you have the means, I highly recommend picking one up! :)

Doesn't Joel look like a pro?

How trippy is this shot?!? Justin actually flipped it upside in post, so it looks like their shadows are wearing shoes!

Ring shot!

These two are so super cute! I actually had to restrain myself from pinching their cheeks!

Kim has the most incredible eyes!

This was their score card with their nicknames for each other.

LOL!

After the mini golf, we headed out to Essex for some New England charm. Check out the sky that day!!

Love this shot I got of the two of them. It just seems so them.

mmmmm gold n' buttery!

See? There are those eyes again!! Just beautiful!

And Joel looking pretty handsome himself!

Kim & Joel, thank you SO much for coming all the way up from Florida to hang out with us! You two are so inspiring! We can't wait to see you again on:

Married: Matt & Lauren

2008-08-14T15:09:00.011-04:00

Two Saturdays ago we had so much fun hanging out with our GIRL Val McCormick who second shot with us at Matt & Lauren's wedding. The day started off a little ominous, complete with crazy dark skies, a torrential downpour and flickering lights. But by the time the ceremony ended, we were good to go with some beautiful golden light!

Check out the radar:

But Lauren was a total trooper...and Justin didn't do half bad either! Do I have myself a keeper or WHAT?!?

I was lovin' this reflection in the makeup mirror at the salon

This was a shot of Lauren looking in the mirror for the first time after putting on her dress. I just love this moment Justin got!

There is something so celebrity about this shot to me. Which I guess makes US the paparazzi! Oh Snap!!!

The church was AMAZING!!

This shot was taken of a pretty cool set up of the bridal party, but I love how the low angle changes everything and makes it that much cooler!

Lauren & the girls

Matt & his boys

This shot is so intense! I love how he's looking at her!

Matt & his dad grabbing a moment...I totally dig the shadows on the ground!

Grandma & Grandpa!! A split second before this shot was taken, the Grandma shouted out "I don't think he's been this close to me in twenty years!!" HA! I LOVE IT!

Lauren was just an absolutely stunning bride. The wallpaper at the country club and this fun french chair made for some REALLY cool portraits!

See?? What did I tell you? Gorgeous!

And the Groom's looking pretty good himself. They are such a beautiful couple!

Lauren & Matt, I hope you guys are having a blast in Tahiti!! Drink a lil' umbrella drink for us!!

Meet: Natalie & Chris

2008-08-12T17:49:00.010-04:00

"I turn on my computer. I wait impatiently as it connects. I go online, and my breath catches in my chest until I hear three little words: You've got mail. I hear nothing. Not even a sound on the streets of New York, just the beating of my own heart. I have mail. From you. " - Kathleen Kelly, You've Got Mail

The first time he saw her, it was only a picture. A snapshot that hung on a co-worker's wall. But sometimes a snapshot, a small moment in time, is all you need to somehow...know.

The first time they met, it was only a one liner. A crack about an old computer. But sometimes a laptop, even an old one, can bridge the miles between two hearts that somehow just...know.

Natalie is a high fashion NYC girl. Chris is the laid back Californian. But for just one day, their paths crossed and nothing has ever been the same. For months they emailed back and forth. With her on the east coast, him on the west. Going about their days, living parallel lives, they were joined by the promise of just three little words. You've. Got. Mail.

Meet: Natalie & Chris

Yooooou've Got Mail!

This was so much fun and so very You've Got Mail, but the real story behind this shot is that the guy on the bike was totally tanked at 2 in the afternoon and asked to be in the shot. He did name drop some Cartier Bresson tho, so we figured he'd earned it!

Love the post process on this one. Some Derelicte mixed with Bitchin B&W gave it this platinumy look!

So as you can probably tell from these picture, Natalie used to be a full time model and she totally knew how to WORK IT!!!! Dang girl!

Just beautiful!!

These guys just have so much fun together! Look how stinkin cute they are!!!

Mmmmm that's some yummy flare!! Buttery!

After the themed part of the shoot, we headed to the beach to spend some time with these guys just being themselves! Seriously, how adorable are they?!

Ummm...AND they have mad skillz!!

Super Hero Shot!!

Natalie & Chris, you guys rock our world! Thank you so much for coming up and spending the weekend with us! Sorry we all crashed before we could break out some serious scary movies...next time for sure!! We can't wait to see you guys on:

Livin' Life in Fast Forward

2008-08-08T13:34:00.020-04:00

I just looked at the date of our last post and my jaw literally hit the floor and bounced back up again to see that it was a WEEK ago. A week! I could've sworn I just hit the publish post button on that one like three seconds ago! Is it me or did someone grab the proverbial remote control of life and click the fast forward button? Y'know not just the 2x or the 8x kind of fast forward... where all you're really trying to do is get past the weird foreign film previews and on to the Will Ferrel movie. But serious fast forward. ALLLL the way up to the 50x speed baby!!!!

Seriously, lately my days are more like minutes. The weeks, a mere lunch hour break. And the next thing I know it's the middle of August and I'm left wondering where the heck the past two month of my life went. But, it's times like these when you've really got to just slow down and enjoy the good things in life. The simple things. The constant things. The kinda things you know you can always count on.

Like the fact that my UPS guy gets me.

Reeeeally gets me.

When that doorbell rings and Cooper's ears perk up, I feel that mixed rush of emotion wash over me. Y'know that place where anticipation & endless possibility meets.... "ooh...do I really have to walk down my crazy steep stairs even ONE more time today"

Yea, I'm THAT kind of lazy.

But it's ok see. Because my UPS guy gets me.

And that's why every day he goes the extra step to meet me in the middle. Literally. See, he comes up a flight of stairs. I go down one. And we meet in the middle. Truthfully, I never even see his face. Just a hand popping around the corner... holding endless possibility.

And let's face it, in this crazy fast- forward- hey- who- stole- the- remote-control kind of world...it's pretty nice to know you can always count on a daily dose of endless possibility. And someone who gets you. Laziness and all.

Meet: Mr. DePino....AND his ProActions!!

2008-08-01T10:21:00.013-04:00

First off, I just want to say thank you SOOOOOOOO much to all of you who have commented, emailed or called in the past few days about my last post. It really makes it so much easier to blog something like that knowing that I have friends like you who always have my back!!! Ack! I so want to put something here about how you guys make me the richest girl in the world, but I am at a total loss for finding the right words right now. Seriously, everything I type is a TOTAL cheese fest..... so just know that I love you and you guys mean the WORLD to me!! xoxoxo

Now....whew (fanning myself furiously!!!)...on to some picture fun! A little while back our good friend, the one & only Mr. Steve DePino, asked us if we could shoot some new headshots for some super exciting things that he has coming up. Not the least of which, is the recent release of his brand spankin' new Pro Actions. Seriously I LOVE these things! Each and every one is more yummy than the next. In honor of their release we did the post work on all these pictures using his ROCKIN' new actions. . Sooooo... I'm gonna give you a little behind the scenes action with the "lab experiments" we did on each shot, and after that if you haven't grabbed up a set of these actions yet then you better GET TO IT!!

This was the very first frame Justin shot of the day and I LOVE it! We used a lil' Awesome Curves + Mr. Perfect 30% to make it really pop.

This was probably our favorite shot from the whole day. DePino BW v 2.0 at 45%. Justin also added noise at 14%

So sophisticated. Awesome Curves + Acid Washed 30%+ X Processed Washed Out 20%

I love the light streaming in here!!! AHHHH!!! Lab-a-touille 50%+ BW Dream+Pop

This one is so epic. Sin City+HOLGA-ize really rocked the feel.

LOL. Steve in a nutshell. Ultimatum 47%+Mystery 35%+Holgaize

Sin City +Bunsen Burner Lo+Sleepy Hollow 25%

Don't try this at home! Depino BW v 2.0 + F Stop 1.2 sim (but DO try this at home!!!)

Blue Steel+Soft Glow Lo+Vignette

F Stop 1.2 sim

How YOU doin??? Lab-a-touille 47% + Acid Washed 74%

Exp film 1981 Green 50% + X Processed Washed Out 14% +Vignette 70%

Expired film 1981 Red 40% + The Fuzz + Vignette

Rockwell 30% + Sleepy Hollow 80% + Vignette. Justin also added noise at 14%

I call this one....Mr. DePino goes to Washinton. Tin Print + Vignette

Color Pop + Vignette 71%

Newsprint + Pop 75% + Vignette 46%

Darn Paparazzi. It's hard work being a celebrity! :) Color + Pop

Goal # 67: Blog Something That Is Challenging For You...

2008-07-31T11:56:00.010-04:00

Justin & I spent the past few days up in the Berkshires with our PUG group for the "Annual PUG Rock N' Roll Retreat." Don't let the name fool you. This was some serious business.

It was one of the most inspiring, self-reflecting, revising, kick in the pants, burden lifting, make me wanna be a better person, you complete me and had me at hello experiences of my life. And that was just day one.

Our assignment for the retreat was to come up with our list of 101 goals in 1001 days before we could leave, and to blog at least one thing that we've accomplished from that list within a week of the retreat.

Goal #67: Blog Something That is Challenging For You.

It always comes easy for me to blog about the good things, the happy things, the woo hoo for us, we rule the world so let's throw a party things. But when it comes to the hard things, the not so pretty things, the fall flat on your face and don't pick yourself up things, well.....I tend to hide. Like a newbie at summer camp who just heard the "the call is coming from inside the house" story for the very first time, I hide. Just give me a flashlight and a sleeping bag to shiver under, and I'm all set.

Goal #67: Blog Something That is CHALLENGING For You.

Deep breaths now....here we go.

I guess you could say I grew up.....'po.

Not just poor you see, but 'PO...that's when you're so poor that you can't even afford the other O and the R to go with it.

The picture above is of a place called home. This is the place where my roots run deep. Ask me what I stand for and I guarantee you here is where the answer lies. As I stand before it, wide eyed and wistful, the haunts of my childhood laughter can be heard floating on the breeze. And my heart drifts back in time to a more complicated me.

There wasn't one day that passed growing up that I didn't hate this trailer. I would spend hours dreaming up ways to build on to it... to transform it, and thereby me, overnight. Start with what you've got and build from there.

Several times we tried to fix it, and several times we failed. And I feared that this trailer, this failure to me, would forever define who I am.

Sometimes our worst fears are the best things that ever happen to us.

Fast forward a few years, and these things I've learned. It was not failure that kept my family where they were...but love. Only the strongest kind of love would cause two parents to live with nothing so that their child could one day have more. And that trailer, the one that I hated and feared so much for all those years... well, it turns out it has opened nothing less than the entire world to me.

I came across this the other day when we were clearing off some hard drives, and I wanted to share it with you. It is the opening paragraph to my personal statement for my application to Yale Law School. It describes in great detail where I came from, and there is not a question in my mind that it is responsible for everywhere I've gone since. Sometimes our worst fears are the best things that ever happen to us.

You've just got to start with what you've got and build from there.

The roof of the old shack cracked under the weight from the average twenty-two inches of a Nicholas County snowfall. The wood stove was never properly fitted at the top, causing flames to shoot out and streak overhead every time a log was thrown on. And orange and blue blazes would dance perilously close to the pink fluffs of insulation that hung from the sagging ceiling. When Spring came, it would rain just as hard inside as out, and the smell of mildew would hang thick in the air long past the end of Summer. But for now at least, it was Winter.

The young girl swung open the screen door and dropped her head against the stinging bite of wind sweeping across her Fenwick Mountain home. A thin, tattered blue scarf hung loosely about her hand-me-down coat, and she pulled it close to her as if it alone might somehow stop the wind. She quickly dumped scraps of brown beans and cornbread for the latest stray that had wandered into the yard and wheeled around for shelter. She was stopped in her tracks, if only for just a moment, by the sight of the shack that stood in front of her. Or as she had always simply called it- home. And she couldn’t help but think, there must be more out there than this. But then the whipping wind picked up again, and she hurried back inside with only fleeting memories of a life that could be hers.

Goal #67: Blog Something That Is Challenging For You.

Check.

Meet: The Graziers /August is PH month!!

2008-07-30T20:02:00.005-04:00

Justin & I wanted to announce Portrait House month here at Justin Marantz Photography, and we could think of no better way to do this than by showing you one of our absolute favorite family shoots EVER!

For the entire month of August, we will be booking family sessions for just a $100 donation to Portrait House (of course more is always welcome!) This is HUGE because our normal portrait packages usually begin at $1500, so make sure you take advantage of this and support a really great cause while you're at it! Note that your family shoot doesn't have to take place in August (and it almost certainly won't since we are booked SOLID), it just has to be booked by then. So help us spread the word!

And now on with the show!!

Meet: The Graziers.

We met Matt & Enna sometime in the winter of 2007, and from the very first time they hugged us hello we knew we would be lifelong friends. They are amazing people. Unbelievably generous people. The kind of people who come into your life, change it forever with their kindness, and never ask a thing in return for it. So when the opportunity came up for us to do a shoot with them and their awesome boys, Ollie & Will, it's safe to say we jumped at it!!

We drove up to Boston to spend the day with their fam, and of course we had to start off with some of Enna's yummy pancakes:

The start of Will's pancake:

Will is SUCH a cutie!

Enna and her boys

Then we headed off to do some hiking ...

Ollie is getting so big!

I LOVE this shot I got!! Look at that face!

Piggy back!!!

I adore this shot that Justin got!!

The Grazier Fam!!

Laughing til they're all tuckered out

When nature calls. Ahhhhh look at that tushy!!!

Wheeeeeeeeeeee!

We snuck off and grabbed a couple of just Matt & Enna together

Love this one!!

Matt & his boys

The End...both of em!

Morning with the Marantz's

2008-07-30T09:29:00.005-04:00

AND NOW....a scene from our morning routine. This is the kind of stuff Justin deals with every morning, so I thought just this once I'd let you start your day this way too. :) Picture it: me, my jim jams, and Mr. Kanye West on the iTunes.

Step 1: start this video:

Step 2: picture me singing the following as I get ready in the morning:

Doot Doot Doot Doot Doot Doot Doot Doot Dooooo Dooooo DOOOOO

Doot Doot Doot Doot Doot Doot Doot Doot Dooooo Dooooo DOOOOO

Water on and toothbrush out. We're the hottest in the world right now, just touched down in London town.

Squeeze the toothpaste, but don't waste. Go to town and brush, brush, brush, brush, brush, brush, brush.

Time to hustle, do the hustle. Travolta. John Travolta. Now don't forget the booty shake.

And brush brush brush brush brush brush brush brush brush brush brush brush brush brush brush brush.

Hmm.

Just gave up java.....What's your persYAWNna, about this Americana?

Spin around now. Right round now. C'mon now. And don't forget the booty shake

Yea shake shake shake shake shake shake shake shake shaaaake shaakkke shake.

Shake shake shake shake shake shake shake shake shaaaaaake shaaaake shake

Time to....get dressed smart like a London bloke. Look at this peacoat, tell me he's broke.

Yea OATMEAL I'm down with that...cranberries too is Ca-a-ash

C'mon you know you LOOOVE this, don't pretend it's RUB-BISH

Annnnnnd Doot Doot Doot Doot Doot Doot Doot Doot Doooo Doooo DOOOOOO

Doot Doot Doot Doot Doot Doot Doot Doot DOOOOO DOOOOO DOOOOOOO

And scene. Welcome to our world.:)

Life is not a marathon....

2008-07-25T09:06:00.007-04:00

...It's a series of sprints.

I've often heard this said and thought there must be something to it, but it was not until recently that I received its full meaning. In the "somebody gift wrapped it, tied it with a Martha Stewart bow, and left it on my front doorstep" sorta way.

First let me start with this:

I. HATE. RUNNING.

Hate it.

There I've said it. Put it out there for the whole world to see. There's no turning back now. And it feels goooood.

Let's face it. As far as the exercise du jour, running is the new black. The IT trend. C'mon I read Us Weekly...religiously. And every week I see Miss Reese Witherspoon with her iPod chugging down some Hollywood Hill. Or Fergie with that weird water bottle thing. Seriously, what's up with that?

Now being that I like to fancy myself a "with it" kinda girl, for any number of years I have tried with great dedication and perseverance to convince myself that I, in fact, would actually LOVE running if I just gave it a chance.

Look at all those happy people. Their head bands tucked neatly over a bouncing pony tail. Running and smiling. Smiling and running. Now granted in Connecticut these people insist on running year round in the negative 20 degree weather, so for all I know their smile froze like that sometime last October and just hasn't had a chance to thaw out yet. But still, they LOOK happy.

Yet each and every time *I* try to take up running my face turns a lovely shade of purple (eggplant 120 according to those paint swatches at Home Depot...y'know the square ones, not the ones that come in those strips) and my side feels like it's going to explode. And that's just from lacing up my tennis shoes.

I have tried any number of things to get myself excited about running. First I bought some running pants. Ya gotta have those. Then, moving southward, I realized I would be nothing without a good pair of running shoes. White ones with the teal trim (gotta love branding with athletic wear). And honestly how could I even possibly consider running without a teal iPod shuffle to match? And yet, totally surprisingly to me, I did not run.

So you can imagine my enjoyment at my husband's recent announcement in his State of the Couple Address that, in our ongoing efforts to get in shape, we were going to start waking up at the crack of dawn (8:30!!) to run "telephone poles". What are "telephone poles" you may be asking, to which I would say "good question!"

Telephone poles are where we run the distance of two telephone poles and walk one. Then run again. Then walk again. And...well I'm sure you're getting the picture.

Now I tried everything to get out of these. I hid under the covers. But he knew where to find me. I begged for mercy. He had none. I even tried bargaining. "Darlin, we can eat Krispy Kremes for breakfast, lunch & dinner and I won't say a WORD." But still, he was unmoved.

And so I run. Two telephone poles, and walk one. And on and on it goes. And here's the thing, even for a self-professed running hater such as me, I've discovered that you can do ANYTHING for the space of two telephone poles. Anything. Because the end is always in sight. You see, life is not a marathon, it's a series of sprints.

And so I run. Yes, by golly, I run. But know this blog world, you will never, no never, catch ME running & smiling in 20 below weather.

On that I stand firm.

Keep em Coming!!

2008-07-25T08:44:00.000-04:00

Whoa! We just found out that another blog featured the Julia & Mike shoot. This is now the third one that we know of! This is just so awesome...seriously, I just hope these bloggers know how cool and inspiring something like this is for us. Talk about your motivation to keep waking up and trying something new every day! We appreciate it SOOOO much! And a special thanks to Julia & Mike for being the rockstars that they are! They really deserve 99.9% of the credit. :)

Brides' Girl Friday!!

2008-07-23T17:45:00.004-04:00

Check this out! Our good friend, the lovely and talented Karen St. Clair of Just-In-Case Gifts fame has just launched a brand new business called Brides' Girl Friday!! This is SUCH a cool idea! Basically she will take care of running all the errands and handling all last minute emergencies leading up to the day of your wedding...including (HELLO!!) making Starbucks runs!!!! Seriously? Our only question is how to we go about hiring her full time for us?!?

On Deck: The Grazier Family Shoot...so stay tuned for that!

How can you have s'more of something...

2008-07-17T16:28:00.009-04:00

If you haven't had any yet??

When we were down in WV for the 4th, we had a huge bonfire and cookout with Mary's family. The only problem was, after twelve hours of searching all over creation in the backwoods of West Virginia, there was not a marshmallow to be found. And seriously, how are ya gonna have a bonfire without toasting up some S'mores? So when we got back, we did what any normal preppy New Englanders tryin' to rough it would do: we toasted them over our Williams Sonoma All-Clad fondue set.

......What?

Mary, Joey & I: serious wilderness freaks!

Married!!: Amanda & Jeff

2008-07-15T14:58:00.003-04:00

Ok brace yourselves!! This is gonna be a looooong one! But seriously, how many times does our girl, the one and only lil' Amanda Harris, get married?!?!

As you can see if you visit Carla's blog, I was a mess the ENTIRE weekend and pretty much cried anytime I came within ten feet of Amanda. I saw her at the rehearsal dinner. And I cried. Her dad gave a toast. And I cried. We did yoga and the instructor told us to remember how grateful we are for Miss Amanda. And I knew just how right she was. And I cried. And well...you get the idea.

So without further ado, allow me to present the delicious wedding of Jeffrey & Amanda Havemeyer Harris Herzberger. And just as we suspected, it was AHHHmazing!! (*** We only started shooting at the ceremony, so be sure to check out her main photographer, the incredible and absolutely adorable Daria Bishop, as well as Carla's blog for more of the yummy wedding goodness!)

First, allow me to set the scene. This was the incredible view awaiting us at the ceremony site. Y'know, the real thing. Not just the painting.

Here is Amanda's brother escorting her mom down the aisle.

Then it was Strider's turn to take center stage.

The music began to swell....

And the audience gasped in awe...

as Amanda and her dad emerged from the house.

The ceremony was breathtaking as they got the most perfect day. Ummm pretty much ever.

The groomsmen looked on....

and so did the bridesmaids.

Pretty maids all in a row.

But the MOST important person watching, wasn't really a person at all!

I think this one shot pretty much sums up the incredible energy at the ceremony in one moment for me. Everyone looking at this couple, loving them so much, and hoping so many wonderful things for them (oh dear, here we go again! hold on while I grab some tissues. geez a loo, what a mess!! Carla, I am fanning myself as we speak!) and Jeff & Amanda just trying to take it all in.

It was a pretty emotional day. Let's just put it this way, when she looked over at me with that smile and those tears in the third shot, I had to go "walk it off" as C would say at the side of the house.

But don't worry...there was plenty of smiling too!

And laughing!

Justin grabbed this killer shot of the circle the bridal party formed to bless the rings. They passed the rings around and each person silently said their good wishes for the couple before passing them to the next person. I LOVE this idea!

So I kept looking around trying to find my husband, but he was nowhere to be found! That is, of course, until I discovered his secret hiding spot up in this little window. Which would explain the killer image above!

The bridesmaids in the circle.

Husband & Wife!!

Let's get outta here!

And just grab a second to take it all in.

The first dance...

And dancing with her dad.

Here's to the new Mr & Mrs!!! We love you guys so much and I can't tell you how much it meant to us to be there and share this with you. Your friendship means the world to us and we continue to be grateful for having you in our lives!

But wait! Before I go, allow me to introduce the starting line up of photographers for the day!! First up, the amazing main duo of Daria...

& Andy!!

Ms. Carla Ten Eyck, serving it up ninja style!

But don't worry, she always takes time to make this look good!

Super secret agent, Mike, who went totally unnoticed with this disappearing trick.

Mr. Marantz rockin' it Oceans 11 style in a seersucker suit. Yes, I said seersucker.

And.....me :)

We are kind of a big deal...

Seriously, we're professionals. I promise. :)

Featured on Lucky Designs Blog!!!

2008-07-14T13:04:00.005-04:00

We're back from the AMAZING wedding of one Miss (ahem, make that Mrs!) Amanda Harris Herzberger, and we'll be working on a full recap of that. But first, I just had to share the awesome surprise waiting for us when we got back! We just found out that we were featured on the uber cool "Lucky Me" blog of Lucky Designs!!! How cool is that?!? You can check it out HERE!!

ETA: Omigosh!! The adorable Becky Shaffer over at Pictage just sent us an email to say that we're featured on the Pictage Blog too!! You can check that out HERE!!!

Married: Josh & Beth

2008-07-11T10:17:00.007-04:00

We are on our way out the door for the wedding weekend of Miss Amanda Harris up in VT, but we couldn't leave without posting the much anticipated wedding recap of Josh & Beth!! Check out their gorgeous day:

I absolutely LOVE it when couples carry a theme all the way through their day, and this wedding was the PERFECT example of that! I literally spent all day drooling over the incredible details of their red, white & black palette and their Asian theme

There were roses EVERYWHERE!!

These guys thought of everything for their details! These rings represent three generations of marriages before Josh & Beth. I loved this!

The handsome groom:

The gorgeous bride!

In her equally stunning Maggie Sottero gown.

Beth is ready for the first dance!

The best man Danny and Josh

The toasts were both hilarious....and emotional

Love the film noir look we were getting near the end of the night!

Did I mention there were sparklers????

Oh yea...and FIREWORKS!!

This wedding was just insane!! A total eye-candy fest for photographers and we feel so lucky to have been part of it! Josh & Beth we love you guys and we can't wait to see you again soon!

Live Chat on Photo For the People....

2008-07-10T18:46:00.004-04:00

Right now! Or at least in about ten minutes when J gets back with a bottle of red wine. For some reason it always seems to make us more entertaining! :)

Grab a glass and come join the fun!!

HERE"S THE LINK: http://photoforthepeople.com

Meet: Julia & Mike

2008-07-09T15:02:00.004-04:00

When Julia & Mike sent us their "Get to Know You" sheet, one theme instantly jumped off the page at us. Actually, it jumped off the page, slapped us a few times, and shouted "HELLOOOOO." But you get the idea. Under the question, "What do you think is unique about you as a couple," these guys put that they love to share equally in the chores of taking care of their brand new house...everything from the gardening to the vacuuming. So we thought, "Hey, we're down with equality." And what could possibly stand for equality more than a 1950s take on housework? Right?! Makes sense to me!

Okay, so we put a slightly modern twist on it to bring it into SOMETIME this century, but seriously how fun is this theme?? And Julia & Mike totally ROCKED it!! They went out and hunted down all the outfits you see to get totally in character. I LOVE it!!

Meet: Julia & Mike
Their theme: A five page spread for the 1952 Home & Garden Summer Issue

Of course, we also got to spend some time with these guys just being their adorable selves (rather than the 1950s version of themselves). From the first second we started shooting, these guys were just total naturals! It was so cool to watch how comfortable and sweet they are with each other.

One of their other favorite activities is chillin with Andy the Superdog! Doesn't his little scarf look like a cape??

Julia & Mike, we had such a blast hanging out with you! You are total rockstars and you make our job wayyyy too easy! We can't wait to see what all you come up with for the wedding!

Sneak Peak: Josh & Beth

2008-07-08T18:00:00.004-04:00

I know there are a LOT of people from Josh & Beth's wedding who are waiting anxiously for their post! Seriously, I've never met so many blog readers at one wedding in my whole life! So that's really cool...and to reward all those loyal readers we just wanted to post up a quick sneak peak while we continue to work on the rest! Enjoy!

This is one of Mary's:

Interview on Photo For the People!!

2008-07-08T16:36:00.002-04:00

Justin & I were recently asked to do an interview by the adorable Anna Costa of Michael + Anna Costa fame for their super cool new forum, Photo For the People. You can check out the transcripts of the interview HERE .

And make sure to tune back in THIS THURSDAY at 7pm EST for a LIVE CHAT with us. Since we just finished up the PUG tour for "Creating Loyalty Beyond Reason," Anna thought it would be awesome for us to do the chat so we can answer any questions people had after seeing the talk. We're also gearing up to release V 2.0 of the talk this fall so we can talk a little bit about that too! You'll just need to go and REGISTER with PFTP before the chat to be able to log on and ask question. We'll see you there!!

We're Home!

2008-07-08T08:39:00.005-04:00

Well, we're back from Josh & Beth's wedding down in West Virginia, and it was AWESOME!! We're going to get right to work on them because we can't wait to show you guys some pics! Just wanted to post real quick because this morning as I was waking up with some light blog reading, I came across one of our pictures from the details post on the Style Me Pretty blog!! Super exciting! You can Check it out here!

Mountain Mama

2008-07-03T10:37:00.001-04:00

Mountain Mama, originally uploaded by justinmarantz.

We just got to my beautiful home state of WV to shoot a wedding this
weekend. I found these rockin' leg warmers and had to have them. Do
you think it would be appropriate if I wore them to the wedding??

Song on the playlist: The Humpty Dance by Digital Underground. Life is
good!

Style Me Pretty

2008-07-01T18:37:00.005-04:00

We are so psyched to have been chosen as one of only three photographers on the Connecticut shoreline to be featured in the Little Black Book of Vendors on the new Style Me Pretty site. This blog is listed as one of Martha Stewart's favorites and has a huge following, so we were so excited when we got the call! You can check it out HERE.

Meet: Baby Colin

2008-06-29T08:56:00.005-04:00

Winkin', Blinkin', and Nod, one night sailed off in a wooden shoe;
Sailed off on a river of crystal light into a sea of dew."Where are you going and what do you wish?" the old moon asked the three. "We've come to fish for the herring fish that live in this beautiful sea.
Nets of silver and gold have we," said Winkin', Blinkin', and Nod.

The old moon laughed and sang a song as they rocked in the wooden shoe.
And the wind that sped them all night long ruffled the waves of dew.
Now the little stars are the herring fish that live in that beautiful sea;
"Cast your nets wherever you wish never afraid are we!"
So cried the stars to the fishermen three - Winkin', and Blinkin', and Nod.

Meet: Baby Colin

This little one is the brand new nephew of our amazing bride Taren, who you will remember from this shoot. Taren's sister & brother-in-law, Shannon & Dan, just brought Colin home about a month ago and they are already total pros at this whole parenting thing. I was totally blown away by what naturals they are!

At one month old you ponder things... like the meaning of life

and putting on a toe show.

You do a little dance...

Make a little yawn.

And you're down for the night. Clap Clap. Down for the night.

Now Winkin' and Blinkin' are two little eyes and Nod is a little head.
And the wooden shoe that sailed the skies is a wee one's trundle bed.
So close your eyes while mother sings of the wonderful sights that be.
And you shall see those beautiful things as you sail on the misty sea,
Where the old shoe rocked the fishermen three - Winkin', Blinkin', and Nod.

Sleep tight little one.

Shannon, Dan & Colin, you three are continuing our love affair with the whole McKinney family (and now the Roy's too!!) You guys are all such very special people, and we feel so lucky to know you! Thank you for always making us feel like family!

A "MINI" disaster

2008-06-27T18:52:00.012-04:00

Picture it. Tuesday, 11:45 am. New Haven, Connecticut.

The day had begun in the most usual of ways. With four dozen roses and cuddling through scary movies over breakfast. "What Lies Beneath" and a smorgasbord of fruit to be specific.

What? That's normal.

It was our four year dating anniversary (yes we still celebrate those and no we're not sure if it's paper or silver this year), and we innocently roused ourselves from the couch with nothing but rainbow wishes and candlelit dreams in store for the day that lay ahead. Yea, good luck with that.

It all started to go pear shaped as we made our way to the cars with grand plans for going out for brunch. We went to start Justin's car. Dead.

Dead, dead, deadski. The kind of dead where you have to have a cop and a construction worker (the cowboy and the Indian chief were busy apparently) help you push your car off the street and into your garage. It may very well have been the low point of my life. And I'm ok with that.

Ok, Plan B. We get into my car, which promptly begins to make some coughing and wheezing sounds like George Burns in sweatpants at the end of a marathon race. Ok, or ME in sweatpants at the end of a marathon race for that matter.

Awesome. Just awesome. This truly cannot be happening. It is actually physically impossible and must violate about seven different laws of physics for TWO cars to die in ONE day. Not so, as it turns out. Yep, you guessed it, dead.

Dead, dead, deadski. Awesome. Juuuuust awesome.

I guess you could say we're extreme kinda people. Whether the good or the bad, whatever happens, when it rains it pours. Bucketloads.

And we're ok with that.

Because the good is always soooo much better than the bad could ever dream of being bad. Times ten. Let's just go ahead and put it out there...our so-called "disasters" are more like other people's case of the hiccups (yes I know it's spelled hiccoughs but I think that's just silly). It is indeed a charmed life we lead. Which, by the way, leads me to the NEXT part of the story. :)

Allow me to proudly introduce to you our new baby (and yes, it is the ONLY new baby we intend on having for a loooong time)

And let me just tell you, the people at MINI of Fairfield have their stuff to-gether! These guys are definitely OUR kind of people, because we are totally feelin' "loyal beyond reason" right about now. Here are just a FEW of the things I loved about our rep Fabrizio Reda (if you're even thinking about buying a MINI, you have to go to this guy!!):

1) We called him out of the blue as we were leaving New Haven to see if they had anything in stock. Even though he had just gotten the car in that day and it wasn't technically ready to be test-driven, he just made it work. He put his schedule second to ours and it totally paid off.
2) He is perhaps the most likeable person I've ever met.
3) He let us test drive it by ourselves....twice. :)
4) He had us come back two days later for the "delivery" of our car, at which time it was spotless and he spent a good hour showing us how everything worked.
5) There were Smints (small (MINI if you will) mints) waiting for us on the seat.
6) He gave us two custom MINI key chains. One for each of us.
7) And by far my favorite: this MINI mug with a cookie shaped like a MINI in it. Not just any ole' MINI mind you, but a British racing green one to match our car!! Seriously?!

So there it is Blog World, our "big" (pun TOTALLY intended) news. And this much I can tell you already...Justin and I have two totally different approaches to enjoying a new car. He likes to put on his shades and say things like "Man, did you check out the detail job they did on that engine," while I am quietly content to stick my arms out the window and shout "Wheeeeeeeee!!!" But hey, that's just the ebb & the flow, the yin & the yang that makes us... us. And we're ok with that. :)

Here's to wide open spaces, winding roads, and the wind in your hair.

Motor on, blogworld, motor on.

Meet: Katie & Colin

2008-06-27T14:19:00.007-04:00

Stonington calling.

Nothing beats the cool salt air and open road of a crisp New England day. The timeless tailoring of our luxurious cable cardigan Fair Isle sweater, our patterned grosgrain flip flop..... and him. This season, it's all about the perfect fit. Grab a mug of your favorite clam chowder and join us for our latest collection. They've been specially treated for an authentic vintage finish.

Meet Katie & Colin.

Their theme: the J.Crew catalog of course! Just take one look at these two, and I'm sure you'll see why!

Katie & Colin are just about the two most adorable people I've ever met. They live up in New Hampshire, where they went to school at Dartmouth, but they came down to Stonington (where Katie's awesome parents Brenda & Bernie live) to spend the day with us! As I was going through editing their pictures, my cheeks literally started hurting from all the smiling I was doing. What can I say...seeing two people who are so perfect for each other just makes you feel a little bit more blessed to be alive. It was a good day... no make that a GREAT day. It was the kind of day we know we're going to remember for a very long time to come.

C'mon...how can you not LOVE a couple that has their own secret handshake?!

One of the two best roads in Connecticut!

Katie & Colin, you guys are TOTAL rockstars! We can't wait to see you again in September!

Meet: Anna & Dan

2008-06-25T11:27:00.005-04:00

It was kindergarten.

Kindergarten in Ms. Grosso's class, Booth Hill Elementary. Go Bobcats! And as we all know, this kindergarten stuff can be pretty busy business. There's fingerpainting to be done, naps to be taken, and jackets to be hung. At five years old that can pretty much make up your whole world. So who has time in all that to find their soul mate?

Meet Anna & Dan.

They first laid eyes on each other that first day of kindergarten and they haven't looked back since. There's is the kind of love that was truly meant. to. be. As they say on the playground, 2 gether 4 ever.

So when it was time to come up with a theme for these guys, it was your basic no-brainer. Back to Booth Hill Elementary, where it all began! We have been so PUMPED to share these with you guys!! Check it out:

It was pretty hot that day, so we had to take a break for some Yoo-Hoo...

And a look back in time.

Then it was time to hit up the play ground

One of our rockin' interns stayed up most of the night making this paper chain, so you know we had to rock that!

And did I mention there were ring shots?!?
We found these awesome elementary school scissors at a yard sale on our way to the shoot!

Anna & Dan we had the BEST time! Thank you so much for hanging out with us and we can't wait to see you again on:

Married (again!): Jess & Richard

2008-06-23T16:18:00.009-04:00

Here are some more pictures from the incredible reception that Jess & Richard hosted for their friends & family to celebrate their destination wedding back in February. We hadn't known these guys very long before shooting the reception since we had only met them the week before to scout out the property. But these guys made us feel like we were just part of the family!! You really couldn't find two nicer people if you tried!

I LOVE this shoe shot that Justin rocked!!

So beautiful!

Check out the amazing day they got!!

Jess & Richard, thank you so much for everything! We feel so blessed to have met you!

Details, Details!

2008-06-19T21:23:00.011-04:00

We're back home from Pittsburgh!! And we actually have a couple of weeks before we'll be traveling again, which is awesome because we have a TON of blogging to catch up on. So definitely stay tuned for loads of awesome shoots that we are SO.PSYCHED to show you guys! I'm literally giddy just thinking 'bout it! What can I say...we have been some shooting FOOLS lately!!

First up is a killer wedding Justin shot right after we got back from California (he was still a little food poison-y, but he was a total trooper!) This wedding brought together a total powerhouse combo in the form of Traci Romano of Traci Romano Events, Katherine of KD&J Botanica, and Jordan Caterers. These guys were putting together some awesome ideas and they asked Justin to come in and shoot all the details for them. Needless to say, with talent like this, we had some pretty high expectations going in...but they didn't even BEGIN to compare to what these guys actually pulled off!! Check it out:

Leaving Pittsburgh

2008-06-18T07:30:00.001-04:00

Leaving Pittsburgh, originally uploaded by justinmarantz.

Back home for our PUG tonight!!

Welcome to Pittsburgh!

2008-06-17T15:27:00.001-04:00

Welcome to Pittsburgh!, originally uploaded by justinmarantz.

Just landed in Pittsburgh to hang with their PUG, and this is the
welcome we got!!

Lil' Lallos

2008-06-13T17:21:00.003-04:00

This morning we had the BEST time ever hanging out with event planner extraordinaire Tara Lallo and her little ones. Tara just had lil' Katherine Avery a month ago today ( I couldn't believe how AMAZING she looked after only one month!!) and we were so excited to go up and meet her! Tara's two year old, Michael, joined in on all the fun and as you'll soon see served as the entertainment for the shoot!

Tara is so beautiful!

Yep, I'm awake now!

Michael loves being a big brother!

Little toes!

More little toes!

Turning Point Day 2

2008-06-12T21:57:00.015-04:00

We're home now from an awesome couple of days in Philadelphia at the Turning Point retreat. For those of you that don't know, Turning Point is a 2 day intensive "business and life bootcamp" designed for Real Estate agents, brokers, and Lenders, but the principles Brian teaches really apply to any small business owner. The man of a million stories, Brian Buffini, walks you through his "Work by Referral" program to develop stronger business and personal relationships. Over the two days we covered the challenges faced in our Personal, Spiritual, Family, Business, and Financial lives and the small steps taken to overcome them, to live the good life. We had such an awesome time, and I would highly recommend this to any small business owner to recharge your batteries. Also, check out their MasterMind Summit in San Diego later this summer!! Here are some shots from Day 2:

We were lifted up

We uncovered hidden potential

We did the Hustle!

We celebrate even small accomplishments... like learning to disco.

We joked between brothers

And we laughed until we cried!

Here's the Marantz gang (Dad, Mom, Mary, and I) Special thanks to my parents for bringing us down to Philly to experience this... and for getting up wicked early to get the best seats in the house.

The Turning Point - Philadelphia

2008-06-10T22:38:00.007-04:00

Mary and I are back in the City of Brotherly Love (this time with my mom & dad) where today's high temp. reached 97 degrees! Luckily we spent most of the day at the awesome and inspiring Turning Point conference, which was not only a great break from the heat, but also the perfect opportunity to learn more about OUR business from a whole new perspective. We'll be talking quite a bit more about the conference when we get back on Thursday, but here are a few images from Day 1:

Off to Philly...

2008-06-09T15:34:00.003-04:00

We're about to head out for a really cool conference in Philly. We'll hopefully be blogging down there so we can tell you more about it then!

Sneak Peak: Jess & RIchard

2008-06-08T08:38:00.001-04:00

Just a couple of quick shots of all the fun we had yesterday. More to come!!

Meet: Jess & Richard

2008-06-07T08:19:00.009-04:00

Jess & Richard were married this past February in St. Johns (oh how I wish we'd known them then!) and today our wedding season officially begins with them hosting an incredible celebration for their friends & family at a private home on the water. We went out about a week ago to walk the property with these guys, and we just had to grab a few fun shots on the beach!

ETA: Oooh! I totally forgot to mention that today is the first day one of our new interns is coming to shoot with us, so we'll be doing her official introduction to the blog world in the coming week!

These two have some serious heat!

We'll see you in a bit guys!!

Overwhelmed...

2008-06-06T16:20:00.002-04:00

In the past twenty four hours we have been absolutely overwhelmed...in the best possible way ever!! After the incredible & beautiful Miss Jasmine posted about PH on her blog, the emails have been pouring in from all across the country from people wanting to be involved. We are overwhelmed by your kind words, your generosity, and the incredible rockin' hearts that fill this industry. You bless us more than you'll ever know! We're working hard to get back to each & every one of you, but please be patient with us as it may take a little while to get through all of them!

We love you guys!
J&M

Meet: Josh & Beth

2008-06-05T21:47:00.008-04:00

It all started with a pony tail. A pony tail, and a summer camp over a decade ago. It was one of those quick fleeting, almost trivial moments that could have easily been lost in time. Trivial, except that it would change everything for the rest of their lives. She had just casually pulled her hair back into a pony tail as she walked out of her cabin, but that was the moment that Josh looked up and saw Beth for the first time. Sure he had seen her before, but this was the first time he really *saw* her and knew his heart would never be the same. "It was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen." Over ten years later, he's still saying the same thing.

Meet Josh & Beth. They are the amazing couple that brought us out on our little California adventure. Be prepared for a SERIOUSLY long post. The first time I edited these down for the blog, I still had 150 in the folder. So yea, just be prepared.

These guys live in San Francisco, so we started in the city on Sunday evening when we got into town. These are some fun shots around the "Ferry Building," where Josh & Beth spend a lot of weekends hanging out.

Seriously, how stunning is Beth??

A fun shot on the pier near the Bay Bridge

One of Justin's all time favorite portraits:

The next morning we started out at a park with an incredible view of the Golden Gate Bridge. Check out the yummy fog!

But as is so often the case, you go to a location for one thing and end up finding a ton of other cool stuff nearby. Like these awesome trees!!

And did I mention there was a wartime bunker?!?!

How James Dean is this shot? I think Dennis Stock would be proud.

Then it was off to Napa, where there were barrels...

and vineyards...

and warm, buttery light. ahhhhh....

How beautiful are these two? They make it wayyy too easy!

Then it was time to get a little dressed up as we literally raced down the road chasing the last few minutes of light. A little trespassing was involved but it was WELL worth it! (We had already been chased off the Robert Mondavi estate by one very grumpy security guard. Geez dude, take a pill!)

Josh & Beth, thank you guys for everything. Especially the super yummy thai food! We can't wait to see you again in July!!
xoxo
M:)

Think diPHerent

2008-06-05T12:03:00.007-04:00

Special thanks to our amazing friend, Jasmine, for being one of the first in our grass roots ad campaign to get the word out about PH. Mary & I are just so thankful to have people like her in our lives, the kind of people who drop everything to make Hope happen! We love you Jaz!

We also want to thank Candice & Mark of Mark Brooke Photography and Gabriel & Carlie of Gabriel Ryan Photography for helping Jasmine out for this shot!!

We have a whole line up of killer photographers who are going to be doing their own PH ad, so stay tuned for that! To get your own custom PH shirt, just send us your ideas and we'll get you all set up.

Blessings
Justin

Another Sneak Peak

2008-06-04T19:14:00.003-04:00

We're still trying to get caught up so we can blog all the crazy goodness from the past few days, but I just wanted to give you guys another sneak peak, this time from a wedding we helped out on this past weekend. This was the valet crew and these guys were so awesome so I just had to grab a quick shot of them. I think it turned out pretty cool!

PHundraiser Par-Tay!!

2008-06-02T17:33:00.011-04:00

Tomorrow night a bunch of us will be getting together at the lovely Ms Ten Eyck's studio to raise money towards gaining our non-profit status for Portrait House! There will be cupcakes, yes cupcakes. Not to mention cocktails. Blue ones. A rockin' play list to go with our even MORE rockin' PHoto booth. And we'll be giving away door prizes, such as one on one mentoring sessions with us, Mike & Ike, and Mr. Steve DePino. We're taking $20 at the door and $1 a shot (as in photo :) for the photobooth. Even if you can't make it, but want to contribute shoot us an email at justin@justinmarantz.com. But seriously, just come! It'll be a blast!

We're ba-aack!!

2008-06-01T23:08:00.007-04:00

Well we're back safe & sound after our big adventure in California. We have been totally neglectful of this little blog of ours, but we do have a REALLY good reason: while we were in Santa Barbara, Justin came down with a nasty case of stomach flu and/or food poisoning and had to be admitted into the HOSPITAL!! It was awesome. In like the total polar opposite of awesome sorta way. I have never in my whole life seen someone so sick. It was like the first 30 minutes of Saving Private Ryan. Yea, good times.

BUT, we are back in our cozy little home now and J is feeling 110% better. There's really no place like home.

We of course have a TON of blogging to catch up on including a full recap of the trip and a super exciting announcement about the next Spread the Love Workshop, so stay tuned for that. But for now, we'll leave you with a couple of teasers: one from our rockin' engagement shoot in Napa (pre-food poisoning!) and one for Spread the Love.

Love you guys! It's good to be back!
xoxo
M

Spread the Love: Coming soon!

Spread The Love from Andrew PC Smith on Vimeo.

Cruisin down the PCH

2008-05-27T19:34:00.001-04:00

Cruisin down the PCH, originally uploaded by justinmarantz.

And it is breathtaking!

Headin to Cali

2008-05-25T06:24:00.001-04:00

Headin to Cali, originally uploaded by justinmarantz.

It's entirely WAY too early & we're here at the airport to head out to
California for a killer engagement shoot in Napa and to speak to the
Santa Barbara PUG. We're actually boarding right now, but I just
wanted to jump on real quick to thank all of you for the wonderful
birthday wishes the past couple days! You guys rock my world!!

Xoxo
M:)

Happy Birthday Little One!!

2008-05-23T08:16:00.005-04:00

My Mary's birthday is today, and there's no better way to start than with breakfast in bed just like when she was little. It's funny, she still makes that face first thing in the morning. And look, there's a glass of milk left on the nightstand just like she still does today. I wonder how long THAT one has been sitting there!

Love you M!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!

ETA: I think comments are the BEST birthday gift ever, so keep em' coming! :) xoxo M

Let the games begin!!

2008-05-22T16:46:00.004-04:00

Today we begin the MAMMOTH task of going through all the applications for our new office manager position. With well over 30 applicants to sort through, we knew we needed to enlist some help! So Joey is on his way down, and together the three of us are going to comprise a panel that would put Paula, Randy & Simon to shame. Let the games begin!

Meet: Julian Sage

2008-05-15T16:45:00.010-04:00

"I have no intentions of being a heartbreaker. *I* am a romantic."

And with that, he softly but sternly put an end to my "hey you're gonna be one heckuva heartbreaker kid" banter. And what's more, he did it with such grace, such quiet sophistication, that I didn't even mind being told I was wrong (and you KNOW how well that usually goes over!) But I mean c'mon, this is a kid who lists "learning to be a gentleman" as one of his interests. How could you not forgive him??

Meet Julian Sage. A thirteen year old powerhouse with the pipes of a Pavarotti and the panache of a Mister Michael Buble. I'm telling you, this kid is going places.

Literally.

Julian is currently touring all over the country for performances, including recently opening for the Jonas Brothers. (insert girly squeal here). Julian's about to hit the studio to record his first album, so he & his mom came down to hang out and shoot some album art. It's totally gonna go without saying, but this kid is a natural!

Special "pretty please with the sugar on top" thanks go out to the AWESOME Steve DePino for letting us "borrow" his equally awesome idea from a recent shoot of his that you can see HERE. Hey, what do they say about imitation being the best form of flattery? Oh wait, that's it.

In Search Of: Office Manager & New Intern Program

2008-05-14T10:37:00.005-04:00

Justin & Mary want YOU!!

Things are really cranking over here at Justin Marantz Photography, and it's WAY more than just the two of us can handle anymore! So we're looking to expand our team with a new full time office manager and our brand new summer intern program. The intern program has two openings for people who are looking to get started in photography and learn all about the business side that goes into it. The winners will each receive a $1000 scholarship to use toward attending a photography workshop or purchasing equipment. If you or anyone you know would be interested in applying for any of these positions, please email the studio at justin@justinmarantz.com

Yum!

2008-05-13T16:15:00.001-04:00

Yum!, originally uploaded by justinmarantz.

Kick @ss cupcakes!!

2008-05-13T16:14:00.001-04:00

Kick @ss cupcakes!!, originally uploaded by justinmarantz.

We (me, Jus & Shyla) just spent a half an hour driving around Harvard
and dodging road work to find this place, but it was sooo worth it!!!

Taren & Brian: Take Two!

2008-05-11T12:32:00.014-04:00

Every package that Justin & I offer comes with at least a short engagement shoot because we believe so much in how important they are for building friendships (not just relationships, but friendships!) with our clients and getting those fun, relaxed, trusting shots when the wedding day rolls around. But one of the add ons we've been offering is our full day, themed "Get to Know You" shoot. This starts with the "GTKY" sheet that we give to our clients, and ends with a full day of themed fun that we come up with for these couples. And sometimes, like in Taren & Brian's case, there's just SO much themed goodness that it turns into multiple days of shooting fun!

We did Taren & Brian's first shoot back in January, knowing that we would do their real themed shoot once the weather got a little nicer. These guys really just made it wayy too easy coming up with a plan for their day. For his proposal, Brian took Taren to four of their favorite places and at each place gave her a gift: an antique spoon at the pub where they had their first date, a blue shirt, a rope he borrowed from her father, and last but definitely not least...her ring! Something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue. So yea...we had fun with that!

People are always asking which shots are Justin's and which ones are mine, so we divided them up! We also had the amazingly talented Miss Shyla down to shoot with us, so check out her blog later for her take on things!

First up are Justin's:

And mine!

My tribute to C10ike!

Taren & Brian, we love you guys!! We can't WAIT for the wedding!

Girl's Day Out!!

2008-05-08T09:38:00.005-04:00

When we were away in Chicago, I missed the birthday of two of my girls: C10ike & Miss Amanda Harris. So I thought it was only fitting that we go out for some pedicure action to celebrate them being on this earth and more importantly, having them in my life! Before hitting up the salon we stopped off for a boatload of sushi....no seriously, it came to us in wooden fisherman's boat that took up the whole table. Needless to say, we were giddy. Then we plopped ourselves in the massaging chairs for 10 toes (well 30 toes in all!) of uninterrupted bliss before finishing off one glorious day with a super cheesy chick flick. It just doesn't get any better than this!

hyjinx at the movie theatre!

Just a little snapshot into our lives....

2008-05-05T18:18:00.002-04:00

So we were just enjoying a yummy dinner of chicken & snowpeas in a peanut sauce when the "Beverly Hillbillies" Geico commercial came on (y'know, the one where they speculate that Jed really made his money by switching to Geico) when the following conversation transpired:

Justin: So how did Jed Clampett make all his money?
Mary: Seriously?
Justin: *shrugs shoulders*
Mary: Well....one day he was shootin at some food....and up through the ground came a bubblin' crude. Y'know...black gold. Texas Tea?
Justin: Well why did they have to move to Beverly Hills?
Mary: Because his kin folk TOLD him to!! Honestly, have you ever actually LISTENED to the song?!?

Yea...that's just how we rock dinner.

Ta Daa

2008-05-01T08:58:00.002-04:00

Going all HGTV about the situation...

2008-04-29T09:30:00.004-04:00

Going all HGTV about the situation..., originally uploaded by justinmarantz.

For the past three days since getting back from Chicago, Jus & I have
been running around like crazy getting all the stuff we would need for
our new meeting space (not to mention doing three awesome client meetings in between all that!). And today it finally all starts coming together, starting with a fresh coat of paint. We'll post the results later!

Habitat Cabaret

2008-04-28T09:30:00.005-04:00

Last night was one of those really great "feel good" nights, when you can just see real change happening all around you. Mary and I are both proud Habitat for Humanity supporters, and so when we got a call from Traci Romano to help out with a Cabaret event to support our Greater New Haven Habitat chapter, we jumped at the opportunity to be a part of it.

Special thanks to Pat Cardozo for all of her hard work in organizing everything, and also Hope & Steve Patton who opened up their beautiful home to host the event. Here are a few shots of the amazing cabaret singer, Marie Robert:

Spread the Love... just the beginning

2008-04-24T16:06:00.004-04:00

We just wrapped up an awesome 2nd day at the Spread the Love workshop here in Chicago! The whole crew is pretty tired right now, but I just wanted to post a handful of images from day 1. Mary and I will be in the air most of tomorrow, but will bring you guys up to speed when we get back home. (I totally stole the first 2 shots from Shyla's blog... you can check more pics there too!)

Abby, Sarah, Mary & Shlya

Day 1 shoot: We had the lovely and adorable Beth & Nick as our models.

Make-A-Wish

2008-04-22T15:11:00.004-04:00

For 4 year old Teagan, a pair of pink cowgirl boots and a hat were just the beginning of an adventure which undoubtedly will stick with her for the rest of her life. Teagan is just one of 163,000+ kids with a life threatening medical condition, who have had their wish granted by the amazing generosity of the Make-A-Wish organization and all of its individual supporters since it began in 1980.

Last Sunday we witnessed just how amazing of a community we live in, as the CT chapter of Make-A-Wish honored Teagan and her family at the the Make-A-Wish Gala at Foxwoods, after returning from her trip to a dude ranch in Arizona. The silent and live auctions and other donations raised over $90,000 for future wishes! We were so blessed to be part of this event and witness the beauty of people who really care about the joy that they can bring to others.

A special thanks goes out to Tara Navara and her awesome team who did a fantastic job putting the event together and the amazing Shyla who came down from Boston to help us out. Here are a few images from the night:

Headin to Hotel Barlow!!

2008-04-21T17:00:00.001-04:00

Headin to Hotel Barlow!!, originally uploaded by justinmarantz.

Just got into Chicago and can't wait to check in at Hotel Barlow. Ooh
I hope there's a mint on my pillow!!

Blah blah blah Business!!

2008-04-19T08:15:00.013-04:00

We had our latest PUG meeting on Wednesday and Eric Foley led an awesome session called "Can we do this forever?" that was all about what it really means to stay in a photography business for the long haul and how much harder we all have to work to plan for the future than people in more traditional employment jobs do. Which really got me thinking about how very little is put out there about the nuts & bolts of actually running a business. I'm not even talking about things like word of mouth marketing or branding because I feel like there is a lot of sharing going on with things like that, which is awesome!! But just all the no-fun-at-all, gotta do it, hate to do it, super unglamorous sides to running a business. Like tax planning. YUM! Incorporation. super hot. And bookkeeping. And well c'mon it just doesn't get any hotter than bookkeeping! So like I said at the meeting, I think we all work really hard to share things about the latest trends, cool new actions, camera settings...and we should be working just as hard to share information that could help (maybe someday save?) someone else's business. So in an effort to get that ball rolling, I just wanted to share a couple things that we've learned for our business over the past couple years that might help somebody else out there.

TAX PLANNING (dah, dah, DAHHHHHH!)
If you've been around Justin or me in the past couple weeks, I'm sure you've heard about our ginormous tax bill. Yea, Uncle Sam as the schoolyard bully who pushes us down and takes our lunch money kinda big. :) See the funny thing is, we had been of course hoping & praying for our business to just explode this year...but we hadn't been doing anything to plan for that actually happening! Which reminds me of a story:

Two farmers desperately needed rain for their crops. So they both prayed about it. Then one of them went out into the field and began tilling up the soil. His bewildered wife asked him, "What on earth are you doing?" He replied simply, "I'm preparing for the rain."

So when that rain came down, guess which one was able reap the harvest. This is so true in life & business as well. We pray for God to rain down that abundance... but when He does, if we haven't prepared for it it can feel more like a flood. Which brings us back to tax planning! Of course you should go and get your own accountant because everyone's situation is different, but here are a few things to think about in the coming year to prepare for next year's taxes:

Mileage, Mileage, Mileage:
One of the best deductions out there. It's deceiving because it starts out so small, but it can really add up. For 2007, the deduction was 48.5 cents per business mile driven. This year it goes up to a whopping 50.5 cents per mile. So every two miles you drive for business, you get to take a dollar out of your gross income which translates to 10 to 35 cents off your final tax bill depending on your tax bracket. At the end of the year, this can take thousands off your gross income. A word to the wise, keep a detailed mileage log: where you were going, why, how far. This is good for two reasons: a) you can whip it out if Uncle Sam ever comes calling and b) if you keep track of it as you go you are far more likely to get in all those little trips you might otherwise forget about.

Retirement as a tax break!:
To Roth or not to Roth, that is the question. Back in Federal Income Taxation class in law school, I can fully remember the fabulous Professor Anne Alstott singing the praises of the Roth IRA, but I never really thought much about it until it was time to start my own IRA. To get started, I had to decide whether to make it a Roth IRA or a traditional IRA. Now at the time, there really wasn't much of a choice in the matter because I needed a big deduction to offset some summer earnings at a law firm, so we went with the traditional. Ok, so what's the difference? Tax exempt v. Tax deferred

Roth IRA: The money you invest in a Roth is still taxable in the year you invest it. So if you make $50,000 and you invest $5,000 in a Roth IRA your gross income remains $50,000. BUT when you withdraw the money you've invested (and it can be withdrawn at any time penalty free), any of that money you've put in plus all of the growth it has seen over the years can be collected totally tax free. It is really one of the sweetest deals out there for retirement. The Roth IRA is fully available to single people making up to $95,000 and married folks making up to $150,00 jointly (an example of the marriage penalties found throughout our tax system. If there are two people you would think it would be 2x 95,000 right? Not so.) So although you are taxed on the money going into the Roth, you are free from the tax on the money coming back out (which should be dramatically larger if invested wisely) thus making it tax exempt.

Traditional IRA: investments made now are 100% deductible for the tax year in which you make them up to $5,000 for single people, $10,00 for married people (no marriage penalty here). So if you make $50,000 but you contribute the maximum $5,000 into your traditional IRA then your AGI (adjusted gross income) goes down to $45,000 right off the bat. However, you can not withdraw any of this money before age 59 1/2 without big penalties, and it plus any growth it has earned will be fully taxable at the time you withdraw it. Tax deferred

So what's the deal? If you need a big tax deduction right now, traditional is the way to go. But for long term retirement planning, Roth is usually the winner. This will all depend on what you anticipate your tax bracket to be at retirement v. your tax bracket now. If you intend to be wealthy in your golden years, the Roth is your way to go.

Home Office, blah blah blah:
I feel like most people know about this one so I won't go on too much about it. Suffice it to say, you can deduct the percentage of your mortgage/rent, utilities, etc that correspond to the percentage of your home that your business office takes up. For us it was 33%. So we could take one third of our rent, electric, etc. as a deduction. Be careful with this one, I've been told that if an IRS agent came into your home and found anything personal mixed in with the "office" space (lol, Office Space!) they would void the deduction.

LLC v. S Corp
There is a LOT of talk lately about going LLC v. S Corp for your incorporation. First off, why should we incorporate at all? Because it protects your personal assets in the event that your business is ever sued. It basically sets up what is called in Business Law world a "corporate veil" between you the person and you the business. So what are the differences between an LLC and an S Corp? Both offer liability protection. Both offer pass through taxation (members of traditional corporations have to pay tax twice: once as a corporation, once on their own income). But with an S Corp or an LLC you only have to pay tax once, as a sole proprietor would. The real differences between the two are a) flexibility and b) self-employment tax savings. ( I soo should've remembered all of this from taking Biz Orgs at Yale, but actually most of this comes from doing Google searches. Yea that would've been the cheaper way to go.)

LLC: Super flexible in every way. You can set up how profits will be distributed. No formal requirements such as board members, issuing stocks, annual meetings, minutes, etc. And the members can decide any way they want to split profits. But , there is no self-employment tax protection.

S Corp: Much more formal. Requires annual meetings, minutes, the issuance of stock, etc. More restrictions on how profits are split. But it does offer substantial savings on self-employment tax.

As business owners, we are subject to a hefty 15.3% self-employment tax (note that this is on TOP of your federal and state income tax, although 50% of it can be deducted for income tax purposes) that goes toward social security and medicare. More traditional employees split this tax with their employers. For us, this amounted to more than half of our tax bill. The S-Corp, however, offers self-employment tax savings. Here's how it works: only an employee-owner's salary is taxed for self-employment tax purposes. Any other income they receive from the company is deemed a "distribution" from owning stock in the company and is not taxed as self-employment. Ex: Your S Corp makes $90,000. You deem $50,000 to be a fair market price*** for a principal photographer and pay yourself that income. You have self-employment tax of $7,650 ($50,000 x 15.3%) on that amount. The other $40,000 is not taxed for self-employment purposes because it is deemed a distribution. Under an LLC you would have self-employment tax on the whole amount of $90,000 equaling $13,770 ($90,000 x 15.3%). So the S Corp would offer you a tax savings of $6120. However, coming back to its super-formal roots, the S Corp then requires you to set up your tax payments as monthly payroll taxes instead of a one time April 15th self-employment tax payment.

***Note that you MUST set a salary for yourself that is a fair market value or the IRS will eat you alive! So don't try to pay yourself $1 and call $89,999 a distribution.

So what's the deal? Hire a tax professional if you want to get into this murky water, but the tax savings could definitely make it worth it. There is also a third option to be an LLC filing as an S Corp which we are currently looking more into. Ideally it would offer you all the flexibility of the LLC and the self-employment tax savings of an S Corp. We'll see.

Hope this helps somebody out there! Sure beats putting pennies in a jar. :)

Feel free to email if you have any questions!

Seriously...what's the deal??

2008-04-17T10:08:00.001-04:00

Seriously...what's the deal??, originally uploaded by justinmarantz.

I HATE the new Starbuck's cups! They're so inappropriate.

Getting SOOO excited!!

2008-04-16T11:58:00.006-04:00

It's less than a week until our Big workshop in Chicago and Sarah, Jus & I are getting SOOOO excited!! We literally squeak every time we talk on the phone. Justin especially :) This is just going to be the BEST time and I can't wait to get out there and hang with everyone. And we just found out yesterday that we have a couple of unbelievable (seriously I can't believe it!!) surprises in store for you guys, so that has me even MORE pumped. As if that was possible!! We talked to Sarah last night and decided that we actually have room for two more spots if more people want to come. So if you didn't get to sign up before we sold out definitely shoot us an email asap!! I'm sure they will go fast!

Love you guys!
M:)

The Wiebners Raising Money for Portrait House TONIGHT!!

2008-04-09T15:51:00.002-04:00

A couple weeks back, Mary and I got the chance to meet the wonderful Joel & Rita Wiebner when we went down to speak at the Philidelphia PUG meeting. These guys are so awesome! Tonight they'll be speaking at the first ever "Photo Nights for Charity" event in Savage, MD which was started by photographers Jennifer Domenick and Mary Gardella of Love Life images. Joel & Rita have chosen Portrait House as their charity to sponsor for the night, so all donations that are made will go toward PH. They are already looking to raise about $1200 from people who have pre-registered!!! If you're in the Washington, D.C, Baltimore, MD or even the Philadelphia area be sure to go check these guys out. They are so amazing and we just love them so much for doing this!! There is also more information about the event and future lectures on the Photo Nights for Charity blog... so go show them some love!

Rediscover Your Love

2008-04-08T18:16:00.008-04:00

Ok, whew...now that all the dramatics are officially behind us (for a day or two at least :) I can tell you about what I *really* should have been posting about yesterday. Rediscovering Love.

"So...why are you all photographers?" she asked in that all too familiar tone where "i'm challenging you to step up" meets "I know you can do this." That's just the Carla way. She's going to love you, which means she's never ever going to stop pushing you. And we are all the better because of it.

On Monday, Jus & I had the awesome opportunity to cheer on (not to mention give the official introduction for) some of our best friends in the whole world, Carla & Steve, as they hosted their first all-day intensive workshop entitled "Rediscover Your Love of Shooting." In just a couple of weeks they'll be taking this show on the road to Vienna, so about 20 of us from CT, NY and as far away as NC were honored to get the sneak preview at Carla's studio in Hartford this week. They pushed us, they challenged us, they gave us a good healthy shove out of our comfort zone...and at the end of the day, they left us all in awe of their passion, their knowledge, and their talent for teaching. Carla & Steve, you guys ROCKED this and we're just so proud of you we could pop. But we won't. That would be unseemly. :)

After a full day of shooting, these guys had us pick out our four favorite shots for a group critique. This was my first ever critique and I was more than a bit nervous. Nauseous might be a better word! :)

First, here's a shot of everyone workin' it:

And the following four were J's top picks:

Rising Country Star, Nicole Frechette

And mine:

Jus & I also served as the models for the engagement shoot portion of the day, so I'll be sure to post some of those once we go steal, ummm borrow, those from everyone's blogs!

"For you I would bring a bouquet of chocolate Reese cups"

2008-04-08T09:33:00.006-04:00

I flung back the quilt my great-grandma had made and pulled myself up off the couch. I tromped dramatically to our bedroom, flung myself on the bed beside a soundly sleeping Justin, and promptly burst into tears. Ugly, sobbing tears. Julia Roberts crying scene kinda tears. The kind of irrational, incoherent "Don't talk about me like I'm not here" Steel Magnolia tears that only a sleepless night of sickness can bring.

After feeling so much better for the past couple of days and finally thinking I had this thing kicked, it came back out of hiding last night to rear its ugly head with all the force of a preemptive air strike. I tossed. I turned. I fluffed my pillow. My throat felt like I had taken up sword swallowing in my spare time. And breathing took all the effort of running a 10k marathon. Three episodes of "Without A Trace" later I finally drifted off into a fitful slumber for a grand total of three hours. Three whole hours. I was miserable. And misery loves company.

"What's wrong little one?"

Despite desperately wanting to give an articulate account of the hours that stretched behind me, I just sobbed louder. He smiled a little, kissed my forehead, and pulled the quilt up around me. It's a good quilt.

"I'll go get you some orange juice."

He came back from the corner store, bags in hand, and proceeded to shuffle things around in the kitchen. He was in there for what seemed like forever and I started to whimper again. Finally he came in carrying my orange juice-Airborne morning mimosa....and this. A bouquet of chocolate reese cups. Now that's just what the doctor ordered.

We Remember.

2008-04-03T20:48:00.002-04:00

40 Years Later

My award winning photographer!

2008-04-03T09:13:00.012-04:00

Ok... I have to brag a little. Not only do I have the most beautiful, wonderful, amazing, loving wife but now she is also an extremely talented award-winning wedding photographer. Check out Mary's awesome winning shot "Getting Ready to Give Her Away" in the Getting Ready category of the:

2008 Photo District News (PDN) Top Knots - The New School of Wedding Photography contest.

This girl can shoot! I'm so proud of how far she has come, since first picking up the camera just two years ago! Being sick the last couple of days has had its advantages. We've had some time to go back through our favorite images from the past year to update our website. After ranking our favorite images to try and figure out a placement order for the featured shots Mary had 2 of the top 3!!

I love you so much M! Congratulations!!

Also a huge congrats to our friend Anne Ruthmann who had two winning shots this year!!

Lunch w J&M!!!

2008-04-01T11:33:00.007-04:00

Ugh! Sorry we've fallen off the face of our blog lately, but that nasty flu bug that's been going around officially landed at the Marantz household and we've been out O' commission. Our official theory is that we got it from our buddy Steve. We think it crawled out of his house, jumped in his mini-Cooper and drove Italian Job style going mach-three with its hair on fire until it landed smack dab at our front door. You can see that right...

Anywho, Mary & I have been having a blast going all over the country meeting photographers, and we realized that in the past two and a half months we've been to over 20 states!! That's so crazy to think about! But it's been amazing and we've gotten to make so many awesome new friends this way. We actually have three whole weeks off at home before our workshop in Chicago and then we'll start back in with some West Coast stops on the tour. So with all this traveling, we realized that we haven't gotten to really connect with photographers in our own backyard in wayyy too long. So we decided to start "Lunches with J&M" (yea...we need a better title. Our fevered little brains just aren't working right now). We're going to have the first one on Monday, April 14th and it'll be a chance to just get together, talk shop, and ask us anything you want (so long as it's not "when are you having kids!" :-) Just shoot us a line at justin@justinmarantz.com if you want in on all the fun!

K, Chicken soup time.

Images from Nevada & Utah

2008-03-29T12:20:00.007-04:00

We have so much to share from our awesome trip out West. I had a little time this morning to work on some of my favorite images.

I saw this driving through the Valley of Fire in NV, and I had to stop. Inspired by Ansel's Moonrise over Hernandez, NM, 1941, I title this Moonrise over an RV Park, 2008.

This was one of the most peaceful and quiet sunsets I've ever seen. Mary and I climbed up a cliff to witness this one. Valley of Fire, NV

This was shot through the windshield... I was a little afraid to drive through it because it looked like something that the Roadrunner painted on the rock.

Mary and I at the top of Delicate Arch. Arches National Park, UT

Arches at night

Balanced Rock by moonlight

Yee haw

2008-03-23T11:54:00.001-04:00

Yee haw, originally uploaded by justinmarantz.

Just chillin at the top of the world...

2008-03-22T18:57:00.001-04:00

Just chillin at the top of the world..., originally uploaded by justinmarantz.

Took us two hours to get up here, but I'd say it was worth it :)

My Picks

2008-03-21T13:34:00.005-04:00

Those of you who know me, know that I'm not the biggest basketball fan, but I do love making guesses for the NCAA tourney every year. The first two years I did this in high school, I would have won every pool in the country, so the next year I put my $10 in with some of my friends and finished dead last. (Thus ended my gambling carreer!) Now I know my pick to win it all is not a favorite by any means, but when you bleed blue & gold, you have to have West Virgina in the finals ;-)

The first day of the tourny... I'm off to a good start:

My Bracket:

Leaving Las Vegas...

2008-03-20T11:49:00.003-04:00

Wow, WPPI was a full on whirlwind. It spun us right round, baby right round. Like a record baby. :) We got to meet so many new friends and I'm so grateful for all the people who came up and said hi! It was so great meeting all of you! We'll be doing a full on recap when we get home. But for now we're heading out today and renting a car to spend some peaceful, soul searching days in Moab before heading on to Salt Lake City to hang out with one of our dearest friends, Davina and speak to her PUG. We're pretty exhausted right down, but I think the next few days are going to be just what the doctor ordered.

Vegas!!

2008-03-17T18:46:00.003-04:00

Mary & I are out here in Vegas for the biggest & best photo conference of the year, WPPI! We're having such a blast hanging out with all of our friends and meeting some new ones along the way. If you're out here too, please be sure to grab us and say hi! We want to see as many people as we can!

Exciting PH News!!

2008-03-15T08:24:00.011-04:00

This is so exciting!! Portrait House has really been exploding lately and we've been getting so many emails from PHotographers all over the country wanting to get involved, which is so awesome! But with all this happening, Justin & I just couldn't keep up fast enough and we very quickly realized we were going to need some help. One name instantly came to mind...

We are so proud, excited, humbled, and all out psyched to announce that the first ever Portrait House employee (besides the rockin founders of course :) will be one of our dearest friends in the whole world....the lovely, talented, and oh so incredibly generous Miss Shyla!! ( I mean c'mon...she has clearly taken the absolute coolest PH shirt picture to date! Talk about credentials!)

Shyla is one of those people with a heart that's just too big for her body! Everywhere she goes she brings so much joy and encouragement. From the very first minute she heard about PH she jumped on board with every ounce of energy she has (and anyone who knows Shy knows thats a LOT! :) She will basically be serving as our right hand woman, directing all of the day to day workings that keep this project moving forward. There are some very exciting things coming up for PH in the next year and we know we couldn't do it without her!

Shyla we are so grateful for your friendship and support and we can't wait to see all the amazing things you make happen! We love you!! Also, for anyone who hasn't heard, Shy just got the cover of Rangefinder, hello!!! Head on over HERE to give her some love!

Stay tuned for another exciting PH post coming up about the amazing thing some of our newest photog friends are doing to raise money for Portrait House!

Featured Website on the Brand New Pictage Blog!

2008-03-12T15:13:00.005-04:00

This is so cool! Check us out on the new Pictage Blog! We're the first Featured Member Website. We just love Emily and the whole gang at Pictage so much! They're amazing!

Going to....

2008-03-11T10:25:00.001-04:00

Going to...., originally uploaded by justinmarantz.

Today we're off to Philly to hang out with the NJ & Philly Puggers.
Can't wait!

New Hampshire Recap

2008-03-09T16:46:00.017-04:00

We're back from an awesome week at the Grazier's Married Photographer's ski retreat in the White Mountains of New Hampshire. We had such a blast hanging out with Matt & Enna Grazier, Tabitha & Larry Sherrell, Kim & John Sanderson, and Christine & Andy. Mary and I can't wait until we can all get together again! So without further ado, the pictures:

Breakfast of champions!

Christine and Andy - Christine may have made this shot, but it was Andy that took first place in the pool tournament (beating me TWICE in finals of the double-elimination tournament!)

Matt & Enna w/Olli

The Grazier Boys

Kim & John Sanderson - I thought I had shots of everyone on this trip, but somehow Kim managed to avoid my lens the whole week, so I had to steal this one from the Grazier's blog. Also, check out the awesome "We Click" shirt that Matt & Enna made for each of us!

My little ski bunny, the beautiful Mrs. Marantz

Tabitha & Larry Sherrell

The little Sherrells

Thank you guys so much for an awesome week! We're so blessed to have friends like you!

Tearing up the Gnar! (This is for you Sarah!!)

2008-03-07T19:45:00.008-05:00

Ok, so my husband is officially crazy talented. I'm seriously in awe of him right now. Check out this killer video of him on his very first day EVER on skis. Needless to say, I was not nearly as successful as him on my first time out. Let's just say there was a conveyor belt involved. :)

So today he took me back out to the mountain and was just such an awesome and super-patient coach. Even when I braved the ski lift up the hill....but then decided I would much rather it if we walked back down. :) He just smiled, took off his skis, and walked beside me. And all I can think is how blessed I am because I know he'll always be the one right there walking beside me.

Special thanks to the uber-talented, backwards skiing, dare-devil stuntman John Sanderson for this crazy cool video. That guy can do anything!!

Live Free or Die!

2008-03-05T19:08:00.003-05:00

Check out the view from the house we're staying in. Insane!

Packing Light! :)

2008-03-04T14:15:00.002-05:00

Packing Light! :), originally uploaded by justinmarantz.

We're off to the Married Photographers Ski Retreat hosted by the
Graziers in New Hampshire for a little R&R...and clearly we're really
roughing it! We're only taking the bare essentials!

Just a super quick update...

2008-03-01T19:35:00.005-05:00

...before we run out the door AGAIN! :) We got home from NC at about 2am this morning after battling a full on blizzard in Southern CT. What was up with that?? Then today we ran out to Rhode Island to pick up the pup from his "grandparents" and spend some time with the fam. Now we're about to go grab dinner with two of our absolute favorite clients turned friends, Lisa & Rob at the fabulous Foe to celebrate a very special announcement of the very first baby Kaminsky on the way!! Eeeee! We are SO excited!! Definitely fun belly shoots on the way!

Just one more quick update before we head out....we just found out from Sarah while we were down in NC that Spread the Love is officially SOLD OUT!!! We're even plus one for a grand total of 11 awesome new photographer friends! We can't wait to meet everyone!! If you're interested in getting on the waiting list in case we decide to make this a repeat performance, just shoot us an email at justin@justinmarantz.com

xoxo
M:)