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".

Jessica and Billy’s Engagement Session

Monday, December 28, 2009 Posted in Weddings, engagement sessions

In anticipation of the rapidly approaching new year, a year filled with new weddings and new beginnings, I bring you the photos from our engagement shoot with Jessica and Billy. Clearly the weather was a bit warmer back in October when we met for our photos, but I was holding off with these special moments of two very special people so that we could all dream together about the Summer of 2010, the sun and the surf and Jess and Billy’s wedding.

But first, a little bit about the two of them. They grew up in neighboring Connecticut towns and both ended up at separate colleges in Maryland (Jess at University of Maryland and Billy at Loyola), but their paths never crossed until they met at their first jobs out of school. Jess was assigned to the same client as Billy and they quickly became friends. They began dating three years later (what took them so long?) and Billy proposed on a surprise trip to Newport, RI in the Spring of this year. Could their be a more romantic place?

We started our photos on the streets of South Norwalk, CT. Billy owns a condo on Washington Street so they both have a special place in their hearts for Sono. And while we didn’t exactly ask permission to take a table outside of Strada 18, their favorite Sono restaurant (and which also happens to have my all time favorite “heart chairs”) how cool are the people there that, sensing the purpose of our pictures, they brought Jess and Billy complimentary glasses of wine.

From there we headed up to Fairfield and this wonderful little stretch of private beach and the little yellow cottage that Billy’s grandfather, mother, aunts and uncles and their children have all enjoyed for years. Talk about great locations, spots that not only allowed us to capture these very special pictures but locations that have great meaning to both Jessica and Billy as well. Otherwise known as the perfect engagement session.

So to all you followers of my visual diary that we call my blog, I send best wishes for a healthy, happy and peace filled new year. The winter to come may at times seem dark, dreary and endless, but keep in mind that the Spring is only months away, followed soon thereafter by a summer of love, weddings and shoes filled with sand. Love and peace to all. Bruce