Thursday, May 27, 2010

Life's So Easy Today

Doug & I just got back from a little vacation away. We traveled down to Key West, FL for a little rest, relaxation, and fun in the sun. I had never been to Key West, but there was a period of time when I almost moved there. I was looking for a back-up plan in case I didn't get in to grad school. I figured I could move down to Key West, write poetry, and do something random like bartend or drive a taxi. I had even started looking for places to live. Needless to say, I ended up in Los Angeles at school instead, but I never shook that desire to go to Key West. Two of my favorite wordsmiths made it their homes for a while - Ernest Hemingway and Jimmy Buffett.

Doug and I at the southernmost point in the continental United States. We actually heard a little rumor that it's no longer the southernmost point, but we still liked the buoy. It's hard to believe Cuba is only 90 miles away.
Key West

This is the view of the lighthouse from the Hemingway House. The Hemingway House is overrun with cats, many of which have six toes.
Key West

Every night, Key West has a "Sunset Celebration" where people flock to Mallory Square to watch the sun go down. Doug & I decided to have dinner on the water one night so we could be near the party and check it out. The scenery was so gorgeous. I was just trying to photograph the light dancing on the water and this guy flew through my photo. You can imagine how excited I was when I realized I caught him!
Key West

A very cool movie theater sign. I love movie theaters!
Key West

Even though Doug is not really in focus in this photo, I think it's one of my favorites of us from the trip. I love that you can see both our arms holding the camera in our sunglasses.
Key West

Obviously we took a million and one photos, but I won't bore you with all of them. Our vacation was wonderful and I would LOVE to visit Key West again (although I think I've gotten over my desire to live there).

A Sample In A Jar

I recently had the pleasure of photographing Deborah Taylor doing what she does best - creating all natural, low sugar, fruit spreads for her company, Deborah's Kitchen. I met up with her at Nuestra Culinary Ventures, a commercial kitchen in Jamaica Plain. The day I met up with her, she was making Apricot Joy, a combination or apricot and orange. Here are a few teasers from the day. The rest will be featured in the book, Boston Homegrown.

Deborah's Spreadable Fruit

Deborah's Spreadable Fruit

Deborah's Spreadable Fruit

Deborah's Spreadable Fruit

Yum! Deborah's products are sold in stores all over Massachusetts. If you're interested in finding them, check out her website.

Wednesday, May 26, 2010

I Offer You My Heart

Katie & Ryan got married last month in Bethlehem, PA. What a fun road trip that was for me & Emily! And let me tell you, it was so worth the drive. Everything about this wedding, and this couple, was absolutely beautiful. Exquisite. Everything from the bride's shoes to the speeches. It's a good thing my camera obscures most of my face because I'm pretty sure I cried a little. I'm also sure I was in good company.

The bride got ready at the Hotel Bethlehem, which was beautiful! It also served as a backdrop for photos later on that day.
The dress.
Katie & Ryan, wedding

The shoes.
Katie & Ryan, wedding

The rings (and the shoes again).
Katie & Ryan, wedding

All dressed & deciding on a necklace.
Katie & Ryan, wedding

The happy couple.
Katie & Ryan, wedding

Katie & Ryan, wedding

One of my favorites of the bride & groom.
Katie & Ryan, wedding

The reception was at the Saucon Valley Country Club and it was a beautiful place for a party. This group knew how to dance! To see more of the wedding and some of the hijinks, check out Katie & Ryan's slideshow. I think you'll quickly realize why it was such a fun wedding to photograph!

Katie & Ryan, congratulations to the both of you! Thanks for having Emily & I down to PA to photograph your celebration!

Tuesday, May 25, 2010

I'm In Love And It's A Sunny Day

I don't think a baby could be more loved by his/her parents than this baby is! I photographed the parents way back in the fall for a maternity session and they were so excited about having a baby and being parents. They were literally radiating love. It was so nice to go back and see that nothing has changed. This little muffin is six months old in these photos. We had to wake her up from a nap in order to start our session and she was hardly phased.
Baby R, 6 months

Baby R, 6 months

Baby R, 6 months

Baby R, 6 months

I was thrilled to have the opportunity to photograph this family twice and will hopefully be back before long!

In other news, I came back from Key West to escape the heat down there and it's 90 degrees here. What's up with that? It's no fun when there's not a pool in my backyard.

Wednesday, May 19, 2010

Down to Captain Tony's

The title of this post has nothing to do with the photos, but we'll get back to that later. These are from Katie & Ryan's spectacular wedding last month. I wanted to make sure I got a couple up here as a sneak peek before I give them a full post. Enjoy!

Look at how awesome these rings are! So many great details at this wedding. Emily & I had a lot of fun with the macro lens. I'm guessing this is one of her photos. She hogged the lens a little.
Katie & Ryan, wedding

Something the bride & I have in common - we both love champagne!
Katie & Ryan, wedding

The gorgeous couple! I loved the location - I could have photographed them for days!
Katie & Ryan, wedding

Just a little post to whet your appetite. When I get back from Captain Tony's, I'll finish up with the rest!

Friday, May 7, 2010

Surrounded By Stories, Surreal & Sublime

Meet my friend Emeline. She just recently turned one and loves to stand up on her own.
Emeline
She's not so sure about walking (her mom says she's "risk averse"), but she'll get there. For now, this is exciting enough.

She's sassy enough to wear shades.
Emeline

Emeline

She makes all sorts of crazy faces and "talks" up a storm. So much fun to hang out with!
Emeline
It's easy to see why her parents are head-over-heels in love with her. She pretty much rocks; it's as simple as that.

When it got a little warm for us outside, we headed in to the library to play in the children's section. Libraries are always cool (in both senses of the word).

"Uhm, mom, you put me on a shelf with a wild animal."
Emeline

Future nerd. Love it!
Emeline

I've been photographing Emeline since her mom's maternity session. I love watching the little babies get older and become little kids. One of the best parts of the job.

Wednesday, May 5, 2010

Finally It Has Happened to Me

Website
Well, after a few years of actually photographing weddings, I've finally created a dedicated wedding website. The blog is still the place to go for my latest work and I will, of course, continue to post photos regularly, but I needed an online portfolio for my wedding work. I'm pretty excited about it! It's been a long time coming and I'm really happy with the way it turned out. I invite you all to check it out! You can find it at www.megbelangerweddings.com. The portrait site is also being updated, so I'll let you know when that is up and running! Now go out and enjoy the sunshine!