Providence Wedding Photographers | Newport Wedding Photographers | Rhode Island Wedding Photographers – Mark Andrew Photography

Cailyn and Nick’s wedding was Saturday the 27th in Rehobeth, Massachusetts at the Five Bridge Inn. It was a location close to home, but unknown to me so it was a real treat to shoot there. The Inn and grounds are beautiful and Cailyn and Nick really took the time to take care of the small details that make each wedding unique.

Krista at Krista Photo was nice enough to have me shoot as her second on June 13th for a wedding in a private home in Marion that was absolutely spectacular. I just sent the DVD to her yesterday and promised no wedding shots, but I thought I’d throw one up showing her hard at work! I was off to the side shooting the bridal party on the pier and the Nikon 200 f2 lens from LensProToGo was a huge advantage over my 70-200VR 2.8.  Be prepared to use a monopod or having your left arm ballon up twice the size of the other form all the weight lifting!

I have been a photographer since following my dad around during the summers on the 70’s as a small boy. Dad was a high-school teacher and during the summer months he would use his time to get out in rural Maine and do everything from landscapes to portraits. That time has always been special to me and what became my initial draw to photography.

In subsequent years things like high-school, college, military duty, full time employment, and then a family turned me into a family photographer taking nothing more than snaps. I didn’t have the time to not only photograph projects, but a darkroom was a daunting task in time management.

In the summer of 2004 everything changed for me. I was in New York visiting on of our ships on Staten Island and on the way home I stopped by B&H Photo thinking I would by a little P&S. They had two D70’s in stock with the 18-70 kit lens and on a whim a plunked down a thousand bucks and walked out wondering if I was crazy. The entire drive back to Boston I kept thinking I should return it, but when I got home and opened up the box and started shooting I knew I had found something special.

I used it a couple of times and then we went on a family vacation and my passion for photography was reignited. The lag and frustration of a P&S were left behind and I felt like I was shooting with my dad’s old Minolta. I finally had the images I wanted.

The image above is THE PHOTOGRAPH that opened my eyes.

MacDonald is 5 in this picture. He suffered a stroke at birth and has a condition called hemi-paresis which is a mild form of cerebral palsy. Mac is a kid who works harder than anyone around him to physically keep up, but always has a grin on his face. His older brothers and sister were running ahead to catch bugs in their milk jugs and Mac had to give 100% to just keep at a pace 30 yards behind them. My heart sank and then he looked at me and said “don’t be sad” and gave me a grin and ran even faster to catch up. The image of him running away from me up the hill is my favorite photograph that I have made. It may not be the strongest technically or aesthetically, but it is the closest to my heart.

The little boy running up that hill is my son.

I look at this photograph every single day to find inspiration. It’s the one thing I would like tucked into my coat, when God willing, they bury me 50 years from now.

When we were up in Maine for recently Ryan was sitting on the bench next to the fireplace as the sun was sitting. The light was too good to turn down and this was my favorite shot from our little ten minute session as the late day light poured through the trees.

I read “President Obama’s Father’s Day Article” in Parade Magazine yesterday morning and I have an even greater respect for him. He called on fathers to be accountable and to have the courage to be a part of their children’s life as they are an influence that cannot be replaced and children without fathers struggle with their identity and in many ways question their self worth. The President wants to be “Dad” first and foremost for his children. He came from a background with an absent father and all the challenges it presented and my own father grew up in such the same manner.

My father is someone I look to for guidance and love and he has been the major male figure in my life for as long as I can remember. Dad was at my camp outs, scout meetings, football and hockey games, ceremonies, concerts and everything else. He would say he has two feet so he could stand on one and kick me in the ass with the other. He was right. I was an unmotivated kid and lived in a comfortable middle class family and cared more about girls and sports than “real life”. I remember his long talks and his guidance as I became a young man. If it were not for my Dad I would not be a college graduate.

My Dad grew up with his grand-parents and his mom. The only male figure that I would call a father figure to my Dad would be his Grandfather Stanley. I remember my great-grandfather and even though I was 11 years old when he passed away, I still remember the grief that my father suffered. My great-grandfather was a no-nonsense farmer from rural Maine and you can see his influence on Dad to this day. My father broke the cycle of absent fathers and I am thankful for his life lessons.

Dad took care of his mother in high school and they eked out an existence. He worked to support his family and I cannot imagine the stress and responsibilities that he faced as a teenager. The only time my Dad saw his father was when he drove through town with his new girlfriend on his side. It was a small community and the kids made fun of him as divorced parents were not common in 1950′s Charleston, Maine. I was embarrassed as a teenager because my dad was picking me up from football practice. I was a “man” and I didn’t need my Dad. He was patient and accepted my crazy teenaged behavior and never belittled me because he knew I foolish I was at the time.

I remember the night in 1982 when he was called that his father died. There was grief and a sense of something that could never be recovered and then he found out later that week that he had been left one dollar in the will so that he could not contest it. His father had moved on and re-married and had children after abandoning my Dad and Grams. It’s the one time I can recall him crying. He was asking my mother how his own father could hate him so much. My grandfather was buried in the Higgins cemetery in Charleston, Maine and he did not have a grave stone. My father was the one who purchased the head-stone because he chose to do the “right” thing. I have never talked with my Dad about that time and I don’t even know if he’s aware that I heard him crying and talking with my mother that one night. I just remember that sometimes you have to do the right thing even under the most dire situations.

When I was at Maine Maritime Academy I got into some trouble and called my Dad. He was angry and upset, but what hurt the most was his disappointment in me. What did my Dad do? He came to school and helped me through my most difficult time in my life. He gave me the proverbial kick in the butt, but he was there and helped ensure that I would graduate. If it had not been for my Dad I would not have fought to stay and graduate from college. I would have been your typical kid floating through life.

Dad graduated from the University of Maine. He went to college on a Blaine House Scholarship which required him to teach in an rural part of Maine. His mother and father did not go to college and when my mom and dad went back for their high-school reunion they were the only couple where both their children had graduated from college. I still remember my sister getting a nurse kit as a little girl, Dad returned it and got her a doctor’s kit and told Leigh that she should strive to be anything she wanted to be. Today my sister is an M.D. and practices medicine in Maine. My Dad was a high-school principal for many years and I know from talking with the kids that he pushed everyone to fulfill their potential.

After graduation I moved to Louisiana for almost ten years. During that time my Dad and I were separated my 2000 miles. We talked on the phone several times a week and visits by my folks were frequent as I could only go to Maine once a year. I remember the day I found out that my son Mac has hemi-paresis like it was yesterday. I called Dad and he had a meeting of several people in his office. He heard my voice crack and cleared his office and spent the afternoon talking me off the ledge of craziness and grief for my little boy. Some parents would not take the call during work, but typical of Dad he did. He had learned the hard life lessons as a boy and young man and was still there for his thirty year old son in his time of need.

I have watched my Dad for 40 years now and his lessons have made me a better Dad in my own right. In 2006 we made a family decision for me to leave the corporate world and these past three years have enabled me to become the Dad I have always wanted to become. I am a teacher and photographer. I used to work in the maritime industry where I would travel all the time. Now the only time I travel is for family vacations. I am daddy-daycare in the summer for five children 14 to 3 and I cannot think of a better job.

My oldest son plays on a travel team for soccer and this year it was literally a part-time job. It was easily 25 hours a week with travel back and forth to Boston. When people ask me how I can do these crazy things for my children I think back to 5 AM practices at the Alfond Arena in Orono, Maine. My dad would wake me up at 3 AM and drive me down there because that was the only time we could afford ice time as a team before our season started. I think back to those times and tell people that I am doing no more than my dad did for me. He still has two feet and if I didn’t measure up as a Dad he’d still plant one directly in my butt.

The last photograph is their wedding portrait taken inside the Baptist Church in Charleston, Maine on December 23rd, 1967. Mom and Dad chose to have a B&W album because it was 300.00 instead of color at 500.00. They should be thankful, I can’t imagine what color prints from the late 60′s would like like 42 years later?

As a wedding photographer I get to see a myriad of different weddings every year, and regardless of faith and the rites performed for a wedding ceremony one thing is constant and that is that a wedding is undoubtedly one of the most important events in a couple’s life. It is a time of fun, union and great memories that people remember for a long period of time. It is not only the couple, for whom it is an important event in life, but for all the members of both the families and friends.

Photographs from that day help us to concretize the event and all the small memories and idiosyncrasies related to it. Sometimes the day becomes a blur and a good photograph lasts forever and costs really nothing if you compare the value of the memories that it en-captures.

You should get the best photographer that meets your specific needs and style. Marriage is a special event and there are various rituals and small events that are important for the overall event. Experience is therefore vital for a wedding photographer. He/She must be at the right place at the right time. These events and the expressions of the people can never be repeated. So an experienced professional knows what to capture and how to capture the best angles, so that everyone looks brilliant.

The couple must also be comfortable with the photographer. If there is a good rapport between the couple and the photographer than some truly special images can be made. I have found that when I can get a couple at ease while doing the engagement session of the bridal portrait they let down their guard and forget that they are actually being photographed. These are my favorite photographs. Nothing is more genuine than a smile and the look a couple in love gives to one another when they are in the moment.

In my opinion a professional wedding photographer is one who not only takes excellent pictures but also develops and tells the story of the day. My goal when shooting is to develop an album with your story. You really should look for someone that can tell the cohesive story of your day regardless of their style. My specialty is photojournalistic wedding photography and I feel that my clients are looking for an unobtrusive style that tells the story from getting ready in the morning until the drive off after the reception.

An excellent professional cannot really leave out the groom and his family and friends. You have to know how to balance both the groups and in most cases I will use a second photographer who can concentrate on the groom and his family so that both angles of the story are being told. Some of my favorite images have been the quiet moments between a father and son as they get ready.

When researching a photographer you should look at their blog. Most photographers keep a blog of their most recent work and you will see if they have evolved or a change in their style. Most websites are changed periodically, but most photographers blog on regular interval of at least every couple of weeks. Their blog also allows you to see the more intimate side of your photographer and personality and how they approach photography and life in general.

If you notice I never once mentioned money in this post. I feel that there are weddings with a small budget to some where money is not even considered, but one things is common and you should research the best possible person to meet your needs.

Just a quick link to some images from the wedding I shot with Rachel over at Merge Weddings. Here’s one of my favorites from the day.

Well, I went ahead and purchased an ad with “The Knot”. Drop by and let me know what you think the ad is listed HERE I’m still not 100% sold, but let me know what you think either way.