A Hot Air Balloon Launch in Litchfield County, CT – Up, up and away!

Litchfield County, CT – Hot Air Balloon Launch

So, I was hanging out at my friends house watching our girls swim in their pool when a man knocked on the door. He wanted to know if he could launch a hot air balloon from the front yard.

Yeah, we thought we had heard it all before too, but that was really what he wanted to do….. Apparently the regular launch place wasn’t working out and they were looking for an open space on relatively high ground to unload the balloon from the trailer and get it up in the air. It turned our relaxing Sunday beside the pool into a wonderful, beautiful and unforgetable afternoon.

Hot air balloons were discovered in France in 1783 but they have come a long way since those early days of a fabric bag filled with hot air and now-a-days balloon pilots need to have a commercial pilot’s license. The basket on the balloon that we saw was beautiful – I didn’t get a chance to ask, but it looked as if it was hand made and stitched with leather. The balloon was initially filled with air from a fan and a couple of blasts of hot air from the burner heated the air enough to get the balloon inflated and up off the ground.

The pilot suggested I peek in one of the flaps at the top of the balloon – it reminds me of a stained glass window.

I was standing right next to the pilot when he turned on the burner. It was LOUD!

We were all so excited when the balloon lifted off the ground and started to fully inflate – the family taking a ride looked nervous but really anxious to start their adventure.

They were planning to fly to Woodbury, CT. It probably takes around 30 minutes to drive there from New Milford, they expected to fly there in under an hour. It didn’t seem like there was a breath of wind but apparently there was enough to send them on their way.

Lift off!

There was quite a gathering of neighbors – it’s not everyday a hot air balloon takes off from the front lawn. They waved and shouted good bye!

Tell me you are not thinking of the movie Up!  right now!!!!

 

Litchfield CT Photographer – An Apple Orchard Father’s Day Surprise!

Litchfield CT Photographer – Averill Farm Apple Orchard

Emmy and Amanda wanted to surprise their Dad with some different photos this year for Father’s Day. They knew they wanted to wear their ballet outfits from last months Studio D recital so we just needed a location. I had been keeping my eye on the apple orchard at Averill Farm to catch the trees at peak bloom and the timing was right. When I suggested this to Jen, the girl’s mom, she was all over it. Like so many families in the area they have often visited Averill Farm and had already formed their own special family memories there.  So now I was excited……

Amazingly cute sisters….check!

Stunning location with a special connection to the family….check!

Permission to photograph amongst the apple blossoms….check!

Now we just needed a beautiful spring evening with blue skies, fluffy big white cloud. And we lucked out. The day we picked was perfect.

Jen tried to tell me that the girls hate having their photo taken, but of course they proved her wrong and they were amazing! Cooperative, fun and totally willing to go for it – in short they were a dream to work with. I love it when a plan comes together and most of all when the location has a special meaning to the family. It’s not just about photos – it’s about capturing a memory and I think we did just that.

So, Happy Father’s Day Rich – you are blessed with a beautiful family and they obviously love you very much!

Watertown CT Photographer – A sweet baby girl

Watertown CT Photographer – Newborn Session

Isn’t she beautiful?

Baby Erin was the perfect baby for our newborn session this week. I had one of my close and special friends visiting from England and she offered to help me get some of the trickier poses in newborn photography baby posing. Well I don’t know if it was Sally’s expert touch, Erin’s mom’s completely relaxed attitude, or the fact that she had chain fed the day before, but Erin was in the mood to sleep and did not mind one little bit when we moved her into position!

A huge thank you to Sally from Sally Slack Photography for the tips and tricks you shared with me that day and the support you have given me over the last few years. There’s a funny story about Sally’s visit this time that involves a washing machine, a passport and a slight change to her arrival and departure dates, ask me about it when I see you…..Just know that I really appreciate her friendship and love it when she visits us in Connecticut.

An enormous hug to Stacey of Blush Couture for having baby Erin at the perfect time to be available for our session. She is so precious – congratulations!

Wilton CT Photographer – A baby sister!

Wilton CT Photographer – sibling session

This purplicious young lady is lucky to have a calm and relaxed mom to welcome her to family life in Connecticut. Caroline is the type of person I could share a cup of coffee with and put the world to right, but with a new baby and an almost 2 year old she is going to be a little busy for a while! Big brother and Dad were not home when we met, just seven short days after the birth of baby Hailey, but we had fun capturing that new sleepy baby phase. Hailey made the cutest baby noises you could possibly imagine, stretched and squirmed a bit and then promptly fell asleep! In short, she was perfect during our session. I wish Hailey, Caroline and the rest of their family the very best for the future.

Stamford CT – newborn photography session

Stamford CT – newborn photography session!

Can I just start by saying, I never get tired of photographing babies. Baby Ryan is about 4 weeks old, so a little older than the recommended sleepy newborn, but he slept like a dream and was such a little snuggle bug. He didn’t really like to be “fiddled with” after he fell asleep so I didn’t go too crazy with the posing, but I am thrilled with the results. His Dad is a really big sports fans, in fact he has hands-down one of THE coolest man caves I have ever seen, with all kinds of sports memorabilia and signed photos all over the walls. So I see a future in sports for this young man. Ryan’s mom is the sweetest person ever and we had such a nice time chatting up a storm during the session.

I hope I get to meet them all again soon. And when Ryan is the number 1 draft pic, I will pull out these photos and say, “I knew him when……”

Good Luck to Ryan and his family!

I don’t know who invented these giraffes (I wish it had been me) – they are popping up everywhere!

 I LOVE this one!

Westport CT – Newborn Photography Session – So cute!

Westport CT – Newborn Photography

This little guy was handsome, cooperative and an absolute angel for his newborn session. Best of all, I got lots of snuggle time.

My friend Betsy is a doula and she helped to deliver this little guy just over a week ago, so I had it on good authority that he was born into a great family.

Good Luck to the whole family – he’s a keeper!

I love this one with Alli and her little man.

Family Photography in Vermont – Easter Weekend

Family Photography in Vermont – Easter Weekend

I remember as a child the excitement that surrounded Easter weekend. Growing up in England, we typically got about three weeks off school, with Easter right in the middle. The tradition there is to give big hollow chocolate eggs filled with other chocolates or candies, and the line outside Thornton’s was long in the days before Easter Sunday. Easter dinner for our family was usually lamb with mint sauce, spring asparagus and new potatoes and was almost always followed by a trip to visit grandparents in Liverpool for more easter eggs!

We had to have a new outfit or something special to wear. We drew the line at easter bonnets, but there were still some families that went that far. It was the beginning of spring, a celebration of the end of the winter and the perfect time to spend with those you love.

We spent Easter 2013 with friends in Vermont. It seems like my kids have grown out of the matching new outfit phase (I have to admit, I am a little sad) and lamb was replaced by ham and a big easter brunch, but the idea was the same. We relaxed, we ate too much chocolate and we went for a walk with good friends and family.

The dogs were happy, the kids were happy and we celebrated the beginning of spring. April is also the start of mud season in Vermont – we celebrated that too!

Ella, a Bernese Mountain Dog, is completely at home in the snow of Vermont.

The kids were pretty at home too – they negotiated all weekend about how many clothes they needed to be wearing.

Yep – there really still is that much snow and they worked on that man sized hole all weekend!

Busted!!!! Declan hiding in the corner (behind the glove tree) to play with the ipad.

Judy is the reigning queen of cards so everyone wanted to see what she had in her hand…..

“Chillaxing”

Never work with kids and animals. Penny was in the picture. And then she wanted out. And then she wanted in again…. Doesn’t she look hysterical – kind of like she is springing along on her fuzzy legs! Mental note: call the groomer!

Final version – no Penny.

A rare Taub Family photo – thanks to Krista for that one!

Inger, a neighbor who also happens to be a massage therapist (how perfect is that!) joined us for brunch and a walk.

Yeah, I told you it was mud season! We thought it was hard driving up the hill in the snow last weekend, this was almost worse.

Happy Easter and Happy Passover to you all!

 

Redding CT Photographer – First Communion

Redding CT Photographer – First Communion Belle

I first met Isabelle on the day she was born. I met Belle’s Mom, Jeanette, when our sons did Kindermusik. They were the ones raising cane outside the circle and getting disapproving looks from the instructor. Jeanette is the same age as me, we were married in the same year, we both have a boy and a girl and our kids are born within weeks of each other…..we often joke that we have lead parallel lives! We were honored to be among close family members to celebrate Belle’s first communion on a perfect day last spring. She requested red velvet cupcakes with blue frosting so that’s what we made for her – she’s a girl after my own heart!

We love you Belle Belle!

If you see any of those BFF products in the mall there is a good chance that Olivia and Belle would be interested! They are proud of their

“Best Friends Forever” status.

This is Belle’s cousin Molly – doesn’t she have amazing eyes!

Her cousin Anna is just getting interested in photography so we had to have a little portrait session….

Oh to be so popular!

CT Photographer – A basket full of puppies

CT Photographer – A basket full of puppies

Hank, Herman, Helen, Heaven, Harpo, Henry, Hugo, Houston, Hannah and Harley.

Ten newborn puppies for five and a half weeks.

It takes a special kind of family to take on the responsibility of caring for a litter of TEN puppies (and Bahama, the mom) and then send them on their way for further training with Guiding Eyes for the Blind. This Connecticut family decided to do just that and what an experience it has been. The day I met them they were down to eight. One of the puppies (Hannah) was not gaining enough weight, so Hannah went back to the breeder to get some specialized attention and Harley went along to keep her company. We had a rotating supply of sleepy puppies to choose from and it turned into a fun and active “newborn” shoot! The biggest difference of course was that when they woke up they just walked over and started licking the camera or my hand.

Once one puppy figured out how to get out the box then the others picked it up really fast.

Claire is four and an accomplished puppy wrangler. She told me all about the routine and of course she had her favorite – Helen.

When our sleepy puppy woke up we traded it out for another one! But by the end of the session all eight were tired and ready for a nap.

Ideally each puppy should be massaged three times a day to keep them relaxed and also get them used to human touch and contact.

Megan explained that most of them like it and once they get into it they usually fall asleep by the end of their message session.

Puppy yin and yang.

Photographing Children – Look how they have grown……

Photographing Children – Look how they have grown……

One of the things I love about photographing children and their families is documenting how they grow and change over the years. I have been photographing these adorable little girls for a few years now and my have they grown into independent, beautiful young things. I hope I will get to see them for many years to come!