Sleeping in a Refrigerator

It's cold now. And it's snowing. Boy, oh boy, is it ever snowing. I've never seen so much snow. "Lake Effect", that's what they say. Now, I understand why absolutely everyone I've ever met here has asked, upon learning that we are new to Traverse City, "Oh, so you haven't been through a winter yet".
It all makes me so sleepy. I've been sleeping alot more now. Like the desire to hibernate is born of the deep snow and long nights. Time for introspection. And Christmas becomes the turning point to spring.

I want to photograph houses in the snow. Snowmen. Christmas lights. Ice Skating.

Inside the Painting

The air is crisping up now, the leaves blow around my feet, the dogs love the chill and everything is red, yellow or orange against a carpet of green. I walk out the door and step into a colorful world. Where did this come from? It smells like cinnamon and someone is having a fire in their fireplace, maybe even toasting marshmellows or hazelnuts or certainly glasses of champagne. Everyday is different now, it's cool, it's frosty, it's 58 degrees. Sunday means roasted chicken dinner with hot apple cider at almost every restaurant in town. But today is Monday and we start our week a little sleepy, a little transported into the world of autumn.
I am thinking that I live inside of a painting.

Katy Abraham marries Eric Oliveri

This past weekend, Katy Abraham exchanged vows with Eric Oliveri at the Sweetest Mary Sacred Heart church in Detroit, Michigan, an old and elegant, historic church situated in downtown Detroit. Their reception was at Petruzello's later that evening. Their wedding was a photographer's delight in that the wedding ceremony was held earlier in the day and the reception followed later that evening, leaving lots of time for photographs in the afternoon. That is really the way to schedule a wedding, I have now determined. We had at least two hours for photos in between. In addition, the colors that Katy chose for her wedding party were a luxurious shade of cinnamon and ivory; beautiful colors for a fall wedding in Michigan.

Portraits in Houston

I'm thinking that this series of portraits done for University of Houston Clear Lake represents some of my best commercial portrait work. I'm thrilled with how the series has evolved. Sometimes, when I am shooting alot, every day, I see my portrait solutions so much more clearly. Here are two representative portraits from the full page collection of ten. On the left is Charles Milby whose body is surrounded by the piano, much as he is in life, surrounded by his music. On the right is Rose Zacaro from Geo Control. Her company trains engineers and other personel for NASA and supporting businesses. I placed her in a dark chair in front of a painting of the earth from the vantage point of the moon. I thought of her head and face as a planet within a universe.

Apples and ponies

Traverse City is abloom with apples, pumpkins and red leaves and cool frosty air. The leaves are dropping randomly, rythmically from the trees now and everything smells of cinnamon.
I've made a few friends this fall. Most of them coming from Jen's family. Jen runs a shelter for horses called Horse North located in the Fife Lake area of Northern Michigan. Her children help her with the horse chores. Her "fur children" ( horses) number anywhere between 6-16 at any time. She's told me that the winter can be especially bad for the horses- with many people surrendering thier animals because of the high cost of feeding them. Something to look forward to.
This is a picture of Katelynn feeding an apple to one of the ponies.

Brian and Julie get married in Escanaba!

What's a gorgeous girl from Escanaba doing in a place like this? Well, marrying Brian Savoie for starters!
Brian and Julie have known each other since she was 13. In fact, Brian was around alot at that young age since he was best friends with Julie's brother Mark. So, did Mark introduce them? Or did they just happen to bump into each other in the kitchen and hallways at Julie and Mark's house?
Hmmm... I forgot to ask them that. But, what i did find out while photographing their wedding is that this young couple is fun and full of energy... not to mention love, lots of love!
Julie and Brian flew in from Denver to get married in the backyard of Julie's parents house in Escanaba, Michigan on September 13, 2008. The entire wedding party consisted of the two families, twelve people in total. Their intimate family wedding went off without a hitch, except for a little rain. But rain never hurt anyone and nothing would stop them from playing, romping, loving and posing for pictures on their most memorable of days!
What a delightful couple!

Houston

Houston, you're in my thoughts. I am thinking of your beautiful streets with stately oaks and lovely city sculptures. I am thinking of my friends and tracing their steps of preparation while this monster storm creeps closer. Ike. Set to come ashore near Galveston on Lauren's birthday. What a way to remember a birthday.
I was in Houston recently photographing sculpture for the Houston Arts Alliance. The organization purchases and maintains the community's art. So for four days, four days of relative sunshine amidst a spate of rainy days, I drove around Houston with Rebecca Trahan of Barking Dog Design to photograph 13 pieces of art and two portraits. We photographed the Mel Chen piece down by the Wortham Theatre, we photographed the Wortham fountain on West Gray, three pieces at the zoo and a piece in front of the library.
So, I am thinking of Houston. Of her art, her restaurants, her people, my friends and I hope and pray that everyone weathers a most ferocious storm.

Light

It's all about the light. Morning light, crisp and clear. Sunsets with pizazz, color. But for a photographer, it's all about the light.
Traverse City, I've noticed has some of the most beautiful, radiating sunsets. Almost every night is a display. Peach cobbler with cherries on top. Deep red strawberry with sprigs of lemon mint. The light wraps around the contour of the hills and along the streets with corn stalks and I want to photograph everything.

My Birthday!

One of the things that I love more than anything in the world is looking up at the sky and seeing the milky way, the big bright moon, a shooting star. I now actually live in a place where almost anynight ( on a clear night anyway) I can step onto my porch and look up into the sky and see stars! Well, not only stars, but the milky way as well!!! It is central to my being. Stars talk to my soul. I sleep better after seeing the night sky. Anyway, my birthday request was to have a campfire built in the firepit and a sleeping bag laid out by the campfire so that i could stare up at the sky.
24 shooting stars later, i was fast asleep.
By the way, this isn't me, but i photo that i did for UHCL - doctored up to represent this post!

Rebecca and Eric get married in Traverse City!!

Rebecca Cox, a sweet downhome Texas gal, married her fiance Eric Kraimer in Michigan. Rebecca met Eric in Austin, Texas after Eric moved there on loosing a bet to his friend, Richard (aka Best Man). They got married in a small, neighborhood church in Sutton's Bay, Michigan in a quintessentially lovely seaside town on the Grand Traverse Bay. Their reception, attended only by family and very close friends was held in Leelanau, another lovely seaside town on the Lake Michigan side of the Leelanau Penninsula. The evening was perfect, the locations (Emanuel Lutheran Church and The Riverside Inn) were as lovely as lovely gets, and the wedding was a celebration of family and enduring love.
My thanks to Kima for inviting me to photograph her brother Eric's wedding!

Lighthouse and sunken ships!

After Arwen, Heather and little Roan left for Colorado, guess who came to visit next? My sister and her husband! (sans children!) It's been a long time since I have spent any time with my sister and her husband without their two kids, so it was quite lovely to spend all this time with them all to myself! We took a boat out to South Manitou Island and hiked about 6 miles. What a perfectly lovely island! We saw a sunken ship, the most beautiful lighthouse i have ever seen, and swans! Swans in Michigan... there are lots of them!!

Arwen and Heather with little Roan visit TC!!

Oh my gosh... our beautiful granddaughter and her parents visited us recently in TC... well, like back in the beginning of July... Roan is an active, curious, headstrong little girl with lots of interests and desires that include flopping ontop of Olive and scuttling back and forth throughout the house, and eating cherries (doesn't everyone love cherries?). Much of our activities involved exploring new territory NOT at nap time... However, we were able to sip wine on the mission and we drank coffee afterwards at Higher Grounds, a free trade coffee bar. We also sat on the beach one day with Roan, who just totally loved the sand, the water, the air. Our time was good... family is good...life is good.

Behind!

Okay, i'll admit it... i'm not the best blogger in town... I'm very behind!!! let's see if i can catch up!!

Freshhhhhh Food

One of the best things about living in Traverse City is the readily availability of fresh, organic, farm grown produce. You can get so much produce directly from the farm here... I love it! All foodies would love the summer in Grand Traverse Çounty!

Nurses in New Orleans

Well, yes, i went to New Orleans to photograph nurses for Matria... But there is so much to see and do in New Orleans that any photoshoot that you HAVE to do is always accompanied by a photoshoot that you HAVE to do ( for yourself!). To me, New Orleans looks as though it has recovered from Hurricane Katrina, yet under the surface lurks hurts and pains that haven't quite healed. But, it is good to say that the city has recovered enough to put it's best face forward for all of the tourists, all of the visitors. I photographed nurses for Matria and Design Coup in Atlanta on Thursday, then had beignets and coffee on friday...then fabulous seafood, then more beignets, then walked the streets, then more beignets. I thought I better come home before I started to look like a beignet! Anyway, here is a nurse, a photograph of my beloved beignets and just another touch of New Orleans!

My UHCL! RTC 2008

Every year I look forward to being busy when many of my photographer friends are still in the Christmas Holiday lull. I owe it all to University of Houston Clear Lake's Report to the Community photo shoot.
This year Summer (freshly married) Russo along with Rebecca Trahan designed a book to reflect the personal attachment that many alumni feel towards University of Houston Clear Lake. The photography took place over 3 weeks in the late winter season, sometimes outside, always incorporating the two University colors of blue and green. My assignment was to photograph each person within a setting that represented their personality and a loyal connection to the school. And oh yes, the designer wanted a "vertical"!
The success of these photos depends a great deal on the team that puts it all together, from the concept, to the environment to the scheduling of the portrait, lots of people are involved in pulling off a flawless photoshoot.
I love all of the pictures that I took for this project. Here are two that will probably be added to my portfolio.

A beautiful bride... Whitney!

Whitney is a classic beauty! She has the sophistication and elegance of Grace Kelly.
We met for a photo session in front of the Cancer Memorial in front of Hermann Park on a blustery cool Wednesday morning during spring break. She arrived bare shouldered early in the morning after a long drive into Houston for a 7 am hair and makeup appointment. I thought she would be very chilly and she was. But she never complained, never asked for a sweater, always eager to try out any idea myself or her audience might request.
The result? A photoshoot to top all photo shoots. She looped her arm over a statue of a brass family strolling along Main street, she posed in front a garden full of azaleas, kicked her heels at the fountain across the street. She was playful and exuded such polish and lovliness. The shoot was fabulous and this shoot will be a highlight of my portfolio and my website. Thanks Whitney! I can't wait for the wedding, and I bet Steven can't either!

New House

We are well on our way to totally changing our lives. We are headed to Traverse City, Michigan.
"How far is that from the North Pole?" Jim's dad asks us one afternoon during a visit. I chuckle along with everyone, but silently wonder if we are doing the right thing. "It snows up there, doesn't it?" a friend asks innocently enough..." You better have snow tires on your moving van" our friend Carrie warns us..."Are you sure you want to do this?" my father asks, while irritating me beyond measure. It's enough to plant the seed of doubt into this decision.
Whether we meant to or not, we have committed ourselves to spending at least two years in Traverse City, Michigan. We found a fabulous house. A house that feels so much more akin to who we are than even the Singleton house did, and we designed and built that house.
Our life is sure to be different. Different good. Different new
How did that happen?

We jumped off a cliff. We didn't know where we would land and what would happen to us. We trusted our instincts. We decided to "live life large", as my friend Rebecca often says.
I knew we would be fine when jim said as we rolled into Traverse City on the very first day, "It's a lot prettier than Houston".

Frank and Larissa tie the knot!

Frank and Larissa were married at the Church of the Latter Day Saints in the Woodlands on March 8, 2008. Frank is the brother of Jose Hererra, who was married in December to Monica Lopez. It was really nice to be able to photograph a family that I was familiar with. Frank's parents must be very proud of their young but very mature sons.
I took a gamble and took Frank and Larissa to Market Square in the Woodlands on the afternoon of their wedding. Larissa was demure as she walked around Market Square in the Woodlands with her handsome groom Frank on her arm. They walked along the promenade, met up wth a policeman's horse and sipped coca colas near the fountain in the heart of Market Square. Frank walked Larissa along a flower draped wall and Larissa jumped into Frank's arms. It was a romantic yet very public place and I think that their photos are some of my favorites from a wedding portrait session.

End is Near

Oh my gosh. What in the world are we doing?
I've counted the boxes a couple of times now and I can't believe that we have boxed up 140+ boxes. We disconnected the washer and drier today. Packed the coffee pot- boy, that really signals the end.
Spring is definately here and I linger around the walkways and the back porch. It's so peaceful here, even though the rush of the freeway is just steps outside the door. Sometimes you don't hear it though. You hear the birds, maybe one lonely car on the street behind the house.
Jim said today that he's always loved the views from our house. It's true. We are up in the trees and watch the birds, the squirrels, the wind rustle leaves. We make coffee, watch the sun come up. Where will we be next?
I'm about to disconnect the computer. My umbilical cord to everyone. Well, here we go. Don't know where we will land. What we will do. What's next.
Wow, are we insane?
Goodbye life that we know, life that we have loved. Goodbye house. Goodbye birds and trees and garden. Goodbye.
I loved you well.

saying goodbye

It's hard to say goodbye. I've had a little too much practice with it lately, but this one, this one is the hardest.
There are so many things that I love about my life in Houston. Yes, I've complained vehemently over the years, the heat, the traffic, the pollution. But my friends are here, my life is here. It's like, we are all in this crazy place together- along with the best mexican food, oddball art events, pleasant spring weather. And my house, this wonderful house.
There is nothing that will shake you out of your complacent shell than to uproot your life, take it elsewhere. I'm glad for our fortitude, for our willingness to push a little harder, make life a little more exciting and move out of Houston to something, somewhere that we idealize and hope will bring us new adventures. But all of the looking forward, all of the new dreams can't take place until we say goodbye here.
And I have just never had to feel such a sorrowful, all encompassing bittersweet goodbye to so many things, to so many friends, to a house i love, and to clients that i would rather keep.
So, if I just pass it all over and I don't seem to be able to utter a goodbye to you, know that in my heart of hearts I love you more than I can even say and I find it just too dang painful and that I would rather remember my sweet times with you, hold you dear to me and in my heart. I will never let go of you. You are the sweetest part of me.
I hope I am making the right decision.

Photo Rescue

i am walking to the edge ... i am looking over the edge.
it's a far drop. i can't see. i see now.

I am falling. I don't want to. I want to. I don't want to.
I want to live more than one lifetime.
the wind is blowing.
oh, i forgot my fear.

Super Soapranos Soap!

So you think it is easy photographing soap? It is if you have a beautiful bathroom! And I do! So when Ilanit asked me to do a shoot on behalf of her company "Soapranos", I was excited to finally put my beautiful bathroom to good use! (That is , if you don't count showers and teethbrushing as putting your bathroom to good use!!) Soapranos makes over 50,000 bars a month selling mostly in the Houston area but wanting to expand via the internet. Their soap is luxurious and beautiful, so their soap and my bathroom were a perfect fit.
As a photographer, I am always aware of perfect locations for photo shoots.

Married At Last!

Monica and Jose, whose engagement was noted in earlier posts, finally got married right before Christmas. This wonderful couple waited 10 years to take their vows. They have been in love since high school but they wanted to finish college and take time to plan their future! So many family and friends attended their wedding in Houston, Texas. What alot of good feelings and lots of fun!
I celebrate their marriage!