I became interested in photography as a result of my days in drag racing. A fellow racer was a full-time professional photographer.   We became friends and he soon invited me to a monthly meeting of the Connecticut Professional Photographers (CPPA) in New Haven, CT in October 1981. I soon answered an ad for an apprentice wedding photographer at Stelcar Studios in East Hartford, Ct.   Myself and another apprentice named Gary Wnek were selected to begin weekly training sessions lead by the studio owner Marty Seefer.   Marty is a very creative photographer, as seen here in an image he made while I was fortunate to be his assistant. ”Together at Last” (below on the left) went on to become Stelcar’s signature wedding image. Marty and his wife Stella made up Stelcar Studios and they continued to excel in the wedding and portrait photography field. So much so that Marty published a book titled

“The Art of Bridal and Portrait Photography”. My peer Gary quickly excelled at wedding and event photography while my interests were shifting towards large format film photography in B&W of the environment.

   I soon joined the Connecticut Professional Photographers Association where I met some of the very closest friends I have to this day. I continued attending CPPA monthly meetings and would soak up any and all photography techniques, even if those techniques were outside of the B&W genre of photography.   It’s surprising to this day how many of the little nuances Marty taught me I still retained; I’ll share those later with each B&W image as the story unfolds.

     Studio owners Marty and Stella Seefer recognized my passion did not lie in wedding or event photography, so they sent me to classes to learn lighting and large format camera technique for product illustration.  Stelcar Studios had a booming wedding/event business and for them to pursue another type of photography simply because I didn’t care for shooting weddings is still remarkable to me.  Once again, if it was photography related I just seemed to soak up all knowledge that others were willing to pass my way.

     In 1992 I took a photography job making family portraits in the Southern New England area for church directories.  The job required working nights and Saturday’s, in the 3 + years I photographed over 14,000 sittings, and in turn, my wedding photography assignments ended.   That said, Marty and Stella remain close friends to this day and I consider each an extension of my family.

     This month’s featured photograph came as a result of the bride featured in the opening photo, Amanda Lynn. Her Dad worked with a friend of mine, Dave M was a large format photographer himself. Turns out Amanda and fiancé Jon Bakos met while enrolled in Lesley Art and Design (formerly The Art Institute of Boston) studying for their BFAs in photography.  They each had a keen interest in large format film photography, both are practicing artists and wanted large format film to be part of their wedding day. Amanda reached out to me because of the very large 7×17” film camera I own.   Interestingly, these panoramic format cameras were once known as “Banquet” cameras. In the days long before digital and Photoshop, large groups required a panoramic type film format to capture large horizontal compositions, hence, the term “banquet camera”.  Today the image I created for Amanda and Jon hangs in their apartment surrounded by other vintage banquet camera photos.

     Back when I was photographing weddings for Stelcar as the lead photographer I had to meet with the Bride and Groom to “get acquainted”.   I didn’t meet Amanda and Jon until the day of the ceremony, however, I did need to get acquainted with the location of Amanda’s wedding and the lighting challenges I might face.  The sheer size and logistics of setting up the 7×17 would leave no time for the unknown on the day of the wedding.  I made several photos a few weeks ahead of time and took note of where the sun’s position in the sky would be at the time my exposure on Amanda’s wedding day.  The attached photo provided the perfect scenario to use the Roseland Cottage:   The sun’s position would allow the cottage to be the perfect backdrop keeping the wedding party in open shade. Little did I know on the day of Amanda’s wedding a light rain would be falling on and off and the sun’s direction would not be a factor.

     I am fortunate to have a close relationship with all my grandchildren so I asked my oldest granddaughter Tessa if she would like to assist me on Amanda’s wedding day. We arrived at the location well ahead of the ceremony with a light raining falling. I was very concerned my prized Phillips 7×17” camera would become drenched as there were no options for an indoor location for the group photo Amanda hoped for. I resigned myself to the fact, the camera is merely a tool and I had a job to do, the consequences would be dealt with once the client’s wishes were met.     

    Tessa and I had the camera all squared up and focused with the dark cloth over the top of the camera to shield it from the light rain. Amanda and Jon had scripted a beautiful outside exchange of vows that Tessa and I watched standing under a nearby tree. The light rain did not deter the Bride and Groom from being simply entranced with one another as the ceremony unfolded. I can still remember Amanda and Jon walking with an appropriately styled umbrella towards my location for the group shot. I’ve dealt with enough brides over the years to know Amanda and Jon are special, the rain falling that day did not deter Amanda’s charismatic personality to show just as though the sun were showing brightly over their special day ! The unscripted color photos of Amanda and Jon having some fun with the old “banquet camera” was an unexpected way of weaving a “B&W film” component into their experience ! I know from my Stelcar days, the phrase most often used, “when the day is over, the music has stopped and the dress is put away, all that remains is the photography of their day”, what terrific visual memories they surely have of their unique day. Color photos are credited to the main photographer that Amanda contracted here: https://www.danijason.com

     Amanda’s wedding was featured in an edition of Connecticut Magazine with a mention of my singular 7×17 B&W image.  Needless to say, as seen in these accompanying photos, Amanda and Jon had a great time on their wedding day !! 

     Amanda and Jon made my day very enjoyable, having my granddaughter Tessa assist me made it memorable !!

     Jumping ahead to some B&W images I’ve made over the years. Hartford City Hall would provide a terrific background but not without some limitations. The amount of ambient light inside City Hall is not sufficient to have a large depth of field so careful focus on the bride’s eyes was critical. I needed to use a wide aperture to enhance the ambient light in the background. Generally, the exposures ran 1-2 seconds, I would make 2 negatives per setup and made 4 setups of each bride, most were successful but not all survived the long exposures. It’s interesting to note, my normal focal length lens with a 5×7” camera is 210mm, which yields essentially the same depth of field as a 210mm lens on a 35mm camera, and I was using 210mm – 355mm lens. That’s one of the significant challenges using large film cameras.

     Between 2013 and 2018 three of my nieces asked for bridal portraits in their gowns.  Equipment in all City Hall photos, 5×7″ Deardorrf camera, Ilford HP 5 film, lens ranged from 210mm to 355mm.  Film hand processed via Extreme Minimal Agitation in PyroCat HD, printed on Ilford Warmtone paper and gently split toned in Thiourea and Selenium.

     Dating back to my days with Marty and Stelcar Studios I have retained many nuances about pleasing the Bride. Cost of the dress is significant, show it, let light skip across the dress to show it’s brocade and texture.  Always keep space between the arched elbow and the waistline, highlight a women’s natural S curve.  Everyone has a dominant eye, keep it closest to the lens, cup the hand so as not to show the back of the hand.  The most important, the more you turn someone away from the camera, the more a women’s S curve is accentuated and thinner they appear !!

Ashley in 2013:

Nicole in 2017:

Julie in 2018: