Cherise & Tom

Here are a few little diddies from Cherise & Tom's wedding a few weeks ago.

Absolutely love the Old World feel of this image

Another of my faves. Being added to the ArtImage Masterpiece Collection..coming to city near you.

As everyone knows, Hartford City Hall has become one of my favorite places to photograph. I just love architecture, and there is plenty of it there to incorporate. A lot of my clients want to bring me there because of what they've seen on my website, and it has become a personal challenge to me to come up with something that I haven't done yet...or to improve on past concepts that I've done. It's getting tougher....but I think we did it this time.
A different twist on one of my classics..

Another one for the ArtImage Masterpiece Collection..

The hits just keep on coming!!

I just found out this morning that one of my prints was awarded a Court of Honor award at the PPARI (Professional Photographers of Rhode Island)convention this weekend. The Court of Honor is awarded to the highest scoring print in the blue ribbon category. This was my first time entering the PPARI competition. Thanks PPARI!!

Best of Weddings competition

The suspense has been killing me since WPPI but I finally found out today that I actually won first place (Romance category) in the Best of Weddings international competition sponsored by Eventpix & WPPI. The judging was held last week at the WPPI (Wedding & Portrait Photographers International convention in Las Vegas.

I really love this image..and this couple! We created so many wonderful images from that day. Special thanks to Anna & Sebastien for allowing me to be a part of their special day.


As a category winner, I win the following



- Asukabook 10x10 40-side Hard Cover Book-Bound Varnish album
- Complete Set of Kubota Image Tools Photoshop® Actions
- $150.00 lab credit with H&H Color Lab
- One Doug Gordon Workshops DVD (1 DVD) and Flow Posing Guide

Not bad! Thank you Eventpix & WPPI!!

www.samchinigo.com

And the honor goes to...

I am very honored to have been awarded "Photographer of the Year" in the wedding category again this year by the CT Professional Photographers Association. Here is a photo of myself with CPPA President Grace Cribbins who graciously made me look taller again this year. :) Thanks Grace!! Btw..if I am fortunate enough to win again next year..could I get a leg lamp instead?

Congratulatons to my fellow photographers Julia Gerace & John Hill for their awards as well. Their work never fails to inspire.

Connecticut Coyote in the backyard

This is an image that I took of a coyote in my backyard the other day. Wish I had a 500mm!!

Best of Weddings finalists

Hey - I just found out that I placed 4 images in the semi-finals for the "Best of Weddings" international competition! 2 images in "Best Dressed" and 2 in "Romance". Wish me luck!! Grand Prize is a Canon 5D (among other things). I'm not a Canon shooter but I could certainly be converted!

My fellow CT wedding photographer Robert Trenske also placed an image in the Humor category, nice job Robert! Good Luck!

There are some really great images in the finals, so I don't expect to win, but I didn't expect to win last time either, so who knows?

Fall Food Stroll - Downtown New London

Wednesday, October 15, 2008, 5:30-8:30 PM Fall will officially kick off in the District at New London Main Street's annual Fall Food Stroll. This year has the largest number of participating businesses in the historical waterfront district! Taste and shop in over 55 venues. Whether you are a real foodie, or just want to check out The District, this Stroll will be sure to have something to offer for everyone.

Chefs are creating tantalizing tastes of seasonal delights with some of the freshest ingredients. Sample signature menu items from over two dozen restaurants and cafes. Over 30 specialty shops, boutiques, galleries, and salons will be offering snacks and new fall merchandise specials. Enjoy promotions and demonstrations at several venues. Stroll to the eclectic and diversified music of some of our best local talent.

Admission buttons are $25 in advance, $30 on Stroll Day. Admission includes a free drink coupon. Buttons for children and students are $15, but do not include a drink coupon. Button purchases also include Main Street's Map & Guide, and a Stroll Map showing the location of each participating venue. Stroll Maps will also be provided in each venue. Buttons may be purchased online; at the Main Street office in the Atrium at Harris Place at 165 State Street, Suite 101, Mon-Fri 9:30 AM-5:30 PM; or by sending a check with name, address, and email made out to New London Main Street.

One World, Five Photographers

FYI for anyone who is interested. The Mystic Art Center will present an exhibiton titled "One World, Five Photographers" featuring National Geographic photographers Ralph Lee Hopkins, Bob Krist, Jim Richardson, Eddie Soloway and Michael Melford. More than 50 matted pieces will be on exhibit.

Hopkins, Krist and Melford will be in attendance at the opeing reception on Friday Oct. 3 from 6-8p. The reception is free and open to the public.

An informal Q&A with the photographers is scheduled to begin at 5pm.

For more info visit Mystic Art Association or call 860-536-7601.

The The 30th Annual Photo Show is also taking place in the gallery at the same time, so there will be more than just the 50 prints on exhibit.

My wife and I are planning on going Friday evening, so if anyone is interested in linking up..let me know!

Urban Image Session w/Brittany!

Here are a few little diddies from Brittany's Urban Image session. We did some other stuff at the beach as well, but these are some of Brittany's faves. We had a blast. Thanks to her mom Heidi for being my assistant!!

Another Best in Show!

Surprisingly, I managed to place Best in Show again at the CT Professional Photographers Association's (CTPPA)quarterly print competition with my print titled "Anchored" on Monday night. I guess it does pay to bribe the judges! ;-P All kidding aside though, out of the 3 competitions held so far in the state this year, I placed "Best in Show" at all 3! There is 1 more in January, so hopefully I can do well in that one as well. A special "Thank you" to the judges (Jeff Dyer,Joan Genest,Marty Seifert, Ann Curtis) for their always insightful critique on my prints. The input really helps us all to become better photographers.

Next stop on the competition tour is the regional PPA sanctionaed competition at the Professional Photographers of New England (PPANE) Convention this weekend in Nashua, NH where the competition is pretty fierce. I actually won the prestigious Fuji Masterpiece Award there last year, but I am not getting my hopes up. To win it once is quite an accomplishment. Wish me luck..

Broad Brook Dairy..the end of an era..

If you are from my neck of the woods, then you have probably know of the old Broad Brook Dairy in Preston. I remember going there many times in my youth for good ole fashioned hand made ice cream. Stepping into the dairy bar was like stepping back in time. Nothing was ever updated. In it's late years, the dairy was only open a few short months, and it seemed that there was no ryhme or reason to the season. One day you'd drive by and the place looked like it had been abandoned for years. Then, a couple of days later the grass got cut and they were open for business! It was truly a cherished landmark by those of us from the area and has since been replaced by Buttonwood Farms, which many of you from outside the area may know of, from the attention it receives for it's sunflower fields and campaign for the Make-a wish Foundation.

I drove by Broad Brook a couple of weeks ago on my way back from a photographic seminar and much to my dismay, they were tearing it down. The back was ripped of the building and the place cleared out. I had always wanted to get inside and photograph it, but it looks like I waited a little too long. In all honesty, I figured that there had to have been plenty of snakes, rats, etc. living in there, so I wasn't stroming the doors to get in there. ;-P

Anyways, I happened to have a few spaces left on my card and managed to take a few images of what was left when I was passing. There were 3 rusted out milk trucks left in back that hadn't yet been hauled away. Last registered in 1968. Back when then milk man still delivered. I hope these images can give you a glimpe of days gone by.

Raw Culture and IMA fashion show

FYI - there will be a fashion show here in New London tomorrow evening (Friday) inside the Atrium at Harris Place. Local designers Cristin Gallagher and Jesse English will be debuting some of their new fall designs, and the opening reception will be held at ArtImage (my studio), which is directly across the street from the show at 170 State St. The show starts at 8p (opening reception at 7p)is free and all are invited to attend. I will be shooting the show, and if all goes well, there will be more shows like this to follow. So come down and be a part of New London's blossoming arts district!! IMA/Raw Culture

Art Leather at ArtImage

FYI - In case you didn't get the email blast. I am hosting a Art Leather "Get Together" here at the studio today from 4-7p. Please feel free to stop down and check out the latest and greatest products from Art Leather. Colleen Nolan will be here to answer any questions you might have. Studio address is 170 State Street in New London. Everyone is welcome!

Master Photographers Exhibit at The Met

I am wondering if anyone is interested in getting together to go check this out at The Metropolitan Museum of Art within the next couple of weeks. Only runs to the end of the month. Let me know!
Framing a Century: Master Photographers, 1840–1940

The exhibition tells the story of photography's first 100 years through the work of key figures who helped shape the aesthetic and expressive course of the medium: Gustave Le Gray, Roger Fenton, Carleton Watkins, William Henry Fox Talbot, Julia Margaret Cameron, Nadar, Édouard Baldus, Charles Marville, Eugène Atget, Walker Evans, Man Ray, Henri Cartier-Bresson, and Brassaï. The exhibition presents 10 to 12 iconic works by each of these artists to convey a broad sense of their contributions to photography. Many of the works are drawn from the Museum's 2005 acquisition of the Gilman Collection.

Loan Collection!!!

Wow, Wow, Wow! I just got word that 2 of my prints were accepted in Professional Photographers of America's International print competition. One was chosen for the prestigious "Traveling Loan Collection", which is basically the highest honor that can be bestowed to a print through PPA. And my other print was accepted for the Showcase Book. Both are incredibly tough accomplishments, and this was my first time entering PPA's Int'l print competition, so I am truly elated to have done so well. This is really a big deal in my world. Thank you PPA!