back by popular demand

When your best friend of 10+ years tells you to post a photograph of her amazing and fascinating cat, Charlie Chaplin, you better do it. Consider the photographs above an ode to the dearest Miss Chaplin and yes, to the other crazy cat in my friend's life. Be they my muse?

I have been taking it easy on blogging, but my schedule is moving very forward. I want to mention the bands I will be working with and the musical events I will be attending over the next couple of weeks, because these musical wonders are fun, talented, creative, and at the core of it, very down-to-earth people. Check out my schedule below for details, and maybe I'll see you at a show?

Friday, October 30th: OTiS playing at NYC's The Mercury Lounge at 10pm, $8 to get in if you wear a costume. The band is funk meets rock meets soul, and they will surely put on a great Halloween Eve show.

Saturday, October 31st: "The Last Masquerade", a night of art, music and mayhem. Countless bands, countless hours: should be an amazing time.

Sunday, November 1st: Portraits of band, Sister Anne, ultra cool and funky rock-soul band with an awesomely feisty lead singer with some major vocal chords on her - their next show is Wednesday, November 11th at the studio room of Webster Hall. More details to come on this.

Saturday, November 14th:The one and only: Peaches, playing at Terminal 5, doors open at 8 pm/show at 9pm, advanced tickets $25. I have been a fan of this woman for as long as I can remember: with very controversial and evocative music, bruised legs and occasional facial hair, this Canadian electro/rock/hip-hop vixen spits on the idealogy of what it means to be a musician and a woman.


More shows and events to come; will keep you posted (literally).

they said i do, two

I am going to miss the editing process of Melissa and Jonas' wedding day photographs, but I suppose it is time they get to enjoy them as well. This couple and family were full of little gems that shined right through my lens. They had all of the best qualities: personality, looks, great senses of humor, major dancing skills, and best of all, a layer of intrigue to them. Whether it was the little girl in the corner or the mother on the dance floor, I wanted to know them and most interestingly, they seemed to want to know me too.

Stay tuned and check back in on or after Friday, October 16th, for these photographs and many, many more that will become available for viewing, printing, and merchandise ordering on my smugmug page. Or check back because you like my work. Either way.

the guthrie experience

We call it folk music, but since I was little, I've been calling it 'heart music': lyrics and rhythms that keeps your heart warm company on a cold lonely night. The show is Arlo Guthrie, playing in the Guthrie Center, and Saturday, October 3rd is none other than a full-on Guthrie experience. Staying in sweet harmony with what his music seems to represent, The Guthrie Center was a church that in 1991 he converted into a music venue/spiritual place that welcomes folk and folks of all beliefs. It's a gem, to say the least.

The whole family is on stage singing their big and little hearts out. More than worth noting is Arlo's daughter, Sarah Lee Guthrie, who has a voice and face that is full of grace;her aura has the power to ease all of your troubles with the drop of a word. And her husband musical collaborator of ten years, Johnny Irion, is no shadow. They are touring all year long, and are very much worth checking out.

When family man, Arlo Guthrie, gets on stage, there is a sort of calm that washes over you because in some way, it isn't just the group on stage that are his family, but every one of us in the audience too. He closes with "This Land is Your Land", a song his father, Woody Guthrie, was famous for: and the experience of this magical place and Arlo's moving music and energy are constant reminders that his father had truly stumbled onto a spectacular notion: 'this land was made for you and me.'

copyright beIMAGED photography 2009. all rights reserved.

portraits of ones, twos, and fives

This summer I had the fine pleasure of working with my good friend, Miss Katie Fives, who is not only a quirky redhead, but also a very talented photographer. Four years of friendship, two years since starting my photography business, and finally, Katie is on board to be my go-to gal when I need an assistant. If it weren't for her bright encouraging smiles, I don't know if I would have survived the wedding of August, where the sun was burning through the threads of my clothes.

I love capturing Katie's sweet, youthful, with a little bit of edgy, presence through photograph. She is one of the most amazing women I have ever met, and a damn good assistant too boot.

they said i do

I am finishing up the editing process for the two weddings I photographed in August, and although they are not quite done yet, I have to say that for different reasons, these photos are turning out to be some of my favorites out of all that I've taken thus far in my professional career. The couples were rich with joy and fun and love, and there was something extra vibrant about them. Photographs of Melissa and Jonas will come later this week, but for now, thank you Mallory and Jeff for letting be a part of your special and playground-fun day.

Keep linked to my smugmug page to order prints, merchandise, or digital negatives from Mallory & Jeff's fun and colorful wedding! The photographs will be available by October 2nd, 2009. You can also see other beIMAGED photography work at beimaged.com.

good sound abound

An "underground" band very much worth checking out is New York City's Left on Red. To stumble upon them feels like a gift: for me, they were a sweet surprise on Sept. 3rd after Tori Sparks enraptured us with her powerful chords. The band features cute and humble girls with incredibly unique music, that say with friendly smiles that they make their money playing in subway stations. Each song transports you to unfamiliar territory where the music is good and the drinks crisp. One second you are at a Parisian cafe, the next you're swept away, off to a sultry Spanish night club. Words can't even begin to fully describe the experience of seeing Left on Red live, but I'll try: ephemral, fun, freeing, happy, uplifting, real, provoking, one of a kind. Best put, their music embodies the moment in time when you are stuck at a red light at 3 AM in the middle of nowhere, with your left turn signal monotonously blinking, and you decide to slowly let your foot lift off from the brake, because sometimes life is just a little bit more fun if you don't follow the rules.

sparks ignite at the very bitter end

Miss Tori Sparks sends me on a trip with her deep and powerful voice and lyrics on September 3rd, at The Bitter End in Greenwich Village. She's a little bit of country, a little bit of folk, and a lot bit of soul. There's pain behind her songs, but optimism in her demeanor - and she carries the two with nothing short of grace. In between songs about confusion and loss, she drinks her gin and tonic and gives the crowd a wide grin while casually chatting about all of the characters she's met along her travels - as if to say that yeah this world might be messed up, but it's ok: we're all special. After belting out one of her gem songs "Tall Towers", off of her new album, "The Scorpion in the Story", she gives a giggle and sigh because it takes her back to the character that inspired the words. For her, the music is not just about her personal journey and experience, but everyone else's as well.

With an insightful connection to the world around her, a voice as deep as a canyon, three full albums and one EP under her belt, and a Tennessee charm that is nearly impossible to resist, this country gal has got something truly magical to offer to the world.

Just hearing about Tori for the first time? Check out her website at torisparks.com, and I beg you to tune into my own personal favorite album of hers: 2007's "Under This Yellow Sun". And check out her upcoming tour dates - she might just be headed towards you!

Photography by Melissa Lynn of beIMAGED Photography.