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SAFFRON - SESHU'S DOCUMENTARY WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHY & PORTRAITS BLOG
Contemporary Photography For Discerning Cosmopolitan People |
 Looking for a photographer who understands multiple cultures? Well, step right in. My name is Seshu and I am a wedding and portrait photographer based in the heart of Connecticut, with easy access to clients across the nation. This is my new blog: Saffron. Feel free to explore this site using the categories listed above. If you enjoy seeing the images or reading the posts, please subscribe and tell a friend or two.
I feel truly blessed and fortunate to experience the most important moments in my client's lives. Saffron will be as much about you as it will be about me. It's a diary, a repository and an open canvas all wrapped into one. It will give me an opportunity to display some of the images I have produced and share thoughts and ideas about my metiér, or life in general. This blog will further enable you to get to know me, my style and my approach to photography and people.
For those of you have come here from my old blog, Bliss, welcome again. I also actively maintain Tiffinbox, a blog for photographers and artists worldwide. Here are my profiles on Facebook, Friendster and Flickr. I would
love to connect with you. I recently became a member of WedFog - The Wedding Photographers Directory, Photographik – The Elite Photographer's Network and Wedding Party, a wedding planning website. So, if you are visiting from any of these websites, welcome!
I greatly value your comments. If you would rather email me your thoughts, you are more than welcome to do so at saffron [at] seshu [dot] net. If you are checking to see if I am available for your event or want to commission me for a portrait session, please use the contact form on this site.
Lastly, this website was custom built for me by the incredibly talented Brock Martin of Infinet Design. Brock, you rock!
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Mount Hope Farm, Bristol, Rhode Island |
Some of you following my blog may remember the engagement session I had with Apoorva + Josh. I did photograph their wedding as well and wanted to share with you a few images as well as the slideshow I produced for them. It went well beyond the 50 images I usually post in a slideshow because Apoorva and Josh, their family and friends were so much fun and I continued capturing some really memorable moments. But let my words not do the talking when my images can. Check them out and feel free to post a comment!
Before I launch into the pictures, I wanted to recognize a few people – Carrie Kan worked her magic at the Mehendi party. The rehearsal dinner was at the Dewolf Tavern. It's a charming venue with great deal of history attached to it. The head chef is Sai Viswanath, a fellow Madrasi gave me a quick tour of the facilities. Josh and his groomsmen took off to play golf at the Quonset O Club. Russell Morin's fine staff catered the wedding, and I was pleasantly surprised by the high quality of the Indian fare. New England Tent Company provided the large canopy on the grounds of Mount Hope Farm. The beautiful flowers were arranged by Polly Hutchison of Robin Hollow Farm, also in Rhode Island. Nathaniel Rahav of Busquelo Productions drove up from New York City and spun some amazing tracks off of real LPs.
BIG SHOW: Apoorva + Josh |
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Milford Gurudwara And Burlington Marriott, Massachusetts |
What a wedding! Navneet was referred by my friend Sandeep Ingale, a popular photographer based in New Jersey. I remember taking her call when I was attending a workshop in Los Angeles. The connection was poor but the one thing that struck me when I spoke with her was this – good, if not great, photography was important to her and her family and she didn't want to compromise.
I asked her if we could meet near where I live, and she agreed to down despite her very busy schedule. She came with her father, mother and of course, Mandeep. Over a cup of coffee, I shared with them some of my sample albums. We talked about photographing at a Gurudwara, where followers of the Sikh religion go to pray. I hadn't photographed there before, but I assured them that with a profound respect for all religions, I would be discreet in how I operated at their temple.
The three-day wedding celebration began with an evening Sangeet, then followed by an evening Mehendi party and then the actual day of the wedding beginning at 5.45 am. Yes, I was up and ready to document a very special ceremony where Navneet received her wedding bangles from her maternal uncles. Though short, it was a highly emotionally charged event.
"Waheguru Ji Ka Khalsa, Waheguru Ji Ki Fateh"
Navneet and Mandeep's Sikh wedding ceremony at the Milford Gurudwara was perhaps the most musical of all the weddings I have ever photographed. Part of me wished I had an audio recorder to go along with the images you are about to see below. The bharaat, or groom's procession, was a short one but Mandeep's groomsmen made sure everyone got their chance to dance on the street and towards the Gurudwara. The "milni" or meeting of the groom's side of the family and the bride's side was also a beautiful ceremony. Indian weddings, and dare I say most ethnic weddings, are rarely only about the bride or the groom; they are almost always about the joining of two families. Bedecked in some of the finest wedding outfits I have laid my eyes on, the couple looked stunning. Quiet and stoic throughout the ceremony, Navneet and Mandeep allowed themselves a few laughs towards the end.
Punjabi receptions are legendary. If you didn't dance before, you suddenly found your dancing feet. The lights went down real low at the Burlington Marriott and DJ Deewane led by Bunty kicked the party up several notches with some of the funkiest Bhangra and Bollywood mixes I have ever heard. But not before Navneet and Mandeep shared the floor for their first dance and then Navneet and her dad followed suit as Navneet's mother sang a special song that she had written.
To Navneet, Mandeep and Navneet's parents and siblings, a huge thank you for a wonderful opportunity to learn more about the Sikh and Punjabi culture! I had a truly memorable time photographing your wedding and I look forward to being your family photographer.
BIG SHOW: NAVNEET + MANDEEP |
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A Bengali & Maharashtrian Wedding At The Crowne Plaza Hotel, Worcester, MA |
Mita and Piyush got an early start by booking my services almost a year and some months before their wedding. I was honored to photograph their wedding recently at The Crowne Plaza hotel in Worcester, Massachusetts.
Mita's side of the family is from West Bengal and Piyush's from Maharashtra, two states in India on two very different sides of the sub-continent. While some may say this was an Indian wedding and leave it at that, I looked for hints at where their Bengali and Maharashtrian traditions would be observed during the marriage ceremony.
Beginning with the bharaat, or the groom's procession, which was punctuated by some very energetic street dancing by uncles and aunties and Piyush's parents, to where Piyush was formally welcomed by Mita's mom, displaying her own customs, the entire day was simply beautiful and elegant to the core. I was thrilled to see Mita being brought into the marriage hall by her brothers in a traditional Indian palanquin. She and Piyush both looked absolutely regal.
The beautiful mandap and other decorations were by Shoba Shastry of Alankar Event Planners & Decorators. The music that rocked the reception was by Boston's DJ Deewane. The wedding ceremony was officiated by Jayanthi Dixit, a member of the Interfaith Clergy Group. Special thanks to Tamara Colpack, Crowne Meetings Director, for making it possible for me to set up additional lights and saw that the entire wedding shoot went without a hitch.
Thank you, Mita and Piyush, for a wonderful opportunity to witness and document your wedding. It was a real treat. Posted below are a few images from the day. I will have a link here to the BIG SHOW as soon as it is ready. (Trust me, you'll want to come back and take another look!)
BIG SHOW: Mita + Piyush |
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Monday, August 11, 2008 News |
The Sound Of Contemporary India Getting To Know Itself |
When I received an email about an upcoming concert by the band Indian Ocean, for CRY (that's Child Rights & You), I knew I had to volunteer and photograph the concert. I had heard about the band, but hadn't heard any of their music.
Members of CRY help "towards restoring to underprivileged children, especially Indian, their basic rights to survival, protection, development and participation."
The band's lineup, just about every single track, was a foot-stomping, let's get off our seats and dance kinda music. Even though the lyrics were wholly beyond my comprehension, the passion with which Susmit Sen, Asheem Chakravarthy, Rahul Ram and Amit Kilam perform is to be experienced first-hand. Indian Ocean, a favorite of college campuses in India sure know how to rock the house. And the music was a mix of rock, jazz, fusion and folk. The acoustics was ok, despite the venue: a high-school auditorium. But it did take the band a little longer to get their sound-check out of the way. That in turn gave me more time to photograph them as they were getting ready. So, it all worked out. |
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Special thanks to Madhu Reddy, a Connecticut real estate agent, who sent me that original email about the concert. Also, thanks to Sujay Saha and every single CRY-Connecticut volunteer on hand that day who made me feel welcome and allowed me to document the concert without any restrictions.
So, here is a sample of what I saw and felt. Can you hear the music when you see these images? Feel free to comment below. |
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Announcing The Launch Of A New Slideshow Feature |
"Go big, or go home," is the favorite mantra of Australian photographer Jerry Ghionis.
Taking his words to heart, on June 13, 2008, I closed one chapter of my life, as a photo editor at ESPN and opened another as a fully committed wedding and portrait photographer for my clients in the US, Canada and really anywhere and everywhere around the world. Yes, I will be in Udaipur, India, in October, to photograph a beautiful palatial wedding. So, don't hesitate to contact me if you are planning your destination wedding for 2008 and beyond.
One of the first steps I took was to have my website redesigned, including the integration of this blog. In fact, there are more changes coming soon. I continued to think of features which could help my clients have an enhanced viewing experience of their images after the wedding or portrait session. In that vein, allow me to introduce you to what I call THE BIG SHOW. It's a premium slideshow that has the ability to scale up my client's images and display them really, well, big, limited only by the size and quality of the monitor they are being viewed on.
I am very excited to be able to offer this option now for my clients. Remember Pramilla and Dhyan? Well, here is their BIG SHOW.
Current clients and those whose weddings I will book before the end of 2008 will receive the BIG SHOW as a gift from me. Even if you are getting married in 2009 or 2010, reserve my photographic service and receive this add-on valued at $600.
Let the absence of music in the BIG SHOW not trip you up. I am looking for ways where I could legally license music for just that purpose. And, given how even more subjective music choices can be, I sometimes ask my clients to offer up some of their suggestions. If a royalty-free option exists, I'll be able to use music for the duration of the slideshow.
I will soon be publishing a slew of blog posts here with the words – BIG SHOW displayed at the bottom of the post. Simply click on that word to immerse yourself and relive a moment; one you either experienced first-hand or heard about through your family and friends. Either way, it's going to rock your socks off.
Thanks go out to Kitty Wells and Meghan Bingle of IntoTheDarkroom for helping me customize the BIG SHOW to my specifications. |
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As I lay in my hotel bed one night during a multiple-day Indian wedding I was photographing in Massachusetts, I watched the movie Blood Diamond starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Djimon Hounsou and Jennifer Connely.
I was moved by what I saw; African children and their parents having their human rights violated in unspeakable ways, all in the pursuit of diamonds for sale and resale around the world. It made me wonder about the diamond ring I had bought my wife in India a couple of year's back. Where did it come from? What was the real price of that shiny stone?
And it had me thinking about all those grooms who are probably getting down on bended knee just about now to ask their partners to marry them. Could they possibly buy conflict-free diamonds and save the fate of hundreds of thousands of people?
The answer is, yes. Canadian diamonds. Check out Brilliant Earth, home to conflict-free diamonds and the use of renewed gold and platinum.
"At Brilliant Earth, we are dedicated to tracking our gems to ensure that every single gemstone is mined, cut, and finished in a socially and ethically responsible manner. All of our diamonds come from Canadian mines that follow environmentally sustainable practices and are committed to delivering high quality gems. Our well-established suppliers authenticate the source of their diamonds as conflict free and follow established domestic business practices."
Please note, I am in no way associated with Brilliant Earth nor do I financially gain by mentioning their business. However, between today and the end of the year, if you buy your diamonds through Brilliant Earth and can prove it, I'll be happy to offer you a special day-long photo session (valued at over $1000) for just you and your beloved when you also book my services for your wedding.
So, buy your diamond(s) through Brilliant Earth. Then contact me about booking my service for your wedding. I'll then schedule a day-long photo session that will rock your socks off. Simple as that. Small caveat, though, if you live anywhere outside of Connecticut, travel and hotel fees will apply.
The next time you are shopping for some bling bling, make sure they haven't been involved in any bang bang. I hope we can all do the right thing.
Update: Check out this company as well as an alternative. |
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I just stumbled across this incendiary article by a Washington, DC writer. The writer gleefully states that she found a photographer for her wedding by seeking out a fellow alumnus of the University of Missouri's School of Journalism. Fine. Bravo. Give yourself a slap on the back, I say. She didn't go the traditional route and that says something.
However, the fact she took the trouble to find a photojournalist was about the only thing I found agreeable with the article. Take this, for example: "Another tip is to designate a neutral organizer who can help with photography direction, round everyone up, and make sure the photographer is capturing photos of both sides of the family."
Excuse me? "Make sure the photographer is capturing photos of both sides of the family?" How sophomoric. Any professional photographer will have her/his eyes peeled where the action is and photograph the interaction of both families. This is almost an unwritten fact of what a photojournalist has been trained to do. To have someone shadow your photographer throughout the day just to make sure everyone is photographed (a feat that is nearly impossible anyway) is a futile attempt at trying to control everything.
Well, Ms. Halonen perhaps means well but she and others like her must know that a photojournalist is trained to visually narrate the day's activities as it unfolds. What is happening in front of the lens is what a photojournalist documents. Seeking out family members from each side and making sure everyone is photographed during the day will likely mean that key moments will forever be lost. I somehow doubt she would want that to happen.
If she is referring to formal portraits with the bride and groom, I can totally understand. When I photograph a wedding, I request the bride and groom to introduce me to someone in both their families who can willingly bring their respective families to where the formal portraits are being created. I work quickly; no more than 30 minutes if everyone is prepared and people flow in and out of the "set". I want my clients to get back to partying with their family and friends.
If, however, she is not talking about the portrait session and is indeed suggesting that someone hand-hold the photographer during the entire event, the poor soul in Nashville who signed up for this gig is probably in for a rude surprise when the bride/writer hands him a "shot-list." This is the list of "must-have" moments that, oh, crosses my mind for about a couple of seconds during an entire wedding because as a visual artist I prefer to work with the freedom and independence that strict directions about what to photograph and when would be terribly stifling to the body of work I create for my clients.
When my clients first tell me about an uncle, aunt or friend whom they haven't seen in ages but who will be at the wedding, I am always eager to document their emotional meeting because I know it will mean so much to my clients. But it has to happen naturally. If you have placed an enormous amount of trust and faith in your photographer to capture your wedding day like no other and you are interested in having images that are unique, interesting and even inspiring, do yourself and your progeny a favor and toss that shot list out please. |
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It's been a while since I checked out Douglas Merriam's website. Doug, as we called him, is a terrific photographer and teacher in Santa Fe and I had the honor of enrolling in one or maybe even two of his on-location lighting classes way back when at the Santa Fe Workshops.
So, when I opened up his Portrait section I was pleasantly surprised to see a portrait he had shot as I sat in as a test subject. Check it out below. That's me on the left, longer hair, cooler looking glasses and looking utterly comfortable on that couch. I had the makings of a model and I didn't even know it. |
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While Pramilla and Dhyan are from New York originally, they drove down to Connecticut from their new home in Boston for an evening engagement session. I am really looking forward to photographing their three-day wedding in October and had the pleasure of < a href="http://seshu.net/blog.cfm?postID=47&Pramilla-Dhyan-Engagement-and-Reception">photographing their engagement ceremony last year. Check out the reception pictures to see the kind of energy these two bring to the party!
I am posting just one image for now (working on a slew of other weddings and engagement sessions), but I will post several of my favorites soon from this engagement session soon.
This one is quiet and I believe presents their shy, introspective side. At any photo session there is always a "warm-up" period where the bride and groom are still getting used to the idea of being photographed. This was shot during that time in Collinsville, Connecticut, a quiet little beautiful town. |
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