Penny Tile

Don has been working on his kitchen for a very very long time, since we started dating almost three years ago! To his credit he is doing all the work himself and he is very meticulous and specific about what he wants. These things take time. Sunday we finished tiling the counter tops. What a huge job that was. Penny tile is not easy to grout.

It was cold.

The grout is very messy and you have to really work it to make sure it is filling in the spaces properly. Here is a comparison of how it looks before grouting and during.Don and I took turns cleaning off the grout and polishing the tile. I think I still have grout under my nails and my fingertips are a bit raw.

And Whola! Isn't it beautiful?

The list of things to finish is minor in comparison to where it started. But the final kitchen is still a little ways off. This will have to be the teaser post and I will post more photos as it progresses. I have been documenting the whole process so once it is finished I will put together a slide show so you can see the transformation. It is amazing.

Whats next? The backsplash, the oven installation, and the floor which is more penny tile. This kitchen will be a stylish vintage modern masterpiece. Don is one for details and all appliances not including the fridge are vintage new old stock. I can not express how excited I will be for this kitchen to be finished and for us to make our first meal over at his house.

Second Shooting with PhotoJoe

Today I second shot for a fellow photographer friend Photo Joe. It was my first time shooting with him and I had a great time. I had to take some shots of him in action.

Here is Joe waiting patiently for some cake. :0) Who wouldn't give this guy cake?

I had to post this picture, this guy was super quick with the rubix cube! I mixed it up real good for him and he had it solved in less than 30 seconds, no joke.

Joe giving these guests a few pointers.

The Bride and Groom

Check out Joe's blog for more pictures from the day. This was an early wedding and we were done around 4:00! When I left Joe he was heading out to get some shots with the B&G at the Art Museum and 30th Street Station, so I will be excited to those pictures.

Thanks for inviting me to shoot with you Joe.

Black Beauty

I just found out about this, isn't it pretty? I think these will sell very well, they are very sleek. Gotta love Mac. You can find out more about it here. I won't lie I am Mac girl tired and true, if I were in the market for a new desktop machine I would pine for this one, it would match my black ipod. *sigh*swoon*

Vintage Style Belly

Last Sunday was my shoot with Linette. She is due in mid March and man she is getting big, but she feels great and is really enjoying her pregnancy. Her very good friend Erin is a hair dresser and we thought it would be fun to get dolled up for the photo shoot. Erin did a fantastic job on Linette's vintage hairdo.

Isn't she beautiful?

I love this one, she was cracking up at someone in the shadows.

If any one wants to get in touch with Erin for a fancy hairdo for a wedding or any occasion let me know and I will be happy to pass along her info.
Thank you Linette for being such a beautiful belly model.

An Amish Getaway

Don took me on a little Valentines getaway Saturday night. We have both been working a lot and needed to get out of town for a night. One thing we really enjoy doing together is going out to Adamstown PA to all the antique markets. We always pass by these cute old little motels and say how we should stay in one and get an early start to the day. We stayed at the Penn Amish Motel. It is old and we requested to switch rooms after our first room smelled moldy, stuffy and the wallpaper was peeling away from the walls. The second room was ten times better although we barely had hot water. Nothing fancy about the place but we had a good time and it was good to get out of town.While it is not the high season for the antique markets the indoor shops are all still open. We prefer going out in early summer late fall when all the vendors are outside. Our favorite market is Shupp's Grove. We have found some great deals at these markets but we have yet to get to any of them earlier that 9:00 a.m. This year we plan to come back and stay over night so we can be up with the early crowd at 5 a.m.
We didn't find any treasures this time around although I was really tempted by a beautiful Navajo bracelet. If I keep thinking about it I may have to make another trip out and hope it is still there.
This is Don's shot. He liked the look of the motel sign from behind.

Quick update on the car, I found out that is was a salt truck that knocked off my mirror and my car was not the only one hit on the street. My neighbor knows the guy who did it and we have filed police reports. So there is some resolution, I doubt it will pay for anything but at lease I know what happened.

Mirror of Sadness

Well I think it is official, 2007 is not going to be a good year for my car. Living in Manayunk has given my car a lot of scrapes and bruises but in the last couple of months my car has suffered unnecessary damage. First it was the crushing of my VW grille and now this. I can be thankful that the body was not hit. I know I am not alone in these minor mishaps so I feel for all of you when these things happen. We should all try and be respectful when parking and if you hit someone leave a note. It is the good thing to do.

Happy Valentines Day!

I hope everyone keeps warm and safe this Valentines Day. It is quite icy here in Philadelphia. It would be a good night to draw your loved one a toasty romantic bubble bath!

The above photo is quick out-take from the belly shoot I did with Linette on Sunday. I should get the film back this week, I am very excited. We had a lot of fun and Erin did a fantastic job on Linette's vintage hairdo.

Oh and just a little sidenote, my archives are finally working! It took me forever to figure out what was going on and I am sorry for any frustration it may have caused. Have a great day!

Deb & Malk's Engagement Shoot

Sunday I met up with Deb and Malk for their long awaited engagement shoot. They live in upstate New York but they are having their wedding at the Morris Arboretum since most of their family is from the surrounding area. They booked their date way back in July and this was the first chance we have had to meet each other. They are such a calm and laid back couple. We had a great time walking the grounds of the Arboretum taking pictures. I am glad we did the engagement pictures there. The Arboretum grounds are huge and it will be so pretty in May when they get married.
When we went into the Fernery it was such a drastic change in temperature that my lens really fogged up. We had to wait a good while for things to normalize. We took advantage of it though and got some cool shots that look very dreamy, you will see more in the slideshow.



It was great to meet you guys and I hope you had a safe trip home.

Here is your slideshow

Wareika Hill at World Cafe Live

Friday night we were at the World Cafe Live for the winter Ska and Reggae fest. Tedford was nice enough to get me in with a photo press pass! I was really excited for him and his band Wareika Hill, the World Cafe Live is such a fanstastic Venue. They opened the show.

Here is the band

Daniel "Brawta" Poruban, Dave "Young Squire" Segal, Sean "MacIrie" McPhillips, "Lord" Tedford Juachon, and Kevin Killen.

People were really grooving

I caught this guys taking some video during the Wareika Hill set.

Tedford getting down

I took a ton of photos. Don was also there armed with a camera and got some really cool shots. I have not had time to go through them yet. It has been such a crazy busy weekend and I will have a lot to share this week. I had an engagement shoot and a belly shoot today and I am wiped out!

Bellies

I am in the process of gathering images for my new website and thought I would put together a little selection of bellies. These are some of my favorites from 2006, I wanted to put this together for the new year but it just kept getting put on the back burner.

I can't wait for the new website, I have so much new work to show.
My portfolio of bellies is really growing and there are many images that I simply can not put online. Belly sessions are very intimate and personal. I feel so lucky that so many women have invited me into their homes to document such an amazing part of their life.
I am always happy to share more of my portfolio if you would like to schedule a time to meet in person.

Don's Superbowl Commercial!

We got together with our friends Paul and Steph last night to watch the Superbowl. Neither of us are that into sports and pretty much watch the "bowl" for the commercials. Don does a lot of storyboards for commercials and we were very suprised to see one of his FedEx commercials during the 3rd quarter last night! It was a FedEx commercial that had previously aired, but with minor tweaking (a new character in the line-up, substituting "Eileen" for
"Mini"). This was shot by Jim Jenkins, the director Don works with.

You can watch it here, it is in the 3rd quarter and its called FedEx Shipping.

Linette's Baby Shower

Saturday was Linette's baby shower. The party was unlike any other baby shower I have ever been to. It was beautiful and a lot of effort was put forth to make it unforgettable. She got some amazing gifts. I of course had my camera with me and tried to snap a few shots to document the day.
Linette is the first of my very close friends to have a baby and I am so excited. We have known each other since College and I consider her one of my best friends. I love this picture of her because she just looks so beautiful.

Here is hubby Kyle shooting sniper style.

I put together a little slideshow from the day, nothing too fancy. The song choice is just because it reminds me of Linette.

Baby Shower Slideshow

My friend April

I wanted to post and brag a little about my friend April. We have been friends since junior high when we lived in New Mexico. Fast forward many years later and here we are, still friends and even roommates.

The past couple of years have been very interesting for us as we have both really pushed ourselves to find our niche. April has conquered many things from Nanny to personal assistant to store manager and adventurer. She has been the one person to never settle for the office atmosphere. In the last year she has really found the perfect job, career, whatever you may call it, I don't think Ape would really call it either one. She got into the movie business. She has worked on a handful of movies this past year and I have never seen her so fulfilled with what she is doing. Her department is the art department and it totally suits her. The environment is ever changing, she has to be meticulously organized, the work is intense and in her time off she gets to wander off to visit friends all over the country. I could not think of a better job for her and it has been so refreshing to see how much she is enjoying herself and the work she is doing.

She recently got back from filming The Alphabet Killer in Rochester NY. She was the Property Master on set or "props" as they say. That involves a lot of attention to detail and consistency on set, not to mention a lot of running around. She took me to the website the other night and there is already a trailer for the movie. It is a rough trailer and a bit long but it was so exciting to see somewhat of a final project. I even got to do some touch up work on a photograph for a scene, which was pretty cool.

I just wanted to share in my friends accomplishment I am very excited for her and that she is doing something she is passionate about. It is a big deal for her.


Please view the trailer here, there are instructions on the page as it may not play in the browser and you may have to download it.