little eye photography

I am so so pleased to announce that my brand new photography website is up, live, and full of photographs for you to look at!  For the past seven years, I’ve photographed weddings as a hobby and am making the move to shoot just a little more seriously.

My friend, Rocco, designed the website for me and it’s powered through WordPress, which makes me a lot less anxious about knowing how to update albums and make posts.  While the site mostly serves as a portfolio, it also includes a blog where I will post wedding tips, updates and reflections.

blue hill wedding, maine, 2009

Just a little here on my photography philosophy:

When I am hired to capture weddings, engagements, maternity photos, family, senior portraits and more I will always always provide all the images to the client who has hired me.  These files are high resolution, printable up to 8×10 without loss of quality.  You may share and print your photos to your heart’s content.  I understand why some photographers may do otherwise, but for me this is what works.

I am offering an early booking discount for wedding photography packages, so if you’re getting married in the Portland, Maine area (I will travel, too!) and book with me before February 28th I will take $100 off all wedding packages offered.

I am so psyched that this year will bring more photography, more weddings (aw, so sweet all the time) and more creativity.  I’m not a resolution kinda girl, but this seems like a good start to a new year!

jack + deb

jack + deb special delivery cd envelope

Dropped off a little package of goodness to some friends who were hitched in October ’12.  Jack + Deb play in a local band, alex keaton, and they are wonderful.  So it was really nice to be there for their casual, food-and-fun-filled evening.  Let me just say, the potato leek soup at RiRa was delicious and I still talk about it, even though I ate it three months ago.  Here are some other fantastic and visually delicious moments:

ceremony

The ceremony was held on the second floor at RiRa, in Portland, Maine’s Old Port right on the water.  You can just make out the parking lot for the Casco Bay Terminal through the windows!  What you are seeing there is some mid-October dusk action here in Maine.

guests

I was particularly happy with the way this shot turned out, pictures of guests can be hard to capture if you’re looking for natural poses and full faces but efforts were rewarded.

bride + baby

Any opportunity to photograph a bride and the youngest infant at the party should be taken – not sure why but it always looks fantastic.  Beautiful baby borrow!

jack + deb

love to love you

Audrey.  Where have you been!

The truth is pretty sweet, actually, I’ve been off in the land of being-a-wedding-photographer for the last two weeks.  It would not be so bad at all to do this for a living!  I’d sit around in my underwear all week editing photos and then put pants on on the weekend to go share one of those big life events with the most amazing people.

Most recently, Deb and Jack:

And the week before them, Rocco and Megan:

I would sure be a lucky lady if I could spent every weekend (or ALMOST every weekend) doing this for a living!

xo,

aud

Wedding Snapshots

After months and months of contemplation, and future plans for an actually, really real wedding photography website, I’ve updated my wedding photography portfolio.  I’m strictly against flash movies, vomit-inducing midi files and hard-to-navigate web galleries so the portfolio is a scroll-down what-you-see-is-probably-what-you’ll-get type portfolio.  I’d love it if you had the chance to scroll through, and of course comments are always, always appreciated.

Potential clients can rely on a few things:  I’m goofy, but I’ll keep it under control on your special day.  I’ve been told about once per wedding by a family member or client that I’m super discreet (“I barely noticed you during the reception!”)  I’m a sucker for details, and you’ll probably have just as many pictures of your centerpieces and floral arrangements as you Aunt Trudy.  I shoot in film and, ta-da, as of December 2010, with a digital Nikon camera, too.  I can offer as little as a couple hours of service or as much as an entire weekend, and I’m also keen on striking deals with other talented people if they have goods or services they can offer in return for my wedding photography time.

If’n you have any questions about getting Little Eye for when you get hitched, you can contact me by commenting on the blog or emailing littleeyedesigns {at} gmail {dot} com.

Love!

Write Words Every Day

Fire Portrait I made Kristina take of me. Stay tuned for more Fire Portraits, one day.

Just recently my good friend and co-worker, Anna, helped me figure out that I don’t really feel the need to do anything unless I am accountable to other people for it.  That’s kind of extreme – there are certainly days when I treat myself to cleaning my closet or painting my toenails, but for the most part my truly fabulous accomplishments happen when there are brick and mortar stores, craft fairs, or others that are relying on my elbow grease.

Same is true for keeping a journal.  The only reason I would write anything (that wasn’t a children’s book or a novel… one-day-dream that I hope I can accomplish before kicking it) is to have others read it.  Thus begins my efforts to post something here every day, art-related or not, a little link or an epic tome, just to get the fingers moving.

Let’s recap this utterly insane weekend.

On Friday, Kate of A Sweet Disorder and general awesome-lady-ness announced she was going to get married on Tuesday.  Yeah, like yesterday!  Being that she’s the light of Portland it was imperative to put together something weird, fun, quirky, and kinda expensive (but not too expensive).  And swanky.  Definitely swanky.

Brain-Shatteringly Amazing Women in front of a pretty cool vehicle

Enter:  white limo.  Kate came over on Monday night and we surprised her (well, kinda, of course I spilled the beans 20 minutes before it got there, what an asshole) while drinking frozen white russians and talking about weiners.  Yeah, bachelorette party!  Sierra brought a sweet-30 rack of High Life that we poured in to the champagne-of-beers flutes in the limo and cruised around, stopping momentarily for pees around Portland and french fries at Wendy’s in Saco.  Mmm.  Also, p.s., props to Bayside Limo for being the bestest, cheapest limo service off the peninsula!  Definitely recommend.

See: Jerk Chicken at top left of grill

Saturday (going back here) was nice and quiet with errands and a Goodwill trip ruling the day.  We also picked up $15 worth of chicken and started marinating for a party at 6pm on Sunday.  When it comes to jerk you want that shit to be dredged, marinated, and SPICY.  P.S. it worked and peoples’ mouths were burning up.  Kate even said the inside of her ear was tingling!

Sunday we went to Tara and Brian’s house after I met with Elise of eden. and Kate of Kate Sullivan-Jones to finish our space at The Merchant Co. which is having its grand opening First Friday on Congress St., across from Bang! and the cryptozoology museum.  It’s freaking awesome in there.  The Merchant Co. will have a swanky space for classes and crafting in addition to housing goods for your purchase of nearly 50 Maine (and mostly Portland) artists, designers and vintage resellers!

Summer is Here

Tara and Brian’s house on Sunday, per usual, was great.  A manicured backyard, delicious chips and dips, a smorgasbord of meats and veggie options and oodles of people who mostly make things out of instruments, art and fabric when they’re not slaving away at their 9 to 5 jobs.  I helped Tara put up Christmas lights just before everyone arrived and Brian lit a fire when the sun went down and aren’t night time parties freaking gorgeous?  I want a house, mostly so I can have a back yard.  Le sigh… one day…

Yeah, yeah, and Monday I didn’t have to go to work but I did go to Michael’s and buy a Yudu with Jason which I’m pretty sure is super cheesy but the results look pretty good and it’s a good start to learning screen printing.  It’ll come in handy for a number of reasons, but the one I’m most excited about is helping Mom get away from the clutches of Cafepress and start selling on Etsy.  Step away from the dark side, Momma!

The Daisy Buchanan Dress. Click the image to go to the listing.

I’m also psyched because I just started listing some of the dresses that I buy at Goodwill going ‘this is cool, I can probably sell it on Etsy’ that have been piling up in my closet but either don’t fit me, aren’t exactly my style, or are so far out there (but still excellent) that I couldn’t help but purchasing.  The newer ones (I have lots of Banana Republic for some reason) will go on Ebay and the vintage items get a nice, little corner in my Etsy shop.  Hoo-rah.

Kate & Mike's 'Ceremony' officiated by the lovely Kristina Balbo

Then on Tuesday night we kind of impromptu went over to Mike and Kate’s, not realizing they were going to get married in their apartment, and witnessed them tie that knot real tight!  Above is my favorite pictures from what I took.  More to come soon!

How was your long weekend?  As nutso as mine or did you get to relax with a mojito and wiggle your toes in a kiddie pool for three days?

You Either Stay Up Late or Get Up Early

…or Both.  Sometimes I do both.

I’ve been rather neglectful of this little corner of the internet.  I like to think of it as the cyber equivalent of my bathroom which, up until I had guests over exactly seven days ago, had been ignored in the same, increasingly inconvenient way.

A little recap, here is what I’ve been busy on:

Poster by Meagan Anderson and Kris Johnsen. $8 on Etsy!

The BIG THAW Portland – she is coming to a Mayo Street Arts Center near you and it’s going to be just brilliant, I am sure of it.

Shallots, $6.50 for 5"x5" Print

I’ve been listing photos on Etsy, which while not totally profitable is getting my work included in lots of treasuries, so I cannot complain.  Above is one the community just couldn’t get enough of the first couple of days it was up.

Metal Feathers is Good.

The ‘busy season’ has started at work again, so I’ve spent less time trolling the internet for awesome things.  But in the meantime, you should probably just check out Mike’s tumblr.  Which is fun to watch because Metal Feathers, my boyfriend’s band, is on their sometimes playing, sometimes heckling the people who are playing.  All in good fun, much like their new album, Contrast Eats the Slimey Green, which is so worth listening to.

Set of 6 Bottle Cap Wine Charms, $8 on Etsy

Lastly, but not leastly, I’ve been working on a new project do develop bottle cap wine charms.  I’m also in to the idea of flipping these guys upside-down and doing custom orders for weddings, baby showers, bridal showers, etc.  The wedding market is truly untapped by Little Eye Designs.  Why, oh why?  First of all, I love weddings.  I love shooting weddings.  So why wouldn’t I furnish them, too?

This is just a little dose for now.  If you’re jonesin’ for some smarmy writing it’s probably better if you go visit The BIG THAW for awhile until all the dust settles in mid-April.  That’s where most of my efforts are, these days!

Wedding Planner #2: Mustard and Midnight

Holy mole-y!  Funny how when you’re being a good aunt, working a full time job, cooking dinner every night to be a good girl and not spend money on take out AND planning a craft fair (shh!) the blog seems to get pushed to the side.  Don’t worry, I’m here now.

And we’re gonna talk wedding colors again!

Wedding Guide #2: Mustard and Midnight

Today’s palette is bright and punchy (YELLOW!) while chic and sophisticated (BLACK!)  It’s a bumblebee wedding and you’re invited.

Lovely Yellow Bridesmaids Cake Toppers, $18.99 from onecozynest on Etsy.

Yellow is a genuinely innocent color.  It’s heartwarming, opens your eyes and has a vintage feel to it no matter what.  You try wearing something yellow and not feeling the slightest bit ’70s!  These cake toppers are super sweet, and although I can’t imagine putting the whole darn wedding party on the cake (unless you have a buche de noel or something) I would venture to say your WEDDING DRESS should be yellow and one of these pretty ladies should stand up there.  With hopefully a cake topper with a groom dressed like this:

Antique Victorian Tuxedo Jacket, $85 by getupvintage on Etsy.

Although your hubby’s arms should be about a half an inch longer to pull of this look, this antiquated tuxedo jacket paired with floppy bow tie is modest, lovable and reeks of the quality tailors used to put in men’s dress-up duds.  Who says everyone’s tux has to match?  Quality over quantity, I always say.

Gamboge Silk Skinny Tie, $18.95 from rabbitstop on Etsy.

But if bow ties aren’t your thing, you can coordinate the man with the rest of the scenery by pulling honey mustard in to his neckwear.  Skinny or traditional, a pop of color will resonate in wedding photos, especially when it’s designed to make Mrs. Wedding Day look totally coordinated and gorgeous.

You are My Sunshine Print, $15.00 from FarnumInkStudio on Etsy.

Let’s talk wedding presents.  If your friends are anything like mine, they’re getting hitched left and right with utter disregard for my bank account.  A piece of artwork meant to coordinate with their colors (just ASK, you know she won’t stop talking about the differences between every kind of yellow if you act even remotely curious!) framed with an inexpensive, but classy frame from Michael’s will remind them of their wedding day every time they pass it on the way to the loo.

Click on the image of the entire treasury above to see all the excellent treasures I could definitely write for hours about.  Also, each featured item’s image will bring you to its listing when clicked.  Happy planning, kiddos.

Wedding Planner #1: Molasses and Sea Foam

Wedding Guide #1: Molasses and Sea Foam by littleeyedesigns on Etsy.

Wedding Guide #1:  Molasses and Sea Foam.

Before we dive in here, let me just be clear on one thing:  Etsy will ruin your life. Treasury-making, to be specific.  I am constantly browsing, marking favorites, lurking to find that perfect inspiration.  I dream of treasuries at night.  I eat them for breakfast!  I have no time to wash my armpits.  This is terrible!

Or, perhaps the absolute most perfect thing for a latent art student who hasn’t had a chance to edit photographs together in four years.  (Sad!)  How you pay $30,000 for this very specialized skill, I’m trying to remember.  Point is, these just feel so right!

~~~

All my treasuries can be found at the ‘Shopping Guides‘ tab at the top of the page.

However, I’ve started a series of treasuries that I’m especially fond of:  curating items for weddings based on varying color schemes.  I’ll be featuring these as entries and going in to a little more detail about the products I selected.  Why?  Because:  a) weddings are the most awesome versions of theme parties, ever. and b) every little girl wants a tricked out wedding and if you don’t think so you’re just in denial.

That brings me to #1!  Molasses and Sea Foam.

It’s a totally ridiculous combination of textures and tastes, but the whole chocolate and sea salt thing is in right now so I’m feeling pretty good about it.  A wedding color scheme with teals, sea foam and turquoise grounded by earthy, brown chocolate is sophisticated, youthful and everything looks just absolutely edible.

Here are some highlights:

 

50s XXs/XS Tiered Cream Gown by flourclothing on Etsy.

This is your wedding dress.

Well, it doesn’t have to be.  And I would suggest unless you’re one of the two people I know who are under 5’2″ and weigh less than 110lbs. you probably shouldn’t attempt getting in this XXS dress for fear of explodin’ a beautiful piece of antique clothing.  The flounce on the tiered skirt layers starts at about bellybutton height and is childishly adorable – I think some wrist-length lace-finished ladies’ gloves are in order, here.

 

Vintage Mink Stole, $95, from detroitpicker on Etsy.

Pobody’s Nerfect.

If you have a major problem with fur (like I do) and a sense of humor (like I do) this one’s a noodle-scratcher.  My friend, Kate, has one of these and it is absolutely one of the most sickly fun things to play with.  Vintage fur is kind of like getting Grandma’s beautiful engagement ring that you KNOW is from a bad time and place in manufacturing history.  So if you’re totally grossed out — sorry, I completely understand.  But in the interest of aesthetics, this mink stole (handed down for at least 40 years now) would be an excellent accent in the getaway limo/car/boat when you and your brand new hubby are off to see the world on a whirlwind honeymoon.

 

Sea of Blue Vintage Collage Bracelet, $52 by lonkoosh on Etsy.

Holy found objects, Batman!

This is a really gorgeous collection of vintage jewelry finds all coming together to make one simply charming piece.  It’s dainty and feminine while chunky and bold.  This covers your something old AND blue.  Lucky!

 

Check back for the next Wedding Planner treasury, featuring… Mustard and Midnight!

Wistful Wedding News

Has anyone ever accidentally stumbled on the best wedding website ever?  OnceWed is a tasteful, aesthetic dream come true when it comes to wedding planning, inspiration and easy-to-execute craft ideas.  Click here for a circus-themed wedding that I find the cutest.  The only slightly troubling thing is when you go to the “Vendor Guide” tab at the top there is no search option in Maine.  C’mon guys!  We have some of the best backdrops, flora and fauna in the country.  New mission:  get on OnceWed, take Portland’s camera, floral and crafting talent with me.

Tara’s Gorgeous. Photo credit Kate Sullivan-Jones.

On a more personal note, Brian and Tara from the Rattlesnakes are getting married in a couple of weeks.  I’m pretty sure this is going to be the rockingest wedding I’ve been to ever.  It’s at One Longfellow in downtown Portland and Kate and I (honorary volunteer photographers) have been given explicit instructions to get drunk while we’re shooting.  Yes!

 

Photo by Audrey Hotchkiss

 

Lastly, I’m about to start putting together an album for Amanda and Dan, whose wedding I shot in August at the Regency Hotel in the Old Port.  Great space!  Outdoor ceremony and swanky indoor reception.  These two were really wonderful to work with, made me really realize why I embrace the massive undertaking that is wedding photography.  Hopefully will have some “product shots” of the album to share with you in a couple of weeks!

 

Photo by Audrey Hotchkiss

 

And here is a little vignette from Mike and Rebecca’s wedding way back in July.  Oh, Summer…see you again in 10 months or so.

 

photo credit EllanaCouture

 

As for dressing one’s self for the event, I found one endless-night-searching-for-random-things-on-Etsy successful when I found these sweet, traditional wedding dresses at EllanaCouture.  I might just sell enough necklaces to get one of these for myself and go as a debutante for Halloween.

 

Instead of a Chicken this could be Your Husband! Hmm? Hm?!

 

One thing I’ve been bouncing around in my head for some months now is the idea of making custom wedding favors for guests or members of the bridal party.  Could you see it now?  A unique little magnet stuck to every metal napkin ring…a set of 6 magnets featuring all the members of the bridal party as a post-wedding ‘thank you’ gift…a necklace with a special photograph in it as an inexpensive way to tell the bridesmaid how you appreciated her hard work and stripper-hiring.  OK depends on the wedding.  😉  Still — any feedback you want to send my way please leave a comment below!  Would love some guinea pigs to try this out on…