Happy Christmas!

We wish you all a very merry Christmas, and a wonderful 2009! When we took Lucy for a walk down the beach tonight, it was one of those magical evenings when I realize how unbelievably lucky we are to live here... Adriana & I were singing Rudolph, and we realized it was indeed a "foggy, Christmas eve"! and when we got to the beach, the ocean wasn't moving - at all - no motion, no sound, a little icy, surrounded by fog... it was amazing... we had to run home to get the camera but the sun had already set on the day... I share with you the beauty that surrounds me every day... God bless you and your families. Merry Christmas! Happy New Year!

a love story in progress...

Anna & Chris

Anna was stunning in her grandmother's wedding gown, Chris so handsome... It was a beautiful, crisp fall day, full of sunshine, and there certainly was love in the air!!!

We wish you a lifetime of love & happiness!

Take a sneak peek at some images!!!

welcome Patrick

Rebecca & Chris created this lovely soul named Patrick... He is so sweet, not much into being photographed, but fun and lovely none-the-less... All babies look at the lights, because they are so bright and attention grabbing, but Patrick, he was so funny while we were taking his first portrait, it was if he'd look every direction but mine! What a little love! I adore photographing babies, they are so yummy!!! They remind you of everything that's important...

Enjoyed meeting him, and seeing Rebecca & Chris again, it's been a few years since their wedding, was fun to catch up...

Happy Birthday to Ray x

Today's my darling husbands birthday... We wish him a happy birthday, and a year filled with laughter, and more happiness than he can imagine... All 3 of his girls (yes, I count Lucy, the dog amongst that total!) love him oodles...
Happy Birthday, Ray!

Konrad

Peg & Chris are such a delightful couple, what I remember most about photographing their wedding is how much they enjoyed each other's company and how much they laughed..

Their family is bigger, I had the joy of meeting and photographing their new baby, Konrad... What a cutie, he was so mellow... well... of course except for when I was trying to take a photo of those gorgeous wrinkly little feet! Then he turned on the charm and showed me how well he could move those extremities!!!

Congrats to you all...

Cape Cod urban (part two)

more pix from that fantastic fall day... next week it's babies galore... I've had the pleasure of meeting and photographing a few fantastic babes in the last few weeks...

thankful...

Happy Thanksgiving to you all...

Yesterday, as I was leaving the studio, I hugged Jess, my fab assistant, goodbye with wishes for a lovely Thanksgiving... One of my great clients was with her, and asked for a hug too (which if you know me, you know of course I happily did!)... My daughter was with me, and the past few times she's been with me at the studio, she's commented on how I sure get a lot of hugs from my clients, and I told her how incredibly lucky I am... So of course, she commented again on this phenomenon...

...so today, I am grateful for my beautiful family stretching as far as it goes, my amazing friends, and all of the blessings I receive in this life. I'm also extremely grateful that what I do touches lives, and I'm thankful for such wonderful clients... Thanks for all of those fantastic hugs!

I wish you all happiness on this day of Thanksgiving.

Cape Cod urban (part one)

After getting all of these fantastic catalogs, I wanted to go out and play, so I grabbed my fave model for a little Cape Cod grunge... unfortunately, it doesn't get very urban, and grunge is seriously stretching it... but photographing kids being themselves is what it's all about...

ah childhood...

I just thought this image showed the pure joy of childhood!

Happy Birthday MMEHMCPS!

I can't believe it's been a year already, but up I went in Child's Arborists, Inc. bucket truck, up, up, up to photograph MMEHMCPS annual community photograph. This year they chose a birthday cake because it's the 20th anniversary of Marstons Mills East. The kids were great, Peter & Scott were great, the Barnstable Patriot was great sending a staff photographer to cover the event... What better lesson for the kids to learn than that their community supports them?

and again I wonder, what will they do next year?

Happy 20th Birthday MMEHMCPS!!!

the fashion show birthday party

well, being a mom and a photographer sometimes has some pretty good perks... Adriana's 8th birthday party was celebrated here at the studio, with some of her delightful friends... They dressed up, had their own fashion photo shoot, and got to watch a movie on our huge viewing screen! A grand time was had by all... Enjoy watching...
Happy Birthday my love xxx

Boo!

Happy Halloween!

Be happy, be safe, enjoy your day!!

Safe trick or treat on Main Street today, keep your eye out for the Queen of Hearts!

Spirograph

well, there's no doubt my husband & I are both children of the 70's... My mum brought my old Spirograph, and both of us instantly had to play... Adriana had her first go tonight, she's definitely ours, "I would be best friends with the person who invented Spirograph", she said...

Adriana's piano!

We're finally getting Adriana's piano tomorrow, hip, hip, hooray! I love listening to her play, she's really just beginning, but the process is so exciting to me... I love the fact she can read music (well, you know, on those easy tunes any way), that she self-corrects, and that she can pick out so many tunes by ear... If you haven't noticed, I'm fairly fond of the wee one.. I like her keyboard, but a piano it surely isn't... so it will be fabulous for her to learn on.

We're getting the piano from her god-mother, my dear friend, Naomi, it is her moms and they both decided it would be great for Adriana to have it to learn on, to play, and to enjoy. How very sweet of them, what a lovely gift... to us all... (Of course, I'm envisioning her playing Christmas carols on it year-round, think we'll have to set the ground rules early!)

My mum was up this past weekend, and I had to apologize to her that I was so nasty about not wanting to take piano lessons, boy I wish I had now... wonder if Joe at the Conservatory wants to teach mom as well... hmmmm....

my favorite day

October 14th is my favorite day, it's the day my beautiful daughter was born... Eight years ago today, we welcomed this lovely child who fills our house with so much love... Adriana is such a joy, she brings us so much happiness, fills our lives with music, keeps us on our toes ('how do you spell onomatopoeia?'), and makes us laugh so hard... We had no idea eight years ago how wonderful our family would be...

Adriana, I love you... I wish you a wonderful year, thank you for all you bring into our home... xxxx

Alynn & Matt

Congratulations! We wish you a lifetime of love...

butterflies

walking Lucy this morning on Seagull Beach, I saw a beautiful Monarch butterfly. He was feeding on the Seaside Goldenrod to build his strength for the long journey to Mexico... He was bright and beautiful, and such a lovely start to the day... and then I saw a brilliant, yellow butterfly, and was mesmerized for the instant he allowed me to be, before zipping off on his way...

I looked in my Butterflies Across Cape Cod book, by Mark Mello and Tor Hansen, (which I got at the Cape Cod Museum of Natural History by the way) and found that I had seen a Cloudless Sulphur, fantastic!!!

*disclaimer - I use the word 'he' in the most innocuous sense of the word, they may have been she's... and I found the photo on Wikipedia from the St. Louis Zoo, so thanks for the great image! I was without camera this morning, but would have been without a photo even if I hadn't been!!!

last day of summer...

The last day of summer, my word how the time flies... It was a good weekend, yesterday Stuart (my nephew) & Christin had a baby, Dade Brian, so I guess I'm now a Grand-Aunt... (better than my sisters title, or my mums for that matter!) All are happy & healthy, can't wait to meet him, but it being this time of year he might be weeks old rather than days sadly... Congrats to you all, welcome to the world, Dade, we're glad you're here!

Adriana & I spent the last day of summer doing experimental spin-art - we tried different types of paints, we used our fingers in the designs, we dragged toothpicks through the spinning tapestries... We sat in the grass in the backyard, and were both covered with paint by the time we were done! We laughed so much, and enjoyed the sunshine and each other, a couple of hours very well spent, it was a great time... She's a little upset that we didn't go for a family bike ride in Nickerson like last year, to celebrate the end of summer, but perhaps we can celebrate the beginning of fall that way! She is definitely a fan of rituals, I need to be careful of what we do, because I know her, and know that she will want to do it exactly the same way year after year... (personally I'll start planning next year's plein air spinning, Adriana had suggested using her toes to make designs... hmmmm....)

While we were creating, after I'd taken out my camera because the designs left behind were too fabulous not to record, she told me about a movie they'd seen in school last week about light & shadows... She said a woman on the movie had a camera just like mine, "except she put film in it, can you believe it? Film", she said her eyes huge and round, amazed. I laughed out loud. Appears my baby, this gorgeous child of my own creation, doesn't know I used to shoot with film... How amazing... Seems I'm going to have to have "the talk" with her, the one where I tell her that her first bedroom, the one we brought her home from the hospital to, used to be my darkroom, where I used to develop and print, my film. Or maybe I should wait...

Mirasol's

so we're not supposed to tell of our faults and foibles... but I'm an artist, I share many things perhaps I shouldn't!! So I preface by the fact it's school season, I'm still photographing seniors by the dozen, and one of the thousands of students I've photographed in the last week or so gave me a quite nasty little bug, so I'm not exactly myself... (although Ray told me I was 'perky' today, so I must be nearly better! I was horrified at the thought that I hadn't been perky for the past few days to all of those I was photographing, he assured me I was indeed perky for them, just not him... phew!!) One of the schools I photograph is in Dartmouth, and last year we discovered this fabulous cafe there, Mirasol's. I had this curried lentil soup that was so divine, I wouldn't even consider eating anywhere else in the area on the off chance they may have it as a special! So yesterday, when we finished photographing the school for the day, we went there (no lentil soup, but a nice black bean quesadilla), had a lovely lunch and went home. I was physically exhausted, well that's my excuse anyway, and was on the Cape before I realized I'd left my purse there! Over $100. cash in my wallet, as well as my phone and all of those other things one has in their purse, on top of the fact it's my gorgeous photo bag of my babe, Adriana's beautiful face looks at me... yikes... So I called. And not only are they environmentally friendly, with straws made out of corn, completely biodegradable, and disposable silverware that is too, they are fabulously friendly too... "yeah we've got it" they told me, and when we finished at school today, there it was waiting for me, all contents intact... What a wonderful place. I highly recommend it!

(oh, today it was a white bean chili, delicious, but still no lentil soup, we've got a make-up day next month, so fingers crossed!! Otherwise I guess I'll wait another year...)

me as a song?

I photographed a high school senior on the beach on Friday, he was a charming young man, and as we were talking, he told me his homework from one of his classes was to find a song that described him. He had to find it by Monday. So I took that assignment too... Of course, the songs I love (quirky as some of them are!) don't fit who I think I am... Safety Dance? Behind Blue Eyes? (maybe in my teenage angst days) The Blower's Daughter? Blowing in the Wind? a Dead tune perhaps? Cassidy? I Know You Rider? No. no. no. What a tough thing... I went through my repertoire of really quirky tunes, Red River Valley, Oklahoma, Lemon Tree yikes, I know, tmi!!! My musical interests are so varied, (and so awful according to my husband), that even in just going through them in my head I was a little frightened by my own self!!! I decided upon "Imagine" by John Lennon, not original, not some fabulous obscure tune, nothing crazy and artistic... I was fairly disappointed with my choice even... "You may say I'm a dreamer, but I'm not the only one, I hope someday you'll join us, and the world will live as one..."
So, I handed in my assignment on time, but I'll keep searching...

Feel free to add a song which you feel describes you, I'd be interested to know...

Happy Labor Day!

I can scarcely believe it is already that time again... Summer 08 has been really fabulous... I'm still photographing every night, so although the summer season will officially end this weekend, my season will continue for quite a while...

Earlier this month I photographed a delightful family from Las Vegas, their youngest son, after hearing me say how adorable he was (how adorable both boys were in fact) told me quite matter of factly, "I'm attractive to anyone!". How we laughed. And of course, he was right!!! Out of the mouths of babes...

I'm not quite ready for the summer wrap-up, but I hope you all have a fabulous weekend, Yarmouth doesn't start school until next week, so we are hanging on to these last precious moments... Enjoy!

whale watching

Living on the Cape, sometimes we don't take the time to enjoy the Cape... But last weekend, I had a rare day off from photographing families and seniors on the beach and weddings all over, and spent the day with Adriana... Hyannis Whale Watch very generously donated a child's ticket to the Yarmouth town libraries reading program, so just for reading books (which she loves to do), Adriana got a free whale watch... and what a whale watch it was! On some whale watches the whales sleep, sometimes they dive, sometimes they're just living their lives, and on some they breach - jumping out of the water, in our case, over and over again... Our whales were not sleeping, or being boring in any way at all, they were showing off for us so fantastically, being their absolute gorgeous selves! We were so lucky to be on such a journey... Such an amazing experience, nature at it's finest... We need to remember in our busy lives, with our crazy schedules, to take time out to stop and watch the whales...

reflections

When I was photographing Henry Winkler the other weekend for the Arts Foundation at Pops by the Sea, he asked me what I liked to photograph... I told him I photographed families and high school seniors on the beach, but he stopped me and asked me what I photograph for me... I shared my love of rocks and standing stones and the like, he told me his favorite thing to photograph was reflections...

After my engagement session at Sandy Neck the other night, I saw the dunes reflected in the water, and thought of the Fonz... So this one's for you, Henry. It was a delight meeting you, you are charming and fabulous, thanks for all of those great smiles!!

Kelly and Brian

Friday's the big day... Looking forward to lot's of fun and laughter, it will be a great day... Wishing you both all the happiness life can hold...

Niagara Falls

We visited Niagara Falls this year - what a fun time we had! We started our trip searching for Herkimer diamonds, finding I should say! We whacked at rocks with hammers, and really, that's always a good day!!! (yes, Mom, we all wore our safety goggles!) The ones we found were mostly very tiny, but lovely, and no surprise, Ray was the champion Herkimer finder... The Falls were beautiful, we saw them from just about every angle - all of our favorite part was the Cave of the Winds on the American side- way cool!!! plus you get a new pair of shower shoes!!! Last year, Adriana and I traveled to Nova Scotia to go fossil hunting, and although I did find a piece of very cool fossilized coral, we were slightly lacking in fossils... So this year, we go to a tourist destination, and Adriana picks up a rock to build a Inukshuk with, "is this a good one, Mom?", she asks... she had found a fossil!!! And then we found masses of them on this lovely walk along the river... Fossilized oysters the size of her hand! Huge boulders covered on every surface... How happy we were!! So, as in most journeys I take, it turns out it was all about the rocks!!!

Erin & Chris

A gorgeous day at the Poppy, a little rain during the ceremony - but gorgeous for the beach photos... so no big deal really... The groom saw a rainbow, and although I was searching, I felt it a better idea to photograph the ceremony, than go chasing rainbows!! And Erin & Chris, such a cute, lovely couple - full of love, happiness and kindness... with wonderful families who so obviously support them in all they do, a day you dream of, beginning a life I know will be full of love...

Relay 08

a little slow posting Relay for Life, so many weddings and portraits to photograph here on the Cape... (oh and a little vacation too, but that'll be my next post...)

Adriana and I again walked in the Relay for Life, our team is the FitKidz, started by my friend Laura. It's nice to see the children taking part in such an important event. We raised over $1000., I thought that was pretty good...

Adriana walked over 10 miles (not bad for a 7 year old!), I walked almost 20 miles (and then photographed a large family portrait on the beach that night!!! I admit, I took a nap before the session!) It feels so good to be a part of it (well, except when you're trying to catch some quick zzzz's between walking and the tent next to yours would rather party!). The Luminaries all lit on Friday night is something to behold, thank you to many of my fellow Cape Cod (and beyond) photographers for supporting our walk...

Erin and Chris

Erin and Chris are a delightful, young couple who are getting married this weekend... May good weather prevail!!! They've been together longer than most couples I know, their love affair started when they were very young... How cool to travel your whole life with your soul mate, and not just the adult part of it like many of us... What a gift they've been given... I'll enjoy photographing this step in their journey.

They'll be spending their honeymoon on Machu Picchu, how jealous am I? It is one of the places I simply must get to... It is so magical and fantastic, I can hardly wait to go. I'm sure I will breathe in the sunrise one day at the Sun Temple... (I gave myself 4 years back on Leap day, the clock is ticking...)

We wish Erin and Chris all of the happiness life can hold, and like for Sarah a few weeks back, we also wish for some sunshine on what is sure to be a wonderful day...

Timmy

I feel that a First Communion portrait is a very important portrait to have taken. It is a very important time in a young person's life, and worthy of commemoration. However, I also feel that it's okay to have a little fun in the process, so Timmy and I did a little karate chopping in the middle of our session... we had fun... we laughed... and after all, isn't photography all about capturing the spirit of someone! So this is a gift for you, Timmy. Thanks for the laughter!!!

Alison and Mike got married!

What an amazing day, a beautiful wedding on the beach, the wisteria still in bloom at the Capt. Linnell House, a gorgeous bride, a gorgeous groom, a gorgeous day to be a photographer on the Cape... we wish you both all the best...

Happy Father's Day!

Happy Father's Day to all of you fathers out there... Enjoy your day, enjoy your families...

Adriana and I wish Ray a very happy day, we love you very much, and think you're the greatest! xxx

super hero sightings...

Spiderman- present and accounted for...

sea dog

Lucy is now officially a sea dog... of course she may have had her one and only sea adventure if it's up to Ray!!! We took her out clamming this morning, out in Barnstable Harbour... We took the boat (aka floating bathtub) out to the sandbars to get steamers... Adriana and I had a fabulous time (we usually do), Ray maybe not so much, and Lucy loved it for a while... after traveling around the sand bars to find the channel, Lucy decided she'd had enough of being constantly told to sit, and took a dive off the boat. Of course, although she swims regularly, she's never not been able to touch bottom before, so needless to say, she got a bit freaked out... (my friend Jennifer, and her boyfriend Tom had been talking recently about their lab's life jacket... guess we'll be getting one soon...) Well, poor Ray, who I think he was just being nice inviting us along to clam with him, got way more than he bargained for, way, way more... so now he's got this scared dog, a scared wife, a scared daughter, so he did what any good husband/father/dog owner would do, he used his super hero strength, grabbed my beautiful dog by her collar and lifted her into the boat (deep sigh) Lucy's 70 lbs, so soaking wet... well, let's just say. heavy... what a fab guy I married...

There was a point out there today, we were portaging across a sandbar, and I looked around at where we were and thought (for about the millionth time) how lucky we are... The Cape is so amazing... Looking out across Sandy Neck with it's beautiful dunes, not a soul in sight, it's the stuff that makes life great...

oh and dinner, it was yummy...

Sarah and Chris

This weekend we'll celebrate the wedding of Sarah and Chris, can't wait... I know it will be a day filled with laughter, they're such a great couple. Our love story session was this crazy, blustery day in November, taking photos on the beach in Falmouth, we certainly laughed a lot that day! At our details meeting, Sarah had me laughing so hard, she's such fun, a truly lovely person. And she's going to be a gorgeous bride... Here's what she told me at our meeting, "it has not been unheard of for superheroes to show up at family events. I'm not saying that any superheroes are going to show up, just keep an eye out for them." How could you not want to be a part of that day? I'll be sure to let you know if I have any superhero sightings...

I wish Sarah and Chris a lifetime of love and laughter, and a wedding day filled with sunshine... (Sarah said she'd bring umbrellas to the beach, and although the artist in me loves those photos already, my wishes have been sent to the universe for fair skies...)

the start of another season

Memorial Day is bitter sweet, there is the anticipation of summer, swimming in the bay, eating outside, watermelon and hula hoops... but summer on the Cape is also a portrait photographer's busiest season... I love what I do, family portraits and senior portraits on the beach, what a great job I have, but it is a busy life I'll be leading until around mid November... I'm not complaining mind you, I consider myself so lucky that I am able to support myself and my family with my art...

We had a perfect weekend, lobster out followed by icecream at Cape Cod Creamery on Friday (try their Cotuit Coffee, it could be the best ever!), a long walk with Lucy through one of our nature preserves, she was thrilled to go for a good swim in the pond, both warmer and less crazy than the ocean! Next was a surprise party for my photographer friend, Tom... We got to see him in lederhosen, I think that was worth going for! Of course he was a kid, in a photo, and he says it was for a school play, but I didn't see anyone else wearing lederhosen, so who's to say... There were a lot of photographers there celebrating with him, a great time was had by all - happy birthday, Tom! Sunday we went for our first sail of the season, enjoying the glorious sunshine on Lewis Bay in our teensy little boat... Monday we went clamming in Osterville followed by mini-golf, and then more icecream (I know I don't need quite so much!)... It was a perfect Cape Cod weekend... and the weather was absolutely fantastic... I love it when we're able to enjoy all of those things that make the Cape so fabulous...

and now with a deep breath, I embrace the summer of '08, and look forward to the thousands of photographs I will take, the laughter I will share with my friends and family, the splashing in the ocean, the memories we will create together, and the memories I will preserve for others... I can't wait to see what time will bring...

Relay for Life

Adriana and I will once again be walking in the Relay for Life to raise funds for the American Cancer Society on June 20th and 21st. We walk in memory of Bill Clarke, a friend, and the former owner of the studio. I worked with him for many years... We walk for Cappers and Nanna, my dear grandmothers, for Uncle Ray and Aunt Betty, for my nephew's grandmother, Tootie, and for my dad... We walk in sadness, in hope, in love, in remembrance...

Please consider making a donation on our home page. If you'd like to purchase a Luminaria to be lit on Friday night, please make a donation of at least $5.00, and you can email me (through my website) with the name of the person in who's memory, or in honor of their fight, you'd like on the bag.

Thank you for your kind support...

Spring

Spring has been cool and rainy, not even cool, downright cold even! Yesterday was amazing, I spent Mother's Day with my mom, sister, her husband, my niece, nephew, daughter and husband. How great was that! and the weather was spectacular! We went to Tower Hill Botanical Garden in Worcester, what a beautiful place! The only good day of the week, how kind God was to us...

This image is an image transfer, one of my very first actually, taken at St. Mary's garden years ago. The original transfer is on silk, the image was taken with an old Polaroid camera... it is, of course, in colour... I like it in sepia too though... I think it was the image that convinced me I needed to by the slide printer so that I could make more than one copy! The original is owned by my mom, it was a Mother's Day gift all of those years ago... I still love the feeling it gives me... it's so peaceful to me...

Happy Mother's Day!

Happy Mother's Day to all Moms, Moms to be, Moms of Moms... I love being a mom, it is so the best! Adriana fills our house with such joy, she is so funny, and makes me laugh all of the time (even when I really shouldn't!).

I wish a very Happy Mother's Day to my mom, my sister, my mother-in-law, and all moms. Enjoy your day...

"Of all the rights of women, the greatest is to be a mother."
-- Lin Yutang

a good day

It was nine years ago today, that I was piped up the aisle to 'Ave Maria' and piped back down to a Beethoven tune with my brand new husband on my arm... Our bagpiper, coming out of the church into a sky full of bubbles, our fab 'gansta' car, and being surrounded by our friends and family, were all beautiful moments in a perfect day... Ray and I have been together for 20 years, married for 9, it's a good life, made better by the addition of Adriana, and Lucy too. (in all honesty, Ray didn't think the bagpipes were quite as fabulous as I did, and sadly, I'm pretty sure he feels the same about Lucy, but we both agree Adriana is the greatest!!)
Happy Anniversary my love x

(the photo is by my friend, Bill Clarke who I worked with for many years, and bought the studio from in 2001, I miss him.)

notebooks and more

Father's Day is right around the corner, and let's face it, it is not the easiest holiday to shop for! We have the perfect solution, how about a notebook or dry-erase board from your portrait session! They're cute, they're fun, and they celebrate what dad likes best about being a dad, his children, or his whole family!

(Of course, they're a great gift for mom, or the grandparents, or anyone else too!!)
Contact the studio for more info...

creating

I love to create, I'm often working on something, it helps to keep me inspired and creative... any given day I can be creating something (I often make my husband roll his eyes!!)... Thought I'd start to share some of the things I do from time to time. Last year, I was in a club at Colorful Creations in Hyannis, which by the way, is a super store, everything you could ever need to create amazing scrapbooks, and so much more, cool papers, great stamps, you get the idea, if you haven't been, you so should... anyway, I digress! One of the projects was to create a mini album (well, okay, 6 mini albums all the same), and as I'm totally addicted to Eclipse mints, I used my collection of tins to create my mini-albums... (I don't feel guilty about the mints not being environmentally friendly because I make cool art out of them!) My albums were less about the albums and more about the storage of the albums, although my sample I brought was a fun little flip book of Adriana doing the hula hoop (another post perhaps!)...

I used alcohol inks to cover the Eclipse tins, and then added beads of Fimo clay I had stamped with some of my fab stamps prior to baking, a few beads, a bit of funky yarn, some ripped pieces from an old dictionary & an old music book, and voila! a mini album... People often ask me what altered art is when I tell them a lot of what I do is that, this is a perfect example!

Earth day every day...

Happy Earth Day! Do something to save, embrace, love, take care of, or otherwise protect the Earth today... I'm a big believer in Earth Day every day, it's easy to do small things which will add up to a big difference... and in this case, 1 person really can make a difference... Teach your children well...
how amazing our Earth is, how very much we have to lose...

Alison and Mike

A beautiful early Spring evening on Mayflower Beach, along with a gorgeous couple, made for a fun portrait session... I'm looking forward to Alison and Mike's wedding in June... Congrats to you both, may your lives together be always filled with love....

another year, another NEIPP

The theme of this year's NEIPP, was the Roaring 20's, what fun... Taking a business course all week, instead of fun and creative photography classes like I normally do, just about made my head explode, but boy am I ready to start (4 months in) the year off right... Being a photographer on the Cape, my 'year' is my season, it starts in earnest early July and runs through December. January to July is preparation for the craziness to come. We did have a photography assignment in my class, to make a recognizable object unrecognizable... there were some very creative entries... I had fun with the lights at Ocean Edge, I love the concept though... Since we photographed that day, I've looked at quite a few things differently, and that's what keeping your creativity is all about... I photographed my first beach session of the year when I got home, I'll share the images in my next post... it was just the first of many beautiful sunsets I'll photograph in this year... (to be continued...)

NEIPP

off I go to New England Institute of Professional Photography for a week of intensive study with John Hartman... I can't believe it's been a year since I studied with Don McGregor... my intern will be one of Don's models this year, she's so excited, it's fun modeling for a group of crazy photographers! I'm sure to be quiet for the next week, while my head is being filled with lot's of great knowledge... forgive me if I'm slow returning calls/emails... I'll tell you all about it next weekend!

Earth Hour revisited

Wow. I hope that you joined me in turning off the lights on the 29th, I know one of my wedding couples, Jennifer and Tom did... We played one of our favorite family games, Blokus, followed by a crazy game of Agitation (the British version of Trouble). We also talked about what each of us could do to save the earth's resources. Adriana enjoyed it so much, she asked if we could do it every day! I think we'll definately incorporate an earth hour into our lives on a regular basis... go take a quick peek at the photos, entire cities in near darkness... One person really can make a difference, and one person working with thousands of others... what a world we can save... Visit Earth Hours' blog for the photos...

gifts from the sea

I am very aware of gifts from the sea... My very livelyhood depends upon those gifts, of course I get the best gift of all, being able to take portraits on the beach... A family portrait, or high school senior portrait taken with a background of beach grass, sand dunes, the ocean, I'd say those are pretty amazing gifts! But I appreciate the little gifts as well, most days I walk Lucy along one of my local beaches, and I usually come home with my pockets bulging with rock, shells, wampum, driftwood, to be tumbled, or added to a collage, or just appreciated for their beauty. Anne Morrow Lindbergh wrote 'Gifts from the Sea', a kind of spiritual compass for us to follow, some of us live the journey everyday, and that in itself is a gift from the sea...

Sometimes, the gifts are not easily overlooked, on Saturday morning, Lucy was less than pleased because she had to be put on a leash, and Adriana was a little nervous, but I was breathless at the lovely Harbour Seal basking in the fickle sunshine, just relaxing on the shore... How I love the sea... How I love Cape Cod...

Earth Hour

Tomorrow, Saturday, March 29th, people all around the world will be turning off their lights for one hour from 8-9pm. I will be counted among them. Both my studio and my home will be dark from 8-9 tomorrow night.
At home, we might play a game, the last time the power went out, we played a great game of Operation, or maybe we'll play a game by candlelight... maybe we'll go for a moonlight walk... I know we'll have fun whatever it is we do...

A tiny thing to save the planet, turn your lights off from 8-9pm tomorrow night. For more information please visit Earth Hour

Make every day Earth day...

families

I am reminded again and again how precious family is, and how short our time is together... Children growing up so fast, each generation moving into the shoes of the next one, it all moves so quickly... Enjoy every moment you have together, treasure the laughter, the wonder, the love...

Yesterday we played a game after dinner, my husband and myself, our daughter, and my husband's parents, all of us laughing together, what a priceless memory for us all...

Embrace life. Embrace family.

(and of course, capture it all with a family portrait! Yesterday, I took a portrait of my daughter with her grandmother, and a portrait with her grandfather, we'll have those memories for all time, how lucky for us! I love beach portraits, but there's something timeless and classic about a portrait that is pure emotion...)

Happy Easter

Hallelujah He is Risen!

Happy Easter! Happy Spring!

I wish you all peace and happiness...

the wearin' o the green

What a cool job being a photographer is, yesterday I met the creations of one of my previous wedding clients, 6 month old twins, Layla and Chet, so cute... and today, I got to photograph a young bagpiper... A perfect day for it, being St. Patrick's Day and all... He even played a song for me, I love the bagpipes! What a fabulous start to my day!

When Ray and I got married, we had a bagpiper... I stepped out of my funky 1940's gangster car, with my sister, on a foggy May afternoon, and there in the fog my bagpiper played us into the church, I had tears in my eyes, my sister did too, it was such a magical start to my wedding... He then piped me down the aisle, it was so perfect, I loved it... I love the way the bagpipes somehow reach right into your soul with their music...

Happy St. Patrick's Day!