Blog | Patrick Rogers Photography

May 23
Introducing our son, Reid Logan Rogers!

So, today is…Wednesday? Is it still May?

The past 19 days have been a blur. Sometimes, one day has felt like three days thanks to taking several naps, and other times, a week goes by and it felt like it was only a few hours!

This is all thanks to our brand new son, Reid Logan Rogers who arrived on May 4th weighing 9.75 pounds, and 21.5 inches long. The weeks leading up to his arrival, as well as the weeks since have been hectic, and that means some things (like keeping up with my blog) have been put on the back burner.

He’s been totally worth it, though (DUH!!)!

His mother (my lovely and amazing wife) is recovering very well, and I am learning a LOT of lessons! The most notable of which is when your are changing diapers to NEVER say out loud (or even THINK) “Oh, wow, the little guy hasn’t pooped all day, changing diapers is easy!” because as soon as you complete that thought (and after the old diaper has been put in the laundry bin), that is the moment that he will let loose all that he has been saving up all day, just for a moment like this!

It’s okay, though. We are doting on him at every opportunity, being amazed at every little thing he does, and I will do anything I can for him or my gorgeous wife!

So, being the proud dad I am, I need to share some photos now!

Apr 13
Going back to Bucksteep!

This weekend is going to be fantastic, I just know it! Not only am I going back to the place where my wife and I got married in 2010 (Bucksteep Manor), but I am going there to meet around a dozen couples that are getting married there this year!

I photographed four weddings there last summer, and the type of folks that want to have a wedding there are laid back, are really excited about having a wedding weekend, not just a wedding few hours (we got there on a Thursday and left Sunday for our wedding weekend), they have fantastic friends and gracious families! Working with more of these types of people is exactly what I want, and Bucksteep has some great locations to photograph people at!

In addition to all of this, I get to see the fine staff at Bucksteep, and I heard DJ Chris (the fun, eager to pelase DJ from our wedding) will be there, too. Being around people like this, and at Bucksteep, always charges my batteries!

But wait, there’s more! I made an album (photos below) to show off to the couples there. It’s the first album I’ve ever designed and had printed myself. I’m really happy with the layout, and with the images, and I hope the folks I meet this weekend are too!!

Fingers crossed that I meet some compatible couples who need a photographer. Wish me luck!

Mar 30
Repeat Press-Letterpress Printing in Somerville, MA

There are so many folks whose hard work makes your wedding day the best it can be. From the folks you see like the wait staff and the band, to a whole gaggle of folks that are behind the scenes like the caterer, the florist, the wedding coordinator, etc. All these folks are artists, and their goal is to help make your wedding day one that won’t soon be forgotten.

When I photograph a wedding, it’s a treat to walk in to the space and see that the couple chose true artists to work with. People who take a great deal of pride in what they do; people who constantly try to do better with each project they get. I’ve decided to seek out some of these folks and photograph what they do and how they do it.

One of these artists is Mike Dacey at Repeat Press (or if you prefer to connect with them through Facebook, do it here). His shop is located right here in Union Square in Somerville in the Fringe Union. To be a letterpress printer is to be a craftsman. I’m not implying craftsmen are not just males, here. Check out my “The Craft of Rolling a Cigar” post. The craftsman here is a woman. The word craftsman to me carries a lot of weight, and I do not use it lightly. To be a craftsman is to understand your craft, to appreciate it, to respect it, and to constantly work at getting better. Mike is most assuredly that.

Mike has been dedicated to letterpress printing since 2003, and recently employed the services of Diana to help out around the shop. The quality of their work speaks to the love of what they do, and I wish I had known more about them when we were printing the invitations and such for our wedding.

Not only does he produce a finely crafted product, he has a group of a half a dozen designers/design firms to refer work to so that you can come away with a well designed and wonderfully printed product (typically, a wedding invitation takes about three weeks).

Photographing craftsmen like them is an important thing to me. To see (and share) how something is made helps me appreciate it on a whole new level. Thanks so much for letting me watch y’all work, Mike and Diana!!

Mar 15
Benson, The Reading Therapy Dog

There was a girl in my grade school class who had the hardest time reading out loud to the class, as we were compelled to do on a regular basis. She was quiet, shy, and I’m sure this was the worst part of her day.

I felt so sorry for her, and wished I could do something to help her be less shy or something to help her gain the confidence to be able to read out loud without such a struggle. If only I knew Benson back then!

I just started working on a fairly extensive project to help the Goodnow Library in Sudbury improve their website and overall public persona. The first step in this was to photograph one of the weekly story time sessions with Benson, the reading therapy dog.

The way it works is Benson, trained through the Pets and People Foundation, is just there for the kids to read to. He is a really mellow dog, rescued from Tennessee by Kim, and is happy to just lay there and listen to the kids read out loud. Kim was a librarian, and she helps the kids with the more difficult words sometimes, but mostly, it’s just the kids and Benson spending some time together.

How awesome is that?! What a supportive and relaxing way to be more comfortable with reading out loud, and to a greater extent, becoming more comfortable with public speaking in the future, to gain self confidence, and to pet on a soft, loving dog like Benson!

Mar 09
TED Talks Somerville-2012

I sent an email to Brendan from Recover Green Roofs a few weeks ago just checking in to see if they or Green City Growers had any projects coming up that they’d like me to shoot. Last summer, I shot a garden roof of theirs on top of The Ledge, a restaurant south of Boston.

At the time they didn’t, but they knew of a friend of theirs who was looking for coverage of the TEDx Somerville event. TED Talks?!? Are you serious?! I was immediately excited. I start many of my mornings during the week listening to a TED Talk or two. Many of them are inspirational, some are food for thought, but all of them are just amazing. So, after a couple phone calls and a few emails, I was asked to come on board. To be the official photographer for the event was such an honor!

It was at the Armory in Somerville, and was attended by Joe Curtatone (the mayor), along with speakers covering topics ranging from the beauty of locks to lessons from the Occupy movement, to non-verbal communication. It was just awesome, and I am so happy with the shots I got!

If you would like to see all the images from the day (and there are a LOT) go here. If you want to see more of my favorites that I posted on my Facebook page, go here.