Joe Buissink, photographer to the stars, chooses Stowe for bi-annual clinics!

Odds are you've never heard of a wedding photographer named Joe Buissink. But I am sure that you have heard of many of Joe's wedding photography clients! Joe has shot the weddings of many celebrities such as Hilary Swank and Chad Lowe, Kevin Sorbo, Lucy Lawless, Brendan Fraser, Jenny McCarthy, Stacy Dash, Christian Slater, Leila Roshen, Christopher Lambert, Jennie Garth and Peter Facinelli, Angie Harmon and Jason Sehorn, Lauren Holly, L.A. Reid, T-Boz, Jennifer Lopez, Christina Applegate, Shawn Stockman of Boyz II Men, Jonathan Davis of Korn, Barry Bonds, Gary Sheffield, Joel Silver, and Jessica Simpson and Nick Lachey.

Joe has chosen Stowe as the venue for his bi-annual wedding photography seminars. Held in the spring and fall, Joe's workshops attract scores of photographers looking to hone their skills and find inspiration in the stunning scenery of our region.

Veronica and I enrolled in the May 2006 workshop, only to learn at the last minute that Joe had suffered a mild heart attack and would be unable to attend. Joe has some pretty amazing friends, two of whom stepped up to fill in for him.

The first day was led by Cliff Mautner, a Philadelphia-based wedding photographer of great renown who also worked at the Philadelphia Inquirer as a staff photographer for many years. Cliff was truly amazing as he demonstrated the art of finding and capturing great light in even the most challenging conditions.

On the second day, Bambi Cantrell, a leading photographer in the San Francisco Bay area, joined us. Her bubbly personality and warm Southern manner was well-received as she proceeded to bestow her decades of knowledge and experience upon us.

Among our fellow attendees were wedding photographers from as far away as Brazil and the UK. We had six models who worked with us for three days, allowing us to experiment with some of the great new ideas we received at the seminar.

Everyone was disappointed that Joe had taken ill, but the workshop was still a success and everyone left highly inspired and ready for the summer season.

Amazing as it sounds, Joe very generously offered each of us to attend his fall workshop as his guests, free of additional charge! We took him up on the offer and spent three amazing days with him in October, again right here in Stowe. Joe described his concept of a "psychological" approach to teaching and proceeded to apply a very zen-like style to his teaching. Joining us this time were fellow photographers from as far away as New Zealand, the UK and Canada.

Once again we worked with a half dozen models each day, exploring the beautiful locales of the Stowe area. So much fun! By the time it was over, all of us had once again been exposed to some amazing new ideas and techniques which we are using every day in our work.

Thanks Joe!

Veronica shooting at the Stowe Community Church:

André shooting on location in Smugglers' Notch

Veronica captured this amazing image at the Morrisville Airport