For area wedding photographers, capturing a couple’s big day is about the little things.
According to shootdotedit.com, photojournalistic or documentary-style wedding photography is at the fore.
“It’s become clear that documentary/photojournalistic photography is among the popular wedding photography trends,” the site states. “This photography style focuses on capturing moments as they happen – candids, and without any staged poses or setups.”
East Meredith resident Mikala Gallo, of Mikala Gallo Photography, said, though she’s refined her process, capturing intimacy has been her focus from the start. Gallo said that she works locally and has “been able to do a lot of weddings toward the Hudson Valley region … and a few in the Saratoga-Albany region.”
“I photographed my first wedding during the pandemic,” she said. “It was a friend of mine who asked me to do it … and I was so nervous. I was doing social work and I didn’t love my job and was feeling really stuck about what I wanted to do. During lockdown, I remember seeing a lot of information out there about wedding photography, and I got by this $7 workshop you could take online: ‘Learn from industry professionals.’ I was like, ‘yeah, why not?’
“After that, I was so inspired and thought, ‘yeah, I can do this,’” Gallo continued. “I would do anything — families, couples, weddings — so I just promoted myself online and didn’t charge an extremely lot of money and I think that helped me. I photographed weddings from 2020-’21 to now, and that’s pretty much been my sole focus, working with families and couples and portrait work here and there. But to sustain myself and be able to do this full time, weddings have really allowed me to do that. And I truly do love weddings; they’re magical.”
Since starting, Gallo said, her trajectory has mirrored shifts she’s seeing in the industry.
“In 2022, I think I did over 25 weddings, and that was so much for me,” she said. “I remember feeling really burnt out and overwhelmed. In 2023, I decided to do less weddings and just really focus in on making sure the client experience was a lot better. And last year, I don’t think it was more than 12 or 13, and that’s the whole year. My season for wedding photography doesn’t start until May or June — sometimes earlier with a random elopement or micro-wedding — but typically the season is May to November.”
“I think, with access to social media, trends or weddings in general are just so glorified and romanticized,” Gallo continued. “But there are people who just want to get married and have a good time. There’s a lot of money that goes into the production of a wedding and creating an experience for guests but, I think as far as things that go into wedding photography now that might not have been happening before or that might be shocking to people is, trends recycle. I see a lot more film being (used) and Super8 — motion film — being used to document wedding days, and I think it brings people back to their childhood and they feel really nostalgic. I really love film, and that’s a place I started my journey with photography, so I’ve been 100% on that train. I just really love being behind my camera, photographing things, so having the opportunity to slip into more of a documentary role and not make the day a production, but watch the day as it unfolds, has been so amazing and something I didn’t realize was my style until probably last year. When I first started wedding photography, I felt like I needed to help orchestrate the day and tell people how to be and where to go — the mom to zip the dress or place the shoe and put people in positions I’ve seen done and they’ve seen done. Now, I step back and watch and observe and think, ‘If I wasn’t here, what would they look like?’”
Cooperstown-area photographer Brittany Lesavoy Smith, of Brittany Lesavoy Smith Photography, said she, too, is focusing on a connection-driven approach.
Lesavoy Smith established her business in 2015, after working in marketing and communications for the Glimmerglass Festival for more than 15 years. Her first camera, she said, was “a hand-me-down” from a festival photographer, and “it all took off from there.”
“From the beginning, I knew that I loved photographing people,” she said. “From some of the family sessions or portrait sessions I had done, I had couples reach out about photographing elopements. I started with much smaller weddings … so, once I had (those) in my portfolio, the inquiries began to come in and I thought, ‘I can do this.’ There’s something about the smaller weddings and elopements and how I can become part of the day and become a little bit more of a fly on the wall, but also part of the entire experience. It’s getting to know the couples more and their family members that I really like.
“I think, and maybe because this is a style I aspire to, there’s more of a focus on documentary-style or more in-the-moment (photography),” Lesavoy Smith continued. “I get a lot of inquiries, and the couples request those in-between moments or the candid moments, so I think there is more of an emphasis on that. I think a range will always exist — from large, expensive weddings down to the more intimate, elopement-type ceremonies — but I do think that some society pressures have lifted, in terms of ‘first you meet, then you get married, then you buy a house, then you have a child.’ Some of those very rigid parameters have lifted, so, priorities for some couples have already shifted and, with that, comes the focus of a more intimate ceremony”
Oneonta native Hali Kate Tomczak, of Hali Kate Photography, echoed that. Tomczak is a teacher in the Oneonta School District, though said she “always had an artsy background.” Tomczak noted that she covers all of Otsego County, “from Meredith to Cooperstown,” trying to “stay within an hour radius” of Oneonta.
“It wasn’t until my daughter was born and after our wedding that I was drawn back into photography and started to learn digitally and was taking online classes and anything I could,” she said. “It was really looking back at my wedding album and seeing how much emotion and love was in (those photos) that I thought, ‘I have to have photography be part of my life.’
“This will be my third wedding season,” Tomczak continued. “So, I was drawn to that emotion and love and was like, ‘What if I step back from families to where the love really begins?’ I started second shooting (for another wedding photographer) that summer and fall of 2021. There was going to be a wedding expo at the Foothills and I was ready and jumped in. After that … it spiraled from there through word-of-mouth and name and there was such an abundance of weddings being rescheduled (post pandemic). It took off and I really fell in love with the emotion of the day. And those smaller weddings, you’re able to have those moments with your guests and they’re there to celebrate you, so if you can’t do that, what’s the point? I’m looking for those in-between and really genuine moments. My work has never been about (being) posed and looking at the camera; I’m really after connection.”
Balancing the demands of such an approach, sources said, comes with challenges.
“Two years ago (the hardest part) was editing,” Gallo said. “Editing is really time-consuming and it’s challenging, because you have this idea of how you want everything to come out and you’re sitting there playing with the different tools in the program and you can get really frustrated with it. But I also really like to dedicate time and energy to people, so I want to sit down and have real conversations with them and I sometimes feel like I can’t do that with the amount of clients I have at a time.
“This year, I have 12 or 13 weddings, and that’s feeling doable, however, I’m also feeling like, ‘Oh man, I want to give them more time,’” Gallo continued. “I’m fully putting on myself this version that is probably not attainable. In my mind, it’s like, ‘I need to be doing more,’ but that’s also just the mindset of entrepreneurship.”
Gallo noted that, typically, following a client inquiry, she’ll schedule a 30- to 60-minute phone consult to “talk about what their day is going to look like and what they want from a wedding photographer … and what resonates or doesn’t with them.’ Depending on the wedding size, she said, that is followed by two to five more consults before the day.
Lesavoy Smith said the intensity of expectation factors, too. Lesavoy Smith noted that she works “primarily in the Cooperstown area.”
“There’s an immense amount of pressure for documenting this day and keeping these memories safe, so being sure all of your equipment is safe – your primary equipment, and then your backup equipment,” she said. “And making sure all files are downloaded and backed up as soon as possible; some photographers do that in their car after the event. So, there is a lot of pressure that comes with photographing weddings and the photographs are often what the couple has to remember the day by, so it’s not only the equipment and those aspects, but delivering something this couple will really appreciate, enjoy and cherish.
“And there’s a huge physical aspect to photographing weddings,” Lesavoy Smith continued. “Some photographers are carrying two camera bodies at a time, some with longer, heavier lenses … and you’re getting on the ground and off the ground, running and chasing and that type of activity, so it can take its toll on the body. For all of the bigger weddings I’ve shot, they tend to have longer contract times, so they are often eight-hour jobs and it’s on your feet, carrying that equipment and you might also have a suitcase … and you’re on constant alert: ‘What am I missing?, What’s happening now?, That’s a beautiful moment, but it’s across the room, so sprint.’”
“A lot of people don’t realize how much work it is after the fact,” Tomczak said. “The day itself is probably the easier part. It’s the culling; I’ve taken all these images, but it’s getting them down to the ones I want to work with and edit and it’s that process of making it as consistent throughout their gallery as possible. Eight-hour days are not my favorite and being on my feet for eight hours is long; I know there are photographers that offer 10-hour (days), but that’s too much. But it’s the editing that takes the most time, and other parts that go into it are working with the couple beforehand and establishing a connection. You’re not just showing up on their wedding day.
“(Meeting) before their wedding day is really helpful, and just communicating with them,” she continued. “I’ve found, through trial-and-error, that, to just keep making things really precise and clear and the more communication that happens, the smoother the day will be. The easiest thing is capturing the day as it unfolds; the emotion is the easiest part, and the beauty that is already in the day and highlighting that.”
But, sources said, connections forged and fulfillment keep wedding photography worthwhile.
“I really appreciate the connections I’m able to make with these people I would not have had the opportunity to necessarily meet otherwise,” Lesavoy Smith said. “I have photographed couples that still visit Cooperstown every year, and I meet up with them and stay in touch and I’ve become friends with some of these families, so I do think it’s the connections and meeting these new people and getting to know aspects of their lives and families and journeys that keeps me coming back.”
“There are so many things that are rewarding about it,” Gallo said. “For one, I get to do the thing I love the most, which is photograph people. And I get to talk to them about emotional things, which I also really love. I’m such an emotional, sobby, romantic person, and I get to sit down and talk to them about what matters to them most, so those are deep, heartfelt conversations right off the bat.
“It’s generations and family and people … and bringing all these people (the couple) loves together and celebrating,” she continued. “It is really beautiful to witness and capture and, having that trust to be the person documenting the day, it’s really awesome; so overwhelming, but also really awesome. So, it’s high risk, high reward.”
For more information on photographers featured, visit mikalagallophoto.com or follow @mikalagallophoto on Instagram; brittanylesavoysmith.com or @brittanylesavoysmith; halikatephotography.com or @halikatephotography.
More than 300 images from Elton John and his husband David Furnish‘s extensive photography collection are currently on display at London’s Victoria & Albert Museum. Elton is one of the world’s foremost collectors of photography, but says there’s one kind he hates — photos of himself.
“It’s extraordinary that I collect photographs because I don’t like being photographed,” Elton told the BBC. “I find it really painful.” He adds, “I would never put myself up on the wall [at home], no thank you.”
Furnish laughs, “The paradox of someone who appreciates and has a sophisticated eye for photographs yet cannot stand to be photographed is not lost on me.” There are two photos of Elton in the exhibit, but they’re more irreverent and don’t show him performing.
The exhibit, called Fragile Beauty, includes images of everything from the Civil Rights Movement and AIDS activism to 9/11 and the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol.
Noting that the exhibit includes “a lot of pain and grief,” Elton explains, “Sometimes in tragic images, whether it’s paintings or photographs, there’s a lot of beauty. And that’s why the show’s called Fragile Beauty, because there’s beauty in everything.”
Elton says he was “absolutely blown away” to see his collection on display, because he hadn’t really gotten a good look at a lot of the photos he owns.
“You buy photographs and they go straight into storage,” he says. “And a lot of them I haven’t seen hung properly or hung at all. And so walking through, it’s been hung so beautifully and the different sections and wall colors. I couldn’t be happier.”
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May 17, 2024
Nina Sanders (Apsáalooke) filed suit on May 14 in an Illinois court against the Chicago Blackhawks organization, alleging she was the victim of sexual harassment and fraud during her employment.
When Sanders was hired as an independent contractor by the Blackhawk Organization in 2020, the team was mired in criticism following an announcement from the Washington Redskins that they would retire their name and logo.
According to the lawsuit, Daniel Wirtz, Blackhawks chairman and CEO, reached out to Sanders, offering her the position of liaison between the team and the Native American community. Wirtz made several promises to entice Sanders to accept the role, including hiring Native Americans, educating employees on Black Hawk, a Sauk leader, facilitating landback to the Sac and Fox Nation, and changing the team’s logo.
In the lawsuit, Sanders states that none of these promises were fulfilled and that Wirtz “only intended on the Organization benefiting from their association with Ms. Sanders, as her standing and reputation in the Native American community.”
The suit alleges that shortly after Sanders began employment with the Blackhawk Organization in Septemeber 2020, her direct supervisor told her not to communicate matters such as sexual harassment in written form, such as email; rather, she should communicate such complaints through telephone or in person.
The lawsuit details several allegations of sexual harassment and assault toward Sanders and other women in the organization by two men associated with the team. One alleged incident involved an agent for the team sending Sanders sexually explicit videos of him masturbating on Snapchat; another in which he grabbed her arm and insisted he come to her room.
The suit alleges that in November 2022, a Blackhawks dancer approached a woman and a private suite at the United Center and groped her. The woman, Sanders says, previously filed a police report against the dancer alleging he raped her. In another alleged incident, a man associated with the team sexually assaulted an employee. Sanders puts forth that none of the complaints were investigated by the Blackhawks organization or reported to the police.
Following Sanders complaints of the incidents to her direct supervisor, she was moved out of team’s headquarters at Chicago’s United Center to a different location.
In June 2023, Sanders’ contract was terminated when, while an extension of her contract was being negotiated, she reassurted her allegations of harrasment and asked the organization how it planned to address the complaints.
“support specific initiatives in partnership with the Sac & Fox Nation and other Native American communities” and that “the organization had noted operational issues in her work, and had received feedback from external partners that they did not want to continue to work with her.”
According to the New York Times, the Blackhawk’s organization issued the following statement in response to the allegations:
“The Chicago Blackhawks have a zero-tolerance policy for misconduct and take allegations of harassment in the workplace very seriously,” one of the team’s statements read. “In response to Ms. Sanders’ allegations, the organization immediately conducted a thorough investigation with the assistance of outside counsel, including interviews with internal and external parties, and review of pertinent materials and digital records. Based on the information available to us, we found insufficient evidence to substantiate her claims. Of note, the persons identified by Ms. Sanders in your question are not, and have never been, independent contractors with nor employees of the Chicago Blackhawks.”
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Larissa FastHorse. (Courtesy of the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation)
Larissa FastHorse is the first Native American woman to have a play produced on Broadway. That show — “The Thanksgiving Play” — is now onstage at Steppenwolf Theatre. It’s a satire about earnest theater folks who attempt to stage a historically accurate Thanksgiving play. Mistakes are made, and political correctness, wokeness and virtue signaling get carved and stuffed.
FastHorse belongs to the Sicangu Lakota Nation. She is a 2020 MacArthur Fellow, a founder of the consulting group Indigenous Direction, and worked on the touring production of “Peter Pan,” devising a new backstory for the character Tiger Lily.
WTTW News spoke with the playwright, who was at her home in Santa Monica.
WTTW News: So what do you do on Thanksgiving? Is it just another Thursday? Do you order takeout?
Larissa FastHorse: Oh, no, I love the goofy food! I love a big plate of beige and orange food. I grew up eating stuffing, mashed potatoes, turkey and sweet potato. It’s all one color palette, plus it’s more carbs than you ever get to eat. I grew up in South Dakota and my father came from an agricultural background, so it was very much about harvest and being appreciative and for the time of rest for farmers. You still have to get up every morning and feed animals and milk the cows, but you don’t also have to do planting and cultivation. It’s an exciting kickoff to a new season for farmers in a way that I think city folks don’t understand.
I sure don’t. Your play was written a few years ago, so what’s your role when Steppenwolf calls?
FastHorse: When Steppenwolf calls, I show up because I’m a fangirl of their work and their place in American theater. To their credit, they reached out to me right away and said, ‘Hey, we’d love to have you involved,’ and I was like, ‘Yay!’ I helped with the choice of director (Jess McLeod) and somewhat in casting. I was there for the first week of rehearsals, and then I came back during tech rehearsals. I was in and out of the process but was there as an advisor and spent time talking about things like how to engage the local Indigenous communities.
“The Thanksgiving Play” runs through June 2 at Steppenwolf Theatre. (Michael Brosilow)
Was it fun to write a satire? Did you care who gets offended, or did you just want to hold up the mirror of truth?
FastHorse: I poke fun at everybody. No one escapes. It’s not like, ‘Oh, we’re just going to laugh at those people.’ There’s definitely fun to be had in this production, and I wanted people to be rewarded for leaving their couch and their streaming service and coming to the theater. It matters that a space like that is filled with laughter, and at the same time you’re going to hear a truth. I was lucky with this piece. It was fairly easy to write, in that 80% of it is just lines from my life, things people have said to me. I just had to connect that with a bunch of jokes. [laughs]
Is there a Lakota-style sense of humor or approach to storytelling?
FastHorse: In most Native cultures, and Lakota culture for sure, humor is a core cultural trait. I always warn people who are not Lakota when I bring them back home that teasing is how we learn who you are and how we show love. Once they start making fun of you, you’re in. [laughs] I rarely speak in generalizations about Native American people on the continent, but if you get any Natives together, within a minute the laughter is off the charts. Laughter is how we connect. Laughter is how we cope. It’s something that’s a huge part of our resiliency. We’re in the longest ongoing genocide — it’s been hundreds of years, and it’s still going – and we’re still here.
“The Thanksgiving Play” runs through June 2 at Steppenwolf Theatre. (Michael Brosilow)
In conversations with Native artists, I often ask, ‘What do you want people to know about you?’ And I hear a lot of: ‘That we’re still here. That we’re creative and vibrant and not stuck in your 19th century notions.’
FastHorse: We’ve been frozen in the time when White people first encountered us — roughly 1830 through the 1860s — and that’s so messed up. That’s when White people saw us and painted us, and photography showed up on the scene. What about the 1,000 years before that? What about the years after that? Like all humans, we’re constantly evolving and growing and adapting. For many years I couldn’t even apply for some grants because I’m not, quote, ‘a traditional Native American artist’ because I’m not doing things White people saw us doing in the mid-1800s.
Do you have any parting thoughts on your experience working on theater in Chicago?
FastHorse: You know, I’m an LA girl, but I will say Chicago audiences have earned their reputation for being serious theater people. They’re deeply involved and so engaged. They get there early and stay late and have discussions about the work. Among non-Chicagoans, folks can be like, ‘Really? You think you’re the theater people?’ Well, you are. You show up and know your stuff. It’s beautiful to see.
“The Thanksgiving Play” runs through June 2 at Steppenwolf’s Ensemble Theater.
