By Jonathan Ment Photography
“I’d like to have some portraits done of my wife and our dogs,” said Bill, as we discussed a photography session.
Bill and Georgette, from Connecticut, were headed to the Catskills for a sort of ‘mini-babymoon’ along with their two rescue dogs, Bailey and Mattie.
With the baby due in just four weeks, this might be the last getaway for a while. They had an Airbnb booked minutes from Hunter Mountain.
“Easygoing,” just some photos to capture this moment in time before it gets away, was the basic request. In fact there was more discussion about restaurants in the area than the portraits themselves.
Once I had the address of where the couple would be staying, I scoped the basic location ahead of time. I call this ‘preproduction’ based on my time in film and video, but it applies to photography too. It’s the groundwork for a smooth session. I wanted to see the setting and evaluate the light for the hour we would be working together.
If it was a dark and exceptionally shady, it might have been worth venturing out to a nearby location. If it was hard to find, I’d be glad to have pinpointed it ahead of time.
Turns out it was neither.
Located right on a major mountain connecting road, between Windham and Hunter, the rental turned out to bean off-grid tiny house with a nice clearing in the trees to expose the solar panels.
There was an adjacent sauna, hot tub and fire ring.
Oh, and Georgette didn’t know anything about it… The pictures, I was told.
Love it, sort of like proposal photography, I would appear with a camera and do the photography thing. I even crafted a simple ruse; there had been some complaints and Airbnb sent me to document the property.
It turns out, I didn’t need it. He spilled the beans in the last moments before I arrived and minutes before the session sent a text:
“Just a warning. She prob will be mat at me and seem unhappy … but she’s fine. And she’ll be happy to get pics of us and the dogs before the baby comes.”
Not uncommon, this future mom was less than thrilled with her pregnant appearance.
Naturally, to her husband and the rest of the world, she was beautiful.
The session went great. He was relaxed. She was at peace. They were in love and the pups cooperated, mostly, though one protective of his mom, did throw me some dirty looks.
The next morning, they planned to enjoy one of the mountaintop’s more special breakfasts at Albergo Allegria in Windham, NY.
Selfies are fun, but capturing life’s big and little moments is what I do as a photographer. These could be that weekend away with the boys, proposals and engagements, your wedding day, a significant birthday, family reunion or anything else … Life!.
It’s the events you will be glad to look back on with photos taken from more than arm’s length.
Something coming up? Want to surprise your partner or family with photography or have you be tasked with booking the photographer for the big event?
Let’s chat.
Email or text, or call 845 430 4030 to get started. Looking forward to hearing from you whichever way you choose.
Jonathan Ment Photography
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