Click the picture, or click here, for Alisa and Jason’s slide show. When the show ends, it will jump back here where you can answer a question and win Alisa and Jason an 8×10 print!
We were all over the Upper West Side of New York City, but spent a lot of time in Central Park. This is over-looking Turtle Pond at Belvedere Castle.
They are such a fun couple!
This one is my favorite.
Or maybe this one is my favorite.
This one looks like the cover shot for a romantic movie poster. (This is where my posing inspiration for engagement sessions comes from — I study movie posters.)
Sometimes when I ask people to lay down on the ground and make silly faces, I get the strangest looks back, as if to say, “YOU lay down on the ground and make silly faces!” But Alisa and Jason had no fear!
Love the simple drama of this one.
Alisa and Jason live in West Virginia. They met in West Virginia, but when they first started dating, they both lived in the New York City area. This is the club where they had their first date, Dive 75.
Jason’s only request of the day was for me to take a picture of them eating a hot dog from a street vendor. Only problem was that by the time we found one, they must have been starving (you know, from the rigorous photo-shoot workout I give people) because they chomped that hot dog so fast I barely had time to make sure I had the exposure set right on my camera. Yikes! Good thing I’m pretty fast with all the buttons on my new camera now.
This is Alisa’s requested shot. She loves it when Jason picks her up and swings her around. I love the flying pearls!
This is my requested shot. What is it about feet that say so much about people?
We had lunch in the cutest little restaurant with GREAT window light!
And even though my working space was, a-hem, cozy (thank God for my wide angle lens), Alisa and Jason had a private table in the corner! How cool is that?
Alisa forgot to paint her nails, so she did it while waiting for the quiche. Jason helped out. He’s so sweet.
I figured the folks back home in West Virginia would get a kick out of a few subway shots. There’s more in the slide show. Note that we were riding the subway at rush hour. It was packed!
I love this ring shot! Such a beautiful ring too!
Here’s today’s contest question: Be the first person to post a comment with the correct answer, and Alisa and Jason will win a free 8×10 and you’ll win lots of gushing blog praise!
Name the restaurant where we had lunch, and name the movie that made it famous.
Have fun! Thanks, Alisa and Jason, for a great day!
posted by Julie Walton Shaver at 7:12 am
This is Peanut.
She lives in an apartment building in Manhattan. I always wondered what it would be like to be a small child growing up in Manhattan. Sure she has access to many a playground — there’s one at ground level at their building, and a big one with lots of great equipment right across the street. But Peanut loves to play in the hallway! I LOVE this picture!
This is in the playground across the street. It was really cold that day and Peanut couldn’t seem to decide what she wanted to do. I love this picture for the emotional uncertainty on Peanut’s face, and the watchful, yet patient eyes of her parents behind her.
I love that picture in black and white too and couldn’t decide which I liked better. I LOVE her red coat, so I had to present it both ways. The black and white would look awesome as part of a wall display on a richly colored wall. But the color one would look great on a white wall. Which one do you like better?
Isn’t she adorable? So sweet too.
Hanging with dad on the roof. (Literally.)
This is almost all of Peanut’s family…
…Peanut’s new little baby brother- or sister-to-be is lovingly called “Sushi.”
Peanut is the little girl’s nickname. “Peanut” was what they called her before she was born.
I love this picture! It really shows off mom’s true figure!
I love this one too! So much great light in their apartment! I think it’s so cool when moms-to-be document their pregnancy with beautiful photographs!
I love this one of mom and dad’s hands around the baby. Beautiful light and shadows, and I love the rings too.
Peanut loved playing with mom and dad on a fun Sunday in New York!
She has such gorgeous eyes!
Can’t wait to meet you, Sushi!
Their slide show is private, but if you’d like to see — it’s SO fun — just email the family for the link!
Peace,
mamarazzi
Oooh, one more! Isn’t this the coolest “mamarazzi” picture? LOVE IT!
posted by Julie Walton Shaver at 9:04 am
Click the picture
— or click here —
for Judy and Terry’s family session in Central Park.
Be sure to turn up the sound. When the slide show is finished, it will jump back here where you can answer a tree-related contest question and win them an 8×10 print. Have fun!
Above, I LOVE the fall color in this one!
We started out at Bethesda Terrace.
Love this one!
This one cracks me up. We were trying some reverse psychology on Judy and Terry’s son in the hopes of getting a nice family shot, but he wasn’t buying it!
That’s a great tree!
Oh yeah, Judy and Terry look nice too.
A-ha! Caught you!
Caught again, this time he’s walking with mom and dad after riding on the carousel and having some popcorn.
Regular blog readers probably recognize my little cover model. I shot Judy and Terry’s family last fall too, and their son has been at the top of my blog banner ever since. So cute!
TODAY’S CONTEST QUESTION
According to an article published in The New York Times on Oct. 16, 1898, a “fine speciman” of sumac tree just south of the statue of Daniel Webster would be turning brilliant red or yellow within the week. In order to bring a leaf from this tree home at the time, a park visitor would have been forbidden to remove a leaf from a tree, gathering instead only the fallen ones. Dare he be seen carrying leaves home without
ONE OF THESE though. For loud and boisterous blog praise, what must one have possessed in 1898 before gathering Central Park leaves?
posted by Julie Walton Shaver at 8:37 pm
Click the picture
— or click here —
for Dawn and Jimmy’s family session in Central Park.
Be sure to turn up the sound. When the slide show is finished, it will jump back here where you can answer a tree-related contest question and win them an 8×10 print. Have fun!
This picture might seem posed, but it’s not. It’s exactly how the family had been waiting for me to arrive. I love when that happens!
I got several nice portraits of this family. (LOVE Central Park benches!)
And some nice “unportraits” too. I love this one. It’s one of my favorites of the whole session.
This is my second-favorite.
And even though it’s posed, I rather like this one too!
I love this sort of picture because of the simple detail in the prices on the wall. In 30 years, the kids might be interested to see that a bagel with butter cost $1.50.
I love the “mom” shots.
But this one is really special. Look how Jacqueline is looking into her mother’s eyes.
Love the karate jump, JJ!
And Jacqueline caught some MAJOR air!
We stepped inside the Conservatory Garden for a minute, but there were bees EVERYWHERE! (Do you see it?)
I had so much fun with this family. They were genuinely good-natured and fun-loving, yet relaxed and sweet with each other and with me. If I could make a video to show people how a family photo session ought to be, it would feature this family! You guys were great!
Now here’s the contest question
Name a type of tree that is common in the northern part of Central Park, is not native and is thought to have become a pest. I’ll give you a hint. A tree with heights up to 60 feet, it is considered a legume.
By the way, my regular e-mail address is still busted. The server is down, which is always a bad thing the day before a major holiday. So just use jwsphoto@gmail.com for the time-being if you need to reach me. Thanks!
posted by Julie Walton Shaver at 4:53 pm
posted by Julie Walton Shaver at 1:53 pm
posted by Julie Walton Shaver at 7:20 am
posted by Julie Walton Shaver at 12:49 pm
Click the picture
— or click here —
for a slide show from the NYC Marathon. Be sure to turn up the sound! When the show is finished, it will jump back here where you can leave a comment for this special team of runners from Finland.
The runners on this team were part of an impressive project to study how people with asthma can accomplish anything with proper treatment and training.
Click here for more information on the project.
More than 38,000 people ran the marathon this year, every single one of them had a story.
The winner of the women’s race gave birth to her daughter only 10 months ago!
I wonder what the runner-up’s story is? Personally, I find it amazing that the lead runners can keep up that pace for 26.2 miles.
But our team’s story is one of a long year of treatment, tests, training and fellowship.
Prior to signing up for the project, none of the athletes knew each other.
These two crossed the finish line holding hands so that their times would be exactly the same.
When does a picture of the bottom of someone’s shoe become important?
(At the end of a marathon of course.)
The crowd of runners making their way down Broadway elbow-to-elbow after the race did not end…
… for FOUR HOURS!
One thing I love about the NYC marathon is the sheer civility of it. Here, a jazz band provides soothing music at the runners’ entrance into Central Park at the northern end — about three miles to go at that point.
Congratulations to all the finishers! What an amazing accomplishment! You DID it! WOO HOO!! I’m so proud of you, and so happy to have met you, and to have witnessed your first marathon!
(See my earlier post about the project here.)
posted by Julie Walton Shaver at 5:02 pm
This team of marathon runners from Finland asked me to take some pictures the day before the big race.
We met late in the afternoon for some stretching, jogging and sightseeing in Central Park.
One of the sights we came across is the banner that marks the 25th mile. That last mile (actually, 1.2 miles) may be the hardest, but at least the finish line is near!
The runners, a team that is part of an asthma study with AstraZeneca, will be following that thin blue line throughout all five boroughs of New York, starting in Staten Island and finishing at Tavern on the Green in Central Park.
I’m going back tomorrow to meet the runners after the race.
But, for today, we were just hanging out. I have to say, New Yorkers are so cool! Here’s this team from Finland wearing their team uniforms, walking around the park, and just about every where we went, people would wish them luck in the race.
Robert, the team captain is in front. They’ve been training for about a year. This is the first marathon for everyone on the team.
You should all be proud of your accomplishments!
Training for a marathon is difficult and rewarding. The big payoff will come when you make your descent into Manhattan from the Queensboro Bridge. It is exhilirating! Good luck in the race tomorrow! I will be oh-so-excited to see you with your medals!
Check the blog for updates and a slide show coming soon!
In addition to this being the team’s marathon debut, it is also my debut as a marathon photographer. But it’s not my first experience with a marathon. Long ago, in the life of “Julie B.C.” (before children), I trained for a year and ran in the 1993 NYC marathon. It was one of those life-altering days, you know, one of those days, like the day I was married or the days my children were born, or
the day I sang in Carnegie Hall, that I’ll never forget — one of my all-time best days! I am so honored to have the opportunity to photograph this team from Finland. It may not be the same as running in the race, but being in New York on marathon day is the BEST!
That’s me (white shirt, white hat) in 1993 crossing the finish line after more than five hours. I looked quite happy to be finishing, no? Not long after this picture, I sat down — and didn’t get up for week.
posted by Julie Walton Shaver at 11:40 pm
WHY
* You love autumn in New York.
* You love unique beautifully designed Christmas Cards.
* You’re totally bummed that my fall schedule booked up so quickly this year.
* You’re psyched at this opportunity to take fall pictures of your family in Central Park!
WHAT
Because I love autumn in New York as much as you do, I am hoping to schedule five mini family sessions on that day. It’s a win-win because you get beautiful pictures to share with family and friends, and I get to take beautiful pictures in Central Park! As a bonus, you also get 50 custom-designed holiday cards!
WHEN
Sat., Nov. 3, 2007
WHERE
Central Park, at a specific location to be announced.
WHO
You and your family or small group of friends, up to 6 people.
HOW MUCH
$395 includes 45 minutes of casual lifestyle photography, a unique Christmas Card pre-design and 50 printed cards with envelopes! Cards are printed on luxurious art linen paper. No two card designs are alike. My clients and their extended families and friends RAVED about my holiday cards last year. Your card can include black and white images, color images, your custom message, a storyboard, and can list the ages of your children if you like. But, not to worry if this sounds too complicated for you. Julie does EVERYTHING! All you have to do is smile and say, “that looks good to me!”
THE DETAILS
Each mini session will include 50 unique greeting cards custom designed by Julie. In addition, 15 to 20 images will be presented in a private online gallery. Your gallery will include group and individual pictures of your family or friends created in Julie’s distinctive style. Print prices begin at $10 for a 5×5 mounted photograph, lustre coated and printed at Julie’s favorite high-quality professional lab and ready in time for holiday gift-giving. Gorgeous canvas gallery wraps and other large print and framing options are also available. Greeting cards are available in sets of 25 with envelopes, so if you need more than 50 cards, please ask for a custom quote.
SCHEDULING YOUR SESSION
I will schedule five sessions on Nov. 3, each beginning and ending on time, so don’t be late!
*9-9:45 – booked and confirmed
*10-10:45 – booked and confirmed
*2-2:45 – booked and confirmed
*3-3:45 – booked and confirmed
*4-4:45 – booked and confirmed
I know traffic can be a problem, so plan to arrive a half hour earlier than your session time, using any extra time to relax, have some water and a snack, and tidy up before your photography begins. Sessions will be booked on a first-come, first-served basis, so choose a time slot and e-mail me today! If your chosen slot is available, payment in full is required within 4 days. (If not received in 4 days, the slot opens up to another family.) I accept credit card payments through my online store, so if you’d like to pay by credit or debit card, just let me know.
THE RAIN QUESTION
If it’s cloudy or misty, we will shoot anyway. Bring colorful (solid color) umbrellas! But if it’s a deluge on Saturday, we will shoot on Sunday, Nov. 4. KEEP BOTH DAYS OPEN! If it’s raining that date too, all money will be refunded. Cancellation policy:
* Full refund for reservations cancelled with more than 7 days’ notice.
* 50 percent refund for reservations cancelled within 3-7 days. If your time slot can be filled, you will receive a full refund.
* No refund for reservations cancelled with less than 3 days’ notice unless your time slot is filled by another family.
Call today to reserve your time!
EDIT: My good friend, Brad, just e-mailed to point out that Nov. 4, the back-up date, is the day of the NYC Marathon, so if it rains on Saturday, I’ll give you a choice of doing the back-up session on either Nov. 4 or Nov. 11. (Thanks, Brad! You’re such a sweetie for checking my blog!)
posted by Julie Walton Shaver at 9:29 am
