the best laid plans, blah blah blah: the ramblings of a long island photographer

 So, sometimes I have these visions, you know? They can be sort of elaborate. And it can take a long time, lots of effort, and SUPER amounts of LUCK to get everyone and everything in the right place at the right time. Models, makeup artists, lighting, is the sun out today? Are the leaves already changing color? Is someone gonna kick us out for tying a swing to a tree branch?? Ha. How do we even GET a swing tied to a tree branch?? And sometimes *I’M* “the fail.” Forgot to bring batteries for the wireless triggers for the off-camera flash. Forgot to bring a thing to fan the model’s hair with. Didn’t bring enough flowers. Underestimated the amount of time it would take to lug equipment deep into the woods, hang the swing, attach the flowers, get the lighting set up, yadda yadda yadda…and on this day, despite my beautiful  vision, we just ran out of time…and more importantly, LIGHT. And for all the effort and involvement of wonderful people – a darling model, a helpful Dad who climbed the tree to hang the swing, a patient and helpful friend and assistant…I got very few usable pictures because we just plain ran out of time and light. And that’s on me. Ugh.

I did this shoot almost a month ago and I was so frustrated with and disappointed in myself that I couldn’t even look at the pictures. I’d had a vision. But I finally realized I need to not look at these images as mistakes, but rather as “learning experiences.” Next time we’ll start start earlier. Next time I’ll keep the (damn) vision simpler so we can actually execute it ourselves. Next time I’ll be happy with what I DO get rather than disappointed with what I DON’T.  The pictures aren’t as I envisioned, but I still think they’re lovely. And I got some good post-processing practice (say THAT three times fast!) out of them…

 

 

And this next one was *really* a happy accident for me. I love the work of  Julia Margaret Cameron, a British photographer from the 1800’s. I’ve always wanted to do a Cameron-esque shoot, something like this – and without even meaning to, I think I sort of captured her style with this image, so I went with that and processed it in a vintage style…and I’m really quite pleased with it!

So, vision be damned! Ha. I will continue to celebrate the happy accidents 🙂 (and, uh, plan better next time!).

Girls Who Love Horses

A few weeks back I visited my beautiful niece and her horse Beau. He has an injury right now so he’s on stall rest and hand-walking but she still visits him every day to brush and love on him.

He’s at a small private barn – just him and two ponies for company. So it’s very peaceful and it’s easy to appreciate simple things like the late afternoon light streaming in and the sound of hooves on the concrete floor.

Eventually Beau let us know he’d had enough fussing over and was ready to go back to his stall.

And then she brought out the big guns. Of cuteness, that is. The PONIES.

Can you even stand it??

 And are you ready for this? Are you sitting down?

Those EYELASHES. Could you just die????

Sigh.

She’s my birthday!

And in a rich and longstanding birthday tradition, I shall share with you my favorite pictures since my *last* birthday!

My baby and I last year on my birthday

Stunning Niki

The “anti-portrait” family Christmas portrait

My boy and fairy sparkles

My favorite kids (don’t tell the kitties)

Handsomest. Boy. Ever.

My Janey girl

Snow day. Nuff said.

My baby. Or some beautiful young woman. I get confused sometimes.

Kate and Madison the night before she moved to Florida. Sniff.

Best selfie ever

Beautiful Lucy

Leaping Eleni

Bubbly A

And now I’m off to a birthday dinner with good friends to start making memories and taking pictures for the new year!

xoxo

Hello September

Seriously, how is summer over already? I know, I know, “summer” does not technically end until September 22, but we all know that SUMMER (!!!!) ends with Labor Day. Kids go back to school, adults go back to work, sunset comes a little earlier every night. 

So while I’m not quite ready to say Hello FALL, with your pumpkin spice lattes and bulky sweaters and crisp crunchy fallen leaves, I *am* prepared to say Hello to September with its Indian summer, golden hues, overblown gardens and quiet nights.

There’s still time left for dinners at the beach and a couple more dips in the pool. But take advantage now, don’t put it off because it *will* be over before you know it. 

Under the cherry blossom trees…

This winter was so long, and spring so late in coming, that I’ve been kind of obsessed with shooting in the flowering trees. It’s all I want to do! So I was lucky to find a lovely young lady to shoot with last week at Brooklyn Botanic Garden, in the hopes that the cherry allee would be in full bloom, BUT. It was not. We did lay claim to one graceful weeping cherry, and stayed there quite awhile, shooting around all the other people taking pictures that morning.

E. was such a good sport. It was a *really* chilly morning and we did quite a few wardrobe changes. She was so cute when I asked for a little smile and she burst out laughing! And finally we got to what *she’d* been waiting for – The Leaps! In my mind’s eye, she was going to be leaping up into the pink of the blooming cherry trees, but it was just too early in the season for that…so I took a little artistic license and added some pink fleurs to the treetops. But look at her fly! She was amazing!

 

Throwback Thursday

I used to sell vintage clothing and one of my *favorite* things to do was set up styled shoots with models in the clothes I was selling. This was well before “photography as a business” was even a catchlight (hee hee, get it?) in my eye.

This is a favorite shoot I did with this amazing pink vintage prom dress I had…a great model, and a little local beach in Islip. Five years ago this month…

I have a couple shoots coming up that I’m really looking forward to…can’t wait to share them with you!

A Bird in the Hand

Literally. 

This is not my usual type of photography. I’m the black sheep of the nature photography club that I belong to cuz I just. don’t. shoot. birds. Ever. But THIS day was different. This day I went to like The Greatest Place on Earth. 

The Elizabeth Morton Wildlife Refuge out on the east end of Long Island. The website is very blah (sorry fws.gov but really) and in no way prepares you for the magical day that awaits you at the refuge. 

The birds. They Land Right On You. They eat right out of your hand! Like, we were barely out of the parking area and just stopped to look at a little kiosk w directions and information and we had birds fluttering around going PUT THE SEEDS IN YOUR HANDS, DUMMIES! WE’RE A SURE THING!!! And we did, and BAM, they’d take turns dive-bombing out of the trees, landing on our hands, pecking around for the best seeds (sunflower seeds is a favorite), then returning to the tree so the next one could come down. 

Little teeny chickadees and fluffy-headed (or something like that) woodpeckers, and tufted titmice (titmouses?), and something else we dubbed The No Neck Bird. There were bigger birds around, BlueJays and Cardinals, etc…they stayed in the trees and brambles…but the wild turkeys! They’d come out of the woods and follow you down a path to eat out of your hand! Their feathers were amazing close-up, iridescent almost. 

So, I know in “real” nature photography, you’re not supposed to show “the hand of man,” but I love having pictures of the birds in our hands! 

I’m such a rebel.

But yeah, if you’re on Long Island, and you’ve never been, go. I understand it’s better in the cold weather cuz the birds are looking for food. In the summer and fall there’s enough food for them to find on their own and they may not be as apt to land in your hand for the offered seed. But go. 

Happy (but) Sad

I have four kids. Caleb the Wonder Dog, aka The Boy. Madison the Puffy Man. Janey the Stick Cat (whose mother was a cat and whose father was a squirrel). And The Girl. My Baby. Kate. My beautiful, smart, clever, patient, kind, generous baby girl. It seems like just yesterday that she was born, a perfectly-wrapped papoose of red baby with the sweetest little rosebud lips. And now she’s grown-up. I guess. And she informed me last week that she is moving to Florida. Which is, according to my sources, about a million miles away from me.

And while I hope that she is heading towards opportunity and excitement and a better life…I’m sad. Selfishly sad. For me. She’s my baby. She’s the only family I have anywhere near me. So. Happy and excited for her. Sad for me.

She came over yesterday to say goodbye to the animals.

To The Boy who loves her. He gives her his most wiggly butt and smiley face.

To Madison, who we got for her when she turned 11…and now she is almost 23.

And to Janey. Who does *not* like being held for photos.

And we got to spend a little time together. I’m so going to miss my time with her. I know a lot of people with young children – and I say to all of you, know that while the days can seem interminable, the years go *so* fast, and before you know it, your little ones will be grown and gone. So cherish them now. Don’t worry about the unwashed dishes or messy rooms or teeth imperfectly brushed. Just go snuggle with those kids and tell them over and over how much you love them. Enough to last them a lifetime…even after they’re grown and gone from you.

And now I’m going to go have a bowl of Chocolate Obsession Coconut Ice Cream because it helps me not be so sad.

a little city photo shoot

Katie and I got to spend some time with my niece and some of her friends this weekend in the city. We did fun things like visit The Museum of the Moving Image in Astoria, where we made stop animation videos and lip-synched movie soundtracks…and had Mexican food for dinner at Canyon Road. In the late afternoon my niece had a haircutting appointment at a salon down by the United Nations. While she was at the salon, Katie and I went exploring and found a nifty little stone-walled green space that was really nice for some photos. Until a UN security officer with a police dog yelled at Katie for climbing the wall…..like Mother like daughter…but in the end, we got some nice pictures.

Now that the snow is clearing, it’s time to start exploring and finding some new photo locations and setting up some shoots!

killing it

The kiddo and dog and I got to hang out a bit on Martin Luther King Day. Pre-snow! And she graciously allowed me to snap a few images of her.

To Katie, “take a picture” means press the shutter. One time. To ME, “take a picture” means “MAKE a picture,” which might take *many* clicks to get all the elements just right.

So, while photographically these are imperfect (a cut off hand, poor composition, etc), *emotionally,* I love them. Because they are a visual heart reminder to me of time we spent together,  a nice afternoon spent together in nature. And that means way more to me than knowing I used the perfect f-stop 🙂

Look at your favorite photographs. Are they “perfect” to you because they’re technically correct? Or because they serve as a reminder of a special time, place, memory, or loved one?