mike, soon to be baby daddy

As many of you know- my boy Mike is expecting the arrival of his little guy this coming Wednesday... and all of us couldn't be more excited for him and Kim!! Now, I LOVE surprises.... and I especially love surprising the self proclaimed unsurpriseable- not to mention that it's just fun to do something nice for someone...! So it was inevitable that I do something for my buddy as he is about to enter into a whole other realm of life as he knows it!

Here are some fun shots from the surprise shower I threw last Thursday for Mike (and Kim but she was in on it!)

Krystal and Robert Norman cut out Aiden Michael's name and we hung it up, I love how it came out- even though I totally spelled his name wrong at first!

They have an alphabet theme and I saw these at Trader Joe's and just KNEW there was something that could be done with them... so viola! Krystal was brilliant enough to figure out how to make the actual necklace five minutes before Mike showed up!

Can you figure out who the two most high strung people were at THIS party?? Miss Amanda Harris Herzberger and Robert Norman were ON MIKE WATCH, like full TIME!

I love how amped up I get right before I scare someone, which is kind of like what this was, Mike thought he was coming over for a maternity shoot- Nikki Nicole and Paul were just as excited!

Miss Robin Dini could not stop laughing- well, to be fair Robert Norman just totally smakced his ginormous head on my ceiling, which I predicted would happen only seconds before he did it! And this only seconds before Mike walked in!!

This is one for the books people- this is what Mike looks like surprised! yeah.

Krystal putting on his baby daddy necklace

I was up till the wee hours of the morning making these fabulous quiches.... thanks hauntie donna!!! I could not have gotten this all done without all of her help and the help of everyone else who showed up early!

Mr. McNerney

Let's let Mike think he is so slick and leave it at that ;)

Krystyle

Amanda Harris trying to straighten out Mike's necklace so she could shoot it with her iphone and blog it, which she did!

Mike is the king of the Timberland sweatshirts and so when I saw a teeny one, well, I HAD to get it! It looks like a super mini Mike and was just the cutest thing

Our fantabulous clients Jen & Nicole sent over a gift- New York style!! jen is the world's biggest Yankees fan!

What's better for a brunch than mimosas in kids cups!!

This was a shot from Amanda's wedding of Mike and Kim that I thought they would enjoy

As Robert Norman would say...'LAWDY!!' Mike and I are cracking up at Dodie's reaction to learning something new. I'll leave it at that!

Poor Dodie!

Robert Norman photo bombing himself

Mike already starting his thank you notes

Krystal grabbed these shots of Kim and Mike

These two were hilarious!



Got any advice for Mike? Post it here!!

my Super sweet sixteen on MTV

...well, not MY super sweet sixteen! Sunday brought the third super intense day of shooting this past weekend for Mike and I. Kiva Sutton asked us to second shoot this 'super sweet' gig with him, and of course we had to say yes!

This party was completely over the top- and a lot of fun as well! I really enjoyed the behind the scenes stuff we got to shoot as MTV was there as well shooting this for their popular show 'My Super Sweet Sixteen.' I have to say I was prepared for Cristina to be the biggest brat, as most of the ladies featured on the show come off as...but Miss Cristina was really actually mellow, poised as all get out for a 16 year old, and not at all bratty. From what I saw- it'll be really interesting to see how MTV spins this! Cristina's family was so nice to work with and Mike, Kiva and I felt really welcome and at home in their home.

Here are some shots from the day!
Cristina's party theme was fashion- so she had models hired to walk a cat walk down for her big introduction. Her house was filled with girls getting crazy make up and hair done for the party

Kiva getting a shot

At one point I looked through the fireplace and saw the paparazzi going to TOWN shooting Cristina- there's Mike, Kiva, and then two MTV shooters all in a row! She was so calm despite being under the glare of so many people shooting her!

Here she goes over the type of make up she wants with her stylist

While Cristina was getting her make up done and before the girls were whisked away to the party we set them up on the very cool reflective upper area of the house and grabbed some VERY quick shots- I like how this turned out

Once Mike and I arrived at the Aquaturf in Southington for the big suaree,we saw these lovely ladies dressed up as NY buildings and the statue of liberty! It was pretty cool!

These two cracked me up- once they found out they were being interviewed for MTV they freaked out!



The clothing designer from the shop hired these guys to act as the paparazzi and shoot everyone that came down the red carpet- they were really fun to work next to and never got in any of the 'real' paparazzi's shots! Which we totally appreciated it ;) You'll see why later....

The red carpet was very thick and comfy to walk on....

The boys changed for the big reveal- into these cute 'fashion police' shirts- I had to get a shot of Mr. Mike in the middle of the police ;) This may be a prime time to spot me and Mike in the show, we were front and center and right with the paparazzi!

Cristina's big entrance amidst confetti and streamers

I love me some disco balls!!! Add these cutie ladies and their fancy shoes? Super fun!

One of the big surprises for Cristina was Adam Saaks, a celebrity designer artist aka 'shirt cutter' who reworks Ed Hardy shirts into works of one of a kind fashion art!

Adam was a BIG hit and I was almost crushed in the rush of people! But I elbowed my way into the front and made sure I was able to get what I needed...!

Adam calls up one of Cristina's girls to get her very own Ed Hardy / Adam Saaks creations

Now there is getting SHUT OUT and there is getting an ASS IN YOUR FACE! I, luckily GOT BOTH! So I had to shoot it! What you DON"T see is her butt crack, thankfully I spared you. I know she is doing her job but goodness gracious!

I find the humor in it, for sure, but then? I find the shot! Who cares if is through her legs? Man I wish Mike got a shot of me shooting this- I am sure it looked like she was giving birth to me!!!

I have to admit that I LOVED the whole documentary feel to everything with the SCADS of cameras literally everywhere! I had to include them in my shots because it was such a big part of what was going on.

What's a super sweet sixteen without fireworks? I had fireworks for jack and Georgie... yeah they were sparklers but they loved them!! ;)

Now, anyone who watches the show KNOWS there is almost always a car involved! Well... Cristina got a car but it wasn't what she wanted AT ALL! I guess they had this family Lincoln that they told her that she would get once she could drive- and they followed up on their promise, much to her dismay! After seeing it she stormed off! It was funny!

Of course, she did NOT get the Lincoln...but a pimped out white BMW 328xi... can I say I was a major fan of this car? Am I allowed? ;)

I just loved the lights all night- I believe Sound Spectrum did them and man, they were AWESOME!!


Make sure you check out Kiva & Mike's shots too!

liz + pepsi wedding at St. Clement's Castle Portland CT

Saturday brought part two of our wedding adventures with our clients turned friends Liz & Pepsi. We had the most beautiful day for the outdoor ceremony on the grounds of St. Clement's Castle.
We started the day back at the Inn at Middletown, where we were the night before shooting their traditional Laotian Ceremony. While the girls got their hair and make up done by the very talented and super nice Dana Bartone (who I finally met face to face!) Mike and I shot some details in the bridal suite.

The ring shot is very simple and clean, for sure! But. My first take gave me too many shadows, however subtle they were. So.... I busted out my reflector much to Mike's chagrin as he is CONSTANTLY ragging on me for bringing gear that I don't always break out. I say, come prepared! If you need it you have it, but if you don't? Well, Mike is a very strong guy and I hardly think him 'lugging' around a reflector is going to injure him! :) Especially because it was in MY bag...!


So I made Mike shoot me using my reflector, as proof that I DO in fact use it!

One of my shooting goals this year was to create more visual layers in my images.... the getting ready shots to me, seem like the perfect time to do this. I love how everything kind of came together in this shot of Liz's MOH getting ready with her Mom in the foreground.

Liz has THE bluest eyes and I just love how the light just hits her cheek at just the right spot

Her dress was GORGEOUS and she got it at? Where else? THE WHITE DRESS BY THE SHORE!!! They are fabulous!

Liz was just so calm and happy both days. I just loved being around her and her positive energy!

Those gold heels were fantastic!

Liz & Pepsi decided to do a first look and see each other before the ceremony. We shot in the upper lobby of the Inn, the light was soft and it was private (their families were all just right down the stairs below)

Now I had a MAJOR dose of some Carla Ten Eyck trash talking humble pie to eat on Saturday! I was not sold on exactly where I wanted to shoot the bridal party at the Inn since we couldn't hit up St. Clement's for like 2 hours... so Mike and I scoped out the area- and the first thing that appealed to me when I pulled up was the place we ended up shooting at. It was a law firm across the street and I was a fan of the colonial architecture, the fence, the light...

We had fun! Then for shooting Liz & Pepsi I found this parking lot behind the law firm that had a raised yard behind it that enabled me to shoot down on them, which I think is just so flattering and gives a nice change of perspective to the portraits!

Yes, I can barely reach over the top of this short fence, I see this! But. It was worth getting stabbed by a fence for the shots I got, I think!! ;)

Liz's eyes just pop here! I love how different these two shooting from above shots are

While I was up there I turned around and saw the white fence and thought...hey.... and asked Liz and Pepsi to come join me- laid on the ground and got this shot of them in the back yard of a funeral parlor!

Then we were able to go to St. Clement's and do some shooting...

Something that I have always been attracted to in photographs is their timelessness. I LOVE going to a tag sale and finding old tin types of people who I don't even know who they are (obviously!) and how classic and beautiful the images are... there is just something about that that just gets me right HERE! These two shots remind me of that feeling, and it is something that I have been trying to get at each wedding- a timeless, classic portrait that could have been taken in 1920 for all I know. Except they didn't have the D3 then. But you feel me.


The light was fabulous, rich and warm. I love how you can see the tower in the back that is so famous for the property, but shot in a less obvious way.

Love the ferns in the foreground

The ivy covered walls were spot on for a nice portrait of Liz and her beautiful dress

A little variation on a favorite shot of mine ;)

The guys were so great to work with

The best man's hand on Pepsi's shoulder is just great

Their ceremony location couldn't have been more beautiful

I carried the hand theme back into Saturday's ceremony a bit...



Umm.... it's starting to look like FALL!

They way they are snuggling for their first dance is so cute

Cheers to a happy marriage!!


Hope you are having fun in Hawaii guys! Make sure you check out Mike's shots HERE!!