Michael Blanchard Photography

New Website/Blog

Please update your bookmarks (if you had me bookmarked, and if it was to my typepad address...) to my new website @ www.MichaelBlanchard.com

Hope you enjoy!

--Mike

9/11/2001

9/11 has changed my life in more ways than one.  Seriously.  I didn' t even know anyone who died.  Today on the sixth anniversary I wanted to pay tribute, but also give you something to read at the same time.  In 2004 when I was graduating from high school, I was one of a few seniors asked to write a senior statement to be published in the school newspaper, the Newtonite.  I immediately knew I wanted to write about 9/11.

Here is what was published in our graduation issue.

"For the past four years, Newton North has been part of many memories that will stay with us forever. We've won awards, made life-long friends, attended proms, and even became state champions. However, one day at North will especially stay clear in our minds forever. As freshman, the class of 2005 was still learning to find its way around the expansive North on our fourth day of high school. The date was September 11th, 2001.  Just about every senior I’ve asked remembers that day at Newton North in fine detail. It can be compared to the day President Kennedy was assassinated, and our parents remembering their exact whereabouts at the moment they found out. As for myself, my day started in Mr. Vignone’s history class, which went as usual except for him turning on the radio, which he had never done. My next class was English with Ms. Craig-Olins. It was here when Mrs. Huntington made her first announcement to the school, briefly describing what had happened up until that point. I then remember hearing a rumor that more had happened then was announced, but I brushed it off as crazy and impossible. Later in gym class, we didn’t do much because it was signup day, so people quietly talked. I heard Ms. Baugher and another teacher talking about what they knew, and it confirmed the rumor from earlier. As soon as class let out I went to the library and got on a computer to see for myself. A small crowd of stunned kids gathered around to see too. Not much else went on at school that day, although I did sneak into a classroom that had the news on for a little while. I don’t think many kids, including myself, really understood how big the events of the day were at that time. However, it seemed more serious when the bus my friend and I took home everyday, was free of charge, just to get everyone home safe. That night, aside from being glued to the television, I looked through some photos and video I had taken myself less than a month earlier on a trip to New York, which I am now so glad to have. For the Newton North class of 2005, we are the last students to have been at North on that day, and even after a new school is built, it’s something we won’t ever forget."

I took this picture 28 days prior to 9.11.2001

Visiting Newport

Day trips are often proposed, and rarely executed.  Amanda and I have been talking about going to Newport, Rhode Island for months.  We finally came to a date that worked, and we went!  - Dammit!  ;)

I took these while walking around.

Some excellent doorways in Newport!

A boat-fixer-upper place.  Restoration, I think its called?  Yeah, that's it.

Doesn't this make you want to get outside and work in the yard...  Or at least call a landscaper?

Dream on!!

You can't tell from the photo, but they were playing cards.

And over to Bellevue!

The street of the Newport Mansions.  I love this street because it's concrete and not asphalt paved.  Some day I want to live on a concrete paved street...  So neurotic!

I hate to associate this with Newport, but while we were walking down the street this disgusting tour bus drove by projecting gasoline into the air for hundreds of feet.  Cars were stopped behind it because they didn't want to get it all over their cars.  This bus was such a piece - that I couldn't even make out the license plate because it was covered in black suit. 

Everywhere I go, I try to leave it a bit nicer then when I came.  Even when this is impossible, I'm still always conscious of myself.  I always try to do my part, whether it be cleaning up after myself at a friends house, or simply taking home a plastic/aluminum can for recycle - instead of throwing in the trash.  That's why it pisses me off to see things like this, which I see a lot it seems like!

...ON TO PRETTIER THINGS!

For some reason this house drew us in.  Small but very elegant.

On the side of the estate.

Million dollar porch.

Heading to the Cliff Walk!

The Cliff Walk has an un-finished part to it...  We made it though!

With my new aviators.

Surfers - In Newport!

Self-timer portrait.  Love this one.

BAD DOG!

The Breakers Mansion.

We didn't go in (although I've been before) rather we just walked along the Cliff Walk.  We spent a lot of time at the shops, and out to eat, so we no longer felt it was absolutely necessary to go into the mansions.  The Cliff Walk was pretty good substitute anyways!

Small tomatoes?

Side gate to the Breakers.

Iron detail.

Me portrait.

I LOVE round trees like this!!

Friends of Summer

Summer is almost over.  For everyone else that is!  My fun doesn't end until September 24th...  Anyways, I've been trying to make as many plans as possible before everyone leaves, and August has been fun so far.  In the past week or so I've hung out with my friend Kim a lot...  She has a great pool which I always find myself in (sometimes as late as 2am!).  One night I took over my equipment and we set up some pool shots.  The pool lighting makes photos come out very neat.  Here are some shots:

Meri, Kim & I.

I don't have a remote so every picture required me to get out & dry off before I could set the timer again.  Not fun.

Walking on water, kinda.

I'm holding my underwater digital camera in this shot.  We used it to take pictures, but also to illuminate our faces in the long exposure shots.

Like in this photo.

The flash didn't work here but I still like it.

On Sunday we went to see the Hopper exhibit at the Museum of Fine Arts.  It was the last day of the exhibit.

And it was sold out.

But we had tickets!  Photography was not allowed inside the exhibit, and I actually followed the rules.  The show was really great - Hopper was an amazing painter and it was so cool to actually see his famous pieces up close and personal. 

In front of her grandparent's sign.

That night Kim threw a party by the pool.  We had a cake for Naven who happened to be celebrating her birthday - it was very good!

Lighting the candles.

Naven works for Kim's family, she is such an amazing person!  Last year she helped me make a  video for my nutrition class which really helped me out.  You can check it out Here.

Happy Birthday!

Wedding Crashing on 7-7-07!

Did you know that 7-7-2007 was one of the top dates for weddings held EVER?  I was bummed that I wasn't shooting any of them... but that didn't mean I couldn't go to any!  (You see where this is going, haha).  I proposed the idea to Allison, who is such a great sport.  I knew she'd be up for it.

We walked around Boston Common before heading to the hotels.

I did Allison's sr. portrait last year too.  By now she knows what to do.

Taken by a tourist from San Antonio!

Not yet a model ;)

Walking through Copley.

At the Fairmont Copley hotel.

We even brought a wedding card!  True professionals.

Fixing my tie before we go in...

Tying her $490 kicks, lol.

Relaxing...

BROWN-VOLO wedding! 

It was a very nice (Italian) wedding that we hung around for a while until some girl asked me to take a picture of her and the bride, and the bride asked "Whose boyfriend is he? How do we know him??"  LOL!  Time to go...

Outside of the wedding reception.

And to the Sheraton...  (Notice the guy in the back, lol).

Natalie & Brian's wedding.

The music was a little weird (a Russian wedding I think), but we had fun!

So Much to Say...

I just wanted to say that I have SO much to post about I can hardly remember it all.  Each post takes me well over an hour, so it's not really something I can just sit down & do whenever.  Blogger efficiency is a class I need to take... 

Anyways, I just wanted to let you know there is a lot to come in the near future, including:  Jill's Grad Party, Standring Family Portrait, Cape Cod, Riley Family Get-Together, & Wedding Crashing! 

Be sure to check back!

Now that was a Canon Moment!

Remember the phrase a "Kodak Moment"?  (Of course you do)  ...will come back to this later.  One of my favorite things to do when I'm out-of-my-mind bored is to search for unregistered domain names.  No idea what I'm talking about?  A domain name is the web address of the websites you visit, like Yahoo.com, Ebay.com, or, MichaelBlanchard.com! Anyone can get one (provided that the address they want is not already taken).  Unfortunately, just about everything is already taken.  Companies buy them like candy hoping they get something someone else wanted, so they can mark it up and sell back.  It's a sore business to be in, if you ask me. 

Yesterday I was perusing GoDaddy.com, the website I used to register MichaelBlanchard.com.  You can search for anything, so I started out typing in random things like lyrics from songs in my collection.  Would you believe that "IveGotYouUnderMySkin.com" is already taken! Absolutely ridiculous. That's why I was kinda surprised when I typed in CanonMoment.com, and found it available. Remember "KodakMoment"? Well sorry to say, but most people use Canon or Nikon these days. (NikonMoment.com was taken by the way). I immediately purchased CanonMoment.com and pointed it towards this blog. I don't intend to create a buzz or anything, and surely nobody is going to start saying they just got a "Canon Moment" because of my website - but I thought it was unique and recognizable, so there you go.  I also snagged MichaelBlanchardBlog.com and pointed it towards this page as well. I figure it's easier to relay that address to someone than the full typepad address.

Turning 20 in New York City!

Last week I headed to New York City, coincidentally, on my 20th birthday!

They rolled out the red carpet for me...

Me & Casey  -  For those of you who don't know, Casey is my photographer friend from Boston who I've worked with for 5-6 years now.  She's a photographer, but also a GREAT teacher, and cook!  She's taught me a lot of what I know...  Anyways, she happened to be in NY last week so I went down and met up with her so we could finally go shooting in the Big Apple! 

We started in Central Park...

A bridge in the park.

(Me)  -  Photo by Casey.

Meet Casey.

Photo by Casey.

 

The picture I took of myself...

Central Park artists... They were actually quite good. I'm definitely getting one done next time.

Park construction.

Photo by Casey.

Abandoned shoes.

Photo by Casey.

Photo by Casey.  (If you haven't caught on yet, Casey took a few pictures of me, too...  She knows I love them.  Best birthday gift ever?  Yeah I think so).

Windows of the St. Regis Hotel.

Washington Sq. Arch from the street.

Photo by Casey.

Photo by Casey.

Photo by Casey.

Photo by Casey.   (I usually drink Dunkins...)

Photo by Casey.

I went to church @ St. Patrick's Cathedral on 5th Ave before leaving. 

I also visited with my friend Tyler who just got a new apartment in the city.  It has a really amazing view of Manhattan...

The same shot at night during a thunderstorm.

I almost feel dirty giving away my best kept NY secret...  Oh, alright!  It's called Burger Joint and it's hidden inside the Le Parker Meridien hotel on West 57th.  It's actually been featured in numerous write ups for the best burgers in America.  It's nothing fancy so leave your suit coat at home, and don't expect to walk right in and be seated.  There is always a line, you order at the register, and your burger is handed to you wrapped in paper.  It's an experience to say the least!  You'll see what I'm talking about when you order "The Works".  Bon Apetite!

Now I'm going to give a plug to my other favorite thing of the week.  The bus I took from Boston-New York was called LimoLiner.  It's a luxury bus service that runs only between these two cities.  If you are used to the fung wah, or it's equivalents, then you'll absolutely die when you step onto a LimoLiner bus.  They are new, clean, smell good, and are never crowded.  They even staff  attendants on board each trip who hand out magazines, pillows & blankets, and drinks & snacks.  Did I mention that the driver spoke English??  And the best part - wireless internet and satellite tv.  It's perfect for professionals looking to get some work done during the standard four hour trip.  While flying is also very appealing, I can vouch that the shuttles take just about as long to get to New York when you account for the amount of time wasted at the airport, and cabbing from LaGuardia. 

LimoLiner costs $79 each way. 

Thank you to everyone who wished me a happy birthday via the internet!  I enjoyed reading your comments on the ride home :)

Until next time...

Michael Blanchard Blogs!

I am thrilled to introduce you to my first ever, brand new, squeaky clean, and voted #1 - blog on the internet! I am a 20 year old photographer... well, 20 years old next week! (And thats on the 22nd, In case... you were wondering... lol). I'm from a city called Newton, Mass, which is 10 minutes West of Boston, and also happens to be the "Readers Digest" voted safest city in the country, (not kidding!)

In 2000, I started playing around with a camera, and never stopped. I was big into sharing my photos online throughout high school, as I was one of the first kids (that I know) to have a fully functional website built for himself. It was www.MichaelBlanchard.com, and yes, it was a big hit! However, it wasn't built to the magnitude that I require, and I took it down after a couple years hoping to replace it quickly with something bigger and better. We all know how that turned out! Hopefully, (fingers crossed), I can get it completed this summer for us all to enjoy. Until then, we BLOG!

My intention with this blog is simple. To get you HOOKED! (And I will try my best!) I have been inspired to start this blog by my good friend Casey McCormick who recently started getting into blogging, and has encouraged others to start as well. Casey is a photographer who also taught me everything I know about Wedding Photography. If you would like some help getting your own blog up and running, she is the person to talk to! (Not me!) Check out her business blog at - Entrepreneur Blogging.

I've also fallen in love with a little photography blog called BOBBI & MIKE! (from Indiana). Words can't describe. Just check it out. Bobbi & Mike.

I hope you will check back, and often! Enjoy, and don't forget to comment..!

--Michael Blanchard