Salem, MA Wedding Photographer | Kim Indresano Photography Blog

I finished editing Marge Minkin’s shoot from earlier this month and toot toot (that’s my horn), I like so darn many of them that I’m posting part two. Here’s a handful…

I recently spent a day with Marge in her studio in Waltham, MA, watching and photographing while she worked with her moulded plastics and vibrant paints. Her sculptures remind me of shimmering torsos and I think about abstract landscapes when I’m around her paintings. This day allowed me to slow down my own creative process and take the time to think through the images I wanted to make. I’m inspired by Marge’s commitment to her art and I noticed we have a similar way of creating in that both of us work fluidly but are wide open to not having it all precisely planned out. While I love the images we did of her working, there’s just something about this shot here that speaks to me: Marge holds her heat gun one, a tool that’s essential for building the organic shapes that define her work.

Yes, I just returned from an inspired and invigorating trip. My sister, Jeni, and I had a week together while our husbands and kids rocked the homefronts. Our parents, wrapping up a special trip of their own, met us in Paris and we had several days all together. How rare to have that kind of grownup time when our worlds are already whirling on a daily basis juggling families, businesses, pets, life, and making sure there are tasty things to eat each day. I’ll admit that I have a future wistfulness of one day, in 25 years give or take, that my two kids will want to take a small leave of absence from their regular lives for a wee stint with me and Brian somewhere like this.

Of all the sophisticated wonder that is Paris, my two favorite things were walking for miles just looking and soaking it in, and the other was speaking that glorious language. My only wish for myself was to send my inner critic packing on her own trip far from where I was and so I could just speak the French I studied from 7th grade through college. And by not being such a perfectionist about getting that grammar all straight, I succeeded; It just flowed. Here are a few peeks of my week there…

On each side of the Pont Des Arts pedestrian bridge is filled with little padlocks, inscripted with indelible marker or carved with the names of lovers. In my several visits to this city I don’t think I’ve ever seen it–so it was worthy of two morning walks to seek it out. Apparently some people lock the locks and throw the keys into the Seine river below.

This actor couple above is on the set of a film shoot.

A delish buckwheat crepe with spinach and cheese, and Jeni peeking through the window.

And cider to go with it.

We spontaneously attended a show of fashion photographer Helmut Newton at the Grand Palais and came out in the beautiful early evening light on this bridge, the Pont Alexandre.

We sisters who happen to have the same two pairs of boots and who happened to pack them all; We maturely took turns.

In an organic market on Boulevard Raspail on Sunday mornings, we came upon two women selling cotton cloth “biologique” designed by one of the women, named Amandine. I bought a meter and a half for Jeni’s birthday who, I can tell, is about to turn into a sewing maven.

Halfway through our week it was nice to give our urban overloaded selves a break and we took a train to Vernon and met my dear French exchange family (a 27-year old friendship this is) and all spent a peaceful day together in Monet’s garden in Giverny. I rekindled my flame with Impressionism on this trip, a style I loved as a kid and teen but dismissed it in my twenties and early 30′s as not “edgy enough.” Whatever that decade or so was about for me, ha. But now seeing all the paintings in person–like Monet’s Nymphéas, hugely long and housed in delicate, naturally-lit oval rooms at L’Orangerie–took my breath away. And seeing Renoir paintings of just ordinary people doing ordinary things, like a mother and a child playing with toy horses, I appreciated these anew.

Tulips along the walking paths in Monet’s garden.

Gloucester, Massachusetts is one of my favorite coastal places anywhere and I had two spectacular weddings in that town back to back, each with a very different feel and with couples who made my heart sing all day long. In Jess and Pete’s wedding at the Ocean View Inn I really appreciated the TIME we built in to create some special shots of just the two of them. They are hilarious together, full of laughs, and as you’ll see we even captured their love of football—for separate teams. And! They threw a bit of serendipity at me during the reception when Jess said, “Let’s run up to the top of the inn and do some fun shots in that cool bathroom!” Okay! A photographer’s dream. For the very last shot below I was glad for a whispering from a bridesmaid and so I climbed back to the very top of the inn to capture this thoughtful secret made by friends. Enjoy.

What a way to wrap up a wedding season with Kari and Dan. This was a long-awaited one, and you might remember back in November 2010 when we got together at a favorite trail of mine in Ipswich to make their engagement shots. On their wedding day we lucked out on that mild late November weather just after Thanksgiving. They each got ready in their respective childhood homes, a ceremony at Our Lady of Good Voyage (filled with interesting shipping details), and a reception at Cruiseport nearby. But one of my favorite parts of the day were the shots we made down on the Boulevard. The pressure was off them and we could relax and play awhile before heading to a lively reception. Our kindly limo driver, John, navigated those narrow Gloucester streets and we hopped out. I loved it when Kari pulled on her red coat and said, “Ahh, now I feel like myself!” Congratulations you two!

It’s the eight-day countdown for Teresa and Ben who are getting hitched next Saturday. On my recent voyage to San Fran, where half of my heart still lives after a 9-year era, I got to meet this funny duo. Funny because we kept cracking up during this shoot. We created these portraits in bright, overhead, mid-day sun—but with a little fancy footwork you’d never know it, right? I never tire of exploring simple ways to bend and shape light to work with what I have in mind.
Sitting in Teresa and Ben’s kitchen before we headed out to their garden of succulents, they won me over with a little video our mutual friend John Bela very spontaneously captured of Ben proposing to Teresa on a bridge in Paris overlooking the Seine. The Bateaux-Mouches is even passing underneath for added effect. I made them play it for me three times while I swooned.
I have worked with the Talented Teresa for nearly 2 years. We collaborated on several of my printed mailings, my blog, and soon-to-be-released new fangled and fabulous website (stay tuned!). But until our shoot we had only communicated via email and phone, so it was wonderful to be together in person and create these images. Be sure to check out Teresa’s company, Spindle Desco, for a glimpse of her thoughtful, well-executed design work.

Best wishes to you, Teresa and Ben, for a beautiful upcoming celebration and beyond.

Ah yes! Back to Kellian and Brian’s June wedding around Salem, MA and culminating at the Peabody Essex Museum’s East India Hall with the Beantown Swing Orchestra. Do go online and listen to their music, it’ll get you up and out of your chair. Or refresh your memory on some of my earlier shots posted here. The vibe of this wedding was so right on, partly because so many of the guests participated in dressing up 40′s style. For the wedding party, the fabulous hair and accoutrements were done by Anna Kathryn, who has a knack as you’ll soon see. Bride Kellian changed from a long, low-slung back gown to a whimsical swing dress with polka dots and red tulle underneath. This couple can dance! She and groom Brian offered a lesson during the reception, energetically offering tips to brave newcomers. Lots of guests already are regular swing dancers, some who surprise-jumped into a choreographed first dance. The band filled the room with gorgeous, lively music and when they took a break a few key guests toted out a ukelele and songs and personalized the reception all over again. And then. And then! The dance jam. After so much dancing already the jam seriously upped the ante on very fast, very athletic dancing. Kellian and Brian, in the center of a wide circle, took turns spinning and swinging with all the guests who landed themselves in the ring. It was like standing on the outside of a whirling, controlled tornado. And did I mention fast?! I was sweating just from the joy of photographing it all. And of course Brian and Kellian, at the end, had simply a mere trace of perspiration, big smiles, and were breathing normally like they dance with gorgeous abandon all the time. Actually they do. And they tell me they’ll teach me how. Meanwhile, enjoy what follows. It was one of those weddings I wish you could’ve been at too.

Wedding Coordination by Holly Harrington Stern of Harrington Events and Natalia Laskaris of the Peabody Essex Museum.

I’m delighted this image won an Honorable Mention at the upcoming Marblehead Arts Festival. I love this shot for many reasons. The main one though is the collaboration I had with my young friend Maeve. I asked her to bring something meaningful to the shoot, one of her favorite objects. She chose this blanket that was wrapped around her the day she was born. On the large print if you look closely you would be able to see some of the words embroidered around the edges. We were also in a meaningful location, in coastal New Hampshire, where her family memories are already many. Last summer and fall when I did  a lot of portrait shoots, I discovered how much I enjoyed photographing slightly older kids. We could really sink into making an image together that felt real.

Yesterday Kellian and Brian got hitched here in Salem in full 40′s style and with a bevy of swing dancing friends among the guests, many bedecked of the era. While I’m hunkering down editing here, intermittently cracking up and sighing, I couldn’t help but post a few as I go along. Mind you this is just the start of our day when Brian and Kellian see each other for the first time in the Federal Garden, a hint of our walk around town with the bridesmaids, and proof that we did stop in for an impromptu snack at Rita’s Custard on the way to the church. No sense in having a hungry bride at her own wedding.

Coming in a post soon you’ll see the evening’s swing danceapalooza featuring my new favorite band, Beantown Swing Orchestra, playing in the East India Marine Hall of the Peabody Essex Museum.

A special “merci” to Angela, my amazing, hard working, calm force of an assistant all day and evening, and to my sister Jeni, schlepper extraordinaire and another keen eye on the scene.

Enjoy peek number one…

Today, Odessa, who is 5, made a birthday card for her cousin Paprika, now also 5. Paprika is my sister’s eldest child and they all moved across the country in August and now live a short walk from us. Oh how we love having our family so close by now. Dessa described her drawing to me like this: “That’s Paprika with the curly hair and me with the straight hair and we’re wearing sunglasses [laughs] and that there in the middle is a heart. It’s exploding with love.”