It's cold.

The craziest thing about wintertime? The snow? Ice? Harsh, bitter winds? Artic jet stream? No. The static electricity, and with long hair, well, somedays it seems as if I walk with a forcefield around me.

 I thought it was high time I put a picture of myself somewhere on my blog. The concept of the crazy hair came from suffering from really intense static electricity. Seriously, I'm a shocking person. I'm like Storm from the X-Men whose only superpower is controlling lightning. So, how did I get my hair to sort of stand on end? I taped shish-kabob sticks unto my headband. At first I was going to tape my hair to the sticks, and then thought against it. Instead, I put my head down and sprayed copious amounts of hairspray in my hair. When I raised my head, the hair caught on the sticks and violá, crazy-electrified-hair-look. And the light? My nifty little flashlight. The flash (on a stick) is on my right side and went off initially. The shutter was left open for a few seconds, so I held the flashlight and rotated in place, with each rotation bringing the flashlight further up and taking care that my face didn't get affected by the light!
Ta-da! Crazy self-portrait.

I <3 lightpainting. 

~rach

A conversation.

 I grew up being that person in the family with a camera in hand. I took it upon myself to be the one to capture our vacations, birthdays, holidays, and the random everyday stuff. I love(d) it. I wanted to hold those moments in hand on printed paper. I wanted to see how we grew up. I wanted to look back and laugh at how ridiculously we dressed up. I wanted reminders of the places we've visited together and together reminisce about the places we've been. I wanted to capture what others may not have seen and maybe in a way, feel what I felt in that moment. (And still do). 

This photo right here? It reminds me of a man I was blessed to know these past 5 years. That smile rarely left his face. He loved talking about his past, about his church, and his family. He loved his chocolate, grandma's cooking, his salt, cocktail hour and serving the platter of cheese and kielbasa. I love this image of Upi speaking with my brother-in-law. They were so engrossed in their conversation, in that little corner of our tiny dining room for what seemed like forever. Just the two of them talking about the past, church, and family (I assume). A conversation I never heard, but one that I'll always remember. 

Lazlo Karoly 1921-2012.

~rachel

Christmas 2011.

Not sure about you, but for me, this year has flown really, really quickly. Maybe it didn't help that I was working multiple jobs? Sleeping very little? Stressed and worried most of the time? Yea, those things certainly didn't help. Fortunately, my family and I went away Thanksgiving weekend to Newport RI to relax for a bit. For months before my sister and I talked about doing my niece's Christmas portraits then. We knew we were going to visit one of the mansions, so my sister and I came up with a plan. I had this "Marie Antoinette"-type vision, told my sister and she got Nayita this adorable-looking Belle dress from the Disney store.

 Ever seen those posters where there is a picture/product/whatever that a person wanted to copy and right next to it is the person's final product?

NAILED IT.

Ok, maybe not so much. Most of my "visions" never turn out as I want. Gotta keep working on that. 

My niece's favorite part of the whole ordeal? Wearing that dress? Wearing her new boots under that dress? Being called a princess by everyone? Throwing sticks into the water fountain? Nope. It was finding those dandelions. Oh the shrieks of JOY.

May your Holidays be filled with JOY and LOVE as well.

~rach

At the Park.

I decided to join my niece on one of those turning-carousel-things that for the moment I cannot recall the actual name of the contraption. Anyhoo, it's a fun contraption, and it makes me wish I had stronger inner ears (cause I got way too dizzy after taking this shot). =)

~rachel

Josh turns 3 and the Fun Bus arrives!

I photographed this little munchkin (standing in the middle) and his older brother last year for their Christmas cards. I photographed their mom's 40th birthday party, now her youngest, Josh's 3rd birthday, and I look forward to shooting more of this family again when the oldest brother, Jeremy, turns 5!

(Forgive me as the photos are not in order!)

Spark Academy: A Yoga Movement

I had the pleasure to work with Debby Kaminsky of DebbyYoga.com. She is working with Newark Public Schools to bring awareness of physical and mental health and balance. Sweet stuff!

If you'd like to read more on this, you can also check out this link.!

On this particular Saturday morning, Debby was teaching kindergarteners some yoga moves! Imagine a room full of 5 to 7 years old trying to find their balance? Talk about entertaining. =D

~rachel