Photographing Food for Canale's Restaurant

I don't have anything "Halloweeny" to write, yet. Maybe I will after tonight. For now, though, I wanted to mention that we've done a bunch of fun photo assignments for Step One recently. Yesterday, we were very busy with a number of different things, and one of them involved photographing food for Canale's! YUMS! For non-locals, Canale's is one of the most famous Italian restaurants in Central New York, and it's definitely the most popular one in our area... and for good reason. The food is excellent. I'm rather partial to the "fixed" Romano. :)

We have a ton of photos, of course, but for now, here's just one.

Enchanted Beaver Lake

There's something about glowing jack o'lanterns and luminaries that is so.. magical. Patrick, my mom and I went down to Baldwinsville last Thursday evening and experienced the festive charm that is Enchanted Beaver Lake. It was spectacular! The trails were lined with pumpkins aglow, and much to my disappointment, it was impossible for me to get any shots of them because there were so darn many people! That's my only complaint. Other than that, though, our adventure was bewitching (in a totally non-spooky kind of way). I can't wait to go back next year. I want to get there much earlier to hopefully grab some shots before people and strollers fill the trails. ;)

Sarah, Maddy and Rowan (and Benny!) at Fallbrook

Why Friday's fall family photo session at Fallbrook was perfect:

Sarah and her girls were completely real. We didn't have to do any posing, we didn't have to tell them what to do... They just "were". They were natural. They interacted, and at the same time, they did their own thing. That's what makes for real moments and natural family photos. That's what we love, and that's what we do best. :)

A Message to Sarah Palin

Honestly, no matter what the outcome, I'll be glad when this election is over.

Maddy and Benny at Fallbrook

I'd really like to start a scrapbook of holidays for Patrick and myself, but I don't have any nice pictures of us, so I can't!

Just to warn you, I'm venting.

I was thinking that I'd really like to find time this week to take a nice picture of Patrick and myself to put over there on the right side of the blog (where there is currently a photo of just me). Patrick took the picture, so he is present in a way! I know he was there! But, I guess that doesn't count, ha.

Here's the point: With the exception of our wedding, we never have nice pictures of the two of us. We've taken countless beautiful photos of family and clients doing fun, festive things, but we have none of us doing such things. I always feel funny passing my camera off to somebody, too. It's awkward. It's kind of a burden to them, and I always feel rushed to take my camera back because I feel like most people don't really want to be taking your picture if they aren't a photographer and if it's not exactly their hobby, either. 

It just sucks not having NICE random pictures together, and it makes me kind of sad. I mean, I don't really dwell on it or anything, but sometimes I just find myself wishing that we had photos of us shot with our style of photography.. through our eyes (which is obviously impossible). It especially gets to me during the holidays when there are so many fun, festive things to do... 

I'm not very eloquent, so I think I'll just end this with a photo from when we were out at Fallbrook this afternoon for an incredible family photo session (I'll post those shots tomorrow).

Scenic Oswego County

I think I'm the biggest cheerleader I know for Oswego County. I absolutely love living here and am so grateful to have been born and raised here. I always find it annoying to hear people complain about it... If you don't like it, then leave. You can find good and bad things about absolutely any town, no matter how perfect or imperfect it may seem. The thing is, you have to choose what to focus on. I choose to focus on the good things, and I honestly have a difficult time trying to find something to complain about. I don't even like to try because it's a waste of energy, and why would I want to dwell on negative things when I could be happy and enjoy where I live? I think it's because, in the grand scheme of things, there's hardly anything that is really that big of a deal. Again, that comes down to your attitude and your ability to put things in perspective.

That's what it all comes down to. I see beauty, and that's what comes naturally to me.

Mom. Mum. Mummy.

I enjoy really dry humor, so this is really, really funny to me. I had to share. :)

Racism and the Election

I am disgusted by the reminder that there are still racist people. The fact that people are basing their voting decision solely on the color of somebody's skin or name is very scary. Reading about that poor baby black bear that had been shot-to-death and laid by Obama signs yesterday made me sick to my stomach. I am so embarassed and ashamed to be human sometimes (most of the time, actually). People are such monsters... so cruel and ignorant. Oh, and the fact that that's how they choose to be is equally as disturbing.

It upsets me very much.

A Dreary Day

I had a photo assignment for Step One Creative this morning at the Port of Oswego Authority, so I was at the Port around 7:45am. Got some really nice board room "meeting" shots and met some really interesting people. It was such a nice morning.

Left the Port around quarter after 9, drove around our neighborhood and took some pictures. I was hoping to get some shots of the leaves as they floated away from the branches and swirled across the street, but each time I saw some blustery leaf action, as soon as I'd pull over, the breeze would cease, of course, haha. Oh, well. I'll try to get some when we go for a walk with the boys later.

When I got home, I couldn't resist taking some pictures of the house all prettied up for Autumn. The crabapple and maple leaves scattered across the lawn and our stairs look so pretty with our mums and pumpkins and everything.

My knees got soaked for this shot, hah. I was on my knees and elbows in the middle of the street! It was worth it. :)


Doesn't the house look so cute? I really love our stairs.. I don't love navigating them at night, hah, but they give so much dimension to the yard and just look pretty.



This is our neighbors', Tim and Laura's, house. (They just got married last weekend!) It's so big and bright and pretty... I had to get a shot for them with all the cornstalks and their scarecrows. So cute.



Oh! I'm really excited because my cherry tomatoes are finally ripening! Finally!

Salmon River Falls with My Mom, My Sister, Patrick and the Pups

I've been so excited for our Fall "trip" to the Salmon River Falls! I guess it's not really a "trip", per se, since it's only about half an hour or so away, and we can pretty much go any time we want, but it's so beautiful there, and the rural drive is so stunning and peaceful that it feels like such a getaway. I love everything about it.

Patrick and I took the pups and went out there with my mom and my sister, Katherine. The air was crisp, and our hands and noses were cold, but the sunshine was warming and lovely... a perfect October day. I only wish we had gone about two weeks ago when the colors of the trees below the falls were at their peak! As of this afternoon, pretty much all of the leaves had dropped from the trees along that part of the Salmon River, anyway.

That's okay, though. I still got some pretty pictures. :)
Mom, Kat and me..

This is the mist that was floating up from the falls... It was so neat to feel it on your cheeks!



Here we are on top of the falls. I wanted pictures of us at the edge, but there were a bunch of people over there already, so we just stayed in the middle.

I love the smell of leaves on the ground. The leaf-covered paths were so beautiful.

My big boys! We have the same picture from two months ago when Jagr was much smaller! :)

Ahhh, Kashmoney, my favorite baby sister. :)

This is the winding country road that the trailhead is on - Falls Road in Orwell, to be exact. 

Katherine in the sideview mirror... I'm sneaky. 

We saw two sweet mares on our way home, and they were beautifully backlit by the setting sun in their hilly pastures.

Fall Family Photo Session at Abbott Farms

This afternoon was sooo nice. We drove down with Patrick's parents and met his sister, Sarah, her husband, Nick, and their little family at Abbott Farms in Baldwinsville. What a beautiful afternoon we had! It was gorgeous. The sun was shining so nicely, and the pumpkins were gleaming in their sprawling pumpkin patch. It was great!