Telephoto Mo: a blog by Boston photographer Maureen Cotton

new blog

2009-09-09T14:03:00.006-04:00

Great news! I’ve started blogging directly on my website at maureencotton.com/blogging

Visit me there! I’m very excited about this so I feel a bout of blogging coming on; join the RSS feed.

acupuncture photoshoot

2009-08-15T14:11:00.008-04:00

This week was photoshoot number two for Central Path Wellness. The challenge was to represent acupuncture in a way that won’t disturb people who don’t yet know that acupuncture needles are nothing like medical needles, in fact it’s an incredibly relaxing treatment.

Owner of Central Path and acupuncturist Brendan Carney.

Brendan and Abbey.

candid wedding photography

2009-08-14T17:59:00.004-04:00

A photographer takes hundreds of photos at a wedding these days, editing them down can be a real challenge. I always find that my favorites are the candid emotional moments, so here’s a few from last Friday.

other side of the lens

2009-08-11T20:06:00.005-04:00

My good friend and fellow photographer Rick Colson recently commented on the lack of professional portrait on my facebook page. This soon lead to him shooting me. It was a good experience to be on the side of a pro lens so I remember what I’m putting people through.

business card design

2009-08-10T17:43:00.006-04:00

Last week I finished a business card design for Christina Marie who is starting her own interior design business. She does beautiful watercolor renderings of her designs. I thought that was unique and intimate, so we used that feel and color scheme to get started...

herbal shoot

2009-08-05T12:11:00.008-04:00

A fabulous new wellness studio, Central Path Acupuncture, has opened around the corner from my house (on Moody Street, Waltham). I’m working with the owner, Brendan Carney, to create imagery for the website. Yesterday we began with photographing herbs.

These 5 herbs represent the 5 element of Chinese medicine, which then correlate to an organ, color, etc.. Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, and Water.

mo and the monks

2009-08-01T11:04:00.008-04:00

Yesterday Becky D and I led the monks through the Museum of Fine Arts. Afterward we discussed art, beauty, divinity, and pop music over dinner.

All photos by Becky Daroff.

See the whole story on Becky’s blog.

best-sellers

2009-07-29T23:10:00.007-04:00

"Mr. Gotsill's Tree," Yarmouthport, MA

This summer has been my first time participating in an art market where I put my personal work out there for others to purchase. It’s been eye-opening talking to people about my photographs and discovering what images appeal to them and why.

This is a collection of the best-selling images so far. A lot of black and white, all but one originating from a 35mm negative.

Sinking bike near a river, Nijmegen, The Netherlands

View of the Golden Gate Bridge from Berkeley, CA

St. Marc’s Square, Venice

Venetian Staircase

“Best view of Boston,” Charles MGH subway stop

Moss Staircase, County Clare, Ireland

island adventures

2009-07-22T16:48:00.009-04:00

I spent last night on Grape Island in Boston Harbor, where my sister is a park ranger.

She lives in a yurt.

This is bittersweet.

“Bittersweet limbo” she does with the kids who visit the island.

She lead me on a “wild edibles” tour. This is milkweed. Don’t eat it unless you drain the “milk” out.

Milkweed flowers.

This kids wandered over from his Outward Bound campsite and Ranger Val showed him some of the island’s treasures.

See urchin.

Lobster claw.

Bird egg on the dock.

Even though it was wet and freezing we continued on to do some tide-pooling.

Since it was a new moon Low Tide was the lowest it ever is.

We picked up this little periwinkle...

and hummed to him so he’d emerge.

It worked!

In fact, he loved my hand so much he either laid eggs or defecated on it.

A mussel freshly eaten by a sea gull.

Dead skate. In the shark family.

Val suggested that we cook up some of these mussels and clams for dinner. Until...

she reach into the water and found...

this. A group of mussels that she guesses is infected by the bacteria they call The Red Tide. Or something else equally gross.

So we lost our seafood appetites and cooked a can of beans.

Lowest of the low tide.

Dock at night, lit by the town of Weymouth.

Elliot is the island’s other ranger who lives in the yurt with Val.

Elliot snapped this one of us o’natural.

We also went kayaking and some other things that were either too wet or too fun to take pictures of. I might go back with my camera waterproofed so stay tuned.

cuteness attack!

2009-07-20T11:32:00.002-04:00

Today my roommate stopped by with the little girl who she nannies for. This little firecracker took over the house instantly.

She had never seen a big camera before and was taken aback for a moment. But just a moment...

Then she wanted it.

Then it was sippy-cup time.

SoWa success! selling photos at an art market

2009-07-15T14:21:00.005-04:00

My painter friend Becky Daroff and I teamed up to be vendors at SoWa Sundays, an artists’ market in Boston’s South End. So far we’ve have two great days! This past weekend was a beautiful day and the market was bustling. Becky snapped this photo of me in our tent.

Come by next time: July 26, August 16, or Sept 27. It’s free, from 10am – 4pm. It's a great way to spend an urban summer Sunday! Learn more at www.southendopenmarket.com.

Becky posted many more photos on her blog.

cherry picking and wine tasting

2009-07-11T17:01:00.009-04:00

Part 2 of the Berkshires last weekend included cherry picking in Ghent and wine tasting in New Marlborough.

Aaron and I tag-teamed it: one on the ladder, one catching the fruit.

At Les Trios Emmes winery a $5 wine tasting includes a tour of their family-run facility.

"No one really knows exactly what happens in the aging process," he told us. It's just a delicious mystery.

The tasting also includes food pairings for each of the 5 wines you taste.

The ladies with their local goodies.

I just could not get enough photos of Sara P rockin’ the vintage glasses. Do you know Sara P? If not you should visit her blog to see her cakes, clothes, drawings, and many other creations.

Aaron snapped this one with his phone after catching me in the act!

a little Berkshires beauty and a little hike

2009-07-08T16:11:00.005-04:00

I spent the 4th in the Berkshires with a handful of my favorite people.

We were lucky enough to stay at a beautiful house in Copake. View from the back porch.

This is my little sister and she will kill me when she sees I posted this photo. It interests me as an experiment in using flash to balance the exposure of foreground and background.

Sara agreed to hike Laura’s Tower with her accordion!

Our friend Elena makes these Accordion Back Straps for good back support while playing. It is an essential component of hiking with an accordion. Check them out at accordionbackstrap.com.

It was Aaron's first time seeing the Berkshires from the tower.

Valerie's first time up there too!

Music atop the tower!

Sarah absorbs the music and the sun.

We all took turns carrying the accordion.

Success!

My artist friend Becky was also there and posted photos on her blog.

business portrait

2009-06-23T14:43:00.005-04:00

Barbara Bonner is returning to running her own consulting biz and needs a new headshot for the occasion. We worked together last week to get the right look.

WaterFire

2009-05-30T22:54:00.008-04:00

Last weekend was my first time experiencing WaterFire in Providence where they light fires that float all along the river. You can sit in one spot and take it in, or follow the river like a bread crumb trail.

There's room and a good spot for everyone to have an outdoor fireside evening. Even though there were hundreds of people, the atmosphere was slow, calm, meditative. It’s happening through the summer so check out waterfire.org.

I went with my friend and fellow artist Becky Daroff who also posted a photo blog about the evening!

Venice

2009-05-28T10:00:00.005-04:00

Preparing photos to make prints and note cards (to sell at SoWa Open Markets this summer) has led me into my European archive. I’ve been looking at photos I haven’t thought about in years! Including these from a high school trip to Venice.

It snowed on the first day of Lent (how perfect after the big party of Carnival!). They say it snows about once every 5 years or so.

here comes wedding season

2009-05-07T23:43:00.009-04:00

In preparing to meet with this year's brides and grooms I’ve been sorting through old images. Here are some that I’ve selected.

Ireland café exhibition

2009-05-04T11:56:00.004-04:00

The Keltic Krust, a long-standing Irish bakery and café in Newton, is currently exhibiting photos from my Ireland trip last winter (2008). The reception has been quite positive; regulars notice and appreciate the new images right away, and they have sparked many nostalgic conversations with the Irish customers.

Ancient 'Bee-hive' Hut photo with my artist's statement below.

photographing paintings

2009-04-28T19:12:00.001-04:00

My friend Becky and I are getting ready to sell our work at this summer’s SoWa Open Markets in the South End. She’s a painter, so we spent Saturday trying to get perfect images for her to make prints. I don’t know if you’ve ever tried to get well-lit glare-free images of oil paintings, but it’s not easy...

Becky stood behind the easel in case the 90-degrees-to-the-floor painting fell.

It was a strange moment for me, to photograph this painting of myself based on a photo from 3 years ago.

This one, also of me, is from January, when I had just moved back to Boston...

This one is called “Berkshire Red.”

Check out more of Becky’s work at http://beckydaroff.com/paintings/.

Walden Pond

2009-04-27T16:21:00.000-04:00

Yesterday, what I called the “Suddenly Summer Sunday,” I celebrated by going to Walden Pond. It was busy as one would expect, but I managed to find my own quiet in the sun just the same. I slipped my tiny 7-year-old Olympus camera (an unimpressive D-540) in with my towel and water bottle. Many features on it have died, but it still takes a picture!

It was strange to be soaking up the hot sun, while being surrounded by dormant trees. But there were still many signs for the coming season!

food, food, food!

2009-04-20T12:47:00.000-04:00

Over the past month I’ve had some great meals with great company! And I’ve snapped a new photos here and there...

First, there’s the notable Chocolate Dinner. Months in the planning Katie and Brian created an evening centered entirely around chocolate. Mmmmmmm... to begin Katie set out a chocolate platter so we could compare the subtleties of these dark fair-traded chocolate bars.

The chocolate hostess!

The chocolate host!

Apples in chocolate pudding!

Sweet potato burritos with mole (chocolate!) sauce and goat cheese and almonds folded into collard greens.

Erin awaiting the first bite.

After dinner we had chocolate mousse cakes while watching the lovely film Chocolat!

Looking back a little bit, we had planned to have a Superbowl party and serve some mussels. But instead we had a mussels party with the TV on in the background. Pete did his magic as always...

When the food came out no one talked to each other.

Last week was Paul’s birthday!

Becky, a fabulous painter, came to celebrate. Check out her paintings of people and sculptures here: http://beckydaroff.com/paintings/

art feature for Wilderness House Literary Review

2009-04-14T20:06:00.000-04:00

A collection of 12 photographs from my documentary Ridiculous and Sublime: Life in an Inner-City Franciscan Monastery is the art feature for the local Wilderness House Literary Review online. I included audio clips from the trailer as the captions.

Check it out and read some great poetry too! The Wilderness House Literary Review.

The film is moving along slowly and surely. This week I am interviewing Brother Masseao who just joined the community this year. A novice's perspective should be interesting!

In related news, I gave my first (of many!) public talks about the film yesterday at the Cambridge Center for Adult Education. The audience was as interested in my story and process with the monastery as about the Brothers themselves, which is interesting feedback for me. The trailer and all accompanying media was well received.

photo for the Atlantic Monthly food blog

2009-03-17T22:19:00.000-04:00

I have always believed that when we are passionate we can turn any circumstance into a part of our artistic/professional journey. Today, while selling Irish soda bread and making cappuccinos at a bakery down the street from my home, I was offered proof.

A writer from the Atlantic Monthly came in to buy bread and asked a few questions. He expressed his need to photograph the bread. I started shifting some loaves around and I said I understood because I was a photographer. He handed me his camera and said "Great, you'll be better at this." His camera and his cell phone were one in the same, so I had to work with a few technical limitations. Here it is, my first editorial shot for the Atlantic Monthly. See the article here.

new product by Michael Wainwright

2009-03-05T13:06:00.000-05:00

law office portrait session

2009-02-19T11:31:00.000-05:00

Yesterday I had the pleasure of photographing Doug and Pat Watson, of Watson and Watson Law Office in Newburyport, MA. I’m working with them to update their website, and new photos is a piece of this process.

Catholic mass for the deaf

2009-02-03T18:19:00.000-05:00

This past weekend I was invited to a Catholic mass for the deaf here in Newton. The parish’s deacon is soon to become one of 6 deaf priests in the country. It was amazing to see the signs for religious vocabulary; up on the alter, the expressive language almost seems like a stage performance.

This young deaf girl is getting ready to make her first communion, and is learning about the Eucharist and goblet of wine.

contest entry

2009-01-28T14:09:00.000-05:00

This week I entered six photos of the Little Brothers of Saint Francis into a photojournalism/documentary competition by PDN (Photo District News). I’m hoping it will be considered for the Nikon Storyteller Award.

I selected the images from my documentary gallery on my portfolio site (http://maureencotton.com/documentary.php), and the Ridiculous & Sublime: Life in an Inner-City Monastery website (http://www.ridiculousandsublime.com/).

cooking!

2009-01-22T23:38:00.000-05:00

One of my new roommates just happens to be a world-class chef. I’ve become a bit of an apprentice. This week h/we (perfectly) pan-seared scallops. Yum.

We started by going to a magical land called Russo’s. Think Whole Foods but not so expensive and corporate. Yes, it’s amazing.

Pete shows me how to choose an onion.

It's time to get down to business.

Thyme oil in action.

Did cauliflower ever look so good?

Lemon zesting in action.

The result!

new friends

2009-01-18T18:13:00.000-05:00

My new household in Boston includes 1 other woman, 2 guys, 3 kitties and 1 dog. We’re all still getting to know each other. Carson and my kitty Olivia seem to have something going on... That's Olivia in the background on the bed.

This is Carson.

This is Sarah and Lexi.

This was a 2 degree winter walk.

cat in a tree

2009-01-07T22:13:00.001-05:00

This may not cat look like a lot of trouble when she’s just sitting in a draw, but yesterday Olivia scaled a tree higher than a 2-story house in about 5 seconds with an adrenaline rush from the site of a big black lab.

I must admit I missed a few great photo ops because I was focused on figuring out how to get her down. But here are the images I did grab.

First my roommate and I took turns climbing a ladder that we set against the trunk of the tree. When we were calling her over she just seemed to get more comfy and less scared. She looked at me, 4 feet away, like she was saying “oh, you’re here. I guess this ok then.”

When we tried to lore her over with tuna she came just close enough to get some, and then sat, ate it, and licked herself!! I’ve never seen a cat so chill stuck in a huge tree.

Eventually we extended the ladder to its max height so the tip leaned against the branch while I faced an icy paved driveway. I grabbed the wee one roughly and descended. Can you see her little silhouette here?

Ridiculous & Sublime website is up!

2008-12-25T12:27:00.001-05:00

The website for my in-progress feature documentary film, Ridiculous & Sublime, is up! Please visit it to watch the trailer, see photos, listen to audio clips, and make a donation to support the completion of the film. With a lot of work, a little luck, and the generosity of others, I will finish the film in the new year!

http://www.ridiculousandsublime.com/

beautiful glass tableware

2008-12-15T15:36:00.001-05:00

Michael Wainwright has created lots of new glass tableware. I’ve been photographing it for his website and catalog.

nature desktop wallpapers

2008-12-05T05:41:00.000-05:00

Since I started photographing for Kripalu, my nature photographs of the grounds have regularly been used as wallpaper downloads by thousands of visitors to Kripalu’s site. I remember meeting a woman in a bar in San Francisco who had never been to Kripalu, but faithfully had my photos on her computer each month! It’s strange for me to think about all the places that, unbeknownst to me, my images are traveling without me.

If you’re interested you can download it for yourself. It’s got a handy-dandy reference calendar on it.

I took the above pine tree one back in ‘06, my first winter at Kripalu. I remember wandering the grounds in mid-March (not December, ssssshhh don’t tell).

This one was very popular last month and many people have kept it even has the season has progressed from autumn to winter. It was not actually taken on the Kripalu grounds, but at the neighboring Audubon Society reserve where I took a hike with guests in a Tai Chi program.

One month there was a photo for which everyone had different ideas about whether it was the moon, the sun, or a reflection in the sky over the lake. I had encountered numerous guests who, when they discovered I was the staff photographer, asked if I took that picture and what it was. One man apparently had a disagreement with his 7 year-old about it. If I can find it I’ll post it, and identify the object.

postcard

2008-12-04T14:44:00.000-05:00

I recently created a postcard to advertise my business. This is it. Any day now my new and improved website will be up! It will feature a complete graphic design gallery, new photos of the monks, and a new “events and editorial” photo gallery. Stay tuned!

Click on the above image to see it larger (closer to its actual 6x4" size).

stones (not all ideas actualize)

2008-11-30T17:16:00.000-05:00

Other artists will know this: sometimes you have great ideas, and do a lot of work, and it doesn’t get used. Alas. Back in the summer I worked with Kripalu’s Creative Director on a concept for Kripalu’s bi-annual magazine cover.

We created some great images, but then the focus of the feature article changed and the concept no longer matched. Kripalu never used the images, so I want to give them a little exposure here.

A last minute adjustment by Elena.

Ridiculous and Sublime: Life in an Inner-City Franciscan Monastery

2008-11-15T17:48:00.001-05:00

The trailer is now complete for my in-progress still-image documentary film about the Little Brothers of Saint Francis in Boston (it begins on black so don't be worried).

Learn more at ridiculousandsublime.com.

portfolio rejects

2008-11-13T14:56:00.000-05:00

Young girl with her grandmother in Boston's North End

I’m about to launch a new website with new and updated portfolios. Oh man, the process of selecting images to represent myself is quite challenging. I have to resist simply choosing the images that I love because portfolio images should also be technically sound and relate-able without context so that people consider hiring me for work.

I have finalized my selections and the new site will be up shortly. I thought I’d give a little tribute to the images that missed the cut...

Minneapolis Sculpture Garden

Mirror Lake, CO

Colorado Rocky Mountain National Park

Horses in the Dutch countryside

Musee D'Orsay, Paris

The Burren, Ireland

Somewhere in Ireland (lost looking for the Cliffs of Mohr)

The Dingle Peninsula, Ireland

Benedict Pond, Monterey, MA

Nijmegen, The Netherlands

The Wendells

Saint Marc's Square, Venice

Little bro as monkeys

Mt Willard, NH

On the porch, San Francisco (stitched panorama)

Construction Workers, Boston's North End

3 men in a truck, South Dakota

Waiting to Cross, Boston

Kisses and Ice Cream, Rome

Pikes Peak, CO

Howden Farms, Ashley Falls, MA

Sara Parrilli, Monterey, MA

photo slideshow/video for Kripalu Center

2008-11-01T21:55:00.000-04:00

Watch the photo slideshow/video piece that I made for Kripalu Center for Yoga & Health. I took the majority of the photos and edited the photos and audio together.

an assortment of the ordinary

2008-10-26T17:40:00.000-04:00

Here’s a selection of pictures from the last week. Starting with a day in Hudson with Laura D (she’s awesome, check out her blog). This is my tea in a mug made by Laura’s boyfriend.

LD herself.

That afternoon we had an amazing crepe around the corner from her house.

The next day I walked through town to meet my friend Erin and noticed this display on Main Street.

Then I ran into another friend named Laura and her newly adopted dog Isabella.

Erin and I had brunch and then coffee, yum.

Erin soaking up the sun.

Erin took this one of me thinking deep thoughts with cappuccino in-hand as I do every Sunday morning.

Today Sara and I walked the loop around Benedict Pond in Beartown State Forest.

She’s nearly camouflaged!

We think these are mushrooms...

Boston apartment memories

2008-10-13T17:17:00.000-04:00

Today I was scanning more images for the forthcoming website for the film about the Little Brothers of Saint Francis. In the mix, I found photos from my last summer living in Boston. I had these awesome roommates and cats in a sweet apartment in JP...

This is Matty.

Matty with his childhood likeness.

and Matty and me.

Shacora, dreaming of the outside world...

Mingus, quite content where he is.

apples!

2008-10-12T23:02:00.000-04:00

Another beautiful Sunday in the Berkshires and Laura and I decided to enjoy it by visiting Hilltop Orchards in Richmond MA.

Eat it, it’s good for you.

Laura took this one of me, so happy with my Red Delicious.

Can you see the people on their tractor ride?

And a free wine tasting on the way out.

today: cat in box, autumn in the Berkshires, bees, building, basement

2008-10-08T21:28:00.000-04:00

Today I did a variety of shooting, beginning with the surprise that my cat fit herself into a Tofurky box.

Then I headed to Kripalu and was inspired by the fall beauty along the way...

While shooting and driving may not be recommended, it creates an enticing blur in the trees.

After arriving at Kripalu, to photograph the progress of their annex construction, I met this hard-working bee in the parking lot.

While putting my grill away in my basement (goodbye summer) I was struck by this small vine which has managed to grow here.

Berkshire woods

2008-10-07T22:21:00.001-04:00

The forests here are young, but wondrous. These photos are film from the summer which I just developed. Stay tuned to see fall colors...

P.S. Creating this post while watching tonight's presidential debate is keeping me sane! Everyone out there: vote, vote, vote! And talk to your friends and family about their choice. It's the very least we can do.

actress's headshot

2008-10-06T13:48:00.000-04:00

Recently I photographed a beautiful NYC-based actress named Meaghan. She called me in need of a headshot quick—she had a film audition in 2 days!

Luckily we were able to make time for a shoot, and I just received the good news that she got the part!

remembering Colorado

2008-09-29T20:31:00.000-04:00

This week I primarily photographed kids, hundreds of them for their School Picture Day. It’s an interesting gig, and often fun. But I can’t show you these photos as they belong to the parents of each of the darling children, but trust me, there are many many painfully cute kids in elementary schools throughout New England.

On the "post" side of photography, I spent time this week selecting a photo to print for my little Brother’s birthday. I chose a photo from our trip to Colorado last summer, so I was back in the 2007 archives and thought I’d share some of these images.

If the images seem to have a different quality, you’re picking up the saturated color resulting from the fact that I shot good old traditional slide film—Kodak KodaChrom to be exact.

Dale by Mirror Lake, at 11,000 feet! (Don't be fooled by his smile, the water was freezzzzzzing!)

That’s the little man himself. When I say he’s my “little” brother, I guess I’m not being clear that he’s 19, was a wrestling champ at his high school, and the diameter of his neck approaches the size of my waist.

Likewise, this is my “little” sister Valerie.

Home away from home.

If you’re curious, this is the winning photo for Don’s Bday gift.

Me, Don (“little” Brother), Dale, and Valerie. Photo by our 5th companion Johanna.

raspberries and a wide angle lens

2008-09-20T23:23:00.000-04:00

Two exciting things today: (1) I got a new lens (2) I picked raspberries!

For all you photo nerds out there, my new lens is a fixed 28mm, f/1.8 with an aspherical DG macro lens! For all you not-nerds, it means that I can take pictures of things really close up, in low light and without the kind of distortion that usually comes with a wide angle lens.

I bought it with event photography in mind, but on this sunny breezy Berkshire afternoon, I took it raspberry-picking with my good friend Laura.

This is Bruce, who owns the farm—Howden Farms in Ashley Falls.

This is his kitty, Thief, who Bruce says stole his way onto the farm.

Ahhhh... the Berkshires.

new dimensions in portraiture

2008-09-04T23:48:00.000-04:00

Recently, I’ve made it a goal to go deeper with my portraiture. Shooting for Kripalu Center for Yoga & Health I was always focused on getting people to smile and glow in a portrait. This is all well and good but I’m also interested in photographing other dimensions of people. I'm also beginning to experiment more with location.

My beautiful friend Sara is generous, fearless, and playful enough to be my guinea pig as I try new approaches to making a portrait. Here’s some of what we tried at her house yesterday.

(notice the impact of the angle of the face)

(cropped and over-saturated like this, it’s an album cover waiting to happen.)

(this shot makes you feel more comfortable, huh?)

musician’s portrait

2008-08-31T14:21:00.000-04:00

Jess Jacobs, a very good friend, talented musician, and all-around-great-person, is getting ready to release her debut album! She came to Great Barrington this weekend for a photoshoot. We tried a few locations and concepts; I think the direct portraits work the best, here are a few of my favorites.

You can hear Jess’s music on her myspace page (“Perpetual Heartbreak” is my favorite).

more strangers

2008-08-29T15:10:00.001-04:00

Here are some other folks I encountered in Woodstock during the portrait workshop.

Noah was playing songs from is debut album. At the moment this picture was taken, he was waiting for his mom to come back from the car with his song book (he doesn't have all of them memorized just yet).

Noah with his cousin, Alex.

Jean makes and sells this jewelry in the city.

impromptu portrait

2008-08-23T23:29:00.000-04:00

Today was the first day of my portrait workshop with renowned photographer and teacher Dawoud Bey. Our evening homework was to photograph a stranger in downtown Woodstock, NY where the workshop is taking place. I wandered into a Persian rug store to meet Scott, the owner and my new friend.

ridiculous & sublime

2008-08-05T12:13:00.000-04:00

I have just quit my job in order to focus the next year on the progress of my still-image film about the Little Brothers of Saint Francis, an inner-city monastery in Boston. I am applying to grants, fellowships, and artist residencies to provide the needed money and time to finish the film, currently titled Ridiculous & Sublime: Life in an Inner-City Franciscan Monastery.

This past week I submitted my first application to an artist colony. They require a sample work of a previous film for application to the film/video category. Since I am a first-time filmmaker, I put together a 4-minute trailer instead. I'll be posting the trailer online shortly, in the meantime, here are some of the images I used for it.

custom wedding dress

2008-07-23T13:34:00.001-04:00

My dear friend Sara Parrilli is a fabulous seamstress. She created this earthen (organic cotton) bridal dress as a wedding present for a friend. You can see progress shots and other projects on her blog.

wedding bells

2008-07-14T15:17:00.000-04:00

Despite all the crazy weather lately, Susan and Daniel managed to get an hour of sunlight for their outdoor wedding ceremony at Lars Anderson Park in Boston.

Daniel and his mom.

Susan and her mom.

Then they had a great party at the Jorge Hernadez Cultural Center in the South End, what a fun space it is!

camping in NH

2008-07-05T16:50:00.001-04:00

I spent this past week in the woods of northern New Hampshire. I had decided not to bring my digital SLR so I could focus on escaping from my life and my profession, but I ended up taking these photos with my friend point-and-shot Canon—easy to photograph such a majestic place. We hiked a mile and half straight up to the front door of this cabin, our home-away-from-home for the week.

The view of Mt Washington through the front door.

We kept warm, and made s'mores, by our wood stove.

The Saco River.

Whhhheeeeeeeeeeeee, rope swings along the river.

Johanna by the safety of the mosquito coil.

Johanna took this picture as she watched the sunset.

Dale and Johanna watching the sunset.

surviving the storm

2008-06-25T17:05:00.001-04:00

This weekend my friend and I got stuck in a severe thunderstorm right outside my house. I was about to get out of the car when there was sudden heavy rain, hail, branches falling on her car, and we could hardly see through the windshield. It looked much like the white-outs we New Englanders experience in the winter.

Because of so many trees falling in less than a minute, they are saying that it was a wind shear—think inverted-tornado, where a strong wind hits straight down to the ground and shoots out in all directions. My street seemed to be the only street with damage in Great Barraington.

One of seven trees that fell. Can you see the other tree crushing my neighbor's car in the background?

I was so lucky because the tree which crushed my neighbor's car fell right alongside my car, leaving these branches peeping through the open window.

This telephone poll split in half and hung by the electrical lines!

product and portrait

2008-06-17T16:52:00.000-04:00

Michael Wainwright makes beautiful porcelain tableware here in Great Barrington. I've photographed some of his objects for his advertising. These are some of my favorites.

You can check out his work on his website.

I also photographed Michael himself for an article in a trade magazine.

mala beads

2008-06-09T15:00:00.000-04:00

Today I photographed these beautiful mala beads, by Satya Jewlery, for the Kripalu catalog.

annex construction

2008-06-05T14:23:00.001-04:00

Kripalu is building a beautiful annex to the West side of it's building. Its design is both environmentally-friendly and intended to have an integrated relationship with the Kripalu grounds. So far, it's hard to tell, but it's coming up fast! Have a look at the progress since April.

The new ground floor!

My new friend Dean.

The site from afar.

summer is here in the gorgeous Berkshires

2008-05-26T15:27:00.000-04:00

Today, Memorial Day, I wandered the Kripalu grounds hoping to capture all that is coming alive in this amazing season.

group photos

2008-05-21T10:27:00.000-04:00

Now that the Kripalu grounds are alive, I've been taking group photos for the staff. Here's a couple.

surprise bouquet

2008-05-19T11:18:00.000-04:00

This weekend I was lucky enough to find a simple and lovely bouquet at my doorstep. It's so small that I used a double tall shot glass as its vase.

It was tied together with blades of grass!

leisurely Sunday hike

2008-05-14T08:48:00.000-04:00

This weekend my good friend Jess and I took a leisurely uphill stroll at Bartholomew's Cobble in Sheffield, MA. It's a beautiful spot with lots of simple trails and a grassy overlook. I'd highly recommend it for any Sunday afternoon.

Check out the Trustees of Reservation to learn more and visit yourself.

Jess took this photo of me jumping for joy.

Yoga in the Schools

2008-05-01T17:15:00.001-04:00

This week an article came out in Puranum, Kripalu's development magazine, about Yoga in the Schools. This is a program where Kripalu teachers visit a public school for four or six weeks to teach yoga in classrooms. It's an incredible program; kids love the movement and playfulness of it, and the teachers report that kids are more focused, better behaved, and more expressive after practicing yoga. Here are a handful of photos I took for the article.

passport photos can be fun

2008-04-30T09:43:00.000-04:00

My beautiful friend Gabe needed an ID photo for her grad school and the specs were as strict as for government passports (I wonder what clearances these social work grad students get over at Smith)! So I took her photo with a natural expression, her face forward (less than 10 degrees in each direction) and with her face sized to 1 3/8" in the 2" square photo.

Then, we had some fun...

This is for the cover of her hip hop album titled "The Communicator."

New York City dog walk

2008-04-23T03:45:00.000-04:00

This weekend I visited my friends in Brooklyn and one of my favorite parts was walking their dog in the city. Here's some pictures from a park just below the Brooklyn Bridge.

Shakin' off.

portraits of drumming group

2008-04-17T16:23:00.000-04:00

It's been a slow week, photographically speaking. But today I had a chat with my friend and audio engineer Shaun Laframboise, which started me thinking about the great drum group he leads, KDZ - The Kripalu Drummers. I shot the group and individual portraits for their recent album release, so I thought I'd post these photos which I took back in the fall.

You can listen to KDZ on their myspace profile, or their website.

this week at Kripalu

2008-04-10T16:35:00.000-04:00

darling Olivia

2008-03-31T17:15:00.001-04:00

I love my kitty Olivia and wanted to put up these recent photos of her. Then I thought I'd include photos from other scenes of her 2 years so far.

I had never actually seen a cat stuck in a tree before! She's quite agile and adventures so I was surprised to see her in a place where she was afraid to move. Eventually my roommate played fireman and got her down.

My housemate had seen this little fawn dead by the side of the road and decided to bring her home to bury her. Olivia's reaction was incredible. She was curious yet reverent. She kept circling around it and reaching out for it, but never touched the corpse.

spring is beginning!

2008-03-27T16:26:00.001-04:00

It's been freezing cold and sunny in the Berkshires during the last week—mixed seasonal signals. But, during my drive home from work yesterday I saw undeniable proof that the seasons are changing! The Stockbridge Bowl is melting and the geese were perched all along their mini, expanding ponds.

traditional photography in Connemara, Ireland

2008-03-14T10:01:00.000-04:00

During my trip to Ireland I took about 1000 photos with my digital SLR. I also brought my beloved metal-body film camera (a canon AE-1 for all you photo nerds out there), just in case of . . . something, I wasn't sure what when I decided to bring it.

When my travel mate and I saw the baron landscape of the Dubh Loch Valley open up to this lake surrounded by mountains, I knew why. Something of the richness of the grays called for this traditional medium. I just developed these negatives in my bathtub last week to try and remember the atmosphere of this somber, majestic place.

"Dubh loch" in English means quite simply "dark lake."

To see some color photos from the trip visit the previous blog entry.

The coat on this sheep gives you a sense of the wind!

During the height of the famine, 600 Irish peasants gathered and crossed this valley to beg at the house of their British landlord. After being turned away in the winter, only 200 survived the trek back. It's believed that many of the remains have sunken into the lake. This monument, erected in 1994, commemorates the "hungry poor who walked here in 1849 and walk the third world today."

Ireland!

2008-03-07T13:57:00.000-05:00

I just returned from a magical winter trip to the Emerald Isle. My friend Erin and I picked up our car from the airport and just started driving while chanting "stay to the Left because the Right will kill you." The guy at the rental company told us that we'd get a red car, "Red for Danger, so they can see you coming."

The wonderful thing about the natural beauty and history of Ireland is its accessibility. Natural wonders can just be as they are, unlike our approach to name it, fence it and then make you pay to be told about it. With the exception of the Cliffs of Moher, the beauties of Ireland I saw are there for the experiencing. The whole country felt like our misty Catholic playground.

The history, both recent and of centuries and millennia ago, is alive with all the people. They are neighbors of ancient huts and stone markers left from the Neolithic era. People are quite comfortable not understanding exactly what they were first built for, in fact there's a kind of respect in not demanding an explanation from the noble stones.

There wasn't much conversation about Catholicism, which kind of surprised me. But I suppose that the crumbling grandeur of church and abbey ruins—so common it verges on ubiquitous—speaks loudly enough.

More recent history is present over every cup of tea. It's not long into a chat with an Irishman that you'll start to feel the tragedy of the famine or the oppression of the occupation. I was told over and over how during the height of the famine, Ireland exported more grain than it had all century via England, while the farmers of Ireland starved. The Irish are so connected to their land, but they as a people have suffered so much to maintain that connection—bittersweet to say the least. They are quite generous in sharing the beauty of Ireland with visitors but it's clear to them that us Yanks and other foreigners will not ever live in the connection which they have earned.

Enough of me attempting to explain, here's a taste of what I saw in 7 days.

The Burren, Co Clare.

Ballintuber Abbey, which has been continuously holding mass since 1216.

Driving during dusk in Co Galway.

The Famine Memorial, to commemorate all those who died while trying to emigrate. Their ships became known as Coffin Ships because so many starved on the journey.

Croagh Patrick, just outside of Westport.

On the way up Croagh Patrick.

Stopping to feel the wind in the Dubh Loch Valley of Connemara.

Ancient "bee hive" hut.

On Slea Head, the Dingle Peninsula.

Tom Horgan reading a grave by abbey ruins in Waterville, Co Kerry.

Tea time.

Jackie on his farm with Davy and Pharaoh.

On the Ring of Kerry.

Above are selections from my digital photos on the trip. I also shot some black and white film in Connemara, which I’ve posted on it’s own.

portrait for Kripalu publication

2008-01-31T12:09:00.000-05:00

This week I was invited into the studio of knitwear designer and actress Karen Allen.

Kripalu's upcoming issue of our development magazine, Puranam, will include an article about Karen. Karen has taught yoga at a studio she founded in Great Barrington and teaches weekend-long knitting workshops at Kripalu.

You can see Karen's beauitful work on her store's website.

The scarf she's wearing in this photo she was just finishing on the machine in the above photos.

today's portrait session

2008-01-16T16:22:00.000-05:00

Today I had the pleasure of photographing a charming and radiant woman at Kripalu. Vandita, who is the Director of the Kripalu Yoga Teachers Association (KYTA).

KYTA does wonderful work including giving grants to yoga teachers to work with populations who typically do not have access to holistic health practices including at-risk teens, people living with HIV, and pregnant teenagers, to name a few.

You can learn more about KYTA on their site, and see some rough edits from Vandita's shoot below.

Yoga teachers can sit like this so easily.

monk documentary

2008-01-09T09:20:00.000-05:00

Since 2005 I have been working on a documentary about an urban monastery in Boston, the Little Brothers of Saint Francis. The project began as a semester-long assignment for a documentary photography class at Emerson College.

In the first few months of working with the Brothers I was endlessly impressed and inspired by their way of life. After completing my school assignment, which was to create 20 black & white prints, I became compelled to tell a more comprehensive story of their community and way of life.

I am in post-production on a still-image film which combines photographs with audio of the Brothers. I have developed over 2,000 traditional black & white negatives and recorded 40 hours of audio of interviews, prayer, chanting, and conversation. My vision is to combine these into a feature-length film. Currently, I am making a teaser to create a sense of how the images and audio will interact.

Once I complete the teaser I will apply for grants and appeal to individuals for financial support to finish the documentary. There will be more information on a forthcoming website dedicated to the project. If you'd like to be notified once the site is up, or updated about the process of the documentary, follow this link to sign-up for my mailing list.

See the original 20 photographs on my website.
Visit the Brothers' website.

Below are photos from the interview process.

Brother Labre holds the front door.

Brother Didacus during his interview.

Brother Giles during his interview.

Brother James reaches into his habit-pocket.

Brother Joseph during his interview.

Brother Labre during his interview.

I also interviewed a few of the Brothers' friends, including their neighbor Leonorah.

Brother Didacus holds his rosary.

this morning

2008-01-03T15:30:00.000-05:00

When you live in the Berkshires, your morning drive to work can look like this.

This is where I work.

Cherry trees by the parking lot.

Just outside my office door.

Christmas with family

2008-01-02T14:37:00.000-05:00

I just spent Christmas with my family. Here are some pics from my visit.

Christmas day, we set-up a web cam so we could see my brother in Korea open gifts with his wife.

Grandpa having coffee.

Games with the laser-pointer.

Grandpa telling war stories and David listening intently.

Using little sister to break-down the fort.

Wheeeeeeeeee!

Aunt Mo & Uncle Roger watch at a safe distance.

How many monkeys can fit on one sled?

debut post!

2008-01-02T14:26:00.000-05:00

Hello friends and future-friends. Welcome to my first ever blog!

Recently I created a website to display some of my photo work. I've never had a formal portfolio before and selecting the images was an odd and painful process. How does one represent all the faces of her work? Or rather, which faces are the most important to show?

Often there are images that I enjoy, and they seem worth sharing, but are not fit to represent myself with. So, I decided to start this blog as a casual way of sharing photos that I take. And I suppose it may create a sort of story about myself and my relationship to photography. My intention is to post at least once a week and always include recent images.

If this seems interesting to you, stay tuned and check back often.

Here's a randomly-selected picture to start off with. It's from a cathedral in Europe.