big snow!

woohoo! We have had the most amazing early snow this year in Vermont. I've been begging for a solid snowfall for the past two winters and I've finally gotten three big storms leaving no less than one foot - amazing. Just last night as I was nodding off I said "I hope I wake up to a foot of snow tomorrow morning!" and sure enough, like a kid on xmas morning, I peeked through the blinds and found this (see below). Having a few hours to kill before tonight's New Year's coverage for the Free Press I decided to try out my new snowshoes and take Bear for a walk at Shelburne Farms. I've always loved this spot and I think it may be Bear's new favorite as we stomped around in the deep stuff for an hour or so.



Before we get ahead of ourselves, this is what greeted me when I came home from snowshoeing! HA! My awesome neighbors George, Steph and Joe built this big guy in my parking spot. And after laughing about this little prank, Joe and Sarah had some tasty french toast hot off the griddle for me. I love my neighbors - you guys are the best.



Here's my brother Todd and Bear in one of my favorite spots at Shelburne Farms.



Some frozen berries still dangle from this tree at Shelburne Farms. Yes, that's Todd and Bear off in the distance.



Tom and I took Bear along the Winooski River on Sunday and came along these stumps - looks like the beavers beat us to it!



Here's Bear at Shelburne Farms again running along the great arbor trail.



My two babes.



He got a real kick out of this trail.

my new toy.

It's been far too long since I've posted and the holidays really took their toll on my blog, but I've finally picked up the prints from my new Holga! I was in NYC a couple weekends ago celebrating my birthday and I treated myself to a new, little camera treat: the Holga. For those of you who don't know what a Holga is, it's an extremely basic little camera with minimal aperture settings and you never quite know what you're going to get with it. The picture below is by far my favorite of the three rolls I shot while walking the streets of Brooklyn. I'd love to say I know exactly what I did to create this funky image, but that's the beauty of the Holga - you relinquish all control and really just focus on the composition.

Here's my shot from DUMBO in Brooklyn. Enjoy!

too long. too old. HA!

It's been too long since I've posted something for you. I do have an excuse! I've been in NYC celebrating my 24th with my "old college buddies" who are scattered around Brooklyn, the Village and the lower East side. I had an amazing time catching up with everyone and walking around the streets with my newest addition to the camera crew....my Holga. It was my cheapy present to myself that arrived right before I left for the airport and I am so anxious to see how the shots came out. I've been shooting strictly digital for a number of years now and must admit I'm VERY accustomed to an immediate result. How did I ever manage to take pictures before? Faith, I guess. My new, little camera was a hit at the birthday parties as it looks like something from a G.I. Joe episode. I'll include a picture later.

For now I'll leave you with a cool piece that I think fits perfectly with the "getting older" birthday theme I've got going on here...and to top it off with tying it into this past weekend, I found it on the New York Times. Enjoy!


Living My Life Faster - 8 years of JK's Daily Photo Project from c71123 on Vimeo.

mira

Presenting...Mira Stanley. Mira is an incredible talent whom I met back in Boston. We were both doing the whole "struggling artist" thing, slingin' margaritas at a Harvard Square restaurant and well, we became fast friends. Mira introduced me to a lot of great up and coming artists, we liked to play around with her piano and recording equipment and occasionally the bongos she finagled off of someone. Now Mira is far away in Colorado and even though I miss her bunches she sends me some of her work from time to time. Click on the play button below her photo and enjoy!


Mira at one of our photo shoots lookin' lovely as ever!

brrrrrr

This is how I felt stepping outside this chilly, winter morning. Don't get me wrong, this snow is fantastic and it's beautiful but it is still a pretty harsh wake up call.



Oh, and this kid is great. I shot his Special Olympics training last spring at the Y and as you can see, he wasn't too eager to jump in that chilly water. We got something in common, kid.

friends for life.

This is a truly touching and remarkable story. Save it for a time when you have a quiet moment alone as it is an emotional piece about two men who met late in life and by chance at a Wal-Mart. "Friends for Life" is a true tear-jerker as it made me think about my own friends and reaching that point in my life, but also made me think about my grandparents whom I love so much and wish that I could be there for them when they need it most.

"Oh, Pappy, pappy, pappy. He’s my buddy all the way...." - Warren DeWitt

cold day.

It's been a quiet, cold weekend with a lot to do but little time to do it in. I didn't have any shoots lined up this weekend but still managed to tinker around on the computer with some old photos. I'm trying to get some of these out and ready for under the Xmas tree! Here's a shot I took at this year's South End Art Hop here in Burlington. It was an awesome and incredibly inspiring event, maybe next year I'll have some work up at the Art Hop. We'll see.

rock the boat.

How I wish I could dip my toes in the lake at sunset...

...it's chilly out today.