Shooting Christmas Portraits

This is the second time that I've photographed Olivia. She was really just a baby when we did our first session. Kind of like shooting a doll that you place somewhere and move around to get a good shot. Well hello toddler! Now she's on the move and has a very busy agenda. Shooting little kids is always fun and a challenge. Sometimes I totally love the so called "out takes". I got a few of those shots with Olivia where they almost seem dreamlike. Maybe it's just shooting a little person in a white dress in an open field that I have fun with. Don't worry Mom, we have plenty that are suitable for Christmas cards too. It's pretty hard to take a bad picture of this little beauty. Here are a few that caught my eye.

Scott & Nicole Wedding

Does anyone remember the monsoon that we had on September 6th? If what they say about rain on your wedding day is correct, than it's obvious to me that Scott and Nicole have been blessed with years of good luck. No amount of rain could have dampened the spirits of this crew. These guys know how to throw a party. The fun they were having was absolutely contagious. It was a pleasure to work with such a close and loving family. Congratulations Nicole and Scott!

The guys had a wild night before the wedding and it was slow going at first.

Welcome Sweet Baby James

Just two years ago this month, I was shooting Katie and Fraser getting married. They now have a beautiful baby boy. We met James briefly on our way home from vacation. We still want to do an official baby shoot as poor Katie was just recuperating from a C-section and they just moved into a new house on top of it. I think these two invented the term "Fast Track". They have so gracefully embraced many of life's changes in such a short period of time. I'm not sure that their dog Lucy is happy about any of it. Welcome to the world beautiful James.

Greg Haberny Art Installation

My friend Greg has another amazing show up in Brooklyn. His work has to been seen in person to be appreciated. The Art Installations are so intricate that they take weeks to set up. This particular show is oddly ironic with the news headlines lately. It's all about oil, energy and the monetary crisis. Check it out if you're in the hood.

Summers end in New Hampshire

Once back in the USA, we literally did a few loads of laundry and turned around to pack up the car and head to Wolfeboro, NH. We were so lucky to have beautiful weather this year. I heard from my local neighbors that it was a cold and rainy summer. We only had one day that was grey, so we decided to hit the shopping outlets and then to climb Mt. Washington,(with our car that is). Maybe next year when Corban is a bit older we'll make the hike. The drive was scary enough for me. Mt. Washington is the tallest peak in the Northeast and 60% of the time the visibility is bad. We had 50 ft. of visibility which is considered fairly normal. Yikes, I totally can't imagine taking the Cog railway up the mountain. It looked like an old rusty roller coaster that needed retirement, but it comes and goes all summer. Even on a bad day, you realize that you are someplace special being up there.

Vacation's over but not forgotten

You know that feeling when you've returned from a great trip and within one week you feel like you desperately need a vacation?! Everything backs up on you and you feel like you never even had a break! I figure that I am about three weeks behind in blogging and I never even posted shots of New Brunswick or Nova Scotia. One day we toured the town of St. Martin (New Brunswick) where they have these beautiful sea caves and old fishing villages.

Then it was back on the ship for a day to have fun at the pool and look forward to Halifax.

From the beautiful city of Halifax, we traveled to Lunenburg, Nova Scotia. I believe that it claims the title of, "Prettiest Town in Canada", but don't quote me on that. It did feel like a step back in time with some serious European influence. I loved all the colorful houses.

And the docks, which are also home to the famous "Bluenose" racing yacht.

Cruise to Canada

Truth be told, I've never been wild about the idea of taking a cruise. Call it fear of rogue waves, never ending chow lines (most people love this about a cruise, but it actually gets gross!) and simply being stuck on a boat. I was pleasantly surprised to really enjoy myself and my time with my family. New Brunswick and Nova Scotia are awesome and I'll post some images of those soon. The moment I got on board, I started shooting and could not get over the enormity of the ship. I mean you can seriously get lost, at least for a few days. There is so much to do, that you actually forget that you are at sea. I was quite taken by the views of the city from the boat.

I caught my sister taking it all in from her balcony.

Holy S__T are we going to fit under the Verrazano Bridge?

Then we had a drill about what to do in case of emergency. It was a joke, we were packed in like sardines and couldn't hear anything coming over the loud speakers. I figured that we'd be O.K. since we knew what level to get to in case we needed to jump in a life raft. After all didn't the Titanic sink just off the coast of Halifax?!

Finally, time to chill!

My fantastic Mom (who took all of us on this trip!) with my sister on deck.

Corban and his two youngest cousins all beginning to settle down.

And one of my favorites from the boat, a night shot from my balcony.