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“Where there’s Smoke, there’s Fire”

I’ve been busier than hell the past few days with the beginning of a week long portrait shooting session of ALL the Members of the Horseheads Fire Department…my buddies across the street from my 211 Studio. Having formerly been both a Horseheads, and a Town & Country Fireman myself, this shoot provided me with the chance to greet and catch up with many old friends, as well as to meet and get to know a bit, many of the newer members that have joined the ranks in recent years. Speaking of old friends, this afternoon I had the privilege to shoot my lifelong old buddy, HFD Chief Artie Sullivan, along with his two nephews, Kevin & Patrick, both of whom I have known since they were little boys. In my opinion, this is one of my all time favorite, meaningful, family portraits.

So what do you think? Is this shot SMOKING HOT, or what???
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My Moments with Matt

Had the pleasure today to shoot formal Portraits for my good friend, now Deacon Matt Jones, who is making the long journey towards becoming a Roman Catholic Priest. We had a  lot of fun doing this shoot. I’m hoping/betting that this is my “Get into Heaven Free” card!!! Put in a good word for me Padre’!
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My Moments With Matt

Sunday night was a great time to finish off this 2014 Christmas Weekend, so we hosted a small gathering of some very special Family & Friends for a Party/Dinner at one of Elmira’s little known Gems…The Fassett Cottage on West First Street. What a GREAT place! The warm feel, and all the antiques and special holiday touches made it seem like home, but without having to worry about cooking or doing the dishes! The Proprietor Bill Knapp & his partner cooked up a Fantastic Meal to top off the fun & conversation gathering. PLUS++ When was the last time you saw an actual UPSIDE DOWN CHRISTMAS TREE????
The best part of it for me, was catching up a bit with “my Son!” Deacon Matt Jones. Matt is a fine young man whom we have had the pleasure of getting to know from years ago, as he is a very close friend of our niece Katie.  A few years back, Matt answered a calling to become a Catholic Priest, and this June he will complete that lengthy & important journey.
The funny thing is that years ago, it became very common practice for us to be called Father & Son….I’d call him Son, he would call me Dad….because we both shared a common way of speaking! Let’s just say that we both are very prone to use a lot of colorful expletives, and anyone who knows either of us knows EXACTLY what I’m talking about. I mean we are EXPERT LINGUISTS at using certain words in multiple, descriptive ways…as Nouns, as Adjectives, as Verbs! You name it, we can use it with absolute precision for any situation, in any sentence, to describe any given moment in time! SO anyway…. Ole’ Dad was pleased to find out that even after four years of being in the Seminary was not able to alter this endearing trait/skill of his! We sat together at Dinner, and I questioned him on all the things I always wanted to ask a Priest, but was afraid to ask……like “What’s the deal with that Pope Hat?”….from BINGO to Nuns, from Vestments to the Vatican…..and needless to say, despite his incessant urging…..I will NOT be planning to join him in entering the Catholic Seminary/Priesthood at any time soon! At least NOT in THIS REMAINING LIFETIME of mine! Sorry Padre’!  I think I just heard the Pope let out a breath of RELIEF! Great seeing you & breaking bread with you once again Son!
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Christmas Cookie Monsters!

For the last couple of years right before Christmas,my 83 year old Mother-In-Law Dev invites the little neighbor kids over for “Cookie Time” as she calls it. They sit around the kitchen table and frost & decorate cookies that she had baked earlier in the day. Then they go out under the Christmas Tree and each get a gift. So this year I hid out with my camera to watch and capture a few of the magical moment’s  taking place during this sweet little tradition that the former grade school teacher has created for these sweet little kinds.

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“Seneca Splendor”

Melissa & Jeremy – 10/11/14

Geneva Events Center – Geneva, NY

Just a tease…

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Siblings

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Purple Amish…

A quick shot with yesterday’s Beautiful Bride Jackie, in front of this great barn that we shot around up in Hammondsport, NY. Their main Wedding colors were Grey & Purple, so it was the perfect time for sporting my Grey Hair, Grey Suit w/Purple Amish duds….Braces & Purple Converse Hi-Top Chucks. Colored Chucks ARE in the Amish wardrobe, Right?

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“Bowl Much?”

Isn’t it funny how things just seem to happen for a reason? I had this past Saturday off without a Wedding Shoot, and that’s not too common an occurrence during the middle of July. But as fate would have it that worked out for the best, as last week an old Fire Department Buddy of mine passed away after a long illness. Thomas Lynch was his name……Tommy to his friends….he owned and ran Hibbard’s Hardware in Hanover Square when we were all growing up. So it was the middle of the week when my good friend HFD Chief Artie Sullivan asked if I was available on Saturday, and if I could shoot Tommy’s Funeral services, that would be held at the Station right across the street from my Studio…and as luck would have it I could.

Tommy  was 74 years old, and a Volunteer for 51 years with our Horseheads Fire Department, and back in the ’70’s when I was also a HFD member, I got to share some fun times with Tommy on the Softball Field and also in the local  Bowling Alleys. He and I, we both bowled a lot and we prided ourselves on being(or at least thinking) that we were pretty good……. so that being said we always joked around with each other….whenever one of us was really sucking up the alleys by having a bad night, missed an easy shot, left a split, or especially if we sucked while out of town at a Fire Department Tournament, we always had  something special to yell at each other, right at that moment when we were so pissed that we either blew an easy shot, or just threw a terrible ball….we’d always yell….”BOWL MUCH?”  , and then bust out laughing! Tommy was the first of my teammates on our old softball team to pass away.
Rest In Peace my friend….and every time I’ll hear the thunder from now on, I’ll think of you and quietly mouth the words while asking that time tested question …..“Bowl Much?”

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Four Years Ago Today…

I just realized after glancing at the Calendar that it was four years ago yesterday & today that Shelly & I  were honored to be guests at The White House while shooting my most incredible Engagement Session ever! To roam the halls of the White House while shooting Mary & David……the feeling just can’t be explained! Then to top that, we received an Invitation to the Formal Welcoming Ceremonies for the Mexican President, all being held the next day out on the White House South Lawn. Never in a Million Years would I have ever dreamed I’d have this chance to shoot at the most famous residence in the world! 🙂
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“A Soldier’s Special Surprise”

Here are a few of my favorite shots from Saturday Night’s Surprise Reunion between Brittany Daghita and her Husband, Army Specialist Joey Daghita! She didn’t have a clue that he was back home to be a part of this recognition ceremony during the first Intermission of the Elmira Jackals hockey game @ First Arena in Elmira, NY ….

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“LADIES AND GENTLEMAN, PLEASE JOIN ME IN WELCOMING OUR GUEST OF HONOR TONIGHT, BRITTANY DAGHITA. BRITTANY, A NATIVE OF ITHACA, WAS MARRIED TO HER HUSBAND, ARMY SPECIALIST JOEY DAGHITA OF TRUMANSBURG, IN MAY 2013 JUST MONTHS BEFORE HIS THIRD TOUR OF DUTY TO KUWAIT. BRITTANY AND JOEY GREW UP CHILDHOOD FRIENDS AND THEIR FAMILIES SPENT A LOT OF TIME TOGETHER. UPON JOEY’S DEPLOYMENT TO KUWAIT IN SEPTEMBER 2013 BRITTANY MOVED FROM FORT RUCKER, ALABAMA TO ITHACA TO BE CLOSER TO FRIENDS AND FAMILY.

TONIGHT WE HONOR AND RECOGNIZE BRITTANY, AND ON BEHALF OF ALL MILITARY FAMILY MEMBERS, FOR HER COMMITMENT TO AND SUPPORT OF THOSE IN OUR ARMED FORCES.

(THIS IS WHERE BRITTANY WILL POSE FOR PHOTOS FROM RICK BACMANSKI AND MUG FOR THE CAMERAS SO THAT WE CAN SNEAK JOEY UP BEHIND HER)

WAIT, WAIT LADIES AND GENTLEMEN. I’VE JUST BEEN PASSED A NOTE THAT WE HAVE ADDED A SPECIAL GUEST OF HONOR FOR TONIGHT. BRITTANY, IT TURNS OUT THAT WE NEEDED YOU HERE TO HELP US WELCOME HOME, FROM HIS TOUR OF DUTY IN KUWAIT, OUR SPECIAL GUEST OF HONOR TONIGHT – YOUR HUSBAND, ARMY SPECIALIST JOEY DAGHITA!!!!!!

“Every soldier deserves a hero’s welcome,” says a popular ad on TV.

In that spirit, a soldier just back from the Middle East was saluted at Elmira’s First Arena on Saturday night, and his wife was given the surprise of her life.

Army Spc. Albert “Joey” Daghita, of Trumansburg, and his wife, Brittany, of Ithaca, were reunited in an on-ice ceremony between the first and second period of the Elmira Jackals’ hockey game against the South Carolina Stingrays.

Brittany, who was told she would be recognized for her support of those in the military, said later she was taken completely by surprise when her husband walked up behind her in his camouflage uniform as the crowd — which included about 25 relatives and friends — cheered.

“I couldn’t believe it,” she said. “It was amazing.”

Asked later how he felt before the ceremony, the 22-year-old soldier said, “Very nervous. I didn’t know how she was going to react.” Then he added, “My heart was beating a thousand beats a minute.”

“Mine was too,” said Brittany, who is 23. “Mine was, definitely.”

Although everyone was able to keep the reunion a surprise, the evening didn’t go exactly as planned. Originally, the script called for Brittany to drop the ceremonial first puck before the start of the game and to then be joined by her husband.

But Joey Daghita was delayed getting from Alabama, where he’s based at Fort Rucker, to the Ithaca Tompkins Regional Airport. He said he had to drive to Atlanta, where there was a slight delay, and then had a layover in Philadelphia. After he arrived at Ithaca, he was driven by a state trooper directly to the arena, a trip that he said took about 20 minutes at speeds of over 90 mph.

Joey returned to his unit at Fort Rucker on Feb. 20 after completing his third tour in Kuwait. He was deployed in September, just four months after the couple was married. He said he spent some time in Afghanistan during his deployments.

When he was shipped out this time, Brittany returned to Ithaca to stay with her parents, Debbie and Frank Lupo, and to be close to other relatives and friends.

 

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