Last weekend I had the honor of attending the wedding reception of Dorothy [formerly Metz] and Justin Parmelee. Dori and I have known each other since we went to high school together and have stayed close over the years – from being roommates the year after I graduated college to staying in touch regardless of where we’ve lived. This summer has been especially fun as my stint in Vermont (and its subsequent proximity to Boston) has enabled us to spend more together and rediscover our friendship. I’ve also spent a lot of time getting to know Justin over the years and beyond being a great guy (fellow techno/photog nerd), Dori is just nuts about him. :o)

The reception was held in Salem, Massachusetts at Finz Restaurant, and was simple, yet elegant. Despite a bit of a challenge orchestrating the bus and its wedding passengers from Boston harbor to Salem, the evening went off without a hitch, and lots of fun and good food were had by all.

I recently picked up a new Canon DSLR – the 40D – and got it just in time for the reception. I was hoping to get some great shots, though was willing to accept a bit of a learning curve as I played around with the new camera. The lighting conditions were also really tough as it was during the evening and the lens I brought with me wasn’t fast enough to use without a flash. For the most part I’m happy with the “moments” I’ve captured, though much less happy with the grain that comes with 1600 ISO and the effects of the in-camera flash on people’s skin (both no-nos for good portraiture). The color in all the images just seems off. I’m hoping to clean up a few that I deem acceptable to share with Dori and Justin, but I definitely have learned something from this occasion – I will *always* carry around my 50mm 1.8 when I need to shoot indoors. My 24-105 F4 was not a great choice, even though it’s my best lens. I just figured it was a safe bet if I was only going to carry one lens with me. Next time I’ll know better.