Getting ready for Halloween

I have been taking lots of pictures lately... birthday parties, preschool parades, etc. I am dying to get out and take some fall foliage pictures, though. I haven't had a chance to hit the road and find the best spot. I don't have to go far. Some of the parks right here in Hamilton offer lots of color and nice views. We'll see.

As for Halloween, I have a Thomas the Tank Engine and a Cheerleader in my house. I am hoping to get their smiling mugs recorded before they fill up with sugar. Again, we'll see!

I have to get ready for Christmas too. I am bouncing around some posing and prop ideas for holiday card photos. Stay tuned!

Old Timers' Day at Yankee Stadium

On August 2, 2008 my husband and I took our last trip to Yankee Stadium... it was sort of emotional, but at the same time I was overwhelmed by so many things I didn't even think about the "last time" factor. My husband surprised me for my birthday and got these awesome tickets. I mean incredibly awesome. We sat in the first row about the visitors' (LAA Angels) dugout. I could see directly into the Yankees' dugout! And with my 200mm lens, we were in business. What made the seats even greater was that it was the 62nd annual Old Timers' Day... and the largest collection of Yankee greats! I was able to be a stone's throw away from great players like Bucky Dent, Oscar Gamble, Mickey Rivers... players from my childhood. I swear I can still close my eyes and see myself sitting cross-legged in front of my TV watching the game and listening to Phil Rizzuto and Bill White do the broadcasting.

Then there were the recently-retired great players. Paul O'Neill, Tino Martinez, David Wells! It was awesome to see them on the field again. Pictured is Tino at bat, Joe Girardi catching.

We had a great day and it was even better since the Yankees won. I took hundreds of pictures. I still haven't put them on my webpage because I am trying to decide which ones to put there in the interest of bandwidth!

The Stadium looked great and I will miss it when it's gone. I did get to see one more game the next day with friends... but that's it. Unless I have a boatload of good luck come my way, I have visited Yankee Stadium for the last time :(

Her best friend is getting a lot less hairy

My sweet daughter, Gillian, has a bear since birth that she has carried around with her just about everywhere. And while Bear (which is his name, of course) is a durable soul, he is looking a lot worse for the wear. A few months ago, I sat bear down for a portrait session. He was one of my best subjects - no fussing, no fidgeting. Lots of great expressions... I put together a collage for Gillian's wall since I am not sure how long Bear will have his coat. It thins a bit more each day as Gilly "picks fuzzies" as a nervous habit. Even since February when I took these portraits, he has lost a bit of fur... but he is still soooooo loved!

A whole new blog

Well, I have decided to give Blogspot a shot since I have been miserable at keeping up my blogging on my own website. Truth is, there are too many steps involved in sharing! Lazy, I know, but I have far too many nuts and bolts rolling around my brain as it is these days. The summer so far has been, well, HOT! Not the best weather for photographing in all honesty. Even my portraits sessions have left me sun-weary and sweat-drenched from lugging my equipment to and from my van. That said, I feel inspired. I just need inspiration to find me physicially. The flowers are dry, the kids are cranky. We went for a long drive last night with no particular destination in mind. There were some cool photo ops, including some storm clouds, horses, fields of flowers... but I broke the photographer's number one rule - my camera was at home. I didn't feel the need to bring it along to "Space Chimps". Silly me.