Manga hair!

Red hair and a red jumper. I think that's what those adorable dresses are called - jumpers. I've had a lot of jumping people in my photos lately, but J was totally focused on blowing bubbles.

Her hair - her skin - her expressions - wow! I'm hoping her mom brings her in again for more photos. Impish, puckish, lovely girl. With manga hair - you know, the kind that emotes. :)

The Flying Scarf!

Donna's family! Three siblings who were so sweet with each other.

A Grandson in His 60's

This weekend, I had the privilege to chat with a grandson of Dr. Melnea A. Cass. It was Sunday on the last day of open studios, and Roger Freeman stopped by to chat. I learned some Boston history, and now I know more about the namesake of the Boulevard in Roxbury.

Roger is in his 60's (and pleased as punch with that fact). He's flown, skydived, scuba dived, rock climbed, and all the things in between. He's a lively, bright, and gentle character, and I hope to meet him again soon.

It was with great pride that he told me about his grandmother. Dr. Cass is known in many circles as the Mother of Roxbury. She's also responsible for daycare as we know it. She was a star in women's suffrage, and captained the NAACP. She was a Bostonian and she was black and she was a woman, and she stood firm on the issues she believed in. Awesome.

Rainy-day window lighting

Dangit, this kid is CUTE! Heddi and Nathan invited me to their home for family portraits. A is almost 2 1/2, and definitely knows what a camera is!

Tech notes: The first was taken on the stairs, which face south. It was a rainy day, and the light coming in through the front door and windows was soft and cool. I used a 50mm at f/2 to blow out the stairs behind him and soak in the light.

The other 2 were taken with the 28-70 zoom, also wide open. I just kind of followed A around the house as he checked out some of his favorite places.

Alanna's Family

Alanna, her husband and her daughters came to the Lowell studio for a family shoot. T. is a senior in high school, so we did her senior portrait. Alanna and her husband both have jobs where they interact with the public regularly, so we did head shots. G. is almost a teenager and we did some single shots of her as well.

But what am I posting here? Two of the photos where my lovely subjects had their eyes closed. Do they work as well as I think they work?

The Free Portraits

Here are some of my faves from yesterday's free portraits at Western Ave. I'm doing it all again today, and then again next weekend 12/12 - 12/13. Woo!

We did a lot of jumping.

Anne and Alex

The promised photos! A lovely couple of humans, who described their relationship as - Definitely friends, definitely competitors. Super-fun to photograph them, and watch as their interactions revealed the depth of their feelings for each other. And the depth of their iPhone addiction.

Hey, it's Me!

Anne Ruthmann and I had a very fun shoot in my studio this past weekend. Anne wound me right up and watched me go. I had to share. Thank you Anne! http://www.anneruthmann.com

Eric and Jasmine's New Family

Eric and Jasmine have a comfy red house, a useful red barn, and an ingenious new chicken coop that's full of chickens. But this post is about their month-old son, X. Oh my! He fell asleep in my arms, which has caused a permanent heartstring attachment. I will enjoy watching him grow up.

Without further ado, some of my favorite collaborative shots:

Compliments to the Chef

In October, Jones Farm in Chelmsford, MA was the site of the Chelmsford Mothers' Club fall photo shoot. Rain was predicted for the weekend, and it rained so hard on Sunday that it snowed. So that we could be indoors, Jones Farm offered the use of one of their greenhouses. Add to that the fact that Dave from the farm worked with me for close to 2 hours to set up the hay bales and flowers, plus the fact that they offer fresh coffee and croissants in their cafe, and I've become a fan for life.

Let me offer a shout-out to Brenda Alcorn, who was the event's coordinator. She's another CMC mom, and with a 2 1/2 year old daughter at home, she somehow managed to stay on top of all of the correspondence with the farm, the photographers, and the families. Thank you again, Brenda, for your professionalism and good cheer. I will look forward to working with you again!

And Wendy said - "This year at the CMC Photo Shoot, we had Meghan Moore take our photos. She did a great job with all of us, plus the two kids. J (5 months) wouldn't look where Meghan wanted us to so Meghan worked with the rest of us so we were looking in the same direction as J. She also got some great shots of Brian holding J. We were very pleased with our pictures and would highly recommend Meghan."


Kim said - "We also had Meghan Moore take our pictures for the fall CMC photo shoot. The pictures were stunning. I would and will use her again."

The Slide & The Truck

The orange slide from Cousin Cheryl came inside for the winter. There's not as much space to slide around in, but there's Trucks!

BTW, this post's photos are about seeing the world the way my kid seems to see it: piecemeal, intense, object-driven.

Tech notes: I'm using a 50mm lens for these shots, and with the 1.62 lens factor on the dSLR, the lens is longer. I took a few frames to figure out exposure, then set it manually to f/2 at 1/60 at ISO 640. I took out some of the tungsten-yellow in post-process, but the orange of his sweater and the slide were so yummy that I didn't want to cool them off completely.

I think I wanna print out that second picture immensely large. The spray of his fingers is what gets me the most.

Bruise-Free Since 1999

Megpix Painless Portraits come with a guarantee. If they're not absolutely painless, you can pinch me. Bruise-free since 1999!

Yep, the portraits get pretty silly. The free Painless Portraits happen every month at my studio in Western Avenue Studios in Lowell on the first Saturday of every month, 12-5. These are lightning-quick, cheerful, personality-baring portraits, and in many cases, you can see and choose the photos right after the shoot.

We have 4 days of open studios in December - it's the first 2 weekends this coming month. The portraits are free, and when you find photos you like, you can purchase a download for $20. What do you do with a download? Holiday cards!

(Why yes, that is my mom and dad!)

MRT - Heroes

Merrimack Repertory Theatre is performing "Heroes". I'm told it's a French play, translated by a Brit (Tom Stoppard), and now performed in America. It takes place in 1959 in a vets' home, and 3 feisty old guys hatch escape plans while dealing with each other's wildly entertaining foibles. I enjoyed the heck out of it.

Oh, and the actors are all award winners and/or nominees (from http://merrimackrep.wordpress.com/2009/10/27/cast-crew-of-heroes-announced-merrimack-rep/):
Tony Award-winner Ron Holgate (Gustave)
Tony-nominee and Drama Desk Award winner Jonathan Hogan (Philippe)
Ken Tigar (Henri), a television regular with over 130 television and film credits