98:365 color 6.28.10

man vs. nature.

Thirsty?

If you are a regular visitor to my blog, you may have seen past posts on the "Imbibe" feature I shoot monthly for StyleLine Magazine. The July issue is on stands now and you can see my photo on page 100. Or just click here and see it online. Recipe for the Beach Grill Mai Tai is in the article. The above photo is one they didn't use for the magazine, but it was one of my favorites.


While I'm at it.... here's the link to the April, May and June imbibe articles that I hadn't yet posted. The Pineapple Mojito is a personal favorite!

97:365 Color 6.27.10

Blue Moon.

96:365 Color 6.26.10

The best laid plans...

So you may be thinking to yourself: "Self, why am I looking at a picture of what appears to be a jelly jar?" And you would be asking a good question. Here's the thing, sometimes I have ideas that don't work out. If you are human, I imagine that you have this problem too from time to time. But, what you choose to do when the plans don't go according to, um, plan, is what makes you stand out or suck at life. Ok maybe that was a bit harsh... I'm sorry, you don't suck, that other guy who stopped reading after the first sentence does. read on...

So I was outside after dinner, enjoying all the fireflies that were making my backyard sparkle while I worked on my mosquito bite collection. I thought it would be cool to try to get the fireflies in my photo for today. After running around my backyard, trying to photograph fireflies in flight for a few minutes I decided that this was not going to work for multiple reasons. Plan B: Get a jar and catch the suckers. Don't worry, no fireflies were harmed in the process... but if any of my neighbors were watching, they may think less of me after watching me wander around my yard with my camera and then a jelly jar. So I caught 3 (no easy feat). Then set the jar on my table like a hunter returning home with his catch. I figured this would now be easy, just set my exposure and fire off a few frames when the fireflies were glowing green. Guess what? These suckers wouldn't preform. They don't like to light up when trapped in a little jar - go figure. After waiting a few minutes longer, I was about to throw in the towel when I realized, that the bugs didn't have to be my subject after all. I let them free and they promptly turned on their glowing green behinds, essentially flipping me the bird. Once my hostages had escaped, I focused my lens on their temporary confinement, the Bonne Maiman jar. The only light outside came from what little light was left in the sky and the citronella candle I had lit after also applying gobs of deet to ward off the mosquitoes. I still got bit. The combination of the two light sources and trying a few different angles gave me a variety of usable photos. It may not be the best or most interesting photo I've taken, but it's a good reminder to not focus too hard on getting one thing when something better (or at least simpler) may be right in front of you. That all for now. Off to get some calamine.

95:365 color 6.25.10

red, white and blueberry.

Feeling a little festive (and hungry)? Try this easy recipe. I substituted the raspberries for blueberries and I was quite pleased with the results. The only suggestion I would make is to cut the sugar at the end down to 1Tbs. Great with fresh berries or served warm with a scoop of vanilla or lemon ice cream. Probably would be good with coolwhip if you like that sort of thing (I don't).

Raspberry Buttermilk Cake
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 stick unsalted butter, softened
2/3 cup plus 1 1/2 tablespoons sugar, divided
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 large egg
1/2 cup well-shaken buttermilk
1 cup fresh raspberries (about 5 ounces)

Preheat oven to 400°F with rack in middle. Butter and flour a 9-inch round cake pan.

Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

Beat butter and 2/3 cup sugar with an electric mixer at medium-high speed until pale and fluffy, about 2 minutes, then beat in vanilla. Add egg and beat well.

At low speed, mix in flour mixture in 3 batches, alternating with buttermilk, beginning and ending with flour, and mixing until just combined.

Spoon batter into cake pan, smoothing top. Scatter raspberries evenly over top and sprinkle with remaining 1 1/2 tablespoons sugar.

Bake until cake is golden and a wooden pick inserted into center comes out clean, 25 to 30 minutes. Cool in pan 10 minutes, then turn out onto a rack and cool to warm, 10 to 15 minutes more. Invert onto a plate.

Gourmet
June 2009
by Melissa Roberts
Want to see how other cooks rated and reviewed this recipe? Go to http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/353616

94:365 Color 6.24.10

Making a stamen(t).

Cliche? yes. Pretty? possibly. In my front yard? definitely.

93:365 Color 6.23.10

dirty feet.

This is not Matilda for once. We had dinner with our friends who have a daughter, Joslyn, who is a few months older than Matilda. She has a great play structure that Matilda was enjoying thoroughly (instead of eating her dinner...). Joslyn was showing off her big-girl-abilities and climbing up the slide.

92:365 Color 6.22.10

Warm.

Matilda enjoys her first concert-in-the-park of the summer. She was just mesmerized at this point, but did a lot of dancing shortly after. I made the shot I took two frames later the banner for her blog - check it out.

91:365 Animals 6.21.10

Oreo.

Although, it's not so easy to tell from this photo, this is one huge cat. I have been around many cats, had two growing up, and I have never seen a cat this big outside of the zoo. He's like a small bobcat. Rachel (his sister) said he's a Maine Coon, which translates to big-ass-housecat. He wasn't particularly fond of my camera so I kept my distance.

90:365 Animals 6.20.10

Big Bird.

Today we took a trip to the zoo for Father's Day. I had no shortage of animals to choose from so it was hard to narrow it down to one photo today. I liked the simplicity of this one and I never realized how much an ostrich's feathers can look like Marv Albert's hair.

89:365 Animals 6.19.10

My boy.

I had planned to not have buster or hazel in this weeks photos because they've already had their own week, but since today was my 5 year anniversary, I didn't want to spend too much time chasing down a random squirrel or bird, and Buster was a willing and available subject. He is usually pretty skittish and a little bit of a weenie, but I think this photo shows his oft-not-seen confident side - some might even say regal. I think pugs used to be the dogs of the royal family in China or something like that... this would make his ancestors proud.

88:365 Animals 6.18.10

She's my butterfly.

Ok, so technically a butterfly is not an animal, but this is my blog so somewhere between Sarah and the butterfly lies an animal. We were having a late dinner on our deck and this butterfly just landed on her headband. Ok, so maybe I swatted at it first, but then I realized it was a butterfly and not a bat and I grabbed my camera. It stayed there for a few minutes before taking off.

Butterflies have actually been kind of a meaningful thing for us throughout our relationship. Right around the time that song, Butterfly, by Crazy Town came out, Sarah and I had been dating for about a year and I used to sing her the lyrics... yes, you can imagine how that looked, not pretty..."come my lady, come, come, my lady, you're my butterfly, sugar, baby..." so there's that. Then I took some photos of butterflies that I superimposed on her stomach for some unbeknownst reason... probably in a fit of some early photoshop madness. On our 3rd anniversary of dating, I gifted her with a necklace with 3 little diamond butterflies on it (one for each year), awwwww. And on more than one occasion, butterflies have become a metaphor in her writing and poetry. Oh and the italian word for butterfly, farfalle (like the pasta), is a fun word to say, so we try to work it into everyday speech. "Honey, will you pick up some farfalle at the store?" or "Why is there a farfalle on my head?" Needless to say, butterflies have a special place in our hearts (and on our heads) so it was particularly fated that a butterfly would bestow us with its presence the night before our fifth anniversary of marriage. I think it was a sign. Of what, I'm not sure, but a sign nonetheless.

Oh, and for those of you who haven't seen her in a while, yes, Sarah got her nose pierced. I like it.

87:365 Animals 6.17.10

Brody.

This is my sister's dog Brody. I met him for the first time today. He has quite the tongue. It made contact with my face multiple times...
This was part of a shoot I did for my sister's new company, Pawsitive Improvements. She is highly-skilled in training all types of animals, from lions to fish. She is going to use them for her website which you can see here. It's a work in progress at the moment, but check back soon to see some more photos from this shoot with Brody and her other dog Phoebe. If you or anyone you know need some in-home training help with your pet, give Taryn a call. She'll give you a free in-home consultation if you mention my name.

86:365 Animals 6.16.10

Duck. Duck. Duck. No goose.

85:365 Animals 6.15.10

Calvin.

His brother, Hobbs, would not come out of hiding for me to take his photo.

84:365 Moments 6.14.10

rub-a-dub-dub.

The random moment of today, without a specific outing, defaulted to a moment where Matilda did something cute (which is most moments). Ok, so I gave her the mohawk, but it's a good look on her. Too bad her hair is getting a little too long for it to stand up straight...

83:365 Moments 6.13.10

Salute.

Sarah and I toast each other at the Emory. We celebrated nearly 5 years of marriage (our actual anniversary is on the 19th) by renewing our vows and re-signing our ketubah. Actually, we lost the first one (don't ask...), so it was kind of a necessity, but it was nonetheless special and meaningful.

82:365 Moments 6.12.10

Chop Shop.

Father's day...

is coming up. If you want to get me something, this would suffice. I don't do the whole twitter thing, but it's an offshoot from this twitter feed. Hilarious.

81:365 Moments 6.11.10

If looks could kill...

I would make sure my wife didn't look at this photo. She has a nut allergy. But luckily, looks don't kill, so look at these nuts as long as you want to, sweetie. That didn't sound right...

80:365 Moments 6.10.10

She loves me.

Matilda pulling apart some chive flowers.

Peking House Bar Mitzvah

You may remember Justin from my 365 post. Here's the slideshow of his Bar Mitzvah highlights. He had his service at Temple Israel in West Bloomfield and his party at Peking House in Royal Oak. His party had a "Rock & Roll" theme complete with a cake made to look like an electric guitar! I loved the customized fortunes they had in the fortune cookies. This was my first chance to play with my new fisheye lens at the party and I was happy with the results. It's not a look you can use for every photo, but a few on the dance floor are a nice touch. Enjoy!

79:365 Moments 6.9.10

A moment in the sun.

78:365 Moments 6.8.10

Are we pulling out our hair in Detroit?

I think not. But in case some of us are, top wedding photographer Joe Buissink and 4 of his friends (Denis Reggie, Jim Garner, Bambi Cantrell and Ken Sklute) decided to give back by presenting a free seminar for Detroit photographers at the DIA called Get Candid Detroit. They presented for 30-45 minutes each and there was a panel discussion and Q&A at the end. It was pretty amazing that these photographers would "give away" the information they are highly paid to present elsewhere. Just google any of their names any you will see their amazing work. For instance, Joe presented some of his images from his stint as Christina Aguilera's personal photographer on her tour and from Stephen Spielberg's birthday dinner. They covered everything from storytelling, lighting, shooting styles, album design and marketing. However, the themes primarily focused (no pun intended) on the tough economy and how we can reinvent or reinforce our business to survive the hard times. I think that everyone who attended, left feeling optimistic and excited about the information they learned - I know I did. The whole event was sponsored by Pictage.com, which I use to host my event images. Even the Pictage CEO, Jim Collins, came out to mediate the q&a session. He is an inspirational person in his own right and truly cares about people (not just pictage clients). He gave out his personal office number and email and encouraged us to keep in touch to let him know how we are doing. I don't think anyone that attended is pulling out their hair anymore (I personally am trying to keep as much hair as I can...).

I appreciate the generosity and inspiration they all the presenters gave to our community. Hopefully they will return home with a different impression of Detroit. Many people (possibly this group included) get a distorted view of Detroit from what they hear in the media. People don't often give us a chance or look at us as just a charity case. But once you visit, once you meet the people and see some of the amazing things that are created amidst the depression and despair, you see Detroit in a different light. I have lived here my whole life and can't imagine living anywhere else. Sure, Detroit has it's flaws, but don't we all?

Check out Jim's thoughts on his visit to Detroit.

77:365 Matilda 6.7.10

Papa-razzi.

Matilda is pretty used to having her picture taken at this point, having had a camera pointed in her direction almost every day since she was born. However, this week has been particularly invasive as far as the camera is concerned. I've been capturing almost every moment from the mundane to the exciting (she's still carrying around the pink ball). My camera has either been at my face or within reach whenever I've been with her this week.

We were playing outside this afternoon and I hadn't taken any photos of her yet, so I was following her around, capturing her at play. I got some cute moments, but nothing made me say "wow". I moved in closer when she was standing in some nice light and started taking some close-ups. I was a probably only 3 feet from her face and she decided she'd had enough. At the moment this photos was taken, she was saying "no." It was said with a smile, but I knew it was time to stop. I took a few more frames while the light was good and she was ok with that, but then she pointed to my camera and said "boop-boop" which, in Matilda-speak, means "get it out of here" (it can also mean "move over" or "out of my way"). She didn't need to say anything else. I put down the camera and enjoyed really playing and interacting with her without the camera in front of my face.

While I love many of the photos I've taken of her this week, there's something to be said for knowing when to put the camera down and really just enjoy playing with my daughter rather than trying to capture the fleeting moments of her playing by herself. I know I will never capture every moment, but trying to capture a moment at the expense of actually experiencing the moment is not worth the photo.

As a photographer, it's always my inclination to pick up the camera when something cute or exciting is happening, but this week has been a good reminder that there should always be a balance, especially when it comes to photographing my favorite subject.

76:365 Matilda 6.6.10

Little Girl, Big Bed.

Matilda has made herself quite comfortable in our bed. She likes to watch "Elmo" in our bed when she wakes up from a nap.

75:365 Matilda 6.6.10

Pedicure.

Matilda is now sporting pink toenails thanks to her Aunt Elizabeth (who she calls "uh uh"). This is not her first time getting her toenails painted however...

74:365 Matilda 6.4.10

Oral Hygiene.

Even if you don't have many teeth, it is always good to brush them. I recommend getting a toothbrush with Elmo and Abby Cadabby on it. When I said "brush back and forth" she took me literally and started brushing on her back. Her attention to literal details is how I know she is my daughter.

73:365 Matilda 6.3.10

Fair Ball.

We stopped by the Birmingham Fair and Matilda won a ball by picking a winning duck! She has been carrying it around all day. I think she will enjoy the fair more next year when she is big enough for some of the rides...

72:365 Matilda 6.2.10

Stamp.

Matilda had her last day of music class for this session. At the end of the class all the kids patiently wait for Miss Mary to give them the stamp of the day on their hand. Matilda awaited her turn and then lifted her shirt for Miss Mary to stamp her belly. She then proudly displayed it for anyone who walked by. Should I be worried?

71:365 Matilda 6.1.10

Sunglasses.

Sometimes you just need to wear your sunglasses. Especially when pushing a doll in a stroller. This walk lasted about 45 minutes and covered one block. The dogs were not happy about the amount of schlepping they had to do as a result of the stroller-pushing toddler.

If you enjoy the photos of Matilda this week, you can always visit her blog to see more photos of her every day. I'll probably post some more there that didn't make the cut for my 365.

70:365 Time-Lapse 5.31.10

The Sky.

Taken over a 10 hour period. I only wish the moon was in it more, but I am not usually up at 3AM to know where the moon will come up. It's pretty cool to see the stars moving, or rather, the earth spinning... You don't really think about that sort of thing until you see it in action.