Mary Dennis Photography News Page

Recent events, news and fun things Mary Dennis Photography wants to share!

It's Not Always About MY Photos...

Recently, some dear friends asked me to put together a photo display for their son’s wedding. These were not photos I had taken but were snapshots and school photos of the soon-to-be bride and groom. They were prints pulled from storage boxes, albums, frames, and images sent via cell phone from the mother of the bride who lived out of state. Some were blurry, some were tiny and crooked but they were all cherished memories of the young couple growing up. They enjoyed childhoods miles away from and not knowing one another and most of the snapshots weren’t dated. So it was my job, along with the parents, to guess the approximate age of the subject so each chosen photo correlated in time with the corresponding photo of the partner-to-be. A sort of “joining together” through the years, before the actual joining!

This required hours of choosing, sorting, downloading, taking photos of the photos, bringing them into Photoshop to edit, enhance, sharpen, size, and place each side by side on coordinated colored templates with some extra Photoshop details added for display perfection. Finally, each joined image was printed and inserted into frames to be shipped to the wedding planner.

A lot of tedious work indeed! But I’m a detail-oriented perfectionist and love a project. I’d like to say that the photos were the hit of the wedding but this was no small back yard event! The location and details, not to mention resources put into that extraordinary “day to remember” were absolutely stunning. The best part was that I got to be there, as a guest. There were 4 wedding photographers so they didn’t need me!

The Groom and Bride, together, many years before meeting.

The Groom and Bride, together, many years before meeting.

Retro Pet Photo?

My recent pet photo client went crazy over the photos I took of her only child, Bear. When making her final decisions, she had the idea to combine two of her favorite images into a retro 80's style print that you'll probably recognize as an embarrassing replica of a senior portrait gone bad. This was against all my current "trending" tendencies but I succumbed to her wishes. Well, her family loved this portrait the most! Crazy, funny family? Great idea? A little of both, I think.

Retro 80's Pet Portrait

Original Mary Dennis Photograph displayed in Worcester Art Museum!

Olive Oil

Olive Oil

Olive Oil: rescue cat, 15 years old, Grand Dame of the Foley residence in Grafton, found at 7 months doused in oil, abandoned by a railroad track, sick, skinny and oily - thus the name! My portrait of sweet Olive Oil will be displayed at the Worcester Art Museum now through July 24 in the MEOW; Community Cats exhibition in the Higgins Education Wing. Be sure to stop in and view all things CATS at the museum this summer! From July 13 - September 4, don't miss a unique live cat contemporary art installation, Cats-in-Residence Program on display also in the Higgins Wing. This exhibition is presented in partnership with the Worcester Animal Rescue League. Cats in the show will be available for adoption!

All about pets!

Reggie Mack

Reggie Mack

Four years ago I did something I never thought I'd do. I got a dog. I bought Reggie from a reputable Australian Shepherd breeder after an intensive search for just the right dog. Having always been a cat owner and never a (adult) dog owner there was just something about the Aussie breed that attracted me: intelligent, loyal, beautiful, happy, energetic, and high maintenance. High maintenance? What was I getting myself into?! Training, endless walks, sleepless nights, expensive vet bills, socialization, training, and more training! Reggie's calm, nurturing, friendly temperament led me pretty early on to the pet therapy world where after MORE training we passed our strenuous evaluation to become a therapy team. We visit a DYS facility every other week, de-stress co-eds at university pet stress-relief events, (did you know there was such a thing?) and visit my mom at her assisted living facility. Reggie gives and receives love like a pro and I just go along for the ride.

As I get to know more of your treasured "children", I realize that Reggie isn't the only extraordinary dog around, he's just one of many who give us unconditional love and therapy every day. My renewed love for pets is one of the reasons I've decided to focus my photography more towards capturing these remarkable family members. 

We work with and support Pet Partners, www.petpartners.org. In honor of National Therapy Animal Day on April 30, Mary Dennis Photography is donating 10% of our proceeds from all pet photo sessions booked by Mother's Day, May 8. Contact us for prices and more details today! Thank you for your support of Pet Partners which trains and registers thousands of therapy animal teams who make over a million life-enhancing visits each year!