Shannon Sturgis Photography

Mother of the Bride

It's a given that a wedding photographer should get photos of the bride and groom sharing special moments throughout their wedding day, but it's always a sweet bonus to capture the small moments between parents and their to-be-wed child.

At Erica and Ari's wedding that I shot with Karen Wise, I saw a sincere embrace between mother and daughter from another room. Where I was standing in the living area of the hotel room all was hustle and bustle, crowded with sisters, cousins, hairdressers.  In the back bedroom, a mom and daughter shared a quiet moment to be thankful for each other. It was a sight to see and I'm glad I caught it here.

Also, can we talk about the Mother of the Bride's dress? Gorgeous.

Me and Julio Down in Nola/ Tales of the Cocktail

While at Tales of the Cocktail this year, I shot the "Me and Julio Down in Nola" Don Julio happy hour.  I arrived at Exchange Alley a little early and got to see some of the batching madness. There may have been no pepper grinder, someone may have blended their drink in a woodworking shop because of lack of power elsewhere and 4 gallons of ginger syrup may have been mysteriously delivered 20 minutes before the happy hour began. Working events, the photographer always sees some of the panic behind the scenes but eventually everyone is eating jambalaya and drinking Don Julio 1942 while wearing free t-shirts.

Absolut Elyx Private MoMA tour & Dinner

Absolut released a new vodka: Absolut Elyx.  To introduce it to some choice New York bartenders in a an intimate way, they planned a small dinner with cocktail pairings after a private tour through MoMa with an expert docent. It was a pretty great New York experience and I'm glad I could be there to photograph it.

Beefeater at The NoMad

Beefeater hired me to shoot a private dinner they held at The NoMad.  Naturally, Leo Robitschek created Beefeater cocktail pairings for all of Daniel Humm's dishes.  Yes, I got to eat everything.

Fresh ’Til Death Nuts/ Bushwick

Recently I photographed Bradford Still and Collin Crockett of the nut milk startup Fresh ’Til Death Cafeteria.  It was an assignment for Edible Brooklyn's dairy issue and you can find the story here.  Hanging out with these guys was a lot of fun.   They live in a quirky Bushwick apartment with sawhorses lying near artistic tchotchke vignettes.  We talked a lot about juggalos interestingly enough and about bad art left in their loft by their former roommate.  After telling them that they owned a lot of stuff American Pickers would be interested in, we headed up to the roof for the shot you see above.  Still and Crockett were good sports and did several jumps to get the right one.  I think was attempt number three out of who knows how many. 

Alice Feiring/ The Waverly Inn

Jeff Harding is StarChefs.com's ever-so-wonderful freelance wine writer.  Earlier this week he interviewed Wine Writer and Expert Alice Feiring at The Waverly Inn --Harding's place of work.  I had the pleasure of photographing Feiring at the entrance of The Waverly Inn and I love the colors in this shot.  The purple and green work so nicely with Feiring's feiry hair.

Housemade Spam/ Okonomiyaki from Lani Kai

Chef Okochi Sawako of Lani Kai - New York, NY allowed me to come into her kitchen and witness the making and flipping of her Okonomiyaki (which includes housemade spam).  StarChefs.com featured it in their New Years Day newsletter mentioning that the dish would be good for post-celebratory consumption.  I sampled it and I can guarantee that it is also good for pre-celebratory consumption.  If you want to eat something ever-so-munchie-tastic with dancing bonito flakes, I highly recommend the Okonomiyaki at Lani Kai.

Wafu Staff Meal/ Portland

When I was in Portland, Oregon with StarChefs.com I shot the staff meal at Wafu with Sous Chef Jane Hashimawari.  She made fried rice with roasted potatoes, chicken oysters and, as you can see from the picture below, a lot of mayo.  The guy on the phone near the walk-in is Wafu's Chef Trent Pierce.

Victoria/ Portland

This happy creature's name is Victoria.  She belongs to Restaurateur Kurt Huffman, a 2011 Portland StarChefs.com Rising star.  Victoria joined us for the Rising Star photo shoot in September on the rooftop at Departure and I couldn't help but turn the camera towards her.

Veronica/ Trump Soho

This is a picture of Veronica, a bride I photographed with Karen Wise in March.  I really liked this graceful moment before the groom, Nick, entered the room for their 'first look.'