O'Connell Family Portrait

re·la·tion·ship (n)
the connection between two or more people or groups and their involvement with each other, especially as regards how they behave and feel toward each other and communicate or cooperate.often i am asked what makes our photography any different from the rest. my response is more than likely revolves around the "relationship" that i have built with our clients. to earn the trust of others and uphold this is very, very special to me.
the o'connell family are personal friends of ours that reached out to us because "taking a family portrait was not one of their favorite things to do." enter, karen and me. after taking in the breath taking views of their property i immediately saw an "old hollywood" feel to their portrait and wanted to celebrate the beauty in the eye of the storm...two fun, energetic and vicarious boys, and a strong, quiet and very, very talented sound re-recording mixer. the idea of having heather wear her "oscar" gown was an unanimous choice and the most perfect choice for her portrait. during our portrait shoot i often learn more of the stories that make up the individual(s) in front of the lens that ultimately help color our portraits. like, finding out that kevin's boyhood love is riding his mini bike and all the photos he recalls riding. this prompted me to invite him to ride the mini with his boys to "hand down the tradition."




wanting to celebrate the "beauty" I asked heather to stand and "look pretty." this put her in a spot light that she wasn't comfortable with but drew out a sincere, child-like innocence that was pure beauty unscripted. sometimes just by paying attention to minor details, like ones shyness, makes a world of difference on film.it is inevitable at times but i find myself firing off the shutter button fast and furiously just to keep up with the moment. hence the b/w collage of the o'connell's pillow fight. the final image is a direct result of the organic process of letting the portrait be captured through uninterrupted movement.
thank you to the o'connell family for giving of themselves to, again, help color our photography to what it is today.

Presentation Day

karen and i presented the "faculty portrait" today and the response was just priceless.


the faculty at saint maximilian kolbe's korner RULE! what a nice reception. taking and presenting the portrait in no way outweighs the hugs and sincere gratitude that we received.


oh, funny thought... i remember while i was photographing the faculty one of the teachers asked what they could do in return for our gift of photographing them and i replied..."just take care of our children."

they do that so effortlessly and without a second thought that this would be easy for them to repay. i knew by their response, a kind chuckle and some award winning smiles, that they knew they were appreciated by us and this portrait was our way of saying THANK YOU!

here is the portrait-

thank you to all the teachers and their unwavering support and guidance of our youth.

Picture Day was a HIT!

the children came to picture day with ATTITUDE! karen and i had sooooooooooooo much fun. to be a child, better yet, to be around children really gets the funny bone tickeled. not to mention the juices flowing. what a three day rush. the children at saint maximilian kolbe's korner are truly god's greatest gift. i really believe i received more during my three days with them then i could ever give in return. quick story. one boy, in particular, came to us to get his portrait taken and was, let's just say timid. well, realizing that maybe my 6'3" frame looking down at him appeared a bit "overwhelming" i immediately bent down to shake his hand. after a few minutes of being "joey" the boy soon realized that i was a bit on the "goofy grown-up" side and began to give to me a series of images that filled my heart. you can't begin to imagine the joy that overcomes me to be in the presence of a child's laughter. on top of that to be the one making them laugh. So, thank you to all the wonderful children and their wonderful families that make up the community of saint maximilian kolbe.

Ethan's Bar Mitzvah

ethan's outlook on life from the outside in is awesome. one of my favorite things to do is being surrounded with laughter, high energy and pure FUN!


ethan had all these ingredients. when he stood up and announced to everyone that he was ready to declare his responsibility of his faith there wasn't a dry eye in the temple. at the same time he made sure that everyone knew with a little bit of humor even the stern of hearts could break out smiling...with him. his enthusiasm and love of live is and was infectious.


at times it was everything i could do to keep up with him and his family, but the time we had together went by too fast. my hat's off to ethan and his family for making all whom shared in his day very proud and grateful to be present.

Saint Maximilian Kolbe Picture Day

you asked for it... “digital on-line proofing before i buy! ”

now, everything from proofing the image before you order to placing your orders on-line without obligations or any pre-payment requirements.

multiple packages with the option to purchase your child's portrait "a-la-carte".

posting of all images will be at a later date and will require password to access private website.

Quote of the Month

“Man, he is constantly growing and when he is bound by a set of patterns of ideas or way of doing things, that’s when he stops growing”.

-Bruce Lee