Up, Up, and Away!

On Saturday I woke up before the roosters to watch the balloons launch at the Vermont Balloon and Music Festival, one of the cool events that my buddy Steve Mease organizes for the Champlain Valley Exposition.

I spied Steve cruising around with a cup of coffee and after chatting for a moment he asked me if I wanted to take a ride on Piko, my favorite balloon. Yahoo! I know Piko well because I rode on him 2 years ago when I covered the festival for Vermont Magazine. Piko is from Quebec and his owners organize a giant balloon festival up north called the International Balloon Festival of Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu.

I am so lucky to have a friend like Steve. :-) You can check out some of the awesome events Steve is involved with and see some of his great photography HERE!

Enjoy the photos from my beautiful balloon ride...

Preparing Piko for the flight...
Here's Steve!
Steve took these next 2 photos of me and he very generously let me take them for the blog...
Can you see me up there snapping away?



Captain Denis...

Isn't Piko adorable?
Packing up quickly in the rain...
spectators...
how cute is this little guy?
Part of the tradition of landing is to share some bubbly with the land owners (at right) and the balloon passengers. Don't worry...it's sparkling cider.
Marie is part of Piko's flight crew. She chases Piko around to rescue him from fields. Here she is with the post flight bubbly...
Thanks again Steve!

May Update

Spring is in full bloom here and I've been a busy bee!

I literally stepped off the plane from our trip to Disney World, threw some clothes in a bag and headed off to the yearly convention and competition with the Vermont Professional Photographers.

I was honored to win a Judge's Choice Award for a fox I photographed from my kitchen window this past winter! The special treat of the convention was the chance to hear Joe McNally, described by American Photo Magazine as "perhaps the most versatile photojournalist working today." He delighted us with many stories encountered when photographing for National Geographic, Life and Time magazines, Sports Illustrated, and many other publications, including also one of his most moving photo creations: Faces of Ground Zero--Giant Polaroid Collection.

A few days at home and I was off again to NYC to visit some fun photography pals (Robin and Barrie), meet two couples for engagement sessions, and have coffee with some potential clients (who we will be photographing a wedding for in September!) Yahoo! :-)

Okay, enough fun, I've got to get back to work!

p.s. I hope all of you fabulous moms out there had an extra special day on Sunday!
My kids gave me the sweetest hand-made cards, we ate yummy pancakes, I puttered in the garden, we saw Spider Man 3 and went out to dinner. The perfect day! :-)

My award winning image

Joe McNally

Robin and Sophie on the steps of the Metropolitan Museum


The sky was sooo blue and the trees were sooo green!

Barrie and Robin inside Barrie's boyfriend's art gallery on Madison Ave.

A tulip in the deep shade backlit by the sun.

Shopping on Madison Avenue with the girls. Isn't Robin looking so sassy?! Let's hang out again soon! xo

News flash!

The Burlington Free Press has been keeping me very busy lately. I thought it would be fun to share some highlights from recent assignments.

Let me know if you have a favorite!

The father-daughter Valentine’s Day Dance in South Burlington was too sweet for words!



A large group of folks with disabilities met up for an adaptive ski clinic at the Catamount Outdoor Family Center recently. Most of them had never cross-country skied before and everyone seemed to enjoy the challenge. Click here to read about it.

When I’m 88 years old I would like to be healthy enough to be teaching yoga classes. Carol is my hero! You can read about her here.




In Vermont we specialize in winter sports, so here is a small collection from various assignments from the Cochran’s Ski Area and Catamount Outdoor Family Center.





I was photographing the Williston recreation 3rd and 4th grader’s basketball league and they were so awesome. I kind of forgot how little they were until I captured the coach tying the shoes of one of his players. Bright red Converse high-tops nonetheless.

For the cover of the weekend section I was sent out to photograph some ice skaters. How cool it was to find a toddler with her dad and a few minutes later capture her skating on her own for the very first time.


The Essex children’s choir performed in the chapel at St. Michael’s College and their voices were so beautiful it gave me goose bumps.


Would you jump into 32 degree water for a good cause? Hundreds of crazy people in Burlington don costumes and swimsuits each year to participate in the Penguin Plunge to raise money for the Special Olympics. It is an absolute blast to watch, but I was chilly enough laying on the ice snapping photographs without needing to experience that type of torture.





And finally, the funniest assignment I have ever covered...

A group of brave individuals went under the hypnotic spell of Marko the Magician in front of an auditorium packed with an appreciative audience. I wouldn’t have believed it to be true unless I witnessed it for myself. It was so funny that at times I couldn’t hold my camera still due to the giggles!
My neighbor, Kathy, thinks she is playing her favorite instrument for martians.
This woman thinks she is her favorite zoo animal. I'm guessing it's a monkey.