New Blog!

Change of venue! Keep a tab on Channing's whereabouts at www.channingjohnsonblog.com

Tasting

Brooke and I did our tasting at the Exchange Conference Center in South Boston last weekend. Legal Seafoods caters functions there, so we knew the food would be good. The staff also was delightful to interact with. And I was particularly feeling good about our decision to forgo the traditional wedding dessert for a buffet of cheesecakes. I still need to find out if the groom can have two pieces.

The building is at the end of one of the Seaport District's fish piers, so after the tasting we stepped outside to look at the harbor. It was cold, and the wind whipped around the hair Brooke is growing out for the big day. We're hoping for a sweltering, hot wedding so our guests can enjoy cocktails on the water. But I'm told that is a long shot in Boston on April 25th.

McSweeny's Ideas for Wedding Portraits

I would be happy to accommodate any couples that want to try these brilliant wedding portrait ideas from McSweeney's.

Petalena Flowers

Julie and Apryl were kind enough to let me stop by their Reading studio last week to witness their creative process. We worked on two weddings together last year, and both events had some of the most beautiful, distinct floral pieces I had seen all season. The two love flowers and clearly enjoy working with each other.

They were kind enough to send me home with some beautiful flowers wrapped in brown paper. It was a big hit with Brooke. Thanks Julie and Apryl!

Indian Dance Workshop

Tara and Mike's wedding was the second I shot after moving to Boston. It was a beautiful, intimate backyard wedding in August of 2007. I had a lot of fun getting to know them, which is why I was excited when Tara asked if I would be interested in taking some photos of her leading an Indian dance workshop last weekend.

Tara is very talented and seeing her dance is a treat. I learned that all the intricate body and hand movements contribute to the beautiful telling of a story. If you're interested in learning more, check out Tara's website: www.taraahmed.com.

Hair Trial

Last night I accompanied Brooke to her hair trial with Sally at the Louis Anthony Hair Salon in Quincy. Apparently grooms don't usually tag along to such things, but everyone was very welcoming.

It was just an experimental walk-through, but Brooke seemed very pleased. Sally was delightful and will definitely be a positive energy on the wedding day. And I think even seeing a rough version of her wedding day hair-style got Brooke excited. She couldn't stop checking herself out in the mirror.

Friends of St. Stans

In between wedding business planning I've been fortunate to pick up some good editorial assignments. On Sunday TIME sent me to cover an interesting story in Adams, MA. There's a link to a web-gallery at the end of the story.

Welcome to the Future

Before Christmas I picked up a fun assignment to photograph three fascinating people for FLYP's "Future" issue. I got to listen in on interviews with Juan Enriquez, Ray Kurzweil and Andrew Bacevich.

Here's hoping genius is contagious.

WPJA Awards

The Wedding Photojournalist Association announced their contest winners for the 2008 Quarter 3 competition, and I was fortunate enough to have two pictures recognized. I won a 2nd place award in the "Emotion" category and a 9th place award in the "Dancing" category. The WPJA is an international organization made up of photographers located in the United States, England, France, Singapore, Italy and many other countries.

Of course, if it wasn't for my wonderful clients who trust me to document their wedding and be a part of one of the most significant days of their lives, these pictures wouldn't exist.

The first picture of bridesmaids watching a photo slideshow is from Adrienne and Brandon's wedding in September. The second is Melissa and Chris sharing a moment at the end of a long and exciting day.

Jean-Christian Bourcart

I came across some wedding photos from the early career of Jean-Christian Bourcart. Apparently his first job was wedding photographer. He put together a handful of these images beginning in 1980 in a collection called The Most Beautiful Day.

He's created some wonderfully odd wedding pictures.























Untitled, 1980-2008
© Jean-Christian Bourcart
(via Shane Lavalette)

Erin + Chris | Engaged

Brooke's friend Erin also is recently engaged, so we took a little trip down to the Cape to hangout and take some pictures. They showed us around beautiful Marstons Mills and filled us up on delicious food and drink. It was great getting to know Erin and Chris and I look forward to more good times together. Thanks so much for a wonderful evening.

Colleen + Matt | Engaged

Our friends Colleen and Matt are getting married next year so we made an evening of running around Harvard Square eating, drinking, oh, and taking pictures. We always have a good time with these two. I'm often sore the next day from laughing without pause.

Erin + Dan | Sudbury, MA

I can't imagine a better way to end my wedding season than to spend the day with Erin and Dan and their families. I had a wonderful time and couldn't get enough pictures of this joyful couple. They were smiling all day. Literally.

The wedding was at the beautiful Wayside Inn.

Wedding Photographers Unite!

Connie had a bunch of us wedding photographers over the other night. We all are just now emerging from our computers to begin interacting with the world on a day other than Saturday. It was great to hang out with friends and share stories from the summer before hibernating again, this time to take care of all the business stuff we've been neglecting for the past several months.

This is an iPhone picture of Ashley's leg. I don't know exactly why she had one pant leg rolled up, but I think someone may have asked to see her pirate stockings.