The Big Apple Circus!

One of Linnea's birthday gifts from me was two tickets to the Big Apple Circus! So on Sunday we headed down to to the big top set up at City Hall Plaza. Neither of us had been to a circus since we were little kids, so we were very excited. :)

And this cast of characters did not disappoint! Trapeze artists, italian clowns, tight-rope walkers, colorful dancers, white stallions, high-flying teeter-totter-launched acrobats, dancing dogs, and a great live band all made for a totally fun-filled day!

NYC Bridal Show

Linnea and I made a quick trip down and back to New York City on Monday for the Wedding Salon's Bridal Show at Gotham Hall.

Gotham Hall is a seven-story ballroom, with an amazing three hundred-foot wide stained glass skylight, a huge gilded chandelier, Corithian columns, and marble floors. It's really an awe-inspiring space. The show was a who's who of New York's wedding vendors and showcased some of the best ideas and products for high-end brides.

Of course, on the the way out of the city I had to make a quick pit-stop at one of the best (yet decidedly non-high-end) hot dog joints in the city... Gray's Papaya. Although I've always been partial to the original, Papaya King, sometimes you just gotta go with what's convenient. For those of you that have never partaken, these "Papaya" places serve fruit smoothie's and hot dogs... which might seem like an odd combination, but you gotta try it! :)

Spring has Sprung!

The magnolias on Commonwealth Ave. are finally blossoming!
Ahhh spring in Boston....

David Wells Workshop

Saturday I attended the David Wells workshop on Copyright & Stock Photography for Professional Photographers at the Harvard Club in Boston. I actually won my entry at last month's PUG meeting and I'm really glad I did!

David is an incredibly accomplished photographer who has made some incredible images during his long freelance career. He shared his philosophies on the importance of registering ALL of your images with the Library of Congress and the benefits of setting up your workflow to automatically track the process. He also gave us great insight into the world of Stock Photography and how it could be a profitable addition to our businesses.

Thanks to Matt Grazier for organizing the workshop. And it was great meeting a few new friends during the day too...check out their sites: Megan Marascalo, Michael Blanchard, and Tara Morris & Ben Wight.

April PUG

The April PUG (Pictage User Group) meeting was blast . About 25 photographers gathered at beautiful St. Peter's Church in Southie Tuesday night to try out some new shooting techniques and share some tips and tricks. There were a lot of flashes going off, but the majority of the time was used to catch up with old friends, meet some new ones, and enjoy each other's company.

Our blushing bride with her beautiful bouquet!
Played by the always fabulous Jessica Echavarria...

Some wonderful church details...

Happy Birthday Linnea!

Happy birthday to the best wife & friend a husband could ever wish for!
I love you with ALL my heart.....

We took this little photo with my point & shoot after dinner at Ristorante Molise...

Captivated by the Light

...or maybe not so much.

Me, James and Kate Federico, Tony and Anna Yu, Brittany Blando, and Maureen Ford all headed over to the Captivated by the Light seminar put on by Ed Pierce in Woburn last night. The content was good, but I think we all had much more fun just hanging out with each other. :) James took a cool group shot that I'll hopefully post here soon. The April PUG meeting is tomorrow and the fun will continue.

Roberto's band

As promised, here's a few detail shots of Roberto Cassan's band from Sunday night's party! Most of the musicians are also in the band Newpoli, who's specialty is the roots of Italian folk music...meaning classical traditional folk songs played by the farmers of Neapolitan suburbs during the Period in which Giacomo Puccini and Giuseppe Verdi were performing their operas." A wonderfully specific musical genre huh? :) And they sounded amazing!

Trisha's 50th Birthday Celebration!

Trisha, a good friend from Houghton Mifflin, had her 50th birthday bash last night at the Arlington Elks Club and she asked me to shoot the festivities. And our friends Terry and Paige did an amazing job with all the food and decorations!

The theme of the party..."Please come entertain the Queen"! What fun! Guests were asked to come prepared with material: skits, dancing numbers, singing, you name it. You see, in their other lives, Trisha is an actress and her husband, Roberto, is an Italian accordianist...so between the two of them they have a very talented and outgoing group of friends. And what a blast they were to watch! And the "Queen" seemed to enjoy every second!

Happy birthday Trisha! And here's to many, many, many, many more!














P.S. And check back in a couple days for some more detail shots of Roberto's band!

Emilio...King of Portsmouth

I happily found myself in downtown Portsmouth, NH this past Sunday afternoon. As I walked down Daniel Street, a colorfully painted portico caught my eye and I decided to snap a couple shots of it. As I got off a couple good ones, I heard a gravely voice ask, "Whadaya takin' pictures?". I turned to face a pleasantly plump, older gentleman in a black beret unloading his car of groceries. I answered him, "yep, this doorway's beautiful". He introduced himself as Emilio and then asked about my digital camera. We traded our nostalgic thoughts on the lost days of film...which lead to a nostaligic discussion about food and how things used to be. This is when I found out that this was actually his building and he had painted the doorway himself.

Emilio Maddaloni had owned and run the Italian Sandwich shop, on the first floor of this building for 30 years. But he made the tough decision to close it's doors just a couple years ago. As we stood there chatting about my Nana Testa's homemade italian dishes and his recipe for Pasta Fagoli, no less than 5 passers-by yelled excitedly out to him, "Hey Emilio, are you opening the shop today?!!" It turns out that "Emilio's" was an INSTITUTION in Portsmouth and the people genuinely miss him.

It was the type of shop that was open when Emilio wanted it to be and closed when that day's homemade food sold out. There were no hours of operation, no set menu, and no telephone. That's right...for the entire 30 years Emilio NEVER had a phone in the shop. He said it would have taken away from his attention on the customers. They don't make 'em like Emilio anymore. It made me a little sad that I just missed experiencing all this for myself. We talked for almost an hour about our families, trips to Italy, the shop, politics, the old neighborhood, italian recipes, and life.

It was hard to leave. As you probably deduced, Emilio is a talker... and I'm a listener. I eat-up old stories about how things used to be and I wanted to hear more and more. But in the end we left each other with a big Italian hug and a promise to keep in touch. I feel lucky to have befriended someone who has touched and "nourished" so many lives! :)

Happy April Fools Day!

Here's a fun link to the Top 100 April Fool's Day pranks of All-Time!

Enjoy....
Click here!