South County Balloon Festival Part 1

Over the weekend my husband and I drove down to the South County Balloon Festival in Kingston Rhode Island. It was a fantastic event with 12 hot air balloons, carnival food, rides, radio controlled planes, and high wire performances by The Flying Wallendas. The tricks and stunts performed by the Wallenda family were spectacularly impressive.

Aurelia Wallenda Swings

I took the following images on Saturday, then brought them with me to the festival on Sunday for the Wallendas to sign:

The Flying Wallendas perform the three man pyramid.

The Wallendas pose for the crowd after a successful act.

Aurelia Wallenda returns to solid ground.

Check back tomorrow for more images from The South County Balloon Festival!

Lilies!

Like most outings with my husband, a recent walk in Spohr Gardens in Woods Hole, MA, turned into a photoshoot. I should know better than to bring my camera along when we are just trying to go for a walk, but I never leave home without it! In any case, the light was beautiful, the lilies were in full bloom and, as usual, my husband was patient and supportive -- 3 of the most ideal conditions for nature photography. Here are some of the shots I snapped along the way...

"Liatris spicata"

"Lily I"

"Lily II"

"Lily III"

"Lily IV"

"Stone Walk"

Family Beach Portraits!

Last friday I had a really fun family beach portrait session on the beautiful beaches of Falmouth, MA. In the hour of shooting, this family of four showed so much energy and personality! We got some really fun shots... Check out the sneak preview:

I have several of these beach sessions coming up, and have some weekends still available.

Contact me if you want more info!

Leave some comments! I'd love to hear what you think!

Storms Brewing

One of my favorite experiences is to witness the moments before a really big storm -- when the darkness of the clouds in the sky completely conflicts with the amount of sunlight coloring the landscape. Here are some photographs I've captured in those shining moments -- the calm before the storm.

"New Hampshire Sunrise"

"Sunset Drive"

"Surf Drive Storm"

"The Approach"

"Illinois Wall of Clouds"

New Lens

Last weekend I took a trip with my husband up to Calumet Photographic in Boston to buy some flash accessories. While we were there, I decided to buy Canon's 50mm 1.8 lens. It is a really fun, lightweight lens -- very different than the lenses I already owned. I had previously read some reviews on this lens and photographers seem to be very happy about it. Now that I have shot with it for about a week, I can definitely see why everyone is so impressed.

This lens is all plastic, so its not the most durable, but I don't know too many photographers who aren't careful with their gear. Also, the auto focus is slow and loud, but for anyone who's willing to manually focus, the results are tack sharp. This is my first fixed focal length lens, and I've had a lot of fun playing around with it. Here are some of the shots I got with it this week:

"Cappuccino" -- this well foamed beverage was served to my husband at

Wicked Fire Kissed Pizza (one of our favorite restaurants in Cape Cod).

"Children Playing"

"Sake" -- a set of these mugs was a wedding gift from a friend

"Admiral" -- a page from one of my grandmother's old House Beautiful magazines...

I would recommend this lens to anyone who's been thinking about picking it up. Its fairly inexpensive (less than $100), and it offers high quality results.

Check back next week for images from some Family Portrait Sessions!

Busy Busy Busy

It was a crazy, but eventful, weekend around here. Last saturday and sunday I participated in a local art show (Arts Alive) in Falmouth. We didn't exactly have the most luck with weather, but overall we had a pretty good turnout. I got to meet some really interesting people...

Here's a picture, my husband took, of our table where we sold Matted Prints, Framed Prints, and Gallery Wraps. Of all the products I brought to the show, the Gallery Wrap was by far the most popular. I lost count of the number of people who stopped by the table to talk to us about it. Everyone seemed so suprised to find out it wasn't a painting, but a photograph printed directly on canvas. I have been really pleased with the way the Gallery Wraps turn out. I currently have four of them on display at my exhibition at the Inkwell Bookstore. I sold the Gallery Wrap in this picture to a very nice family vacationing on the cape.

In other news, this past sunday, we learned, was not only father's day but the Portuguese Festival of the Holy Ghost. Starting at around 10am, a parade for the festival marched down our street... Its not every day a parade with a marching band walks past your house... here are some photos I snapped while they walked by...

The Summer is a reminder...

... of why I live in Cape Cod.  Lately, there have been more beautiful days than icky ones here.  There have been so many opportunities to go out and take amazing photographs all over Cape Cod.  Here are a few of my favorites from the past week...

"Quissett Harbor"

"Oyster Pond Dock"

This guy was in our backyard after a rainy afternoon... my elementary school science education was severely lacking, so I had no idea where snails get their shells.  Wikipedia informed me that the shell of the egg they are born out of becomes their first meal, and part of their shell... over time as they grow, the shell gets more and more spirals in it... the bigger the shell, the older the snail.  This snail's shell was only about a quarter inch... 

"Backyard Snail"

"Snug Harbor"

"Little Island Road"

many more Cape Cod photos coming soon... And check out my installation at The Inkwell Bookstore during June and July...