Blowin' In the Wind

It's time for me to return to some of the photos from this fall that I haven't blogged yet. This photo is from Amy & Derek's wedding in October. It was such a great wedding - quintessential Boston with a trolley and photos in the Public Garden. I was the second shooter for Brett Alison Photography so I got to kick back and relax and just have fun photographing the day. I'll post more photos from this wedding another day. I've actually got three weddings to blog (yikes!). However, today is laundry day and the laundry is done nowhere near my computer (which might be a good thing), so this is it for now.

Jump For My Love!

These little girls are a riot. I love watching them interact with each other - what one does, the others follow. We got some adorable photos immediately and then we decided to play around a little. Here they are getting ready for their big jump:



Here they are mid-jump, big smiles, tongues out. It doesn't get much better than that!


Can you believe Thanksgiving is the day after tomorrow? I can't! Doug and I leave for Buenos Aires in exactly one month! I'm already planning out my outfits in my head (it will be summer down there). I've been pondering buying a laptop for the trip (and, of course, it will be helpful in general), but I haven't given in quite yet. There's just so much going on! I'm still in the thick of holiday photos, so that's exciting. I'm working on updating my website and my business. I'm really excited for 2009!

Right Through the Heart of Me

Yesterday afternoon, I picked up Jill and Krista and we road tripped it down to Mohegan Sun. Did we spend a dime gambling? No. Did we spend a dime on alcohol? No. We did spend a dime on milkshakes, but a girl's got needs. We drove down to see Alexa Ray Joel in concert. Almost two years ago, I saw her CD at Target. I admit that I picked it up initially because I'm a huge fan of Billy Joel, but I did a little recon online and loved her music. She has such a great sound and it's so different than so much of what is out there right now. When I saw somewhere that she was playing at Mohegan Sun, I knew I wanted to go. Enter Krista and Jill. I consider myself extremely lucky to have friends who 1) let me drag them across state lines to go to a concert of someone they don't know and 2) have a random work schedule like I do. Also lucky for me - they loved the show. I loved the show. It was awesome. We were sitting in the front row and loving every minute of it. I highly recommend you check out her music. And she's playing again at Mohegan Sun on January 24th - I can fit 5 in my car if anyone is interested!

I'm not used to point-and-shoots (yucky red-eye), but luckily Krista brought hers along. Here we are, after the show:

I've Got A New Way To Walk

This family was so much fun to photograph. We had an amazing location that I am definitely going to use again. And how can you not love a baby with hair like that? Adorable! I think this top photo is my favorite from the session. I love that the parents are looking at their son and the baby is teetering toward me with great determination and joy.


I also just love the autumn feel of this photo, with the big trees lining the walkway. The colors are perfect. I know I've said it before, but nothing beats New England for fall photography!


I still have weddings from this past season to blog! I haven't forgotten about them, trust me. Even though I keep crossing things off the to-do list, I keep adding things on!

Art Is Why I Get Up In the Morning

In addition to the shoots and the editing recently, I've also been attending concerts. You see, long before I even dreamed of the possibility of studying film and television, I was a music lover. Long before I even dreamed of considering myself a photographer, I was a music lover. It's who I was. I'm not saying I loved cool music or hip music. I wasn't ahead of my time (unless I was so far behind I was ahead). When I was in college, I worked for a couple of radio stations in Boston. My first post-college job was with a music marketing firm. However, once you start studying tv and movies, music sort of falls by the wayside. Doug and I try to go to concerts when we can, but we have very different taste in music. I didn't want to go see Radiohead with him and he refused to go see Jimmy Buffett with me. C'est la vie. This fall, though, we've started attending concerts again and it's awesome. So far, we've seen Julian Velard, performing with Ari Hest and Marianne Keith, Smashing Pumpkins, and Ani Difranco. On the schedule for the upcoming weeks is Ernie Halter, Alexa Ray Joel, and everyone's favorite Christmas show, Harry Connick, Jr.! What a great way to end 2008! I'm feeling re-energized and I'm falling in love with music all over again. So keep an eye out for cool shows coming to your area - music will make you happy.

You Wanna Be Starting Something

In March of 2007, I photographed this family for the first time. Harrison was just six months old and photographing him was one of my first assignments as an independent photographer. I had recently left the studio I had been working for to strike out on my own and I totally lucked out meeting Harrison's family. Harrison's mom passed the word along to her friends and they've kept me employed for close to two years now. That's how it all started. Now they have a new little baby - Lily. She is six months old, so it was time for her supermodel debut. She's off to a great start!

For some reason, baby clothes designers still feel the need to put lots of tiny buttons on the backs of clothes. Go figure.


Look at this gorgeous face! I love it when babies look straight into the camera and for some reason, really seem to be connecting. You can tell there's something going on behind those beautiful eyes.


And, of course, here's the big brother. He's changed so much over the past year and a half. For one thing, he's a little blondie now! He's also running around and talking in sentences. He's certainly challenging Lily to keep up with him.

I'm Just Mad About Saffron

A couple of weekends ago, I swapped a portrait session with uber-cool photographer Rachel Hadiashar of mergeweddings.com. She photographed Doug and I in our (un)natural habitat and then I photographed her and her husband, Ali. It's rare that I find myself photographing other photographers, so there was some definite pressure (internal only). Luckily, Rachel and Ali knew what they wanted. They had a very specific idea for a Christmas card but I can't reveal those photos here. When we finished with that, we just shot some "normal" photos. They were both great in front of the camera, so it was really just a wonderful afternoon of fun.

Have You Any Wool?

I was recently introduced to a new location - Brooksby Farm in Peabody. They had lots of farm animals and some animals that shouldn't be on a farm (like emus). There was a huge orchard, tractors, bales of hay, and pretty much anything a photographer could have fun with. Including a large wooden crate that I managed to whack my head on (of course). I photographed this family last year and we had fun getting together again this year. I know this isn't your typical holiday card photo, but I think it's beautiful. J.T. and Evvie are twins and they had just climbed up this little hill and we were trying to direct them to hold hands and come down again. Directing small children does not generally turn out how you plan it, which is the beauty of the whole thing. This is one of those in-between moments.

You're A Star In the Face of the Sky

Every year, October, November, and December are filled up with fun family shoots in preparation for the holiday season. I am having so much fun photographing all of the kids, some of whom I haven't seen since last fall. A year makes a big difference. It's awesome. Now, these kids I try to see fairly often. Abbie and Sophie have been appearing on my blog since I started it nearly two years ago. Abbie is my only official godchild (although I like to think I have a handful of fairy godchildren). They are the daughters of my cousin Adrienne and her husband Michael (commonly referred to as Honey). You couldn't meet two nicer people. Adrienne has always been like my older sister. She was a great moral compass (most of the time) and she was always someone I could talk to when I needed someone to listen. When she got married, I lucked out and got Honey in the deal. They have these two gorgeous daughters who always make me laugh and I love to photograph them!

When I worked at the studio, stacking heads was a definite no-no. Abbie and Sophie did this themselves and I love the movement. It makes the photo more dynamic than just stacked heads.


Sophie's big blue eyes.


Abbie's big brown eyes.


I had to post this photo of Sophie trippin' the light fantastic.


For those of you interested in scheduling a holiday session, there's still time! Give me a call or email me to set something up!

It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year

What? A Christmas post already?! Well, tomorrow is Ravioli Day, which is the unofficial kick-off to Christmas season in my family. Every year, my mom and her three sisters get together and make over 500 ravioli from scratch for our Christmas dinner. When I was little, Ravioli Day would take three days but now they get it all done in one day. There was also a time when having their daughters around was more of a distraction than a help, but those days are gone. We all take the day off from work and go over and help out. Ravioli Day jobs consist of cranking the dough, cutting it in circles, spooning in the filling, or forking the ravs closed. We get an assembly line going. It's a wonderful family tradition and really, we just enjoy spending time together. This year, because I'll be in Buenos Aires, I'll miss out on the actual eating of the ravioli on Christmas Day, but I wouldn't miss Ravioli Day for anything!

Let's Hear it For the Boys

A day at the beach. I met up with this family at Singing Beach, which I hadn't been to in forever. We were lucky to have some nice weather before autumn really set in. I got to play in the ocean one last time which was great for the soul but not great for keeping my pants dry! My friend Charlie is a very active two year old and we just ran around and around and around. This is a photo of Charlie and his dad...



Since today is VOTING DAY and I've already voted, I think I might treat myself to a movie this afternoon. It's always a good day for the movies!

You Gotta Fight For Your Right

Today is VOTING DAY! If you haven't already, you need to vote today! Sure, the lines might be longer than usual, but isn't that a good thing? Doesn't that mean that people are taking this privilege seriously? Bring a book or a magazine or text your friends - the time will fly by. Plus, when all is said and done, you get a sticker that says "I Voted!" and with that sticker, you can get free coffee at Starbucks, free ice cream at Ben & Jerry's, and a free donut at Krispy Kreme. Not to mention, for the rest of your life, you get to talk about the day you helped change history.