Food Network Challenge: Extreme Cakes!

Tune in tonight at 10pm to the Food Network Challenge: Extreme Cakes to see Stephen Maronian
Chef/Co-Owner of Sweet Lisa's Exquisite Cakes in Greenwich and his Assistant: John Ewen!
We photographed John's wedding in January 2006 and LOVE working with Sweet Lisa's. Good luck you guys and we're excited to see how it all turns out!

The P to the U to the G!

For those photographers out there that are members of the PUG (Pictage Users Group for you non-photographers), this months meeting will be held at our place in Danbury! Steve and I are excited to have all of you here! Hope to see you next Wednesday. To RSVP for the meeting go here.

Day 10

Our last leg of the trip. We explored a bit of San Francisco today. Went through the Japanese Tea Garden. Olivia saw this umbrella and just had to have it. She carried it around the gardens and it was well worth the price we paid just to watch people's expressions at the site of an almost 3 year old shading herself from the sun!
We went to say good-bye to the Golden Gate Bridge since we didn't drive over it this trip and this was the site we saw....Just call this the Fog Blog!
We fly home in the morning but check back as I'll post some recaps and funny things that happened on the road.

The Biggest Tree in the Whole World!

There it is. The General Sherman in Sequoia National Park. I didn't bring my extra wide angle lens on this trip and I was kicking myself because this monstrosity could not be photographed from top to bottom without it! Here we are just in front of the base of it.

Day 9

Happy 4th of July from Pier 39 in San Francisco! Hope you all had a great day!

Day 6, 7 & 8

3 days in Yosemite...
I sat by this river and felt such a feeling of peace and serenity. Soaking up all that God has put on this earth to help us through life. To rejuvenate and refresh the spirit. We are so lucky to be here.
Half Dome from Glacier Point...

Commercial Break

I interrrupt this Road Trip Blog because we just got word that National Recording Artist LUCINDA & special guest, MICHAEL CONNOLLY will be opening for KC & the Sunshine Band at the Ives Concert Park in Danbury, CT
on July 11, 2007 at 7:00pm
Tickets are available at Ives Concert Park

Hope to see you there!

And now back to our regularly scheduled programming...

Day 5

We took it easy this morning and ventured out to the Children's Discovery Museum in San Jose for some exploration with Olivia. She's been a trooper riding in the car for hours at a time so she really enjoyed herself! This afternoon we visited with Steve's family in Fremont for Aunt Jean's 80th Birthday! A special THANKS to John & Tien for all the awesome food and family fun!
We're off to Yosemite tomorrow so I probably won't be able to post until we get to San Francisco on Tuesday. I can't image I will have wireless access in my tent cabin in the park.

Enjoy a few shots of some friends we've made along the way...

Day 4

Wowie Wow Wow WOW!! That's what I have to say about the dramatic coastline from the quaint little town of Carmel down to Big Sur and along the "17 mile drive" near Monterey and Carmel.

Day 3

Today brought us on a tour of Sterling Vineyards where we took a gondola ride to their winery and tasting room high up on a mountain. Here are a few shots from there...

We then drove along the Silverado trail and down to Carmel. We've met a few characters along the way...

Day 2

Ok, so maybe taking pictures from the car window is not a good idea when Steve is driving on roads with signs like this...
But then again, that's the type of road you have to travel on to get a view like this...

This is a shot from one of our favorite roads we've ever traveled on. Coleman Valley Road in Occidental. Steve and I found this road 8 years ago when we rented a motorcycle in San Francisco and went exploring. We're glad we got a chance to drive on it again. The hills gracefully sweep down to meet the ocean, where the water looks as though it falls off the edge of the earth. If anyone would like to make a donation so we can buy this place, feel free to send a paypal payment! :)
Our afternoon was an absolute delight filled with beautiful scenery, lots of smiles, a sense of well being and a picnic in the Sebastiani Vineyard.
Stay tuned!

Road Trip!

We've gone to California! We arrived yesterday by plane, hopped into our Prius and hit the Road.
We drove all through Napa. Passed all the vineyards and wineries, Simply Spectacular! I have a feeling I'll be shooting a lot from the car window or else I'll have to ask Steve to pull over every 5 minutes to take pictures. We'll never get to where we are going! We also went to the Petrified Forest and saw trees that were 3 million years old.
We'll be travelling to Napa, Sonoma, Calistoga, Down the coast to Monterey, Carmel & Big Sur, off to Yosemite Park and then to San Francisco for July 4th. Check back as we'll be blogging along the way!

Michael Connolly's New Release!

I want to introduce you to the music of Michael Connolly. He delivers a pop/rock sound with a guitar driven heartbeat. I am so happy to announce that Michael Connolly's newest fully produced CD will be released this August! To find out where Michael will be playing live in the NorthEast, check out his brand new website at www.MichaelConnollyMusic.com

A Minute in The Life

There is this guy from Maryland that put together a "Simultaneous Photography Project" The goal was to take a photo at 2:00pm EST on June 2, 2007 and submit it. When I first heard about this project I thought it was a great idea and started to brainstorm on what I would capture. After some time passed and I got busy again with work I completely forgot about the project. On June 3rd, I read a reminder about the project that had been posted on another photographers blog and gasped. I had missed it! But when I began to think about what I was doing the previous day at 2:00, my heart started racing. I opened Adobe Bridge, sorted my most recent folder by date created and bingo! This is what I just happened to have snapped at 2:03pm EST on June 2, 2007. I could not have planned it more perfectly!
My father-in-law and I were in a Glider Plane soaring over Lake Nockamixin in Erwinna, Pennsylvania.
Check out A Minute in the Life to see what others were doing.

Ham & Cheese

So, Olivia was being really cute at breakfast the other morning. The light was coming in through the window so perfectly I had to run and get my camera. Here are a few shots I got, she did all the posing herself but I tested her to see if she could following direction on which way to move her head. She passed...Look out, we have a little 2 1/2 year old model on our hands!

Rock Stars, Soap Stars and New Life

This weekend was filled with excitement as I photographed Hinder live in Fairfield, CT. They put on a great show....man, can they rock it out!


Saturday, I was off to Manhattan to Volunteer with The Hands On Network, New York Cares and the cast and crew of Guiding Light. It's a wonderful feeling to give back to the community and really make a difference in someone's life. I worked with High School students to prepare their resumes and learn about the interview process. Everyone was a lot of fun to work with. Check out the slideshow here
And finally, (after my star studded weekend) I was brought back to reality when I saw this little bundle of life. It really put things in perspective. You can have money and fame but what matters most is family. There is nothing greater than creating a life and watching it grow. Congratulations to Chrissy and John on the birth of Anna Rose. Look at this beautiful little thing!

Earth Month, Clean Water and Aveda

I'm sending a message today calling on the United Nations to make clean water a human right. Every fifteen seconds a child dies from lack of access to clean water. Make clean water a human right—take action by signing this petition.

Send a message to the United Nations here.

*Education report by international charity
WaterAid.

Need a Band for Your Special Event?

I’m so excited to share this info! For a limited time there is a special opportunity to have National Recording Artist LUCINDA perform at your Wedding or Event. Lucinda has designed an incredible performance package full of dance music, standards, classics and heartfelt originals. She is available to play at the Party with her full band or she can be booked out as an acoustic duo for ceremony music and/or cocktail hours. She can also be commissioned to write and record personal songs for Weddings or other special events. (How cool would that be to dance your first dance to a song written just for the two of you!) Dates are limited since Lucinda is currently on tour throughout the east coast.

Contact her today to get a truly unique and beautiful addition to your event and Spread the Word!

"When I was an Angel?"

My wonderful college roommate gave me this framed print for a wedding gift 7 1/2 years ago. It hangs in my bedroom above my bed. When Olivia was born I noticed that for the first few months she would stare at this print and I always wondered what she was thinking. Now that she can talk, she said this a few weeks ago..

"Mommy, Is that me when I was an Angel?"

Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation

Congratulations to the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (Fairfield County Chapter) for raising $1.6 million Saturday Night at their Annual Spring Gala! I was touched by a young girls story about how diabetes effects her life as a teenager. To find out more about this chronic, debilitating disease go to their website.
Let's Pray that they find a cure!
Here are a few photos from the evening.