I haven't done a day-after blog post in a while, but this holiday thing has thrown my schedule out of whack. Amy and I are both sick and achy, and we feel like we haven't been home in months. Ok, enough complaining, on to the good things... Yesterday was our last wedding of a very busy, wonderful and overwhelming year. I think that it was the first time all year when I actually said "Wow, this is literally the best weather we could've asked for." After so many days of rain, snow, wind, storms, and more, it was nice to actually be pleasantly surprised with my work environment. :)

Ok, so I teased on Facebook yesterday that this was the first wedding I've shot where I had lived with both the bride and the groom on separate occasions. True story. Jay and I go way back and Kara had been shacking up with us for the last few months while she was in nursing school. So, we had talked out this whole wedding thing pretty thoroughly by the time the day came. In case you missed it in April, check out their engagement pics. We're really happy for you guys. Jay, you've come a long way since the loser freshman who used to like UNC and wear baby blue all the time. Ok, maybe not... I think you just got lucky. Kara, You've come a long way since two weeks ago when you were in our spare bedroom. Congrats! Enjoy everybody...

Amy's shot...



Amy's shot...



Amy's shot...

Amy's shot...


Amy's shot...


Amy's shot...



Both Amy's...




Amy's shot...


Amy's shot...

This is almost my favorite shot of the day.... almost...













My favorite. If this is the last shot you see from my 2009 weddings, I feel pretty good about it...

Thanks again to everyone who checks this and helps make this blog fun and full. I'll have some year end wrap up stuff soon I hope :)

Hey, I'm in a magazine! If you're in the Philly area, you can pick up a copy of Main Line Today this month (January issue) and see a spread from Allison & Carl's wedding in October. I'm really happy with this spread of photos and very proud that 2 of Amy's photos appear in there too! Here's a few pics... pick one up if you get a chance. Thanks!

With the snow still freshly on the ground, I headed over to our friends house on Sunday to get some maternity shots for Calli & Steve. I haven't shot for friends in a while, so it was a pleasure to go to a familiar house and relax a bit. Calli is due in just a few weeks, so I'm glad we got to get these in before she pops.

I respect Calli and Steve in a lot of ways, but maybe most of all because they don't know the sex of their baby. Absolutely the right way to go if you ask me (and why would you since I'm not a dad?). We're all excited for this, so it really was a pleasure being able to do this for them. I always feel a little bit weird asking people to hike, climb, crawl or whatever else for the sake of a photo, but there's no guilt quite as strong as making a pregnant chick climb fences in 2 feet of snow. Thanks Cal! Enjoy...

Wow, what can I say about this weekend. If you live anywhere in the Mid-Atlantic or Northeast, you know exactly what to think when I mention that I had a wedding this Saturday. The latest total said that Philadelphia got 23.5" of snow, almost entirely in one day... Saturday. As a wedding photographer, I always wonder if I'm going to get a day like this and what it would be like. I'm sure Kyra & Eddie might have even hoped for a few flakes, but no one was really prepared for the blizzard that we got. I might've been the only person who was excited.

Well, without a doubt the snow posed a number of 'challenges' for Kyra, Eddie and their guests. It's a real testament to them that everything went as great as it did. Sure it didn't all go down quite as planned, but I feel pretty safe saying that everyone there had a really great time (as did we) and that no one will forget this wedding. Thanks for being so cool you two. Your willingness to go with the flow and have a good time should make you guys proud.

Before I get to the images, I owe a thank you to my second shooter for the day, Jason Prezant (who took the shot above). I feel pretty confident saying that there's not a lot of people who would've left 2 hours early and driven their little car through that mess to second shoot. Jason, I sincerely appreciate it. I'm thankful to have you with me... Thanks bud.


Jason's shot...








Maybe my favorite of the day. I love this one!...


Jason's shot...



Next two are Jason's...


I love this one. Kyra & Eddie get a HUGE 'attaboy' from me for wanting to go outside. I know I say this all the time, but there's really no easier way to get great photos then to be willing to have a little fun (or be a little cold and miserable).




Kyra was specifically cold on her... well you get the idea...


Jason's shot...






Soaking it all in...


Great shot from Jason... this sort of sums up kids in 2009 I think...



The night ended with a (brief) snowball fight... Good times and a good night...

Still one or two blog posts to come this week, but in the mean time, Merry Christmas from me :)...

I just want to say a HUGE thank you to everyone who entered the contest. I had almost triple the amount of entries from last year. There were a lot of great ideas sent in. After just the first day of the contest, I could have had 2 winners and been done. I ended up separating a list of 'Finalists' before eventually picking out the winners. Among the many entries, there are a few things that are abundantly clear:

1) Apparently no one ever gets family photos taken. I must've received 25-30 entries from people who said something along the lines of "We don't have any family photos since 1992." People, get your butts in gear! In some cases, it had been as much as 20 years. I have no doubt that all of your families are just as cool and fun as you say, so do it! You'll remember them for a long time.

2) The bar was raised tremendously. I had several great bribe attempts and a number of incredibly time-consuming entries. As I was reading through them, I was wondering how I could ever turn some of you guys down. For example, last year I had one video submission, this year I had 10. I had many entries from people who wrote pages and pages of stories. Some of these were about bad wedding photos, tragic family circumstances or just heartfelt requests for help. In keeping with the contest, though, I decided a while ago to go with the ideas and shoots that I liked the best. What it came down to is that there are lots of situations that I felt bad for, but the contest is based on creative ideas.

3) I'm too busy. I ended up turning down some of my favorite ideas simply because my schedule doesn't really allow for more travel over the next few months. I just want to personally thank all of you who were so hospitable and creative for 'destination' shoots. Among them were trips to Trinidad&Tobago, Miami, Minnesota, California, Ohio and more. To you all who submitted from different locations, I promise to set aside more time to travel for next year's contest, but this year it's just not in the cards. Thank you!

So, onto the winners....
Much like last year, I set out to pick 1 winner, maybe 2. I ended up picking 3 again, and almost went to 4. So, here they are, in random order.

Winner #1 - Jenn & Rob

Idea: Post-Wedding Shoot
Location: Governor's Island, NY
Why They Won: There was really no question about picking these guys. I'm shooting their wedding March, and they've told me ever since we met how they wanted to do something on Governor's Island. It's a good location and a great idea. The clincher, though, is that Jenn & Rob put far more effort into their entry than I imagined anyone would. They made a 17 minute interview-style documentary about the island. If you got some time to kill and want to see a sweet topless scene, watch till the end (I apologize that it's stretched... I'm no video master).

Jenn & Rob from Tony Hoffer on Vimeo.

Winner #2 - Eastern University Lacrosse

Idea: Individual and Team Portraits
Location: Wayne, PA
Why They Won: Brandon, EU's lacrosse coach, had a pretty sweet idea. Let's take the team, put them in uniform and have them jump and dive all over the place. Make a calendar and a 'football lineup' type shot for the guys. Them winning really came down to 3 things: 1) I've been hoping to do more fun, commercial-lighting type work. 2) I'm considering this my alumni donation for the last 5 years. 3) I'm going to get to use trampolines.

Photo by Chiara Best

Winner #3 - Shhh! It's a Secret!

Idea: Proposal
Location: ???
Why They Won: I was contacted, by an gentleman who shall remain nameless to shoot his proposal at one of my favorite places in the world. I waffled for a while about who to give the last spot to, but ultimately Amy really pushed hard for this one. So, anonymous person, thank my wife for it! If you heard the other idea, you of all people would certainly understand why it almost beat you out :). Look for this to appear on the blog soon, or not... you'll never know!

Again, thanks to so many of you who entered. It amazes me that so many people I've never met are checking out this blog regularly. Thanks SO much for that. If you didn't win, well there's always next year :)

First of all, thanks so much to everyone for all the Shoot Me for Free entries! I got around 100 entries, which I was blown away by. Last year I got around 30 or 40 I think, and the contest went for a month. This year was about triple that, in less than half the time. Wow! People stepped their game WAY up too. I'll have the winners soon.

In the mean time, here's some new photos for your viewing pleasure. These are from Monday's trip to South Jersey. Jess and Jared set the record for quickest engagement turnaround after booking me... about 1 week. These guys will be married in 2011, so remember their faces, cause you won't see them for a while! We travelled around the Smithville Inn (where they'll be getting married), then to the bar where they met. Thanks to Phyllis who helped me out... Enjoy!










Jess does not like heights, but Tony is insensitive to his clients fears...





Then it was off to the bar where they met...