Baby Lucy

I spent the morning with little Lucy and her parents. Lucy was such a pleasure, she was so cute and content and I loved hearing her babble and sing.

Lucy loves her mom's ear and hair. She goes in every chance she gets. I love this shot of the whole family.We had a great time and Lucy's little friend Mia joined us at the end of the session for some play time. So cute!

Enjoy your slide show!

Goofballs

Don's sister came to town for a quick visit this weekend with her two little boys Colin and Cameron. After breakfast I took a couple of photos on our way to the car; these guys are at the age where all they do is goof off for the camera. I love it.

Colin
Cameron
Goofballs
So serious!
Such a little man.
These boys love their mom.

Documenting your Children's lives

Over the past year I have met so many influential people in the photography community. It is amazing the comradery and support you can get by just being involved.

In November I had the pleasure of meeting Me Ra Koh and her husband Brian in New York City. I was attending the PhotoPlus Expo and I met up with other photographers from the Pictage community that I have become so involved in.

Photo courtesy of Nathan Holritz
(me, Sophia Negron, Brian, Me Ra and Nathan)
Check out Nathan's wife Amber, she does amazing photography work with children.

Me Ra is an amazing wedding photographer and children's photographer. She has been working really hard on an instructional DVD targeted specifically to moms. Not everyone can have a photographer on hand to document all of life's little moments so it is important for Mom's and Dads to feel confident in their own abilities to take pictures of their children. Me Ra gives workshops for moms and now has an instuctional DVD!
So all you Mom's out there who like taking pictures and want to be more confident in your ability to do so check Me Ra's DVD out. She also gives instructions to help you better understand your Digital SLR camera. She is having a special through the end of March, so don't miss out on a fantastic opportunity.

I was fortunate to have my childhood thoroughly documented by my Dad.

He always had a camera on hand and never missed a thing. I remember him coming into my classroom in 2nd grade and documenting a whole afternoon while I was in school. I have a full history of photographers in my family but had it not been for my Dad always pointing a camera at me and encouraging me to do the same I don't think I would be the photographer I am today. I could not be more thankful for the history I have of my childhood in pictures, they help me remember so many details I may have otherwise forgot.

Baltimore Weekend

Every year for Don's birthday I take him away for the weekend. This year we went down to Baltimore.Don can look like hot stuff in any situation and I ask you when did Matt Lauer become a pharmacist? We had a lot of fun wandering around on St. Patrick's day, comparing Guinness from one place to the next. We didn't stay out too late, it was getting pretty crazy at Fell's Point and we are not too much for big crowds and long lines and we had a big day ahead of us Sunday at the Baltimore Aquarium. I had never been to the Aquarium before and wow it's impressive. We watched the dolphin show, saw exotic frogs, huge star fish, and sharks. We even got to travel through the Australian outback! I felt like a kid, it was such an enjoyable experience.We were even able to transport some mail through r2d2!

Support my friend Len for the MS Walk

I have met a lot of really great people from being a part of the local scooter community and Len is one of them. I have known Len for two years and I have seen how fast MS has taken a hold of him. The first time I met him he was whipping around on his scooter with his girlfriend Liz on the back, and then he was using crutches and now he is in a wheelchair. His spirit through all of this has been amazing. Every time I see him, though he may be a little worse than the time before he is still up beat and ready to hang out. He grooves out on the dance floor just like anyone else except he is a little lower to the ground.Len is participating in the MS walk on May 6th this year and he still has a way to go to reach his goal of 1,000.00. If you have been affected by MS or know someone who has or just want to donate to a great cause I invite you to make a donation for Len. All donations are tax deductible and as little as 5-10 dollars will go a long way.
Don, Dave and I did the MS 150 bike tour in 2005 and it was the most challenging experience of my life. We biked 180 Miles from Cherry Hill New Jersey to Ocean City New Jersey and back the next day. I think together we raised 6,000.00 for MS. I was blown away by all the donations I received and so touched at the support. I know a number of people with MS, Don's mom, my boss Peter's wife, Len and others. It is so important to help find a cure.
Click here for a link to Lens MS donation page if you wish to support him and the effort to find a cure.

Spa Day

Today was such a wonderful day. Not only was the weather beautiful but I got to spend the afternoon with my friend Linette and she treated me to the best pedicure I have ever had! We had Hot Lava pedicures and all I can say is wow.

Linette definitely needed this more than I did.

She is technically due tomorrow, but only time will tell. Little Carver is very active in that Belly. I got to feel him push my hand and then move around in Linette's belly, its really amazing! I am anxious to meet this kid!
This was my second time at Antoinette's and everyone there is so friendly and professional. I would highly recommend this place to anyone in the area.

My Scooter

I think some people may be surprised to know that I have a motorcycle license. I have not had much opportunity to utilize it yet but we are restoring my scooter and this summer I hope to get a lot of riding time in.
It is a 1961 Vespa Allstate that Don bought for an amazing price from a guy who thought it was junk. It is in great shape. Today we ran all new cables to get it ready to drop off with one of our good scooter friends who is rebuilding the engine. I am getting some new tires, new shocks and a couple other things but it will look like you see it above.
The red paint job will eventually come off. It is a true Vespa blue under the very bad red paint job, but the red paint has done very well to preserve the original paint.
Don and I are involved in the scooter communities in Philadelphia; Hostile City and Rabble Rousers. Each year both clubs put on Rallies, Hostile City's rally is always around the 4th of July and Rabble Rouser's rally is in the fall. Here is a link about us from a couple years ago.
If you are interested in coming out to any rallies just let me know. They are a lot of fun and I donate art work every year to the raffle, the photo above is from the ID5 rally.

I hope you all had a great weekend. The weather in Philadelphia was beautiful and I am ready for spring.

Philadelphia Flower Show

Tuesday night Don and I checked out the Flower Show. We are members of the PHS (Pennsylvania Horticultural Society) and we enjoy attending the flower show every year. This years theme was Ireland.
I am always amazed at the amount of work and effort that goes into the flower show. It is one thing to walk by all the little scenes that are setup but to think of what goes into making that happen just makes me overwhelmed and tired.
I think our favorite part about the flower show is the individual plant competitions. The orchids this year were just amazing, I love these orchids with the mustaches hanging down.
By far my favorite orchid of the night, I have never seen an orchid this color purple. If I would have seen this at a booth to purchase I would have bought one in a heart beat.
Don got some really nice shots of the succulents, and the little miniature setups. Succulents are fascinating.

he he, you know why I like this shot, Don noticed this detail.

I bought a not so impressive version of this plant. It is part of what they call the living rock succulents, I forget the real name. I hope to nurture mine to look like this one.

Overall this years show was ok. It seemed a little sparse compared to years past. It is still impressive if you have never been, but do give yourself plenty of time to take it all in.

Honey's

Honey's is our favorite place in town for brunch. We go there a couple times a month when I have a weekend day free. Saturday was such a beautiful spring day and we started it off at Honey's.

Don looking cool outside while waiting for our table.Their signs speak for themselves.

If you wait until after 10:00 to get there you can pretty much bet that you will have a 20-30 minute wait, but it is worth it and its not so bad when you have a beautiful day outside.

Don took this of the drainage grate, he loves found typography and old stuff.

A close up of the sidewalk board. I love the look of peeling paint.

Honey's Sit & Eat.
"Jewish Country" in a space that feels like home. Quality ingredients for the best omelets, reuben's, breakfast burritos and latkes. Bring a paper for the wait on weekends. . M-F 8 AM to 10PM. Weekends 8 AM to 4PM (cash only). 800 N. 4th St.
(215) 925-1150.
Try their huevos rancheros or enfrijolates, oh so yummy.
They don't have a website, but you can review them here.

I got this quick self portrait of us. Aren't we cute?