Country Boys and Girls

Ray and I are sipping sweet tea & enjoying the southern hospitality in South Carolina. On Friday night we joined the local country boys and girls for a turkey shoot! note: we did not actually shoot any turkeys.

Reunite

In less than 2 weeks the Greer Ladies reunite for several days of adventure in the deep south of Tennessee, USA. The Greers are the most fearless blondes on the planet. They are, in short, the craziest women alive holding Visa cards. Denise, the leader of the Fuckawi tribe will attempt to use her innate sense of direction to lead her family to the source of goodness. Where the Fuckawi mom???

As a clan and individually, they have a reputation for terrifying the French. They unflinchingly battle small European men for inner-city parking, disrupt Joan of Arc's place of rest, bathe in Parisian Parliament fountains, purchase large quanities of Venetian purses, bypass boring statues such as David (in Florence), and communicate in languages they have no recollection of learning, including but not limited to Dutch, French, Italian, Armenian, and Spanish.

Tennessee beware! The ladies are underway...runnnnnnnnnnnnnn

Monday night matinee:

Ray took me to watch American Gangster. The movie stars Denzel Washington & Russel Crowe!!! I'm a sucker for a good Denzel movie. This one was no exception!
Check out the official website here:
www.americangangster.net

I love ganster and spy plots. Or a slapstick comedy. Any genre that falls between is not my thing. A bad movie is just a waste of time. American Gangster gripped me so much, that towards the end when the plot thickened every second, my heart started to race like a guinea pig on a spinning wheel. It reminds me of reading a book where your eyes dart back and forth and you read as fast as you can as the tension grows and you realize there's only 3 pages left until the end of the book....how could it all wrap up in 3 pages?!?!! Same scenario at the movie theater.

Excellent flick, I highly recommend! Hurry up and go see it! I can't say much more without ruining it for you. In case anyone cares to know, my top fave actors are:
Denzel
Matt Damon
Mark Wahlberg (hubba hubba)
Vin Diesel
Jamie Foxx

MK's album design

Marisa & Kanishka are very special to me! They're clever, intelligent, and completely devoted to each other no matter the distance. For now, Marisa resides in Korea, with Kanishka in D.C. I love them dearly!Their families & friends are too cool for words!

This design includes a lot more B&W than my usualy pepper & salt. Its the most euphoric feeling to shoot a wedding with extra permissions & VIP access! M & K gave me thumbs up to do my thing. Special priveledges include seeing mom with a turban/towel while she sewed Marisa's veil, eating breakfast/lunch/dinner with the the bridal party from Vietnam, Mexico, UK and Korea. It was so much more than simple photographer access, they allowed me IN their lives like family, on their wedding day(s). It was a 2-day celebration. If you're reading this, I can't wait to see you again soon! I'm visint you in Jamaica next year! So sorry about the mix up with album chronology, Blogger is especially difficult to sort with so many images below...

NY Bride Sues Florist for $400,000

New York City bride (and lawyer) Elana Glatt didn’t get the wedding of her dreams because the flowers she ordered from renowned Posy Floral Design were not the shade she wanted.

“The hydrangeas used were not the rust hydrangeas [Posy] agreed to provide, but rather were light pink and light green hydrangeas.”“She's a lawyer,” says florist Stamos Arakas. “They’re just out for gain.”

The flowers cost the newlyweds $27,435.14. The couple is seeking $400,000 in restitution and damages. Elana and David Glatt have filed a suit for what caused them "extreme disappointment, distress and embarrassment" on what was supposed to be the greatest day of their lives by providing the wrong-colored hydrangeas for their Aug. 11, 2007 nuptials.

In papers filed in Manhattan Supreme Court, the Glatts and David's mom, Tobi, charge that Posy Floral Design Studio used cheaper pink hydrangeas instead of the contractually agreed-upon rust hydrangeas, messing up the color scheme of the deluxe wedding at Cipriani 42nd Street. Posy's "performance was also substantially defective" in other ways, including "using wilted and/or browned flowers, leaving the event without filling half the centerpiece vases with water, and using dusty and dirty vases," the lawsuit says.

"I can't believe this. I put my heart and soul into this wedding," a teary-eyed Paula told The Post. Stamos blamed the "completely unwarranted" suit on Glatt's lawyer bride, Elana. "She's being a Bridezilla," he fumed, claiming that Elana would order elaborate arrangements that her future mother-in-law, who was paying for the flowers, would then trim down. "They sent us 200, 250 e-mails changing things up until the last minute. We did everything they wanted," he said.

The couple said they discovered they'd been the victims of "a bait and switch" on their wedding day, when they found the "hydrangeas used were not the rust hydrangeas defendants agreed to provide, but rather were light pink and light green hydrangeas," which are "significantly less expensive" and "entirely the wrong color." [since when has a lawyer ever been a victim?!]

The suit says that was a disastrous difference, because "colors had been specifically chosen to match the tones of the room." The filing also alleges the flower arrangements in the bathroom weren't what the pair bargained for, either, and appeared to be made up of flowers that were "no different than the roses available from a street vendor" for "$5."

Paula Arakas maintained everything was clean and just what the couple had asked for. She seemed especially hurt by the rose crack. "She says my roses were deli roses. They're not. They're beautiful. My roses are beautiful," she said.

Purple Kicks

My 03.22.08 bride wore these to her recent e-session. Aren't they adorable?

The Castle

Here it is!

With just the basic lawn care and a bit of TLC we have started to bring warmth into this cute 1920's pad. For Ray, its his first time living in a house believe it or not. In LA & the Bronx Ray lived in apartments throughout his entire life. So, the experience of owning a home is very unique for him.

After 3 months of dueling with the seller, we finally have heat in our bedroom! Thanks to the Kelly family for hooking us up with some good contractors! dankeschoen to Kim & Dennis!

We are the DIY types; repairing and finishing, doing lawn work and all that jazz is a treat for us. In addition, our new 1920's-ish furniture has arrived. We're SORT of unpacking boxes, too, now that things are settled on the wedding front. I can't believe we moved in August and are just now putting things into place! Our next big projects are to remodel the basement and figure out what do with the top floor. Enjoy the fall leaves and what's left of the weekends in 2007...we have our work cut out for us!

Fleeting Z's

Last night, I don't remember falling asleep. Do you ever have those moments?

I felt tired, went to bed and when I blinked it was 6am. The urge to get things accomplished woke me up!

Marisa & Kanishka's album design is on its way. CharMO, Rachel, the Nguyen family, and Brooke/Chris all have images getting uploading to the web gallery. Lots of great stuff on the way...its destined to be a blazin' Friday.

Mr. & Mrs.

This was a twist to their 'Mr. & Mrs.' shoot- we ditched the wedding attire and headed indoors for part of the shoot-Cheers to my newlyweds Amy & Philip!

Oct. 27 wedding

Edited to add (on Tuesday):

I find myself sifting through wedding pictures on this sunny, lazy Sunday. Thanks to Joe Buissink's workshop,I shot with a new awareness of my surroundings yesterday at Katie & Dustin's wedding in Cornelius, OR. The pictures are not what you probably expect. I shoot 99% in color. Nonetheless here's my first post for the newlyweds. Congrats & have fun in Vegas! Stay tuned for more photos after we rest up.

Ear Worm

iTunes FINALLY added my fave ear worm "Electro Pop" to their purchase list. Check it out here For some reason I can't embed videos through blogger now. Weird!

Check out the video, its electropoppin' hot.

Great news for Ray!

This morning Ray was offered a position with Homeland Security! Yay!!! This lengthy process began over 7 months ago and included heavy screening, interviews, a multitude of tests and even a visit from the Secret Service. At last he's been accepted, I'm SO thrilled for him! The school begins in just 2 weeks, so we'll be dropping everything to spend time together before he leaves for a really, really long time. :-(
Naturally, I have lots of work to do, but I won't be taking any new appointments until after Nov 20th. Just wanted to share the news, Ray is really excited about it! Cheerio!

Day 2 of 3

Awwwwesome workshop!

directions for today's challenge:

Use 1 prime lens

Shoot wide open (1.2)

Pay attention to composition, background hot-spots & appendages... (sounds easier than it is)

Joe Buissink in Portland

Day 1 of 3.

Challenge instructions: focus on fleeting moments.

Gear: canon 5D, 1 lens (50 1.2)

Contraband: no posing. no cropping. no photoshop. no chimping (we all cheated here). no directing. P mode only

ISO 1600

These are all straight out of the camera, I can't STAND to NOT photoshop them into perfection, but its not about perfection. Focus on the moment, the essence, the mood, the connection. People from all over came to this workshop. From Wisconsin, to Guam, to Mexico. Joe showed us his portfolio of Christina Aguilera, JLo, J.Simpson, Christina Applegate. OMG. Joe shoots weddings like nobody's business. I love being here. I feel so alive.