Bruce Plotkin Photography

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Welcome To Our New Blog!

I'm truly excited to welcome you to our new bigger, better, brighter, bolder, did I say better, BLOG. Long in the planning, finally it's here. And what better timing, than with the recent announcement by the Knot that we've been once again included in their Best of Weddings issue, selected by our very own brides and grooms as one of the Northeast's top wedding professionals. What an honor for us, but truly a testament to the many wonderful couples that we've had the good fortune to meet, who've allowed us into their lives on their most special of days, and with whom we've truly developed life-long friendships. Thanks to all of them, and thanks for taking a peak at our new site. I hope you'll continue to follow the action (which will of course encourages us to post the newest and the latest on a regular basis) and I hope that you'll let us know what you think of what we're doing. Peace and best wishes, Bruce

A Brief History

You might say that it all began with a certain very distinctive fragrance creeping up the stairs from the basement. You see my dad-the infamous and beloved and talented Sid Plotkin-was a wedding and portrait photographer for more than forty years in Worcester, Massachusetts, my home town. In addition to having his studio over the garage, his office and darkroom were in the basement. And while it was far from an everyday occurrence, every time he'd mix that sepia toner to make those beautiful brown-toned prints, the smell was not unlike rotten eggs. And while this may sound like a rather inauspicious manner of being drawn into the family business, something about knowing that at those key moments "magic" was happening downstairs clearly made a lasting impression. Miles travelled and years later, having spent considerable time as a magazine and advertising photographer in New York, having shot covers for the likes of Time and Us News and World Reports, the wheels have come full circle. For the last decade I've had the unique privilege of photographing hundreds of wedding celebrations, sharing in the lives and stories of countless brides and grooms at the start of their extraordinary journeys. The magic happens every weekend and my thrill is being there to record the moments when it does. As famed director Mike Nichols told Vanity Fair Magazine in talking about the making of "The Graduate", "There's nothing better than discovering, to your own astonishment, what you're meant to do. It's like falling in love".

Getting to know Kristina and Jason

Wednesday, February 10, 2010 Posted in Weddings, engagement sessions

We call them engagement sessions, or “e” sessions for short. But really, more than anything, they’re “get to know you” photo shoots. An opportunity for me to spend an hour or two (or sometimes a day) with our soon to be bride and groom, for me to see how they are on their end of the camera and for them to get a glimpse of my style and approach. I’ve really found that it contributes greatly to the more relaxed and casual relationship that I’ve established with the couple by their wedding day. Add to this the fact that we somehow manage to always come away with some wonderful pictures of the two of them, photos that can really capture a side of them and their story that they otherwise might not have a permanent record of, kind of a “day in the life of”.

On this Wednesday of blizzard conditions here in Connecticut, it’s hard to imagine that just this past Friday, with barely any snow on the ground and with just a touch of Spring in the air, I met Kristina and Jason in the historic little Bedford Village, New York and spent a couple of ours on their “e” photos. In their case, it was considerably more than a get to know you session, it was a “get to meet you” opportunity. You see, K&J live in Virginia (ok, talk about some “snow”!) and in between storms they managed to make it up this way to visit family and to meet for our shoot. And since Kristina spent much of her youth in Bedford, and since they’re getting married at one of the churches in the Village, it just seemed like a logical place to meet and use as a backdrop for our pictures.

Now I suppose sometimes this could be an awkward thing, meeting a couple for the first time and then immediately jumping into this photo session. But not for Kristina and Jason, and definitely not for me. Not only were they instantly relaxed in front of the camera and willing to try everything I threw at them, it took only minutes before I felt as if I’d known them forever. The sweetest couple, whose wedding in August will be nothing but a day of extraordinary fun for me to capture.

By the way, included in the collection of photographs from our day together are some great moments captured in the Bedford Village Library, truly a relic from the past but as quiet, peaceful, well-used and significant a spot as when Kristina used to hang there as a kid.

I hope you’ll enjoy the results of our efforts and continue to follow the story of Kristina and Jason this summer.