Happy 2013 to everyone!  On a warm October day Jane and I were having lunch in West Hartford Center, just up the road from our house.  We ran into our neighbor, Mike Mahoney from RLM Co., who leases much of the commercial space in the Center.  Got to talking about our growing interest in opening a studio, and Mike mentioned that a space was being vacated at 10 LaSalle–in the old Blue Acorn store.  After nine years as a home-based business, we sensed this was the right time, right place, right opportunity so….we’re opening our first photography studio right in West Hartford Center!

It’s around the corner from Lululemon and across the street from Starbucks….look for our son Sebbie’s photo is on the window.  Love the location, it’s a cozy space and we have the tradesmen lined up to overhaul the walls, floors, signage etc. this month.  Planning on a “soft opening” in February….stay tuned for  progress reports this winter!  Here’s the neighborhood…

Our road trip destination was Vero Beach and we were thrilled to spend it with my parents, my brother, John and his wife Rei, and their adorbable two-year old, London!  Sebbie and Jude were so happy to be the big cousins for once and doted on London like a little sis.  I’m really glad we took the time to do a portrait shoot in this old tackle shop that I loved and reminded me of old Florida.  The last picture of us was taken by John.  You can see many more pics from the shoot by clicking here.

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So nice getting to know Lori better as I photographed her family in Elizabeth Park last summer…especially since her daughter was in Sebbie’s class!  We hit the roses at a great time (last week of June) and I love the pink with the green.  Her kids were great sports and the running picture is one of my favs!

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The Monarch butterflies are passing through Connecticut on their way south, the humidity has thankfully dropped, and the weather is gorgeous!  It’s coming up on fall and we wanted to show some more autumn family portraits.  Here’s Amanda and Mike’s family…the first portrait shoot Jane did at Westmoor Park in West Hartford.  Jane has photographed their family for 4 years…it’s always great to see how their kids have grown!  We’re finishing up summer portraits now and in the next few weeks we’ll have info on our first fall fundraiser: “Your Picture’s Worth a Thousand Words” where part of your session fee is donated to local schools to promote child literacy efforts!  Click here to see more fall photos…

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I’ve moved around a lot so I’m used to having my close friends spread all over the country.  I realized this April how it feels to be the one left behind when my wonderful friend Caroline moved away to Minneapolis.  She’s back visiting this month and it’s been great seeing her although too short!  We made a big canvas out of the top picture from her family shoot from last summer which is now hanging in their new home.  I really miss our weekly adventures Caroline!  See more images from our shoot here….

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Catching up on family portrait blogging!  We do a lot of family portrait shoots at Elizabeth Park, Westmoor Park, Hill-Stead, Hammonasett, and people’s homes and I feel it’s so important to capture children as they grow.  We’ve actually just hired a favorite photographer to shoot our family and now I’m the one trying to figure out what to wear!

I’ve known Marcella since our kid’s preschool days and was thrilled to be asked to photograph them last summer and get to know her extended family!  Elizabeth Park is a perfect setting for big family portraits because of the space and variety of backgrounds…I still have my favorite nooks for individual shots where the light makes everything glowy!  To see more photos from the shoot click here…

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Looking for a great story this summer…check out the new book, Just Cate, which as co-authors Angela Martin and Noelle Alix note, “is a dual memoir and story of lifelong friendship, of being there for each other through it all.  When Noelle’s daughter Cate was born with Down Syndrome, we unknowingly began our second stage of growing up.  Discovering little by little that it’s the simple things that matter most.  And so life continues, the road behind us and the road ahead of us.  Forever friends, forever changed.”

Last year I photographed Cate in her blue robe holding her favorite fruit for the cover shot of Just Cate and it’s been great getting to know their families!  I love how the cover came out with it’s beautiful design from Liz Panke.  I recently spent a day traveling with Noelle and Angela to Angela’s parents’ home in the Hudson Valley to be videotaped and interviewed about the project.  In fact, that videotape was for B.I.G., an organization of women who are working on the next stage of the careers, going back to work after kids, completely changing what they want to do in life, growing their businesses…or like Angela and Noelle, driving a 10-year writing project to completion.

A huge congratulations to Noelle and Angela and Cate!!  You can order Just Cate at Amazon.com and Barnes & Noble  or direct from their website: justcate.com.

It’s so fun to see the “next stage” of life for our clients whose wedding we photographed.  Below are Robbie and Cara–such natural parents–with their adorable little guy Teddy!  They look like they’ve been together for years…enjoy every day with your little boy–congratulations Robbie and Cara!  To see more pics click here.

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Athena and John, whose 2010 wedding in Essex we photographed, welcomed baby Charlie into their lives in 2011–and he is just the cutest guy ever!  We had fun seeing them again back in December and getting to meet little Charlie.

And this is the funny thing…Charlie’s actually a cousin of mine: after Athena and John’s wedding I talked to my mom about the wedding and mentioned John’s last name…her head turn and she asked me to repeat it…turns out John’s mom is my mom’s cousin (their grandmothers were sisters).   So that makes John my second cousin..and Charlie my third cousin (if I have that right).  Small world indeed!  So nice to meet you cousin–you just radiate happiness!!  Here are some more photos of the little guy.

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