He Just Can't Get Any Cuter! (South Jersey Photographer)

It's been busy here with a wedding last weekend and my daughter's first theatrical performance this week! I just wanted to share baby "I" with you because well, he just can't get any cuter! He was such a good boy, so easy to work with! Love those silly faces!! He was fascinated by a tiny football I have here in the studio. I am guessing he's going to start playing ball as soon as he can run!

Spring is near, I can feel it, I can see it. I just can't wait! Call today to plan your warm weather session. Blooming trees and flowers will be here soon! After this winter we have had, I might be happy to sneeze a little (from pollen), endure a mosquito bite or two (well maybe not) and feel a little heat instead of always feeling chilly!

Vintage Love (South Jersey Photographer)

How many times have you told yourself that you need to "clean house" and throw away the clutter in your life so you can breathe easy? I know, I know, I have been kicking myself to get with it and start cleaning out this house since we moved in eleven years ago! BUT after my wonderful session with the famous "serious S A", I realized that I may not want to be so quick to throw away everything. The awesome little puckery red jacket S A is wearing is HER MOM'S from when she was a "serious" little kid! Serious S A's grandmother had it saved for more than 30 years for a moment like this! (Sorry to S A's mommy for spilling your age LOL) I think it's not only so cool that S A could wear her mom's jacket in this photo, but it's too cool to be so vintage! I am so excited about the vintage look!

Happy First Birthday, Baby Blue Eyes!

Last year, Tessa was born 7 weeks earlier than expected. It's hard to believe it's been a year already and look who's doing simply amazing! Here are a few shots from her first birthday session. Isn't she great!!? I call her baby blue eyes, and she sure knows she's number one!!

Groundhog Day! (South Jersey Photographer)

 

Dear Mr. Punxsutawney Phil,

I would like to let you know that shadows are good. Please do not be afraid of your shadow this February because I have some exciting plans for spring and I really don't want 6 more weeks of winter! LOL! Seriously, though, if I could convince that little bugger to bring on spring faster, I sure would! I have been inspired by two amazing Texas photographers and their use of the colorful, unique places around them. I started driving differently around my town, looking at the incredible backgrounds I never knew were there. With a new vision in my brain, I am seeing the potential of so many new places that are a few minutes' drive from here. But today is one of those days where your jeans freeze instantly on your legs and moving actually hurts! You know what I mean if you've stepped outside lately around these parts of the country. Gray skies, flurries, bitter cold. Not fun. It's frustrating to be so ready to shoot but you can't! So I'm begging Punxsutawney Phil to embrace his shadow and bring on some nice weather! I can't wait to post up some new work and shoot at the fun new locations I have discovered!

What's in your (vacuum) bag? south jersey photographer

I finally had some time to do a little spring cleaning in the studio. I moved all the equipment and props from one side of the room to the other, and gave it a gooooooood vacuuming! I had to smile as I watched what was filling up the vacuum. I can honestly say that the vacuum bag consists of a little dust and mostly GLITTER!! You know, glitter, the stuff that makes little girls sparkle!! I was so amused by this concept of having the prettiest dirt in my vacuum that I had to write about it!

I am about to hang a new backdrop and steam out the wrinkles for my next shoot. What's in the works? Well, there's a first birthday, a second birthday, a third birthday, two weddings, and a sexy valentine for some lucky guy...

I have enjoyed this winter so far. Did I just say that?? Wow. I had so much to do and I feel much better being stuck indoors when outdoors is cold and miserable anyhow. I am still working on several projects but I have completed the homemade pinhole camera I bought myself for Christmas! It took days to build since glue had to dry before you could move on. The camera takes...... drum roll, please...... FILM!!! I shot the first test roll and well, not too shabby for a cardboard camera in the year 2010! I am so excited about its old school look. For those of you who still love an occasional roll of film in your life, I use a lab called Viewpoint Photo located in Marlton, NJ. (856)596-8118 It is the last best place to process film and get quality prints. The two shots above are from the pinhole camera! One is a "quadruple exposure!" Enjoy your day!!

The Un-Blog

Happy New Year to all! Being an avid Facebooker, I have seen many of you sticking to your resolutions and making all the wonderful changes you said you would! Kudos to all!

I am calling this post the Un-Blog and I will explain why. When I first started blogging, I thought it would be fun and easy. I usually love talking and sharing. But I found that the things I wanted to say were quite personal and I had to filter the feelings I wanted to really write about. But today, since I am in rare form and it's a new year, I'm going to tell a story that most would say I should not have been so open about.

It starts with another photographer's blog. I enjoy seeing other photographer's work so much! It's an obsession, but a healthy one! The talent is intoxicating and the inspiration is priceless! I love reading blogs to see how my colleagues and I are living the artful life.

I recently read a New Years blog written by a talented photographer who was making a list of all the people she wanted to thank for "really" helping her "get where she is today." I got instant chills. See, I thought about that list of people I would thank for getting me where I am today, and well, there's no one on it. Sad, but true, I can honestly say that other than the man who built my lovely website, I have no one to thank for helping me to get where I am today. The reason, I chose to write about this is because when you see the work I will post from this holiday season, you will know that I did every single bit of it by myself, from start to finish, with no help at all. I think that's something to be proud of! And so that is why I am being brutally honest in this post. I do see how far I still have to go, and I realize that getting there alone will be a long journey, but I have been trekking down this road alone for years and I don't plan on stopping anytime soon. There is so much I still want to learn and maybe someday, I will have some people to put on that list! I look forward to that.

Where Did The Day Go?

I often wonder about this whole Daylight Savings Time thing. I drove home from Cliff Mautner's studio yesterday around 5:15 and saw the sky fading into night over the course of my drive home. His place is only about 20 minutes from here and in those few fleeting moments, I welcomed evening from my car. Only problem is, I still had so many hours of work to go at home! But my body saw the night and became tired and ready to chill out! I know Daylight Savings serves a purpose, but I feel like I rush around now to get things done before I lose the light!! I have to start my days earlier and I want to end them sooner. I must say I am a fan of cozy candle light evenings, but I miss the summer sun so much! You could photograph well into the 8:00 hour and still have warm light to play with. Now, I have to make it a point to go outside by 5:00 so I get to see the day turn into night. I have this crazy obsession with the last light of every day. I always make it a point to bid farewell to the day and say thank you for gracing us with light! I find myself going out to see night-fall so darn early now. I am not so sure I am a fan of this new time. Might as well embrace it, we have a whole winter ahead of us! But one thing is for sure: I can't wait to "spring ahead!" (And yes, losing an hour of sleep is so very worth gaining more hours of wonderful light!)