Lost Shaker of Salt

This is another entry for my "Boston Homegrown" book! Last week, I had the pleasure of traveling into Brookline and visiting with Jeremy & Lisa Sewall at their restaurant Lineage. Jeremy prepared two dishes for me to photograph; one featured lobster as the main ingredient and one featured oysters. These are just a few of the many photos I took.

Instead of salt & pepper shakers on the tables, you'll find these shells. They definitely gave the place a little bit of coastal atmosphere, which is a perfect complement for their seafood dishes.








It's amazing how many photos I can take of just two dishes. Honestly. I get so lost in the photography. It's a wonderful feeling. In my own life, I don't eat seafood (don't hold it against me - I am trying to change), but these dishes are like art. The camera puts the perfect amount of distance between me and the food and I can examine it and capture it artistically. That alone fascinates me. Plus, all this food photography gives me the opportunity to use my macro lens! And once again, I encountered some wonderful people. I can't wait to see where I get to go and who I get to meet next!

Love Will Steer the Stars

I have recently become obsessed with those online coupon sites... the ones where you can get a $50 restaurant gift certificate for $25? You know the ones. They pretty much rock. Around Boston, we've got Groupon, BuyWithMe, and Wow What Savings!. I'm sure there are a bunch more out there. Everyone loves a good bargain. If there's anything my Nunna taught me, it's that I should buy things on sale! So, with that in mind, I wanted to pass a link out to all you mommies out there. My cousin Jackie posted the link yesterday, and it seemed pretty darn cool. It's called Green Baby Bargains and they offer "eco-friendly" baby products. I believe Jackie said it was like a "hippie baby Groupon" (hence the post title). Having never used the site myself, I can't entirely vouch for it. That being said, it looks pretty cool! And what baby doesn't want a swimsuit with built in UV protection?!

Now You're My Whole Life

Another fall wedding! Steph & Dan got married late last fall on a gorgeous but chilly day on the South Shore. It was a pretty perfect day from start to finish. Here are some of the photos, and details, from their wedding...

The rings! I was feeling some pressure to be creative with the wedding bands and the bride's room was filled with all sorts of snacks for everyone to munch on while they were getting ready. I grabbed these mints and this is what I came up with! I love it!


The bride!


The groom! This photo was taken by my second shooter, Rich Pizzuti. One of the biggest reasons to hire a photographer with a second shooter is so that they can be in two different places at the same time. Rich was able to spend some quality time with the guys while I was up in the room with the bride. Rich is a fantastic wedding photographer in his own right, so I was lucky to have him with me that day. Plus, he can do the heavy lifting.


A moment during the ceremony.


After the ceremony! A wedding portrait. Steph had left plenty of time between the end of the ceremony and the reception, so we were able to utilize multiple locations for their portraits. So much fun!


It was freezing out, but everyone stuck it out!


The wedding was held at The Barker Tavern in Scituate. We were losing light quickly when we got there, so we couldn't take advantage of all the gorgeous spots around the Tavern. There was still a little sun hitting this spot, right across the street...


The first dance. In shadow.


One thing that can make or break your wedding is the entertainment. Whether you hire a band or a DJ, they are in charge of getting your guests up on the dance floor. Steph & Dan hired Patrick Lally as their DJ and he was awesome! This was the second time I worked with him in 2009 and he just couldn't be cooler. Not only did he get the crowd moving, but he was just a great guy. I'm hoping our paths cross in 2010!

You should check out more of Steph & Dan's slideshow. There are more photos of the lighthouse and of people dancing crazy!

Well, this was the last wedding of 2009 that I had to post. I can't believe it's taken me so long to get through them all. I'm amping up for senior picture season, which I'm really excited for. If you know of any kids in need of senior photos, feel free to send them my way! When I had my senior photos taken way back in the day, there was only one option - fancy studio, plain static background. Pearls. Senior photography is on a totally different path now. It's pretty exciting!

I Try to Be Like Grace Kelly

A friend of mine just posted this link on Facebook and I feel like I would be remiss if I didn't post it here. If you're looking for a vintage wedding dress, check out The Vintage Bride. One of these dresses would definitely add a fun touch to your wedding day!

Someone's in the Kitchen With Dinah

Be prepared for a LOT of photos in this post!

Recently I had the pleasure of photographing the Mangalitsa Dinner at the Beacon Hill Bistro. It was such an amazing experience. I was there to take photos that will eventually be published in a book titled "Boston Homegrown." The book will feature restaurants that use local farms to provide locally grown meats, produce, breads, etc. What's great is that it will be more of a coffee table book than a cookbook (although there will be some recipes). Profiles of the farms, restaurants, and chefs will all be featured. This dinner at the Beacon Hill Bistro featured courses made with ingredients from two Mangalitsa pigs. It was sort of like Iron Chef - here's the ingredient, include it in every course. Not that I'm reviewing the dinner, because I wasn't there to eat, but I thought Chef Jason Bond did an amazing job. Everything looked so beautiful and ran so smoothly. I was in awe of what was happening in the kitchen. I look forward to having the opportunity to go back there and try something off the menu!

The following photos are different from the ones that will show up in the book. These are the "rejects." Imagine how yummy the chosen ones look!

This is the dinner set-up.


Black & Tan were actually the names of the pigs. I'm sort of surprised they named them, but something tells me maybe they were just named after what color they were.






Liver mousse with a jelly.


A finished dish awaiting pick-up.


The busy kitchen. Watching the kitchen staff was like watching a well-choreographed dance. It was as if Busby Berkeley was arranging the whole thing! I have to say, I was nervous to be there with all the action happening, but I did my best to just stay out of the way. Everyone was so welcoming and accommodating; it was awesome. It made my job so much easier, and so much more fun!




These are flowers commonly used to garnish the dishes.




Black garlic! Yum!


Plating the food.


I did get to try a bite of this course. It was delicious!


Dessert. This was on the menu as "sweet pork." I had to ask what that was exactly because all I saw was dessert being plated. Well, it turns out that all the desserts were also made with pork in some form or another.


Thanks to the Beacon Hill Bistro for putting up with a photographer in their midst while they're trying to put food on the table! It was an honor for me to be there.

Ride With My Angel and Live Shockingly

Bonnie-Jeanne & Maggie are finally getting their very own blog post! With any luck, I'll be done posting last season's weddings before I get bogged down by this season! These lovely ladies were married late last fall in a beautiful ceremony in Groton. I had the opportunity to hang out with Bonnie-Jeanne and Maggie a few times before their wedding (and a few times since) and they are so wonderful and so full of love and laughter. These are a few of my favorite images from their wedding day...











All the cool kids are checking out Bonnie-Jeanne's and Maggie's wedding day slideshow, so feel free to join them!

Today has been very rainy, yet again. In New England we know a very rainy spring means a very buggy summer. Yuck! The weekend looks pretty good, though, so hopefully we can all get out there and enjoy some sunshine!

Please Don't Say Manana If You Don't Mean It

So, it wasn't exactly tomorrow, but I'm not too far off! Also, please don't mock me for not being able to insert the tilde over the 'n'.

These are the rest of my ShootStyle posing workshop photos. This first couple was so chilly - literally shaking in the cold! I loved their outfits - the colors were awesome to photograph.




And you can't walk past a bright yellow dumpster without using it for a background. That would have just been sacrilegious.


And, because I'm a total nerd, I also couldn't walk by these signs without working them into a photo. "Buoys" and "Gulls." I love harbor humor! Oh, Maine!








The big news of the week is that Doug & I are going on vacation. We have been together nearly 9 years and we have never been on a real vacation together. We've gone away for the weekend. We've gone away with family. We've gone away separately. We've gone away to visit friends. We've gone away on photography-related adventures (like the wedding in Buenos Aires). And we've driven cross-country together to get back to Los Angeles from Boston (a purely utilitarian drive). We have never gotten on a plane together and gone away for more than two nights JUST US. Honestly, when I think about our upcoming vacation, it almost makes me cry from happiness. I can't wait! I'm contemplating not even bringing a computer...

Your Dreams Will Open the Door

Last Sunday, I participated in a workshop put on by ShootStyle, a group of very cool New England photographers. This workshop was led by Maine photographer Michelle Turner and focused on posing couples. Each participant had a chance to take the lead. We were up in Ogunquit, ME and it was so beautiful! It was actually quite chilly out that day, so a round of applause to our models for looking gorgeous while freezing their buns off! And, to clarify, these were all real couples, not hired models.

These are some photos from my first two couples, same location.














I'll try to post the other half tomorrow! Hope everyone had a wonderful weekend. The weather has been gorgeous here in the Boston area, so I've been trying to enjoy it (even though I'm not good at being outdoorsy). And Boston has a lot to celebrate since the Red Sox beat the Yankees last night! Talk about a nail biter!