Please help me Tri for a Cure

Last year, I attended the all-women Maine Cancer Foundation's Tri for a Cure to cheer on my many friends who were participating. Though it was only their names I knew to yell out, I soon found myself so moved by the signs of sisterhood and strength I saw on the course that I found myself screaming and shouting support to every woman who went by, many of them participating proudly in their first tri (no small feat). So humbled was I that I vowed on that day that I would be not just a spectator next year, but an athlete and I've spent the many months since slowly getting back in shape, first biking, then beginning to run again and most recently, diving back into the pool for the first time since I swam competitively back in elementary school.

The tri is now less than two weeks away, and though I never can train as much as I could or should, I am proud of my progress. It has resulted in a much healthier me and now I ask for your donations to the Maine Cancer Foundation and to ensuring that everyone can be healthier by financing research that will one day eradicate cancer and until then, provide better treatment and education to those who are suffering from this unconscionable disease.

If you would like to support me, I'd be greatly appreciative and you can do so easily by making an online donation by clicking here. Thank you for your support!!!

I'll also be participating again in the Dempsey Challenge later this fall, with monies raised from the race going to benefit the Dempsey Center, which provides no-cost high quality education, support and wellness services to enhance the quality of life of individuals, families and communities touched by cancer. Between these two events, I hope to raise $1,000 toward combating cancer and making life more manageable for those who have it.

(Engaged) Emily & Adam: Groton, Massachusetts Engagement Session

Emily and Adam had scheduled a Portland, Maine engagement session with me in early June when they'd planned to be up for their final tastings for their August wedding at Sebasco Harbor Resort, but we got rained out two days in a row. Hard! Knowing that the couple planned to incorporate some of the shots into their wedding day decor but that their weekends between now and then were busily booked with them scurrying around their home state of Massachusetts for pre-wedding festivities and preparations- a Maine session looked out of the schedule, so I happily headed down to them a few Sundays ago, following my Saturday wedding at the Flag Hill Winery in Lee, NH.

Emily and Adam had kindly scouted out some spots in Groton, MA where they currently live for our shoot, and things turned out serendipitously as the early morning clouds parted and we captured some beautiful imagery that showcased a setting varied from the quintessential Maine seaside backdrop we'll have for their wedding at Sebasco. What I appreciate most about the resulting imagery is that it's very natural - not just in the lush locations we worked at including the Nashua River Rail Trail and later at the Barn at Gibbit Hill, but in the session showcasing a regular routine for the couple- a sweet Sunday stroll with coffees in hand along the nature trails of their town. While having their personal paparazzi may have made things a bit beyond the ordinary, Emily and Adam's joy and ease in each other's company quickly made the camera clear from their concern, and the resulting images celebrate who they are as a couple, full of fun, attentiveness and adoration.

There was lots of laughter as we dodged ducks and geese, kept tabs on turtles, fantasized about our favorite Portland restaurants (and Emily & Adam someday moving to Maine - pretty please), and captured these beautiful images.

Within hours of the photos being published, Emily updated her Facebook profile picture (always a high compliment to a photographer) and sent me this note: "Sam, The photos are beautiful! We love love love them! You are so talented. We cannot wait for our wedding and to share it with you!" Ditto!




























And to see more of my favorite images from Emily & Adam's Groton, MA engagement session, watch the slideshow below.




SWW WEBSITE | SWW ON FACEBOOK | SWW ON TWITTER | CONNECT WITH SWW