somebody SLAP ME!!

DURAN DURAN!!!!


Last night I got to do something that I never thought I would ever be able to do in my life. If I could flash back to when I was a 12 year old girl, totally and completely in love with Duran Duran, obsessively like every other gal of the 80's....I think I would just die on the spot if I knew as a 34 year old woman I would get the chance to not only SEE Duran Duran but PHOTOGRAPH THEM!!!! EFFFF!!!! I feel like a spastic freak and I am sure this post will highlight every facet of that, so just make a note of that.

But CRAP!!!! I am STILL on cloud nine, still giddy and can't believe that I got to hear them sing one of my all time favorite songs- 'Save A Prayer' That's right. I remember in the prehistoric days when you had to sit by the radio with a blank tape at the ready waiting for the DJ's to stop talking so you could record the songs off the radio! How embarrassing! How primitive! But I was GOOD, I had some mad DJ skillz and could que it up perfect- stopping right in time for my next song to add on to my mix master mix tape . 'Save A Prayer' was one of my faves, I would absolutely freak out when I had the absolute luck to catch the entire song, or better yet, switch the radio station just in time to catch it again! I honestly thought I had ESP for a while because I had some crazy intuitive song catching skills. OK, call it dumb luck but I was twelve, what do you want.

And yet. Here I was, last night at this bar in Hartford waiting with the ladies and some random men and hear that you are absolutely ALLOWED to take pictures! Just no video. And all I came armed with was my stupid point and shoot. So Dodie and I BOOKED home to grab my gear so I could shoot. It's just for me I am not doing anything with these pictures except maaaayyybbbeee making some new posters for my room!!

Can I just say that John Taylor, my favorite!!! Still has it going on, he is SO freaking HOT I could barely stand it. Oh! Oh! We made eye contact!!!!! I almost forgot about that!!!!! And I was so close I could pretty much touch him but refrained lest I get tackled by the Ving Rhames look alike body guard they had rolling with them.

Now my oldest sister Tere loved herself some Simon LeBon back in the diz-ay. I never really had a taste for him, not sure why. But he is hilarious! They were cracking jokes like they were doing stand up.

At the very least I think Simon and I could be really good friends. Like I can see him coming over to mow my lawn to be nice and then making a big pitcher of mojitos in the middle of the day on like a Tuesday in August and passing out in my hammock and getting sun burnt. And then Jack and Georgie and I would pile all of their stuffed animals on him while he was sleeping so he would wake up buried.

And then when he would go to leave we would lament the fact that he needs to just find himself a nice girl to settle down with so that he has someone to pass out with after he's done doing my lawn.

Right?

more best of 2007

I told you there would be more! And STILL more to come! I felt like I had to separate out some categories for my Best Of's, and the Details category was just chock FULL of fun images.

One thing I hear a lot from my clients is how they were inspired by a lot of my detail shots for their own weddings. It's also nice to see how stuff looks set up in the actual place you are going to have your ceremony & reception. Enjoy!

best of 2007

'Tis the season for everyone's 'Best Of's' to pop up and lest I feel left out and alone.... I am no exception.

I am, however, inclined to post a variety of my best of's- starting with my favorite, FEET & SHOES! I have a bunch more in the works, all of which will be posted on my 'official' web site under the 'slide shows' tab after making their debut on my b-log.

Doing this particular slide show was so much fun. It was great to see all of these shots in one body of work, and interesting to see how much I changed things up. And in some cases found a nice compositional pattern to stick to. A fun shooting challenge, to say the least...!

As photographers, it's a good exercise in really pushing yourself to see all of one type of shot together- how to keep it interesting, maintain your style and try new things all in one. Now you go!

welcome little vincent

My new buddy Vincent Michael was born last week to one of my oldest friends, Bethany. I have had the pleasure of being able to photograph all three of her sons when they were just born, and I gotta tell you, this little guy is one cute little cookie!

I am quite sure there is nothing in the world cuter than little teeny baby feet, I just couldn't stop shooting them! And his little ear... am I crazy in saying that I just wanted to bite it? What is that weird wanting to bite babies thing all about? I literally wanted to stuff his entire foot in my mouth- and then I saw his little fingers! Scoot over feet!! In you go little fingers! May sound strange to some of you, but really, you are totally in the minority here, I promise.

Another favorite thing of mine is seeing the Daddy's faces when they look at their new little baby..... if I could bite you Bob, I would!!

I love you guys and am so happy that little Vincent is here happy and healthy!

Hartford Marathon Here I come!

Well the half anyway..... LOL


So some of you know that Steve and I set up this Nike Plus running challenge between the two of us because we are competitive dorks! Well, we added some other runners from across the country as well which raised the stakes a bit and made it more fun! Although beating Steve in and of itself is super fun, regardless....! ;)

So I am new to running, really- this last 'run' if you will started right before Thanksgiving till now and I am really enjoying it! Last night I ran the farthest I have ever run, SEVEN MILES!!! The only reason that I stopped was because it was dark out and I wasn't dressed appropriately but I felt like I could have kept going! Not to mention my pace dropped significantly for that long run - it was 11:07 per mile!! A run I did on January 10th I was at 11:28 a mile... it's a nice change.

So while running I have been wondering how far can I push myself with this? I love having goals and races to train for just far enough away where I know that I have to keep running because that next race is just around the corner...(the next 5K is Feb 5th)

I made a major decision to not book a wedding on October 11th of 2008 because I am going to train to run the Hartford Half Marathon - a 13.1 mile course! AHHH!! Now I HAVE to do it!! I have been debating on it for a bit, because it is kind of a major thing, I mean I just freaking started! But, I also may do a relay as well- with me, Steve and Mike and possibly Paul too!!

What's the worst that could happen?

lori + dan e shoot

Right after Christmas I had the honor of shooting two of the most genuine and fun people- my awesome couple Lori & Dan. I hadn't met Dan yet because when we booked he was overseas so I was really excited to meet him and get to know him better. We decided to meet up at West Hartford Center and start shooting there and end up at the new Blue Back Square. We started at Mike's second home, Starbucks (I think he may actually give Mary a run for her money on who exactly is more addicted to their coffee...!) and had our pre-wedding meeting, to go over all of the details of the day since they live out of state and this would be the last time we met prior to their wedding. I love this part of my job- planning and figuring and talking about what they are most excited for. It's a really nice prelude to the wedding.
So we start in Starbucks, they are so freaking cute- Dan makes Lori laugh so easily! I am not sure if they were laughing at me or Mike or what but it worked! We then decided to pop into the Elbow Room for a cocktail and relax (we still were shooting.) Once we got out (it was raining on and off all day) we found cool alleys, store fronts and even Crate & Barrel which we unceremoniously got our butts kicked out of, albeit politely!! It was a good time, to be sure!
We are so exited for your wedding and can't wait to see you two in March!

brian aselton memorial 5 k

Renee and I admiring steve's killer parking space


Miss Jeannine Jersey, stylin' before the run

I had to use Mike's literal long arm of the law for this crowd shot, I am just too short. Well, he is good for something!!

Mike took this for me because he knows I needed some inspiration to run FAST.

Gotta have my stevedepino.com calf shot, right?

Me & dot Com

Paul right at the top of that second total bull shyte hill

My own private monkey cheering section, complete with signs that said 'GO MAMA GO!' Right?

Mike & Daryl closing in on the competetion. It was an aggressive race

Paul rockin' the spandex!

.com got me crossing the finish line. Can I just get an amen for my my fanny? It's looking svelte, right??

Krystle looking all happy. She said she didn't even notice that there were hills!!

Jeannine's crew

Krystyle looking all cute

Steve DePino rockin the hat.

Our race results!

Studio Foto, representin'

Steve DePino, cold pimpin'

Our awesome group!
Sunday couldn't have been better weather for our third 5K of the season. It was sunny, no wind really and mild. All totaled we got 12 people to run in our group! Mike got his co-worker Daryl, his wife Kim and her son Jordan, Renee, Steve, Paul & Krystal and Jeannine Jersey and her two ladies and yours truly all to run.
Steve was a spaz (surprise, surprise, and was out of the gate faster than you can say Gary Fong) The rest of us hung back until Renee got the itch and bound ahead as well. I ran comfortably behind Mike & Kim and mostly with Paul, with Krystal running right behind. I have to say the course was freaking HARD- it was a total psych out- nice and gentle but right before the END it completely bitch slapped us with two ginormous hills. I wanted to puke so bad! But I was so proud of Kim (this was her first race and she is really new to running) she ran up BOTH hills! So did Mike but I expect nothing less. :)
We had 3 first time 5K-ers in the house: Kim, Krystal and the most ridiculous dude in the bunch- Daryl.
Good times, for sure.
Oh and the kicker, even though I felt like it was my worst race ever (I have issues with psyching myself out during races for some reason) it was my best race: I ran it in 34:56 with a pace of 11:47/ mile!! (my last race- which was a completely flat course was 37:33 at a 12:06 pace) So I took off 2:37 from my over all time and lowered my pace by :19 seconds per mile! I'll take it!

The next race is February 5th -Super Bowl Sunday- in New Haven- it's the Run for the Refugees- sigh up HERE!

the Reverend Mark Welch, rest in peace

On New Year's Day my best friend's father, the Reverend Mark Welch, passed away, surrounded by his family. They had known it was coming, but it doesn't matter, nothing can prepare you for death. He had been sick for a while and so Dodie asked me to take some family pictures for them at her son's birthday party last June.
Of course I would take these pictures. But it was one of the most difficult things I had to shoot. Everyone was so upbeat and positive and was having fun. But ever present in my mind was the fact that these were most likely the last family pictures they would ever take.
I hovered on the brink of breaking down the entire time as I watched my best friend and her family with her Dad, going through this, being peppy and bright. Funny even. Dodie and I were cracking jokes left and right trying to make her husband laugh. She even got up on the trampoline and bounced around and I caught this silliness and it's place in this whole ritual, as if it was nothing new. Just another funny antic during a family photo shoot.
But I welcomed it and it's seeming normalcy gladly- it gave me an easy out from having to face the reality that this was going to be the last time I saw her Dad alive.

At the end of our shoot I approached him alone and asked him how he was doing. He said he was tired, but good. Happy. Glad we had the chance to take pictures with his family.

It hits me at various times throughout my life how important pictures are in our lives. This, clearly, was one of those times- I am so glad I was able to do this for my oldest friend in the world.

Rest in peace, Rev. You will be missed.

nike plus + c 10 ike + stevedepino = some crazy math!

So.... you may have noticed that fancy schmancy little hoo ha to the right, that details my last run? Look, it's RIGHT THERE!! How cool is that? I had a super sweet Santa give me this to keep much better track of my runs and I have to say it is super addicting! I took it out for its inaugural spin today and after much fidgeting and crap I got the hang of pausing (for traffic- it's not fair to bring down my averages b/c of stupid stop lights!!) and volume etc. Plus having the whole thing strapped to my arm was kinda weird. But I checked it during my run and saw that my pace was MUCH lower than I had thought so that really put some pep in my step to keep it up! Not sure where I was when that giant dip hit- I think it was the big icy hill by the park- I had to walk a bit it was kind of dangerous with the speeding cars! Then, when I was almost done I saw I had only run 4.88 miles and said 'screw that, I want to do at least 5' so I ran around the block.

I know I am going to love having this to help me! Steve is looking forward to designing some challenges between us, though I am not sure what exactly. He is like the Flash and I am just NOT!! We'll see what we cook up! Or we can team up and challenge some of YOU!! :)

Now Steve has challenged me to a run-off- to see who can run the farthest in the next 14 days starting tomorrow! He is SO going down!! I love a challenge.... this should be fun!

366, check it! like, daily

my back yard after extensive landscaping


My great friend and even better photographer Jaime O. and I have teamed up to create and post to our new co-blog, '366 images (times two)' where we will each post a picture that we take each day for the entire year of 2008. There are no guidelines, so it'll be pretty random- but I guess that's a guideline then?
Jaime is one of the funniest and most creative people I know, so you can be sure there will be some fun stuff posted.
This is the kind of creative photography thing I see other people doing and think 'Dang! I wish I could do something like that!' Well, envy no more, we are doing it!! Check in and let us know what you think!

Better yet, why don't you do that thing you have been wishing you could do, like NOW! Go on then, GIT!