I went to my very first multi-day photo conference a couple weeks ago, and what better place to dive in to this than N’awlins? I had never been there before, so I was excited to hear that my lab partner, Pictage, would be having their annual conference there. This was the second year in a row that they hosted the conference there because it was so successful last year. It was so fun to hang out with fellow photographers for five days….I thought of it as meeting up with people from “my planet.”

One of my favorite parts of the trip was wandering around the French Quarter on my own, especially when I could find talented musicians playing on the streets.

Random… I know…this one is confusing to look at, but that’s why I like it!  The right side of the image is actually a reflection from a mirror on the wall outside of a convenience store.One of my favorites….like stepping back in time. I wish I had recorded some of the sound at this moment too as there was some fun music going on!
Here are two of my friends that I hung out with the most throughout the week. On the left is Hennessey Green, a DC area photographer who I have met before, but got to know much better on this trip.  The sassy chick with him is Philly-based photographer, Suzanne Tenuto. Thanks to twitter and a #partnercon hashtag, the three of us caught a cab ride into the city together from the airport. The photo on the right is one I caught while Suzanne was taking a photo of her breakfast at the famed New Orleans coffee stand, Café Du Monde.  We went on a quick walk there for beignets and café au lait one morning before the first seminar of the day.  Beignets are the official state donut of Louisiana. For real.And here’s another cute restaurant, Café Beignet. This shot is through the wrought iron table I was sitting at outside.Here is a pic I grabbed during one of the numerous speaking sessions. This is Columbus-based photographer, Kitty Maer, who was demonstrating some Photoshop retouching techniques. Our last big activity was a charity photo shoot where we set up a a bunch of mini studios and created free portraits for families in the community. This is sort of a “behind the scenes” photo of this mother-daughter pair posing for another photographer.  Great smiles! Stay tuned for my next post which will have images from some educational shooting workshops I participated in.

While I was in the Outer Banks last week (post-hurricane fortunately), I had the pleasure of photographing this cutie-patootie (my bf’s nephew). Technically, I was on vacation, but how could any photographer resist this face?  Price has this wide-eyed surprised look most of the time and you can just watch him looking around and studying everything that surrounds him. We headed out to the beach one evening for some “official” 6-month portraits.  His mommy, Shea, was worried that he would eat the sand (he puts absolutely everything else in his mouth, of course), but he just played with it and had a good time.  You can see who he gets those gorgeous blue eyes from!I love his serious face!I think it’s so sweet how Price is reaching up to touch Shea’s face in this shot.Bye-bye summertime. 

Have you ever found money in the pocket of your coat that had been long forgotten?  Even though it was yours all along, it feels like money dropped out of the sky just for you!  Anyway, I just found some photos on my computer that I never finished editing or even showed anyone, which is a similar feeling.  It has been 2.5 years since my solo adventure to Arizona and San Francisco.  I guess because nobody else was there to bug me to see the photos, I just sat on them.

This was part business, part pleasure, as my employer sent me to Scottsdale for a healthcare webmaster workshop.  I have to admit that the desert doesn’t excite me too much, but I decided to add a few personal days to my trip and hop on a flight to San Francisco before heading back home. I had never been any further west than Denver (hi Sarah!), so this was pretty exciting. It was also a new experience to sight-see alone, but at least I got to do exactly what I felt like doing without checking in with anyone else.  It felt empowering to face a new city on my own two feet.

I’d also like to mention that I had to remove a lot of specks and smudges from these photos.  I’m sure those of you who have spent more time in San Francisco know to clean your lenses often, but I was just a silly tourist walking around with the foggy dampness and water spray covering my lens. Live and learn, right?  Chilly + Windy + Wet = San Francisco.

I found it difficult to really show how steep the streets were.  I’ve seen the movies and heard about the area, but I still was not really prepared for the madness of San Francisco.  I definitely got a good workout wandering around.

I took a ferry ride to Sausalito on one gorgeous day.  I was wishing I could be on one of those sailboats!

Sausalito is such a cute town. I had lunch at a little cafe with outdoor seating and walked around.

Before leaving on this trip, I made a reservation with Adventures Aloft for a hot air balloon ride over Napa Valley, which is about a 90 minute drive from San Fran.  I think I had to get up around 5am, but it was worth it.

My view of some horses in a field:

Back on the ground:

Okay, okay, here’s a photo of me.  There was a family on board with me from Bethesda, Maryland.  Small world!

My next post will be back in present time!

I’m noticing that as I get older, I don’t dread the end of summer nearly as much and it’s not just because Fall no longer means a new school year is starting for me. I think I’ve just come to appreciate the simpler pleasures and to make the best of whatever comes my way. I know how fortunate I am to have this life, so it would be a waste of time and energy to groan about my cold feet and noisy radiators (they’re not on yet, but soon!).

Here’s to fuzzy blankets, fireplaces burning, crunchy leaves, hot mochas, warm socks, pumpkin patches, hiking in the woods, movie nights, baking cookies, sweaters, and snuggling.

We’ve still got some warm days left, so enjoy those flip-flops while you can!

I went to Texas for the first time this past weekend for my friend Amy’s wedding. Dallas, more specifically.  I met Amy soon after officially moving to Baltimore City, which I believe was late 2003 if memory serves.  She replied to an ad I had on Craig’s List for a roommate and came to check out my apt in Bolton Hill.  This isn’t a roommate story though as she declined moving in with me….I can’t really remember why, but I think she wanted to be in a more happening neighborhood or maybe it was the narrow three flights of stairs that scared her away….or maybe she thought I was a shifty character. Probably not though, as we hit it off and eventually started hanging out on a regular basis.  I think I was even one of the first of her friends to meet her now husband, Amartya (Marty), as they met in the area.  Anyway, they are living in Chicago now and finishing up their advanced degrees, but I know they must miss B’more terribly!

Amy and Marty had a traditional Hindu Bengali wedding that spanned the whole weekend.  I don’t know if that’s the right way to put it, but I’m learning! Check out “Bengali wedding” on Wikipedia to learn more.  I’m also learning about Indian food, though some of it is a bit too spicy for my palette.

I made my first details collage – it’s neat to see how everything really fits together.  Lots of warm colors and sophisticated graphic design courtesy of the super-talented bride.

They had an Ashirvad the evening before the wedding, which is a ceremony for blessing the bride.  Someone please correct me if I describe anything incorrectly. This was held at a contemporary Indian restaurant called Clay Pit, and included lots of food and mingling.

Here is Amy getting some encouragement from a family member:

Gotta love this face:

Getting ready on her wedding day!

Bridesmaids doing some primping of their own:

Here is Amy having her bindi applied….so sparkly and pretty!

Anxiously awaiting Amy’s entrance at the ceremony:

Amy’s brother escorted her in while she hid her eyes with a betel leaf as tradition dictates.  She was having a hard time walking while hiding her face and wearing heels all while wrapped up in her sari, which led to some laughter.  She had to make it down the aisle and circle around Marty seven times before removing the leaf for their first glance at each other.

Look!  My name in English and Bengali (or Hindi?)!

I always find the cuties!

Speech time….I love the warm light surrounding them.  I still can’t get over how gorgeous Amy looked!

I hung out with some of Amy’s super-cool friends who went to the University of Texas together most of the weekend…some I had already met before.  I’m only 5’7″, really.  Thanks to Regan for taking this pic with my camera!

Check out these little guys with the cell phone cameras!  Madness!

 The cake was really yummmy…better than most I’ve had!

Caught Amy doing this cute little wave from the dance floor:

Congrats Amy & Marty!  Have fun in Spain!

I hope everyone is enjoying this holiday season!  I just wanted to share a few pics from the weekend that kicked off the season for me. The Howard County Dept of Recreation & Parks organized a day trip to New York to see the Rockette’s holiday show and I went with my parents and niece.  We lucked out with the weather…it did rain a bit, but was unseasonably warm.

Here are my parents. My facebook friends may have seen some of these pics already. By the way, if you’re not on facebook yet, get on it! 

Caroline is almost nine…I can’t believe it.

One of my favorite parts of the day was visiting FAO Schwarz. I can’t decide if this muppet pic is funny or creepy.

I don’t know what this building is, but it has this crazy curved design.

We had a few hours of free time before the show, so we visited Central Park, ate lunch at a cafe, and checked out the huge Christmas tree at Rockefeller Center. They just put the tree up, so it had scaffolding around it so that they could decorate it.   The outdoor ice skating rink and Rockefeller Center were behind me when I took the photo of Caroline below.  I liked this view better.

Showtime at Radio City:

Any guesses on what this is?

Honfest was this past weekend and I had to stop in at least for a little bit considering that it’s just a few blocks from my house.  My cousin, Becky, went with me…she grew up in B’more, but had never been. Shameful, I know. I think everyone should go at least once. Once was actually enough for me, so I just took a few pics and we basked in the air conditioning during lunch at Dogwood. 

The first pic below is Becky with a beehive. We actually didn’t meet until we were both in college at the Savannah College of Art & Design. My dad said, “hey, you know you have a cousin at that school?” before I left for Savannah and gave me her name.  Becky and I were even in the same dorm, so it was great to have someone to connect with right away. I was a mid-year transfer student and she already knew the ropes. We’re both back in Baltimore now (she and her husband are architects here) and reconnected via Facebook. 

I admit that I photoshopped the heck out of this, but I still like it:

I’m cheating. This next photo is from last year when I took my niece and nephew.  I feel like I’ve posted this somewhere before, but can’t think of where. I didn’t have my blog yet. Hmmmmm…mystery.

Wow, I had a really nice and full weekend! Friday night I hung with some friends at Golden West and then Holy Frijoles, both of which are walking distance to my house. On Saturday, I went to my first Access Sailing day of the season with the Downtown Sailing Center. The weather was absolutely perfect! I hit Starbucks on the way home for a decaf Java Chip Frappuccino…there’s a new one on Charles Street in Mount Vernon (consider that a PSA). It was too nice to go inside when I got home, so I wandered down to The Avenue and checked out some of the shops. I ran into a couple friends along the way…that’s “Smalltimore” for ya. I picked up a supercute T-shirt at Hanging on a Whim that says “single and not settling” really tiny on the front. I just had to have it.

Today I got to hang out with baby Jack and his family for a yummy crab cake lunch and a photo session. If you haven’t read my past blog entries or haven’t heard me mention him a hundred times, read about him here. Technically, I invited myself over because I couldn’t wait to see him again, but it was James and Vicki’s idea to do lunch as well. They are so sweet and make me feel so welcome…check out an awesome comment Vicki left on my blog here. Jack is about 8 months old now and doing fantastic! Here are a few pics…

Open mouth, insert foot:

Haha…he looks like he’s explaining something:

He’s still a bit off-balance trying to sit up, but as you can tell, he doesn’t seem to mind:

This cracks me up…he seems to be texting someone on his “cell” and is oblivious to his nakedness and the fact that I’m photographing him:

Stinkin’ cute!

I played hooky on Monday to attend the Rockstar Roadtrip in Arlington, which is a traveling photography seminar hosted by the amazing Corey McNabb and Amber Holritz of Asheville, NC. They both shoot weddings, but Amber really specializes in lifestyle family portraiture. I would love to do more of this type of work, so feel quite inspired now. The best part of these types of seminars is getting to talk with other photographers I know as well as meeting new ones. Here are a few shots from dinner and drinks after the seminar….

Here is the hilarious Jaime Windon who kept us entertained at dinner:

Corey McNabb at our post-rockstar dinner:

Michael Juiliano used my cam to grab these next two shots of me. I’m pictured here with Suzanne Behsudi, who fascinated all of us talking about how she grew up in Africa (no, not South Africa….Nigeria I think) and moved to the U.S. at the awkward age of fourteen. Awesome meeting her!

I don’t know what I’m saying, but I really mean it:

Amber lit by her phone…I like this one:

Corey and his martini with Sarah Hodzic and Joana Gribko in the background at some random irish pub:

Hi all. Just wanted to share a few pics from the interesting things I’ve been up to lately. Although I yearn for the warm weather and city festivals, there are good times to be had during this yucky weather. I went to the Aquarium last weekend (on a date!) but forgot to bring my camera. Did you know that admission is half-price on Friday nights? The dolphins go to bed early, but you can see everything else all the way until 9:30pm (last tickets sold at 8). The rainforest is a little creepy at night though.

I mentioned in a previous post that I was throwing a singles mixer and that went really well. I don’t know that any matches were made, but I think everyone had fun. I was feeling quite stressed beforehand that it would be lame….being a hostess just isn’t my thing.

I had to get a shot of this funky sculpture hanging in the middle of the gallery space where our party was held. My friend lives in one of two apartments in the same building, so she offers it up as a gathering space regularly. I’ve been there three times now and each time someone bumps into this sculpture and a piece falls off. You definitely can’t tell that anything is amiss.

Linda is very photogenic…she just recently got contacts and is working it!

Christina and Christa gettin’ close for a pic:

No, this isn’t still the singles party. This is the next day in that busy weekend. I went to see the Charm City Roller Girls battle a team from Ohio at the Baltimore Armory. My first exposure to roller derby…very entertaining!

Here are a couple shots from a recent ice skating outing in Mt Washington…I’m not quite as skillful as the roller girls are on their skates and my legs were killing me. Here’s a shot of Charlee cruising on by:

I never have pictures of me, so April used my camera to grab this one of me and Cathy. That wall is holding me up.