SLR-Photo

I suggested Naritar Park for the Fitzpatrick’s portraits to take advantage of the beautiful fall colors and the warm light in October.  And that we had!  Below are a few of the first images -

What surprised me was when I started playing around with some of the images of just the girls.  I loved the black & white and antique black & white as you will see below.

This last picture reminds me so much of one of those images that come in the Hallmark frame that says “Sisters” on the bottom!

I visited a family on Watchung Lake on Sunday to help celebrate a 45 year Wedding Anniversary.  I love when families can all get together for such great occasions and add family portraits to the mix.  Everyone I met was great - however, there were so many in such a short amount of time - here is a sampling…minus the names…

I photographed several groups of kids and was thrilled that the gentleman behind me was doing some crazy things to make the kids laugh and smile!

After I photograph the families together, I like to end with what I call the “crazy” photo.  Here are a few…

Lastly here a few more of the family.  What a great time I had meeting everyone!

The West family is here in New Jersey for a 2 year work contract.  I have to admit since they arrived about 1 1/2 years ago now, we have had the wackiest weather.  I almost want to apologize to Candie…like I am responsible for the weather in New Jersey.  Well, thank goodness we were blessed with a beautiful day for their fall portraits (we won’t talk about how many times we had to reschedule for rain!).

The colors were in full burst and the family looked great at Naritar in Peapack.

Here is Rylee with big brother Mark.

I think I proved that these are pictures that you won’t be able to get in Texas.  Maybe someday they will look back at the pictures and forget the horrible Spring and Summer!

Look how adorable Rylee looks in her halloween costume.  This one’s for you, Grandma!!

Karen Monroy knew that the way to bring life to her professional headshot was to find the perfect location.  And she did!  We had the perfect fall afternoon in Frenchtown overlooking the Delaware River.

Frenchtown is a “don’t blink or you’ll miss it” kind of town with little artsy galleries and cute coffee shops.  Karen looked lovely in the warm colors of the fall.

Anyone who knows me well, knows that I like interesting textures in my backgrounds.  Look at his beautiful wall - I like to think of it as representing a strong foundation!

Thank you Karen for introducing me to Frenchtown.  I’ll definitely be visiting again!

I was fortunate to photograph an event last Friday where Raritan Valley Habitat for Humanity dedicated a 9 home site in Bridgewater.  The event drew many from the community as well as Corporate and individual sponsors for this Dutch Lane development.

An exciting part of the event was when they raised the wall of one of the houses - it truly symbolized the emormous effort that goes into this community build.

The image below shows Director, Pam Ely with 2 familiar faces - Governor Thomas Kean and Governor Christine Todd Whitman who are both Honorary Co-chairs of this More Homes, More Hope Campaign.

It was also great to see the faces of many of the families who have worked so hard on their house as well as other homes.  Below are the two Governors with one of the Dutch Lane families.

I loved this last image - even the rain didn’t stop the event from going forward!

For more information about Raritan Valley Habitat for Humanity or how to contribute to the More Home, More Hope Campaign, please visit www.rvhabitat.org

Take a walk with me and the Nelson Family.  We had one of those perfect days last Sunday at Natirar Park in Peapack.

This is Anna - so happy to be running around at the park.

Emma just loved the leaves.  The image below showed just what she wanted to do while she was there - walk in the leaves and listen to them crunch.  Shouldn’t we all just stop on a Fall day and do the same thing?

One of those moments that makes you feel small.  The enormity of the tree…and the sheer joy of a little girl.

A perfect day wrapped up in a great family photo!

Watching kids grow has been a rewarding and fantastic experience for me.  I am so fortunate to watch so many stages of their development.  Saturday, I photographed the Tucker family - a family that holds a special place in my heart.

Kaylee will turn one this month.  She is the most beautiful child and such a delight!  I am amazed at her eyes and melt in her happy disposition.

I just love her hands in this image.  It was as if I say “Kaylee, fold your hands”.

Big sister Gianna has always been photogenic.  She really follows directions.  What I love about Gianna is her desire to please.  While I was there, she was sure I was well taken care of with fruit snacks and marshmallows.

Benji is at that magic age where smiling naturally is a challenge!  He was determined though, to really really try.  He didn’t want to give up and I think we finally nailed it!

When I saw this image in the back of my camera, I sighed a big breath of relief.  Three kids smiling great!  That’s a wrap!  A beautiful family and a photo you will look back on for years.

Of course, I am convinced that our great luck with smiles had more to do with the presence of Tinkerbell than anything.  The smile on her face in this outfit was priceless.  I think I will have to bring her along for the rest of my shoots this year!