May – Part Four – Moving Day!

June 26, 2010 at 6:32 pm (What's Going On??)

The weekend following the Chemotti-Bitler wedding, we spent 3 days in the lovely high 80 degree temperatures, moving from Marcellus to Liverpool. We have gotten everything here, but it’s going to take a while to get everything just the way we want it. We got a new desk, shelf, and other office supplies for our new office, and a fresh coat of orange paint for the walls.

If you haven’t noticed, or you haven’t met us yet, I will fill you in on the “orange and green”. Greg’s favorite color is orange and mine is green. It was a rather funny realization early on, when we both discovered we were both of Irish heritage. The Irish Flag is none other than orange and green…and of course white. Not only that, but Greg and I were both born in the month of March, and March is widely known for St. Patrick’s Day, the day for people of Irish decent to celebrate their heritage. Since that realization, we spun off of that to what would become the basis of our business name. “Solas” is the Gaelic word for “light”, and “photography” literally means “to paint or draw with light”. If you look at our main logo, you will see that it’s none other than orange and green. The font used for our name is a Celtic font, and it includes a lighthouse, to further represent “light”. So, yes, it is a theme, and that’s the story behind it. And so our office, along with a LOT of our belongings, will be orange with green accents. Oh and of course a little bit of white. ;)

Getting back on topic, we will be for the coming weeks be trying to set everything up, organize all of our business things, and getting comfortable in our new place. So bear with us while we get settled, and we hope to be able to post photos of the new office soon.

Tomorrow, we have a shoot scheduled to photograph Daniel, who recently turned one! We will be taking some family portraits as well, with his Mom and Dad, and their canine family member! We hope that the Central New York weather holds out for us to get some great shots! So stayed tuned, now that we have caught ourselves up on the blog, we hope to be able to post images frequently! Until then…

Regards -

Colleen (and Greg)

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May – Part Three – Chemotti-Bitler Wedding

June 26, 2010 at 5:48 pm (Weddings and Engagements)

The weekend after graduation, we were the lucky photographers chosen to shoot the wedding of Amanda Chemotti and Andrew Bitler. The wedding and the reception were both held at the beautiful Orchard Vali Golf Club. The wedding ceremony took place under the outdoor gazebo. Formal portraits were taken out on the golf course, and we even got some fantastic shots of the wedding party and family in the golf carts that we rode down to a cool, and shady spot under the trees. It was a hot day, but under the trees we found a cool spot to take the portraits, sheltered from the hot sun! We enjoyed this location and the wedding, and thank Amanda, Andy, and Amanda’s mom Angela for the opportunity to be part of their very special day! Here are some of our favorite photos from their celebration.

Congratulations, Mr. & Mrs. Andrew Bitler!

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May – Part Two – Graduation

June 26, 2010 at 4:33 pm (Special Events and Opportunities)

On Saturday, May 15, 2010, Greg and I attended our graduation ceremony at the War Memorial. Though we officially finished in January after our return from the Bahamas, we had to wait until May for the official ceremony. After many months of hard work, dedication, and MONEY, we are now officially Onondaga Community College Alumni. Greg graduated Cum Laude, and I graduated Magna Cum Laude. Congrats to us for not losing our minds in the process!

Class of 2010

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May – Part One – Month of Madness!

June 26, 2010 at 3:47 pm (Just for fun!)

May was an INCREDIBLY busy month for us! So, in honor of the month that test more than just our sanity, we will be splitting our May post into multiples!

The month started off with a bang. We were invited to a wedding for my friend’s brother. We weren’t photographer, just guests. It was strange going to a wedding and not being either the photographer or in the wedding party, but I kind of liked it! I got a couple of fun photos of my friend, with her nephew and her boyfriend that I edited to put up on Facebook. And of course the bride and groom.

Greg and I both started new jobs, Greg at the end of April, and myself the first week of May. That alone is hard to do, getting to know new people, new things, and a new routine. Amidst everything else, it was especially difficult.

The next couple of weeks we spent cleaning and packing, because we were preparing to move at the end of the month.
It was very chaotic trying to make sure that we didn’t pack the things we would be needing for the rest of the month. And with Graduating, and shooting a wedding still to go, it was…interesting.

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April – Jada turns ONE!

June 26, 2010 at 2:55 pm (Birthdays)

There’s nothing more fun for me than to photograph small children! After all, it’s where I found my interest in photography. Unhappy with commercial portraits of my own children, I decided I was going to do it myself! The rest is history of course, but in taking so many photos of children over the years, I have found that they are the most fun to photograph, because they don’t care about looking pretty, silly looking faces, double chins, or making sure their clothes aren’t wrinkled or spotted. They are who they are, and they are happy for you to capture all of that on film. Well…most of the time!

So, when presented with the opportunity to photograph Jada’s first birthday party, we  jumped at the chance to do it! Or at least I did! :]

For me, this isn’t “work”, it’s a fun and easy way to get images that become candid works of art! And that’s just what we got!  Thank you so much Mike and Nicole for letting us be a part of Jada’s special day!

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March – St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital Fundraiser

June 26, 2010 at 2:42 pm (Special Events and Opportunities)

Greg and I have really been lucky to have so many amazing opportunities in recent months. This event was no exception!

We were fortunate enough to be asked by the hosts of the event if we would like to photograph the fundraiser dinner. This was a great opportunity to have for our first charity event! And when we found out that Actor Vincent Pastore, Congressman Dan Maffei, and Musician Jamie Notarthomas would be in attendance, how could we refuse?

We got some great shots, got to meet Vincent, and he was kind enough to sign his autograph on our Solas Studios baseball cap! The dinner raised money for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, and the guests got a fabulous dinner and wine-tasting, and the chance to meet a celebrity!

If you’d like to make a donation to the St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, follow the link to the Rossi Memorial Dinner web page.

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February – Winter Engagement Photos

June 26, 2010 at 1:59 pm (Weddings and Engagements)

Winter in Central New York is always…eventful. I personally could care less if I saw a snowflake again as long as I live, but I think Greg likes the changes in season. As long as I can remember, I have been telling people, “Snow is pretty…on postcards”. Well, I guess now I can amend the saying to include engagement photos. We met with new clients Alison and Shane, in early February to discuss shooting their October wedding at Belhurst Castle. We were very lucky to sign them on as our first customers to get married in a castle, AND to want outdoor Winter engagement photos! As much as I dislike cold and snow, Greg and I both loved the idea, and were up for the challenge! Despite the cold weather, Alison and Shane were good sports about the shoot. We went to two different locations, the Erie Canal Park in Camillus, and Elmwood Park in Syracuse, and got some great shots! Thanks, Alison and Shane, for giving us the opportunity to try something new and different!

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January – San Salvador Island, The Bahamas

June 26, 2010 at 12:13 pm (Special Events and Opportunities)
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Greg and I had the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to take a Geology class on San Sal Island with Professor Meg Harris and a handful of other Onondaga Community College students. We actually had not planned to take this class, it was a last-minute thing. Our Studio and Lighting class had been canceled last-minute, and we needed to rearrange our schedules to allow us to be able to graduate. Turned out, unless we wanted to finish a semester later, we needed to take a different Science class. And the only one left…Geology in the Bahamas! Not that either one of us knew anything about Geology, not that either one of us planned on doing anything with Science, but heck…it’s the Bahamas!

To make a long story short, we stayed for two weeks at the Gerace Research Center, and while the class was daunting at times, getting to see the island in all it’s beauty made up for the moments we found to be frustrating. We got to snorkel and see so many beautiful fish and other sea animals, plant life, and lots of coral!  The waters were a bit chilly for our taste, even with wet suits on, but the sparkling blue water and beautiful sandy beaches were a sight for sore eyes. Coming back to Syracuse, and several feet of snow was especially difficult, but we brought back many memories, souvenirs, and tans that made others jealous.  Here are some of the photos we took during our stay, but you can see more at our website. If you would like to read a little more about the island, check out this link to Wikipedia: San Salvador Island

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We’re back!

June 26, 2010 at 12:01 pm (What's Going On??)

Well, folks, sorry to have dropped the ball. I guess shooting weddings and portraits, starting new day time jobs, moving and graduating are not conducive for keeping up a blog! At any rate, I think the chaos has started to die down now, so I am hoping to be able to pick up where I left off, and get going with posting our current and up-to-date work.  I guess I will start with our December/January trip to San Salvador Island, in the Bahamas. And awayyyy we go!

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