2011 December | April Book Photography

Holiday lights always put me in a cheerful holiday mood. I had fun with my camera taking photos of the lights on our tree and around town. With the mild December we are having (scary… my bulbs are coming up!) I didn’t mind heading out to take some pictures of the lights on the Saugatuck River. I should mention that I normally only put white lights on my tree, but this year my daughter won out with the colored lights, and I have to say they do make for better pictures! Happy Holidays and a wonderful new year to everyone reading my blog. Invite your friends!!

December 23, 2011

Beautiful Baby Girl

By abook on December 18, 2011

Wow, I just think my new niece is totally amazing!!! Ok, she’s my great niece (my sister’s granddaughter), but saying that makes me feel old! It is amazing, though to see my niece, who to me was always a young girl playing with my children, being a mom. She and her husband clearly adore their baby; it is so sweet to watch them with her. Our family is so lucky to have four generations that can be together.

My niece came over the other day so that I could take photos of her baby. What a joy it is to photograph a beautiful, happy baby. I was so excited for the whole thing, and while mostly it was fun, parts were definitely challenging. I really wanted more poses where she was sleeping, but that didn’t work out. However, she was happy and smiling while she was awake, so that was wonderful! I guess the only possible down side for me is that I didn’t get to hold her that much because I was busy shooting the pictures. Ok, next time I’ll hog her all to myself! 🙂

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Adorable Kids!

By abook on December 16, 2011

My good friends were kind enough (and brave enough) to entrust me with photographing their children this year and last year. This creates an incredible amount of excitement and nervousness for me! Since I’m really still new at this (learning all the time!) I’m nervous that that I will get any decent shots and they will love the pictures. I remember packing my kids up and getting them out for a ‘photo shoot’ when they were younger and it was never easy!!! So if they’re making the effort to get there, I better make the results worth it. Yikes.

Their kids are gorgeous and getting a beautiful shot of them doesn’t seem like it would be that difficult! Until it begins, and then there is so much juggling going on… Where should we go? Where is the light? What’s in the background? What setting is my camera on? How are they posed? Where are they looking? How to get them happy and keep them focused? Are there shadows on their faces? Who can hold the reflector? (I need an assistant!!!) I wonder if this ever comes easy to photographers who do this on a regular basis. It sure seemed like it came easy for the photographers I used over the years, but I can’t imagine that right now.

I just loved the whole experience, was pleased with many of the pictures, and hope were too. Lots of fun actually!!! Here are a few, hope you enjoy them too! And let me know if you want me to take some of your kids… I’m a glutton for stress!

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Fantastic Wreckers Football

By abook on December 12, 2011

Everything doesn’t always turn out the way we’d like, but sometimes things come pretty close! This year the Staples High School Football team had a perfect record for the regular season, finishing 11-0 including a victory to become FCIAC Champs. Very impressive and an accomplishment of which they should be mighty proud! They had so many exciting games, including several where they found themselves down and managed to play some amazing football and come back to win. Their passing and running games were great, and combined with their offensive line and defense that played amazingly well, they had a terrific season.

The team finished the season with a Conference Championship, ranked second in the state and faced the number one ranked team in the state finals on Saturday night. The boys were thrilled to be playing in the state championship and playing at UCONN’s stadium, talk about exciting! As they came on the field, we could feel the players’ excitement and anticipation for the game. Fans piled in on both sides of the stadium, thrilled to be there to support their teams (even in the freezing temperature).

While the outcome was not what the Wrecker fans hoped for, they watched as the team played their hearts out. The opponents played an unbelievable game, and managed to beat the Wreckers. Even with this loss, I hope the players take with them the memory of an amazing season! I loved being on the field photographing the games, it is a unique and interesting experience being down there. I loved these photos in black and white since the teams wore those colors and I love the ‘feel’ of them!

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Flowers Up Close

By abook on December 6, 2011

I love taking pictures of flowers! Actually, I just love flowers in general; I find them beautiful and graceful. What a dull place our world would be without them! To me the process of photographing them is enjoyable, but also challenging and rewarding. I love taking the photos and I love processing them on my computer after. During this time of year, when flowers are not available to shoot outside in the Northeast, I’ll turn indoors for my material and take shots of purchased flowers. I get lots of my favorite subjects and it’s like spring at home with cheery color and lovely arrangements. These are some of my many close-up flower shots. I anticipate taking and sharing many more this winter!

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Staples Wreckers win State Semi Final Game!

By abook on December 4, 2011

This has been such an exciting season for the Staples High School football team! The JV team went undefeated and the Varsity team is undefeated so far as well, including a victory over Greenwich to win the FCIAC Championship and yesterday’s victory over Newtown to clinch a spot in the finals next Saturday vs Xavier!

I love my role as team photographer! It’s exciting and fun to be on the field and up close to the plays. The sidelines have their own action and regular attendees, there’s a lot going on there as well as in the stands! The players amaze me every week with their athleticism and enthusiasm. The weather can be challenging, and sometimes I’m a little too close and have to run to avoid a tackle, which can be scary, but it has been such great experience! I can’t wait for next week and next year as well. Here are a few highlights from yesterday’s game… and of course a picture of Brian… Go Wreckers!!!