Patricia and David at West Point

May, 6, 2007, Norman Rockwell could not have picked or painted a better day or a prettier bride. The wedding was at West Point Military Academy in Highland Falls, NY. It’s perhaps one of the most beautiful locations to have a wedding given the magnificent views of the Hudson River Valley and the equally magnificent buildings, churches, monuments, grounds and vistas on and around the Post.

My day began about noon when I arrived early at West Point. I had about two hours to go, so I did what every Photographer would do, which was to drive and walk around the post photographing as much as possible. This time, I wanted to film ( I still use film but most everything is now digital) some of the locations that don’t make the standard wedding list so I drove along the small road down at the rivers edge.

There the train tracks meet the sail boats and a small picnic area that is mostly used by cadet’s families. There is a great view looking up the cliffs to the major buildings on the post including the West Point Club where the Wedding reception would be held later that day. The pictures that I liked best from this “free time” are of the Boy Scout troop that I photographed that was being lectured by a cadet about life at West Point.

The plan was to meet Patricia in the lobby of the Thayer Hotel at 2 PM. At 2 PM sharp she came down from her room and for the next six plus hours I had the great pleasure of photographing a beautiful bride, her fiancé (soon to be husband), their families and friends.

The pictures speak for themselves. Usually we only select 50 to 75 pictures for the gallery but the best I could do was narrow down the 400+ pictures to 144 in this case.

That’s because the pictures obtained from each phase of the day from the start at the Thayer, to the time in the Limo on the way to the church, the church itself, the wedding, the friends after the wedding, the location shots at the Cadet Chapel, Trophy Point, the lake and finally at the Dinner/reception each told a different story or view of Patricia and David as well as their interrelationship to family and friends and therefore they all have to be included? Wedding photography should tell a story. That’s what I have learned from Nestor. This day the story focused on Patricia and her journey thru the day.

This was not a huge wedding. I’m pretty sure that everyone invited first attended the Wedding at the church and hence the group shots outside the church may be one of the only times in my 20+ years that I have gotten the chance to photograph everyone attending the Wedding in one picture?

The pictures are mostly about Patricia, and well they should be. It’s her day and she handled it beautifully and gracefully plus she seemed to be enjoying every phase.


David was the perfect Groom. He had a mission that day and he did it well. His mission was to be the handsome groom in full dress uniform and to make his bride look beautiful and to make her happy!

P.S. I must admit……… I had some fun telling a Colonel what to do.

About the pictures: I would like you to notice that there is a whole range of lighting styles in the images as well as variations in how the same image can be adjusted in the computer. The many portraits of Patrician and David differ not only in location but also in how they are illuminated.

Most of the outdoor images are natural light but a few have flash. Can you see which are which? Most of the interior are flash but the ones in front of the white curtains are two flashes plus the back lighting from the windows. Image no #### has been edited to show various “looks” including B&W. This gives just a hint of what is currently possible with today’s computer editing, especially with Adobe Photoshop. What goes up in a gallery is what we consider proof quality images. They are great for 4x6 prints. If you want bigger and better please feel free to contact me or David

Your Comments: The major reason for this “BLOG” format is to open up discussion with you. So please feel free to include your thoughts and comments about Patricia and David’s Wedding Day and the photography or photographer?

(If you want to see the entire gallery, click on any picture)

Thanks
Paul Merino
Photographer
PaulMerino@QiProjects.com