Cliff Mautner Photography

11-24-07- Cat and Brad- Four Seasons Great Exuma, Bahamas

What an amazing Thanksgiving weekend I had with Cat and Brad in the Bahamas. Four Seasons Resort on Great Exuma is a spectacular property. Cat and Brad had just about 20 or so of their closest friends and family members celebrating with them for this very special weekend. I was incredibly honored, and humbled, to have been able to spend this time with them. Here are a few of my favorites with a slew more to come in a few weeks on the blog. Thanks Cat and Brad for a terrific experience!

This is one of my favorite images in a long while. I love the juxtaposition here. Thanks to this wonderful couple for their efforts in making this image. It wasn't easy.

Here, we waited for the damn moon for what seemed like ages on a cold, windy beach. What fun!!

10.6.07- Brett and Michael- Park Hyatt at the Bellevue

Brett and Mike were awesome. We began at Mike's house, then to Brett's for some getting ready photos. Their ceremony was at the Villanova Chapel, then on to the Park Hyatt at the Bellevue for the reception. It truly was a terrific day.

Also, Donna Obrien from Beautiful Blooms did a phenomenal job with the decor, and my good friend Eddie Bruce was the entertainment. Here are some images from the day!

10.5.07- Tara and Chris- Tavistock Country Club- Haddonfield NJ

It's not often that I'll get to shoot a wedding in my backyard, but Tara and Chris were married within just 3 miles from my studio in Haddonfield NJ at Tavistock Country Club. We began the day at Tara's home in Cherry Hill. We then took the time to shoot some portraits in Philly, then back in to NJ for the rest of the day. We had a blast and had some beautiful light for making pictures!

9.29.07- Jennifer and Rob- Park Hyatt at the Bellevue- Philadelphia PA

With all of the workshops and seminars I've been teaching, and all the weddings I've been shooting, I've fallen a bit behind on my blogging of weddings. I'm off to the Bahamas this weekend for a wedding at Four Seasons Exuma Bay, so I'm trying to catch up a bit with my posts. For those in the United States who've subscribed to my blog, I wish you all a happy Thanksgiving. I'll be posting again asap! Here's a few from Jen and Rob's day! They're reception was held at the fabulous Park Hyatt at the Bellevue.

Lighting and Skillset Bootcamp!!!- What an awesome time!!!

I want to thank all of those who attended my workshop this past week. I've been receiving some terrific feedback. Specifically, some have mentioned that they came away with a much clearer understanding of their cameras, various uses in using their flash, a deeper insight on how to see light and utilize it no matter what the circumstances. Students came from all over including Arizona, Michigan, South Carolina, and oh yeah.... NJ and PA also! I had a phenomenal time getting to know everyone. The group developed a terrific dynamic and were all pretty close by the last day. I hope real friendships have formed because of it and hope everyone stays in touch. The goal was to become one with our gear- and to develop a better understanding of light in order to create a style. I really believe everyone came away with exactly that!

Many have been asking to see images. Before we started shooting, we began with a little get together Monday evening and got an early start on Tuesday. Most of the first half of the day was spent on fundamentals. We spent each morning going over so many different concepts, many mentioned that their brains were hurting a bit! I suppose that's a good thing. After lunch each day,  I chartered a bus to take us all into Philadelphia to find some cool light. Here's some images from the first day.

My images first from day one- Incidentally, ALL of my images were shot with the Nikon D3!

Now for some attendees- This is from Dave DiRentis.

Danny Weiss

Susan Stripling

Rosemary Mackintosh

another stunning image from Rosemary

On day two, after another morning of racking our brains learning about light, our bus made it's way to Eastern State Penitentiary in Philadelphia, where our students shot our models in various cell blocks! It was so damn cool. I love that place. Everyone shot some killer images. Here are a few more from the workshop along with some other images I shot to show attendees.

Here's some photos during some classroom time at the my studio.

Outside the penitentiary waiting to go inside, I showed everyone how I'd use the very harsh light and use it to my advantage to create texture, dimension, and mood.

Teaching at the penitentiary showing how I have brides and grooms see one another for the first time on the wedding day. It's magic when the chemistry is right!

Anthony and Amber- two of our models who had amazing chemistry.

Another model, Dasha, was fabulous with everyone

Here, I demonstrated how to use mixed light sources with various color temperatures. I balanced for daylite and allowed the tungsten light to go beautifully warm.

Here, I did the reverse, I balanced for the tungsten light and let the little bit of daylite go cold!

Here's a class picture taken by my awesome studio manager Anne Vasquez. What a great group of people. I can't wait until the next one.

Photoplus Expo- New York City

Given the fact that I was born in NYC and grew up in the New York Metropolitan area, Photoplus Expo is an event that's close to my heart. It's one of the largest photographic events in the world and I was proud to be a part of it once again. This year, perhaps the biggest buzz throughout the entire show was all about the new Nikon D3 Digital SLR- Nikon's newest flagship camera.

I was the first wedding photographer in the world to test out this amazing camera and there is a blog post below about my experience. It was a great feeling to represent Nikon on their tradeshow platform Thursday and Friday at the show. I showed some of my favorite work and demonstrated the camera's capabilities. I also want to thank Nikon for sponsoring my Photoplus Seminar on Friday morning entitled "Editorial Vision in Wedding Photography". Thanks to all who attended as well.

It was an incredible few days in NY, and I got to spend it with some of my favorite people in the industry. I had the chance to spend some time with Marcus Bell, Joe Buissink, Steve and Jen Bebb, Mark Adams, Jeff Caplan, Susan Stripling, Charles and Jen Maring, Mark Lutz, and many other terrific people.

It was truly a crazy few days. There's never enough time there. I also did 4 press conferences for Nikon in the two days I was there. One of the interviews can be seen here. It's Photo District News Inside Digital Photo and I was featured with Steve Heiner- technical guru for Nikon. Check it out if you'd like some insight into the camera's capabilities. Again, the real story was the Nikon D3. For those photographers out there, try this beast, you'll love it! What a blast Photoplus was.

For those who care, my next speaking engagement after my "skillset bootcamp" next week will be in Turks and Caicos for the great people at Tropical Imaging.

I'll be there in December. Then it's Imaging USA in Tampa along with the Digital Wedding Forum Convention as well. Call the studio for any other seminar or workshop information!

10.31.07-Henri David Halloween Ball- Philadelphia PA

There are very few occasions during the year where I actually have the pleasure of shooting for myself. I have no agenda, no contract to fulfill, and have no idea what to expect year after year after year of shooting this amazing evening in Philadelphia PA. Henri David, owner of the Halloween jewelry store in Philly, has hosted this phenomenal event for many years. It's been my pleasure to witness, and document, my impressions of people being who they want to be for just one night during the year. Everyone is so cordial, so laid back, and so natural, it's as if it's perfectly normal for everyone to let it all hang out everyday- literally and figuratively!!! I hope those who see my blog can enjoy this small glimpse into this great Philadelphia tradition.