Second Shooting | Kinney Bungalow Rhode Island Wedding On Film

One of my goals for this year was to capture a wedding on 35mm film. Being the creator and founder of 35to220.com I wanted to break away from just shooting portraits on film and put myself to the ultimate test. Seeing what it was like to capture a wedding on film. Shooting film is different for many reasons, but not being able to see your images on the back of the camera is the biggest challenge when shooting a wedding. 

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Gear Used

 Nikon F100  | Kodak Portra 400 | Kodak Tri-X 400 | Fine Art FIlm Lab For Develop and Scan

I reached out to my good buddy Robb Cyr who is a local wedding photographer near me and asked if he would let me tag along and capture a wedding on film. Robb thought it was a cool idea and he had a couple who welcomed the idea. 

I had a great time helping capturing the day on film for Heather and Kevin at Kinney Bungalow in Rhode Island. 

Thanks to Robb Cyr for letting me help capture the day.

You can check out Robb's images from the day here. 

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Avery Point Groton Connecticut Engagement Session {Kristina & Joe}

In July I received a call from Kristina, asking if I was available to shoot an engagement session later that week before Joe left for a six month deployment. Being full-time I said of course, and that I would be more than happy to spend time with them capturing their love and excitement over their recent engagement. 

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I met Kristina and Joe at Avery Point in Groton, Connecticut. Let me tell you, they rocked their engagement session like pros! I personally loved that we had a great sunset at the end of the session to make some amazing images with!

-Nach

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New York City Engagement Photography | Allison & Chad

I recently made the short trip to New York City to meet up with my clients Allison and Chad to discuss their upcoming wedding in August. Being one to not travel without some camera gear we decided to do a mini engagement session! 

I had a great time walking around the city and Central Park with these two capturing their love. I can't wait to do it again in August for their wedding!

Enjoy the images!

-Nach

Elizabeth Park West Hartford Connecticut Engagement Session | Mike & Veda

Mike and Veda are such a sweet couple! We meet up at Elizabeth Park in West Hartford, Connecticut for a summertime engagement session.

Enjoy the images!

-Nach

Simsbury Connecticut Engagement Session | Jess & Red

I love when I get to work with fellow creatives and artist! Jess and Red are both awesome tattoo artist at Hartford County Tattoo and I'm stoked to shoot their wedding this August at Bunnell Farm in the beautiful Litchfield, Connecticut. 

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First, you need to have an engagement session! I include an engagement session with all my wedding packages. I feel it's the best way for my couples to learn how I pose, and it helps them be more comfortable on the wedding day! Plus, engagement sessions are just plain fun!

Jess and Red rocked this session like pro's and I love the images we made! We met up at Massacoe State Forest in Simsbury, Connecticut and walked around the forest capturing their love, and free spirits.

Enjoy

-Nach

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The Road Less Traveled

So a crazy thing happened two Wednesday's ago, I turned in my two weeks notice at my full-time job. Yesterday was my last day and as I drove away I officially left the comfort of a steady paycheck for the uncharted path of self-employment.

As many of you know, I was at ESPN for just shy of six years. My time at ESPN was marked by up’s and down’s, but overall it was a good job and was one of my two dream jobs. Having the opportunity to work at the highest level in television right out college was a privilege. As I said, ESPN was one of my two dream jobs; you can probably guess my other dream job, owning my own creative business.

How I got to this point

 Long before I set foot on the campus of Lyndon State College I always knew I wanted to run my own business. I originally thought I wanted to own a video production house, but as the years at college flew by I found myself drawn to still photography. I can vividly remember my first time in a darkroom, and the sheer enjoyment I got out of enlarging my own negatives and developing an 8x10 print on my own. If you have never set foot in a darkroom, watching one of your images come to life in front of your eyes is enchanting. From that moment on I knew photography was something special and dived head first into it.

A trip to Australia and New Zealand my junior year brought me into the digital age. I saved all the money I could from my part-time job at the college theater to buy a Nikon D40 kit. It was halfway around the world with my little entry level Nikon D40 and a cheap kit lens that I knew I had found my passion.

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As college came to an end, I was offered a full-time job at ESPN before I graduated. I instantly accepted the job and started less then a month after graduation. It was during my first two years at ESPN that my little Nikon D40 sat on a shelf collecting dust. It was not until my girlfriend (April) gave me a Nikon 50mm f/1.8 lens for Christmas did I throw myself back into photography.  

A little over two years ago in the spring of 2012 I saved up enough money to buy better gear and filed all the legal documents for a LLC in Connecticut. From that point on I made it my mission to become a full-time photographer. It took me two years of hard work, late nights, and lots of fighting with myself to muster up enough courage to walk away from ESPN to take the road less traveled.

Where I’m going

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I’m happy to say that when I was driving away from work yesterday, I knew I was making the right decision for me. I felt free, for the first time in six years I felt like myself again.

Moving forward I will be working with wedding and portrait clients for my main business Chris Nachtwey Photography LLC. I will continue to build up 35to220.com, a blog dedicated to showcasing the best film photography in the world and managing my team of six writers. I also have the pleasure of writing full-time for slrlounge.com, one of the largest photography websites in the world dedicated to photography news, education and inspiration.

I have to thank my parents and April (my girlfriend of almost seven years) for all the love and support in my decision to go full-time. Without their help and support I might have never made this decision. Thank you guys!!!

I will end this post with a quote my Dad sent me last week.

"There is a tide in the affairs of men

Which, taken at the flood, leads on to fortune;

Omitted, all the voyage of their life

Is bound in shallows and in miseries.

On such a full sea are we now afloat,

And we must take the current when it serves,

Or lose our ventures."

From: William Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar

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Mystic Connecticut Engagement Session | Brandon & Amanda

I meet up with Amanda and Brandon in Mystic, Connecticut a few weeks ago for their engagement session. We had a great time walking around town capturing their love and free sprits. 

I can't wait to shoot their wedding in October at Lake of Isles at Foxwoods Resort and Casino. 

Enjoy the images!

-Nach

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2014 Portraits on Film {Tori}

Film | Is | Love

The 2014 Portraits on film project.

Tori works full time as a forensic chemist at Pfizer, but is also a voice actress. She is currently working on narrating an audiobook called "Destiny's Flower". She has voiced a couple characters for computer games, completed several Internet commercials, and has a TV commercial currently playing in Fairfield, CT. Tori's voice acting website can be found here.

Fun Fact: Tori and her boyfriend hosted a Japanese foreign exchange student for a year while he attended high school and has also gone skydiving! 

Tori, was actually the first person to reach out to me via my Facebook page to participate in the project. From the get go I knew she was down with the whole idea and seemed really excited to be in front of my camera.

We met up at Haley Farm State Park in Groton, CT on a cold and rainy day. I’m game for shooting in any weather and Tori was totally down for shooting in the bad weather as well. After chatting for a few minutes, Tori let me help her pick out her outfit, which I should add was really cool! To have that type of input during a session was something new and fun for me.

It was another awesome session for the project and I’m really pumped with the way these images came out! If you’re interested in participating in the 2014 portraits on film project you can contact me here or on my Facebook page.

Gear: Nikon F100 | Kodak Portra 400 | Nikon 85mm f/1.8 | Film developing and scanning by Coopers Imaging in Norwich, CT.

I cannot say enough kind words about Coopers! If you need any film processed and scanned go see the good people at Coopers!

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