Please don't make my babies (and yours) orphans!

With everyone's eyes and ears pointed to the big meltdown on Wall Street, the Senate quietly passed the Orphan Works Act a few days ago... and we're VERY concerned about what this means for copyright law.

These organizations oppose the orphan works bill as it is written.

Read about why so many artists and small businesses oppose the bill here.

Tell the House Judiciary not to pass the bill now.

Here's an example of a potential scenario under the new legislation... yes, this may seem like an extreme scenario, but we think it is entirely plausible:

1. I upload a cute picture of my son:


2. The image gets separated from our website... perhaps a friend re-posts it elsewhere, it gets linked in an online image catalog, or some other innocuous event.
3. Then a 3rd party finds the image, and decides that they would like to use it for a commercial purpose (perhaps they've invented a new kind of toothpaste that cleans blue tongues).
4. That party tries to find the original creator (me) of that image so that they can request my permission to use the image (and pay me of course)... they rack their brain looking at old websites they have visited, in search of where they found that original photo posted... they call stock agencies and ask if they have any photos registered of kids with blue tongues...
5. Eventually, they give up... they've tried to find the author to ask permission, but could not find the author. THIS IMAGE IS NOW AN ORPHAN!
6. Now that my image is an Orphan, that person or company can use the image without worrying about having to pay me for violation of copyright.

Artists of all kinds (photographers, illustrators, musicians etc) who make a living from their art have their livelihood at stake, but this law does not just affect artists. If you post images or other creative works on the internet, you should be concerned. Please take the time to learn more about this bill, and take action to oppose it if you disagree with it. Here is a list of sample letters that you can send to your legislators - scroll to the bottom to use the sample letter written from a member of "the image-making public".

GovTrack.us. S. 2913--110th Congress (2008): Shawn Bentley Orphan Works Act of 2008, GovTrack.us (database of federal legislation)

A Green Wedding!

As many of you know we are a green studio. We invest 1 ton in carbon offset credit for every wedding we shoot, are working hard at reducing paper use, and do many other things around the studio to reduce waste and support our local community. Christine and Jamie are much the same. They held their wedding at the Epicenter for the Arts in South Boston, a green building with no a/c, but fantastic air circulation, they used local florist Faxon Green, who uses locally grown flowers, and they even worked with the caterer to make sure the food was local and to top it all off they had Big Spike, an awesome bluegrass band! It was really great to be part of this event. Christine and Jamie were so much fun to work with. They did a first look and portraits at the Renaissance Hotel, then headed off to the Epicenter for the ceremony and portraits.

Here are a few from the day:

Christine & Jamie

Christine struttin her stuff at their first look

This is one of the coolest wedding details we've ever seen. Christines veil has been worn at weddings for generations, this document shows the dates going all the way back to 1889!

A very cool detail shot the veil being handed to Christine

With the fear of a hot day in a non a/c'd building, Christine and Jamie used colorful fans for place cards. There was no need for them, but they were super cool:)

The hotel has this very cool hallway with lights lining the walls. We snapped a few quick ones of the ladies before heading off to the ceremony

The groomsmen wore seer sucker pants - gotta love that!

Big Spike! The a great, no make that amazing, blue grass band!

Thank you Christine & Jamie! We can't wait to catch up and hear about your honey moon!!

Alysia & Michael

Alysia and Michael have been such a great couple to get to know over the past year. They hired us in August of '07, we shot their engagement session shortly afterward... it's been a long time since we first met them, so it is great to post these beautiful wedding photos for them. Their wedding was at the Peabody Essex Museum in Salem, MA. We saw a few drops of light rain during the day, but lucked out and were able to do portraits outside in the court yard. Here are a few from the day:

I found this old garage and loved how one side was black and the other white. It was just screaming at me to do a fun black and white image of them in front of it:

This little dude was a break-dancing fool!

As you can see, the dance floor was hopping!

I just can't resist getting these sneaky shots of the security guards half asleep:)

Thank you Alysia and Michael. We had such a great time with you and can't wait to deliver your album... which is going to rock!

Wedding Memories

I just sent an email to Fumiko, whose wedding I will be photographing soon. One of the things she asked me was if I knew how long it took to get a marriage license at Boston's City Hall. I don't, because Enna and I were married in NH, and there it took all of 5 minutes. But this question brought back a memory of one of my favorite moments of our marriage. Enna and I were visiting friends at their lake house just a few weeks before our wedding and borrowed the jet ski to go to the town hall for our license. It was very fun to walk into the town hall wet with swim suits and life jackets on to apply for our license. My mom was at the dock and snapped a photo of us departing. This was before digital photography, so recalling this reminds me that I'll have to go through some boxes at my mom's house to find that photo and scan it. Hopefully I'll be able to post it here someday soon.

I just though I'd share this memory from our lives as we love to hear and document other peoples moments that become cherished memories:)

~Matt

Those Silly Grazier Boys

Out for a nice family dinner at out local pizza shop


-- Post From My iPhone

When Art and Science Collide

One of the most flattering compliments we receive as wedding photographers is when another wedding vendor asks us to do a portrait for them. We know the vendors we work with see a lot of photography, and to know they love our work and want it for themselves means the world to us.

Meet Shelley and Jacob. Shelley is our favorite letter press printer. She is an artist who has a great eye for composition, colors, and quality. Her studio, Albertine Press, not only does our business cards, but also customized the beautiful envelopes we use to mail our DVD portfolios. We love to see her creations at weddings when our couples have her create one of a kind table cards, invitations, and other items for their wedding day. Jacob is Shelley's husband. To say Jacob likes science would be an understatement. In the hour I spent photographing he and Shelley at the Boston Museum of Science, I learned more about the exhibits than I have in the many many mornings I have spent there as a museum member with our two boys:) Jacob is a physicist and currently working on his phd at Harvard University.

Our shoot started at the Science Museum, where Jacob loves to visit, and wrapped up in the historic Beacon Hill area of Boston. Here are a few from the day:

Shelly & Jacob at the museum's interactive map:

I love this shot of them in the space capsule. I lit the interior with a remote flash to give it some realism.

This is a shot of Shelley at the angled mirrors display.

Which way should we go? Standing on the line between Boston and Cambridge:)

I loved incorporating this leaning lamp post into a shot.

Check out this cobblestone road. I was so stoked when we stumbled across it. I love how the grass is growing between the stones.

Tomorrow I get to visit Shelley's studio to go over some new work she'll be doing for us. It's always fun to see her studio with the old press in action. Thank you Shelley and Jacob for asking us to do these portraits for you! Looking forward to seeing you tomorrow!

~Matt

Megan & Dominic

When Enna and I first moved to Boston some 10 years ago, Enna landed a job managing the studio for Joel Benjamin, a prominent Boston fashion photographer. Joel has always been not only a great friend, but also a trusted resource. Joel has sent several couples our way and they are always amazing couples who love good photography. Megan and Dominic know Joel 2 ways: they live in the same artists building as Joel, and Joel did photographery for Dominic's company. I recently had the pleasure of spending a Thursday evening with them for their "get to know you" engagement shoot. Megan and Dominic have a very cool live-in studio where Megan works as a graffic designer. We walked from their studio to the ICA and watched the sun set over the harbor. we then headed back to their studio where they entertained me with great food and wine. Here are some images from the evening:

Megan and Dominic

The steps behind the ICA. A great place to hang out if you have yet to go.

We found this cool Blue Man Group mural

And check out this bright red sign on the side of The Barking Crab

Their very cool dog, Bundu, a Rhodesian Ridgeback.

Good wine = good times:)

It was so much fun hanging out with you two! Can't wait to have you visit us at our place in a few weeks. I'll have to think up some cool h'ourderves and get a great bottle of wine:)

Quick Update

Enna and I are in our busiest month of the year. Luckily Enna's sister Elise, or as the boys like to call her, Aunt Sip (her nickname is Skip) has been able to stay with us and help around the house. I just returned from an amazing wedding in Mexico. Dilnaz and Joe (bride and groom) were so much fun, and I made some great friends with their family and friends. We went to Maya ruins, swam in a sink hole that seemed 100 feet underground (the entrance was a well with a spiral staircase that went down and down and down.... swam with dolphins, went clubbing and then we had their wedding on a perfect September day in Cancun. We lucked out as Ike the hurricane missed Cancun and we just had some rain and strong winds early in the week. Enna stayed in Boston to shoot Heidi and Wesley's wedding and is really excited about her work from the wedding.

In the 3 days I've been home I have been running around like a chicken with its head cut off getting caught up on so much and getting ready for our weekend of shooting. Tonight we get to shoot Kandace and Kevin's wedding on Boston Harbor, then tomorrow we are off to the Cape for Hilary and Ryan's wedding.

So we will posting a lot in the coming week! Meanwhile, here is a shot of the gang from Dilnaz and Joe's wedding. This was taken by our tour guide just after our swimming adventure 100' below ground. That's me on the far left:)

PS... stay tuned for our favorite family photos from our summer too!

A Beach Wedding:)

We first met Jacki & Chris over a year ago when Jacki was a brides maid at Sarah & Dan's wedding. Jacki called us soon after Sarah's wedding to make sure we could be there for her big day, and we are so glad we were! They tied the knot at the beautiful Ocean Edge Resort in Brewster, MA. The weather was perfect and the wedding party and parents had fun taking their shoes off and walking on the beach for the portraits. With every season Enna and I love our job more and more as we go to these amazing events and see so many couples we have worked for and their families. We love going to weddings and having the mother of a bride we photographed a year or two before come up and greet us with a hug. We all had so much fun seeing each other again and Jacki & Chris looked amazing and loved every minute of their wedding day!

Here are a few from the day:

Jacki & Chris

Thier ceremony

We had a waitress snap this shot of Enna and I with Sarah & Dan

Chris is an MMA fighter. These glasses fell victim to he and his buddies horsing around the night before.

Jacki with her two girls

Thank you Jacki and Chris!!! We had so much fun and can't wait to get you your album! I also could not have asked for a better wedding to edit right before I get on plane for a Cancun wedding. Talk about getting me excited for more beach shots:) Let's hope my plane makes it through Ike without any delays or layovers!

~Matt