My Ann Arbor; A Recent Visit to My Parents' Alma Mater, U of M

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This entry is a bit of a personal one mashed up with professional. I spent all of last week at a symposium for the University Photographers Association of America (UPAA) of which I am a member as a staff photographer for Boston University. Every year the symposium is hosted by a different university, and this year was a special one for me because it was at the University of Michigan, which is where my parents went.

The conference was great. I relearned a lot of things I forgot about, made some new friends, had some interesting conversations about our field and the challenges within it.

Simultaneously, I got to know the place where my parents met. During the spare time we had between lectures and clinics and shooting competitions (photography, not skeet) I wandered the campus and found the places my parents lived when they were here in the early sixties. I experienced something I have never experienced before; sentimentality on someone else's behalf. I felt an emotional pull to Ann Arbor somehow. The campus was beautiful and it's downtown alive and peaceful at the same time (of course it is summer time and the student population is down, so there's that!).  I visited the sorority house my mom lived in and could see her in my mind, walking out the door with her books in her arms, heading up the walkway to class, many years younger than I am now. 

One of may favorite pictures of my parents is from their time together at UofM. It's black and white and dreamy and they lounge on a lawn together, my mom in her sixties bob hair style and my dad laying in the grass looking cool holding a cigarette. It was taken by my uncle Billy when he was visiting them from Switzerland as a teenager. 

I told anyone at the conference who would listen about the picture and how I wanted to try and have my photo taken in the same spot. Anyone Who Would Listen was very nice about me going on and on about Mom and Dad, and one shooter even joined me wandering the main campus trying to find where, exactly, photo was taken (thanks again, Peter!). We even tried asking at the grad student library but no one was sure where it was taken. So, no reinactment took place (being a photographer and not a model, I was OK with that).

Before I left for this trip, I also asked my dad where he lived, and so I headed to Mary Court where I introduced myself and told the young woman sitting on the porch "My dad lived here in the sixties!"  She thought this was very cool. Since spring semester was done, I asked her if she was in a summer session. No, she told me, and continued on about how she was soon leaving to teach english in South America, and her roommate, who was just inside, would be leaving that afternoon herself. "It's sort of a sad day for us" she shared "we've lived together since freshman year."  I told her that if she'd like I would take their portrait. She beamed and went inside to collect her roommate and I photographed them together on this porch where I could see my dad sitting playing his guitar.

The other thing I did was visit my mom's childhood home in Detroit. I was relieved to find her neighborhood in good shape, and sad to see so many other surrounding neighborhoods not doing too well. I approached the house, nervous, thinking about all the stories Mom's told me about growing up on this street so long ago; the field at one end where the kids played all sorts of games, and about the one mean kid who taped his guinea pig to his train set, how many great memories she had of her dad who died too young and so on. It was a modest home, and when I approached, the owner was very skeptical. I had a photo of mom in my hand which I'd brought along, and I explained what I was doing there and asked if I could take a few photos. She smiled at my story and my picture of my mom with her birthday cake and two dolls, one in each hand, and said of course I could. 

So, below is a collection of my favorites from my trip. To learn about what's going on in the photo, just scroll your cursor over the picture and a cutline will come up. 


Let's Hear It For New York!

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I spent the long weekend with my Mom and friends in NYC. It was a great few days with lots of shows, people watching (and it was fleet week!), amazing food, ad even a touristy visit to the Empire State building. 

For a change of pace I decided to share them in black and white. Oooo ahh oh!

• Sienna is Here! {Boston Area Newborn Photo Sessions} •

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Too much time has passed since I had this delightful shoot with newborn Sienna with her big brother Asher and their parents Laurie and Jake. But, if you're familiar with my site you'll notice it's been redesigned. So I wanted to wait to post this entry until the new site was live.

Do a search for "Asher" and you'll find his newborn session from just a few short years ago. Do a search for "Laurie and Jake" and you'll find their wedding too!

Laurie and Jake told me they weren't positive about what name to choose for their little girl until she joined the world with her bright red hair, so Sienna she became.  They also say she's a feisty one. As a fellow redhead, I can appreciate that!

Finley and Vivian {Boston Portrait and Family Photographer}

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These two had the nerve to both have winter birthdays. Sheesh! So, we headed out into the very snowy outdoors to photograph Vivian, 1, and Finley, 3. (I'd make a joke about their adorableness melting the snow, but I pride myself on more witty humor).

Still pretty dang cute, snow or no snow.

Florida

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I thought I'd share some personal photos this time. These are from a recent trip to Florida to see friends and participate in the Lake Worth Street Painting Festival. My friend Shannon and I chose to "paint" (really it's drawing with pastels) a character from the movie The Book Of Life.

While I was visiting, I went with my friend Libby to Miami to a neighborhood called Winwood Walls. It's an amazing place where most of the buildings have murals on them. Public art is good stuff!

BU Fall in Review {Boston Photographer}

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Since I'm on a roll. Well, definitely not on a roll, but posting, I'll share images from the fall on the BU campus. I think the highlight was seeing and photographing Will Lautzenheiser  with his new arms. Amazing!

Holidays! {Boston Portrait Photographer}

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I've been a bit neglectful of this here blog, so here is a little slideshow of some photos I shot for clients seeking holiday pics. Not wanting to share photos which clients might want to share themselves on their holiday cards, I decided to keep them to myself til after the new year. I think it's safe now. Also for your viewing pleasure is my own silly holiday card featuring my pup Harlow!

Jocelyn {Boston Newborn Photography}

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This is three-and-a-half week old Jocelyn who I met just this past weekend.  She was one happy and contented little girl, let me tell you. And pretty darn cute to boot. I had a great time photographing her sweet face (complete with dimples) in her parents' cool South Boston home.

Brr, It's COLD Out Here! {Boston Portrait Photographer}

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but you wouldn't know it to look at Jenny, Greg and Andy, because they dealt with our chilly session at the Habitat Education Center and Wildlife Sanctuary in Belmont like total troopers!  This edit is a small one because I don't want to ruin the plot of their holiday cards. I especially like the first shot with Mr. Lion. I'm a fan of the inclusion of our stuffed friends.