2012-02 The {Z} Twins

It is so exciting when a friend has their first child.  I am always anxious to meet the new bundle of joy but in this case that joy was doubled.  My college roommate recently had two beautiful children – one girl and one boy – an instant perfect family.  Of course I needed to take my camera along when I went to meet them.  They were so teeny tiny and absolutely adorable.  I look forward to watching them grow.  The first few weeks after your child is born is both exhilarating and terrifying.  I can still remember being afraid of walking to the mailbox around the corner when my son was born…the thought of doing it with two is quite daunting.  This is the beginning of a wonderful adventure and I wish you all the best of luck!  Congratulations to the {Z} family!!!

 

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John Heinz National Wildlife Refuge | Philadelphia, PA

As a New Year’s resolution, I am attempting to be a better blogger.  I hope to post about a variety of things in addition to my photo shoots.  Fun places to take your kids will be one of the topics I will blog about.  Thankfully the Delaware Valley has a great amount of things for kids to do but sometimes you just don’t want to deal with the crowds, prices,or just want something different.

One place I like to take my son, Gavin, is the John Heinz National Wildlife Refuge.  This is not a quiet jem hidden down a secluded, dirt path…it is in fact a great spot located in the middle of constant activity – just off of I-95 and down the road from the Philadelphia Airport.  I take my son here often when I want to get some of his excess energy out and he loves it.  When on the property, it is hard to believe that a major high way is just steps away.  The property is quite large and I don’t think I’ve explored all of it yet.  The parts that are easily accessible are surprisingly pretty.  There are great little walking trails with plaques that talk about the wildlife found on the grounds.  We have seen deer prancing by at dusk, turkeys waddling through by the exit gates, and bald eagles sitting on light posts.  One of my favorite parts is the boardwalk that crosses the water.  My son loves to look for fish and turtles peeking out of the water.  In a time when electronics consume so much of our life, it is so nice to have a place where families can easily go to get away from the chaos.

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2011 Christmas in New York City

I am fortunate enough to have in laws that live in close proximity to New York City.  When I started spending holidays with my husband’s family, I pleaded with them to take me into the city do all of the touristy Christmas things.  They braved frigid cold nights so I cold get a peek at the department store windows, take a stroll in central park, see the tree in Rockefeller Center, and warm roasted nuts from multiple street carts.  We would top off the night with dinner at a delicious and surprisingly affordable restaurant in close proximity to everything.  It is an experience that I think should be on everyone’s bucket list because it is a magical place to be at Christmas time.

This year we took our friends, Colin and Luisa, to experience the wonders of Christmas in NYC.  Thankfully this year the temperatures were a bit more tolerable. We added a stop at FAO Shwartz to our tour this time…bonus tip – having a child in a stroller gets you in the store via the short line…a huge time saver.  On our way to see the tree in Rockefeller Center, we were privileged  enough to see the hardest working Salvation Army officers.  They are the most energetic officers I have ever seen and put on a great show…I hope Santa treated them well this year.  It was a great day to make memories with family and friends.

In addition to being dear friends, Colin and Luisa are also our neighbors.  They have been lifesavers on many occasion and have been amazing to our son since he was born.  Luisa is an extremely talented artist whose work you can see here.  She was even so kind as to lend us her artwork  for our house that is currently on the market, which you can see installed in our dining room here.  No longer living on the same street with a couple that we hold so near and dear to our hearts will be tough and it made the Christmas trip a little more meaningful.

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{E} Family Fall Photoshoot | New City, NY

A wonderful aspect of being a photographer is the creative collaboration and friendship with other photographers.  I love having someone to “talk shop with”…heaven knows my husband has been tortured for long enough.  Many of my photographer friends are virtual because I meet them through online workshops where people  are located all over the world.  However, every once in a while, one of those classmates are in driving distance….one of those people is my new friend Monika.

I met Monika through Detra Perotti’s amazing online workshop called The Lighting Workshop (a class that changed my life by helping me find the light…but that will need to be covered in an entirely different post).  Monika lives close to my in laws so I am able to get together with her while grandmom has some much needed quality time with my son…it is a win win situation.  During the last meet up I got to meet her beautiful family for a photo shoot.  It was Thanksgiving weekend and we were so fortunate to get a 60+ Degree day!!!   Here are just some of the photos from that beautiful day.  I had a blast with Monika and her family.

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{B} Family Favorites | Ocean City, NJ

I posted a sneak peak of the photos from a session with my cousins and here are more images from that session.  Even though I know many families don’t want a candid shot blown up and hanging in their living room, I am a big fan of the candid shots.  They are the moments that don’t get captured enough.  I have included a few of those candid images in this post because they make me smile.  Candid images help you get a sneak peak into the family when no one else is around…they allows you to see the relationships they have with each other.  If it was up to me, I would prefer to shoot as if they didn’t know I was there because I love watching those relationships from afar.

 

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