Somewhere Beyond the Sea

Last weekend, Doug and I took a ride down to Newport to photograph Shelly & Tyler. Their wedding is next month and it is going to be awesome! We drove around to all sorts of little nooks and crannies in the area and explored. I give Shelly a lot of credit for exploring in heels - it couldn't have been easy!






When we got to Newport, it was a beautiful sunny day. Then we literally watched the fog roll in. It was unreal, but we totally embraced the "romantic sea" aspect of the fog.








Right when we got into our cars to leave, it started to rain a little. Perfect timing! Thanks, Shelly & Tyler, for being wonderful tour guides through Newport! Hope you enjoyed your sneak peek. You'll have to wait to see the photo with the giant lobster!

Nobody Else But You

Hello blog readers! I am scheduling a boudoir session over a weekend in July and wanted to gauge interest. New brides, brides-to-be, girlfriends, etc - it's so much fun! If you want to know more about the sessions or see some samples (so you know it's not as scary as it sounds), send me an email! It's a pretty empowering experience. Plus, there's music, make-up, beverages, and snacks. I know the only way to get people to show up for something is to offer them food and drink...

I Shot The Sheriff

So, now that it's wedding season, I'm going to be posting a lot of engagement and wedding images, which is pretty exciting. In addition to photographing my own clients, I also have the privilege of second shooting. As a second shooter, I accompany the wedding photographer to the wedding and help out. Sometimes I am responsible for photographing the groom and the groomsmen. It's a lot of fun. It's a lot like being the primary shooter except I'm not the boss, which can be very freeing. Anyway, this season, I've second shot for two weddings, so I thought I would post a few images. These were all done for Photography by Emily Kearnan.





Who doesn't love a good detail shot?!






When Emily second shoots for me, she always rocks these shots. It's always fun to experiment when you can!

He Loves and She Loves and They Love

I photographed Dan & Megan's engagement session on Mother's Day. The weather was gorgeous, thankfully. You never know around here. They are getting married in the fall but wanted to schedule their session when they knew flowers would be in bloom, which is good planning on their part. We shot all around Lowell, MA, soaking up the environment. And the sun. I think I may have even gotten a little color.



I may have risked my life getting this photo. I'm just saying.


This photo is taken right in front of the tree where Dan proposed to Megan. As we were walking by, Dan pointed out the spot and I had to grab a photo (or two).


So, there's this train in Lowell that's not going anywhere and I wanted to use it in some photos. But not in a hugely cliche way. Or if it was cliche, I wanted it to be on purpose. I loved the back of the train and the way the tree hung into the photo. The whole scene reminded me of an old movie, so I wanted to "recreate" stills from a movie. Not from any specific movie, but just photos that look like they could have been from an old movie. Dan & Megan played the parts of the classic lovers, before the train had to pull away from the station.

Silly, but totally fun and I love the way the photos came out.

Today I am shooting a wedding with Emily, so I've got a full day ahead of me. Tomorrow, off to Newport for an engagement session. Sunday, Doug and I get to watch my goddaughter make her First Communion. It's a big weekend for us!

They Paved Paradise And Put Up A Parking Lot

I'm not going to lie; I've been composing this post in my head since the day I took these pictures. But it couldn't be just any post. It had to be important. I wanted to be able to say everything I wanted to say without going overboard. Some of these things you've heard me say before (if you've read my posts), but this time, the circumstances were totally different.

A couple of weeks ago, I was in Los Angeles, living it up in the sun and the smog and the gridlock. I spent a lot of time traversing the city on the surface streets, visiting friends and sightseeing. I had a stack of index cards with me, notes I had taken on Hollywood landmarks years before. I had addresses (with their Thomas Guide coordinates) and all the bullet-pointed notes. This is how I spent my days. I spent the weekend staying at The Biltmore, hoping to sponge up some of the lavish Hollywood history. I mentioned in my previous post that they wouldn't really let me photograph the interior of the hotel. They made me show my room key a couple of times and it was clear people were keeping their eyes on me. I think being in Los Angeles has made them super sensitive and I'm guessing they were scrutinizing my actions because I had a "fancy" camera and not a point-and-shoot. I left The Biltmore really disappointed with my stay. That was on Sunday. Monday was a whole different story.

On Monday, The Annenberg Community Beach House opened in Santa Monica. It's a place for the public to go to swim, play volleyball, and hang out, without needing any sort of pricey membership. More importantly (to me anyway), the Beach House stands in the footprint of what used to be Marion Davies and William Randolph Hearst's Santa Monica mansion. This is the view of the original structure, from the beach:


All that remains of the original design are the guest house and the swimming pool, both of which are now open to the public. I couldn't believe my luck - the space opened the weekend I was there which meant I got to go visit. I can not explain to you the exhilarating feeling of being able to walk around this space. The city of Santa Monica has done an AMAZING job of honoring the land's past. They restored the guest house and a docent will take you on a tour of the inside of this 9100 square foot guest house. Another docent will take you on a tour of the whole space and talk with you about the history of the land and what happened when Marion Davies had to sell the mansion. Here is what the space looks like now:

This is the guest house.


This is the beach house. It stands where the mansion once stood. The pillars integrated into the design of the beach house are in the exact same places as the pillars of the original beach house. The pool in this photo is the original pool; much of the design is the same as at Hearst's pool at San Simeon. So, when you take your little kids to the community pool in Santa Monica, they are swimming where Winston Churchill, George Bernard Shaw, Charlie Chaplin, Cary Grant, Joan Crawford, and Louis B. Mayer once swam!

As our tour was finishing up, we were standing on the top floor of the beach house, looking out at the water. The docent was talking about the changes in the beach and the ocean and as were watching the waves, we saw a dolphin. It was the perfect way to end our tour.

I just loved these sand castles; they were built right on the beach in front of the Marion Davies guest house.


There was only one other person on my tour, Louise. She lives in Santa Monica and took the tour because she was curious about what was happening in her neighborhood. Turns out, she's a movie lover, too. After our official tour ended, we decided to walk together and tour the "Gold Coast" of the PCH. Back in the day, all the big stars had houses right along the PCH. Most of them have been renovated, added onto, split in half, etc, but the addresses are all still there. It's not exactly the safest thing to do, but we walked along the PCH, checking out the addresses and standing for a moment in the footprints of Harold Lloyd, Mae West, Norma Shearer, and many more. Of course, the diamond in the crown is the home of Douglas Fairbanks and Mary Pickford. Louise and I were standing in the driveway, looking up at what was essentially the garage, just marveling at it all. And then the unimaginable happened - we were invited in! I have now stood in Douglas Fairbanks' home. To me, it's an amazing thing. After having such a miserable time trying to explore The Biltmore, to spend the day at Marion Davies' house and then at Douglas Fairbanks' was mind-blowing. It really proved to me that there are people out there, even in Los Angeles, who want to remember, and honor, their past. It was a day I will never forget!

I Want To Be Your Partner

I met up with Tara and Dave the day after their wedding to squeeze in a little Day After Session. Instead of putting her formal wedding dress back on, Tara wore this saucy little number which was her dancing dress at the reception. We started out at The Biltmore Hotel. They wanted to incorporate it into some of the photos because of its history and grandeur and because we had all stayed there over the weekend. Well, we definitely encountered a lot of resistance from the hotel staff, which was extremely frustrating. Despite finally getting the okay from the head of security, it made me uncomfortable so we didn't spend too long inside the hotel before moving outside. Nothing could dampen Tara & Dave's happiness though. They were in their own little world and I was sort of just orbiting.









At the end of our shoot, we walked over to Pershing Sq. (where we encountered some trouble with the cops, but whatever, apparently it was my day to be a troublemaker) which was right across the street from the hotel. Pershing Sq is sort of an anomaly in downtown L.A. It's got all sorts of stone sculptures painted yellow and purple and there's a fountain, but I don't imagine a lot of people hang out there. Anyway, we got to play around and take pictures and that's all that mattered. We found these really cool fake telescopes and used them for some shots. I was once at a seminar where I was told to "shoot through things" so this is my attempt. I actually really like the photos that came out of this experiment. Hooray!


We also used the location for some top secret photos that I can not reveal here (at least not yet), but they look awesome. I don't know that the Day After Session has really caught on around here yet, but it was a great way for us to get some relaxed portraits. You can be creative, choose different locations, and not worry so much about dresses getting a little dirty. If you feel crunched for time the day of your wedding, or you want to join the cocktail party as quickly as possible, it's definitely something to talk to your photographer about. It was so much fun! I could have photographed Tara & Dave all day, all around Los Angeles. In fact, I should probably warn them that the next time I travel out there, it's on my list of things to do!

If You Think You Might Come to California, I Think You Should

This post is going to have a lot of photos. I traveled to Los Angeles in April to attend my good friend Tara's wedding. Tara and Dave have been together even longer than Doug and I have! They complement each other so well. As long as I've known Tara and Dave, they've been together. I can't imagine it any other way. I love picturing them happy, together, whether it be in Silverlake or Abu Dhabi. I was not the official photographer for the wedding, but I managed to squeeze some shots in. Tara and Dave hired Michael Chan of The Image Is Found, so I knew they were in GREAT hands! Dave and Tara arranged for guests to stay at The Biltmore Hotel in Los Angeles. Even though I had friends in the area I could stay with, I knew I wanted to take advantage of the opportunity to stay at the Biltmore. Here are a few fun facts about the hotel:
1) It opened to the public in 1923.
2) The hotel has hosted the Academy Awards eight times.
3) In 1960, JFK used the hotel as his campaign headquarters.
4) The Biltmore was the last place actress Elizabeth Short (Hollywood's notorious Black Dahlia) was seen alive.
While we were staying there, they were filming something for America's Next Top Model. I didn't see anyone related to the show, but some of the other wedding guests claim they rode the elevator with Jay Manuel. That would have been pretty cool. The hotel is located in downtown Los Angeles, which is often overlooked by travelers. It's seen better days, but it seems like they are working hard to bring it back to life. In the few years I lived there, they built the Walt Disney Concert Hall and they've been revitalizing it ever since.

Now, on to the photos. Tara, her mother, and her aunt (and me) put together the wedding bouquets. They got their flowers from the Flower Market the morning of the wedding, which means that they had no idea what kinds of flowers they'd be using until they got there. Tara had ideas, but they were dependent on which flowers were available. In the end, the bouquets were gorgeous!














The wedding took place at the Los Angeles River Center and Gardens which was gorgeous! They had a bridal suite where Tara could get ready and the girls could all hang out before the ceremony.



The light during the ceremony was crazy! I loved the way it hit Tara.


Yay for being married!




The wedding was beautiful! Tara and Dave's awesome friends gave a bunch of mini-speeches throughout the night that were amazing. So funny and natural. I guess it helps that a lot of them have theatrical training. Congratulations you two! You did it!

Rushing Headlong in the Wind

So Michael and Steve are quite possibly the two wittiest guys I know. Seriously. They are great with wordplay and they love movies and tv as much (if not more) than I do. While I was in Los Angeles, we snuck away for a little session. We had to race against the light, but it was well worth it. I love the way they laugh together.

A photo of Michael, featuring his new glasses and Steve.










Michael and Steve not only love movies and TV, but also music. Choosing a post title for this is not an easy feat! So, I chose a song line from a Garth Brooks song we talked about. Guys, you were great! If you ever want to give up your jobs, I totally think you have a career waiting for you as models!

In Napoli Where Love Is King

Melissa & Vinny are getting married this month and we shot their engagement photos a couple of weeks ago in and around the Boston Public Gardens. It was definitely worth waiting for the good weather to come around. This couple is so much fun! They just made each other, and me, laugh the whole day. Their wedding is going to be awesome - rumor has it there's a chocolate fountain in my future!

I left out all the goofy photos, but these ones are some of my favorites.






I love the shadows. We were standing in the mid-day sun and I was photographing them with the Prudential Center in the background and when I noticed their shadows, I couldn't help but take advantage!


Thanks, Melissa & Vinny for a wonderful day of photography and the delicious mud pie that ended it all!

She Looks At Me So Fearlessly

We've had a sudden explosion of newborns recently! It's all so very exciting. I photographed this family right before I left for my trip to Los Angeles. I have been photographing Connor, the big brother, since he was just a baby. Now he's a big boy who likes to help look after his new baby sister. Isn't she the cutest? For some reason, I decided to post all of these in black and white today. Enjoy!









I'm just working through all my shoots these days, trying to keep up with posting. My wedding season officially began this weekend - so awesome. Beautiful ceremony, couple, and love story. Hopefully I'll be sharing those photos soon. Happy Monday everyone!