Andy & I looooovve to travel. Travel and take photos of the new and interesting things we see…that’s our thing. We met while traveling through Spain, then after living there a while, we left to spend a month touring Morocco. And since then, we’ve traveled together through Italy, Mexico, England, Wales, and Nicaragua. (Geesh, that list is way shorter than I’d like.)  During the past few years, we’ve also spent some time in Canada, Colorado, Austria, Hawaii, Washington, DC, California & Switzerland. And between us, we’ve separately visited most of the 50 states and 22 different countries. The world is a big place and we’d like to see as much of it as we can.

Most recently, we spent a very quick 9 days visiting sunny Puerto Rico, namely San Juan and the island of Vieques. It had been 2 years since our last big vacation (Nicaragua) and we knew we couldn’t take as much time off as we’d like with the wedding season so close, so this felt like a nice mix of the Latin culture we so enjoy and an easy non-stop flight.

After two days of exploring Old San Juan, we took a ferry to the tiny island of Vieques. We met a very cool couple from Vermont, Laura & Brian (Brian is also a photographer) and their too-cute-for-words daughter, Harper. They decided to come to Puerto Rico after swapping a sweet surf board Laura won at work for a week at a guest house outside of Isabella Secunda, on the north side of Vieques….How cool is that?

We stayed on the other side of the island, in the town Esperanza, which had one main drag along the water, dotted with a few outdoor restaurants & hotels, all owned primarily by expats living la vida buena! (The good life). It was a bit hard to find a truly authentic Puerto Rican experience, but come the weekend, a few stalls opened up that sold these delicious meat-stuffed fried tummy tantalizers, called Pastelillos, of which we had our fair share.

We also managed to arrive in Vieques just prior to a cultural festival that was held over the weekend at the old fort in Isabella Segunda. We spent one evening there and it was great!! We got to sample local festival food (including a pigs ear stew that Andy braved, but that I stayed far far away from) and listen to local musicians play some jump-out-of-your-seat-and-dance salsa. We found the people of Puerto Rico to be incredibly friendly, warm, loving and completely dedicated to family.

Our first couple of days in Esperanza were filled by walking 2 miles down the beach, parking our very white butts under a palm tree and just chilling…mixed in with some snorkeling, swimming, and beach glass hunting. We were in heaven.

By the third day, we met this really sweet couple from Scituate, Kim & Stefan. Kim has been coming to Vieques every year for 20+ years. They had rented a Jeep and offered to show us around. It was excellent and we saw places we never would have seen had we not met them. We got up at 5:30AM to go drive out to this little lighthouse they love and watch the sunrise. Unfortunately, the road had closed since their last trip so we tried hiking in….we went the wrong way, got lost, and later discovered that our bush whacking landed Andy some nasty Puerto Rician poison ivy. But, it was a fun adventure with our new friends and the next morning we tried again, this time our adventure was met with success. And the views were certainly worth the trip.

Kim & Stefan also took us to feed apples to some of the island’s wild horses and to several secluded beaches, one of which we arrived at just after a sea turtle had left a clutch of eggs buried in the sand. I swear we missed it by minutes. Her tracks down to the water were fresh and because we’d had a little rain that morning, we could tell that she must have come up during the night to lay the eggs. It was a cool find and we let the naturalists at the local conservation trust know about our discovery when we got back into town, so they could rope the area off. Go little turtles, go!

I think the highlight of the trip was our evening kayak and swim in Vieques’ incredible bioluminescent bay. Apparently, Vieques’ bio bay is one of the most spectacular in the world. The bay, which maintains a fairly constant temperature…around 80F, is the perfect habitat for single-celled bioluminescent dinoflagellates. These half-plant, half-animal organisms, of which there are some 720,000/gallon of water, emit a flash of bluish light when disturbed, as a sort of defense mechanism. Apparently, you can’t see the light during the day, but with a new moon, it’s a site not to be missed. Swimming in the water with these flashy guys was nothing short of magical. You can’t actually see them, because they’re microscopic, but when you move in the water your movements leave a trail of their blue lights. And, if you lift your wet arm out of the water it will sparkle as the water drips off of you. Very cool!!! It’s like swimming in a big glow stick. Unfortunately, we didn’t bring our cameras to that, but, we did get a bunch of great shots from the trip that we’d like to share with you over several posts.

Here’s the first installment, featuring photos from Old San Juan. Enjoy!! Chris & Andy

Se Aquila means “For Rent”….cute, right? We would have loved to have seen inside! A lot of the city houses in tropical countries like this tend to have open courtyards in the middle of the house. Yes, please!!!

Stray cats were everywhere in Old San Juan…particularly by the Fortaleza (Old Fort). It’s sad, but there definitely were plenty of tourists around feeding them.

There were even more geckos than there were cats.

My honey cracking up….he’s so cute, isn’t he?

Puerto Ricans seem to have an affinity with all things American, particularly big old cars…although I admit, I think these beauties were lined up for a shot in a new Johnny Depp movie being filmed while we were there. Unfortunately, we didn’t see Johnny.

What I like about this next shot is just the juxtaposition of this woman in beautiful Old San Juan, with its cobblestone streets and colorful building fronts, talking on a modern day cell phone. Cracks me up! The quizzical look on her face doesn’t hurt either!

Renovations to a gorgeous building in Old San Juan…I just love the wrought iron door, the arched doorways and the contrasting black & white tiles against the beams in the ceiling. The worker walking through the shot just completes the picture for me. Talk about a sweet pad!!!

Our last day before leaving, we headed over to the Condado area, where we found this terrific Mexican restaurant (strange, I know) with killer views from  our table…..aaaaah, I just feel more relaxed looking at this photo!

This particular plaza was named for hundreds of pigeons that call it home. You can buy food from nearby stores and feed the pigeons, but be warned, they’re a lot less afraid of you than you may be of them. Looks like they’re living pretty good here at Parque Las Palomas, as these were some of the fattest pigeons I’ve ever seen. Love this perspective!

Stay tuned….more photos to follow manana! (That’s tomorrow in case your Spanish is as bad as mine.)

As our busy season decends, we bid farewell to our Guess Who? Lucky 7s contest, which was, at least for us, a nice distraction from the cold weather. We hope you enjoyed it as much as we did and thank everyone who took the time to humor us and play along.

As has been the case throughout most of the game, we seem to have stumped you all yet again! Seriously, guys?

We did, however, have a tie for top spot, with Shaleen and Sandee & Matt each correctly identifying 4 out of the 8 images posted. So, we’ll be splitting the pot of scratch tickets and sending you each out your winnings….good luck and happy scratching!

Here are the correct answers: 1. Chris 2. Andy 3. Chris 4. Andy 5. Chris 6. Andy 7. Chris 8. Andy. We’ve also posted the answers next to each image in the original post to make it a little easier for you to see whose photo was whose. Thanks again for playing and we hope you enjoy the new stuff soon to come! We’ve got some fabulous couples getting married this year and we’re looking forward to another stellar year! Much thanks, as always, for your continued support. Keep spreading the love!

With warmest wishes,

Chris & Andy

It’s that time of year again when the weather warms, tourists flock to our shores, and our cameras get their annual summer workout as things start getting really busy for us here at Bello Photography.

Our first love session of the spring season brought us to quaint Cotuit, where we met up with Kirsten & Dennis, two incredible people with whom we thoroughly enjoyed spending an afternoon (and a good portion of the evening). Kirsten & Dennis’s love story has a similar plot to Andy & my love story….two people from different parts of the world, different cultures and different languages (okay, that last part isn’t us…Andy & I speak the same language…usually).

Kirsten is American and grew grew up summering here on the Cape. Dennis is Dutch and together they live in one of my favorite cities….Barcelona. Theirs has been a whirlwind romance, which first began with a chance meeting at a scavenger hunt organized by a mutual friend and held in Newport, RI. It wasn’t until they were both living in New York City months later that a real friendship ignited. And, as friendships sometimes do….friendship blossomed into full blown love.

Their love will lead them back here to the Cape, where, surrounded by friends and family from across the globe, they will commit their lives (and all the differences that come with them) to one another with two small, but powerful words, “I do.”

We had such a blast with Kirsten & Dennis. They are fun, funny, smart, loving, creative people and we feel truly honored that they chose us to capture such a special time in their lives. Here are a few of our favorites from our recent love session together….enjoy!

We found this cool little storage shed on Kirsten’s neighbor’s beach, which made for a very cool setting for these next few photos…..we just love capturing our couples in the fit of a big belly jiggling laugh!! It’s just the best!!! Don’t you think?

From a moodier perspective….I just LOVE the light in this one and the expression on their faces!!! Ahh, pure contentment!!

At first, I think they wondered what the heck we were thinking asking them to climb through the wooden slats to go sit inside this little shelter, rather than take shots outside on the pretty beach. But, they trusted us, and as always: a funky idea + a good dose of trust = some killer images.

I absolutely LOVE this shot taken from outside the shelter, looking in. What moves me in this photo is the love and joy you just can’t help but see (and feel) in Kirsten’s eyes…because seriously, is there any better place in the world to be than in the arms of the one you love?

Playing with light, lines and perspective. I really like the way the light just skims across their faces just enough to see them go in for a smooch. So Fun!

It just wouldn’t be a Bello love session without a butt shot, now would it?!

Just a couple of love birds!!!

We wanted to play on the fact that Kirsten & Dennis come from different parts of the world and yet are united and living together in an entirely different country, so we dug out this old globe from our closet of “stuff” and brought it along to our session, focusing on Spain….cool shot? The jury is still out, but it was different anyway!

There is very little cuter than a woman in love enjoying a crinkled-nose laugh! Makes you just want to smile….doesn’t it?

….except maybe when she looks up at her man with eyes full of LOVE!!!

They didn’t plan to wear matching tops….Dennis’s luggage was actually lost in transit from Spain, so he had to make a quick stop at Banana Republic and he just happened to pick a sweater that matched Kirsten’s vest. A happy accident! And, we loved the way the green (especially Kirsten’s adorable wellies) popped in the winter-bleached marsh beach grass. Poor Dennis soaked his shoes….oh, what our fabulous couples will do for a cool shot!!! You guys Rock!!

Ralph Lauren wants their models back….

…seriously, are they adorable or what???

A great big, heart-felt thank you to you, Kirsten & Dennis, for opening up to us so quickly and for allowing us a personal glimpse into the inspiring love you share! We think you two are wonderful and look forward to spending more time with you, your families & friends this summer!!! Big hugs, Christine & Andy

PS..we’d like to give a little shout out to Anik, Kirsten’s sister, who first contacted us about photographing her sister’s wedding and who was there with us at the love session. Having two sisters myself, I understand the sisterly bond and I think it was wonderful, Anik, that you could be there with us to enjoy such a fun afternoon!!! Here’s a quick shot of Anik & Kirsten:

With April showers come May flowers…and all things wedding-related. Our first wedding of the season is fast approaching and we’re already busy scheduling lots of bello love sessions (aka engagement sessions). But, before we say goodbye to our Guess Who? Contest, we’ve got one more for you.

As a tribute to our fabulously fun 2009 couples, we have made this last Guess Who? all about them and the sessions we’ve done so far…we’ll have a bunch more for you in the coming weeks/months, so stay tuned!

We’ve decided to give you a little hint this time around, since you guys really seem to be having a hard time with this contest. Hint: 4 of the following images were taken by me & 4 by Andy. And, as an added incentive to get more participation, and an actual winner, this week we’re not requiring that ALL of the photos be correctly identified. If would be excellent, exciting, and celebration-worthy if someone does, but we’re not holding our collective breath. Instead, we’ll give all of our remaining scratch tickets to the first person who correctly identifies the most photos. We’re also extending voting a little and will continue taking votes until April 24th. Come on….this should be easy now!!! Right?

Before we start, the answers to last week’s Guess Who? Part 5 are: Andy, Chris, Andy, Chris, Andy. Kristen came the closest with 4 out of 5. Nice job Kristen!!! If you can do that well again this week, something tells me the booty will be yours.

Here goes nothin’….

#1 - Elizabeth & Blake — Chris

#2 - MaryHelen & Kurt — Andy

#3 - Laura & Ben — Chris

#4 - Stefania & Justin — Andy

#5 - Victoria & Mike –Chris

#6 - Jillian & John — Andy

#7 - Ivy & Ben –Chris

And, #8, our most recent addition to the Bello Family…Kirsten & Dennis (The blog post featuring our session with them, done yesterday afternoon in beautiful Cotuit, will follow shortly!) — Andy

Good luck and have fun!!!

xo chris & andy