My love of dance meets here with my love of photography, light and emotion.
Love in Monet’s Garden … but in NYC and not Giverny.
SLEEPING GIRL 1
I was born to catch dragons in their dens
And pick flowers
To tell tales and laugh away the morning
To drift and dream like a lazy stream
And walk barefoot across sunshine days.
James Kavanaugh, Sunshine Days and Foggy Nights
Movement and Experiments with Light
This is the first in a series from a Book of Portraiture I created from a recent NYC children’s portrait session. If you click on this image, you will travel to my “Children & Family” page and see more from that session.
Face painting brings a smile :)
In all the time I’ve spent teaching young children, photographing children, or being a mom of two boys, I’ve always found face painting incredibly fun. First of all, there’s the choice. “What would you like me to paint?” There’s the child who knows immediately: superman! a flower! a puppy face! For the child who doesn’t know, it starts a wonderful conversation and their eyes light up as their imaginations wander. Then, of course, there are those little faces which are just so perfect. They hold still, with wonder, as their cheek, or tiny hand gains magical power.
I have painted faces and hands. I have photographed them. The act, the memory, and the portrait always makes me smile.
I was fortunate to assist Jessica Crespo a terrific wedding photographer based out of Staten Island, on a wedding photo shoot that she stylized. Jessica is a pro and a generous heart. She found the dreamiest dress and the most beautiful bride. The rest was easy… Here are a few for you to enjoy.
I can’t think of any place that I am happier than when I am at the beach. These sweet little girls were enjoying each other’s company on the hottest of Florida days. I so enjoyed their interaction that I asked their mom if I could snap a few portraits. How lucky that she said yes. It took a bit of chatting with them before the girls got comfortable and showed me one of their favorite games: ring around a rosie. I forgot how much fun that could be. Well, I left those shots out, but here is one which shows their relationship. You can go to my “Children & Family” page by clicking the tab above to see some more.
untitled on Flickr.
Today it’s pretty gray out. But so was yesterday and there was a double rainbow anyway!!! Now that’s a fair trade if you ask me.
I love flowers. I love to photograph them. And, given the cloudy sky, I wanted to share one with you and hope the yellow will bring oout the sun tomorrow.
“The secret is - not in your hand - or your eye - or your voice, my aunt once told me. The secret is in your heart. Or course, she said, knowing that doesn’t make it any easier. ” — by Brian Andreas “Still Mostly True”
One can find much beauty in this world. It takes an open heart. When I attend a celebration, be it a birthday, a wedding, an engagement, bar or bat mitzvah, anniversary, I am reminded how lucky we are to have friends, family, and loved ones in our lives.
Once again this knowledge resonated for me when, this week, I attended a friend’s surprise birthday. She is a woman who certainly knows about opening your heart. As she walks (or floats) through the day, she finds wonder all around her.
You can see a moment of Beth’s surprise party in the photographs below and find more by clicking here to go to the CELEBRATIONS page of my blog.
A very Happy Birthday, Beth. You are one in a galaxy :)
A surprise birthday for a very special birthday girl.
"There is only one happiness in life, to love and be loved." George Sand
He knelt on one knee. Took her hand. Spoke to her for some time. We have no idea what he said to her. Nor does it matter. Her face said it all.
You can read more about this wonderful story on the "Love and Marriage" Page of this blog.
Getting to Know You
I’ve been an Ann Arbor, Michigan hotel resident while my son recovers from a nasty case of Mononucleosis. He’s doing well now!!! Yay! so, I’ll soon be reunited with my dear Nikon camera back in NYC.
Yes. I left home without my camera. That doesn’t happen very often. I admit I had separation anxiety for a moment. BUT, I really didn’t see me having time to shoot. I was indeed busy here for a while. However, there’s always a silver lining. I’ve been bonding with my iPhone 4s. I downloaded some terrific apps which let me play around with the potentially mundane. Let’s face it, hotel lobbies and rooms don’t continue to fascinate. It takes some imagination, inspiration, or journalism to explore the subject. I’m doing a bit of each with my iPhone.
I am grateful that my son feels well and that I have this time to explore photography in a new way.
Here’s a first try: Our room needed some uplifting. So, some sunny tulips. I just love flowers. I also needed some uplifting: maybe a fun color nail polish? Why not yellow for a bit of whimsey. I had a sunshine theme going here…and I couldn’t resist a snap shot. Playing with my apps I made this card.
I wish you beautiful days ≈ may they always be filled with light & LOVE.
Learning Through Art
I was asked to capture the spirit of classes at West End Synagogue so that they could be shared on their new website. Here are a few taken one day during a special art and learning project. The children were very engaged in drawing their thoughts on Gratefulness.
International HELP PORTRAIT Day
It isn’t often I get to be a model. Well, maybe I wasn’t a model for real, but I was the sit in for testing light and background before our Help Portrait 2011 event at Community Access. Even this was fun laughter time. Thank you Susan for taking such wonderful behind-the-scenes photographs documenting our day. I wish that I could share more of the photographs we took of our wonderful subjects. However, for privacy reasons I can’t. This was a day of giving back to the community. If you would like to learn more about the Help-Portrait global movement you can find lots of information through Google.
Abra, Frank, Rima, Susan and Ivan by muggle1 on Flickr.
This end-of-the-day photo was taken by our own wonderful Frank! Notice he’s become “our own” just by virtue of the fact that we had such a great time working together on Saturday at Help-Portrait. We were even smiling at the end of a long day.
Here is part of the gang that volunteered for Help-Portrait Day on December 10th. It was an exhausting day but the joy and rewarding smiles we received by giving away portraits to those in need more than compensated us. It was a blessing all around.
Gratitude Project . . .Trees
I love the green warmth of summer. Yet, when I see the fall leaves fall soften cement paths along the river with their myriad colors, when I gaze over lawns of green and orange constantly changing with the blowing breezes, then I am grateful. For trees: the shelter they so selflessly provide, their quiet, majestic grace, and their unique ability to remind me of a beauty which we humans are unable to create. I sigh, and wonder. And I am Grateful.
SOFTLY …
MORE BOLDLY
GETTING LATER
Day 4 Gratitude Project … baking bread on Flickr.
Freshly baked anything rules! Nothing says comfort more than the smell of something freshly baking in the oven. Oh, how I love warm bread, apple pie, peach cobbler… I could go on and on. Flour and butter in its multitude of combinations. What could be bad?
The bread I baked here is a bit different. It is a “stuffed” bread, filled with hard boiled eggs, gruyere,mozzarella, basil, carmalized onions, sun dried tomatoes, black olives, and a drizzle of olive oil. That and some soup makes a perfect meal for my family. Actually for my teens+ sons, it is more likely an afternoon or late night snack.
I have learned not to let baking intimidate me. The kneading process may be the best part of the whole process. It’s so meditative and rhythmical. The baking experience is nourishing to the heart, the soul and the tummy. Then you get to break bread with others.
So Day 4: That is why I am grateful for learning how to bake, for the blessing of having access to fresh,beautiful ingredients, and for joy of being able to share the delicious results with others.
Day 3 Gratitude Project …the wonder of children on Flickr.
As well as being a portrait photographer, I also teach children. How lucky am I? It just so happens that I adore them. That’s why photographing them is always a happy experience. I love to be around their free spirit, their constant wonder, their testing of limits, their giggles and even their sensitive hearts. Most of all, I love how much they teach me.
This picture was taken by a colleague when I was teaching a photography course to second, third and fourth graders. I was demonstrating how backgrounds made a difference in making a picture rather than just taking a snapshot and how movement can be more interesting than standing and smiling. To loosen things up, I took a silly pose and of course my little partner got totally into the spirit of the exercise.
I am so grateful for the opportunity to spend so much time with children and share in their growth and learning process.