Looking for the 2008 Metuchen Memorial Day slide show?
Turn up the sound and
click here.

Below, pictures from the 2007 event…

Memorial Day is dedicated to the
honor and support of United States service personnel,
past and present,
especially those in harm’s way.
Click the picture above — or click here — to jump to the slide show. Be sure to turn up the sound because we have a special guest speaker this year. When the show is over, it will jump back here so you can read the rest of the blog post.



I don’t usually use black and white images when I shoot events, but I felt so moved by the emotions of the day that I thought I’d give it a try.


He’s upset because his cousins had just left to go back home. I thought the image was touching because of the real emotion he’s feeling. His dad’s shirt hammers in the message.



I have always been anti-gun and anti-gun toys for my children. But with a house full of boys, it’s practically impossible. (Readers with baby boys: hear this — they will make guns out of anything. Pencils. Fingers. Tiny twigs and blades of grass.) I thought this image of the boy atop the cannon looking pensive gave meaning to my frustration over toy guns.



I didn’t shoot the whole day in black and white. I love this shot from the other side of Tommy’s Pond, also known as the seating area for geese only. (This will be clearer to you if you’ve already watched the slide show.) By the way, just after the baby geese picture, the momma goose honked at me to leave. Story of my life.


Blog fans may recognize Major General (Select) John F. Kelly, the reviewing officer for the parade. He was the featured speaker at the John Basilone Parade, which I shot last September. It was nice to see him again, and to hear him speak. General: I wish you well on your new command in California.



You may also recognize some of the young Marines shown. The man on the left was the cover of last year’s Memorial Day book. (The men are trying really hard not to smile at me. They did a good job!)



SPC Robert Murafsky of the U.S. Army was a Grand Marshal of the parade. He recently returned home to Metuchen after having been shot in Iraq, then spending several months at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, where he met his fiance (left). His mom, Penny Murafsky, right, is a long-time member of the Memorial Day parade committee.



One of the things I love about shooting the Memorial Day parade is that so many people in Metuchen know me. Kids will smile, shout my name and wave. It’s great! Not sure what Liam was thinking when he said, “Mrs. Shaver, take a picture of this!” And he held up a dollar. In editing the slide show, I didn’t have the heart to edit George Washington. (Thanks, Liam!)



This is another face from the past: Basilone fans, think adorable baby in tuxedo. He’s grown a lot since September! I got some really nice pictures of him this time. (Mom and dad, if you’re reading, send me an email and I’d be happy to mail you some prints!)

This one was edited from the show because I thought little children would think he’d been run over. Nah, he was just resting in the shade. Here’s the shot of him earlier when he was watching the police unit march by…





In a traditional post-parade ceremony, Vietnam veterans salute their fallen comrades by pouring out their beer on the memorial at Legion Hall, followed by the playing of Taps.



This is my favorite shot from this year’s parade. Jan Margolis is the parade committee chairperson, planning the parade and memorial service for each of the last three years. While I have no direct experience serving on a parade committee, I can surely tell you that the planning is immensely complicated. From the military protocol to when the casson arrives to paying for everything and assuring that yellow ribbons and flags are all over town, it’s a year-long process that requires strength in leadership. As Rear Admiral Timothy Beard III put it when he saw this picture, “You can sure tell who’s in charge here.” (I took the photo as Jan listened to a speech about prisoners of war.)

If you haven’t already, be sure to watch the slide show, then come back here and leave a comment for the parade committee. They did a fantastic job because without them, Memorial Day in Metuchen would be nothing but a day off work.

This is Laci.



Hi Laci!



This is Laci, her grandmother, Barbara, and her mom, Dawn.



Laci’s hair was blowing all over the place
while we were down at the beach. I love this shot!



And this one too!



It was challenging to keep up with Laci!



When we were working in the backyard to get the “Four Generations” shot, Barbara’s neighbor offered to come take “our” picture. That was so sweet! From the moment I walked in the door, it seemed like we were old friends and I just fell in love with Laci. What a sweet-natured little girl!



Helen seemed so comfortable in the sun. Ahhh, I love the beach.



And this is Barbara’s cat, Terabithia. I love her eyes!

Click here for the slide show! Enjoy!

Just a reminder that I offer gift certificates. Here’s a sample of a customized card. If you are a former client of mine, I’ll use a photo from your session, and we’ll work together to get the wording just right. Then I’ll print it out and put it in a 5×7 scroll frame, all wrapped and ready to give. You determine the amount of the gift, but I recommend $300 for a family session. That gives the giftee enough for a full shoot and enough of a credit to buy several prints or to use toward something larger, like a handbag, a large canvas, a mounted storyboard, or a coffeetable book. Please be sure to stress to your giftee not to wait too long to call me though. My calendar for holiday shoots in August through November is starting to fill up for the weekends.

If you haven’t already, take a look at my new site and let me know what you think! Remember, I’m keeping a tally of clients, prospective clients and friends who leave the most (legitimate) comments through the month of June. Please note that I have the discretion to delete comments that don’t make any sense or are redundant.

The winner at the end of the month will receive a special prize (to be determined). Suggestions welcome, though don’t expect a BMW unless you like HotWheels!

Oh, one more thing for those still reading: my clients will attest to the fact that there are special perks for those of you who send your friends to my Web site, so be sure to mention in your comment post who it was that told you about my photography!:)

Can you tell I’m REALLY excited about my new Web site?
Woo hoo!!

First of all, everybody say hi to Laci (the beautiful little girl in the new home page picture). She’ll be making her appearance in a slide show in a few days, so be sure to check back to see her, her mom, her grandmother and her great grandmother at Bradley Beach! I can’t wait to show their pictures! They’re so beautiful!

Secondly, check me OUT! The new beautiful Web site of my dreams is LIVE!

I’m SO excited! Click the picture and take a tour! Be sure to check the blog every day in June because I’ll be offering all sorts of “first-responder” specials — be the first person* to respond and you could win a free or discounted family session! You’ll need to know a few things to win, so be sure to pay close attention! Leave me a comment and let me know what you think of the new site. I hope you love it because I LOVE it! (Praying it works for you though.)

There may also be special prizes for my former and pending clients who leave the most comments, and for potential clients who try the most often, so even if you’re not the first to respond, I’m keeping a tally! Have fun!

Oh, and Laci, for being such a wonderful model for me and ending up as the feature image on my new Web site, you win a free hard cover coffeetable storybook with your beautiful images inside and discounts on duplicates for all those great women in your life! Congratulations!

*To win a discounted family session, you will need to be located within 5 miles of ZIP code 08840, or be willing to travel to within 5 miles of ZIP code 08840. Free and discounted sessions do not include a print credit.

See you on the blog!

I’ve been working hard on a new Web site for the last week or so. Actually, new everything! New images in the galleries, bigger display, lots more information. Oh and a new logo too, inspired by love: my love for family lifestyle photography and my love for trees! Free 8×10 to the first former client to comment on specifically what the shape represents. I’m SO excited about the launch!

After the move, the Web site will be at the same address, but while it’s moving over, there may not be anything here at all. Yikes! So write down my number and call if you need to reach me, or email me at this address: jwsphoto@gmail.com.

Thanks for your patience! Be sure to check back in for the new site because it’s going to ROCK! (Plus, hint hint, I’ll be offering some specials through the blog!)

Oh, and pardon our appearance while we figure out what happened to our images and comment links! Computers. Ugh.

Last Sunday I was set up in front of my church shooting headshots of our 50- and 60-year members when all of a sudden, a fox came running out of the chapel garden! This is odd because we are in serious suburbia here. You don’t often see wild animals roaming around. Turns out this guy has been spotted a few times. Once last week in the cemetery, then over at the post office the other day, and I think I heard someone say they’d see him in that chapel garden before.

I have to apologize for the picture quality. While my camera was all set up for foxy pictures of our seniors, it wasn’t set to shoot an actual fox. See? It really does pay to take your camera everywhere you go!

Answer is a program based at Rutgers University that provides age-appropriate, balanced, comprehensive sexuality education. The program held a fundraiser at Jasna Polana in Princeton.



They asked me to come along and photograph the event.



Lucky for me, I also got to have some fantastic quiche!



Danene’s speech was really impressive!



While I was there, I shot new portraits for the staff and trainers.
(More in the slide show!)



I think all the portraits came out great! (But I don’t know where the guy on the right came from.)



I also did several group shots.







This one is cool. I need to do more shots with my wireless lights!

We had so much fun I made a slide show!
Turn up the sound and click here!

Turn up the sound and click here for the slide show!

Happy Mother’s Day, Heidi!

Today is also Hayley’s birthday.



Happy birthday, Hayley!

Photographing Sam’s first Holy Communion was supposed to be a surprise Mother’s Day gift for his mom.



But it’s difficult to photograph a family event if the family members don’t know who you are and why you’re there. So Chris told Diane about me sitting in the back of the Cathedral, um, I’d say, probably five minutes after they arrived.



I had a great seat!

I love the story of how Chris and I met. I was at the park with Gregory one day in March. Of course I had my camera. (I always have my camera.) This guy, Chris, walks up to me and asks if I knew the photographer that had done his neighbors’ Christmas card. (”Um, let me see, that would be ME!”) He said he really liked the style of photography on the card — just about the most UBERFLATTERING thing that ever happened to me. A few weeks go by. Chris emails to see if I could schedule a family session as a surprise Mother’s Day gift for his wife. He wanted to give her some pictures of him and the children.



Chris is the photographer of the family, so there aren’t many photographs of him in the family albums. Now there will be! I love this shot of him hugging Sam. Congratulations, Sam!



(We call it “lifestyle photography” for a reason.)



Diane already came over to pick out her favorites of Chris and the kids.



Less than a week after the event, Chris was able to give Diane a few beautiful prints for Mother’s Day, including this one as a 12×18 linen on mat board, ready to frame.



I love this picture. It reminds me of growing up with my three brothers who were always wrestling like Sam and Nicholas.



But this one is my favorite. Alex reminds me of me, staying safely out of the wrestlers’ way!

Diane, click here for your slide show.

Happy Mother’s Day from Chris, Nicholas, Sam and Alexandra! Enjoy!

I love my dogwood tree. But she’s sick with anthracnose and therefore stressed pretty much all the time.



So I get annoyed when I see bugs anywhere near my tree.

Go AWAY, mosquito!