Telling moments

photos for a Friday 2020

A brief look back.

Today is somewhat of a reflective day. I thought it would be a good time to share more images that are meaningful to me as a photographer and a human being. ‘Moments Found’ which touched me, each it’s own uniquely beautiful and poignant way. Moments of life and death, beginnings and endings, joy and sorrow, togetherness and being apart, first steps and last rights, all of these experiences we call LIFE! So here goes. I hope these images move you in some very special and personal way.

And to start off, this first photo which I did not take. Thanks, gratitude and Credit goes to my good friend David Clumpner who masterfully captured my daughter Lauren’s wedding day. Thank you David!!!

And lastly, a picture of me with my VERY VERY dear companion Yeshe Ahni who I will not see again in this life.
I can’t wait to see what insights 2020 will bring to my eyes and my camera! LIFE IS SO GRAND…

Kate and Paul – beautiful is beautiful

Ok, so… this is a post that has been on my mind for sometime now. It is a meaningful story that needs to be told but I have never quite put it all together. After 17 years of wedding photography in Montana and 2 years of weddings in Los Angeles earlier in my career, the pieces have come together. Here goes.

Kate and Paul contacted me about their wedding at Chico Hot Springs in 2016. After some communications back and forth they hired me for their very intimate wedding. They had planned to come to Livingston so we could meet and shoot together before the wedding, but life got busier than usual and it never happened. So the first time we met in person was a couple hours before the wedding. I walked in to say hello and I was impressed by the joy and beauty of this woman. Kate is a professional counselor who helps so many people, full of compassion and understanding. Kate is a big bodied woman. I sensed a little shyness in our meeting but as always I try to take my clients out of their self conscious tendency of presenting something to the camera, and encourage them to be right there in that moment of preparing to marry, allowing me to capture reality. I went right to work and it was amazing. Later I met Paul. He towered over me and was equally as wonderful as his wife to be.

The day progressed and I shot away finding my emotions welling up in me as I listened and watched… shooting like crazy. As agreed in advance we would run up to a hill top to catch the sunset. It turned out to be one of the most splendid I have seen this year.

Fast forward a couple of weeks later, I presented highlight images to them via email. And our conversations began. This is where it gets interesting. I have asked Kate and Paul if could share some of our letters with others. They agreed.

Larry:
“I know you are a counselor, so I’ll be direct. I have noticed that rarely do I see images of plus sized figured brides in the advertising of wedding photography. I find this igorant, and I sense that larger people are being poorly served in this way.”

“I want to open the door in peoples minds that beautiful is beautiful, whether we are small, large, old, traditional, non-traditional, gay, trans or whatever sexual orientation people embrace. I have seen the growth in numbers of gay weddings over the last few years. Now, major wedding resources are pushing that forward in their imagery and advertising, which I think is just fine. So I want to put this issue of plus sized figured people ‘face forward’ to let future clients know they will be well accepted by me and I WILL make beautiful images for them that perhaps they would never have dreamed of.”

Kate:
“Dear Larry,

First, thank you so much for capturing our beautiful moments once again these photos blow me away! I am both honored and even a little shocked that you think (we are) and our images are as beautiful as I think they are. We think the highlights are just astonishing Paul and I couldn’t be more thrilled and can’t wait to see the rest!

I have to say knowing that I do not fit the stereotypical “beautiful bride” image gave me a lot of anxiety- especially with regard to even getting a professional photographer. It is not that I do not think I am beautiful or even that I worry my now husband/friends and family don’t think I am beautiful but there is this overarching fear or worry that because I am not stick thin somehow the rest of the world would not think I was a beautiful bride. Slight ego issue… Dangnabbit I wanted everyone to think I was a beautiful bride on that monumental day!!!

More than that I did have some trepidation that since we had not met before hand you would be disappointed to work with a bigger bride or that my images would leave me feeling saddened. It is hard to capture in words the battle that I and I imagine others go through when facing self-esteem issues related to size. We literally are battling our culture’s notion of beauty. I am a confident person but every once in a while negative thoughts and self-doubts creep up and our wedding was a huge hurdle regarding confidence for me. That is until I saw the images. Since seeing how amazingly you captured those special moments my internal voice has been silenced! I am proud to show my wedding photos to whomever because my size didn’t stop me from being gorgeous or stop Paul and I from having stunning images.

So, with all that said having you reach out in such a beautiful way was very touching. You are 100% correct that the world of “weddings” have not yet caught up with the idea that bigger does not mean less beautiful. I would be honored to be featured in your blog. Paul and I would love to be able to be showcased in such an inspiring way that beautiful is beautiful. You are an incredibly talented person and a beautiful soul any bride would be lucky to have you capture their moments.

One last thing, you are also correct I did not know you could capture on film what you did. I never dreamed it possible to look like that in those photos. Again, I am confident that I am attractive but it is just hard to imagine being beautiful in the “bridal sense” when you do not fit the stereotype, but man did you knock our photos out of the park!
Sincerely, Kate Brockman”

AND NOW THE IMAGES:

That’s me, self testing the lighting minutes before Kate and Paul joined me on the hill. It was a memorable and meaningful evening for this sun weathered dude! smiles

photos for a Friday

Today is somewhat of a reflective day. I have had an idea brewing in my mind lately that I should share some images that are meaningful to me as a photographer and a human being. ‘Moments Found’ which touched me, each it’s own uniquely beautiful and poignant way. So here goes. I hope you enjoy these.

And lastly, a picture of me with my VERY VERY BIG friend that I look forward to seeing again this September. I can’t wait to see what 2017 will bring!

images forever found

I love it when I’m editing the images from a wedding and THERE THEY ARE… ‘images forever found’! Moments seen briefly that will pass away, and might have been forgotten. So, I’m thrilled today, and I will show you why.

I found them, the happy moments, poignant moments, moments quiet and touching, gleefull and silly, the profound and the ridiculous. Enjoy!

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2016_9_3_mangelsdorf_1301 — mother and daughter

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2016_9_3_mangelsdorf_1033 — bridesmaid moment

2016_9_3_mangelsdorf_1348 — minutes before marriage

2016_9_3_mangelsdorf_1632 — about to walk down the aisle

2016_9_3_mangelsdorf_1683 — vows made in the breeze

2016_9_3_mangelsdorf_2467 — exalted dancing

2016_9_3_mangelsdorf_2611 — the unexpected volume

2016_9_3_mangelsdorf_2540 — dancing girls

lsp_7425 — Grandpa Brown takes the floor

2016_9_3_mangelsdorf_2873 — groomsman catches the bouquet!

lsp_6910-bw — groom reacts to my choice of moments! we laughed later.

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telling moments

I love to contemplate the moments that make up life. One after another always turning the page of mind. There are special moments that are spacious and moments that stop me and demand that I take notice. I like to think of them as Telling Moments.

During a wedding ceremony when two souls exchange vows of connection, vows of lifelong support and bonds… it always stops me in my tracks. It’s like everything is suspended. All the hustle and bustle leading up to the wedding day, all the planning, hard work and celebration stops. I always like to watch for the moments like these. And when everything stops, something special rushes in!

This is one of my recent favorites! smiles

A father’s love

Ok, so… for all you father’s out there that have daughters, this is for you, a subject very close to my heart. It was a quiet and personal backyard wedding in Livingston. Alternating bright piercing sun with dark, quickly moving clouds releasing random showers and the occasional bluster of wind. A cycle that spring time seems to deliver time and time again. I love it!

I was hired by a family member in Oregon to capture this special day. It was a gift. A very special gift for their family but most specifically for this Father and his daughter Mia. The rest is a very personal story of love and life and loving families … all of which is much too short and very impermanent. A story that we all know too well that deserves honoring and capturing and never forgetting.

I chose just a small handful of beautiful and poignant images. I call this post… A father’s love.