Memorial Day in Metuchen
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, for a slide show from the 2008 Metuchen Memorial Day parade and ceremony. Turn up the sound! When the show is finished, it will jump back here where you can leave a comment showing support for the troops, and thanking the parade committee. They did an excellent job!
I challenged myself this year to think of ways to capture the full spirit of Memorial Day in small-town America. Above, the names of New Jersey residents who died in the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, are displayed at Freedom Plaza. According to memorials here, a Revolutionary War battle was fought in the area as well.
In my attempt to capture that Memorial Day spirit, I got out really early and walked around town, ending up in the old Colonial Cemetery where new flags had been placed by the tombstones of Revolutionary and Civil War soldiers. I also noticed the addition of a beautiful new memorial marking the cornerstones where the first Metuchen Meetinghouse was constructed in 1717.
Children young and old were decorating bikes all over town.
That’s Justin Manley, above. Justin is running for Borough Council and was helping children with their bikes. I used those shots, plus pre-parade shots of scouts, as the slide show introduction. So many children are involved in the Memorial Day events here, that I thought it was a realistic segue into the images of troops and veterans. It is my hope that we teach our children to appreciate the sacrifices that have been made for our freedom, including the freedom of a democratic process of elections.
I love this shot of the Metuchen High School band.
It was a beautiful day, yet difficult for shooting because of the full sun. I sought a few shady spots to get lots of variety in my pictures.
I love this one!
A float in the parade listed the names of troops who have died in Afghanistan and Iraq. That can’t have been an easy float to make.
Cdr. John A. Rizzuto, left, watched last year’s Memorial Day slide show while on duty in Afghanistan with the U.S. Naval Reserve. I still have the email he sent telling me how meaningful it was for the troops to witness small-town-America from afar. Welcome home, John. We’re all glad you are safe!
Capt. Frederic Primich, of the U.S. Naval Reserve, was the Reviewing Officer and speaker at the ceremony.
Girl scouts were putting flowers on all the memorials at Memorial Park. As a mom, I can hear my mom-voice freaking out thinking, “Don’t get in front of the procession!” But my photographer-voice was jumping for joy. Photographers LIVE for photographs that tell a story. This one is a story of juxtaposition, and a moment that wouldn’t happen on any other day.
The flag-folding ceremony always makes me cry.
Youth in the Lincoln High School JROTC have participated in the Metuchen parade for years. Their dedication to their organization is obvious and I applaud them for setting a high standard for leadership and commitment.
The Metuchen Memorial Day slide show would not be the same without this face.
There were a lot of dogs in this year’s parade, escorted by members of the Metuchen Environmental Commission. This particular puppy was hanging out at the American Legion Hall after the ceremony. When I was taking the picture, the owner was saying, “It’s ok, he won’t eat your camera; he just ate 5 hot dogs.” Thus, I was not afraid!
Vietnam veterans salute their fallen comrades with the playing of Taps, following by the sacrificial pouring out of their beer.
There are a few pictures included in this year’s slide show that I took in the evening at Cloverleaf Memorial Cemetery in Woodbridge. It was an interesting way to end my Memorial Day — all alone in a cemetery. The wind was blowing thousands of little American flags by the gravestones, giving the grounds an eery sense of life, and the reality of the thousands of lives lost. I went there on the advice of one of the veterans at the parade. Thanks for sending me there. It really was beautiful.
I love how those Cloverleaf pictures add a sense of drama to the end of the slide show.
Memorial Day is a highlight of living in Metuchen. Presented by the Metuchen Area Chamber of Commerce, the parade and ceremony requires many volunteers and many hours of work in preparation.
If you have a moment, please leave a comment below thanking veterans and their families for all they have sacrificed for our country. And be sure to thank the Memorial Day Parade Committee for all their hard work!
May God grant us peace and protect our troops,
~julie
posted by Julie Walton Shaver at 5:30 pm
Click the picture, or click here, for Jennifer and Derek’s wedding preview slide show. Turn up the sound!
The reception was held at the Highlawn Pavilion on a beautiful evening! Wow!
HUGE special thanks to Matt Richman for hanging out with Derek and the men-folk before the ceremony. Matt, you did an amazing job. The picture above is just beautiful! Nice composition, exposure, contrast and detail. LOVE it!
This is another one of Matt’s pictures. He also captured Jennifer’s limo entrance for me and shot with me during the ceremony. Matt, you are a true professional. I’m really looking forward to working with you on my future weddings!
To Jenn and Derek’s family: just wanted to let you know I’ll be out shooting the Metuchen Memorial Day parade and ceremony on Monday (so I won’t be answering emails). Your full gallery isn’t quite ready yet, but be on the lookout for that, coming soon!
Congratulations again, Jenn and Derek!
Enjoy your slide show!
Peace,
~jules
posted by Julie Walton Shaver at 7:07 am
Click the picture, or click here, for a fun slide show of MY family! I’ve been really busy lately, and missing my boys so much, that I took lots of pictures of our day.I have to admit, I was following my family around like serious paparazzi, using the flash like lightening on continuous burst shooting. The picture above is THE MOST PERFECT “MAMARAZZI” PICTURE EVER! I love it!
I was trying to prove to a photographer-friend that sometimes a little fill-flash is just right. In the slide show, almost every single picture I took outside used fill-flash. Not all of them are perfect, but keep in mind, every picture shown is straight out of the camera with no tweaking in photoshop.
Take this picture, for example. The flash is set so low it barely makes a difference. It looks perfectly natural, and yet, there’s just a bit of sparkle on the plum. (That plum came off our purple leaf plum — the one that some people swear is a fruitless variety. Uh huh.)Tree fans — also note that there’s a new picture in the slide show of a zelkova at Borough Hall. We lost one last year, but the remaining 13 are looking great this year!
Here’s another great example of a picture that benefited from fill. It was about 3 in the afternoon and the sun was very bright. Without a subtle flash, the shadows on Bradley’s and Gabe’s faces would have been much darker. The fill lightens them up just a tad without making the picture look like it was taken with an on-camera flash.
Speaking of Bradley, he won the Memorial Day poster contest for the 7th grade! Yay Bradley!All of the winning posters are displayed in the window of the Metuchen Savings Bank downtown. Bradley’s is a detailed split screen drawing, war on one side, Arlington Cemetery on the other.It says, “From war… to memory. But something never fades.” (His poster is hard to see in the window because it doesn’t quite fit the window opening.)I’m so proud of him!
Bradley’s friend, Gabriel Francobandiero, won the contest for the 6th grade. Gabe’s was chosen as the overall winner! Congratulations, Gabe! His design will be used on the cover of the Memorial Day Ceremony program.If you’d like to come to Metuchen on Monday for the parade, here’s some details:The parade starts at 10 a.m., rain or shine, at the Pearl Street parking lot. It travels north to Middlesex Ave, then turns right on Main Street, right on High Street, and right on Lake Avenue. The parade ends at Memorial Park, and will be followed by a brief ceremony.By the way, I fully recommend Memorial Day events in Metuchen. It is a highlight on our calendar, and puts us on the worldwide map as a small town that won’t forget the sacrifices that give us so many freedoms.
We love downtown Metuchen! There are so many fun things to do. What’s the Scoop is our favorite place for ice cream.
Variety Village is our favorite place for just about everything else! In case you haven’t heard, there’s going to be a new owner soon.I was in the store today and Tommy (the owner, always smiling, above) was telling me about the expected changes. Tommy, I know for a fact that my kids will never forget the joy of walking downtown to go to Variety Village. It’s so sad that you’re leaving, but I wish you well on your new adventures, whatever they may be.
Back at the Shaver yard, here’s another “mamarazzi” picture. I love it, fill-flash and all!
Speaking of fill-flash, this picture simply would not have worked without it. When you’re working with children, you have to be prepared for anything! And believe me, they don’t give you very many second chances if you miss the shot the first time. (Well, at least my kids don’t.)
Gregory took this picture! Didn’t he do a great job? This one is a prime example of a picture taken at the worst time of day — high noon in full sun with half the subject’s face in shadow. Yuck! But, thanks to Gregory’s subtle flash, the picture isn’t a total loss. I get precious few with me in them, and even fewer with Bradley actually smiling! Thanks, Gregory!
See ya’ll at the parade on Monday!
Peace,
~jules
P.S. The fun day you see in my family Memorial Day weekend slide show was created entirely on foot. I did not spend a dime on gas or get inside a car except to look for my missing flash.
I LOVE LIVING IN METUCHEN!
posted by Julie Walton Shaver at 12:01 am
That’s the plane my mom is on! She’s probably behind the 6th or 7th window waving at me! Hi mom!
You can see New York City in the background of the above picture. The pointy building is the Empire State Building. Cool shot, huh?
I took the picture from the gate area at Newark Airport. I still can’t believe they let me past security without a ticket, and with a huge camera around my neck too!
How did I swing this amazing access? Not quite sure. All it took was a driver’s license and a sad story about my mom needing help getting situated on the plane. In all fairness though, the lead flight attendant was not too happy about me showing up at the plane door without a boarding pass. I still can’t believe I got that far. Kinda scary, but at the same time, I’m grateful that my mom didn’t have to carry anything heavy through the airport.
HI MOM!
That’s her plane way off in the distance. Can you see it?
I took a bunch of pictures yesterday and today of Granny with her grandsons, Gregory and Bradley. I was trying to make this one look really old, like an old picture I remember of my mom when she was about 5 standing in front of her house in South Carolina barefoot. (I thought I’d play around with Photoshop.)
I love this one. (Super-saturated black and white.)
Here’s one that is pretty much straight out of the camera, except I took the saturation down a little bit.
Hey Granny, since I know you’re reading this at Uncle James’ house, I thought I’d send you a picture of Wayward Karl.
I have been blog-absent for a while, so ya’ll missed the whole story about the Kaptain being missing for 2 days. Notice the bandana around is neck? That’s from the groomer after his — (fun fun in cat land) — bath.
So, Mom, let me know which pictures of you and the boys you like best and I’ll send you some prints. Cool?
Here’s another one. It is not easy getting Gregory and Bradley both smiling in the same picture. Ok, make that SORT OF smiling.
Suh-WEET!
Part of the point of these pictures is to show my brothers how tall Bradley has gotten, and the fact the Gregory is almost as tall as Granny! He’s only 7 years old!
Bradley is 13 and still growing.
Awww.
For all my tree fans who might be reading this, that’s our Greenspire Linden tree in the background. Notice that the flowers are already out!
I like the black and white one.
Thanks for coming to visit, mom! Call me when your plane lands! Oh, here’s a link to that slide show I was telling you about. Ask Uncle James to turn up the sound for you, then click here.
Love you!
posted by Julie Walton Shaver at 4:10 pm
I was testing out some new gear today, taking lots of tree pictures in the pouring rain. I’m happy to report that my camera stayed dry as a 3-day-old croissant. Me, however — I needed a towel.
So, dogwood fans, can you guess what the white blotches are in the background of this picture?
posted by Julie Walton Shaver at 7:30 am
Just a few select images from Sarah and Ben’s wedding!
The wedding was held at the Nine Muses in the New Jersey Grounds for Sculpture.
It couldn’t have been a more beautiful day!
The reception was at Rat’s Restaurant. Read about how it got its very cool name.
I love this one!
Rat’s was a great location for the reception. It’s like a movie set!
See what I mean?
Fave! To see some of these images larger, go to my main Web site. Click “portfolio,” then click on the “couple” gallery.
Check the blog for a slide show coming soon! And…
… a discussion about the “red wine incident.”
Congratulations, Sarah and Ben! May you be happy, healthy and creative the rest of your days.
Peace,
~jules
posted by Julie Walton Shaver at 7:09 am
My mom is here from Charleston for a while. Gregory loves having Granny here!
Bradley does too, but he’s at a youth retreat with our church, so it’s just Gregory and Granny.
Hanging out on the couch…
…watching TV together.
I love it. After a while of me taking pictures of them, they forgot all about me.
Therefore, VOILA! The couch potato shot!
“Aw mom. Why do you have to embarrass me like that?”
That is not a real direct quote. The real direct quote goes like this: “Mom! Take a picture of me now! Wait. Wait. Ok, now try this one!”
I love this picture of my mom! Mom, you’re the best! Thanks for letting me fool around with my camera on a rainy yucky day in the messy living room.
posted by Julie Walton Shaver at 9:28 am
If you know Heidi and Rob, email them for the link to their sweet slide show! (Regular blog readers, clients and friends, let me know if you would like to see it too and I’ll send you the link as well. It’s a really great one!)
I know I say this all the time, but I really do love this one!
Another fave.
I’m just going down the list of faves!
These cat’s eyes have not been photoshopped. They really are THAT green!
I planned for a lot of black and whites in this shoot. Heidi said she really loved black and white, so I looked for opportunities to capture stories that don’t need color.
I was loving that train and those skylights!
Family Unportrait
Hardwood floors are great for photoshoots because they always look so clean!
This is a sort-of-typical posed family shot, but what I love about it is the flow of motion from mom’s fun flowery flip flips up to the trees in the background. The tilt helps make this shot a little more interesting than if I’d hit it straight-on. I love all the angles and bricks and stairs too. Nice composition and texture. Plus, mom and dad look great and even though the kids aren’t looking at the camera, at least their faces are in the shot!
Believe me, this is quite a feat when there’s a full landscaping team across the street with huge lawn mowers making a serious racket! I might as well have been invisible.
Blink. When you open your eyes, Heidi, those boys will be taller than you.
Take it from a mom with two little boys, one of whom is a head taller than her now. I swear it was just yesterday that he was standing on his tippy toes to peek through a window with his little brother by his side.
Sure wish I had a picture of that.
posted by Julie Walton Shaver at 11:22 am
If you know Sharon and Mike, email them for the link to their ADORABLE baby-to-be slide show!
It was a beautiful day in Princeton.
Then again, with all that beautiful architecture, when is it NOT a beautiful day in Princeton.
I worked at Princeton many years ago. I LOVE being back on campus.
I think it’s especially nice there in early spring and early fall…
…except for the soft garden breezes that make me sneeze!
I could hang out in the Nassau Hall area for a week and not run out of interesting things to look at.
I love how Sharon and Mike decorated the baby’s room.
Best wishes, Sharon and Mike! It was so much fun hanging out with you at one of my all-time favorite places!
Put me on the call-list so I know when the baby comes!
Peace,
~jules
posted by Julie Walton Shaver at 9:50 am
Just a few select images from Jennifer and Derek’s wedding!
St. Peter’s in New Brunswick. Beautiful.
Want to see these images (and a few more) larger? Go here. Click “portfolio,” then select the “couples” gallery. Slide show and lots more fun details coming soon!
posted by Julie Walton Shaver at 11:08 pm
