Nov 30, 2019 | Blog, Pinhole Wedding Photography
I shoot weddings with my pinhole camera. Recently I shot three wonderful weddings of people I know well. These are not typical wedding photographs. I generally shoot four images on 4 x 5 color negative film; the exposures vary with the available light but can be as long as 30 minutes. I do not use a flash. For most weddings I shoot the cocktail/greeting time before the wedding (or the party the night before), the ceremony itself, the celebration afterwards and then set a camera up during the meal. I feel the images turn out to be very personal. About a year or more ago, I shot John and Meghan’s wedding in Seattle. It was a very dark venue and a dark evening and I honestly thought none of the images would be okay. But they were and I was happy and so were Meghan and John. Last summer I shot a beautiful outdoor wedding for Autumn and Matt. They were married at Autumn’s parent’s home, and it was absolutely the most wonderful time: great people, great food and love everywhere.
Recently this past October I shot Isaac and Annie’s wedding in New York City. I have known Isaac his whole life and I was so happy that he and Annie got together. It was the first time I used my 120mm camera at a wedding and I knew it was right because the camera is so versatile. I could take more images and the exposures were shorter. Early in the morning we met in Brooklyn Heights and walked across the Brooklyn Bridge where we did a family photograph with the 4 x 5 pinhole camera. We continued to City Hall in Manhattan where the vows were made. After, we had a celebratory luncheon in NYC’s Chinatown; I recorded the luncheon on 120mm color negative film-about an hour and a half exposure. Annie wore a yellow dress; she was beautiful and the day flowed along. The party that night at a bar in Brooklyn was dark, very dark and very fun.
I have done several weddings now beginning with an old friend, Lucas, who married Angie in upstate NY several years ago. It was a great experience and I loved it so much more than I did taking “real” wedding photographs as I had done in the past. Not to say that real wedding photography is bad. It is just not me these days. I have two more weddings scheduled for this summer. It is great way to attend a wedding and be myself. I tell the bride and groom: if the images turn out, great, if not, I am sorry but I tried. But so far (fingers crossed), the images have all worked. Below are photographs from those three most recent weddings. If you know anyone who might be interested in this manner of wedding photography send them to me. I reserve the rights to the images but give the bride and groom fine art prints. I hope you feel the joy that I felt as I made these images. All people that I photograph with the pinhole understand that these will not be “normal” photographs. And most hire a “real” wedding photographer to grab the normal shots. And I am happy there is a real photographer present.
The featured image is from Isaac and Annies Wedding in NYC in October of 2019
Here is a blog post about Lucas and Angie’s wedding, my first pinhole wedding: www.janetneuhauser.com/in-honor-of-g-lucas-crane-on-his-wedding-day/
First wedding is Meghan and John’s over a year ago now. In Seattle.
The photographs below are from Autumn and Matt’s wedding last summer in the Pacific NW.
These photographs are from Isaac and Annie’s wedding in October in New York City.
Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed these photographs! Celebrate love! I am grateful to all the brides and grooms who are open to this manner of wedding photography.
Feb 24, 2017 | Blog, Pinhole Wedding Photography
This past fall, I was invited to the wedding of my dear friends’ daughter, Rachel. I went not only for Rachel but for her mother, my friend Connie who passed away 3+ years ago. Rachel got married on Cape Cod, head over heels in love. I know this because a year earlier, after knowing the groom to be for only a month, she told me he was the one. Truly love at first sight. When Rachel asked me if I would take some photographs at the wedding, I laughed. I used to shoot weddings for money when I was young but quit the practice as soon as I was able to. I am not good at shooting those types of events and I say hats off to the professionals who are able to capture moment after moment. Rachel and Nick’s wedding was not going to like a normal one and I said I would be happy to shoot a pinhole image or two, one for sure, the length of their ceremony, what ever amount of time that was. In retrospect it was actually quite hubristic to imagine that such an exposure might work in the bright fall sun of Cape Cod. And I had no idea where they were actually getting married. But I packed my 4 x 5 pinhole camera and some color negative film loaded into holders and hoped for the best. The entire trip was bittersweet, full of laughter and tears. Missing Connie all the while but feeling her presence strong. I know she would have loved every minute of it.
The first image was made the night before the wedding-warm beautiful night on a Cape Cod beach. We ate great food, talked, laughed, watched the sun go down and yes, those are all people on either side of the sun. We dug our bare feet into the warm sand, everyone and everything aglow in that orange light. I was fortunate to get there in time for the setting sun and set up the camera and enjoyed
Rachel and Nick were married by a beautiful pond near Truro; The weather was perfect and the light beautiful. The exposures were so long, but people are recognizable in the blur. The landscape is intact. In those 45 minutes there was the magic that happens when two people come together in love and celebrate that with their friends and family. It turns out this was shortest exposure of the four that I took: the first image exposed for about an hour until well after the sun went down. The dinner image exposed for about two hours while incredible food was eaten; the lawn image exposed in the gray light of late twilight for about an hour. Rachel was a beautiful bride, and it so incredible to see someone I have known her whole life become an elegant, young woman. Here is an homage to Rachel and Nick and their love, so glad I got to make these images because you committed to each other.
The Party the Night Before the Wedding.
The ceremony.
After the wedding, everyone went to the home of Nick’s Aunt where we ate and danced and celebrated the beautiful couple. The lawn photograph exposed until it got too dark to see, about an hour.
Then, the meal! Fantastic food with lovely wonderful people. This exposure was about two hours. And finally when the dancing began, I closed the shutter.
Sep 6, 2014 | Blog, Pinhole Wedding Photography
G. Lucas Crane is all grown up. He is the son of my dear friends who have been there for me all the way from grade school. Beyond grown up, Lucas is in his thirties: a musician, performer, artist and all around genius. And he got married just this past August. I have been trying to think of a very special something for him and the lucky woman, Angie. They are just right for each and I am so happy for them. She is a wonderful addition to the Crane family and I look forward to getting to know her.
Looking through the boxes of prints recently, I realized how many photographs I have made of Lucas over the years. All have stories. He has been a great friend, model, subject. We had lots of fun when he was a cute little kid, with curly blonde hair, drawing like a madman on scraps of paper. I consider it one of the lucky things in my life: to watch him grow up! The feature image of this post is one of him on a rainy day in April in the Red Hook section of Brooklyn in the 1980’s. He is about six I think. This image hangs in a 911 Center as part of a 1% for the Arts grant I received years ago. It is also included in the Kid Pictures portfolio.
In August, I made a pinhole color negative of the Lucas and his bride, Angie, on the big day and I made another one of them actually getting married. It was a beautiful wedding in upstate New York. I exposed the image of the ceremony for twenty-five minutes, the entire length of the rite. It is an image about memory and movement and I hope they love it. I love the way they moved through out that time in the beautiful grove of trees with flower petals scattered about. The image of the two of them afterwards is about a two minute exposure. They held still for the exposure, so excited and so relaxed. Thanks Lucas and Angie. Here’s to a long and loving relationship!
To find out more about Lucas, go to this page which has a short bio, http://nonhorse.com/Bio.html or google him and listen to some of his music. He played with the band Woods for a number of years and continues to grow and work as a musician, performer, and all around amazing guy.
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