I digress.

The Surf Club is just a special place for us.  My inlaws and Mandy and Owen thrown their blood sweat and tears — their entirety — into making it the place it is today… and we feel so blessed we can share it with our kids.  But the staff each summer does the same.  And so a few years ago, they established a Scholarship Fund where the kids who run the kitchen, the pool, the beach, so diligently can be rewarded for their hard work through scholarships towards their college tuition.  For the past two years, I have happily donated sessions to the cause, in hopes that people would bid on me in order to raise money for a great cause.  And so I mentioned, when I found out that Ann & Clarke bid and won I was so happy as I know that they also do so much for not only the Surf Club, but also the Village of Quogue (and equally special place).

So here are a few images from their session.  I am so lucky that I can not only have this family as a lifelong friend, but also that I can now put them up on the big screen in the studio!  Cheers!

So we wrapped up the summer at the Surf Club and I shot three amazing sessions, for three amazing families while I was there.  We went from sun to rain to gross to sun to wind all in about 36 hours, so planning the sessions was a bit of a shot in the dark.  Add on top of that the Surf Club was recovering from the effects of Hurricane Irene, and so the beach just didn’t look like “our beach…” no benches, most of the greenery turned brown from the salt.  But as I’ve said time and again, you put beautiful people with gorgeous light in front of a dumpster and you have a winning image… The Surf Club, even less than it’s usual splendor, is still a fantastic beach.  Add to that the light of Quogue, which is like that of Provence (I imagine), and the beautiful families just shine.

I was so happy to be able to photograph this family.  We’ve played “tag” for dates for about a year, and finally, at the VERY last minute (I mean on Wednesday I write “I’ll be there Thursday…”) we were able to sync up and I am SO GLAD WE DID.  Not only do I love Megan, but I feel like I know yet another Surf Club family with beautiful children that mine will someday cause trouble with (well, her youngest two anyway… hey, maybe the oldest will be old enough to babysit by then!).

Anyway, to land the plane, and not disappoint, it’s yet another beautiful family.  I’m sorry, did you expect anything less?

Anyway, rarely do I plan a session for friends, in advance, and have it executed to perfection. Friends, and I love you dearly, often have a habit of rescheduling, not really prepping, running in on short notice, or waiting until the last minute. As you all know, I live and die for my friends and so honestly, I am giving you all the business, I love doing your sessions no matter what the time or circumstances. But for this, Jen & Missy really planned. They brought dinner for the kiddos (big yummy cups of Mac-n-Cheese), delicious foccacia and spreads fresh from the market, and of course a host of beverages that made our red Silo cups proud. With that, we had some insane early fall weather, the most perfect sunset, and accommodating kids (excluding, perhaps, some moments with mine). I have long since believed that pretty much any problem in the world can be solved if you are barefoot with a stiff cocktail at the beach when the sun is going down… and not that we had problems to solve, but there is something about it that makes you not want to be anywhere else in the world.

It was such a fun night, and I happily handed over my camera so the girls could shoot some of me… and once we established that the “red dot” goes on the face (not on Bandit chasing Brighton in the background), we were all set and I am so happy we captured what we did.

I should note that the most willing participants of the evening were the four rockin’ rescue dogs we brought with us. We love our dogs. We saved them each from a different fate, but surely one that would have had a terrible end, and I think we can all say our lives are better for having them with us.

So I am back in action, with this new blog format, and beyond excited to share some of my favorite images from sessions that I’ve shot during this crazy, hectic, time.

That said, I decided that I am just going to blog images, and not really do write ups for Seniors. I worry so much that I’ll inadvertently short change someone with a write up and it will be unintentional, but leave someone wondering why I would write a lot about one girl and not another, when really it comes down to time and what’s on my mind… and so Senior posts will be wordless…

I hope you enjoy!

I really loved meeting her entire family. It’s funny that sometimes as photographers we “talk” all day long on our various forums and boards, and often we share so much of our lives with each other… from a business and a personal standpoint. We really watch our kids grow up together. And we watch our businesses grow. So pulled the whole family together and making a real life connection is very amazing and I am grateful we had the chance to do so.

Here’s their slideshow, thank you for allowing me to share with everyone!

It really felt like a perfect day to share a little (long) slideshow that will make your heart “super happy.”   It’s from a session at the end of August, the 30th, and it’s at the beach, and it was SO hot it was beyond sticky.  It was itchy hot.  Here’s the backstory…

I met Stacey through Missy & Kevin across the street.  They really wanted to give their friends a special gift, so they hired me to shoot a newborn session for them.  The twins were 12 weeks when I met them.  At that time, the twin’s father, Joe, had an incurable form of brain cancer.  To say I was nervous would be a gigantic understatement.  But I knew it wasn’t about me and as soon as I met Stacey, I knew that I would photograph her family forever and that we would be friends.  Three months later in July I returned to do what would be a final family shoot.  They lost Joe in August.

Throughout the year I stayed connected with Stacey, we photographed the twins at nine months and one year.  And during this time, I watched with complete and total amazement as Stacey moved forward with such determination, love, purpose and grace.  She is an incredible force.  She not only took over ownership of Joe’s very successful HVAC business, but maintained her job as a manager at a staffing company.  Not enough?  She has raised an INSANE amount of money for the Dana-Farber and has rallied hundreds of people around her cause.  Oh, and she’s been named a “Woman of the Year” by the National Association of Professional Women.

It sounds like a lot, and it is.  But it’s all meaningless without her children and her family (love her mom, by the way).  She is — above everything else — an amazing mother.  Her babies (who are now toddlers, how did that happen?) are beautiful, sweet, spunky, and loving little wonders.  And every day they bring her love and joy (and maybe a few tears).  And every day she can hug them and know that she has this part of Joe still with her.  And every day they can give her more inspiration to continue to do about 36,000 times more than the average person and be the dynamo that she is.

So on August 30th, the anniversary of losing Joe, we went to the beach and we sent some balloons to heaven.  And Stacey and the kids got to run around and get a little wet and play in some sand and blow bubbles and do what most of us take for granted every day… she was just a mom.

On a completely and totally selfish note, my sessions with Stacey are a gift I give MYSELF.  I shoot them completely free of structure, not worrying about the technical perfection on which people typically judge.  I shoot them for capturing endless moments in time so that someone who I admire, respect and love can have them forever to add to her memory bank.  They are truly my pleasure.  {And of course she has to wait like 5 weeks for them, yes, I suck.}  So here they are.  If you are followers of her story, please leave some love in the comments below.

MWAH!

CLICK HERE if you want to listen to it with the music (it’s way better that way), otherwise, click the play arrow on the thumbnail bar under the slideshow!

[And because I am a little neurotic, yes, I know my music doesn't sync up and then song loops, normally I like to time it that way, but there are so many images and I wanted to share them all and this was the only song I wanted to use.  So that's that.]

[Thank you KT Tunstall]

This year marks my first real journey into the world of photographing Seniors.  And after five sessions (with a few more on the books), I am overwhelmed, excited, rejuvenated, inspired and a bit awestruck.  I feel giddy when I come home from my sessions.  I call my mom and I tell her about each and every one of these women.  What makes them so special, how amazing they are, and… today I asked “was I really that bad a kid?” [It's not a simple answer... I was just young and a little rebellious and a tiny bit unfocused... but I turned out alright, I think!].

It’s simple.  I am overwhelmingly fortunate to be able to photograph these girls and spend time with them.  I could not love this any more.  Maybe I could.  Next year this will be a big focus for me.  More on that in the spring.

If you are a Senior and you have not booked your Senior Photographs, you still have time.  Masconomet is due in November, and this leaves us with September and October and the glorious light and color of the Fall.  Please email me using the contact form on this blog, through my website or message me through Facebook.  And don’t forget to Like my business!  If you are a parent of a Senior, please feel free to email me or call me.  I feel it’s important to have parents connected and involved with me so that you know you have entrusted your child to someone who is infinitely concerned about their happiness and their well being (even if they are all grown up!) and will do everything I can to ensure they have beautiful photographs that you both will love.

For more details on my “Keeping it Real” senior sessions, click here.

Most of these have already been posted to Facebook, but I thought I’d share them here.  I will have more to share in the next few week, stay tuned.

I love having siblings join.  What an awesome way to knock out some holiday gift prints and get the image for your holiday cards!

Everything about that image sums up what I love about life, summer, family, beach, water and the North Shore.  I love the light.  I love the rocks and lumps of seaweed — this ocean and that landscape is what I know.  I love the reflection of their feet in the sand.  I love that her feet do not touch the ground.  I love that they are holding hands.  I love that he is looking at her and she is screaming with joy.  I love that the youngest is trying to keep up.  I love that the parents are so happy and engaged behind them.  This will be an image that I look at when I am sad, just to make me happy.  This will be the first image on my new web site.  I love it.

OK, back to reality, land the plane.  I first shot these kiddos way back when, two years ago.  I was thrilled when I got a call for another session.  Nothing makes me happier than seeing clients I love, and seeing how their children have grown.  When they said they were at the beach, one of my favorite beaches that I grew up at, I was really excited.  And of course you know what happens when I arrive at a session… I play the name game and sure enough, I know the neighbors… and the other neighbors… and the others…. so no, there really are no strangers in my life.

The weather called for 70% chance of showers and thunderstorms.  Seriously.  What a great job.  You can be wrong ALL THE TIME and not get fired.  Sign me up.  There was not one cloud in the sky.  The temperature was perfect August.  The was a record low tide which made for a glorious sand bar.  Kids amazing.  Parents were awesome.  Never mind the weatherman, I have a great job.

Thanks Shannon & Geoff and kids.  It was awesome.