I photographed little Sam's first year Milestone portrait on the beach. The post production technique that I applied to the photograph to give it the mood is reminiscent of my old Holga days when I used my darkroom to print and tone my prints. The Holga is a plastic camera that goes for $25 and uses 120 film or square medium format film. These days I don't shoot film but I can still get that feeling using some very special Photoshop techniques that a colleague, Parker J, created. It feels good to break out and try some new things and I wonder what Sam's parents will think of this! (Below is the image straight out of the camera)

I am off to Vegas for the world famous and most well attended photography convention held by WPPI (Wedding and Portrait Photographers International) and I am honored to be one of their Platform Presenters again. The first time I went to this convention (photos above) I was also a Platform speaker so it was an incredible experience for me in many ways. First, I was completely jazzed by the collective energy of having so many talented photographers in one location, speaking and attending the multiple seminars and classes. Everyone was completely excited and you could feel it in the air. Secondly, was the learning experience and exposure to new ideas, new techniques, new equipment and mostly new friends and colleagues. Talk about nerds! Photographers are complete geeks for their industry and how much fun it was to talk late into the night (maybe with a drink in hand!) with some of the industry's finest photographers in the world.

The next year I was honored to be a Master Class teacher and teach to a small hand-picked group. Actually each person in the class hand-picked me to come listen to and it was an entirely different animal than the Platform the year before. This was intimate and inviting, a ongoing discussion and often one-on-one. I learned as much as any of the attendees did, I am sure of that.

Now I am honored for a third time and with Nikon's help and WPPI's support I will be on the platform once again on February 18, 2009, 8:00 am (do I get to sleep at all?). My presentation is called "Balancing Act" because as a mother, professional photographer doing weddings, portraits and editorial and having to travel for work and networking, I find that the "art" of multi-tasking is just that: an art. I am in the process of putting together my talk and I want to invite everyone to come see me, or even stop by for a few minutes on your way to Jerry Ghionis or Parker J who are speaking at the same time (wow!) and please stay to talk afterwards or find me in the halls of MGM Grand and stop for a chat

Here's Michael who is almost 6 months old and whose parent's wedding I photographed last year. I stopped by their home a few days ago and photographed his portrait as part of CKP's mini portrait sessions we do especially in the off-season. For $200 you receive a twenty minute portrait session and an online gallery (with shopping cart options) of the images to choose from. I firmly believe (having three kids of my own) how important it is to document the pivotal stages of baby's first year.

I met Kelly and Patrick and their dog Charlie in Boston Public Garden to shoot their engagement pictures. What a beautiful fall day in Boston and a beautiful couple. Their wedding is in Newport next September.

Cara and Tue were married at the Gambee house on Nantucket on a blustery October day. The feeling was romantic and cozy as all their friends and family members gathered to celebrate. Nicole Whelden of Unique Nantucket and Dawn Kelly of Soiree Floral were among the wonderful vendors. Libby Greene of our studio captured this wonderful circular image as Cara walked down to the altar.

Nicole and Lee came up to Nantucket from Florida for a beautiful fall wedding at The Wauwinet. They had such great spirits and chose a pink and brown color theme. Maureen Sullivan of Nantucket Island Events outdid herself  with the planning and logistics and Michael from Flowers on Chestnut created the wonderful floral decor.

Kathrine and Kevin were married at the Gambee's home on Wingspread Lane, Nantucket. Robert Gambee is one of Nantucket's wonderful photographers and his home is filled with mural sized photographs he has taken on Nantucket over the years. The fall day was spectacular and Nantucket was at its best for wedding weather. The two views of the tent show the view of Nantucket Harbor and the view of the house.

Kathrine and Kevin are getting married on Nantucket this month and we went out for a few shots beforehand. It was an extremely bright and windy day but with a little improvising and a lot of fun we got some great photographs. I'm so excited to be shooting their special Nantucket wedding!

For a special birthday gift to mom, the kids surprised her with a Nantucket family portrait during their weekend stay at The White Elephant. They are renovating their home in Little Rock and want to do some family wall prints to decorate. What better place to do it than Nantucket? All eyes were on baby Oliver! It's been a busy month here at CKP.

Pat and Laura were married at St. Marys with their reception at The Galley Beach on Nantucket following. Pat was a little nervous before the wedding, but then relaxed later. The light was beautiful as the sun broke through the clouds and I asked the bride and groom to come outside for a beach shot. This is what they did naturally. Thanks!

Beth Valero and Mike Egan were married on Nantucket with Hurricane Kyle looming out to sea, but their day was beautiful and it was a lot of fun shooting a Nantucketer's wedding. This photograph is of their walk up Main Street with the bridal party to take pictures on the bank steps. I love using Nantucket historical buildings as backgrounds.

Jessica and Steve were married at St. Mary's, Nantucket with their reception at Nantucket Historical Association's Hadwyn House and Whaling Museum. Jessica got ready at her family's home on Fair Street and the light was so rich and wonderful that the feeling in their home was warm and calm. 

Kristin and Pete were married on Nantucket at The Congregational Church and The Galley. In between the ceremony and reception we had some time to go around the island for pictures. The top one is in the bird sanctuary and the bridal party was at Brant Point. I found an old dictionary in the groom's house for the ring shot.

Joe McNally is basically my idol. He is one of the most accomplished, talented and creative photographers on the planet right now and I spent the day with him learning lighting. There is a time in everyone's career when you feel the need to grow and move on and that was the impetus for attending this program. Watching Joe for the day and working on lighting with my group was exhausting and worthwhile to say the least. It opened up my world photographically and began the thinking process all over again. Thanks Joe!

The top photo is Joe working with a model at the end of the day and the bottom one is my shot with my model in the kitchen using the window light as my main light and an SB900 as a fill off to the right of the subject.

Courtney and Billy were married at The Chanler in Newport despite the looming tropical storm Hanna. Not only are they the most gorgeous couple, but their wedding was out of this world. With the Rafanelli Events team, Winston Flowers and all the other wonderful vendors this wedding was spectacular.

Meredith and Guy were wonderful to work with and the team at Hopple Popple was fabulous as well. The ceremony was at Meredith's family's home and the reception was at the Wianno Club

We love to shoot engagement sessions of our couples prior to their wedding day. It gives us a chance to work together and get to know each other as well as provide the couple with some casual and fun pictures. Amanda and Peter are getting married next summer on Nantucket and it is an honor to be chosen as part of their day.

We have been photographing the Ruger family on Nantucket for the past few summers and they are hands down the sweetest, most natural-in-front-of-the-camera family I've ever photographed. I love seeing all of our clients and their children year after year and the best portraits are when the parents play with their kids and make them feel comfortable. I could photograph the Rugers every day! The light at Dionis was spectacular as well as the girls' pink dresses.

We are so excited to have this new camera! We photographed the MacTaggarts the other night with it and this file is straight out of the camera and it is gorgeous. The camera is light, has a full frame sensor and is fast. It's perfect for my beach portraits and I'm thrilled to add it to my wedding day gear as well. We also got the new flash, the SB900 which I used with the remote wireless system. More to come on this...

We have been photographing the Kelly family on Nantucket since 2001; it's great to watch the girls grow up. Brant Point is such a quintessential Nantucket portrait location, but I much prefer it on cloudy days. Because of the sun direction right into the faces it is hard to avoid squinting and harsh light if the sun is too bright.

Nantucket Golf Club's Children's Charity Classic Auction is a fundraiser for local Nantucket children, a scholarship program and more. Lisa Frey and Julie Almand of CKP's team shot this incredible event.

The last time I saw this family little Sophie was in mom's tummy. Family portraits can be done in the beautiful Nantucket gardens and yards as well as the beach. Again, pink and blue are very striking and flattering. These children were so well behaved and sweet that it was fun to make them giggle naturally with the help of their nanny.

The Ahmed family is a new family for us at CKP and we loved the pink and blue colors they wore because they go so well on the Nantucket beach. Two year old children can be a challenge, but we love the challenge to have them look natural and happy.

Bill and Marli at N Magazine (Nantucket Times) chose me to shoot the men's fashion for the upcoming sailing issue. I did four different shoots with four different groups of men (all were good sports and looked great). Look for the story in the next issue on N.

It is always an honor and very exciting to be featured on the cover of N Mag. The story about Audra and Tripp's Nantucket wedding inside along with the layout is stunning. We also shot the inside story about getting ready for your Nantucket wedding featuring a young couple, Diego and Emily, who are planning their future Nantucket wedding. Soiree Floral outdid themselves with the bouquet!