Making Use...

The Week Begins

This weekend was exciting.  I jumped back into weddings for the season by second shooting for John Robinson on Saturday.  Because it wasn't my wedding and I was able to take off after the cake cutting, I made it home in time to watch Bryce Harper's Major League debut for the Washington Nationals.  Todd and I made popcorn and stayed up way past our bedtime watching the game.  Sunday I photographed some baby twins and their sweet parents in a field of buttercups.  Cleaned out the herb garden with my sister, got the basil in, watched my daughter chase bubbles.  It was a good weekend from start to finish.

Turtle in the Herb Garden, Charlottesville, VA, April 27, 2012

Instagram: mermont

-- Back to baseball: I had decided I wasn't a big Bryce Harper fan after reading a GQ article about him a many weeks ago (I'm so over bad boys), but I must admit he brings quite a bit of energy to the game.  It's hard not to get excited about such a powerhouse.  But is that a faux-hawk under his batting helmet?  Oh, and that other phenom, Stephen Strasburg, was starting pitcher against the Dodgers on Saturday night.  So, you know, it was exciting.  Can you believe how much my marriage has rubbed off on me?!  I can't either.

-- Cig Harvey has a new book out now.  Cig completed the same photography program in Maine that I did, though several years before my time.  She's kind of a celebrity up there.  We met in a darkroom once, and then I wore one of her dresses when I modeled in a video shoot in the Workshops' Soundstage, and then she shouted enthusiastic and encouraging words out a window one time when I was kissing her friend on the dark sidewalk below.  It was a horribly embarrassing interruption.  The kiss never recovered from it.  But, anyways....  Her new book looks lovely and I might like to have it on my bookshelf one day.  You can view the trailer for it on Vimeo.  Colorful, feminine, enchanting, deeply personal.  Check it out.

-- This NYTimes article about the brain on love was really interesting to me.  I spent a lot of time in my 20s thinking about love--being in it, being confused by it, being uncertain of it, being in awe of it.  And now we know that loving relationships literally alter the brain.  I probably coulda told you that.  

-- I found this house tour via Hither &Thither last week.  Photographer Jay Maisel bought an entire building in the Bowery back in the late 1960s for only $102,000.  He lives there with his family and real estate brokers estimate that the property is now worth $30 million.  Wow.  Cool pictures, too.  

-- To return to some earlier Monday mentions: I bought the Kindle Touch.  I like it.  Also, I did buy a third of one these but ended up with Passion, the red color, which I hear is perfect for those who won't do red lipstick.  And that would be me.  Still haven't decided what to buy with my gift from Serena & Lily, though at least one of you did encourage the big splurge on the pouf.  I appreciate that.  :)

Have a great week.  So much to look forward to in May!

The Week Begins

So... I didn't exactly mean to take a two-week blogging hiatus.  That's just how it happens sometimes.  

Last week while Todd was away on a spring-break trip in Costa Rica I took my mom and little one down to Birmingham, Alabama, while I attended a wedding photography workshop.  I had a fabulous time learning, growing, thinking deeply about what I do.  Plus, I made new friends.  And it was good to get out of town.  Todd, meanwhile, spent his week in a fever-ish depression.  Now we know he has pneumonia.  

We reunited at home this weekend and had the best time relaxing, cooking, cleaning, buying flowers for our pots out front, teaching our daughter how to hunt for plastic Easter eggs.  My doctor's office instructed me not to kiss Todd's pneumonia face for a while, but other than that challenge we had a pretty perfect couple of days.  Plus, he brought home a dozen bags of Costa Rican coffee, which we love.  Springtime is wonderful in central Virginia.

Polaroid from Birmingham, Charlottesville, VA, April 9, 2012.   

Instagram.  

(Follow me on Instagram!  My username is mermont)

-- I read Mira Jacob's Babble article about falling in love with your child a couple of weeks ago.  I was just sort of reading along, ho hum, until I got to the third-to-last paragraph, the one that begins, "I mean, that's the kicker right?"  And then I was crying.  Because... wow... what she says is true.  

-- I'm thinking about getting an e-reader.  I'm a huge fan of actual books, but I'm thinking I'll save time, save money, and read more if I use a tablet.  After looking online briefly, I'm leaning towards a Kindle Touch so that I can get e-books from the library.  But with a Kindle Fire I can get color children's books to share with Flora (like when we're in a waiting room and I want to intelligently distract her).  Thoughts?  Recommendations?  I could splurge for an iPad, which would have other uses, too, but maybe just focusing on books is best for now?  

-- I read this article about Hipster Brands before my workshop last week, but I find it even more interesting/amusing now since we spent a fair amount of time in Birmingham discussing branding.  It's a powerful thing, you know. 

-- Jhumpa Lahiri is one of my favorite writers.  She tells stories in the most vivid and moving ways.  My friend Caroline shared this article on Facebook over the weekend and it really resonated with me.  Perhaps because I think as a writer and know the pleasure of crafting a sentence.  What Lahiri says about reading in a foreign language, how she has to work for each sentence, look up unknown words in the dictionary, and puzzle together the syntax rings so true!  I was a French major in college and the experience of reading in French was somehow more 3-dimensional than the same experience in English.  It also took me forever and by senior year I'd learned how to read about 1/3 of each assignment and still be able to participate in discussion afterwards.  If you haven't read any Jhumpa I highly recommend her short stories in Interpreter of Maladies as a starting place.

-- Two weeks ago I learned that I won a gift certificate through a giveway on the blog SF Girl By Bay.  My prize is $100 to spend at Serena & Lily.  How nice is that?!  I have spent a little bit of time perusing the Serena & Lily site, thinking about how I might best spend this gift.  Something for baby?  Something from the Bazaar?  Throw pillow(s)?  This week I'll make my choice.  But what would you pick?  And would you buy something for exactly the amount you have ($100) or use that money towards the purchase of something more out of reach (like this pouf, which is whispering to me, despite the heeeefty price tag)?  <--Todd don't look.  You don't want to know.

Have a great week.  That wedding I promised last time is still in the queue!  Here's a hint: it takes place in Maine!  Ahh!

The Week Begins

Just in the nick of time!  My Monday post for late Monday night.  

We had another wonderful, unscheduled weekend.  Long walks in the sunny cold for cups of coffee.  Mushroom barley soup simmering in my green soup pot.  A late night movie with my man.  And, unexpectedly, a long conversation about our future that involved a 9-year plan and a online search of dreamy properties!  It made me kind of excited in ways I did not anticipate.  

"Dinosaur Bones," Charlottesville, VA, January 15, 2012.

Instagram.

Here are a few other points of interest:

-- Last Monday night my sister came over to watch the Bachelor with me.  We don't watch much tv around here (except Downton Abbey, 60 Minutes, Jeopardy, and random episodes of whatever might be on HGTV or the Cooking Channel---but still, not a lot of regular programming, sitcoms, dramas, etc).  But I do have a habit of watching the Bachelor/Bachelorette series.  I find this television show to be so mindless and entertaining.  My husband is no fan, however, so when I say things like, "Oh my gosh, these woman need to stop saying, 'I'm actually more like  a guy than a girl...'" he doesn't even look up from his laptop to see what I'm fussing about.  Which is why it's really wonderful to have a sister in town who will come over and get sucked into mindless television with you.  Because watching these ridiculous shows (seriously, who would agree to share 1 man with 24 other woman???  It's sick.) is far more fun with a couchmate who cares.  Or kind of cares.  Anyway, all of this is to say that last week I made chicken and dumplings for our tv dinner, following this recipe, and I thought you might like it for cold nights in front of the tube.  Ellie and I agreed that next time we would add some veggies to the final pot in order to up the nutritional ante, but overall it was quite tasty and comforting.  

-- For Thanksgiving 2010 Todd and I drove to Austin, TX and back, which was perhaps one of my most memorable vacations ever (because I was blissfully pregnant and we ate good food and went somewhere new every day, not because of the food poisoning, which was also memorable).  We just happened to arrive in Dallas on the evening of the anniversary of John F. Kennedy's assassination, and that prompted a great study (mostly via the passenger's seat and a hand-held Blackberry) of historical evidence, conspiracy theories, and various Wikipedia entries.  On November 21st of this year we watched this short video on the New York Times website.  It made my heart pound at first.  Watch it to the end.

-- This past week I have seen quite a bit of Twitter discussion about proper crediting for photographers (and anyone who deserves credit for the creation of an image/scene).  Between blogs and Pinterest, there is an awful lot of un-credited imagery floating around out there on the web, and it certainly is a pet peeve of mine.  This handy diagram is a useful tool for anyone who thinks about posting images online that they did not actually create themselves.  You can do it, of course, but do it well!

-- Nothing But Bonfires published a comprehensive list of the books she read in 2011, complete with short reviews of each title, and her list has inspired me to get to the library and pick up some new books (or books on tape)!  I only read Bossypants of her picks from the last year (actually, I listened to it in my car at the end of the summer), though I've read and loved other books by several of the authors she lists, so I'm pretty sure I will enjoy most of her selection.  How about you?  What are you reading and recommending?

Okay, that's only four points of interest... but it's my bedtime.  

Tomorrow--a wedding on the blog!  Late summer loveliness.

Welcome, 2012

I'm so glad you are here.  

2011 was possiby the best year of my life, but it was hard, too.  

This past fall nearly knocked me down flat, and navigating my new role as a working mother over the last 11 months forced me to reexamine my goals, values, and identity.  Exhaustion, frustration, moments of despair...  I've felt all of these powerful forces in 2011.

Overwhelmingly, however, 2011 rewarded me like no other year in my life.  

I had the immense pleasure of photographing more couples this year than ever before, and those jobs took me to Maine (twice!), Massachusetts, New Jersey, West Virginia, Washington, DC, and all over Virginia.  I realized this year, in the middle of one wedding in particular, that I actually fall in love with my couples over the course of my working relationship with them.  I'm convinced that I collaborate with some of the nicest, most gracious, thoughtful, and beautiful people out there, and I am grateful for their trust in me.

My greatest accomplishment and most wondrous joy of 2011 is my daugther, Flora.  I suppose I don't really consider her to be an accomplishment, per se, as I find her so marvelously miraculous that I can hardly believe she is made of my bones and blood.  But as her mother, I do feel a compelling sense of accomplishment---for her birth, her survival, her daily thriving.  Motherhood, though incredibly challenging, of course, comes naturally to me, and I credit my instincts to the good mothering I experienced in my own childhood (and to this day).  I am grateful to my mother, my daughter, and my husband, who are all making this experience so emotional and special for me.  

2011 was a banner year, both personally and professionally, and now 2012 looks to be... a little something different...  But I am thinking it will bring a lot more of the same, if you know what I mean.  I am grateful to have the opportunity for more.

Hope your 2012 is looking bright as sunshine.

Flora, 10+ Months, Charlottesville, VA, December 21, 2011.  

P.S. What what of resolutions, you ask?  Okay.  I resolve to take up running again (did you know I ran a season of cross country in college?!).  But not until September.  I resolve not to run until September.  How's that?  

The Week Begins

Last week the regularly scheduled programming here was interrupted by a quick, 40-hour trip to New York City, which encompassed all of Monday and for which I granted myself a blogging vacation.  Because, obviously, I've been doing so much blogging in recent weeks months.  I needed to rest, people. 

Flat Iron Baby, New York, NY, October 31, 2011.

Last Saturday, which began with morning snow showers, I photographed a fun wedding at UVA and then on Sunday F. and I drove to DC, picked up Rose, and headed on to Manhattan.  On Monday we had breakfast at Eataly, lunch in Bushwick, and--our reason for the trip--a bon voyage dinner with our friend Pri before she moves abroad for the next 2 years (note: look forward to an upcoming family adventure in a tidy little Asian city-state)!  Then it was back to work for the rest of the week.

This weekend I photographed a wedding with Jen at King Family Vineyards and when I returned home afterwards my husband had whipped up some homemade butternut squash soup accompanied by ABC's Apple Cider Bread.  Yum.

Hope your weekends have been full of adventure and deliciousness.

- I once saw this show on the Food Network called "The Best Thing I Ever Ate."  It was the snacks episode and the whole show was chefs describing their favorite snack.  Ever.  One man--I don't know my chefs--talked about pickles.  I can't remember now if it was McClure's or Brooklyn Brine.  But it was pickles, made in Brooklyn, and it was the best snack he ever had and I thought, "YES!"  So last summer, when I was 8-weeks pregnant with my love child and photographing in Manhattan, I asked Yvonne to find me these pickles.  She bought me a jar of each kind and I hauled them home on the train.  This past Monday we were wandering around Brooklyn, the love child now strapped to and sleeping against my chest, and I bought more pickles.  So far I have three spears left in the McClure's jar and then it's onto Brooklyn Brine.  These things are go.oo.ood if you enjoy pickles.  

- In 2002, Ellie, Bean, and I spent a couple of days in a rented apartment in Vernazza, Italy, one of five hillside towns that makes up the scenic Cinque Terre.  This past week my beloved travel agent, Rochelle, posted a link on her Facebook page to Rick Steve's pictures of Vernazza following the recent flash floods.  Looks awful.  Hope they can dig out from the mud by next spring when the American college students will be en route!

- Two weeks ago, when the weather was turning colder and my nose was getting sniffly, I made a big pot of Nell Newman's chicken soup.  My mom used to make this recipe when I was in high school and there is something about this combination of ingredients, plus the exceptional stock, that feels so healthy and nutritious.  It's the freshest tasting chicken soup ever.  Possibly.  Try it this winter and let me know what you think.  (If you click on the link above it takes you to the book's listing on the Barnes & Noble website, but the recipe is listed there as a sample.)

- My friend Meredith McKee, who has a budding photography and design business here in Charlottesville, was quoted in a recent Washington Post article about student entrepreneurs.  My husband and I have three businesses and one non-profit between us so we clearly embrace the entrepreneurial model and  have been known to encourage one or two under-employed young people to start their own business in this economy.  The article is interesting and definitely worth a read, especially if you happen to be an under-employed young person.

- And, finally, speaking of young people making their own way, my cousin Meg's jewelry designs were highlighted last month in the Hook's fall wedding issue.  One of Meg's pearl bracelets dominated the cover photo and then several of her pieces, plus a little write-up, were included in a feature story about bridal accessories.  This special issue will be on newsstands throughout the season and you can also check out and buy Meg Hannan Designs at her etsy shop.  I have the turquoise wrap teardrop earrings in gold and LOVE them.  Simple yet striking and lightweight, too.  She does custom designs, as well.  

More this week.  I can almost promise it.  

The Week Begins

I'm going to try something new.  Many of the blogs I read have Friday wrap-ups, where the blogger will post links to interesting things discovered on the web that week.  I suppose these links are to tide the readers over until regular posting resumes on Monday?  

What I have always noticed, however, is that my readership tends to fall off on the weekend and pick back up come Monday morning.  Do you know what this trend tells me?  It tells me that my readers have interesting, active lives that take them out into the world during the weekend.  But come Monday, when they are back at their desks, there is always some time to return to their favorite websites and blogs, even for a few mintues, for a workday distraction.

So here's what I would like to do: 

On Mondays I would like to begin a little series for my readers.  Some lite reading for the lunch hour.  Links to all things interesting, pretty, yummy, or worth-sharing that I have come upon in the last week.  Nothing profound.  But hopefully a bit of this-and-that to help make the Monday morning return to your desk just a smidge more bearable exciting! I want this series to be interactive, creating an exchange of ideas and discoveries.  I will pose questions and hope that you'll respond.  At least every once in a while...

We'll start with a weekend recap.  

On Saturday I drove to Lewisburg, West-by-God-Virginia* with Maggie, my multi-talented second shooter, to photograph a pretty spectacular farm wedding.  Yellow leaves on the trees, short dresses with cowboy boots, shotguns, home-grown flowers, a locally sourced menu, and a bride and groom in love love love.  Maggie and I had a blast.  After Saturday's late night drive back home, we in the pink house had a lazy Sunday morning.  In the afternoon we took Flora to the park and pushed her in a baby swing for the first time.  She squealed while I recorded the moment on the iPhone.  Such a 2011 mommy move!

What did you do?

--  On Sunday night I made this fall salad for dinner using butternut squash.  Paired with grilled Alaskan salmon it made for a fantastically tasty and nutritious meal.  I'm going to try it again with pumpkin.  Also, I tossed the arugula with some fresh lemon juice and olive oil before topping it with the other ingredients.  Yum!

--  Every spring and fall I like to think about a handful of items (no more than 5, ideally, and that includes accessories) that I can purchase to add to my wardrobe to make it fresh for the season.  So far this fall I bought a pair of high-waisted skinny cords that are surprisingly flattering and these boots.  Haven't worn them yet but I think they might be just right.  Except that they are suede.  I love suede, but it is not always the best material for winter weather, right?  Any ideas where I can find something similar but non-suede? 

--  Bread and Roses was a song we used to sing at Step Sings at Bryn Mawr.  This article about contemporary feminism really tickled my Mawrtyr bone.  "Yes, it is bread we fight for, but we fight for roses too."  Check it out.

--  I still can't get over this song.  The combination of melody and lyrics is just killer.  Achingly so.  Right up there with Hallelujah for the emotional punch it packs in one performance.   

--  Finally, I just started listening to books-on-cd while editing photographs.  I don't know why I didn't think to do this sooner.  I find that I stay so focused on my pictures while simulatenously "reading" a new book.  Genius!  Better than listening to music, I tell you!  Listening to podcasts is also a pretty effective way to engage more parts of my brain while working, but spending so many hours invested in a single story is especially effective, not to mention rewarding.  Last week I finished listening to this story.  Oh my goodness.  It was so excellent.  An unbelieveable testament to the strength of man in the face of mankind's very worst.  I highly recommend that you check it out.  I'm now going to the library every week or so to pick up new books-on-cd and have accumulated quite a list of titles.  What have you read recently that you recommend?

Okay, that's it for now.  Have a wonderful week!  Next up on the blog will be a beautiful, late spring wedding at King Family Vineyards!

*Todd, WV born and bred, uses this expression all the time and so I've adopted it.  Marital right.  

Life of Late, Hipsta Style

There has been a lot of life going on around here.  I have discovered that it's a heck of a lot easier to document the quotidien experience on my phone than to lug around a camera.  Yeah, I'm a professional photographer and I just wrote that.  

Here's what I've been up to recently:

* Shooting a lot of weddings.  That means a lot of film and many FedEx shipments to the lab. 

* Several albums in the works.  Some are big, some are small.  This one was palm-sized.

* I had the singular pleasure of driving through Montague, NJ, where Meredith Montague Photography sent a package to Montague Street in Brooklyn.  That experience will probably never be repeated.  (Sigh).

* I went to Maine to photograph a wedding and took my baby on her first ferry ride during our little vacation afterwards.

* She brought her own camera and was all "hold me up a little higher, Mom!" to get the best shot.  She's got an eye, that girl of mine.

* A brazen groundhog lives in our backyard.  He sits in the tomato patch eating the green tomatoes.  Poor Tupelo can't do anything about it because she and the 'hog are basically the same size.   

* Flora started eating solid foods as soon as we returned from Maine.  I'm going to teach her how to wipe her own mouth as soon as she stops eating paper towels.

* My birthday came and went over the weekend.  Here's 30, first thing in the morning.  

* And here's what 30 buys with a gift certificate to Anthropologie.  (Specifically, this shirt, this book, and these bowls.  The sunglasses case isn't online and the flowers were from Ellie).

* We got some rain.  Welcome rain.

* My sister got a job in Charlottesville and returned to the southland in July.  I LOVE having her back in town.

* And, totally randomly, the dog threw up under my desk and there were two pieces of gravel in the mess.  Hmm.

* Summer is winding down and I'm feeling a bit melancholy.  This sunset was photographed tonight at Pippin Hill Farm & Vineyards, which is a stunning new venue in our area.  

I have so many beautiful weddings to share, plus a lot of pictures from Maine and some portraits from Blue Ridge Swim Club.  It's just a matter of time and where I'm putting my energy, folks.  But it's all coming! 

All pictures made on an iPhone with the Hipstamatic app.

When the President Came to Town

President Obama flew into Charlottesville on Friday evening to speak in support of Democratic Congressman Tom Perriello's campaign for re-election.  The city began closing roads around the Pavilion at noon and some people missed school and/or work on Friday to line up for a good view of the rally.  

My friend Clarence posted this cool video on Facebook this evening.  

While all these people were waiting to get inside the Pavilion, I was finishing up a portrait session at UVA.  No chance of getting anywhere near the action at that point!  

Instead, Todd and I sat in our cozy living room, a mere two miles or so from the excitement, eating big bowls of hot pasta and watching the rally on tv.  It certainly would have been cool to have heard Obama in person and maybe have shaken his hand as some of my friends did (I saw it happen on tv!), but I must admit that we had some damn good seats right where we were.

Don't forget to vote on Tuesday!

A Love Note

Dear Blog Readers,

You've been waiting.  For exactly what... I'm not quite sure.  

For wedding loveliness?  Or some music for your morning?  Maybe a poem you've never seen or one you know by heart?  For something new from this corner of the world, like a story from the road or a picture of something so beautifully ordinary?  Like this vintage typewriter in my studio that needs a new ribbon?  

A Typed Message, Charlottesville, Virginia, 2010.

You've been waiting.  And I've been a bad blogger.  

But not an idle woman.  There has been lots of shooting and lots of driving across the state (and over state lines) recently.  There have been weddings at vineyards and historic estates, two full-moons over water, and now that it's cooling off I've spent some nights baking the tallest apple pie you ever saw, two batches of banana chocolate chip muffins, and seven-and a-half gallons of chewy, chunky granola.

During the day I am working hard to finish up jobs and design and assemble albums and so blogging has fallen by the wayside.  Alas.

The good news about all this activity, however, is that I have A LOT to post here in the coming weeks (months)!  

For whatever reason you readers are still out there, checking in regularly from five different continents around this big old world.  Wow.  Thank you.  And here I am averaging barely a post per week!  

I'd like to say it'll pick up around here this week but let's not get our hopes up!  By November 1st I would like to be back to regular blogging.  Maybe sooner.  We'll see....   In the meantime, let me know what it is you stop by to see or read--and please share with me what you've been baking.  

I'm dying to know.

Respectfully,

m

Attention: Charlottesville Brides

Have you heard about the J.Crew Warehouse sale at Seminole Square Shopping Center?

I went this morning with Meg and Lydia and had to wait in line for about half an hour before being admitted into the space, but it was worth it!

Thinking ahead, I decided to wear my unitard (yeah, that's right; I have a unitard) under a dress so I could easily try on clothes.  Slip-on shoes are a must, too.  I would also recommend a small, hands-off purse, to lighten your load.

We wandered around, digging through boxes of merchandise and stuffing anything interesting into giant plastic bags that J.Crew provided.  Then, because there are neither mirrors nor dressing rooms in the warehouse, we retreated to a relatively quiet aisle in menswear and started to try on our finds and share our opinions.  This, friends, is where the unitard sold itself to all who were watching!  Because while other women tried to squeeze dresses over their bulky shorts and t-shirts, I was in and out of pants, dresses, sweaters, etc. with zero trouble.  Admittedly, you feel a little ridiculous standing around in the thing, but it made fast shopping a breeze.  I would do it again.

I came away with cashmere sweaters ($30!), dresses ($25!), and a pair of suede booties ($50!), BUT, if I were in the market for a wedding dress I could have done even better!

There were three racks of wedding dresses that seemed to be getting very little attention, and I definitely think they are worth a look if you are searching for a dress and hope to find one below retail price.  Most of the clothes I looked at were in great condition, and if you don't mind the treasure-hunting aspect of a warehouse sale, this opportunity could be golden for you.

Not sure how long the sale lasts--some people said until September 8 but I also heard Monday was the last day.  Don't wait!

(I'm pretty sure I saw a woman trying on this dress for her friends in the middle of the warehouse.  But there were lots of different styles on the racks!)