"One Nation Under a Groove"

Those were some of the chants we heard today as we watched Mr. Obama be sworn in as the president on 125th Street in the heart of Harlem USA! It was a warm day in Harlem even though the mercury only rose to be in the 20's. The human spirit that showed up to witness this historical event was represented by all the colors our flesh tones are able to create! Together we cheered and cried and celebrated a new way of thinking.



(The statue in this picture is Adam Clayton Powell, the first African American elected to Congress from New York.)































I love days like this in New York City. Days when we forget about ourselves and join together for a greater purpose. I have witnessed days like this in the city only a handful of times, they are rare and so incredibly precious.

As an educator I am so thrilled to imagine the minds of young Americans and how they will NOW truly be able to dream and imagine themselves growing up to be ANYTHING- even the president of the United States of America!

"O-BA-MA!!! O-BA-MA!!! O-BA-MA!!! One Nation Under a Groove!!"

Baby Roy!

Meet baby Roy- the little brother of Vera! I photographed Vera when she was this little a year and a half ago and it was so great to be able to have the same kind of photo shoot with Roy! The photo shoot took place in Mama and Papa's big fluffy bed. Roy was so happy, Vera extra sweet, Mama and Papa extremely proud and the light- just perfect!



















Rightfully exhausted after a big day of picture taking. Congratulations to you all, the 4 of you are such a beautiful family. Vera I know you will be an incredible big sister!!!

Party of 5

Nicole and Marc are old buddies of ours from Fire Island. They left the days of beer games and started an incredible family. They have 3 children that are all unique and interesting, never mind super cute and funny! We had a great morning at one of my favorite places here in NYC, the always beautiful, always fun Duck Pond in Central Park.

Cooper and his Mom and Dad!

Cooper is the child of a childhood friend of mine. It is always so amazing for me to meet the creation of someone that I knew as a kid. Did we really grow up so much that we are the adults now?















Cooper was such a pleasure to photograph. As you can see he is all boy with his stick and his love of the trees, the ducks and of course his Mom and Dad!

Missy and Lucas

Missy and Lucas are my new Harlem friends from Pilate class. Missy and I were in the bathroom one day after class when this woman whom we had never seen before came right up to Missy and asked her if she was pregnant! Now Missy, a Pilate superstar was FAR from looking pregnant. When the woman left the bathroom we were in shock over how rude some women can be! Missy went home and told Lucas. Lucas is a big believer in things happening for a reason and decided to get a pregnancy test. Well, sure enough, Missy was pregnant! No one has ever seen that woman again!





I put both the color and the b & w shot of this picture because I could not decide. The whole idea of the photo shoot came about because I had a dream of the above shot. A fall day, lots of colors, Missy and Lucas hanging out on a park bench being the easy going New yorkers that they are. So this shot speaks more accurately to the dream image, but I also just love these two in b & w.





In this shot baby Jackson was doing some Pilate moves! I love the look on Missy's face, so in awe of the the baby growing inside her.



Missy and Lucas thank you so much for allowing me to capture this amazing time in your lives! Missy and Lucas are now the proud parents of baby Jackson! Congratulations!! I am so happy for you 3!!

Our Honeymoon!

If you have been wondering where I have been...well, I have been on a honeymoon adventure! We went to 5 countries in 1 month and had the most incredible journey. Its hard to believe that all the planning, the wedding day and now the honeymoon are all over! Everything went so fast. It was all so amazing! Here are some pictures from our "Adventure Moon"!

Bali



Singapore- Little India



Thailand - Koh Samui



I love this photo of this little girl. It was late at night at one of the night markets. Her Mom was working in one of the near by shops and she was lost in this soap that seemed quite steamy!



Thailand- Chang Mai

This is Kwan, my elephant! Well only for the day. We decided to do something good for animals on our trip and we spent the day at an Elephant conservation Park. Patera Elephant Farm if anyone is interested. It was hands down one of the most amazing days of my life. And it was easily the best day of our honeymoon.

Basically you are given an elephant and for one day you wash it, feed it and ride it bareback up into the jungle to a waterfall and back down!! Riding an elephant bareback into the jungles of northern Thailand was an experience that I struggle to put into words. Elephants are amazing creatures, as gentle and smart as they are large- and when you are on one you really get a sense of how large they are!



Laos




In Laos, every morning at sunrise the monks, mainly comprised of young boys, collect their alms from the villagers. The food they collect in the morning is all the food they are allowed to eat for the whole day. This is a beautiful ancient tradition that was done by Buddha himself. Witnessing this religious exchange between the monks and the villagers is something that I will never forget.





Some young monks bathe in the river as our boat passed by. They were waving, and then we gave them the surfer sign and they cracked up- giving it right back! It was nice for me to see them smiling, so often during the day when you see them they are very serious.



Japan






I hope everyone had a great holiday season and I wish you the best for 2009!