A gorgeous weekend at the Tremont Grand in Baltimore. Marni and David had the most spirited wedding on May 7, full of tons of love and joy. Not to mention that a serious party was getting started just and we were leaving. Congratulations Marni and David! It has been so much fun getting to know you over this past year.

I love the look on Marni's face as she's being walked down the aisle by her parents...

The Tremont Grand is a spectacular space. Historically, it was a Freemason's lodge, now converted into a series of floor after floor of grand ballrooms. Here is the ceremony space

And the reception hall  - so distinctly different but just as dramatic

 

 The Hora! So fun...

The beautiful couple's first dance

I should also mention that the events staff at the Tremont is among the best I've worked with in the business. Thanks, Marni and David, for allowing me to be a part of your amazing wedding day.
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As we come upon the fall - so rapidly - here are some of the faces I have met over the last week. Some of secrets told..

Of brotherhood shared...

Of the moments before...

Of impending adolescence...



Of moments with family...spread far and wide...


Of the wide-eyed wonderment of youth...


and of a fall...blossoming with new beginnings...


see you on the 24th at our holiday gift show!
more to come-
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I had the great joy of working with Daily Candy Editor Erin Hartigan this morning for a fun photoshoot. In addition to the first three notes of every good song produced in the 1970's, a list of shoot locations always floats around in my head. For this beautiful spring days shoot, a nearby wonderful street loaded with endless colorful rowhouses seemed like the perfect fit. Then Erin shows up in this green shirt, her green eyes glowing in the light, and I thought, yeah, that's about exactly what I was looking for. So we went over to the location and she rocked it.





And one that pulls me back to some image that I saw of Joan Baez years ago...Erin sure looks great in color, but I love this antique treatment of her as well. Her soulful, creative self just shines through.


If you haven't before checked out her work on the Daily Candy - take a look. Small businesses owners like me owe her the world for the support she gives us, and women like me are crying mercy because of all the great things we find and have to have on the Daily Candy each and every day. Check it out - it's the best local resource around.

But lately it appears I am actually a web designer and accountant. Which wouldn't be a bad thing, because see I think that those two career tracks definitely would be a bit more stable, because, see, well everyone has to do taxes, and companies pay a lot for websites, and, and, oh, who am I kidding, I would be miserable...

So back to the subject at hand. Despite that fact that my photo eye is cramped and cloudy and a bit mopey because it is camped out in front of the computer ... i am thrilled, thrilled! to share with you my new website. The trouble was worth it and now i even know what color FFFFFF stands for (in RGB). Which i am sure will be very handy.

So, head on over to www.staceyvaeth.com to check out the new site - it's supersized. My web designer hat was fun for a while, but nowhere near as fun as my photographer hat. The accountant hat, well, we won't go there. And don't worry, no accounting posts in the near future.

Here's a few shots from my one saving grace this past week - a fun shoot at one of my favorite restaurants, Vermillion.....thanks Kevin, Dave and Tony!

Okay, I am well behind on this blog....this week has been just full of shoots and opportunities that I think are incredibly cool and I really want to share them all. But, see, shoots and opportunities don't leave a whole lot of time in front of the computer...especially when one included 9 hours of driving in a 24 hour period with an opportunity sandwiched right in the middle. More on that in a minute.

The morning after the inauguration, when Sarah and I became popsicles for the cause...interviewing vendors, out of towners, elders and youngin's down at the inauguration...



And sarah getting the tables turned on her by this interesting documentarian...

I had the joy of photographing the 2009 Inaugural Peace Ball at the Smithsonian National Postal Museum. An impressive space spectacularly appointed and filled to the brim with drinks and vittles by Star Catering...the ball was the most fun formal event i have been to in DC.
The attendees here waiting for the entertainment to begin....1500 strong....very well behaved until Micheal Franti got them to their feet...


Great performers such as the legendary Joan Baez:


Joan was almost disarmingly gentle and sweet...she's an icon that we would all fawn over, yet after getting off stage, she smiled sweetly for my wildly nervous lens and gave me a hug...
And then one of my favorite event pictures ever, the daughter of civil rights activist Dick Gregory, singing a prelude to his performance...

And Dick Gregory:


And of course, Alice Walker, the writer who made all the reporters in the room melt with respect, envy and a healthy dose of intimidation....


So those are the cliff notes on the inauguration and the ball...not to be outdone by the next day's honor of photographing Lilly Ledbetter. 70 years old and from Alabama, Lilly's boldness and conviction in the right of women to earn equal pay for an equal day's work is silently and profoundly benefitting us all.


Two days after I took these photographs, January 24th, the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act was passed by the Senate and will be signed into law.

I bit off more than I can chew with this blog, so come on back for the '9 hours of driving in a 24 hour period with an opportunity sandwiched right in the middle' post....

Yesterday, over 2 million people descended upon our city to celebrate a moment that needs little extrapolation from me. I went with a good friend and incredibly sensitive and talented audio documentarian, Sarah Reynolds, to interview attendees of the inauguration about their thoughts and hopes on this momentous occasion. We're putting together a sideshow with their images and interviews, to be posted on this blog this week.

In the meantime, here are a few favorite pictures from yesterday morning. In the evening, I shot the 2009 Inaugural Peace Ball hosted by Busboys and Poets owner Andy Shallal, and met Joan Baez, Alice Walker, Eve Ensler, Dick Gregory, Harry Belafonte. Fabulous food provided by Star Catering and Buzz Bakery.

(note...Blogger is going wacky...so the rest to be posted in a few hours once the kinks are worked out)