on location shoot with bregan and charles

Here are a few of my favorites from a recent portrait sitting with our good friend Bregan and her adorable (and brand new!) husband Charles. The site was Saddle and Sirloin. Bregan and Charles have devoted 2012 to buying strictly American made products, thus the reference to the flag. (Charles confessed shoes are the toughest for him, but he's managed to stay on course.) He's also a firefighter; seeing him hold the flag in the air brought back so many images of events surrounding 9-11.

henry in love

I received this wonderful photo from Abbie yesterday. I smile every time I look at, of course, because I am the grandmother and I am supposed to. But I think it's a delightful picture regardless of my relationship to this little guy and his parents, and I hope you enjoy it, too.

portraits

Part of my downsizing efforts has included giving clients their negatives from sittings I did prior to 2006 (when I began using digital capture).

This has prompted some people to ask if I am retiring.

No way!

I am happily shooting at my studio in the Livestock Exchange Building and continue to do on location sittings, as well. 

My sitting fee is $200. From there, you can order prints and/or digital files at prices that have not changed for several years.

Make an appointment! I'd love to photograph your children/your family. 

John, a very handsome high school senior, warmed up your seat yesterday afternoon.

hammock

Rest in peace, John.

snowglobe

slide projector

albums

ties

capsela toys

cookie jar

photograph

games

dump truck

ceramic bowl

lamp

mixing bowl

wrench

two snow globes

Today is the third and final day of the estate sale held at my home. It has been surreal, fascinating, delightful, heartbreaking, funny, uplifting, scary and sweet. All those things.

 I set up a backdrop in the front yard and asked people - as they were leaving the house with their treasures - if they would let me photograph them. Over the course of the next several posts, I will share those photos with you. I made them because that's how I navigate my way through emotional times. 

There is a lot to say about this experience, and I will try to share those thoughts along with the portraits. Here is the first picture I made. The very first customer left with two Kentucky snow globes. I knew from that moment on, this was going to be an interesting ride.

dream on

Here's a wonderful video about a kid who simply believed in his dream and then got to watch it come true. Kudos to the filmmaker, Nirvan Mullick, to Caine, his dad and all those who came to play at Caine's Arcade.

"Caine is a killer," filmmaker Nirvan Mullick, who directed the video, wrote in a recent tweet. "He has been making thousands of grown men weep at work."

new color work from uganda

I'm happy to report that the new work I made in Uganda this past December is actually going places. New York and Santa Fe to be exact.

Opening in May at the Mayson Gallery, 254 Broome Street, will be my very first New York solo show. It is an exhibition as well as a fundraiser for Change the Truth. There will be a cocktail reception from 6 - 8 PM on Tuesday, May 8; the show will continue throughout the month. Needless to say, I'm very excited!
.
At the end of May, the work will travel with me to the great southwest for "Review Santa Fe". The pictures were accepted into this juried portfolio review by an esteemed panel of judges and will thus be seen by curators, publishers, gallerists, collectors and lots of fellow photographers. It's a wonderful opportunity for me, and I am really looking forward to getting feedback on my most recent work. Plus, I'll get to eat at Don Pasqual's. Awesome.

Much more on both events to follow...

estate sale

It’s been in the works for several weeks now, and it's finally just around the corner. After hours and hours of sorting, cleaning, pricing and displaying, the estate sale at our home will begin Tuesday morning at 9 AM. It will last three days.

It’s been put together by an impressive group called Nichols-Waterman. They have imported stuff from three or four other families, so our house is absolutely bulging with all sorts of goodies and great finds.

I thought it would be hard to see our home turned into a giant garage sale, but it has been surprisingly fine. In fact, I’ve been fascinated by the whole process and plan to photograph the three-day event. I’ve been told that 1500 people will attend the sale. The thought of all those folks leaving the house with our old Beatle albums, picture frames, night stands, signed baseballs, overstuffed living room chairs, bar glasses, kitchen gadgets, stuffed animals and half used rolls of duct tape will surely make for interesting visuals!

I went through the house a few days ago and shot these pictures of some of the items with which we have decided to part. Some were no-brainers, but many bring back sweet memories and are difficult to give up. Hopefully, in the end, all these things will find good homes.

untitled

go barefoot today

I will be going barefoot again this year. I am also reprinting my post from last year so those of you who do to know about this campaign can now get involved.

Experience what millions of people go through all the time.

Go barefoot today.

TOMS is an ultra cool company. Whenever you buy a pair of their comfy cotton or canvas shoes, they give a new pair of shoes to a child in need. One for One. Using the purchasing power of individuals to benefit the greater good is what they're all about. The TOMS mission transforms customers into benefactors, which allows TOMS to grow a truly sustainable way of giving, rather than depending on fundraising for support.

There is no “TOM”; the founder’s name is actually Blake Mycoskie. TOMS is an abbreviation for “Shoes for a Better Tomorrow”, but they couldn’t get that on the back of a shoe, so they shortened it to TOMS.

WHY DOES TOMS GIVE AWAY SHOES? (As of last September, they'd given away a over a million pairs!)

Why not water or medicine or something else? While all those are important, shoes have been shown to be a fundamental resource for protecting children from rough terrain, infection, and soil-based diseases.

Shoes have value beyond being critical for physical health. Many schools in developing countries require shoes for attendance. And some soil-based diseases not only cause physical symptoms, but create cognitive impairment too, crippling a child’s long- term potential. It’s simply just a fact that in many developing countries, children must walk barefoot for miles to school, clean water and medical help. Hundreds of millions of children are at risk of injury, infection and soil-transmitted diseases that most can’t afford to prevent and treat. Healthy, educated kids make for positive change in their villages and communities. That can ultimately lead to positive change for everyone.

Take 'em off, people! Raise awareness. Start a conversation with someone who does not know. Change a mind. And then change some lives.

passover

Last night Eddie and I had the honor and pleasure of celebrating Passover with old friends (who are like family). At one point during the Seder, it became clear to me just how fortunate we are to have created our own "family" in Kansas City, because when we moved here 32 years ago, we knew no one.

I was also struck by that the fact that among the 17 people seated around the table, there were three Holocaust survivors. How lucky I have been to have Ann, Isak and Sonia in my life all these years. They have inspired me and taught me so much about the goodness and sweetness of life.

my favorite subject

My trip to New Orleans did not revolve around the basketball game. It was my "Henry time" that was the highlight and centerpiece of the (too-quick) visit.

Here are some of the photos I made of my grandson, who is now 19 months old, and who was able (for the first time) to call me by name!