Austin & Logan’s Wedding Extravaganza

During the last weekend of August, Amy’s nephew tied the knot with the love of his life, Logan Dinkins. The timing worked nicely for the Trotz family – Friday through Sunday for the wedding, Monday-Thursday to get Noah settled in as a freshman at Tufts University across town.

The venue (the Parker House in downtown Boston) was just perfect for the event. With a legendary past including the creation of the Parker House roll and Boston Cream pie, the hotel restaurant was also the spot wehre JFK proposed to Jackie. And the weddign ceremony itself was held in the hotel’s Press Room — where JFK held his bachelor’s party. Following that event, Amy and I were off to Medford/Sommerville MA, where we got Noah settled into the freshman dorm.

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Dylann & Owen’s Wedding

Bodie decided he wanted to rejoin the festivities after walking down the aisle with his brother, Bentley earlier in the ceremony. As the best man ran into the farmhouse to grab the rings, both dogs made their escape from the house and sprinted through. the ceremony before settling down with one of the bridesmaids.

I feel very blessed to witness the little girl I first met when Amy and I just began dating now truly grown up, taking her vows with her true love, Owen. Along with their rambunctious pups. And Eric Handelman, who, at the happy couples’ request, served as the officiant.

It was a lovely crisp day in Skaneateles, NY near one of the many Finger Lakes south of Rochester. Not only was it an occasion where all four of our immediate family were able to come together, but to bring a multitude of generations in the Handelman-Hogan clan together for this beautiful event.

Let me just say – Dylann is an amazing person – an entrepreneur, a mom and a wife with an amazing drive to get it done – whatever the task. And Owen’s already a great father and will no doubt be a great husband too.

Click more to see the gallery of 100+ photos I took during the event with my brand-spanking new Sony A7V, the first full-frame camera I’ve bought in over a decade.

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M45: The Pleiades 🌟

A Familiar Face, Finally Done Right

If you’ve ever looked up at the winter sky and noticed a tight little knot of blue-white stars, you’ve already met the Pleiades. M45 is one of those objects that’s been observed, mythologized, and photographed more times than almost anything else in the sky — and yet there’s a reason people keep coming back to it.

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The Cone Nebula, Christmas Tree Cluster & Hubble’s Variable Nebula 🎄🔭

This one has been on my radar for a while — and I finally did it justice.

I’ve pointed a telescope at the Cone Nebula before, but from my Bortle 8 backyard in Atlanta, I couldn’t pull much out of it. Light pollution is the enemy of faint nebulosity, and this region has plenty of both. Moving my rig to Starfront Observatories out near Brady, Texas — where the skies are genuinely dark — increased my imaging impact by a factor of 40x — so 1 hour at my Texas observatory is equivalent to over 40 hours from my backyard. With nearly 48 hours of integration time later, this is what came back.

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Photos, musings and miscellany – New and Improved!®2026 Joey Trotz