Foodie Heaven

Last weekend, the hubby took a wrong turn and instead of going to Hoboken we ended up in the city.  With lots of house work and other tasks waiting for me at home, I really wasn't looking forward to any detours.  But he really made it up to me by taking us to Chelsea Market (just one of those places I always said I wanted to go to, but never got around to actually doing it).

I have such an appreciation for local, handcrafted food.   My favorite bite that day was Hudson Valley strawberries with balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper. So amazing!  

It is very easy for me to focus on my to-do list instead of enjoying the moment like I should but, that day, I did just that.

Baby Steps

 Quick cast @ Hot Sand in Asbury Park, NJ

 pouring the glass

Julianna and Riley's little feet!

Daddy, Mama, and Riley

 My little niece Sofia

Beach play next to the convention center

Adventures with Flat Stanley

My niece Chloe mailed my daughters a paper doll called Flat Stanley.  As a family, we had to take Stanley on adventures and take pictures of everything we did.  The kids and I wrote a little story to go along with the pictures and activities we had done with Flat Stanley to send back to Chloe's school.  I hope my niece enjoyed our story.

Cape May, the last shoot of the semester

The truth is, in doing these assignments, you set out with one agenda in mind and come up some other variation of it.  My goal was to focus on architecture and only feature the most elaborate of houses.  My pictures turned out to be anything but grand.  They become a portrait of a more quite and deserted cape may where smaller details are showcased.  It is a series that illustrates the calm prior to the bustling summer season where these streets will fill and populations will rise from under 5,000 to over 40,000.

Cape May Beach Sunset

(Probably my favorite image from this shoot)

Resident of the oldest home in Cape May

Cafe window

Sunken Ship, Cape May Point

This image, I feel, is strongest at capturing that sense of anticipation

Spaces Project

Exploration

(This image was created by combining several images of my daughter Riley riding her bike and the view from Ridgewood Heights, NJ.)

Car Roof

(This is a picture I had taken of flooded of Lodi, Nj this past March.  It is also the street I grew up on where my family and I personally experienced the flood waters.  The black spot in the center of the image is the only portion of a car visible as the waters begin to recede.)

Spring Firewood

immersed in Lilac

Easter Sunday

Had a great day with my family Easter Sunday!  Members of my family work so hard for every family dinner and every holiday hoping to create fond memories for their loved ones.  I wasn't feeling very well physically that day because I had surgery a few days prior to remove my gallbladder. This allowed me the opportunity to observe instead of helping, reminding me of how all these people with their busy lives stop and express their love to each other through the work they provide at and leading up to these family gatherings.  It is about a passion for food but more about a love for each other.

Playing with my food

This weekend I have been revisiting food photography for my last editing assignment of the semester.  I am half way there, here a few . . .

Self Portrait Project

Morning Mirror

Balance

Grounded

Portrait Project

Portrait of Sisters

                                                       

 Portrait of Grandmothers

Portrait of a Man

"Get Closer" Assignment

            This past weekend, I visited the Metropolitan Museum of Art.  My mission was to photograph specific details of various bodies of work for submission in the “Get Closer” amateur photography contest.  I explored the museum's vast collections, from the Greek and Roman galleries to the French Decorative Arts, looking at the particular characteristics that made up each piece of art.

Greek, Hellenistic, Marble Heads

I started by photographing Greek and Roman busts, sometimes getting so close in the pursuit of detail that I had set off the occasional alarm!  The Greek marbles heads were so distinct from each other, effectively illustrating the various characteristics of each individual’s face.  I love the Roman head’s profiles.  They reminded me of my father and grandparents, particularly in the quintessential Romanesque, bridge of the nose.

"The Burghers of Calais", Auguste Rodin

Kwoma Ceiling

As you enter the Oceanic Arts gallery, you are sucked in by the Kwoma ceiling artwork. The Kwoma are a group of people living in northwestern New Guinea.   These are the ceilings of their ceremonial houses, which have no walls, and are used for ritual.  The wood is heavily decorated with carvings and paintings.

"Sappho", Comte Prosper D'Epinay

Greek, Hellenistic, Marble Head

Hallway Shoot

I call members of my family and my friends daily, asking them to either to review my images or to be part of one.  My photography career has really been a family affair.  I appreciate them so much for taking time in their busy lives to play around with me and my camera.  Here are the results of a shoot I did sunday night with my cousin Shanna and my husband Johnny (who had just spent an hour in a plastic crate the night before while shooting "Death of Marat").  I'm so blessed to have them all!