Desitnation ::: Stonington, CT

Didn't I blog a few weeks ago about my summer plan to visit as many Connecticut tourist destinations as possible?? Those plans derailed a bit when my schedule became chock full of activities, so these pics are an effort to stay on track a bit. =)

This weekend, I had the wonderful honor of shooting with the Justin & Mary Marantz... they are both a blast to work with. Seriously. I'll be sure to share a few shots from the wedding eventually, but for now, I wanted to post a couple I took when I first drove into town. (To be honest, I wanted to quickly practice my settings for shooting in really bright sun before meeting up with everyone!)

I had never been to downtown Stonington. I've apparently been missing out. I fully intend on going back before the summer is over! It's SOOO quaint and incredibly beautiful...

The houses up and down the main streets are to die for.


I want an orange door. I already have an orange bathroom so I guess it would be overkill... boooo!






So that will have to hold everyone over for now! =) Haha...

Wedding ::: 08.09.08 ::: Owenego Inn

For the second weekend this summer, I had the wonderful opportunity to second shoot for Robin Dini... this time, at the beautiful Owenego Inn in Branford, CT. You'd think having grown up in CT I would have been there at least once, but nope! And it's gorgeous. Truly.

I'm a little over eager, so bear with me... this wedding was just perfect in every way. And Robin is just so much fun to shoot with!!!

Spent a few minutes down in New Haven with the boys as they got ready:

Then over to Branford to snap a few shots before the ceremony on the lawn...


(How cute is this?!)








Someone needs to teach me how everyone gets such awesome "flare." I haven't a clue how to do it. Mine looks like a little alien rocket ship.






As you will see, I was way too enamored of the sunflowers... =) This was a gorgeous arbor that the groom and his dad made.




So cute!


There was just so much love amonst all of their friends and family...










And the bride and groom were two of the cutest, most smitten-with-each-other people I've ever met!






How beautiful is she?




One of my favorites... I love how it just tells such a sweet story.














Her beautiful e-ring


Salty grapes? ;)


It was truly such a fun night!














Thank you Robin so so very much, and thank you Lisa & Sean for having me! =)

And yes... the Olympics are keeping me awake and I am posting this well after midnight. And I DO have DVR!!!!

Bath Night at the Salty Grape...

Would you look at this stink eye? Someone was not interested in tubby time tonight. I disturbed his nap.


Of course, looking at the photos after the fact, all I could think of was Kujo. :) But the secret really was that I tossed him a freeze dried shrimp...


He really is an angel in the tub, even though he looks like a nightmare. :) They just made me laugh, I had to share... My living room smells like wet dog, but the wet dog smells like yummy oatmeal, milk and honey. It's a good trade-off.

A smorgasbord of shots for my 100th blog post!

Very convenient that for my 100th blog post, I just have a random smattering of photos to share! =)

I first must drop off some photos from last Thursday evening at the Water's Edge. Just a lovely night, even though original plans were rearranged thanks to threatening thunderstorms...

I'm sure they'll want to strangle me for posting them, but aren't they adorable? ;)


OK, so I'm never in any shots anymore... here I am stuffing myself in like a nutjob.


And the result of handing my heavy, scary looking camera to the bartender and telling him to "just press the button." Not bad!


Driving home, I stopped to check out our tent for the craft fair in the pouring rain... kinda spooky!


And just a few random shots from our display!




When the weather was sunny and beautiful, I couldn't get enough color...




But the skies opened and poured for a while... all the vendors were trapped inside their booths and traffic was pretty slow at that point. =( We had to cram everything inside...


It did pass for a while, before coming back AGAIN... but I was at least able to snap this flurry of activity!


Couple more pieces of jewelry from She-She Designs (who *cough cough* DOES NOT HAVE A WORKING WEBSITE!!!! And knows she must focus her energy on THAT next!!! There is an Etsy shop in existence, but no product uploaded... I must crack the whip because people love her stuff!) =)






And of course, every pooch that stopped by HAD to come in and have his or her picture taken. I can never resist a furry face...

Craft Fair Alert!

If you happen to be in Clinton, Connecticut tomorrow - Friday, August 8th - or Saturday, August 9th - and are looking for something to do, stop by the Clinton Summer Craft Fair, where Salty Grapes will be on display! Right in downtown Clinton, on Route 1, on the green right outside the Congregational Church.

Friday, August 8th:
10 a.m. – 9 p.m
Saturday, August 9th:
10 a.m. – 7 p.m.

Framed prints, Grover books, note cards, and more will be sharing the stage with some divine handmade jewelry by She-She Designs. =)

Strider

Grover is sound asleep as I type this, snoring very loudly. And, of course, he cannot read. So I'm trying not to feel TOO guilty for posting that this amazing yellow tub of fur I met last week has me completely smitten. =D

Amanda Herzberger's Strider is quite possibly the most beautiful dog I've ever seen.  He is not only beautiful on the outside, but on the INSIDE as well. =)

He is the most well behaved dog I've ever met in my life. And he's just a LOVE. It was very hard not to dognap him...

So forgive the barrage of shots - he was just too much. I could not resist.

Will you LOOK at those gorgeous, soulful brown eyes? (He was munching on blueberries, and I interrupted!)






And of course, a little wooby-ing.






The End. =)

Whoops!

Whoops - I forgot to post these in my previous post about the PUG retreat! I uploaded them, and then completely neglected to swipe the code in that original post. :) Seeing everyone else's versions reminded me...

So, behold the Aussie shampoo commercial. Ahhhhh... (Sorry for the size - it's either this or HUGE where it doesn't fit on the page for some reason!)


But you get the gist... :)


I have one more batch of pics (pooch related!) to share that I haven't had the time to sit down and post!

I do want to take a moment to thank each and every one of you for your INCREDIBLY kind comments over the past few days... you sure do know how to make a girl all weepy and emotional! I'm just grinning ear to ear. (I know, not exactly out of the ordinary...)

XOXO
Julia

Wedding ::: 07.27.08 ::: Woodwinds

I had the HUGE pleasure of shooting with the incredibly talented Robin Dini last weekend. It was my first real gig as an official second shooter, and man... I was nervous about giving her images she could use, excited that I was going to be part of documenting the most important day of someone's life, and thrilled that Robin was the absolute best kind of person to work with. She was fun, laid back, and so easy going - she made it SUCH a great experience for me. I'm raring to go now... I'm actually second shooting for Robin again next weekend, and then with the lovely Amanda Herzberger at the end of the month!

As excited as I am, I'm still really nervous about what I shot... I know I can only continue to grow and learn through the experience of working with such seasoned and talented people though.

Of course, I DO get share a bunch of the photos I took. =) Andrea and Johnathan were a GREAT couple... I could not have asked for a cuter, happier, more go-with-the-flow bride and groom. Their families were ADORABLE and their bridal party was a blast. (I have a fabulously funny shot of the MOH sticking her tongue out at me...)

OK, enough yapping! All photos are shot for Robin Dini Photography. Apologies for the quantity... =) (Didn't I say that recently?!) I just had so much fun!

I ran down to the chosen picture location before I went to the church... look at that view of Faulkner's in the distance. Love it! Growing up around here, I never knew Chaffinch Island Park existed! It's like a little hidden treasure...




































This little girl yelled out "CONGRATULATIONS!" when we all tromped by on our way down to the beach... how cute?!




Ms. Dini in her element!!!




















How much does this make you all squooooshy inside?




Bridal party was hysterical with their choreographed number to get everyone up on the dance floor.






And to wrap up... gotta love the candids. =)

I cannot WAIT to see Robin's shots... and of course, feedback is always appreciated. I already know all sorts of things I would do differently. =p

Facebook is evil.

It's 1:39 on Saturday afternoon.  And I have a LIST of things I wanted to accomplish.

But no.  A friend of mine convinced me to sign up for Facebook last night and what have I done ALL. DAY. LONG?  Goof off on Facebook.  I had NO idea it was... what it is!  =)  Every time I peeked in, it seemed sorta dull and I didn't see a need for it.  I finally registered, and holy canoli!  It's insane!

(I'm still feeling a little hesitant to "friend" people out of the blue... but everyone should be aware I am now a Facebooking machine.  =D)

CT PUG Retreat!

OK, so I'm going to go out of order, and I'm probably going to overwhelm my poor blog... =) But I just had SUCH an incredibly wonderful time with this fun, kind, talented, generous group of people, I can't wait to blog about it.

Driving up with Aimee Thomas Oswalt was an adventure and a half. Between her hysterical personality and our completely abandoning our directions and bushwhacking thru CT and MA with only my Google Maps on my phone, we had a blast.

We arrived at Amanda Harris Herzberger's family lakehouse (eventually) and the fun began. Between eating, drinking, gabbing, talking shop, Mary and Justin Marantz set us out with a project... to discuss our biggest obstacles in our lives, both personal and business and to come up with 101 Goals to accomplish in 1,001 Days. Yikes!!! It is as hard as you think. =) I will admit, it's even harder when your life is in a state of flux, as mine currently is. But MAN, am I looking forward to cracking down...

I'm noticing that most of my colleagues are posting a few pics here and there... well, you'll all just have to deal with the FLOOD of pics from me. I had SUCH a great time. =)

The beautiful home in which we all camped out on air mattresses scattered everywhere... right on a gorgeous lake. A perfect spot for watching a dumb scary movie, too! =) In a tiny room squished full of 20 crazy photographers...


A wee visitor...


Talking shop down on the dock


Would you LOOK how gorgeous?!


The adorable Aimee Thomas Oswalt who is just a hoot! Have I said that already?


Justin Marantz, leader of the Pictage User Group (of which I am a proud imposter!)


Who doesn't love the image of doing yoga down on the docks along the water at dusk?! While I haven't done yoga in 10 years, and sticking my rear up in the air for an audience is not my first desire, it was still fun...


Cameras were everywhere... we were our own paparazzi.




How cute is Mr. Marantz?


Tina Parsadanov and Joy Moody, attached to their iPhones... even on RETREAT!


Notice how everyone is just always beaming? Christy Murray also plays a mean game of Mafia...


The awe inspiring Carla Ten Eyck at work. If only I had an ounce of her talent. I just love to watch her work. She has fabulous taste in bathing suits, as well. ;)


The hysterical, non-filtered Nikki Nicole... her actual real name! =D Not just a great business name!


Michelle Wade Houston and Heather Colt


OK, so not technically great photos, but man, what a bunch of goobers...


A wet but happy Paul McNerney from Studio Foto


Wild blueberries on their way in!


Kiva Sutton of Annandale Photography


Jo of Allergo Photography working on her goals


And her husband David Lee also of Allegro hard at work...


He was so knowledgable about kayaking...


... thankfully for Aimee's sake!




Jacob Bergmeier and Heather Colt hard at work...


Eileen Broderick doing whatever it takes to get the shot...


Justin rockin' the kayak


Krystal Prue of Studio Foto disappeared and kayak'd the entire lake!


Madame Butterfly... ;)



Jacob Bergmeier of NoDo Photography, such a nice, genuine guy I'm so thankful to have met!


The hostess and her man... Amanda and Strider. I have reserved an entire blog post JUST dedicated to the hoards of photos I took of Strider. What an amazing soul he is.


Val McCormick laughing thankfully as much as I did...


And I have to snag this photo from Amanda just to give you a feel of the time spent... since I'm IN it, I couldn't have taken it. =) Hee hee...


And special thanks to Jacob for showing me (laughing crow's feet and double chin and all!) at my usual... it's been months and months since anyone here has seen my face since I finished my self portrait project so I figured I'd share his shot. =) Thanks Jacob!


And thank you to EVERYONE. You guys have no idea what those two days meant to me... =)