independence day.

happy 4th of july! here’s to long summer days with friends + family, good food cooked on the grill, sunset cocktails on the deck and fireworks on the beach. 

sublime summertime.

melissa + mike’s wedding was absolutely divine. they exchanged vows in a gorgeous, emotional ceremony along the banks of the wissahickon creek, in fairmount park. 

if i’m falling in love with philly, it’s because i’ve shot the most amazing sessions recently in the city of brotherly love and was so thrilled to return for melissa + mike’s wedding. i loved spending time with them a few weeks ago for their engagement session and nothing could be more perfect than a summertime wedding in a gorgeous, 9000 acre park – a true retreat in the center of the city. melissa + mike are the epitome of calm and cool, and the entire day followed their lead. in fact, every aspect of the wedding, from the relaxed getting ready to the intimate ceremony, relaxed portraits and gorgeous setting, was so blissful that i was completely unprepared for the wild reception that followed! after amazing toasts and a phenomenal dinner, the dancing began. i can say with certainty that this dance floor  was the wildest i have seen at a wedding – i saw moves that made me want to party in philly every night. the action was officially off the charts – there were points when i couldn’t even get remotely close, unimaginable since i can often be found in the center of the dance floor and/or on the ground getting intense action shots!

being partial as i am to cigar smokers, i *loved* the cigar bar and thoroughly enjoyed watching melissa’s spunky grandma puff away with the boys, tear it up on the dance floor, and party until the very end! both of their families were wonderful – so spirited, and so loving. melissa + mike are truly an exceptional couple and i cannot say enough good things about them. their love is tangible – the moment i met them i could feel it. it’s a love that is easy, and true, making their union so natural and perfect that i feel so incredibly lucky to have been a part of it. 

enjoy!

amazing save-the-date doodle by quinnep!

cigar bar!

*love* a cigar smoking grandma.

a day at the zoo.

i had the most fabulous time at the dc zoo with the infamous quinn and her crew! 

it was a hot afternoon and everyone was feeling crazy goofy – which i loved! i’m so glad i finally got to meet jay and his awesome kids – christian + evie grace are smart, cute and super fun. highlights included monkeying around outside of the ape house, and seeing everyone’s silly mustache face!

enjoy!

the mustache crew.

monkeying around…

no more cameras, please.

the golden gate bridge as seen from my perch on the rocks, north baker beach, ca.

a baltimore love affair.

rita + patrick had the perfect baltimore wedding. since charm city is where they met and fell in love, it was the ideal place for their wedding. they had a very intimate ceremony on the water just outside of the baltimore museum of industry with 30 of their closest family + friends. afterwards, more guests joined the reception at the BMI to celebrate with the newly married rita + patrick. 

i loved rita + patrick from the moment i met them. they are both genuinely kind, easy going, happy people. rita struck me as strong and smart (my two favorite qualities in a person!) and patrick had the most amazing and infectious smile. we bonded instantly over irish beer and stylish tennis shoes, and i knew i had to shoot their wedding. over the next few months i learned that rita might be the only person i know who works more than i do, and with our hectic schedules and the crazy springtime thunderstorms, shooting their engagement session proved to be impossible. i was disappointed (everyone knows how much i love and value engagement sessions!) but i was overjoyed when rita + patrick informed me that we would have 2+ hours to drive around baltimore before their wedding and take photos all over the city! since most of my couples give me approximately 8.5 minutes to take wedding photos (yes! very true!) i hardly knew what to do with myself i was so excited! from the harbor we jumped in the limo and toured the city – from mt vernon to fells point to canton square, we shot at their baltimore landmarks, some of my favorite places, and everyone’s favorite bar, nacho mama’s! it was so much fun, and i captured so many great candid portraits as we romped around town – an excellent prelude to a fabulous wedding!

the baltimore museum of industry was every bit as awesome as i knew it would be – best venue ever. the colors and the light were unreal, and the museum was open for guests (and photographers!) to explore. i loved everything about rita + patrick’s wedding – the excitement, the energy, and the emotion was high and tangible and i am so very happy they found each other and then found me! yay!

it should be noted that the diablo sandwich band seriously rocked the house. kudos to everyone in the band for being so talented, so fun and so amazingly photogenic! and of course, a hugemongous thanks to the uber-talented jessi ringer for joining me – as someone who never uses a second shooter i simply LOVE shooting with jessi! it’s basically like having a (crazier, in a good way!) extension of myself and i love seeing her take on the day – check out her work here!

rita + patrick: congrats! we loved being a part of your wedding day and are so happy for you both! WOOHOO!

ENJOY!

2009 leadership awards dinner.

festive attire at the NMSF leadership awards dinner on june 2, 2009 in DC.

i was thrilled to photograph the national marine sanctuary foundation leadership awards dinner for the second year in a row, earlier this month during national capitol hill ocean week. the event was held in the absolutely stunning atrium at the ronald reagan building + international trade center in dc. guests were treated to a masterful, four-course meal prepared by dc’s premier chefs - todd gray, michel richard, ris lacoste, and xavier deshayes collaborated on a truly amazing menu. 

master of ceremonies, boyd matson of national geographic fame, entertained guests and introduced notable guests dr. sylvia earle and NMSF board chair bob talbot who honored this year’s award recipients.

in recognition her commitment to protect and preserve ocean and coastal resources, representative madeleine z. bordallo of guam received the 2009 leadership award. dr. robert d. ballard was honored with this year’s lifetime achievement award for his life-long commitment to ocean exploration, marine conservation and national marine sanctuaries. commercial fisherman and ocean lover, josh churchman, was named national volunteer of the year.

for more about the leadership awards dinner, capitol hill ocean week, and the national marine sanctuary, visit their website, follow them on twitter or become a fan on facebook!

master of ceremonies, boyd matson.

representative madeleine z. bordallo of guam.

rep. madeleine z. bordallo of guam receives the 2009 leadership award from bob talbot.

dr. robert d. ballard accepted this year’s lifetime achievement award from dr. sylvia earle.

dan basta, director of the office of national marine sanctuaries, with volunteer of the year josh churchman.

NOAA administrator jane lubchenco.

quintessential maryland.

hello from southern maryland! for the past two days i have been photographing a feature story for maryland life magazine – a nice change of pace and a great opportunity to explore this serene and scenic region. i’ve determined that historic st. mary’s is the perfect microcosm of ideal maryland life – enjoy!

a weekend full of fabulous hons in bawlmer!

hons on the avenue, honfest 2009.

honfest 2009 was amazing! once again i was the official honfest photographer for the 2-day festival in hampden. i feel very lucky to work with honfest (yay for cafe hon owner + honfest creator denise whiting, and amazing event coordinators kate callahan and lisa davis for another great year!)  the 16th annual honfest was a weekend long celebration – two very long, very hot days of music, dancing, food, crazy cool vendors, and hons like nobody’s business took over the avenue in hampden! the main stage gave new meaning to the word entertainment with three hon competitions – little miss hon, miss honette, and the main event, baltimore’s best hon! musical talent like dj landis expandis, the groove mammals, and uptown hons performed, along with amazing dance troupes and the sultan’s treasure belly dancers! local bands lined the falls road stage all weekend long, including the cold, cold, heartbreakers with rodney henry, lawnchair, the bobwhites, pete yorko and others. 

huge thanks to the blonde creative team, especially my amazing mamasita who once again ran my booth all weekend while i was shooting – she is amazing! she also woke up super early with me both days to set up and stayed late to take down everything! plus she took some amazing photos in the photo booth and is simply so fun to have around! major props go to quinn peyser at quinnep doodles for some serious logistics work this year! she was in charge of ordering all the amazing honfest tshirts, stickers, and water bottles in our booth, as well as doodling the 6ft-tall life-size hon for the photo booth! woohoo! i was also thrilled to have jessi ringer of 5ringsphoto there both days shooting + hanging out with me, and the fabulous + talented mk mckenna and natalie franke stopped by saturday as well! the brand new canton car wash gave us awesome coupons + gift cards to give away and we had two big raffles!

enjoy the blog and check out the galleries below for all the photos from the weekend, including the crazy photo booth pics taken by me, mamasita + quinnep!

* * * * * 

click HERE for the PHOTO BOOTH GALLERY 

click HERE for the FESTIVAL GALLERY

1st place winner in the “what is a hon?” art contest, “Hon” by local artist holly petr.

artists holly petr + ramon matheu.

blonde photo balloons!

jessi ringer channels her inner elvis.

hey hon!

the infamous cafe hon pink flamingo!

quinn peyser loving her life-size doodle!

denise whiting cracks up on stage.

little miss hon 2009!

bubble gum + heineken hon!

me + charlene osborne (baltimore’s best hon 2009!) in the photo booth!

holly + jessica (left) stopped by!

hontastic mother-daughter duo heidi + rita!!

men wearing beehives used their cameras against me in the photo booth!

this humongous crabcake broke the guinness world record on saturday!

miss hypothermic hon scoops the first crab cake!

cafe hon owner denise whiting raised over $2000 for charity in the dunk tank!

the cold, cold heartbreakers rocked the falls road stage.

oh mai!

dogs with beehives: only in bawlmer, hon.

snake charming blonde photogs + belly dancers.

the booth!

mamasita + quinn workin’ it!

clockwise from top, starting with queen hon: mk mckenna, jessi ringer, me, quinn peyser, natalie franke.

giants in the california wilderness.

staring up the trunks of the tallest trees on earth, the redwood national forest, humboldt county, ca.

for the past few days i’ve been traversing northern california from big sur to crescent city – hiking through the redwood forest, exploring the lost coast, trekking into deep fern canyons, and horseback riding through the mountains. my dad + i have logged over 1200 miles and seen so much in just 5 days, making the 2009 father’s day redwood roadtrip a huge success! it’s been great spending the week with my dad and we hope everyone had a fantastic father’s day!

you came. you saw. you got hon’d up in the blonde photo booth and now you want to see your photos. they are coming! this blonde photog is recovering from two fun-filled days and processing 4000+ images from the weekend, so hang in there and be patient hon! it will be worth the wait!

galleries will be up soon – keep checking back!