Lights, laughing, and lassies...

Last Thursday night, I got together with some wonderful friends Carla, Robin, and Eileen for a long, chatty dinner, and to practice shooting some Christmas lights at night.

It was... an adventure.

Be sure to check out their posts about the evening, as it was more of a learning experience for me in what NOT to do. =) Like, have a UV filter on my lens. Must remember to ditch that. And, perhaps upgrade to the 5D MkII someday for better noise handling (my shots were definitely way too noisy for my tastes.) And, to ALWAYS have your GPS on you. Even if you THINK you know where you're going. (*cough* *cough*!) Or at the very least, bring Eileen with you to mimic the English Garmin lady.

I haven't laughed so hard in a very long time... we thought we were going to never find our way out of Meriden, driving in circles past Ali Baba Bail Bonds, shady barred windows, and the Grocery, LLC. We eventually found Hubbard Park and its annual light display full of Holiday Dinosaurs, phallic giant candles, and half-lit trains. And upon piling out of the car, we perhaps were all SO traffic stoppingly gorgeous in our poofy coats, scarves, and massive amounts of ridiculously unnecessary camera gear, we caused someone to back into a fence. CRRRRRRUNCH went the plastic fender as the four of us stood basking in the car's high beams, laughing uncontrollably! Evil. He drove away but was no doubt angry the next morning.

Robin stood in awe of the stage full of giant trees and presents... and reminded me of a 5 year old on Christmas morning.




Checked out the caboose...


And mugged like only The Dini can do.


Too bad I'm clueless half the time and got this LOVELY shot of her looking like she was eating the light bulb. Great. I'm a stellar photographer.


Eileen is one of the funniest, most stunning people to photograph...




And has the uncanny ability to make you practically pee your pants with one word (or hand gesture.)


Going the extra mile to get the shot!


I can't decide which one I like better.






It's REALLY HARD being on the other end of the lens... it takes a while to warm up to it. Multiple cameras in your face is TOTALLY disconcerting. I have a much better appreciation for workshop models.


We never stopped laughing.


The beautiful Ms. Ten Eyck


A classic.


Just a cool shot of the lights...


And yes, I was there, doing what I do...




Thanks for a great evening girls. I had a blast. XOXO

SNOW! SNOW!! SNOW!!!!

Everyone who knows me knows I LOVE snow and that for the past couple of years, living on the shoreline, I've gotten the shaft. I've been VERY vocal about this. =)

So it goes without saying that I'm just giddy this weekend.

Able to leave work early, I was so happy to have a LEEEEETLE daylight left to snap some pics.

Looking to the right of my driveway...


Looking to the left, down to the invisible water...


Looking back at my goofy little house!


And some neighborhood shots that look SOOOO pretty in the snow! Everyone does such a nice job with their lights.








And my favorite summer haunt... again, there is a harbor out there that you can't see!


And, of course, my poor little stumpy-legged dog, plowing his way through...






Who is apparently half-deer.


A poignant pause.


Ooops... I think the feets are getting cold.


Yep, time to go in. =)


C'mon mom!


Stuffed him back inside (he's looking out the storm door - hee hee!) and snapped this. My cheeks get just as flushed from "playing out in the snow" as they did when I was five. Urgh.


Hope everyone's enjoying it as much as Grover does and that you aren't TOO buried!

Hugh Laurie + Polaroid

In anticipation of Hugh Laurie's guest appearance on SNL this weekend, I thought I'd share this commercial I've had bookmarked forever. :)

I'm a HUUUUUUUUUUGE Hugh Laurie fan... mainly from Jeeves & Wooster, Fry & Laurie, and Blackadder, but of course, from House as well. =)

This ad, while it doesn't exactly showcase his phenomenal talent, still cracks me up. And who doesn't love an old Polaroid?! That sound, that smell... the waiting. :)



And I highly recommend playing around with Poladroid if you're bored, find yourself missing the Polaroid experience, and want to have some fun with your photos. My dear friend Robin Dini posted about it on her blog a few days ago, and it's so much fun!

Digital Asset Management... DAM!!!!!

Tremendous thanks to the awesome Paul McNerney of Studio Foto and Matt Wagner of Matthew J. Wagner Fine Photography for a terrific all day workshop on how to manage an overwhelming and ever expanding digital file storage system. And also for some great Lightroom lessons.

I cannot wait to tackle my current system and start fresh for 2009. =) I'm such a computer nerd... I highly recommend this workshop next time they do it, which will be a couple times a year.

A special thanks to my fabulous seat mates Val McCormick, newly anointed Rocktographers Robin Dini and Carla Ten Eyck, Steve DePino, Eileen Broderick (albeit banished to the front with her monstrous screen!) and Geoff Boka who made sitting in a hotel conference room for 9 hours smelling decaying onions thoroughly enjoyable.

And a book raffle win doesn't hurt!!!

Twins! ::: 11/28/08

Last weekend, I had the fun honor of shooting an old friend from grammar school's family. Our moms still teach together to this day at the same school we attended from K-8, and we ran into each other at the craft fair I did a few weeks ago. What FUN to be able to photograph her family... and what a challenge for me to shoot 8 month old twins!!! =)







Toofies!


Would you LOOK at those big beautiful eyes!


Heh heh heh...


So very serious...


So very silly!


Now, I'm an only child. Does sibling rivalry really start this early? =)


OK, success! We got everyone looking at the lunatic behind the camera all at the same time!








It's amazing what fun you can have playing peek-a-boo with a blanket.


This photo tells a story all on its own...


Are we done yet?


Just one more for good measure!


Thank you guys for having me over. It was SO great seeing you again! =)