kickin' it NYC style

they are framed by a Picasso in the background- of course I forgot to write down which one!


Yesterday was one of the best days, all around, in general I have had! For a myriad of reasons(not in any particular order!)- I got to shoot; I was with my husband (sans kids); I got out of the state; I saw fine art at the MOMA ; it was beautiful perfect weather; I was with two of the nicest, most genuine people; I had my crocs on! I had linguini and clam sauce and pistacio gelato! Oh and I got to lie down on the disgusting New York City sidewalks! What a most perfect day I had with Kate & Ted- we went to Central Park- found this awesome observation tower near Shakespeare's Garden in Central Park, rode the subway, took a cab, ate in Little Italy- went to MOMA and saw some of the most wonderful art pieces in the history of the world! I had never been before and I actually got a little verclempt- and almost cried- I was really overwhelmed at being so close to a ginormous Monet, and seeing Picasso's famous piece Les Demoiselles d'Avignon was so moving and intense. I was surrounded by Cezanne, Klee, Gustav Klimt, Kandinsky, Matisse, Warhol- I could go on and on. And here I was amongst these masters trying to create my own slice of art. Extremely humbling and energizing at the same time. I was so motivated by the creative energy that was there and all of the people who went to see all of that incredible work. I couldn't wait to share some images and have been working on them all day so Kate and Ted can see them! Enjoy!

time to blog about fog

Today was the weirdest combo of weather I have seen in a while! I had two shoots today, this first of which was at Harkness Park in Waterford with the wonderful Janet & Tom! It was all cloudy and weird with spotty sun while driving down- when I got to Harkness it was super foggy (my favorite weather btw) and I was super psyched. Then we hit a small random patch of sun, which kind of seemed to follow us around? Almost creeped me out because we were surrounded by the densest fog...I read a lot of Stephen King in my day and he wrote a lot of scary stories about fog. Even though it was like noon, we all kind of got a bit freaked out! OK mostly me but I am a scaredy cat and not afraid to admit it! Despite the fright factor it created some pretty cool atmosphere for our shoot and I tried to catch it as best I could. It was almost like when you have the dream of trying so hard to run and your feet are like glued to the floor and you get caught by whoever is chasing you? It was so beautiful and eerie and unusual that I was flailing internally because there were about 1,000 different ways I wanted to shoot and not burn Janet & Tom out at the same time. We all had a great time and really got into trying some new things like leap frog! And yes, I had to throw in my feet pictures, as usual! My feet FROZE by the way, I got in the water with them and was numb for a while. You suffer, I suffer! Thanks Janet and Tom for a fun shoot today!

You down with P-U-G? yeah u know me!

Ah, so. Last Wednesday's meeting was, AS ALWAYS, a super blast! Paul from Studio Foto did a bang up job of demoing Successware. He is such a rockin' public speaker- to quote him, he is 'AWESOME!' He doesn't call himself awesome, tho he should, cuz he is! Paul & Krystal's studio rocks the house, as does their work. They were gracious hosts, thru and thru and I can't wait to go back and chill at their studio! There were some highlights, for sure: the train (which is like TWO FEET AWAY)going by and blaring it's horn! a bunch of people almost passed out! Me being one of them. Jacklyn Greenberg and Richard Esposito being named top dog photogs in the New Haven Advocate! Steve DePino got four photos on 5 million bottles of Jones Soda bottles! How cool is that? Can you see who I am rubbing elbows with? Can you? Our PUG people are super talented and really just all around awesome people, I am so psyched to have them all in my life! Also love our superhero fashion sense, no?

artsy fartsy

This past Saturday I had the pleasure of attending the Hartford Art School's Gala Fundraising Hoo Ha with my evil stepmother Jeanne. It was super formal, there were people in furs! They were sweating b/c it was so hot but they were there nonetheless! Older crowd for sure, black tie. I swaggered in in an awesome black dress I found with Susannah on super sale! My tats were in full form as well, it was awesome. I honestly had zero business being there! It brought back so many memories of RIT back when I was a creative arty lass...wait...I still am! ;) There was art school graffiti referencing Happy Days, which I am sure most of the current students have never seen but know that Cha Chi was played by Scott Baio! They all probably watched Joanie Loves Cha Chi and Charles in Charge! I know I did!! That Buddy, man he was a HOOT! My favorite guy there was the one who waltzed in wearing PINK corduroy pants who had the longest French name- I repeated it twice and felt like I was singing or saying something profound in another language. I also really loved their performance art- there was a guy videotaping the party and projecting it on the wall, while a string quartet played really strange arty jazz. Not a fan of the music, sorry! But the guy was videoing me, shooting him, videoing me....easy to get lost in that but it sure is fun to do! I also got to sit at the same table as the auctioneer for the evening, Nick, who also happened to be on Antiques Road Show this weekend! I had a great time heckling him and hooting from the table while he was auctioning! Totally appropriate! And, to wrap the evening up, I bid on an original Edward Steichen print, like I was rich! Yeah, that's how I roll!!

read it!

I was just told about an amazing book, The House of Good Hope, by Michael Downs, a former sports writer from the Hartford Courant. I haven't read it yet so forgive my ignorance- but- it is about five wonderful men I had the pleasure of going to 'The Pub' (Hartford Public High School)as it is affectionately known as, back in the day! It follows these men from junior high thru high school and beyond- where they make a pact to go to college and return with degrees to help Hartford. I just ordered my copy from amazon and am so excited to read it! My old high school boyfriend is in part of it! The book has already garnered an award, the 2006 River Teeth Literary Nonfiction Prize. The cover art is done by a world renowned fiber artist, Ed Johnetta-Miller, who I had the pleasure of photographing for Mayor Mike's 3 years ago! Pick up a copy and support Arts in Hartford!

school yourself

school/ skul/ vt. [ME scole, fr. Gk schole discussion, lecture, school] 1: to teach a life lesson or correct "I'M GOING TO SCHOOL THAT BEEYOTCH" 2: to trounce or beat "I GOT SCHOOLED AT BACKGAMMON LAST NIGHT" 3: to prove someone wrong "THE TEACHER SCHOOLED HIM IN FRONT OF THE WHOLE CLASS"
"THE GROOM WILL BE GRATEFUL THAT I'VE ALREADY HAD THE CHANCE TO SCHOOL THE BRIDE"

see, there was this red boa...

The day started off innocently enough. Had lunch with Mary & Justin of imagine-imaging which, by the way was awesome! Those two are so supportive and eager to help and listen- which is so important. Then Friday rolled around and I was having PUG with drawls...I hastily sent out a few emails to try and round up some people- they are all just so much fun and I love being around them all! Paul & Krystal, Richard Esposito & Stems, my boy stevedepino.com and his lady love, my wonderful assistant Jean & her family, and some of my non-photographer homies all gathered for some fun times for all. There was a sword, a tiara!, and the fabulous red boa. And some Amaretto that rocked our world. I didn't even need to break out my moonshine. Paul did the worm! And then complained my tile floor had too much slide to it, and presented a possible danger to potential break dancers. I said I would take it up with management! There was also dancing involved. Yeah, that's right. DANCING. Stevedepino.com missed his calling, I swear! Rump shaker, anyone? I can't wait for Wednesday's PUG meeting!

oye como va!

Ok, so I am back, sorry about the service interruption! It's called a VACATION, you should all try it! Went to Costa Rica with some of the best friends a gal can have, Mary, Jaime and Schmartin- all RIT alum, photo majors. I will add some pics tomorrow. It was such an amazing trip, I highly recommend Costa Rica to anyone! Had some thrilling adventures, canopy tours via zip line- almost went into hysterics but managed to keep it all in. I tell you, I would SO not be a good member of the Road Rules/Real World teams! Katie, I hear you! Inferno this, gauntlet that- gimme a swim up bar and I am good! Martin and I went camping on the most beautiful beach- the waves were pretty intense, and the undertow almost got me. There were signs warning us of 'cocodrilles' which now, in the united states DOES look like the word for crocodile! But for some reason I swore it meant 'crab'- and the park ranger let me think that, or I misinterpreted it, whichever! So we camped in a place that was inhabited by 'cocodrilles' at night and especially by the lagoon, which was not too far away. Not the smartest thing I have ever done. But I thought it was going to be teeming with crabs at nightfall, which to me was creepy enough b/c they were HUGE, and face it, anything en masse is creepy. Imagine a swarm of earthworms. See? YUCK. So on our next tour Martin asks the guide what 'cocdrilles' means, he says 'crocodiles' and I freaked out! Late and in a van, not anywhere near the camp site but the terror was still real! Can't wait to share the pictures!