Maria McKendry aka Baby

I have had a dear friend now for MANY years named Baby. I am lucky that we are friends because when we first met at a young age I was such a bad girl that she was told not to be friends with me! Good thing she didn't always listen!

Baby was my first buddy to get married. She met a man I said would be perfect for her, and he was! It was at Maria (Baby)and Eric's wedding that I got my first taste of wedding photojournalism. I was a bridesmaid, but I had my point and shoot on me all night. One of my favorite shots of all time was taken of Baby getting ready. This image is one that I will always love for many reasons. Mostly I love it because is it of Baby. It also reminds me that a good image does not always have anything to do with a good camera, but more to do with finding the moment and having the instinct to take the picture.

Baby, aka Maria McKendry, is celebrating her birthday today! She was feeling nostalgic and started Googling old friends names to see what people were up to. She mentioned to me that with her married name she does yet exist on Google. It is a shame, because Baby has done so much since she has been married, she has given birth to 3 incredible children and is raising them to be great little people!

Google should have a whole section for amazing mothers! Happy Birthday Baby! I hope that this blog entry makes it into Google as your birthday present! Thanks for being a wonderful friend, Happy Birthday!!

Giants Superbowl Parade( click title to watch video)

Although there is something quite graceful about his young man, the scene here was anything but. The parade was very frustrating, the streets to see the parade were blocked off and hundreds of people found themselves with no where to go. As a result, fans became angry and started attacking the vehicles left on the street. The crowds were not cheering for the Giants but rather chanting " F#*K the POLICE!"

Here the same group moved onto another car. The were trying to tip it, that is after they throughly vandalized it.
One might ask, where were the police? I photographed this scene for about 25 minutes. One cop showed up and had no control and left again. 10 minutes after that, cops showed up on horses, about 12 of them. They ran through the streets chasing the crowd away. The horses where so scared, but so were the punks.

It was such a sad scene to me. Here was a winning home town team, and here was a city willing to put on a parade for the people of the town to celebrate. Instead, cars were ruined, people were hurt and day of victory became a day of violence.


CLICK ON THE TITLE OF THIS POST TO WATCH VIDEO FROM NEWSDAY. You can see me taking pictures in the lower left hand corner in the blue jacket. As a photographer is was a wild experience, thrilling yet intimidating as well. One man kept yelling to the others that I was a cop. I told them I wasn't but he got a group to chant that I was a cop. Fearing for my camera and myself because there was no way out I started chanting "F#*K the COPS", luckily for me it worked.

At home with the Garvey boys!

I have always loved photographing kids. Especially when they are being allowed to be just that- kids.

From the milk mustaches, band-aids, favorite stuff animals, and messy hair, this is what children are really all about. Photographing children like this allows their childhood and how it was lived to be represented. Real children, in their real environment, on a regular day during their lives. These are the kind of images that in 10 years from now will conjure up an accurate memory of the past.

The BIG surprise!

I am so pleased to announce that Greg and I are engaged! It was perfect, I had no idea what was coming!! For future brides reading this, I now FULLY understand what you are going through when planning your wedding day!

DMC

Last night I was dragged, ok- asked nicely, to go to a Public Enemy concert at Irving Plaza. Now for those of you that know Irving Plaza know that the intimate setting and the close proximity to the performers is what makes this place such a gem. To see U2 there would be amazing- but hip hop- not my thing. Shockingly enough I was touched, emotionally that is, by a surprise performer- DMC of the past "runDMC". His music was fun, especially live, but what really got me was when he opened up to the crowd. He told us all that he just recently found out after 35 years that he was adopted and that the people that raised him are his foster parents. This new knowledge really had a large impact on him and drove him to look into the state of the foster care system. He told us a statistic that swam in my head all night; 78% of the people in jail were raised in the foster care system. I will leave that fact with you and let you draw your own conclusions. I just want to say, that whenever possible take a second or more to believe in a kid. Kids need to know they are loved, doesn't matter by whom but they need to know that they are little stars, or as DMC called them, Kings and Queens. The more children are believed in, the more courage they will have to achieve any dream they may desire.

Alicia and Tommy

This weekend I got to meet Alicia and Tommy! Even though it was super cold out these two were troopers for taking photographs! They are adorable together and I cannot wait for their September Fire Island wedding!!

Fall beauty

This week here in NYC has been so beautiful, had to post it. The first two images are from a walk I was taking on Riverside Dr. Riverside Dr and Riverside park is all new to me since I moved to Manhattan. I had no idea how incredible this little area of NYC is. It is such a secret little gem, I just love it! The cobble stone path and the stone walls lined by huge beautiful trees- no matter what season it is always so breathtaking.

On Thursday we grabbed the bikes and found different angles of the parade. It was such a great day, the weather was in the upper 50's, the leaves in the park were at their peak and NYC was thriving once again as a host to millions of people!

I love how from the trees in the park you just see a glimpse of the parade...I wonder what it must be like from people's windows when all of a sudden a huge balloon just passes by...

Erin and Pete

Recently I photographed the wedding of Erin and Pete, a couple from Fire Island. Their wedding was amazing! It was a day full of love, fun, and beautiful details. One of my favorite things was their wedding favors. They gave out Colorado Blue Spruce saplings! I thought that was such a unique idea, and good for environment! Congratulations Erin and Pete and thank you so much for the opportunity to capture this great wedding!

I love this picture! It cracks me up. Things you should know: it was FREEZING out! Erin is a true Fire Island barefooter! (even though this was in the Hamptons!)

Anna and Paresh

Last weekend I had such a great time photographing Anna & Paresh! They are a very unique couple, and had so many creative ideas to make their engagement shoot as unique as they are. They even had us playing in traffic! Their love for each other was so adorable and really revealed itself in the images. Congratulations Anna & Paresh!

NYC Marathon

By far my most favorite day in NYC! Our city comes alive to welcome millions and show them how we like to behave on good days. Good days? Yes, days when we can see past the color of our skin, the cut of our clothes and the borders of the well defined neighborhoods. People smile, cheer and laugh with each other. True the runners amaze me- they really do- but its the people on the side lines that really make this day for me. This was my second year watching race day in Harlem. "Welcome to Harlem", the cheer sung by many to the millions as they cross over the bridge back into Manhattan for the last 5 miles. Harlem may have a terrible reputation, but never on race day.

Running with Books

This is Andre, a man I was hired to photograph this week. Andre is about to do something incredible. He will be running the New York City Marathon this Sunday...with 30 lbs of books. Why? He is being sponsored by Cafescribe.com to promote the use of on-line text books. We all know how heavy text books are, how expensive they are to produce and most importantly- the toll being taken on our environment and planet due to so many tress being cut down. Good luck Andre and thank you Stephen of bugeyedmarketing.com for hiring Your Life Photography.

Lauren & Brendan

Last Sunday I had the pleasure of sharing a beautiful NYC fall morning, in the greatest park, with Lauren and Brendan. It was so much fun working with them! They will be getting married this spring, and I really look forward to photographing their special day! (Pictures can be clicked on to see them larger.)

Fire Island farewell

The 2007 season came to an end for Greg and I last weekend. This was the scene over the water as we were on the ferry. Fire Island is an incredible place only hours from NYC but it always feel as if you have gone far. A must for anyone who loves the beach and great friendly people.

Boards- Ladies night!

Boards is a magazine that is located up in Toronto, my buddy here on the right, Jonathan Block- Verk is the vice- president. This night was special for a few reasons. First the night was dedicated to two of the leading ladies in advertising (left and the blonde below)- a world of mostly men...hmmm, sounds like photography. Second, it was great to photograph Jonathan in a different way...a few years ago I photographed him and his wife Vanessa as she was in labor with their first child, Stella Brooklyn. His family, now including Oscar, are throughout my web site. They are an amazing family...and they photograph very well! This night was also really cool because people in advertising LOVE getting their pictures taken, quite different than some other industries! I was literally at times being pulled on by my sleeve to come take a picture! Most of them inquired about which magazine issue they would be on the cover of! Great night dedicated to incredible women!