Harlem Bulldogs 11-0

This past week wrapped up my oldest son's first Little League tee-ball season. Only 4 years old, he was the youngest on the team and also the smallest. The Harlem Bulldogs was his team, bright orange in color and in my opinion, coached by the best in the league. 

Over the past three months with the support of the amazing Coach David, my son went from batting on the tee to consistently hitting pitches, from shy newcomer to team player and for his father and me, it was a tremendous joy being both supportive parents and wide-eyed spectators. So congratulations Bulldogs on your undefeated season! 11-0 doesn't come easy. 

~ Click on each image to view full scale ~

~ Click each image to view full scale ~

Technically in tee ball you aren't supposed to keep score; all games are considered a tie. But everyone, coaches and parents alike, do it anyways. The Bulldogs wrote the score next to the batting lineup on a dry erase board that hung on the fence.  

Cash Money, Lucky #7.

We're already hearing you talk about next season. 

Hopefully you will have Coach David again... 

...and who knows, maybe another undefeated season.

Photo 52: Within the Frame

Classic Composition:  Centered {Week 45}

Centering the subject has often been seen as a beginner technique, because the resulting composition is not viewed as being as dynamic compared to other compositions (for example, last week's Rule of Thirds). However, if you are deliberate with your composition, having a balanced frame with the subject at the center can be a very effective compositional technique.

The center of attention below is my superhero.  He seems perfectly placed for fighting crime, flanked by a gritty New York City background.  One morning this past week my son asked if he could put on his superhero costume.  He wanted to wear it outside, taking along his sock monkey as his sidekick.  Numerous smiles and comments resulted, particularly from older men most likely reminded of their own boyhood days dressing up as their favorite crime fighter.  Sadly though my son felt like people were laughing at him and asked me to take off his costume.  I assured him that people weren't laughing at him, but he insisted.  And with that, Super Cash 2.0 transformed into his street clothes and went on about his day.

Click HERE to continue to our collective site, Who We Become, to see all of our images in one place.

Super Cash 2.0

Photo 52: Within the Frame

Leading Lines {Week 9}

For the month of December, Photo 52: Within the Frame will be concentrating on lines.  Leading lines, lines that are horizontal, vertical and diagonal, lines that are real and implied - our goal is to use these to effectively lead the viewer's eye to our subjects, or in and out of the frame. 

Please click HERE  to visit our collective blog, Who We Become, and see all of our images in one place.  

Photo 52: Within the Frame

Balance: Photographer's Choice {Week 8}

For our final week exploring compositional balance, we incorporated some or all of the elements of weeks prior into our image(s).

There is a corner in Harlem that has always appealed to me. Despite the building being rundown and abandoned, I've always managed to see great beauty in the muted colors, rough textures and various signage across each entryway. The two doors on the right not only balance the gate on the left but also divide the image into halves, rife with similar patterns, colors and rectangle shapes.

Please click HERE to visit our collective blog, Who We Become, and see all of our images in one place.

Promise Land

Photo 52: A Play on Light

Final Week {Favorite Image} 

Hard to believe this is the final week of Photo 52: A Play on Light.  It has been such an incredible journey with these women whom I now consider dear friends, studying and capturing the many facets of light in intriguing and yet very different ways.  To have collaborated with such talent was truly an honor and I am thrilled to be working with them again for the next edition of Photo 52 starting in a couple of weeks.        

For this final week we decided to choose our favorite image from the year.  Without question my favorite is my wide angle shot of West Harlem at sunrise.     

You can check out the very beginnings of the project HERE.   

 

Harlem sunrise

Please continue along to see the rest of Photo 52's favorite images from this year starting with Kelly Roth Patton, a Brooklynite whose creativity and style is utterly sublime.  

Photo 52: A Play on Light

Creative settings {Week 3}

"We breathe the light, we breathe the music, we breathe the moment as it passes through us."  ~ Anne Rice

August, our month dedicated to creative settings.  For our third week: a late afternoon Harlem starburst. 

 

Please continue along the circle to see the rest of Photo 52's work for this week starting with the supremely talented  Kennedy Tinsley.    

Photo 52: A Play on Light

Creative settings {week 1}

Hard to believe that this is the final month of our yearlong journey exploring light.  These last weeks we are allowing ourselves, perhaps rewarding ourselves, the opportunity to play creatively.  Our main goal is to try something different i.e. playing with various shutter speeds, apertures, types of light, angles or lenses to capture something creative and intriguing.   

This first week I attempted the always challenging swing shot.  It's one of my favorite past times to photograph especially in the summer in New York City, but this time I wanted the orange sneakers to be the main subject both in focus and in the foreground with everything else a blur.  Oh, and I wanted to shoot from below.  So I got myself down on one knee, careful not to get kicked in the head, and kept focusing on the moving sneakers.  I used a wider aperture than usual to allow for the bokeh and a higher shutter speed to get the sneaker tread tack sharp.  It's definitely a different perspective than I've attempted in the past ... and a great chance to showcase some bright orange Chuck Taylors.     

Happy swinging!

 

 

 

Please continue along to see the rest of Photo 52's creative work for this week.  Next up is my dear friend and fellow New Yorker, Jessie Wixon.  She is mother to two stunningly beautiful girls and has talent that extends for miles.  

Photo 52: A Play on Light

Directional Lighting - Week 5

Maybe it was a moment of reflection or just a chance to catch his breath before taking off again?  Either way my son's fleeting stillness, captured during one of our many trips to the playground, is the subject for this final week of our directional light challenge.  

Please continue along to see the rest of Photo 52's images for this week.  Next up is Justine Knight, my talented friend and fellow New Yorker.    

Photo 52: A Play on Light

Directional Lighting - Week 3

Summer is in session and that means many family trips to our local Harlem playgrounds. While taking photos of my oldest son running around the jungle gym, I noticed that my husband was standing in the gazebo covered in light spots.  My beloved reptilian was the perfect subject for our third week of directional light.

 

 

Please continue along to see the rest of Photo 52's images for this week.  Next up is Julie Kiernan, an amazing talent and friend of mine out in Minnesota.   

Fatherhood | Guy Talk

On this Father's Day 2013, I wanted to post an image that still remains one of my all time favorites.  Taken last summer, the photo shows a tender moment of guy talk between my husband and oldest son who was one year old at the time.  My husband is an incredibly loving, engaged and playful father.  When I see him with his children is when I'm most in awe of him, most in love with him.       

Happy Father's Day to all the wonderful Dads out there!

 

"Boardwalk Empire" in Harlem

Yesterday we were beyond excited to find out that our favorite series, Boardwalk Empire, starring Steve Buschemi was filming down the block from our Harlem digs.  The show takes place in the 1920's during Prohibition so you can imagine the dozens of vintage cars that were lining the street and all the actors dazzling in their finest uptown threads.    

It was such a beautiful spring day in New York City, so my beloved husband and son, donning their best 1920s garb, went for a stroll along the set while I had my camera in tow.

We spotted some of the cast getting styled and even encountered the kindness of the production manager who allowed us to take photos within a cordoned off area.  It was a real thrill.  And if for some strange reason you haven't heard of Boardwalk Empire, click HERE to find out about this amazing show.  You'll be hooked.