Nick has been a photographer since the early nineties. He drew a lot of inspiration from his uncle, John Adams, who was a respected fashion and glamour photographer in the swinging 60s through to the 'big hair' 80s in London. His work can still be found in
stock libraries in London with the popular resurgence of the retro culture.
Nick himself started his career working on cruise ships where he met his wife, Lori (from Colombus Ohio). In 1994 Nick and Lori moved to England with the help of The Princes Trust (an excellent English Charity started by Prince Charles to help young people who wanted to start up in business). Nick set up 'Nick Adams Photography' in a rural market town called Maldon in Essex. During their stay in England, Lori and Nick got married and had their first child Max .
In 1998 Lori, Nick and Max moved to Southwest Florida where Nick Adams Photography made a reappearance with better weather and the sandy beaches as a backdrop. Nick Lori and Max have made Southwest Florida their permanent home along with two
additions to their family, Brooke and McKenna.
Sunday was the annual ABWA (American Business Women’s Association) charity Poker Pedal. Lori’s sister, Julie Debord, who runs Kennedy Construction of Sanibel maned our studio as it was one of the stops. We set up a photo booth at the studio for people to use. You basically have a remote control and take your own pics. We had some creative people stop by. I have posted a few of the pics below.
The idea of the Poker Pedal is to ride around the island stopping at various predetermined places. At each stop you get dealt a card. At the end of the day, everyone meets up at the Sanibel Community Center and the rider with the best hand wins. Good ol’ family fun! We have ridden in the Poker Pedal for the last several years but this is the first time ‘Nick Adams Photography’ has been one of the stops. Unfortunately ten minutes before the 11am start, it started to pour with rain. We decided to ride out the rain and go to the Lazy Flamingo (http://www.lazyflamingo.com/) for an early lunch (my favorite island restaurant). It was superb as always. We ordered our favorite dishes: one half pound of peel and eat shrimp, 12 teri-hot wings and garlic bread with a side of marinara sauce. The perfect lunch for two along with three kids chicken tenders and fries meals served on a frisbee, kids heaven! If you have not been to the Lazy Flamingo you must go. It is a casual raw bar type place with ice cold beers and the freshest seafood anywhere. It is one of the the only places I will eat raw oysters. They shuck them right at the bar in front of you. If they see the slightest imperfection in an oyster they will pitch it (my mouth is watering as we speak). The staff are the absolute best. They all pool their tips so everyone chips in and helps each other, it works great. Ron is usually the first guy you will meet at the front of the restaurant. Don’t be put off by his size he is a ‘top man’.
Anyway back to the Poker Pedal. We registered at the Bank of the Islands and began our Poker Pedal in earnest…..by car as it was still raining.We still had fun and I would strongly recommend you put it on your list of things to do next year. We were named ‘Team Trash Bag’. Check out our rain gear!
Very kindly Sean and Caroline Savage recommended me to Jenny F. and family from Atlanta, Georgia (they met around the pool). Thankfully we managed to squeeze them in during a very busy Easter week. What an adorable little girl!
I had the good fortune of meeting and photographing the Savage family this week on Sanibel Island.
If you follow the news you will be familiar with Carolyn Savage and her family. Both Carolyn and her husband Sean were interviewed by Meredith Vierira of the ‘Today Show’ and had interviews with CNN and all of the major networks. They are coming out with a book which is being released with the help of publishers ‘Harper Collins’ which is the reason for the photo shoot.
She was the victim of a terrible medical blunder whilst receiving fertility treatment. An embryo from another couple was inadvertently placed in her by mistake. She consequently carried the baby to its full term and then gave birth to a beautiful baby boy. She and her husband Sean handed it back to its rightful parents 5 minutes after the birth.
This is a very brief summery of a very complex story. I urge you to look into this amazing situation or even better, purchase the book. (Release date TBD) I wish them all the best with their future and as I discussed this morning with Carolyn, ‘karma’ has a habit of going full circle. You and your family have large amounts coming your way, of that I’m sure.
If you would like to read more about this story click on the link below.
If you love boating like me, then you must know how fortunate I was last week. I had to create a family portrait on North Captiva Island, It just so happened that my cousin Hannah was visiting from England so she came along with my friend Charlie for the boat ride. It was a windy boat ride on the way up but well worth it. Charlie is a great friend that owns a vacation rental company called ‘Osprey Villas’ check them out online. Especially if you are a boater, all of the rentals come with Hurricane boats (www.ospreyvillas.com) In fact, Lori and I, had 18 family members stay at one of his houses last Thanksgiving. And I can say first hand it was outstanding.
Now if you are ever lucky enough to go to North Captiva by boat (or Upper Captiva, as some people call it) you will probably be heading to Safety Harbor. When you pull into Safety Harbor there are three different places to stop, ‘Barnacle Phil’s Harbor’ which is part of Barnacle Phil’s Restaurant, ‘Over the Waterfront’ (also a restaurant) or the ‘Yacht Club’ (which I believe is private) make sure you have the right spot, as all are a fair distance from each other by foot. Like a lot of the Barrier Islands, navigation can be tricky getting in and out so a GPS or Chart is definitely recommended.
Anyway here are a couple of images from the evening along with an image of ‘yours truly’ in action taken by my Cousin Hannah. http://barnaclephilsoutpost.com/index.php
OK, if any one would like a lesson on ‘How to Enjoy Your Wedding Day’ talk to Christie and Matt! They were quite simply ‘the best’. Even the wedding party were great!………Even the family were super cool!……… Now at this point you are probably calling “Shenanigans” but its 100% true. It was as fun for Lee and I to shoot, as (I’m guessing) it was to be a guest. Anyway let the pictures do the talking, you will see what I mean. All the best guys!!
