And just like that, another summer season on Martha’s Vineyard has zoomed past the finish line. Time seems to move differently here on the Island, with the anticipation of summer and the energy of the season itself like a fast-moving current we can’t ever seem to get ahold of.
My 2022 season was filled with dozens of smiling, laughing clients in front of my camera. Most days were filled with at least one family portrait shoot, at some of my favorite locations on Martha’s Vineyard, a special occasion for the families that continue to commemorate their time here on Martha’s Vineyard with an annual photo shoot. RBP loves that tradition and we’re grateful to be a part of lasting summer memories for so many of our clients.
With the return of full-scale weddings our summer season brought us to extra special venues like the Vanderhoop Homestead in Aquinnah and the Winnetu Oceanside Resort in Katama for precious days filled with celebrations of love and life. To our wedding clients that trusted us to deliver timeless, distinctive images that captured your most precious day, thank you. Your wedding is of the utmost importance, and we are honored to be given the opportunity to tell your story.
We were lucky enough to capture many proposals this summer as well, and our calendars are already booking up for the weddings that will follow. So many couples chose Martha’s Vineyard to pop the question, and can you blame them? We were enlisted to secretly document the big ask, and in many cases provide event planning services as well, to help ensure a seamless setting, complete with flowers, champagne, charcuterie, and more. Our commitment to our clients goes beyond the camera, and we’ll do whatever we can to support their visions for their most memorable moments.
Within our community, we continued to work with other local businesses to further support their missions, providing product and marketing photography. This summer we teamed up with the Great Put On, a contemporary fashion boutique in Edgartown to capture their latest designs in and around beautiful Edgartown. Owned by Nicole Blizerian, The Great Put On is a go-to spot for the latest luxury fashions, and has been since 1969!
An exceptional summer highlight was our photo shoot earlier this season with Pulitzer Prize-winning author Geraldine Brooks for Australia’s Spectrum Magazine. Equally as unforgettable was the conversation Geraldine shared with Dr. Henry Louis Gates, at a fundraising event for Misty Meadows, where I sit on the Board. The event was a labor of love and to see it all come together as a culmination of hard work and passion was so rewarding.
I managed to sneak in summer fun, careful not to let the season pass me by without fully appreciating the beauty and charm of Martha’s Vineyard in the summer. In June, our family gathered from around the globe to celebrate our niece Olivia + Eric’s up-Island wedding, and it was lovely to be a guest and not behind the lens.
The fruits of my gardening labor paid off, with a third-place ribbon in the Martha’s Vineyard Ag Fair, and much of my homegrown produce graced the tables of summer dinner parties throughout the season, surrounded by dear friends and family. Swimming, rowing, and fishing off our local shores filled my soul and reminded me how lucky I am to live in such a special place.
I continued my work with Martha’s Vineyard Magazine, which brought me out in our local ponds, in collaboration with the Martha’s Vineyard Shellfish Group to document the invasive green grab and the work being done to protect our shellfish from the dangers they pose. We captured our local constables preparing traps, the fragile shellfish throughout our waters, and complete with our underwater camera, crab traps on the ocean floor. The dedicated and complicated work that our local organizations are doing to protect our local waters and the shellfish industry here on Martha’s Vineyard continues to amaze and inspire me.
Another Martha’s Vineyard Magazine assignment had me working alongside our friend Catherine Walthers who shared the process of making beach plum and autumn olive cordials. Now’s the time to start harvesting beach plums, as they ripen in late summer and early fall.
They’re also good for your health, loaded with vitamins A, C, and K, and are a good source of potassium and fiber. Cathy wrote, “A wild fruit cordial is a rare treat – less common than jam – and one that can’t be bought, at least at the same quality as what you can prepare at home. Both fruit liqueurs share a stunning magenta hue with a delicious flavor to match.
Cheers to fall and the bounty of new flavors it ushers in! x0, Randi
