A day at the races...

Anyone who knows me, knows that I love horses and anything to do with horses. As a kid I would clean stalls at a nearby farm just to be near the horses. I'd always loved to draw and paint, and my subjects were always - you guessed it - horses! So the racetrack has always been a favorite place of mine. As a kid my Dad and I would go for the sunrise breakfast at Monmouth Park to watch the horses early morning workouts. Nowadays, a trip to the track usually means meeting up with family and having a picnic lunch. When I'm not photographing people, I love nothing better than to photograph these magnificent creatures, so that is of course my favorite part of the day!

Today, however, turned into the absolute worst day ever. It started out well enough - and I took these two images during the first two races of the day. I actually won $9.00 on the #6 horse in the first pic - I couldn't resist placing a bet on him - his name is "Matthew TC". After the second race it went downhill fast as menacing clouds rolled in an lighting bolts began striking all around. We made a mad dash for the grandstand, hoping it would all pass. We watched the horses in the saddling area, and as the winds picked up so did their nerves. One horse, wearing #5, began to rear up, and fell to the ground. They walked him round and round the circle trying to calm his nerves but he was having none of it. We strolled down to the "tunnel" area where the horses enter the track, and sure enough as #5, now with jockey aboard, came through the tunnel, right in front of us, the poor scared creature became so upset that he reared up again - tumbled onto his back, knocking down a second horse and coming down on his jockey. Scared the heck out of us! The horse turned and bolted back to the stable area - he was having NONE of this. Who could blame him? The wind was picking up and it began pouring buckets. The jockey was thankfully okay, and the race went on without poor #5. He got his way. But then came a looooooooong rain delay, and we finally decided it was time to go. It was pretty scary with all the lightning, and the drive home was pretty treacherous. The visibility was so poor that many drivers on the parkway had just given up and pulled off to the shoulder to wait it out.

Oh well... so much for my hopes of a fun day of "shooting" horses. Here are two of the very few images I managed to capture...

Thanks for stopping by! ~ Denise ~

I hate having to do this but...

Effective September 1st my session fee will be increasing. The rising costs of gas, insurance, and other costs of doing business are forcing me to do so. I will also be instituting a minimum print order. On the positive side, due to popular demand, I will be launching some exciting new collections that will include digital files. The increases will only apply to sessions that take place after September 1st. If you want to get in at the old prices, please call immediately to book your session in August while I still have a few available openings!

Finally!

Matthew lost his top front tooth today! Poor kid is nearly nine years old, and those darn baby teeth were holding fast. He lost the bottom two last year, and his top two were so soft from being in his little mouth for so long that they've been ground down to little stumps. He was so self conscious about it. So today... after months of wiggling, and several trips to the dentist to have them checked... it finally happened. One of the top front teeth began making its way out, and tonight after dinner he finally plucked the darn thing - he was sooooooo happy he even posed for this quick pic before we wrapped it up for the tooth fairy!

Thanks for stopping by! ~ Denise ~

So this made my day...

I just received this email from Betterphoto.com

Congratulations! You have placed as a finalist in this month's BetterPhotoContest! Over 28000 photos were entered into the competition; it is an honor to have your image selected among the top 517 finalist photos.

The image selected was of my youngest son, Matthew, entitled "Those Baby Browns". This image is a real favorite of mine that I just had printed nice and big for a wall in my home.

http://www.betterphoto.com/ is a great place to learn about photography, and boasts one of the best and most competitive monthly photo contests on the net. I am honored to have had one of my images selected this month!

Thanks for stopping by today. ~ Denise ~

Sneak Peek for the "M" Family...

What a great session this was! I met the "M" family last night for some beach portraits in Lavallette, where they are vacationing... what a beautiful spot, and what a gorgeous evening it was! Just look at that blue sky! What made the session so great, was not only was this family beautiful, but they were fun!

I just LOVE shots like this taken from behind!

Here's one of the entire group...

The individual "families within the family"...

The kids being.. well... kids!

How SWEET is this?

Ummmm, yeah... boys! Something I know little bit about... lol!

And ohhhhhh how I love this one... it speaks to the "artist" in me!

Well, "M" family, I really enjoyed meeting and spending some time with you, and I hope you enjoy your "sneak peek"... and the rest of your vacation on the beautiful Jersey Shore! I have LOTS of images to go through, and you will be hearing from me soon!

Thanks for stopping by today! ~ Denise ~

Sneak Peek - Newborn Twins!!!

I confess... newborns are TOUGH to photograph... so when I got the call from "J" to photograph her TWIN baby girls, I was more than a bit nervous! I lucked out though - these little girls were so beautiful, and considering their age - four weeks - they did very, very well. Usually I like to get them within the first two weeks so they are still all sleepy and curl up easily, but I think we did just fine! Here are a few of my favorites (so far):

It really was a thrill for me... thank you so much "E" family for inviting me into your home to photograph your little sweethearts! I'll be in touch very soon.

Thanks for stopping by today. ~ Denise ~

Busy, busy, busy!!!

I feel like I've been seriously neglecting my blog and promise to update soon, but things have been very busy for me lately! I am now completely booked for July, and booking into August and September. Call now if you want to get in before Fall!!! Thanks!