Portraits by the Sea

So you know what they say about the cobbler's children... Well, a photographer's child is certainly well photographed, pretty much not a moment is undocumented it's true! But usually I do much better when it comes to taking our Christmas card portrait. I almost didn't take one, but one of my fave clients told me I had to! Luckily, the weather has been absurdly beautiful around these parts lately. We were actually completely overdressed for the last weekend in November at the beach, but at that point, I had decided on the look I wanted! This is the back of my cards, I love the feeling of it. Of course, if you know me at all, you know the subject is well, my favorite, so it'd be hard for me not to like it!!!!

Grateful...

I am grateful that I have a wonderful family (including a husband who loves to cook & made us artichoke ravioli for tomorrow!), a nice home (albeit a tad messy), and all of my blessings in life. Adriana had to list 50 for a class at school, well... she is grateful for her iPod it's true!

Thank you to my wonderful clients, who allow me the privilege of getting to do what I love as a career. I'm truly blessed.

Happy Thanksgiving to you & yours.

summer beach portraits

I forget how busy it is in a photo studio in September and October, still a ways to go before it settles down, but at least there's space to breathe now!!

I photographed this family at Nauset Beach this summer, it was so gorgeous. One of those perfect summer nights, remember those? The light used to last for ages past sunset, sunset was really late, the nights were warm... how quickly it becomes shorter days, chilly nights, the beach grasses have changed to yellow and brown, but oh those fall skies! (When it's not cloudy or rainy of course!).

I'm booking a limited number of holiday sessions, call soon!!!

can you still take my senior portrait?...

Well if I said it was crazy 'round these parts, it would definitely be the understatement of the year... between trying to meet senior deadlines (and still getting multiple calls every day, Barnstable's deadline is Wednesday! - 'is it too late to have my senior portrait taken?' of seniors who haven't even been photographed yet!) and keeping orders running smoothly, on top of running a Girl Scout troop and home... well, yeah... crazy doesn't even begin! But I've never neglected my blog this badly, so forgive me!

Here's a fun senior slideshow so you don't think I've totally forgotten about my blog!!



... and yes... I can still take your senior photo! Call or email the studio asap!!!

Dog portraits on the beach

So here on Cape Cod, we don't just photograph high school seniors, families and children on the beach, we also photograph the beloved dogs of our clients. I adore dogs. I think if I were to live alone I'd be a crazy dog woman for sure!!! Probably have masses of them running around! Lucky I guess, that that's not the case!!!

Mugsi is an 11 year old Boxer, who came along for the family session the other night at West Dennis beach. She was so sweet and beautiful, happy to be on the beach, and happier to be with the family she obviously adores!

Pops by the Sea

Sunday was the 26th Annual Pops by the Sea. It is a great event put on by the Arts Foundation of Cape Cod, and sponsored by TD Bank.

This year was a little crazy, the weather was slightly unsettled, okay so maybe it poured once in a while, but during the show it actually rained very little. And what a show it was, in general I do tend to smile & laugh a lot more than the average bear, but man was I smiling a lot that day. The Farrelly brothers were fantastic, so funny, the way they interacted you could envision them as children growing up and see how close they are. They sword fighted w/the batons, pushed each other around, and did a heck of a lot of whistling which made for some silly photos I must say! The song they conducted was 'Colonel Bogie's March' from Bridge Over the River Kwai pretty amusing in and of itself! They were fabulous.
Siobhan Magnus did an incredible job with the national anthem, just beautiful, her & her singing... what a delight. John Sullivan was the perfect choice as honorary chair of the event. Kelli O'Hara and Jason Danieley were both amazing during their Cole Porter tribute, wonderful to watch, even better to listen to... Bob Bernhardt was such a nice man, so down to earth, he did a great job conducting the Pops in Keith Lockhart's absence. Add a song by special guest Larry David to round it all out! The entire day was just perfect (albeit a tad soggy, just a tad tho'). The only thing we were missing was the bagpipe playing from Lt. Cameron or it would have been one of the best Pops yet!!!
Don't miss it next year!!!

Family Portrait on Cold Storage Beach

I love this family, I've been photographing them for years... I'm going to find some of their past images and make that my next post, because what fun it's been watching the girls growing up...
It was a funny night, seemed it might rain, but the light was beautiful, and it was quite still, so we decided to go ahead with the session, and what a night it was. We had one or two drops of rain fall on us, but nothing ever became of it, and we ended up with this great session. Those clouds at the end were so beautiful! What a perfect end to our annual session!

a family portrait during a Cape Cod vacation

Often I don't meet my clients until I arrive at the beach, we speak via the phone, or more often even, email, and then finally meet in person on the night of the session. Imagine my delight, when out stepped Charlee, and her parents, she was so beautiful, and such fun to photograph. She was friendly, and funny and just truly lovely, as were her mom & dad! We had such a great session taking photos at Dowses Beach, it was a little windy, but we were able to find some great spots. Just another in a long line of perfect Cape Cod nights!!!

beautiful flowers...

I photographed a job for a client, and the next day got delivered the most beautiful bouquet of flowers as a thank you. It was such a treat. So I did what any photographer would do, I photographed them.

Thanks to The Bee & Blossom in Hyannis for their amazing work!!

a Cape Cod family portrait

As a photographer on Cape Cod, some nights just couldn't be any better. I had this great family to photograph in Hyannisport, the light was gorgeous, just perfect, the no-see-ums were in hiding, the family was fun, it was just a delightful night. One of those ones where I truly love what I do.
...and then, just in case we weren't having enough fun, this baby duck, a Mallard we think, decided collectively, we were it's mother. It wouldn't leave us alone, was part of many of the group poses, hanging out between our feet, under my tripod, hysterical. So we kept moving it, way, way away from where we were, but it would come running back at top speed (& top speed was pretty darn quick!) to be with us. We'd move it, it would be back before we could scarcely blink. We'd move it, look down, and there he'd be! We included the sweet thing in some photos. What a funny little bird. I've never been imprinted on before!!!!


Although we tried to move him far enough to leave him there, we realized he would be in danger of our cars, and others cars if he followed us. So I got to take the duck home, he spent the night and we found a new home for him in the morning!!!! Boy did my daughter love our little house (okay actually garage) guest!!!

Summer Concert Series

If you're visiting Hyannis, make sure you plan to go to one of the Arts Foundation of Cape Cod's summer concerts. They're every Tuesday at 7:30pm at Aselton Park, and are sponsored by Citizen's Bank.

Tonight it's the Fred Clayton Blues band (blues, funk & soul),
7/19 Tripping Lily (original acoustic folk)
7/26 The Rip-it-Ups (rock n' roll)
8/2 Chandler Travis Trio (omnipop & alternative dixieland)
8/9 Stanley & Grimm (traditional Celtic tunes)

Isn't the Cape a great place?

a Cape Cod portrait

Adriana won't be playing the violin again next year, so like every other part of who she is, I thought she needed to be photographed with it before it was over. We went down to Gray's Beach and took some portraits on the boardwalk. There was a young girl there with her mom, she was probably 7 or so, she told Adriana that her violin playing was the most beautiful violin playing she'd ever heard! (Pretty good considering most of what Adriana was playing was Old MacDonald!!!!)

Happy 4th of July!

One of the things I love about my neighborhood is that every July 4th, we have a parade around the block singing every patriotic song we can... It's such a fun and festive way to celebrate... Happy Fourth of July, Happy Fourth of July, Happy fourth, happy fourth of July, to you & you... & you & you... da da da... such a happy song! Enjoy the day!

Acadia vacation pix soon!

Doug the Quahog

Yesterday was the first day of summer, and so begins the summer of 2011 - hope it's a great one! It was also Quahog Day here on the Cape, Doug the Quahog prognosticated about the upcoming summer... After being in a zen-like state all winter he was ready to talk. After arriving by Catboat, he told us (via the quahog whisperer) that we were going to have twelve weeks plus one day of beach weather this summer. Sounds good to me. Of course it is raining & nasty today... guess he meant starting tomorrow...

Now you know what we do when you're not here! Every day is a celebration on Cape Cod!



So it's been told, we're looking at a beautiful summer, isn't it time for you to visit and have your family portrait created?

Saturn

It was really late by the time I walked the dog last night, and the entire time we were walking I was thinking how beautiful the stars were (well except for when I saw my first firefly of the year, 'oh look, a firefly, hooray!') and was enjoying them so much as soon as I got home I got out my telescope. So I was happily enjoying the stars, and watched the ISS go by which I also love, when Saturn came into view, so I had to go have a look. I literally had my breath taken away, it was the most beautiful I've ever seen, you could see the rings so clearly it was truly magnificent. So of course, I ran in to get Ray, he had a look & as soon as it was my turn again, there was a shooting star going right in front of Saturn! Saturn in all it's beauty and a shooting star, all through my telescope... what are the chances of that? oh man, what a perfect stargazing night!

I was hoping to try some astrophotography (which I've been failing at miserably so far I must add) tonight, but seems the clouds have rolled in so no Saturn tonight... maybe another day...

Happy Father's Day!

My hubby, Ray, is a great dad. Adriana's gift to him was a story she wrote about all of the special things they do together, it is really sweet!

Adriana & I wish him love and a happy day!

Happy Father's Day to all the rest of the dads out there too, hope your days are filled with love & happiness...

a photo from last winter's visit home...

Cape Cod Senior Pictures

Congratulations to the Class of 2011!

One of the things I love about photographing high school seniors, besides the fact I get to photograph many of them on the beaches of beautiful Cape Cod, is that I get to share in a small moment of their lives. I share when they get accepted into their first choice school, when they have no idea what they want to do with the rest of their lives, when it's June and they still haven't made their final choice as to what school they're going to! They also share hopes, fears, dreams. It's truly a magical thing to be a senior photographer. I am so incredibly lucky. So thanks to all the seniors who chose to have me create their portraits, I wish you all the best as you begin your journey outside of high school. (this is only a small portion of this year's class, not all of them got around to returning their releases on time!!) This past year's seniors came from Barnstable High School, Sandwich High School, DY, Upstate New York, Minnesota, Cape Cod Academy, Falmouth Academy, Medfield, Milford, Bishop Guertin, Chatham, Algonquin, Georgetown, so many different schools, all over the country! How cool! I thought I'd share a couple of images from some of my seniors in this show, my daughter gave me a hard time, wait, is that one of the twins or triplets, or did they just change their outfit? Made me laugh.

The slideshow's on my studio facebook page, feel free to like it & us!

Class of 2012, we're booking now, summer dates are going fast, call soon!!!!

Senior Portraits on the Beach - Cape Cod

Caitlyn is graduating this weekend, the Class of 2011. She is this beautiful senior from DY who is just so talented in so many ways. She also happens to be the big sister of my daughter's best friend. I can't wait to see where life takes her, I know she'll find success in whatever she does...

We went to Mayflower Beach in Dennis the other night for her portraits, and it was so beautiful, perfect light, a quiet beach with fabulous sand patterns, just gorgeous. Congrats to Caitlyn, enjoy this next part of your journey!

Seniors... it's all about you...

We're filling up our Class of 2012 calendar, booking into August for those must have beach pictures! Don't miss out. Call or email to schedule an appointment, all seniors booked before June 10th will be registered to win anything from wallets to i-tunes to who knows what else! (There is fine print, contact us for details...)

(one of our great gallery wraps - in metallic no less!)



Email today to get great senior portraits on gorgeous Cape Cod!

"you must really love taking photos"

As I was photographing a pre-school this morning, one of the little girls said to me, "You must really love taking photos", "why's that?" I asked, "because you even have photos on your earrings!".

If you've ever read my blog, you know, I love photographing children! They're so the best!

I want to do a couple of 'faces of childhood' portraits, like my facebook page and tell me why your child's face would be a good choice for a chance to get a really fun portrait collage of your child.

Welcome Tatum

Newborns... so much joy in such a tiny little body!! Tatum is this beautiful little girl I was lucky enough to photograph, isn't that hair is amazing! ...and she is unbelievably alert... this tiny energizer bunny who had no need for sleep the entire time she visited me! It was such a pleasure to meet her, may her life be filled with laughter and joy...

Abby & Luke

I adore Abby & Luke, they are both so sweet, and oh my gosh, could you get any cuter? Abby's curls stop people in their tracks, they are about the perfect little girl hair! And Luke's got the sweetest little face, he's going to get away with a lot!!!!



Their fabulous mom, Michelle says:
"We love Sarah! Sarah has been photographing my children since my second was born. My two year old loves her so much that she says "Only Sarah can take her picture!" Sarah is super laid back and the kids sense that about her, so the experience goes smoothly. She's amazing."

Enjoy your weekend, you know I love these family ones! Happy Easter!

Happy Earth Day!

Do something good for the earth today... Maybe try to stop using plastic water bottles, or find a greener alternative for a green lawn, or simply pick up some of that trash that's littering our planet...

Chet & Layla

I had such fun photographing Chet & Layla in their home, they got to share all of their cool things with me, they were comfortable and happy, it was great all around. When I left they told their mom I was their new bff!!! Hooray!!!

It's probably time to have your children photographed, isn't it? Maybe on a Cape Cod beach, or at your beach house, or... the possibilities are endless...

photographing pre-schools

I love preschoolers, they are so funny. Sometimes they tell you silly stories, sometimes they tell you things you know they shouldn't, always they brighten your day!

Last week I photographed one of my preschools and was delighted by this young lad's game of peek-a-boo!

Schedule your child's portrait today!

Summer's on it's way...

Do you realize that some of us who live on Cape Cod do go clamming year round? We eat fresh oysters all winter (yum!)... Wednesday, that comes to an end, oyster season is over until next winter... a sad day... lucky Ray went today for me! This must mean summer is almost here...

Which means it's time to book your summer portrait on one of the gorgeous beaches on the Cape... can't wait to see you!

Give me a shout for more info...

Happy wearin' o' the green...

Corned beef & cabbage is one of the few reasons I'm not vegetarian, it is one of my favorite meals!!! The image is Colum Cille, this fantastic pipe band made up of teachers, students, police officers, etc. They are the best around for sure, go see them any chance you get!

Enjoy the day! May there be a little bag pipe music in it for you!!!

(isn't it time to have your portrait created with your bagpipes?)

A Christening Portrait - Cape Cod

Elsa is this amazingly beautiful baby, she has these gorgeous eyes, and is just cherubic. I loved photographing her! I was so excited for this session, in part because her mom was excited for it, and that makes my job even more fun. I haven't done very many christening portraits, most babies I know, or have photographed, get christened in every day wear. When Adriana got christened I made her gown and my mum made the matching cap, the cap was perfect, the gown, well lucky it was long and on a moving, squirming, baby!! No one could look that closely at it!

Elsa's gown was beautiful, perfect for her, and her calm, serious self was exactly what I would have chosen for the portrait. Love these.

And then, what? a blue tutu that matches my funky background, could I possibly be any happier?

My facebook post had one of the tutu images, & said something like, I so totally have the best job in the whole world!




Isn't it time to have your baby photographed?

Good morning sunshine...

I was on the phone yesterday morning at the studio when I walked out to the front, & I was greeted by 'HI' in the sunshine... What a delight! So instead of 'Good morning, starshine, the earth says hello' it was 'good morning sunshine, the earth says... hi'!!!

With full disclosure, I didn't retouch any of the sunlight anywhere, but I did do a little virtual vacuuming!!!

Photographing boys...

Photographing boys is a way different energy than photographing girls, it's fun and a little crazy... All studio portraits have a completely different dynamic than my Cape Cod beach portraits, but I love them both. And obviously, wouldn't want to be out on the beach yet, I'm ready, but not crazy!

Owen & Eamon are so sweet, they both brought something from home which of course, will probably be taken out of any final images, but I have to admit, I totally dig Buzz and think the cars are really sweet too! I have the orange one sitting on my desk which was accidentally left behind, and will of course, be returned, but everyday it makes me smile thinking of how adorable those two boys are... and what a fun session it was...

Isn't it time for your family portrait?

365 Art-full days...

So my lovely sister, Marla and I are taking a journey... 365 days of creating... For me that may include photography as well as all of the other forms of creating I love so much, & will probably be a little heavy on the fibre arts, because I'm fairly addicted to those! Today was our first day, I posted the blog site under my blog list, feel free to go take a peek, and please, please comment. Give us love and encouragement as we start this journey together, pretty sure we're going to need it!

Photographing dogs

I love photographing dogs as well as children and families, and it's funny, I like quiet expressions on my dogs too! Quiet expressions are still, calm faces, not crazy smiley, not sad or too serious, just somewhere in between. Eyes pop, and faces are at their most beautiful. I love this image of Lucy, it was snowing, and I thought it was appropriate to have a photo of her in the snow and was going to take her somewhere, but as she sat looking at me through our fence, I couldn't resist, and it turns out I adore this one...

I'd love to photograph your dog too, just give me a call!

a journey through portraits

Jessica and Joe got married in 2005, we were lucky enough to get to share their beautiful day with them. Jessica was classic beauty, such a lovely bride, and sweet and fun. Joe was quiet and tall, and charming with a great smile. So much love. Fast forward to the summer of 2010 and this lovely couple now has the most adorable baby boy, Padraig, and the journey of family begins. I love being a part of families, especially when it's from the very beginning.

I was thrilled to photograph their family portrait on the same beach I photographed their wedding, what a treat! It's wonderful to document their journey through portraits that will help them to remember these special days in our lives... for always...



Maybe this should have been yesterday's post!!!! ♥

Isn't it time for your family portrait?

Ray was very sweet yesterday, bought gorgeous bright colourful flowers, made lobster for dinner, strawberry shortcake with homemade biscuits for dessert, I am a lucky girl!!!!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Celebrate love this Valentine's Day, all love. Being in love, being loved, loving your children, your parents, your dog, celebrate each other and who you are together. Happy Valentine's Day!

Enjoy!

Imaging 2011

So I spent the better part of a week in San Antonio for the Professional Photographer's of America annual convention, om gosh, what a great time. San Antonio is such fun, with the riverwalk, Mexican influence in both the food and decor, and a few cowboys... Imaging was inspiring, educational, fun, everything it should be. I love being a photographer on the Cape, sometimes it takes a little journey for me to remember that! I didn't take a ton of images, it did rain most of the time we were there, and I was actually in classes all day!, but I still managed to take a few (hundred), here are some of my faves... The cave images at the beginning are from Natural Bridge Caverns just north of San Antonio, if you ever get the chance, definitely go there, such a cool place! Everything else is the Riverwalk and environs, including of course, the Alamo...

Next time, I'm so going to go try out a little western dancing in a dance hall though!!

So Big

This year's art exhibit by the Art's Foundation of Cape Cod is 'So Big', and it is SO GOOD! Get there as quickly as you can, and enjoy this fabulous art created by these amazing local artists... You will be both entertained, and inspired. Be sure to leave a comment with your favorite pieces of art from the exhibit!

You'll find it at the Cotuit Center for the Arts, and it runs through February 12th, every day from 10am to 5pm. The exhibit is sponsored in part by Eastern Bank, and the David C. McGraw Foundation, Inc. Don't miss it.

photographing children

I love photographing children, they truly amaze me... but here's the thing... the comment I heard a lot from this year's portrait of Adriana was, 'she looks so grown up'. Not sure I can handle my baby looking grown up! I have clients I've been photographing for years, and I love watching them grow & change, and of course I do with my own daughter as well, but I'm not even close to being ready to give up having a 'little girl'. Guess the time has come, like it or not. *deep sigh*

Lucky I guess, I certainly embrace my own inner child!!

quite the journey

so I'm all about the journey, life itself is quite an amazing one, but I'm always restless, and anxious for a little wander... I seem to have created an existence that doesn't allow for much wandering, but the itch is always there, and I'm always trying to find a way to fit it in... today I get this email from the Smithsonian, (why I signed up for their travel adventures knowing it would break my heart with every email, I'm not entirely sure...) for the most amazing adventure. Around the world by private jet, truthfully, I could care less about the private jet, but it's to all these world heritage sites, Machu Picchu, Easter Island, the Taj Mahal, the Great Barrier Reef, and on, and on, and on... *deep sigh* If anyone would like to sponsor my trip for a mere $63,000, I will keep the most amazing journal, and will fully document the trip with photos of every detail... plus I write pretty good thank you notes....
Go check it out here...

2011

May 2011 be full of love, peace, happiness, prosperity, good health, joy, and lots and lots of laughter.

(& a lot of smiles too!)

Many good things are in store here at the Studio by the Sea for this year, fingers crossed I get them out of my head!!!! lol Stay tuned...

isn't it time for your family portrait?