Bonnie Baker Photography - 2009 Best of Concord Award!

Good news! We've received the 2009 Best of Concord Award in the Portrait Photographers category from the U.S. Commerce Association.

Here's the information:

WASHINGTON D.C., June 8, 2009 -- Bonnie Baker has been selected for the 2009 Best of Concord Award in the Portrait Photographers category by the U.S. Commerce Association (USCA).

The USCA "Best of Local Business" Award Program recognizes outstanding local businesses throughout the country. Each year, the USCA identifies companies that they believe have achieved exceptional marketing success in their local community and business category. These are local companies that enhance the positive image of small business through service to their customers and community.

Various sources of information were gathered and analyzed to choose the winners in each category. The 2009 USCA Award Program focused on quality, not quantity. Winners are determined based on the information gathered both internally by the USCA and data provided by third parties.

About U.S. Commerce Association (USCA)

U.S. Commerce Association (USCA) is a Washington D.C. based organization funded by local businesses operating in towns, large and small, across America. The purpose of USCA is to promote local business through public relations, marketing and advertising.

The USCA was established to recognize the best of local businesses in their community. Our organization works exclusively with local business owners, trade groups, professional associations, chambers of commerce and other business advertising and marketing groups. Our mission is to be an advocate for small and medium size businesses and business entrepreneurs across America.

SOURCE: U.S. Commerce Association

Engagement Session in Beacon Hill and Public Garden

In early October, I spent the morning with a lovely couple who are planning a wedding for next summer. We went for a walking photography session, from the Longfellow Bridge through Beacon Hill, into the Public Garden and back.

We were able to get lots of candid portraits, as well as some more formal posed ones.


It was a lovely morning - crisp, clear and perfect for photos.

Here are just a few of the many images we took:

Senior portrait in Sherborn

In September, I had the pleasure of photographing this young woman with her three horses. We had a great time with the different horses and captured many wonderful images.


















After we spent time with each of the horses, we took some images with two of the horses together. They were very affectionate and lots of fun!

We ended the session with some portraits of the horses with both Mom and daughter.

Autumn Portrait in Portrait Garden and Studio

This little girl visited our portrait garden before the last of the foliage dropped from the trees!


We were thrilled with the beautiful light and her lovely expressions.

Busy Summer and Fall - Weddings and Portraits!

It was a really busy and wonderful summer and autumn. The people and weddings I photographed were beautiful and unique.


In June I had the privilege of photographing some lovely weddings - from Gloucester to downtown Boston, my cameras were busy and we captured some amazing images!












This couple was married in a small ceremony overlooking Gloucester Harbor. There were lots of laughs and special moments.

Cute kids!

Last week we had to move a scheduled outdoor session to the studio due to the wet weather, but in spite of the rain, we got some amazing images. Check out these cute little boys!

This little boy did NOT want to wear that cute sailor hat; the combination of his disdain for it and our desire for him to be photographed wearing it developed into a fun game - he was able to fling it off his head milliseconds after we put it on. I love how the Mom is putting the cap on in this image. That cap was off before Mom even stepped out of the frame!!!

Long Wharf Investors, Boston

Last week, we were blessed with good weather for an in-town photo shoot for the investment firm, Long Wharf Investors. The morning was bright and sunny - the only dry day all week!









We had a full agenda as we were trying to take portraits of each principal as well as candids of them walking around the square and other shots, too. Thank goodness the weather cooperated!






We started at 7 AM and enjoyed the beautiful early morning light. As the morning progressed, we took environmental portraits in Post Office Square, as well as some shots in the firm's conference room.








After we were done inside, I wandered around Post Office Square to photograph details of the square which might be useful for their website.









I also took an overhead image of the square from the fifth floor of one of the nearby buildings. The sun was high enough to cause bright hot spots in certain areas. Exposing properly for the buildings left the shadows in the park too dark. Exposing properly for the shadows made the buildings too bright.


I was able to implement some High Dynamic Range techniques and processed the same image for both the highlights and the shadows. I darkened the sky and buildings and brought up the shadows in the park and the result is shown here. This technique produces images more similar to what the human eye sees in these contrasty situations.

The Long Wharf principals were fun to work with and I was pleased with all the great photos we took. Make sure to check out their new website once it's up and running, hopefully later this summer (http://www.long-wharf.com/).