Friday, March 30, 2007

there's more where that came from!!


I know, I know! More comments on Stevedepino.com and his super stunt double David Jay! It's just so WEIRD seeing them near each other, and they are like, NOT the same person! You know? We just love out CT Wedding Photographer!! So CT much!


Disco balls in Vegas? Yeah, that's right. Paul? I was totally thinking of your Docs!

oooooooohh! Pretty super-saturated colors! Neon everywhere! High heels, crazy outfits!



Miss Zoe Bowen being coy! Or just getting tired of all of us taking pics of each other!! One way to get over NOT liking your picture being taken, travel with a PACK of photographers, you learn to get over it pretty quickly! Especially when your friends are professionals, they tend to know what they are doing and you can get some really nice shots of yourself. Not saying I know what I am doing, or knew what I was doing in this particular picture, as it was in the suaree hosted by Pictage at Napoleon's in Paris. Open bar, anyone?

Super shapely stems are attached to Miss Kelley, the delightful gal pal of my buddy Richard/Rich/Rick/RickyBobby Espisito- dang, am I spelling his last name properly? Espisito? Sepesito? AHHHH. Better Google him. ESPOSITO! Good thing I Googled!!

RE & Kelley cozying up with my pal Stevedepino.com in the foreground!
More Vegas pictures! More Vegas stories! More residual Vegas networking!

Wednesday, March 28, 2007

vegas, BABY!








Wow. So. Us CT PUG folks are having the BEST time in Vegas! I had the honor of being invited to a party hosted by Kevin Kubota, who just happens to be one of the top 10 photographers in the world, is sponsored by Nikon and is one of the most humble and kind men I have ever met, along with his wife Clare and a host of other great people at Roy's. It was so much fun- there were stretch limos involved, a crazy limo driver and a trip to a very cool private club on the roof of the Mandalay Bay! I felt pretty cool, I must say. All an illusion for sure, but I am enjoying myself regardless! My friends from CT are having a great time as well- Matthew J. Wagner crashed Kubota's party and we got a picture with Kevin and Doug Gordon, who recently has his work on the cover of Professional Photographer Magazine and is highly regarded in the industry as well. Doug and Kevin hosted a seminar on the top 50 best business tips- for a PACKED HOUSE! There were so many people they had over 100 people in the hallway that they had to turn away! So, Zoe and Steve and I waltz in, find NO seats and were going to have to sit in the aisle on the floor and not be abel to see anything. Until they made an announcement saying there was no sign language interpreter and does anyone know sign language??? Well, HOO HA for me! I jsut happen to know sign and got to sit ON THE STAGE and interpret for a really nice man from Galludet University in D.C. until the real interpreters got there 1/2 hour later. This was in front of like 600 or so people? I was very nervous but super psyched b/c I got the best seat in the house, and was able to sign again, which I don't do enough. I had randomly met 2 deaf guys the night before outside of the MGM volcano so I was able to get a little practice the night before!

Friday, March 23, 2007

debauchery- party of like, 27?










Two nights ago we had our official big wig PUG (Pictage User's Group) meeting at my studio in Connecticut's capital city! We all had such a great time and took lots of pictures to prove it. One of my personal favorite highlights of the night was Paul's fabulous disco doc marten's! We had discussions on web sites hosted by Steve DePino, and a round table discussion on exceeding expectations- there were so many suggestions and topics for discussion that we could have STILL been talking about it all! Very exciting to have such an open group of people willing to share how they make their businesses successful. We have a lot of cool things planned for the Spring (like shoot outs!) Make sure to check back and see what transpires!

Saturday, March 17, 2007

chillin in newport









Had yet ANOTHER fun outing with a couple, Matt & Alescia, this time in fabulous, opulent Newport! I'm getting a little boring in my old age as everything is fantastic and I always have a great time! We enjoyed the Cliff Walk for about 3 hours...! And then poked around Thames Street finding great nooks to duck into and escape the bitter wind. We ended up at The Red Parrot for some delicious creamy clam chowder and juicy burgers. Mine had a fat slice of grilled pineapple on it. Yeah it did. Check it out next time you are in Newport!

Sunday, March 11, 2007

jock my croc


Just back from an engagement shoot in Newport and while there Alescia and I checked out the Pink Pineapple, which is a trendy little shop on Thames Street. We checked out their amazing Croc selection to find the new, beautious Prima Croc and Mary Jane Croc! I can't tell you how excited I am as I swear by my Crocs- as ugly as they are, and yes, I do admit that they are, but THEY ARE SO COMFORTABLE! I wear them with pride and fashion be damned! I was actually lamenting the fact that I recently misplaced one of my black crocs, which are my shoe staple and thought maybe I would look for something else. But. After having two kids my feet are wider and shoe shopping has lost its appeal. Sad for me. And yet, here come the Crocs to save me! I had a bear of a time finding the silver ballet shoes in my size but tenacity paid off and I just ordered some. Dorky, yes. Comfortable, fo shizzle. Tho- I would NOT recommend wearing these doing any construction. I had the misfortune of wearing my pink ones while assembling my kitchen cabinets and stepped on the most blunt screw- it went totally through my Croc, and into the ball of my foot! My clients Heather & Steve stopped in right after I did this to drop off their contract and had the pleasure of seeing me pasty white, ready to faint! Professional, party of one! Besides the painful hole in my foot the most annoying part was having a hole in my Croc, so when I walk on anything damp it seeps in. Super annoying. I will post a picture of my rockin Croc when I get to my studio tomorrow, along with pictures from my super fabulous shoot with Matthew & Alescia!

Tuesday, March 06, 2007

blue skies and bling bling










Saturday it was a scorching 60 degrees here in CT! It now feels below zero.

So I will revisit my shoot from Saturday and remember how warm it was, I was actually HOT. Sweat was involved. I got in my car after and almost choked on the heat. Yeah, really.

But I had the pleasure of working with Becky and Vince, who totally trusted my delusions of grandeur and happily agreed to do what I asked- 'Put our feet in the icy cold water? Sure!' 'Walk barefoot in the cold sand?' ' Go on private property?' WHY NOT?? Well, good for us all because I absolutely love their images!

The best part is they are having a beach theme for their wedding, hence the beach shoot- and they are also getting a customized guest book, which is going to fit nicely into their theme! Another great part about Sunday is that I brought them to the beach where I spend a lot of time, it is where my inlaws live and where my husband and I got married, so I am familiar with it's nooks and crannies. Some of the things I love about engagement shoots is incorporating things I enjoy- reflections, shadows, abstractions- especially that. I love taking a picture of a couple and having another couple look at it and be able to see themselves in my images. It was challenging on Saturday b/c we started close to noon on a sunny beach, which as most photographers know is not the ideal. Not for me, at least, I prefer cloudy days and more atmospheric light. But I was up for the challenge and put on my polarizing filter and tried some new things. It is always a good idea to get out of your comfort zone and see what you can make work. Especially because these things can and will present themselves at weddings where you are much more pressed for time and need to have these things thought out so you don't lose valuable time! And yes, that sparkle is all natural in the bling shot! I almost dropped my camera and was blinded. Luckily I have the reflexes and agility of a cat.

Monday, March 05, 2007

just another friday night at the irish american club







I had the honor of going to the Irish American Club this past Friday with my friend and very talented photographer, Matthew J. Wagner and his wife, Teresa and my husband Dave. Can I now add singer to that list of talents? Come ON, he went up there and sang a raucous rendition of U2's 'One' which you have to have some chops to even try in the shower let alone in the IAC. Matthew usually shoots for the band, Nervous Rex (I JUST got the double meaning now! duh) who is fronted by Dr. Neil of Old Wethersfield. So he brought his gear, all Canon. I am a Nikon gal myself so it was fun to try his Canon and feel good about why I shoot Nikon! Just kidding. But it did make me realize how well I know the controls of my own camera. While shooting I kept going for things that just weren't there- but it was fun test driving someone else's gear, especially while drinking!
Matthew had another guy join him to sing- I forget his name but he was from Dublin and used to play soccer with Def Leppard and Larry Mullins' (the drummer for U2) sister used to babysit for him! Small world!

Thursday, March 01, 2007

blah,blah, BLOG

So last night I went to a networking meeting called a PUG (short for Pictage User's Group) in CT- and had such a great time! It was interesting b/c it was such a young group of photographers at varying degrees of experience but all really enthusiastic and ready to learn from everyone. Justin, one of the hosts and I were talking about how we wanted to get some East Coast Lovin' going on with our new network of people- we were saying how the West Coast photographers have groups of studios that meet regularly and share ideas freely with no real worry of anyone taking anything and running with it. There are enough weddings for everyone and really we are all only just making each other better for it in the end. That vibe was in full force last night, which is a perfect start to get our East Coast PUG on the map!