Grand Opening Salon de Ning

The Peninsula has long been known as a gorgeous four star hotel and spa in Manhattan. Their fleet of hotels spans the globe from Beverly Hills to Hong Kong. Last night they had the grand opening party of their newest renovation, Salon de Ning, a rooftop bar and terrace. East meets West in this exotic open air space with incredible views of the Manhattan skyline. I was thrilled to be be hired to shoot the space on opening night, but talk about pressure. Holy cow! People were still setting up while I was shooting with a wide lens trying to avoid them and all of the stuff that goes into making a party happen. I mean cases of booze, ice, boxes of flowers, you name it. All the madness that goes on behind the scenes before a VIP event. The harsh midday sun added an additional challenge, but with only 1 hour to shoot, my hefty studio strobes would have surely slowed me down. All things considered, I was pleased with the results. I was leaving just as the guests were arriving, and it was pretty funny to have to fight my way through the paparazzi that was waiting for Lindsay Lohan to show. I didn't stick around, but I am told that she did make an appearance. I can't wait to go back and shoot here at dusk. It really is a gorgeous spot.

Richard & Kelley

Last weekend I had the pleasure of working with Matt Grazier to photograph Richard and Kelley's wedding reception. Richard is a wedding photographer himself and has been a good friend to me since we met about a year ago, and the moment that I met Kelley, I loved her! There were a lot of wedding photographers there (quite a fun & crazy bunch). This was version #2 for Richard and Kelley who were officially married in San Diego last month. They had a small reception in California so doing it again for all the friends and family that couldn't go west just made sense. Tom Shields was the DJ (another old friend!) ,and people really danced their butts off, including me! How fun to be taking pictures while your dancing with a bunch of friends. I don't think that I've ever seen Richard and Kelley so happy. They were both absolutely beaming and we were all so proud to be included in their celebration. Long slide show here, but a simple blog post just doesn't do the event justice. Congratulations Richard and Kelley!

Fundraising Art Show at Teen Center

I'm happy to participate again this year in the "Artists for the Outback" fundraising show and sale. The New Canaan Outback Teen Center provides a safe, well supervised place for teens to socialize in an alcohol and drug free environment. With the peer pressure of being a teen (and having a son who is headed there fast), I'm so happy that this is an issue that is addressed by our community. I love the fact that they support constructive outlets for teens to explore and grow, especially the arts. There is an opening reception on May 8th from 6:30-9:30, and the show is free and open to the public Friday and Saturday. Professionals and students alike have work on exhibit with portions of the proceeds to benefit the Teen Center. Stop in and support a good cause.

I'm featured in Rangefinder Magazine!

I got the most wonderful email from Dawn Davis last night. Apparently one of the other "Vegas Love Story" attendees wrote an article about the workshop and submit it to Rangefinder Magazine. Several of us were hoping to get some images to them, but I never figured that it would actually happen. Dawn's blog post says it all. So, with her permission, I grabbed it to post here! Whoohoo!!! Bob and Dawn Davis are two of the most sincere people that I have ever met. If you are a photographer looking to hone your craft, I would recommend one of their workshops in a heartbeat. I'm so envious of the other attendees who live nearby Chicago because they are all meeting for dinners, seminars and working together. Networking is so cool! Here is Dawn's Blog post:

It's Celebrate Moms Month!

Since I've got quite a few Birthday parties in the line up lately, (yeah, weddings and birthdays all seem to be scheduled during the warm weather), I've been thinking a lot about the importance of having photographs that we cherish of our loved ones. I have so few photographs of my son, and virtually none of he and I together, since I'm the one always taking the pictures. I'm on a new mission to overcome his resistance to being photographed. After all, if I can shoot him, I can shoot anyone! And on Mother's day, I am going to take my Mom somewhere special and photograph her! For several years I've wanted to do a series on my Mom. She is an incredible woman.

So, I am running a special all month for Moms! I'm talking about Moms having a sitting with their kids, children (like me) who want photographs of their Moms, expectant Moms, Grandmothers etc..It's all about the matriarchs this month and we are celebrating with any on location shoot for $225, including an 8x10 fine art print of one your favorites. This is normally a $350 sitting. You can email me at info@cynthiabrownweddings to schedule a sitting or to ask any questions. This is a busy month, before a busier Summer season, so I would urge anyone who's interested to inquire before dates fill up. Your Mom will thank you and if you're capturing your own children, you won't have any regrets, just cherished memories.

Liam's Birthday Party

Yesterday I shot a Birthday party for my friend Jenny. She has several Grandchildren and since she doesn't take digital photos of them, she never has any images. I think that this is a common problem in the digital era. Unless you are great about sharing your photos on flickr or you print out your own 4x6's, all those great images just tend to sit filed away somewhere on your hard drive. Try explaining that to Grandma when all she wants is some updated pictures of her Grandchildren. Well Jenny wanted to do something nice for her daughter and get some pictures at the same time, so her Grandson's Birthday party was the perfect opportunity. Liam just turned two and has a sister who is just sixteen months older than he is. Quite a handful for any Mom to have two so young. What is so nice is that usually the kids end up being very attached because they are so close in age.

It was nice to see Jenny and her two daughters and their children all together. Three generations and some really gorgeous kids. Not much to worry about when you're two years old and people are throwing you a party. Liam was just wide eyed and excited to see his friends.

Mina is waiting patiently for party guests to arrive.

In fact, I think that Mina was more excited for Liam's birthday than he was.

This is Amy Rogell. She provided the entertainment for the children and had their complete attention. She brings instruments, parachutes, bubbles and has a beautiful voice and soft way about her that the kids just love.

Liam was into the bubbles!
Then it was on to more important things, Pizza and Cake!

This is Liam's gorgeous cousin. Watch out girls, I think that this guy is a budding babe magnet.

Thank you so much for including me Jenny, it was a pleasure to photograph your gorgeous family.

Soccer Season has Begun

You got it! I'm a Soccer Mom! Corban has played recreational Soccer for many seasons now and really enjoys it. I love the fact that he gets to meet other kids from different school systems and be part of a team. We have a great coach this Spring and just two games in, we are undefeated. I'm thrilled for all the boys but you can't win them all and that's part of being a good team player. The guy you lose to could end up being your best friend at Summer Camp or on your team next season.

Then it was on to get a much needed haircut!

This is one of the only ways that I can get a picture lately. Stuck in the chair!

Oh the dreaded scissors!

Had to tame the mane!

Blog Neglect

I've been an incredibly bad blogger for a while now. It just seems with the warm weather coming (Hallelujah!), there is a lot on my plate. I thrive in the warm weather but along with Spring comes a ton of yard work. I literally cringe when I look out at my property from my computer desk because I know that I should be throwing down some mulch, mowing the lawn or any of the gazillion things that could be done on 4 acres of land. A luxury problem most of the time,(I love living in the woods), but that's the issue-time! I just don't seem to have enough of it. Or sleep for that matter.

I shot some pictures of my friend Greg's art installation in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. He is one of the most productive artists that I know and on the verge of a price explosion. The installations have to be seen in person to be appreciated. Some explicit graffiti here folks, so cover one eye if your offended by potty language.

Greg sitting in as part of his installation.

Why would this handsome guy put a bag over his head?

This is Brett who works with Greg to put up these amazing installations.

The weather was so nice this day that we moved the couch out onto the street.

The mailboxes in the neighborhood looked like part of Greg's show. BTW, I think that this show has been extended for a few days, so stop by and say hello to Greg and pick up some of his artwork while it is still affordable.