Molly Palmer and Lee Cowan married each other at St. Alban’s Parish in Washington D.C. Saturday, April 14, 2012. Passing cars honk and congratulate the couple while posing for portraits in front of their wedding car, a classic Bentley from the 1960's. Molly Palmer, 29, and Lee Cowan, 46, were colleagues at NBC News, but it wasn't until The Balloon Boy story coverage in 2009 that their romance sparked.

This wedding I shot for The New York Times Vows section was a pretty cool. It was filled to the brim with media people. Being a journalist, I found this paragraph from WILL STOREY’s story particularly interesting:

“Among the things that initially propelled Ms. Palmer’s and Mr. Cowan’s relationship was that ‘we both get this crazy job that we do,’ Mr. Cowan said. ‘It’s hard, I think, for some people who don’t do this job, when you say you’re going to be home at 5 o’clock at night for dinner, and then not only are you not home at 5, but you’re actually on a plane and you might not be home for four days.’”

It reminds me of something my former coworker Sherri DiBarri used to said once, “You know? One of the great things about being married to another photographer is that I can tell him I’ll be home in about 20 minutes, and he knows I’m probably lying.”

For Even more photos, check out my photoshelter archive gallery and/or slideshow.

Mother of the bride Nancy Palmer, left, helps flower girl sisters Jayden Nassar, 6, middle, and Parker Nassar, 4, right, with their flowers moments before Molly Spencer Palmer, background right, marries Lee Cowan at St. Alban’s Parish in Washington D.C. Saturday, April 14, 2012. The Rev. Margot D. Critchfield, an Episcopal priest, performed the ceremony.

Lee kissed the bride.

The two watch as ceremony attendees leave for the reception so they can have their wedding portraits made.

The couple walk in the neighboring National Cathedral's Bishop's Garden to have their portraits made in-between ceremony and reception.

Lead wedding photographer Geoff Chesman, middle right, plans the family portrait session with groom Lee Cowan, middle left, at the reception held at the Chevy Chase Club in Washington D.C. Saturday, April 14, 2012. Bride Molly Spencer Palmer, left, talks with her sister Hope Palmer. Lee's father, Dr. Leland Cowan, far right, stands with his wife Constance Cowan (obscured, in wheelchair), while secondary wedding photographer Kristian Thacker carries a chair for Constance to sit in.

Molly Palmer and Lee Cowan, middle, have a moment, in between family portraits

Molly Spencer Palmer and Lee Cowan laugh during a humorous speech told by one of Lee's best men Mark Hudspeth retells the couple's romantic origins sparked during the Balloon Boy coverage in 2009.

Molly Palmer and Lee Cowan's first dance.

Molly dancing with her dad, John Palmer, was a White House correspondent for NBC News and a news anchor for “Today.”

Celebrities in attendance! Former Federal Reserve Chair Alan Greenspan and his wife NBC News Chief Foreign Affairs Correspondent Andrea Mitchell talk with groom Lee Cowan.

Lee Cowan and Molly Palmer kiss after cutting their cake.

Sparklers light the exit.

Just a funny moment at the Bentley.

Allison Curry, from Tampa, celebrates during the USF Alumni NCAA Selection Sunday Watch Party at Lee Roy Selmon’s restaurant in Tampa, Florida Sunday, March 11, 2012. Curry, who graduated in 2011, was a USF Athletic Trainer for the school’s basketball team last year. She is flanked by fellow 2011 alumni and former trainer Christina Page, from Tampa, on the left, and Davian Benito, from Tampa, the USF Alumni Association Tampa Chapter Watch Party Chair, on her right. Tony Holbro, class of 1970, both from Tampa, and Andy Morris, the USF Director of Marketing, is on the far right.

Woohoo! My (work) trip to Florida might be turning fruitful after all. I got on the freelance list for the Tampa Bay Times (formerly the St. Pete Times) last week thanks to staffers Kathleen Flynn and Melissa Lyttle. And yesterday (fellow former PPC staffer) Stefanie Boyar called me up for my first assignment, a USF NCAA watch party. It’s one of those Cheers or Tears shoots. After 20 years, the Bulls got in. So it was cheers all the way.

Rocky, the USF mascot tries riling up the crowd attending the University of Southern Florida Alumni NCAA Selection Sunday Watch Party at Lee Roy Selmon's restaurant in Tampa, Florida Sunday, March 11, 2012.

USF fan Adam Brown, from Tampa, hugs Rob Lewis, from Land O' Lakes, USF class of 1986, during The University of Southern Florida Alumni NCAA Selection Sunday Watch Party at Lee Roy Selmon's restuaruant in Tampa, Florida Sunday, March 11, 2012.

Oh! and this happened, too.

Major League Baseball Hall of Famer Yogi Berra walks into Lee Roy Selmon's restaurant in Tampa, Florida Sunday, March 11, 2012. Coincidentally, The University of Southern Florida Alumni NCAA Selection Sunday Watch Party was being held at the same time .

My first Tampa Bay Times clip.

A few weeks ago I licensed a photo I made of David Donaldson to the New York Review of Books — a small, niche, yet prestigious and super smart publication.

I recommend the article if you’re into education reform.

I originally shot these photos of David Donaldson for the New York Times back in 2009.

As I’m sure some of you regular readers are aware, I’m still in the blooming stages of my freelance career. I haven’t relicensed too many photos, yet. I hope this’ll become old hat one of these days. But for now, it’s still pretty cool!

…now if I can just land a syndication deal. Who wants me? Anyone Anyone?

The New York Times story, which outlines the frustrating reality of raising a kid by a single working mom, is here.

One of the tough parts of making these portraits is that they were during her lunch hour. Ideally I would’ve gotten her at least getting her son ready for school in the morning, but, for some reason, that wasn’t feasible. We also couldn’t make pictures in her office. So, we just walked around the block. I felt bad because Sheontay — a pretty attractive woman — would get hollered at. “Damn Girl! You a model?!?” I know my camera and I didn’t help. Sheontay took it all in stride, though. 

The Baltimore City charter school has implemented several structural practices such as single gender classrooms and the Restorative Practices pedagogy.

Principal Rhonda Richetta’s idea is to create a safe and respectful culture rather than utilize traditional “crime and punishment” methods. After Restorative Practices became mandatory, the school lost a majority of their teachers. Mr. West, who just started his third year at City Springs, has the most seniority among middle school teachers.

This was one of the more interesting assignments I’ve had for Education Week. The story is about school security. But when I got to the school, I felt like security was a non-issue. I guess that means its working. Everyone was respectful towards everyone else — which is a pillar of the Restorative Practices model of education. Staff members use “affective language” when talking with students. Students were encouraged to deal their issues in “circles” rather than fighting, employing the teachers as mediators of sorts. I bet that gave the teachers a super-strong connection to their kids.

Something’s working at this place. I’ve never met more polite middle schoolers. And it’s not like this school is full of hand picked genius/polite students. City Springs is an inner city Baltimore neighborhood school. It’s not the worst neighborhood, but it’s comprised of three housing projects and 99% of the student body receives free lunches.

I got the impression that school was, ironically, a source of calm for most of these kids. Everything’s structured. — even their locker breaks. I guess that makes sense because when I was in school, locker breaks were when most of the fighting happened. And most importantly, the kids are learning! The teachers have the time to finish lessons.

“I don’t really use it that often.” says City Springs School Principal Rhonda Richetta talking about her security system. “It’s not this security system that has changed the climate in my school. It’s the Restorative Practices.” When she first started as principal she remembers having to break up fights 5 or 6 times a day. She wanted to change the school’s culture rather than beef up the security measures. She now finds that she has to rely less on the school’s security camera system set up in her office, and has fostered a respectful culture between students and faculty.

Faculty did leave, however. After Restorative Practices became mandatory the school lost the majority of their teachers because, according to Richetta, they didn’t want to change how they taught.

From what I understand, a major critique of this approach to teaching is that it doesn’t allow for educator creativity. Almost everything is structured and scripted. But when your students live in poverty, I wonder how much structure and respect a lot of them are getting when they’re not in school.

When installing new security cameras Richetta chose small cameras to not foster a an over securitized ambiance.

Eighth-graders in Tracy Hauser’s home room Brittany Carter, left, and Tyveona James, right, join hands with classmates during “circle time.” 

Triadelphia Ridge Elementary School Kindergarteners in Amy Raymond’s class Piper Stephan, left, and Delaney Lane, right, read to each other. Amy Raymond, kindergartener teacher at Triadelphia Ridge Elementary School in Glenelg, Maryland — part of the Howard County Public School System — utilizes Common Core Curriculum to teach her students Wednesday, November 30, 2011. Her class is the first generation of students taught under the new national standards, emphasizing subject mastery.

Thanks to Education Week, I had one of the most adorable assignments I’ve had since leaving my staff newspaper job at The Patuxent Publishing Co. But as it turns out, Common Core is anything but …cute. It’s a big deal in the business of public education. Here’s a link to the article, but unless you’re a subscriber you can only read the first few paragraphs. Don’t worry. Here’s the Common Core Standards State initiative page, the Wikipedia page, and — get this! — there’s an iPhone ap, too! At the end of the post are some newspaper .pdfs “clips.”Students in Amy Raymond’s kindergarten class at Triadelphia Ridge Elementary School in Glenelg, Maryland play “Try To Go Home,” a number game utilizing common core curriculum K.CC.4a & K.CC.4b. (how’s that for wonky?) The way it works is, a pair of students roll dice to move a figurine. They used dinosaurs this week because the letter of the week is “D.” The purpose is to emphasize “one to one” number correspondence and improve operational and algebraic thinking. The students are (L-R) Marisa Lamb, Sierra Collis, Caroline Zdrale, and Dylan Ma. Maggie Metz raises her colorful finger-tipped hand.You know me… I really like to put myself in my work. In front of his classmates, Triadelphia Ridge Elementary School kindergartener Austin Wagner pauses before turning over the date “30″ on the calendar. Daily rituals like this help Amy Raymond’s class develop number proficiency. As I left the office, this Labrador mascot statue made me jump a bit. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not scared of dogs, I just wasn’t expecting a dog in a school. … And out the corner of my eye, this thing looked super-real.Maggie Metz, left and Austin Wagner, right, work on assignments.

The nice thing about kindergarteners is that there are moments all over the place. Amy Raymond plays “Try To Go Home,”  with Sierra Collis.Ethan Sutch writes his class’s attendance on the board. This daily exercise utilizes math skills learned in Amy Raymond’s kindergarten class.…as in, “and why not make this picture?”Amy Raymond and her students (L-R) Dylan Ma, Gregor Lesho, Ethan Sutch (standing), and Gouri Gupta.I MADE THE COVER!!!

Martha is a super cool person. When we were setting up the shoot for a New York Times profile, she wanted to know what I was thinking for the shoot. So, I threw out a few ideas, then she paused and asked: would you be interested in doing the shoot by a Blackhawk helicopter?

Me: YEESSSSS!!!!

She knows a guy, of course.

And in true Murphy’s Law fashion, it was drizzling the day of the shoot. It’s hard to look attractive, professional, and well put together when damp. Am I right? So, unfortunately, we nixed the helicopter shoot last minute. Lucky for me, she has an absolutely gorgeous office AND a sense of adventure. So, when I asked if she wanted to continue the shoot on the roof, her eyes got wide: Yes! I’ve never been up there!

She calls the operations manager and next thing we know, we’re on top of the world!!!!

…errr, the ABC building in DC.

On our way back down, she noticed these cool reflections and walked out into the shallow water.

Me: Oooooh! can we take some more photos here?

Martha: Duh!

…okay, she didn’t say “duh,” but she was super-into the idea.

This was definitely one of the most fun portrait shoots I’ve had this year.

I shot a wedding for the New York Times! …weird, right?

Well, I guess it’s not that weird if you’re an avid Vows reader. And, let me tell you, I met a few during the shoot. They were soooo excited to see me. Which, to be honest, I wasn’t expecting. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoyed being “the photographer from the Times.”

But not to misrepresent myself, I let everyone know I’m a freelancer. It irks me when photographers try to pass as staffers when they’re not.

Jason and Jen are a writerly couple. I love this quote from the story: “He used a semicolon correctly; that was reason enough to get a drink with him.”

Jason is an editor at Fast Company, and in May Jen will have her 2nd book (first novel), The Year of the Gadfly, published. They’re both freelance journalists, too. So, of course, their vows were amazing. They made us laugh — like a lot! And because it’s a wedding, people were crying, too. Not me, though. I’m tuff!

To emphasize their love of books, each table was adorned with hardback copies of their favorite authors.

The “I do” kiss.

The flowers are Jen’s homage to the country wedding she daydreamed about.

Jen shows her brother Danny Miller a few dance steps. Where he lacked in dance floor grace, he absolutely made up for in his speech. He absolutely slayed! 

Who doesn’t love a good Hora?

Jason’s parents Roy and Barbara get hoisted, too.

Miller family patriarch Aaron Miller, left, is hugs his family, Lindsay, his wife, Danny, his son, and his newly married daughter Jen. She’s covered up by her taller dad & brother.

Jason Feifer and Jen Miller show off the silver knife from Tiffany, wedding gift from Jen’s maid of honor and best friend Risa Berkower. According to Jen, Risa and her mother are amazing cooks who often hosted dinners and celebrated jewish holidays at her home. Before cutting the cake, Jen made a comment about Risa’s gift being “aspirational,” hoping “one day I might bake a cake as well as Risa and her mom.”

Personally, I love this little moment. Who doesn’t love a little icing on their fingers?

This was a really cool wedding, but to make things even cooler, was that Jason’s mom Barbara will forever share her birthday with their anniversary! She turned 60! Doesn’t she look great?

hahaha! In the spirit of Halloween, the wedding party surprised guests with a choreographed rendition of Michael Jackson’s Thriller!!!

Jason even found a rad, creepy zombie mask to wear. This is him pulling off a spin. One of the things Jen’s brother said to close out his hilarious, sarcastic, sardonic speech resonated with me. He quoted someone — I think a family member — who said “Never marry someone you love. Marry someone you like.” But he went on to acknowledge that Jen and Jason are that rare combination who both love and like each other. And if there’s one thing that struck me about this couple — who met on OK Cupid — is that they operate like a team. I agree with Danny. Jen and Jason are a good model of friends in love. Hats off!

their twitter:

Jason: @heyfeifer

Jen: @propjen

Oh! I know you wanna see more photos from their wedding! Click here to see 60 more photos. You can buy prints from there, too!

Earlier this month Erica Lusk called me to shoot a wonderful story for The Chronicle of Higher Education. Brinita Ricks and her son Troy are just two participants in Wilson College’s Women With Children Program.

I was raised by a single mom. And like most kids in this program, I’m an only child, too.

My mom and I were a duo. Sometimes a team, sometimes each others’ spoils, but regardless of how aggravated we got, we were always good to each other. After all, we were all we had.

To some, this life might seem tough, and overwhelming — which it is — but I have such fond memories of my childhood. And I know these kids will too.

There’s a lot of happiness in those dorm halls. And as stressful as raising a kid, studying, and working is, these women are surrounded by a sympathetic community of fellow single moms.

So, throughout this assignment, I kept looking for moments that felt familiar to me. I felt a connection to Troy and the other kids. I had a pretty good understanding of their motivations, their boundary curiosities, their need to burn off excess energy, despite their mom’s pleas for order.

But, y’know… I’m an adult too. — an adult with hindsight. I know what I put my mom through. …but I also know how much I loved my mom as a kid. I mean. I still love her as an adult. It’s different. My love has evolved and become more complex, and in many ways is stronger. As an adult I respect and admire my mom. After all, we have a past. …I mean, I was a teenager, for Christ’s sake! And those ties are made through slow, heavy, and sometimes painful processes. A five-year-old’s love is visceral. I’d be willing to bet Troy doesn’t know why he loves his mom. …I know I didn’t. But I did love her. — unconditionally.

And lets be honest… A five-year-old’s hug is probably one of the most authentic forms of emotional expression. They hug because they want to. And they hug who they like. — unless directed to do otherwise.

Brinita Ricks, 20, usually studies in lobby of her dorm Prentis Hall, while she waits for her five-year-old son Troy Ricks’s to get home from Kindergarten.  

Brinita Ricks, 20, right, greets her five-year-old son Troy Ricks, as he walks off the school bus at the edge of Wilson’s campus Tuesday, September 6, 2011. Troy’s classmate Jashad Coles, 5, holds the hand of his mother Christin Warner, a twenty-two-year-old junior at Wilson College who is studying Economics.

 Brinita asked Troy to take their dirty dishes to the dishwasher, Sterling Keyes. On the way, Troy spilled some spaghetti on the floor. So, he came back to their table, grabbed some napkins, and cleaned up his mess.Children from Wilson College’s “Women with Children Program” (L-R) DaNya Ford, 7, Bella Smith, 4, Jashad Coles, 5, and Troy Ricks, 5, play on the furniture in the Prentis Hall lounge after dinner Tuesday, September 6, 2011. The all women’s college located in Chambersburg, Penn., is one of the few remaining women’s colleges left.Wilson College’s new president Dr. Barbara Mistick, standing, threw an informal meet-and-greet for the “Women with Children” participants and their children titled “Popsicles with the President,” Tuesday, September 6, 2011 at Prentis Hall, in Chambersburg, PA. The new President brought her dog to meet the kids. I think he got a little overwhelmed with all the affection.I know. I know. There are a lot of photos in this edit. …BUT if you want to see EVEN MORE PHOTOS from this shoot, check out my archive gallery:

http://mattrothphoto.photoshelter.com/gallery/Wilson-Colleges-Women-With-Children-Program/G0000a0t.7eUNcJg

and/or the archive gallery slideshow:

http://mattrothphoto.photoshelter.com/gallery-slideshow/G0000a0t.7eUNcJg/?start=

From there you can buy prints, license images, and help support my business by buying even weirder things like coffee mugs, t-shirts, keepsake boxes, and even more.

Thanks!