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Category Archives: Awards

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Brother-and-Sister Moment Wins an Award

May 26, 2010 – 1:55 pm

We are excited to announce that another one of our images won an award from the prestigious Artistic Guild of the Wedding Photojournalist Association (AGWPJA). The winning image was taken at a recent wedding of a gay couple, David & Danny. Both grooms were great dancers. One of them used to be a professional dancer and choreographer. The reception hall, The Manor in West Orange, NJ, had to raise the big chandelier in the room to prevent people from hitting it when they were flipped into the air by David & Danny! We will be posting more bout this wedding later, but for now we wanted to share the photo that won an award. It’s a shot of David and his sister having a blast dancing with each other. We like how the photo captures their special brother-and-sister bond.

manor west orange wedding reception

By aliceandjames | Also posted in Funico Studios News | Tagged gay wedding, manor-west-orange, manor-west-orange-wedding, manor-west-orange-wedding-photos, wedding reception dancing | Comments (0)

We’ve been Given a Bride’s Choice Award by WeddingWire

January 21, 2010 – 6:11 pm

weddingwireaward

We got the following announcement from WeddingWire:

Congratulations! We are excited to announce that Funico Studios has been chosen to receive the Bride’s Choice Awards™ 2010. This award recognizes the top 5 percent of local wedding professionals from the WeddingWire Network who demonstrate excellence in quality, service and professionalism.

The Bride’s Choice Awards™ are determined exclusively by recent newlyweds (brides and grooms) through extensive surveys and reviews, which means your past clients have spoken on our behalf and selected you to receive this honor.

Many thanks to our brides for giving us “2 thumbs up”!

By aliceandjames | Also posted in Funico Studios News | Comments (0)

Church Photography Restrictions Didn’t Prevent Us from Getting an Award-Winning Photo

January 13, 2010 – 12:23 am

Alice and I are both members of the prestigious Wedding Photojournalist Association (WPJA). This exclusive organization represents some of the most talented wedding photojournalists in the world. An offshoot of the WPJA is the Artistic Guild of the Wedding Photojournalist Association (AGWPJA). The AGWPJA focuses more on special effect photos.

We are excited to announce that both of the images we submitted to a recent AGWPJA photo contest have been honored with awards. One image was taken during a wedding at St. Patrick’s Cathedral in Manhattan. St. Patrick’s is both breathtaking and an important center of Catholic life. We can definitely understand why brides would want to get married there! Unfortunately, for us wedding photographers though, St. Patrick’s is difficult because it has very strict rules. They actually assign security personnel to keep an eye on us during the ceremony!

St Patrick’s does not allow the use of flashes or tripods. We, however, have one of the best cameras in the industry for taking photos in low light even if we can’t use a flash. Its speed also allows us to create High Dynamic Range (HDR) images without having to use a tripod. HDR photos are created by combining several shots into one final image to show the dramatic details in both the bright and dark areas of the Cathedral. For those not interested in the technical details, let’s simply say we didn’t let the church’s restrictions prevent us from creating an award-winning image!

st-patrick's-new-york-city-wedding-photo

The other winning image was taken at an Indian wedding reception at the Hyatt Regency in Long Island. We love photographing Indian weddings because of all the vibrant colors in everyone’s clothing. We caught this great moment of a young kid dancing in his white suit to the cheers of his friends and family. We changed some of the color tones to spice up the moment.

indian-wedding-photo

We hope you enjoy these photos as much as the contest judges did!

By aliceandjames | Also posted in Funico Studios News | Tagged Artistic Wedding Photojournalist, award-winning-wedding-photographers, HDR wedding photos, Hyatt, Hyatt Regency in Long Island, Indian wedding, Long Island Wedding, long island wedding photographer, manhattan wedding, Modern Wedding Photography, new york wedding photographers, new york wedding photos, Saint Patrick's Cathedral, Saint Patrick's Wedding | Comments (0)

We Won 3 Red Ribbons in a New York State Print Competition

June 29, 2009 – 1:12 pm

We are very excited to report that three of our four entries won Red Ribbons at this year’s Professional Photographers’ Society of New York State (PPSNYS) annual print competition. Not bad for our first entry to this statewide competition! It’s an honor to be recognized by such a distinguished organization that was founded over 100 years ago.

The judges liked this photo we shot at a St. John destination wedding.

Honestly, how could you not love such a beautiful location? We’ve been to St. John a few times and are big fans of the island. The beaches are absolutely magnificent! The water is so pure, you can see your feet and the fish swim right up to you. If you’re looking for a place for your honeymoon, we give “two thumbs up” to the US Virgin Islands.

This photo of rain drops on a lily pad also did well. We like it a lot as well and will probably hang it up in our apartment.

This picture was taken in Central Park’s Conservatory Garden. We love Central Park and think that the Conservatory Garden is one of the city’s many hidden gems. The lily pad was in a pool and the golden color in the water is from the sun reflecting off of the New York skyline.

Last, but not least, our image of a musician at the annual New York Renaissance Faire also won a red ribbon. He looks like he’s been plucked out of the 1800’s, doesn’t he?

One of our brides recently told us that she works at the Renaisance Faire every year and knows this guy. What a small world…

By aliceandjames | Also posted in Funico Studios News | Tagged new york wedding photographers | Comments (0)

Another Best-in-Show Winning Print

December 18, 2008 – 11:28 pm

One of my prints recently won Best-In-Show at the WPPA quarterly print competition. I’ve been a member of this local PPA chapter for a few years and have won awards in many of their quarterly print competitions. It’s such an honor to win because I have such high respect for my fellow members. I’m competing against some very established and experienced photographers and also new rising stars in the industry.

As a professional photographer, I find these competitions very valuable because each print gets judged and critiqued by certified judges and master photographers. Of course, constructive criticism can sometimes be frustrating (don’t want to lie and say that criticism is always music to my ears!), but it’s also a powerful learning experience.

The award-winning photo below is a candid that I had captured at the Renaissance Faire a few months ago. When I was growing up, I would always see the Renaissance Faire commercials on TV, so Alice and I were excited to go this year. The judges said that the lighting and expression of the guitar player is what makes the photo so powerful.

Some of my other entries that scored high but did not win ribbons included some High Dynamic Range (HDR) photos I had taken in Central Park, NYC. HDR photos are created by taking several images of the same subject and then merging them together to bring out the photos’ highlights and shadows. These were my my first attempts at creating HDR photos and I look forward to mastering this new technique. This one was taken at the Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Reservoir. The judges loved the lights and reflections in the water but said it lacked a central subject. I guess I will have to go back and do it again while some ducks are swimming in the water!

This is a photo of Central Park’s recently-renovated Bethesda Terrace Arcade. The judges felt that the cropping and details in the highlights could be improved. This can be done on the computer and will not require any bird control tactics.

By aliceandjames | Also posted in Funico Studios News | Tagged award-winning-nyc-wedding-photographers, award-winning-wedding-photographers, central-park-photos | Comments (0)

Our Photo Wins Accolade of Excellence

July 21, 2008 – 11:31 pm

We think Maari & Mark’s wedding in St. John had some great photos. Apparently, so do professional photographer organizations. A few weeks ago, we mentioned that one of their photos won “Best-in-Show” at a WPPA competion. Recently, the international WPPI awarded their highly sought-after Accolade of Excellence to another one of Maari & Mark’s photos.

A kiss on the magnificent beaches of St. John…romantic and absolutely beautiful. It’s no wonder that WPPI likes it.

But again, we have to thank Maari & Mark for being such great subjects!

By aliceandjames | Also posted in Destination Weddings, Funico Studios News, Recent Weddings | Tagged award-winning-nyc-wedding-photographers, award-winning-wedding-photographers, Destination-Wedding-Photos, st-john-wedding-photos, st-john-weddings | Comments (0)

Our Print Wins “Best-in-Show”

June 25, 2008 – 10:36 pm

The WPPA hosted its second quarter print competition last night and our print won “best-in-show”! The award-winning photo below was taken at Maari & Mark’s destination wedding in St. John, USVI.

Thank you, Maari & Mark, for being such great models!

More 2007 Favorites

January 31, 2008 – 1:38 am

We were honored to photograph and videotape about 60 weddings last year.

To our 2007 brides and grooms - thank you so much for your trust in us !

There are so many photos that we love from 2007. We shared one with you a few weeks ago and would like to share a few others with you now. In no particular order, below are the photos that are on the top of our list of 2007 favorites. Our full list actually has 100+ photos, but we didn’t want you to get bored (not to mention a finger cramp from scrolling down !)

We were really touched by Jessy’s tears when she said her vows to Ali. So pure and so from the heart. Think we teared ourselves a bit.

We love this photo. The little head among the pews makes us laugh out loud every time !

We really like how Kayla & Zachary look so happy and excited in this photo. And, love how the sparklers they used for their exit seem to add to the excitement. Can almost imagine the sizzle in the air !

This was taken at Victoria & Matt’s wedding on the Staten Island boardwalk. James grew up in Staten Island and he remembers how he used to hang out on this same boardwalk. Hard to imagine James and his little friends on this boardwalk now, huh? We love how the lights illuminate the scene and how beautiful and serene they make Victoria & Matt’s ceremony.

Love how James is looking at his lovely bride, Lynneth, with pure, unadulterated affection in this photo. If only we all had someone to look at us like that !

Don’t Michele & Alex look so much in love in this picture? Can’t ask for a more romantic backdrop than the sun setting behind them ! We actually like this photo so much that we made a large canvas wrap of it to hang up.

Love this photo of Hayley’s final preparations. A beautiful bride putting on her last bits of jewelry in her everyday Hoboken apartment (black jacket and all !) This photo actually won an award from our local chapter of the Professional Photographers of America organization.

Think Maureen and Joseph’s red car was such a great idea. And, love the expressiveness of Maureen’s face. Her excitement is almost palpable and we feel like we can share it with her every time we look at the picture.

Love how Stacey & Rob are surrounded by all the motion in this photo. An ordinary day in Grand Central Station with everyone rushing off to catch their train and there stand Stacey & Rob, a sea of calm in all the confusion.

This is actually of our old neighbor, Jocelyn (or “Cutie Pie” as we affectionately call her). Jocelyn & Rob got married at St. Patrick’s Cathedral and we really admire how Jocelyn’s choice of veil perfectly matches the stateliness of St. Patrick’s. Of course, Cutie Pie has great taste !

We got completely drawn in by Katie’s eyes when we took photos of her last September. More and more, we zoomed in and voila, we have this shot of her magnificent eyes !

By aliceandjames | Also posted in 2007 Favorite Wedding Photos, Funico Studios News, Recent Weddings | Comments (0)

2007 Favorite Photos

January 18, 2008 – 1:09 pm

We’re still compiling our list of favorite photos from 2007 weddings, but wanted to share one from what we have so far.

This photo was taken at Christine and Anthony’s wedding in the Thousand Islands. It actually won an award from our local chapter of the Professional Photographers America, a professional photographers organization. Just in case you don’t know where the Thousand Islands are, they’re a beautiful group of islands on the border of Canada and New York State.

Christine and Anthony got married at the Boldt Castle in May. The castle itself has a very sad and romantic history. It was built in the early 1900’s by George Boldt, who owned NYC’s Waldorf Astoria. He wanted to build it for his wife, Louise. Unfortunately, Louise died suddenly in 1904 and George was so heart-broken that he abandoned the castle. The castle was then left abandoned for years until one of the municipal authorities decided to restore it recently.

After that sad story, let’s talk about happier things, i.e., Christine and Anthony’s wedding ! Christine and Anthony love the Renaissance era and travel all over the world to participate in Renaissance fairs. For their wedding (though you can’t see it from the picture), they both dressed up in Renaissance garb. You can better see their traditional Renaissance Era-wedding clothing in the 2 pictures below. Unfortunately, these 2 pictures didn’t make our list of favorites, but we like them a lot as well !

We really liked Christine and Anthony’s wedding. For us, it was our first experience with Renaissance weddings, so we were really excited that they chose us to photograph their day. And, we really admire the way they integrated their interests into their wedding and made it even more special.

Stay tuned… More 2007 favorites to come…