This Valentine’s Day past, my heart melted a bit. I was sent to photograph the vow renewal ceremony of Arthur and Jean Davignon. I have to admit I was unusually excited for this particular gig; I shortly found out why.

Married on February 27, 1954, just shy of 58 years, the devoted couple met when Arthur returned from the Navy and began working at International Silver in Meriden, Connecticut. When Arthur took a job in New York, he visited Jean every Sunday by train until the day she first said “yes.”

As tradition has it, the dotingly devoted couple prepared for the ceremony in separate rooms; Jean unabashedly pleased with a synthetic bouquet of calla lillies and Arthur patiently awaiting his bride among the spirited gathering.

At 2 p.m. on a brisk winter day, among family, friends, and Gladeview residents, the Davignon’s said “I do” once more as Reverend Joseph Leta pronounced them man and wife yet again and leaned in for a sweet, sincere kiss.

“I feel excellent,” exalted Arthur. “Couldn’t want anything better.”

True love: it’s contagious. It’s sacred. And if you find it, hold on to it with everything you’ve got.

Editors Note – This photo story took 3rd place in the Monthly Clip competition on the National Press Photographers Association website. Check it out here.

The true hat toss is settled: congratulations to Madame, Stacey, and Chris H.!!! Select from the three image options below. Send me a message on Facebook or e-mail me with your image selection and address to redeem your free 5” x 3.5” print!! Hooray!

A big thank you to everyone who participated in the drawing. Keep a keen eye out on Facebook for future giveaways, photoblog updates, and more. Happy Thursday!

Love Canal was a toxic waste dump cum community development gone devastatingly awry. It was home to the first mass-media publicized movement about chemical pollution and its incredible effects on nature and the human body. It’s significance years later lives on considering its not too far off from what still goes on all around us today.

Roughly twenty minutes or so west of Niagara Falls, researching Love Canal was how I spent my college thesis. For one year (and more than that really) I was inundated in creating a retrospective about the site. The finished product resulted in nine super-sized panoramas, seven detail shots, permitted use of period aerial photographs, and a book explaining the drawn out catastrophe. The entire work was shot on 35mm film and probably was the last work I recorded as such.

Steven Kobasa, a local writer, came across my work at a City-Wide Open Studios a few years ago. An acquired taste, indeed, we connected through my work and kept in touch. Stephen has recently invited me to exhibit one of the pieces in an upcoming art show (the entry’s featured image), which is why I’m showing it to you today. It’s strange to only show one, but in a way I feel comfortable considering the theme of the show itself.

The photograph above is entitled “Demolished Duplexes” and is now ironically flanked by a newer development of senior housing. The creepy thing about Love Canal is that it actually held up its blueprint quite well. They still mow the grass and the street lights still work. And all the homes you find sporadically placed are people who decided to stay.

This work meant quite a bit to me, so I invite you to observe more on my Flickr site. This also includes a more detailed understanding of why.

More information about the exhibit (if you’ll be in the New Haven area, of course!).

There are several things great about Mr. August: John Sousoulas and the 24-hour diner he’s been running for more than 25 years. The traditional cum contemporary eatery had recently undergone a renovation that decorates the place with beautiful lookouts of Santorini, and of course, sizable remakes of the Parthenon itself.

We commend you, Mr. Sousoulas – ahem, excuse me,  Mr. August – for the divine food (and mystery hiding under that apron) you bring to the table.

Mr. June | Mr. May | Mr. April | Mr. March | Mr. February | Mr. January | Mr. December | Mr. November

I somehow feel compelled to present an explanation for my summer-born hiatus in which my photoblog has been subjected. One craft project included a desperate need for new chairs in our quaint dining room. Indeed, the ironclad and rattan chairs had massive holes in the buttocks region and many of our dinner guests were potentially plummeting to the dinner room floor. My self-proclaimed thrify-self decided that we going to buy chairs on the cheap (really not an easy task) or get them for free.

Well, I got these for free – on the side of the road from a woman clearing out her late father’s furniture for bulk pickup. But alas, nothing in life is free and after spending just short of the entirety of a season, the once ratty, heat-melted lacquer and plastic-covered granny chairs are now a magnificent distressed shade of English chestnut adorned with a modern twall toile.

So blame the chairs. Not me.

Editor’s note: I recommend a heavy dose of patience when sanding and a lot of paint stripper for detailed spindles.

Well, if I must say! This could possibly be the greatest month of them all. Mr. June is the one, the only, Chuck Conti of Weichert Realtors – Shoreline Properties. A good friend of the family and one with a charm all his own depicts here the selling of a home to the stereotypical first-time home buyer couple. Guess who? I’ll give you a hint… she’s typing and the gentleman to the left is her favorite. Futhermore, the Mother Bear is credited for depressing the shutter button.

Disclaimer: No house was purchased during the making of this picture.

Mr. May | Mr. April | Mr. March | Mr. February | Mr. January | Mr. December | Mr. November

Meet Frank Morale. Frank and his son, Anthony, run Anthony John’s Pizzeria in North Branford, Connecticut. Frank started making pizza when at the ripe age of 13 in Brooklyn, New York and has made every single pizza pie at Anthony John’s since opening in May of 2010. No joke; this is some of the best pizza in Connecticut. Hands down. All you pizza connoisseurs are invited to take a trip to 5 Foxon Road in North Branford and try it for yourself.

On May 5th, Anthony John’s Pizzeria competed alongside five local flavors at the North Branford Senior Center’s third annual Pizza Wars competition. Drawing in more than 400 blind taste testers, Anthony John’s came in with a close second, losing first place to only 8 votes. Nevertheless, pretty damn good for a first year entrant and first year in business.

Check out my video introducing all the competing pizzerias that aired the day of the tasting:

Better late than never, eh? Mr. May is none other than Mike Savinelli and Jason Truscio of the quintessential shoreline eatery, Nellie Greens. Situated cozily behind a factory cum boat marina, this “casually elegant” establishment comes with all the perks including wonderful service and waterfront views of the Branford River. Named after rum runner Nellie Greens herself who ran a speakeasy down the street during the 1920s at the former Talmadge Hotel.

Remember, remember, the Calendar of Branford: Flashback to Mr. April, Mr. March, Mr. February, Mr. January, Mr. December, and Mr. November.

Bang bang, Mr. April! I present to you the one and only Chris Dogolo of Chris’ Indoor Shooting Range in Guilford, Connecticut. This pistol-whippin’, bullseye-shootin’, no messin’ around marksman is the owner of the highly acclaimed indoor range along the shoreline. Length of pistols in hand were not editing during the making of this calendar (his arms were getting a little tired).

Remember, remember, the Calendar of Branford: Flashback to Mr. March, Mr. February, Mr. January, Mr. December, and Mr. November.

During our two-or-so hour Salton Sea sojourn, there was much to be seen as light fell swiftly. Leaving Bombay Beach, our group trailed up the gravely roads on foot paralleling the Chocolate Mountains, which revealed their every crevice with the setting sun. This is a fleeting memento of the transient memories and of more to come.