Stratton Mountain School assistant nordic coach Matt Boobar is all smiles as he rounds the final bend before the finish of today’s Root 66 mountain bike races held at the Putney School.  The races, which drew over 200 competitors from all over New England and beyond, are sponsored by our friends at the West Hill Shop in Putney.

On a day that threatened rain, but thankfully never delivered…  Elisa and Chris at the Old Tavern in Grafton, VT.  Fun couple, surrounded by family and friends.  Made our work easy.

Helps to have a cute kid who doesn’t (usually) mind sitting in once and while as a model.  Here’s Issy with another of Mike Millard’s gorgeous Froggys.  Been shooting with Mike and Co. for years now, and it’s always a good time.  To see more of these beautiful works of art, check out the Froggy site.

Snowy, a bit rainy, but a fun day.  A few diehard skiers slogging down the last two runs open.  Casual, relaxed, and fun time at the Killington Grand. Just the way we like it.

What can you say?  Diehard ‘Sox and Yankees fans decide to get married.  Spirited partisanship for at least six months of the year!  MTC…  HP

And so with the height of winter comes the annual SMS Winter Ball, held this past weekend in the beautifully decorated gym at the Stratton Mountain School.  This year we put a little twist in our photographic coverage of the event and set up a portable studio in what normally serves as the high tech golf simulator.  Hey, Penn’s got nothing on us with his Worlds In A Small Room!  Fun shots, and an approach we’ve used a few times for those mid-winter “gee-it-really-is-pitch-black-out-at-5:00-on-New Year’s Eve” wedding shoots. Lots of fun, particularly as the night wears on, if you know what I mean.

Guests at the Winter Ball had the usual terrific time, with both silent and live auctions – including such items as a complete Olympics package, a day of boarding with SMS alum and Olympic silver medalist Lyndsey Jacobellis, and a day of skiing with VT native and former Olympian Billy Kidd, who still rips it up out as director of skiing at Steamboat, CO., highlighting a fun night of great food, dancing, and catching up with old friends.

BTW,  SMS is proud to count  37 current or former Olympians, including nordic standouts Kris Freeman and Andy Newell, among its long list of accomplished alums.  Impressive.  MTK… Herve

And one more, just for fun…

There’s something to be said for the rapport that builds when things really click (sorry) at a wedding. More often than not, our clients “meet” us first through the website, contact us via email, and we take it from there.  It’s pretty rare these days that we’re able to physically meet in advance of a shoot.

One client recently told me that she had decided on working with Jessica Smith at the Equinox by punching in “mountains, foliage, pond, lake, and weddings” into Google.  She quickly narrowed the search to a place in Colorado, and the Equinox, in nearby Manchester, VT.  No offense to our friends in Colorado, but VT has the foliage thing down pat, and so family and friends came from Texas, Minnesota, and California to VT for the destination wedding of their dreams.  Seriously, there’s a  lot of trust involved here, and it’s a trust we certainly  don’t take lightly.

And so this “vibe” thing is really a marker of a match, or not.  If you’re scoping out potential photogs – or cake makers, or wedding planners, or…. -  and you’re not feeling dialed in, as in “I think this could work well,” you might want to try someone else.  Which is why, I think, come wedding day, we click so well with our clients.  This in spite of the fact that, for the most part, we haven’t met until wedding day.

Such was, and is, the case with Jo and Free, whose wedding we shot back in July at the magnificent Shelburne Farms on the eastern shore of Lake Champlain.  They’re on a honeymoon to end all honeymoons, aka an extended around-the-world trip, and have been kind enough to stay in touch.  We’re currently working on a custom wedding book for them, which will be printed by Kevin Kubota’s Asuka Book, and they are somewhere in Thailand.  Quite a nice feeling to find the above post card in the mailbox yesterday.  Good to know that yet another couple trusted their sense of the “vibe” and it worked out for everyone.  BTW, be sure to check out Jo and Free’s blog.

And so the scan at the top is the post card I got yesterday from Jo and Free, sort of a Taj via Thailand.  All’s well!

Happiest of holidays to all!  MTK…. Herve & Crew