new haven: part 2

I spent last weekend back down in Baltimore, and it was wonderful to be "home" again. I've missed the people who became family to me over the past few years, and it was really nice to see some of them. It was a whirlwind weekend, though, and sleep has not been a big part of my life for the past week or so. Last week was the big crunch to get everything done before the weekend, and when I was in Baltimore, the days were absolutely crammed with visiting people. Dinner with parents, grandparents, and my youngest brother, hair cut, opera night with Brittney, stopped by to see Rachel, breakfast with Kelley, visiting Betsy, coffee with Julie... Non stop fun! Plus doing some errands since I don't have my car with me in CT. I now have warm clothes (hooray for sweaters!) and shoes that will not make my feet blister and bleed every time I walk to class. Perhaps the best part was my voice lesson and then hanging out with the best three-year-old ever.

New Haven is starting to feel like home, too. Getting back to my apartment after a busy weekend was really nice, and I was glad that I had a home-made frozen pizza ready to pop in the oven before retiring to my wonderful mattress (which I missed when I was in Baltimore). Although it was "a dark and stormy night" by the time I arrived on this corner, this is "my corner." Thought it would be a nice shot to share.

Fall has officially arrived, and it's in the low 50's today. I'm curious to see how quickly it gets really cold and if it will be noticeably different than what I'm used to...

And now, back to the grind...
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My iTunes: Cara Sposa, Amante Cara from Handel's Rinaldo

new haven: part 1

I know it's long overdue, but I finally got to walk around my new town a bit and take pictures. Three weeks into the semester, my brain finally told me I needed a break. Instead of the short breaks I've been taking each day, I decided to give myself the whole day off from any sort of brain work. Well, a whole day split between two -- I took off Friday evening until Saturday evening.

After getting back from my last class on Friday, I make some comfort food, played a little (okay, a lot of) piano, then curled up and watched about six episodes of Bones, then hit the sack. Saturday I slept in, watched more Bones, played more piano, then went on my photo adventure. (Yes, I think I am now addicted to the show...) This was one of my favorite spots to photograph -- they're the stairs to the University Chapel, and I love how the steps are bowed with age. Convenient that the chapel is free for Yale students to use for weddings. Now all I have to do is locate a groom, right?

Well, since I was lazy for most of the weekend thus far, it's back to the grind for me. Finished Ives reading earlier, almost done with Schenker, still have to pull together a presentation for tomorrow, then start on Nazis. Time for more coffee...
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My iTunes: Welche wonne, welche lust from Mozart's Die Entführung aus dem Serail

my favorite 3-year-old

Meet C. My favorite 3-year-old and one of my favorite people ever! I miss her very much since I moved away. She apparently asks for me all the time, and her new obsession is "Rice Christy Treats."

Sorry for my tardiness in posting -- what with moving and everything I've been short on time. And internet -- it's taken almost 3 weeks, 21 customer representatives, 2 installers, 1 non-showing-up installer, 3 dropped calls, 2 hours on hold, 2 more hours talking on the phone, and 1 official complaint before getting the internet working. Ridiculous...

Anyway, postings may be fewer and farther between now. I'm anticipating the work load for this graduate program to be pretty hefty, and am hoping to pick up a choir job that I'll hear back about soon. Plus after moving, I lost my client base, so there will be less opportunity for lucrative photography. I'll still put forth and effort to post, however!

See you around the internet!
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My iTunes: Nessun Dorma by Luciano Pavarotti
(My neighbor's iTunes: The Electric Slide)

my new shootsac

Had to take a quick detour from senior photos to share some shots of my lovely new shootsac! Check them out here, and make sure to stop by their designer's wonderful blog-site!

Is it strange that I feel more like a "real photographer" when I include more than one photo in a post? :)
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My iTunes: Beethoven 9

photoshoot: emily 2010: take 1

The latest of my photoshoots this summer was with Emily. Emily is my friend Brittney's younger sister, and we did a senior photoshoot (or actually, a series of two, thanks to the weather and sudden lack of light) this past week. She wanted pictures with the horse that she has ridden for the past 5 years, and I was excited to work with her. She was a ton of fun to work with, and she, her sister, and I went to Pizza Hut for dinner after out last installment. Yum, yum!

Sorry for my lack of posting lately -- life has been busy with working, photoshoots, voice and piano lessons (BEST part of the summer, naturally), and preparing to move, I've not spent much time blogging. I will try to share more photos before the move, and of course once I get to CT!
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My iTunes: At the River by Charles Ives

photoshoot: kiddie winkies: take 2

This is R, G's big sister from yesterday. This is one of my favorite portraits of her from our shoot. She has this great curly hair that looks like an angel halo with the light. She looks so much like her mom, B, and her Aunt K!

Well, short post tonight -- today was an insanely stressful day at work, so I'm going to take a while and unwind...
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My iTunes: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J.K. Rowling, read by Jim Dale

photoshoot: kiddie winkies: take 1

I had another great photoshoot with some really cute kids yesterday. This is G, and he and his older sister R are just too cute for words. This is one of my favorites of G -- I just love the goofy smile, and the sparkle in his eyes.
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My iTunes: El amor y la muerte by Daniel Lau

fourth of july

Here is my somewhat belated Fourth of July post! There were over 7000 people there, and it was a veritable sea of red, white, and blue! The music was fantastic -- the BSO played various pieces throughout the evening, including the ever-popular 1812 Overture. My favorites were the Ives pieces, though. I took hardly any pictures because I was just enjoying the music so much, so here are my two favorite shots of the day.


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My iTunes: Mahler: Rückertlieder - Blicke Mir Nicht In Die Lieder by Lorraine Hunt Lieberson

bright summer days

I meant to get some fun firework pictures for the 4th of July, but alas my view was blocked by trees and power lines rather unexpectedly. But it was a great 4th nonetheless! I went to the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra's special 4th of July performance, where they played at an outdoor theatre and the end of the concert was accompanied by fireworks. It was basically the perfect way to celebrate -- picnic in the park with friends, the orchestra playing the 1812 Overture and some patriotic pieces arranged by Charles Ives (whose Alma Mater is where I will be attending graduate school, incidentally) in the background, and closing with fireworks and accompanying music.

Being a musician, I was naturally most excited about the music, so it was really fun to be there with my friends Julie and Chris, both of whom are tuba players and fellow music-junkies. I guess we don't look like the kind of people who love classical music though, because an older gentleman who was one of the event volunteers jokingly said to us as we boarded the bus to the park, "And I'm sure you're all going for the music and not the fireworks." Little did he know how right he actually was :)

I did snap a few shots of the crowd -- 7000 people! But I haven't loaded them onto my mac yet, so I'll have to wait to show them for another day. I thought this shot was sufficiently summer-y, though. I love how forsythia is so bright and cheery!
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My iTunes: Early in the Mornin' by David Baker

photoshoot: three brothers: take 5

"Cheese!" Just too cute.

Currently enjoying a quiet evening to myself -- listening to a little Charles Ives on my new clock-ipod-radio contraption (the last clock I had was so bright that it kept me up at night, even on the dim setting), sipping my new favorite summer drink, and slowly working on a little more deep cleaning and organizing. Thought I would take a break to put up a quick post.
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My iTunes: Circus Band by Charles Ives