Latte Morning: From the Sunday Morning Series

Sage looks into the kitchen to see what her mother is up to

Sunday mornings in my mind have always been a day to relax. Get a late start, have that extra cup of coffee, maybe do something fun, and hopefully get recharged for the week that lies ahead. So I have found myself posting photos of my occasional Sunday morning (see Magical Morning, and Golden Morning). I thought about doing a monthly Sunday morning photo for my blog, and today while in San Diego I photographed Erika and Sage getting ready for their Sunday morning visit to the zoo. Erika whipped up some latte's while Sage watched and I photographed. Welcome to the Monthly Sunday Morning Series...

Erika fires up the espresso machine and I realize there is amazing light coming through the window and caffeine on its way to me.

Magic pours out of the two spouts...

Sage joins the party, and all the great light falls onto her face and into those crazy blue eyes.

Future Coffee Drinker :)

Sage gets her first taste of foamed milk, and her eyes once again catch all the light.

Chances are high that coffee will be featured often in my monthly Sunday morning posts, as it is one of my favorite things to enjoy. Lucky for me, Erika's love of caffeine matches, maybe even surpasses, mine. Sadly, next Sunday I will be back in the cold of New England, drinking regular drip coffee and longing for sunny skies. So spoiled am I after barely two weeks!

I guess I better start bracing myself for reality....



photographer's note: it is important to note that no coffee was given to the child in the photos, but more importantly the subject is nowhere near as skilled with the espresso machine as her husband is. Since he is serving in Iraq, the subject is doing the best she can and anxious for his return so that amazing lattes and mochas will be prepared for her once again. :)

Green Art

On the waterfront in downtown San Diego there are these cool globes decorated by different artists, and all spreading the message of caring about the earth and living eco-friendly. Naturally, a very cool idea in my book. This one caught my eye, with its message of not wasting in order to create. Or creating with things that would have once been wasted.


I have spent the last several days of my California Conquering Tour scoping out LA, shooting some stills on sets, staring at the amazing colors in the sky, and generally just enjoying my time here. I think I have developed a bit of a crush on CA. This New England girl is pretty surprised!

Hopefully tomorrow my camera will be back in my hands and another post will follow. For now, I am ready to fall asleep on the Navy base outside Malibu, at the house of an old neighborhood friend.

Too tired to make sense today....

Another One Bites the Crust

I had Gluten-Free Pizza yesterday!! California Rocks.

This is no award-winning photo, but it is evidence that in California I can eat at a chain restaurant and get it gluten-free and organic (and hopefully local, but I didn't ask) at this great place called Pizza Fusion. Can someone please open up one of these places in Portland, Maine? I would and all, but I don't really have any interest in spending any more of my life in the restaurant biz. Besides, that would cut into my time and prevent me from taking great photos like the one below.

2 divas and a Mainer

My heart swells when I see these two. Melody and Zeamora are my pals from Semester at Sea, and there's just something about the bond shared with people who see the world for the first time together, especially when some of the adventures include ex-prisoners. Of course, any involvement with criminals was always Melody's fault. Always.

Oh, I could write some stories!

California Dreamin'

I saw the Pacific Ocean yesterday. Having left the cold grip of the Northeast with my camera gear and a large heap of excitement, I landed in San Diego and eased into my first day. First, there was the necessary dose of caffeine, then a walk on the beach where I stood in the water and stared out at the mass of blue in front of me. It was odd to feel sun shining on my face. I honestly can't remember the last time I headed for sunnier skies in the middle of winter. I could have just watched the ocean all day and gone back home happy. Back home to the Atlantic Ocean.



I watched these two surfers enter the ocean from cliff while a train sped by right behind me. It was then that I knew taking this trip was a good idea. My camera and I are looking forward to spending a lot of time together.

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Time Flies: My Year in Photos

2009 is here, and I am, in some ways, still trying to catch my breath from 2008. It was the year of re-connections and creative inspiration. There were a few risks, some adventures, lots of laughs, and many improvements. And on December 31 I punched out for the last time, leaving the place I have worked for the last four years. I am officially on my own. Self-employed. Unemployed. However you want to look at it.

It feels pretty good. So I spent New Year's digging through the photos of the past year, seeing where I've been and how far I've come. Here are some of my favorite moments....

New Year's Day, 2008. I photographed the Annual Lobster Dip, a fundraiser for Maine's Special Olympics. Crazy people jump into the Atlantic Ocean to support a good cause.

The weekend warrior started making animals out of scrap metal. I took a portrait of his latest, the pig.

The WW and I in a garage in Purcelville, VA. We bought an El Camino on EBay, and took a little road trip to fetch it.

This is my nephew, Max, on Easter. It's amazing how young he looks in this photo.

Tom Brady's love child is born in Portland, Maine. I'm kidding. This is Charlie Ellis, and he's pretty darn cute.

Hanging out with friends and therefore lots of kids is common for me. I'm a sucker for a swing set and always love photos of people swinging, no matter what age they are.

In the spring some college friends reunited in Ithaca, NY. First order of business: hit HotTruck. I saw this as a good opportunity to add to my collection of Ben Photos, and the shiny head in the Hot Truck light was irresistible, photographically speaking. Oh, and our friend Jeremy got engaged the next night. Woohoo!

I hung out on a rooftop with the band memebers of The Lomax. Later we hung out in an elevator and a woodworking workshop. It was cool. They are cool.

Just a family portrait I like. They each have their own personality.

A fun wedding shot. Can't remember what was so funny. I have to assume it was me.

Another photo from a wedding. I like it when I can get artsy while shooting weddings.

The El Camino was a hero driving up the East Coast in snow storms. It spent the summer resting and recovering in our driveway. The Weekend Warrior has a mistress.

These crazy bunch of New Yorkers left the city and spent some time in Maine. We all watch Dana as she decides what she thinks about this ocean thing. The next frame showed her running away from them laughing.

Max started Kindergarten. I of course showed up with my camera.

In September I took an awesome workshop on how to shoot film stills. This is Ryan. He was a very good photographic subject.

Happy Boxing Day!

Wow. Christmas is over for another year! I got a hug and many smiles from my nephew, a bellyache from laughing so hard, and what seems to be a pulled muscle from several victorious rounds of Wii boxing. I think I have discovered a new talent and pastime.

I didn't pick up my camera as often as I wish I had, but it is hard to entertain and photograph at the same time. Not impossible, just a challenge that simply means when you are doing one, you are neglecting the other. Such is life. But at least I got this shot that shows our Santa Pumpkin, along with a few others that make me smile....

Things started off with Max like this, but quickly turned into..

... this. Let's rock&roll, it's Christmas!

And this...we are a family of out-loud laughers.

Gift Opening Gone Wild:)

Pete and Max laugh at how hilarious they just were.

As usual, may family came over to our house where we mix old traditions with some of our new ones, and spend a lot of time laughing, eating, and tearing into presents. We ate a late breakfast with some favorites from my childhood - Monkey Bread and Cinnamon Rolls in the shape of a tree with green frosting. How my brother and I used to fight over the 'filet' as kids! Now he doesn't have to worry about me snagging the prized cinnamon roll since I am too busy making and eating my own Gluten-Free baked goods, and sometimes wrapping a final present I somehow forgot. Christmas 2008 will go down in the books as one with lots of laughter and joking and the year my nephew Max showed up with red ink stains all over his hands, arms, and neck. Seems he and his Uncle Pete thought it would be cool to build a snowvolcano (as opposed to a snowman), which would naturally require some red lava. Turns out red food coloring is permanent, a detail previously unknown to Uncle Pete. I laughed every time Max put his hands anywhere near my line of vision.

Later in the day Max is happily licking chocolate batter off his face. What he doesn't know, or doesn't care about is the fact that it's Gluten-Free chocolate batter.

And, so today on this day after an exhausting and fun Christmas I have declared Boxing Day as the day where sleeping in is allowed, guilt-free. Staying in pj's, reading books, playing with new toys, and feeling no pressure to go anywhere are also greeted without guilt and with great happiness. That's sort of how I have spent the day, especially the sleeping in part.

Thank Goodness...

...today isn't trash day. We still have some digging out to do.






We'll get to this pile, among other things, after all the holiday madness is over. For now, I'm off to finish my letter to Santa. Wonder if I've been good enough for him to bring me a 70-200 zoom lens that opens up to F2? Hmmmm....

Ladies Night

It occurred to me the other day that I have been posting an awful lot of photos of the twigs in my backyard, and not much of the people and life that I claim to photograph in the title of this blog. That made me think two things. One, my yard must be photo-worthy, and Two, I need to get out of my own backyard! Here are some fun photos from a night spent with friends. And, yes, the song 'Ladies Night' by Kool & The Gang is playing in my head as I write this!

The centerpiece on our table. Pretty.

Some of my high school gal pals and I have been getting together over the last few months to have a ladies night out, or 'mommies night out' as I like to call it behind their backs and to everyone on the world wide web (all 3 of you who read this blog). The mommies show up eager for adult conversation and perhaps some adult beverages. While I, the friend without kids, show up just hoping for a meal without gluten and a chance to laugh at my friends while they celebrate a few hours of freedom. Different worlds but with strong ties...

I was wondering how much, or actually, how little focus I could get away with. Funky light, delicious food, and great company at Local 188 set the stage for some artsy photos. I'm not sure if you heard, but when a photo is not in focus, you (the photographer) have license to say things like "I meant to do that - it's art!" I took a lot of artistic license in these photos. But I think they still convey a certain feeling.

I sat facing the window on purpose because I really liked all the lights in the background. And, if you are hoping to pick up technical tips along the way as you read this here bloggity blog then just know that I shot these images at 800 ISO, with a 50mm. I had a very shallow depth of field, at times only 1.4. It is my opinion that the 50mm is one of the most under-rated lenses. You can get your hands on them for very little money (even those that open up to F1.4), and this kind of flexibility is really a necessity if you like shooting in low light/natural light situations. Perhaps opinions on lenses would be better used on a different day with a different post! Stay tuned..

Mary Lou plays up to the camera. There is a light around her finger that looks like a glowing ring. I dig it.

Hanna the Happy Lawyer laughs her way through the meal, attracting all sorts of attention. It's hard to hold a camera still while laughing.

I heart this photo. In focus or not, you know exactly what is going on here.

Stuffed and paid up. Time to head out into the cold...

Yard of Glass

Snow day = YAY! Though I guess I should really be calling it an Ice Day. No school, no work for many, no power, lights, heat, or internet for almost all. Yeah, that's right, I said no internet! No internet and no coffee on the morning of my birthday seemed adventurous at first. I bundled up and took my camera out once again to capture what was happening in my own backyard...





Shortly into the adventure of the Ice Day I was soaked and struggling to protect my camera, which for some reason I found humorous. But the beauty of what ice does to everything makes it hard to just put the camera down. And isn't it weird that while it was an ice storm, I was walking around with wet coat, hair, camera, hands, etc.? It felt almost like rain, only much colder and clearly, with a much bigger impact. As I write this, thousands are still without power and heat. Chainsaws were heard almost in unison across New England today.







And soon I realized that the beauty is also fragile. I backed into a bush while talking to my neighbors who took some heavy tree damage, and the whole thing almost toppled over. I nearly broke a bush just by lightly bumping into it! It was as if my entire yard was made of glass...





And I will admit that since I am both a caffeine and internet addict (that sounded much worse than it was intended), after my little camera adventure I hopped in my car and drove until I found a place with lights on that would also have heat and the two things I was craving most at that moment. The coffee was great, the stolen wireless signal - not so much.

Magical Morning

What scene was outside your window this morning? I awoke to white ground and lazy falling snowflakes. All these years of living in cold places, the first snowfall still excites me, still feels a little magical.


I'm pretty sure I couldn't live without it.

And how great that it happened on a Sunday, which makes sure that the snow is enjoyed and appreciated by many. It may not have amounted to much, despite its efforts to keep drifting and doing a slow dance towards the ground, but it was just enough. I think I'm finally getting into the spirit of the season!