Country Living Online:: published!

Last summer, I took a trip to Massachusetts with my dear friend Rikki. On our way back to Rikki's home in NY state, we went and saw the Vanderbilt Mansion. It was a casual visit. I only took a few pictures, and then we stopped in the gift shop they had.

A few weeks ago, I was contacted by someone on staff at Hearst Corporation. They sought out my picture of the Vanderbilt Mansion for an online piece being written by Country Living on the Hudson Valley.

 

(image obtained from countryliving.com)

The article has been published online and my picture is there. It's always exciting seeing your work published, even if in a small way.

Morgan, thanks for contacting me and for publishing my work. The Hudson Valley IS a beautiful place. If you're looking for a fun getaway, check out the Country Living Fair in Rhinebeck, NY taking place June 7-9.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Joan Hutton Landis:: Media, PA portrait session

I received a phone call from Stoneleigh Burnham School - an independent boarding and day school in Greenfield, MA - asking if I could take a portrait of an alumnus of theirs. Joan Hutton Landis is the 2013 recipient of their Distinguished Alumna Award. As the school detailed,

"The Distinguished Alumna Award is presented annually and bestows institutional recognition on one alumna who has distinguished herself in her personal or professional life, in her intellectual pursuits, or in her dedication to service of community, country or society. Joan was nominated and selected to receive the award due to her outstanding (and lengthy) career in the humanities. She began teaching at the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia in 1977 and founded that school's Department of Liberal Arts, which she chaired until 2009. She taught English Literature and published poetry during her tenure."

I had the opportunity to go down and photograph Joan - in her home - a number of weeks ago. I thought it might be fun to walk you through my session a bit. I wish I had known I was going to make this a bit of a tutorial, because I didn't take any wide shots to show you the environment. But I feel very happy with the final image chosen, which will be used in the SBS's alumni magazine this summer.

When I arrived, Joan and I walked into their sitting room. There were quite a few couches and single chairs. On one long wall there were numerous tall windows with a window seat (would love to have that in my home). Across from that wall was a bookshelf, the opening to the foyer, and a bench of sorts. Along the short wall at one end was a large stone fireplace and along the opposite wall was a couch and some wall hangings, with a window on the right side of the wall.

Joan let me know that people often like to take pictures with the bookshelf in the background. I asked if we could pull the couch away from the bookshelf to give some dimension, and that's where we started. This is one of the first images I took - a nice straight shot of her. But her shoulders were broad and I knew she hadn't yet relaxed in front of the camera.

There was light from the windows on the left side of her face. While I liked this set up, I knew we'd take some with different backgrounds.  We took a bunch more frames of her near the bookshelf, but then I rotated her so the short wall would be behind her. I didn't quite like the distraction of the window, the window frame behind her head, nor the purple behind her on the right, though it did complement the sweater. It was simply too busy.

Here's a similar image, but I was trying to get Joan to lean a bit, so as to get a different angle. Still not there yet.

Then Joan mentioned she had a different top to change into, as I had suggested she have some options. So she changed her sweater, leaving on the black turtleneck. She also mentioned she had a gold necklace on and pulled that out from under the turtleneck. I left her where she was and took another image, not having her lean as much and letting some of the light hit her face a bit more on the left.

We rotated her yet again so she'd be sitting with the opposite short wall behind her - where the fireplace was. In all of the previous images, I was shooting with my 50mm 1.4 lens. I wasn't liking some of the distortion it was creating, and I knew I wanted to be 'closer' to her. I decided at this time to switch out for my fav lens -- my 70-200mm 2.8. I asked Joan to stand and wondered what that would do to the image. While I like this a bit more, I still wasn't satisfied.

I noticed there was a bouquet of fresh flowers in a vase near the windows, and stuck it in the background. I knew it'd be blurred out, but knew it'd create some kind of wonder behind her and I asked her to sit again. By now she had warmed up to the camera, and I backed up quite a bit, zoomed in to 200mm and knew - as soon as I looked on the back of my camera - that I had my 'hero' image.

I love that there is some understanding of items behind her, but for all we know, she could be in one of a hundred locations. Behind her to the left is the vase of flowers. Knowing that, you can see the green stems and the pink flowers. It adds a pop of color, but you'd likely not know it was flowers. I love how Joan is the emphasis in this one...clearly the subject of the image. Her shoulders are relaxed and the sweater and necklace are laying nicely. 

I warmed up the image a bit, and this photo has become one of my most favorite images I've ever taken. There is a priceless beauty to this image. And to know a bit of Joan's story - the impact she has had on education - leaves me wishing I knew her better. I know there are so many stories behind her smile - countless lives she's affected, knowledge she's imparted into the lives of young people, and countless people who have likely looked up to her as colleague, boss, role model, teacher, and friend.

Joan and her husband lived in the Middle East for quite a few years before returning to the States in 1967.  Read more of Joan's biography by visiting Penstroke Press. Here's a woman who's surely left her mark on society. 

Joan, it was a pleasure meeting and photographing you. I wish you all the best. Thanks for your significant contribution; you are so very deserving of this fine award from Stoneleigh Burnham. Thanks also to Susanna for setting this up, as well as Pete Chilton - an instructor of mine while at Hallmark - who recommended me for the shoot.

Sisters:: Lancaster, PA

Two months ago, my grandpa passed away. Just two short months later my grandma followed. They were married for 69 years. She wanted to be with her husband, and her Jesus. While we are joyful they have met their Maker, of course we grieved, especially since their passing occurred within months of each other.

When we had my grandpa's funeral in January, my grandma's two sisters - who also live at the home where they were - came to the viewing. Anna Mae is 96 and Mary is 94. My grandma was 92 and my grandpa 90. Anna Mae and Mary like to share that I am named for their mother Sarah. Neither Anna Mae nor Mary ever married, and for years upon arriving at Landis Homes, they shared a cottage together. Because of their various health needs, they no longer share space, but live in different parts of the home.

When they came to my grandma's viewing, they shared with me some of their story. They talked about their world travels when they were younger, about their family and where they grew up (in total, there were nine children, four of whom are still living). Their recollection of moments in time is tack sharp. They remember people's birthdays and where they were in a given year of history. What a rarity to be 94 and 96, still walking and with a mental capacity such as they; they are true sweethearts! And what fun to live life with your sister by your side for so many years.

They were able to go to the graveside service for grandma, and while seated, Mary grabbed onto my hands, wrapping them around her neck. What a sweet reminder of the fragility of life, and the blessing that these women are. I don't know either of them very well. I remember them from family reunions and some visits while seeing grandma and grandpa at the home, but they have a very special place in my heart. I remember attending their mother's funeral (I must have been no older than five) and they gave me a pink stuffed animal.

It was so wonderful getting to see Anna Mae and Mary. I asked them if I could take their pictures. I love their simplicity. I love their cute grins and their kisses. I love looking at their aged hands and for the memories that they have stored within their heads.

Anna Mae

Mary

sisters

NYC Adventures:: Day Two

So after we got home from Day One in NYC, I drove home to my parents house in NJ. The following morning I boarded a train heading for NYC -- this time to see friends from photography school. I met up with Rikki and our adventures began. We walked, and walked, and walked some more. After we ran a quick errand, we headed toward the Subway, making our way toward the East Village for lunch with our friend Jeff. We walked through the famous Washington Square Park, where one of my favorite movies was filmed, in part [August Rush].

(all photos were taken with my iPhone;
many were cropped to post on Instagram; follow me @saz810)

And the person feeding the birds reminded me of Mary Poppins, another of my favorite movies -- "Feed the birds, tuppence a bag..."

We met up with Jeff.....

...and he took us to this place called S'Mac...where they serve only macaroni and cheese.

After we left Jeff, Rikki and I decided we were simply going to walk around. Since I don't often get down toward the area we were in, we made our way to Soho, Little Italy, and Chinatown. While in Soho, we stopped at Harney & Sons and sampled some tea (my favorite is Paris), and I think I got Rikki hooked; we each left with a tin of it.

 Then we fell in love with the sidewalk restaurants and the charm that each had:

And finally, we made our way to Chinatown, stopping to see the fresh fish market, the fruits and veggies, and Rikki experienced her first bubble tea at Chatime:

We made our way back into the Subway and I took a few pics along the way:

Trump Soho

One World Trade Center

We met up with Chris - another friend from photography school - and went to dinner at Outback. Nothing says a good dinner like a bloomin' onion. We made a stop at Starbucks before I walked back up to Penn Station to get my train back home.

What a whirlwind two days, but oh, what fun I had!! I can't wait to head there again in a few months.

NYC adventures:: Day One

This past week I went to NYC twice. You may be asking yourself, why twice? Well, I'd love to tell you. :-) I went in on Wednesday with the G's - to see our friend Caleb. Then I went back in the next day to see friends from photography school. It actually made more sense to go in on two separate days than to figure out the logistics of carrying around luggage all day to spend the night.

Here's the adventures on Day One:

As we're getting ready to leave PA, I catch this little gem...nothing like sharing your love for reading:

Leave PA at 8:30am. Go through the Lincoln Tunnel. Arrive NYC and park in some non-descript parking garage, where the attendants get a thrill revving engines as they whip around the garage fetching cars. Walk many city blocks and avenues to be tourists for a bit. We show the kids St. Patrick's Cathedral, point out Rockefeller Center, the Empire State Building, and some other historic places.

But what's on Meg's mind? Going to the American Girl Place. So we head to our next destination. And she is enthralled. Molly is her favorite.

Then we walked to meet up with Caleb, and he took us to eat at Blockheads, a wonderful New York chain of Mexican food.

After eating, we walked back toward Caleb's building and enjoyed some chocolate chip cookies in this beautiful 'oasis' - an open space between two buildings, complete with little tables, pots of blooming daffodils, vines climbing the walls, and a walled fountain. The kids enjoyed running around and chasing some birds.

After we say our goodbyes to Caleb, we head toward FAO Schwarz, and watch the kids enjoy sensory overload for a bit. As we walk toward the store, we hear dance music coming from this guy's bike....and we deem him the coolest guy in town, amidst all the yellow.

All in all, we had a fabulous day. As soon as we got in the car, the kids fell asleep and we began our journey back to PA. Check back for adventures from Day Two!

Burkholder:: Lancaster County, PA family session

I love when friends and family of my clients contact me to do sessions. Jacqueline and I talked on the phone back in November, and she inquired about getting a gift certificate for her in-laws for the holidays. Since Jacqueline and her husband Matt live in Indiana, they mentioned we'd likely do the session in the spring, but we set no timeframe. When Jacqueline wrote and said they'd be in town in March, it happened to coincide perfectly with my cousin's wedding. We planned the session for hours before the wedding, and picked a historic location in Lancaster County - Pool Forge.

But the day before the session, we realized the weather was looking quite terrible. It was going to be cold and rainy/sleety. Thankfully we were able to push the session to the following day, and while it was chilly, it was a gorgeous, sunny Sunday!

It was wonderful to meet the Burkholders. They braved the cold and had an ease about them that made me feel as though I had known them for years. Thanks to all of you for allowing me to spend some time with you.

To see more photos, head here.