Boston and NYC!!!

Top ten things I did on my trip out East!

#1 visited NYC
- Saw a show on Broadway Wicked
- visited Times Square
- World Trade Center site
- Walked the Brooklyn Bridge
- Grand Central Station
- B&H Photo
- New York Cheese Cake at Roxy's
- got some amazing shots of the city
- visited Radio City Music Hall
- Saw the Today Show set

#2 hung out with Anne Ruthmann
- along with Rachel and our husbands...

#3 Got a personal tour of MIT and Harvard

#4 Dessert at Mike's Pastry

#5 Fenway Park

#6 Trains, planes and automobiles

#7 Filene's Basement

#8 Breakfast at the Paramount

#9 Got to spend time with my husband

#10 Finished a business book


So my trip to Boston to shoot a wedding turned into a mini-vacation for my husband and I. I was originally hired by Rachel Hadiashar of MERGEweddings as an associate photographer for a wedding in Boston on September 6th. There ended up being a miscommunication and Rachel and I no longer had the gig. I had already booked my tickets and pretty much would loose out on my money so Andy and I decided to make the trip anyway.

I had a second opportunity to shoot with Gwyneth Colleen Photography, a photographer who I last shot with while in Boston earlier this year. That opportunity also fell through last minute as well as a couple of portrait sessions I was to be a part of. Soooo, Andy and I decided to make the best of the situation tour Boston and make a trip to New York City.

We were enthusiastically welcomed to town by Rachel who picked us up at the airport and immediately swooped us into her tour of Boston's MIT and Harvard. It was sooo much fun to hear about the colleges and to think of all the young minds who are being educated there.

The second night in Boston we (Andy, Rachel and Rachel's husband Ali) all traveled to Lowell, MA to meet up with "Rock Star Wedding Photographer" Anne Ruthmann and her husband Alex. We sipped beer and ate great food while talking. After dinner we walked to a gallery showing of a independent film maker and listened to a live jazz band. It was great fun - and sooo incredibly normal to be hanging out with people who have the exact same passions in life as you.

The very next morning we took the Boltbus from Boston to NYC Saturday morning... the bus dropped us right across the street from B&H Photo in downtown Manhattan! More on B&H later... After our 4 hour bus ride (which wasn't that bad because of the power receptacles and wi-fi) we needed to find our hotel to shower and dress for our night on Broadway. We hopped on the subway and made our way to the Hilton. Soon after our arrival the effects of tropical storm Hannah hit. It poured buckets and I mean big huge drops of rain for hours and hours... Our first night in NYC was a washout.

We found our way to a cute little Italian restaurant for our pre-theatre meal. It was awesome and authentic way to fill our bellies for the night ahead. We hopped in a cab after dinner to avoid getting my new Nine West hot pink pumps wet in the huge NYC puddles and made our way to the Gershwin Theatre to see Wicked.

I have to admit... we are very lucky in Wisconsin to have some amazing performing arts venues. I imagined Broadway to have lavish theatres with beautiful articulate details. The Gershwin was kinda ordinary by the looks of it.

When the curtain lifted on the actors I knew we were in for an amazing evening. The stage was awesome! The cast was AMAZING. The costuming, lighting and orchestra really came across as something special. My very first Broadway show was one to remember for a lifetime!!! Now I can check off one of the things I've always, always, always wanted to do. Check.

After the show it finally stopped raining. So we decided to explore the city. I grabbed my camera and we went out of the town. We hit Times Square, Radio City Music Hall, the Ed Sullivan Theatre... I got some pretty cool night shots in Times Square while playing around with slower shutter speeds.

The next morning we were bound and determined to explore the city even more. So we got of early and headed downtown towards the Financial District. Our main goal was to visit Ground Zero. We emerged from the subway and at the top of the stairs there is was. It was a powerful moment for Andy and I. Almost seven years to the date we were there. I plan on doing a separate blog post in dedication of September 11th....

Being in the area and after dedicating much of the morning to the Freedom Tower memorial construction site. We decided to walk the Brooklyn Bridge. I'm sure if you've been to NYC before it is totally the "touristy" thing to do... but as a photographer I knew I could get some neat shots if I was willing to take the hike... it was worth it.

New York City was fascinating to me... it is one of the places I've always wanted to be. Some of the other quick touristy things we did was visit Grand Central Station, Macy's and (my fav) B&H Photo!

The next day back in Boston I was able to shoot a real session... yay! I was just itching to shoot someone other than my unwilling husband :-) It was a high school senior session and it was fun. I was able to shoot a few and assist Rachel. When we returned home we brainstormed ideas - watch out!!! We have some excellent stuff coming down the road...

Now I'm home and with my soon to be two-year-old son. It is good to be back, but I have lots of catching up to do...

Thanks for reading my incredibly long blog post!