world's Tallest groom

The world's tallest man, Bao Xishun, who stands at 7', 8" married 5', 6" Xia Shujuan at a public wedding ceremony in China today. Wow!

J has a great friend who jokes that he is a bit on the shorter side. So when photographing taller couples, he has his assistant tote around a stool, which he has dubbed his "man-maker," to give him a height advantage. I bet he would have needed a ladder to take this portrait (AP).

Kriss Cosmetics

I met Kriss Soterion (of Kriss Cosmetics in Manchester, NH) as she was applying make-up to a bridal party last fall and adored her instantly- she's outgoing, witty, sassy, fun- and talented! She has received national recognition in the past, but was recently lauded for her application on Sen. Clinton at the Democratic debates on June 3rd (Kriss' work on the right). CNN was so impressed they have hired Kriss and her team for the rest of the 17-month presidential campaign! Wow! Many congrats, Kriss. This notoriety couldn't have happened to a better artist!

Thanks, DJ!

Today, J and I had the pleasure of spending both lunch and dinner with the notable David Jay of west coast wedding photography fame (and the creator of those fabulous online slideshows you have all enjoyed viewing). He was in town to shoot a wedding for the weekend and we toured a few local sights today, pausing for lunch at our fav, the Lobster Shack in Cape Elizabeth, and again for dinner at Fore Street after a drink at the Top of the East. For those of you who haven't met DJ, he's one of the sweetest, warmest people I have met in this industry. I have loved watching, with awe, his race to the top of the market.

Come back again soon, DJ, and next time we insist that you stay with us!

I've been blogged

Blogging has become hugely popular in the wedding industry. Each week, I visit more than 200 blogs for inspiration and for fun. I recently stumbled across Weddex, the new blog for wedding and honeymoon consultant Rebecca Grinnals of Engaging Concepts based in Florida. It has quickly become one of my favorite blogs. And today, she featured my new liveBooks website. Thanks, Rebecca!

Trashing Vera Wang

Very excited to see a recent trend finally make the pages of the New York Times today: trash the dress! It's very popular for destination and west coast locations for brides and grooms to have a photo session the day after the wedding (or later) in their wedding formalwear for some unique photos splashing around in lakes, streams, fountains or at the beach. Popular opinion is that having these creative portraits hang on your walls is much more valuable than having that dress just hang in the closet for years to come. I offer these sessions, so if you're interested please inquire for rates and availability!
Check out the slideshow from the making of the picture above by del Sol Photography.

Passports

Planning your honeymoon or vacation to someplace outside of the US? Be sure your passport is current. And if it isn't, apply for a new one early!

Carolyn and Todd missed their Dominican Republic honeymoon after their April wedding because new passport laws have clogged the usual routine w/ more applicants than employees to process them. Even tho they submitted their paperwork three months ahead of time, their passports still didn't arrive in time! As of today, lawmakers have temporarily waived some of their passport requirements hoping to ease some of this travel frustration.

Emilie on TV

I woke up this morning to a phone call from Jim Keithley, friend and reporter for Channel 8 in Portland, excitedly asking if he could pass my contact information along for a NECN story on young business professionals in Maine following an article published in Kiplinger's Magazine about the city's appeal to those in my age bracket.

So, New England Cable News reporter Elissa Burnell and her photographer Dave came over to interview me about living and working in Maine. I have no problem giving a glowing review of Portland, why I moved here on purpose and why it appeals to me and my business! The story is slated to run on the 6:30p news tonight across New England, so tune in if you can (Channel 42 locally).

Watch the video from a soggy day in Portland by clicking here.

Green weddings

In the spirit of all things green, check out this article from A Fresh Squeeze in Chicago for suggestions on how to plan your wedding and not have an impact on the environment.

Want to calculate the CO2 emissions from your event? Click here.

bridal confessions

This website is a little, um, different than the usual wedding site, allowing brides to post comments anonymously. Some are quite funny, others are a little more disturbing (and use some colorful language, beware!). What do you think of this?

got cake?

I stumbled across the blog of a cake maker, Margaret's French Bakery, in California who posts pictures of the different cakes she bakes each week on her blog. What a great idea! Even if you aren't in California, this site is a great spot for inspiration if you're still looking for that perfect wedding cake.

(click on the image to view larger)

A few other fun wedding websites and blogs:
Here Comes the Blog
Weddingbee
Style Me Pretty
Something old, Something new
Indiebride
Bridesclub.com

"Webbed Bliss" article

Webbed Bliss... love that phrase. And love this article from the Wall Street Journal detailing the trend of brides and grooms posting everything about their courtship, engagement, wedding plans, even streaming video from their actual wedding day, all online. Thanks for sharing, Sam.

Dakota lookalikes

I knew I adored the LaCour folks when I met them, and I just learned another reason why! Mark and Erin have a dog, Wylie, that looks very much like Dakota. Long-lost relatives, perhaps?

(This is a video of Dakota chewing on LaCour's ShootQ promotional frisbee they handed out at a recent photo convention. I don't think they intended to have it be eaten by dogs, but Dakota really, really enjoyed it.)

And Pat Callahan, the evening news anchor for the NBC affiliate here in Portland has a dog, Winston, that gets mistaken for Dakota when he's out and about in town.Below is a video of the sister to the pug who was a finalist in the dog contest (you know, the one with his tongue hanging out) waiting for the mailman, as she does daily. Too funny!

wedding stamp rate

As of today, the USPS increased the price of a 1st Class stamp to $0.41. But the price of the 2oz wedding stamp has decreased from $0.63 to $0.58. Cool. I spotted the new stamp designs online and thought I would share. They should be available for purchase mid-summer. Thank you, Margaret, for the wedding stamp blog tip!

My friend and brilliant marketer, real estate agent Scot Aubinoe sends his top clients monthly surprises in the mail- jams, Starbucks gift cards, movie passes, seeds for the garden or tips for general household maintenance. It's something fun that I look forward to in the mail each month and definitely keeps his name in circulation. Today, his note outlined the change in stamp hike, and included a sheet of $.02 stamps to help ease the transition. Thank you, Scot.

emilieinc.net

As you may have noticed, the blog has been a bit of a mess lately. But thanks to my fantastic designer Sharon, it has all been safely moved to its new permanent home, www.emilieinc.net. So please bookmark this new site (and erase emilieinc.com/blog). You can always access this from my website if you get lost or forget.

Look for a redesign of the blog to match the new website in the weeks to come. Thanks for your patience!

One more day left to vote for your favorite dog photo... scroll down to last week's post about the details!

healthy living

A few times each week I workout with four other small business owners at a personal training studio. We all look forward to the social time as well as the obvious benefits of exercise.

One woman, Maryann, is branching out on her own to offer customized personal training to people via email and telephone training, as well as in-home training locally. She just launched her new website and I was lucky enough to take her bio head shot. Altho her main focus is baby boomers, be sure and check out her bridal program, too!

Maryann's website: Healthy Body, Fit Mind.

News: New website!

I am thrilled to announce the launch of my new website! It's much like my other website, but features more images, larger images, slideshows and more information- all of which I can update myself! (So if you see a picture of yourself up there and you'd rather it not be there, please let me know and I can remove it immediately).
An example of an information page- my bio
You'll notice an 'image info' option at the bottom of the portfolio pages. Rollover this and the caption of the image will appear. Cool!
There's also a password-protected client access page where clients can download current pricing, FAQ, contract, directions to the studio, etc.

This new site was created by liveBooks, the company J works for. I can't say enough good things about my experience working with them! Their customer service is amazingly quick, courteous and knowledgeable (everyone who works at liveBooks has some sort of photo background). Learn more about liveBooks and their CEO, Andy Patrick, here.

Unfortunately, in the process of switching servers my blog is homeless for a little bit. Please be patient as the new settings are transferred and I re-upload all the images. Sorry for the inconvenience!

DC portrait schedule

As previously posted, I will be in DC 5/3-7. My schedule is very busy with portrait appointments and a wedding, but I do still have some availability on Friday, 5/4. Please let me know if you would like to have your child, pet or family photographed in your home. I'd love to see you!

News: New Studio!

emilie inc is growing- literally!

Starting in June, I will have a beautiful, HUGE studio space to meet with my clients, host workshops, design albums AND I'll have a space for portraits!

The 1600sf space is at the Dana Warp Mill, a renovated mill from the 1800s. It's a wide open airy space with wood floors, tall windows and ceiling, and painted brick walls. The building is filled with like-minded creative professionals including other photographers, painters, graphic designers, dance and fitness studios, etc.

I have kept pretty mum on this topic until all the details were worked out (including flooding issues from last week's storm... scroll down to an earlier post to see my panic!). Luckily, everything is fine and the building is a-ok (I am on the 3rd floor, far away from the Presumpscot River!).

Below are some photos of the mill (none of which I took... I will post images from my studio once I am all moved in)! Be sure to make an appointment to come visit! Yay!


The mill.

An artist's rendering of the proposed renovations to the grounds of the mill.

As seen from the Presumpscot River (borrowed from a newspaper article on the river).
Historic postcard of the mill from the 1800's.
Historic photo of the mill from the 1800's.
And another historic photo, an aerial view of the mill.

awww, how sweet

I meant to post this a while ago, but forgot. This is a pic from LaCour's blog that the fabulous Mark Adams took of J and I in Vegas. Too cute!

handbag branding

My full name is Emilie Morgan Sommer.

A couple of weeks ago I posted about a handbag designer in LA, 'Sommer Designs.'

Did you know there is another handbag company (sold at TJ Maxx, etc) called 'Emilie M.'

Even weirder, there is a monogrammed bag company called, 'Morgan & Company.'

How bizarre is that?!

MWAC

I personally haven't heard the expression mom-with-a-camera before, but I know the trend well. This is a very interesting article from the New York Times about how affordable digital cameras are allowing moms to start side businesses photographing children without any formal training.

Check it out here.

Thanks for sending, Arn (my former boss from the Cape Cod Times, so you obviously know his thoughts when sending. For more discussion, check the comments on this post).

extreme weather

I woke up to about 3" of water in my basement this morning. See, we lost power overnight in this lovely Nor'easter and therefore the sump pump was off. My neighborly neighbor Tim was running a generator to drain his basement, and allowed us to connect until the power came back on. Thanks, Tim!

Unfortunately, this crazy weather has seemingly ruined one of my tip-of-my-tongue pieces of good news I have been waiting to share! See, I was getting ready to sign a lease on a gorgeous studio space in the historic Dana Warp Mill in Westbrook. Tonight, however, the river that the mill sits on has swelled so much because of the storm and flooded so much of the mill, that the structural soundness of the building has yet to be determined. Yikes! If ever there was a sign not to commit to something, I think this might be a glaring red flag from Mother Nature! Stay tuned for any more developments.

In the meantime, check out this link to my friend Scott's account in front of the mill from WCSH6 News. Watch the video, too!

a sad day

My thoughts and prayers go out to the friends and family of those who were killed in the Virginia Tech massacre today. I visited VT a number of times while at the 'Cuse- we were football rivals at the time and I was lucky enough to travel there with the football team to photograph a game for our school newspaper. And I have many fond memories of a spring break trip to Georgia for Habitat for Humanity and VT was our stop-over point. I loved it there so much, that I used to tell my mom I would have transferred if they had a photo program. Stay strong, Hokies!

An eerie picture showing backpacks left outside the hall of the first shooting by Eric Brady (The Roanoke Times).
A vigil, by Jared Soares (The Roanoke Times).

stand by

I haven't been able to receive emails for about 24 hours. I am working with my web server's technical support dept to get this issue resolved quickly. So if you emailed and you haven't heard back from me just yet, that's why! My apologies.

UPDATE: Back online. Thanks for your patience!

And Happy Birthday, Steven!

ready, set...

... shoot!

My busy wedding season officially starts next weekend! I've been swamped with a lot of logistical chores lately (taxes! last year's album orders, etc) as I brace for my routine to be insane again. I also have lots of exciting new news to share, but I'm not quite able to spill the beans on everything. I'll leave you with this visual hint from one of those projects. Any guesses?

Here is a snapshot I took of my nephew on Easter Sunday, signing at me "No more." Do you think I was taking too many pictures or what? Too cute!

Autism & arts

Autism Speaks created a music video of the Five for Fighting song, "World", which features images of autistic children and their families. The band is generously donating $0.49 to Autism Speaks for each time the video is viewed - the funding goes toward research studies to help find a cure. When you have a moment, please visit the link below to watch the video and pass it along to your friends and family. They are aiming for 10,000 hits, but hopefully we can help them to surpass this goal.

Click here to view it. Over the years I have met and photographed many autistic children and their families. I love when artists lend their celebrity to a good cause.

out of town: Cape Cod

I'll be in Cape Cod for a few days, so if you need me please call my cell phone: 207.272.2285.

Have a great weekend!

A little video clip of how San Francisco's residents mark the Easter holiday: big wheel races down Lombard Street!

What month *is* it?

We woke up to more than a foot of snow this morning!

dogs in the media

Yes, another dog post...

Did you catch this clip on 'Ellen' the other week? My mouth was hanging open in disbelief when I saw this! Such a smart dog! (Thanks to Jacci and Margaret for emailing me this. I meant to blog about it before Vegas, but I forgot!).


Or have you heard about 'doggie yoga?' This CNN article is definitely worth reading. I'm ready to sign up for a class with Dakota. I think the idea is brilliant!

Have you seen the new Discover Boating ad campaign featuring the dogs? Too cute!
Click here for their website, and then click play on the upper right side of the photo banner.

another Sommer

In between accomplishing items on my lengthy To Do list just now, I decided to Google my name and see what came up. I just searched 'Sommer' and gasped with excitement when I spotted a Carrie Sommer in California who owns Sommer Designs- handbags, totes, diaper bags, etc. I was even more excited when I logged on to her site and spotted her fabulous pink logo! Her products look great and, well, she had me at pink.
Bookmark her site if you're in need of a great gift or are in LA and want to host a handbag party!

it's no joke...

... I am an April Fool's baby.

After the busy week in Vegas, I loved having a relaxing birthday weekend back at home. We visited with family and friends, and had some yummy eats to celebrate.

Check out this adorable pot my best friend Kara gave me! It matches my emilie inc. brown and pink circles bathroom perfectly! Now I just need to get a plant!

Back at the house, after brunch.

Later, we took the dogs to the beach to get their run on.


Now J is cooking dinner as I am listening to voicemails and checking emails. Thanks for all the love! One more year until the big 3-0! ;)

buff brides by June

My mom spotted this snippet in USA Weekend from the Buff Brides series. Note the sentence about your photos outlasting the memory of your cake or flowers. She's right! Working out is good motivation to look fabulous in your wedding day photos, forever!

Click article to enlarge.

Runaway advertising

Ahhh, I figured it was only a matter of time before the Runaway Bride, Jennifer Wilbanks, would be back in the news. I never expected, however, that her image would be used for a recruiting billboard for New Mexico police. The officer pictured is the one who led Jennifer through the airport covered in a blanket after she revealed her identity to authorities. Interesting. A simple Google search pulls up thousands of hits, mostly from the media reporting on this billboard campaign. Seems as tho this advertising stunt is reaching a far wider audience than those who will simply drive by the signs on New Mexico's highways. I think it's pretty distasteful (this poor woman can't catch a break! The law should protect her reputation, and here, the law is literally humiliating her), how about you?

home sweet home

I had a great week in Vegas catching up with friends, making new ones, and learning about some new products in the market. A quick preview:

• I will be offering Queensberry now instead of Leather Craftsmen for matted albums. It is a bit more high end than LC and they have a few more options to choose from including a gorgeous cream color double mat with a chocolate brown liner that sold me. Oh, and a very sophisticated title page on translucent paper.
• I found a neat new softcover gift book for engagement sessions and family portraits.

• I fell in love with these canvas prints. They instantly make your photographs look like gallery artwork!
• I am excited to announce that I will be designing holiday cards this year! Remember to plan ahead when scheduling those family and child portraits outdoors before winter arrives (I don't want to think about that already!). I will be ordering samples of all of these items to feature my own photography in the upcoming weeks. Please inquire for more specific pricing information if you see something here that peeks your interest.

And stay tuned for some VERY big website information and new perfect pricing™, too...

a first

The father of dear family friends passed away earlier this week. An image I took at the couple's wedding of him singing his toast was used in his obituary. As far as I know, this is a first for my photography. It's so sad, but I am so grateful to have provided the family with such a lasting image. My thoughts and prayers go out to them during this difficult time. xo

Have weekend plans?

Check out Fitness for a Cure at the Sheraton Tara in Nashua, NH, on Saturday night. This dinner and dance show raises money (more than $500,000 in the last 8 years!) for the St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. I photographed it last year and unfortunately will miss it this year because I will be out of town (thankfully, my college friend Matt Klicker is able to cover it!).

There was a great article about it in the Nashua Telegraph today. And my slideshow is featured on the group's website under Photo Gallery. If you go, be sure and look for my ad in the program!

assignment: USA Today, cover story

On Thursday, I had the pleasure of driving around Portland with John Webster, a volunteer with the Independent Transportation Network, for a cover story assignment for USA Today!

ITN is a driving service for seniors who no longer drive on their own, but need to run errands or visit a doctor's office. John transported more than a dozen passengers, and I learned a lot of back routes in town! The article is scheduled to run on April 12th, but here is a sneak peek overview image:

John and his wife own a candy store in Boothbay Harbor, Orne's. Keep him in mind for sweet favors, Boothbay brides!

Today will be a busy day, as I leave for Las Vegas tomorrow for WPPI!

doggie news

•I received an email from the shelter in Texas and Molly has been adopted. Phew! So I guess I won't need to return to Allen to save that little love.

•The Inn at Jackson in Jackson, NH, is hosting a silent auction tomorrow night to benefit the I Believe Dog Rescue whose facility (and some of their dogs) was destroyed by fire last month. They are accepting bids via email for a Romance Package which includes two nights lodging, a massage for two, arrival refreshments, breakfast in bed and a giftbag! This package normally sells for $429. Email Don at info@innatjackson.com if you would like to participate. I stayed at this inn in December and it is a beautiful getaway!

USA Today's new look

Interesting. The USAToday.com homepage has a new design, including an option to become a 'member' to comment and recommend articles. I can't say I'm entirely thrilled with the new design (do we really need our online news sources looking like a casual blog?), but I do give them props for trying something new and building an interactive community within their publication. Who knows, it may be a success that other newspapers will soon follow.

staging spaces

While in San Fran, I spent some time feeding my latest obsession- open houses!

Staging homes for sale is popular on the east coast, but multiplied much more so on the left coast. Wow! Take a peek at Spaces Staging & Design to see what I mean.

We saw some amazing productions (and price tags!), as well as beautifully visual marketing hand-outs and slick property websites. Absent were typical real estate listing snapshots... these images were professionally done and could easily appear in a home design magazine (and reminded me a lot of the Washington Post Magazine's home & design issues I used to work on!).

Perhaps I should look into doing such work here in Maine! Beautiful photography really makes the listing sing! For more info on staging, click here.

Time lapse photo fun

Ohhh... I copied this great post from the fantastic folks at LaCour, based in Atlanta.

They photographed a wedding recently where a photo studio was set up with a remote trigger for the guests to shoot pictures of themselves. The resulting movie clip is a time lapse of all the pictures taken at the photo studio. 1300 images at 10 frames per second.

**Click Here to watch the clip!

Good luck, Lisa!

I photographed Lisa and Rory's wedding in DC in 2004. Since then, they have moved to Kentucky with the US Army and have had two beautiful boys, Daniel and Ryan. Lisa just heard word that she will be heading to Iraq at the end of the month. Please keep Lisa and her young family in your thoughts and prayers. Come home soon, and safe, Lisa! xo

local favor flavor at the Oscars

Simply Divine Brownies, based in Brunswick, Maine, provided gift bag goodies for an Oscar after-party, Children Uniting Nations, an LA based mentoring program for foster children.

These are yummy wedding favors, too!

Inside Lacrosse TV

A friend of mine from college (and colleague from our days on staff at The Daily Orange), John Jiloty, is the editor of Inside Lacrosse magazine. His business is dabbling in a new venture- TV!- and a new special aired on ESPN2 last week! I missed the debut, but it will reair several more times on ESPNU. A second special is scheduled for June. So proud of you, John!

Inside Lacrosse TV – Season Preview Special
ESPN2: February 22 at 4:00 pm
ESPNU: February 23 at 1:30 pm; March 1 at 4:00 pm; March 2 at 5:00 pm

Inside Lacrosse TV – Season Review Special
ESPN2: June 11 at 4:00 pm
ESPNU: June 12 at 5:00 pm; June 13 at 7:00 pm; June 15 at 6:00 pm

Valentine's follow-up

As I am sitting here waiting for J's plane to arrive (yes, really. finally!) and my bags are nearly packed for Texas, I checked in on my friend Rachel's always fun blog about knitting (the Rachel who is a much appreciated regular commenter on my blog and the Rachel who will be celebrating a birthday on Monday!), I decided to share some of her wit with you all.

Below is part of her post about how she celebrates Valentine's Day. Click on the image to enlarge. If it's too small to read, and you want to check out her post in its entirety, mosey on over to www.licketyknit.com (and do so regularly. I do, and I don't even know anything about knitting!)

Happy Birthday, Rache! I'll be thinking about you at 5:19pm!

Wedding guest

Last month I had the pleasure of attending my friends'-- Lawrence and Pam-- wedding in DC. Matt Mendelsohn was the photographer and snapped some pictures of me boogieing down. I had a blast being able to hang out and not work!


My longtime friend Margaret was my date, as J stayed behind in Mexico after our vacation to photograph a wedding.

Congrats again, Lawrence and Pam! Looking forward to seeing you again in a few weeks! Yippee!

fun with widgets

Click on the photo to check out this cool widget from goodwidgets.com

Happy Cupid Day!

Wishing you all a warm and cozy day indoors watching the snow with your loved ones!

I am missing my Valentine today... J is stuck in Denver as there are no flights coming to the Northeast because of the weather. A florist brightened my day with a very thoughtful delivery:

Valentine's Day is a very popular day for proposals! If you get engaged on this special day, be sure to email me and set up an appointment to discuss your upcoming wedding plans and photography needs!

I have heard many proposal stories over the years photographing weddings. I think my favorite was a couple of mine from DC who was eating a spaghetti dinner at home on Paint-your-own-Pottery dishes made by the boyfriend. As the girlfriend ate more and more, she realized there was a message- a proposal!- at the bottom of her dish!

Or, my dear friend Erica, who was led on a scavenger hunt around Philadelphia, collecting clues as she visited places that were significant to her and her boyfriend's relationship, including a favorite bar and b&b they stayed at. The last clue led Erica to a romantic dinner in the middle of a park, prepared by a private chef, and her boyfriend Steve, who had a question. After she said yes, both of their families appeared from the other side of a hill to offer their congratulations!

Way to go, grooms! Love your creativity!

What's your proposal story? Share with the group by leaving a comment!

Valentine links:
• The History Channel's history of Valentine's Day
• Bake Me a Wish (30% of sales are donated to the Make a Wish Foundation)
• Tiffany diamonds
• Oprah's Valentine's Day episode
• Valentine crafts for kids
• Careerbuilder.com's list of most romantic jobs

Lunch with Boston's finest

I was lucky to scoot down to Boston this afternoon to dine with a dynamic group of female wedding photographers. Enna Grazier, who I met last week at the Boston PUG group, invited me to attend this lunch at Sel de la Terre, full of great talent. I really enjoyed meeting many more of my New England colleagues. Thanks for organizing it, Enna! (We had the hostess use my camera to take a photo, but unfortunately, it was terribly out of focus and not worth posting here. Oh, well).

Inspired by the Boston group, I will be forming a similar group of women wedding photographers, in Maine! We'll have our first lunch on Wednesday, April 4th. If you are local and want to attend, please send me an email to be added to the list!

Stay warm out there! Looks like we're in for quite a storm tonight...

catch-up

I am back from the busy week of travel and have a few tidbits to catch you up on.

First, seeing as this last week was all about J's business, I thought you might want to know what he's doing speaking to all these photographers! Check out the video below that his friend Dane made (Dane has a great site, by the way, called Simple Photo Minute, that gives weekly video tips to photographers) that describes liveBooks.


Looking for another neat blog to bookmark? Heather Bailey is the wife of Arizona photographer Isaac Bailey and has a great blog about her craft business: Click here.

My friend Kim owns Trips With Pets and let me know she has an overstock of these adorable mugs. If you know someone who loves animals, perhaps this would be a nice gift for Valentine's Day. Enter FF10 for 10% off your order at www.bonzobeans.com.


Lastly, have you all heard about the Norovirus yet? It's a nasty bug (to put it mildly) that has spread from my nephew, to my sister and brother-in-law, and then to my mother and stepfather. They have been to the ER and all lost a lot of weight. Be careful! It's apparently spreading quickly in New Hampshire and Maine!

the big apple!

We're having a blast in NY! Last night's PUG group (Pictage User Group) was enormous by Pictage standards- more than 30 people! The group leader, Shari Silk, is an old classmate of mine from Syracuse (and she just had a baby last month), so it was fun to catch up. One of J's colleagues from LiveBooks, Corey, also attended the meeting. Afterwards we hit up the W for drinks and strolled around Times Square.

J giving his talk about liveBooks.

Chloe, Phil and Dasha's 11-year old beagle, wasn't impressed.

Check out our near hotel, less than a block from the action of Times Square, Hotel QT! Cool little modern space at an affordable price.

In other news, I heard from a couple I photographed in 2004, Eileen and Mike Ferrier. They had a baby girl and named her Emily- inspired by me! Altho spelled differently, that's a pretty amazing compliment! I can't wait to meet her!
Here's a pic Eileen emailed:


Ok. On to Philly...

out of town: Boston, NY, Philly

I'm on the road this week with J as he talks with photographers about LiveBooks in Boston, NY and Philly. Last night's Boston group was small, but very nice and gave him some great feedback on the product. A special treat? My dear friend Lisl came to share a beer after the meeting.

Way to go, D!

Last month, I received an email from A Forever Home (the rescue in Virginia where I adopted Dakota when she was 8 weeks old) saying their Christmas card was returned and they needed an updated address for me. I replied, gushing about how much I adore Dakota and attached a picture (that I had previously posted on this blog). Today, while perusing their website, I noticed that Dakota's pic and my note are featured in their Letters from Home section. Go, D!

If you are looking for a pet, I can't stress enough how important it is to rescue a shelter dog. Start your search on Petfinder.com.

Two of my favorite snapshots of Dakota as a wee pup:

relatively useless information

• Are you in the Linked In community? If yes, send an email to photo@emilieinc.com to join my network.

• 178 is the average number of guests invited to a wedding, according to the Association of Wedding Professionals International.

• Las Vegas ranks as the city with the second most weddings in the world. The first? Istanbul, Turkey. Interesting.

• Lately, I am very easily engrossed in You Tube videos. Anyone spot a funny wedding or photography-related video to share with the group?

• ABC will air In Style's Celebrity Wedding special on Monday, February 5th. I'll be tuning in to drool at the over-the-top details.

Vacation, etc.

I am back, and feeling quite refreshed after a relaxing week of beach lounging and margaritas on ice. We had a wonderful time at Ana Y Jose in Tulum, Mexico, and would highly recommend it to anyone looking for a private, non-touristy experience. Our accommodations were rustic, yet chic, cabanas with thatched roofs and hammocks and sandy paths leading to the beach. Looking for a destination wedding location? This might just be the spot. If you are planning a trip to the area, please email and I'll gladly share our photos and recommendations of restaurants you must check out, etc.

On my way back, I stopped in Washington, DC, to witness (yes, witness, not work) the very fun wedding of my dear friend Lawrence. His wedding planner, Vicky Choy of Event Accomplished, is one of my brides from a few years ago! And friend and colleague Matt Mendelsohn photographed the event.


In other news, I noticed one of my favorite wedding venues recently updated their website. Take a peek at Church Landing in Meredith, NH, if you are shopping for a New England lake experience: website.

Anyone else mourning the Patriots loss tonight like I am?? Sniff, sniff.
(AP Photo/Michael Conroy)

iPhone

Gotta love Apple! Did you hear about the new iPhone unveiled earlier today at Macworld in San Francisco? It's a phone, iPod and web browser in one. I have been a longtime NON-fan of the smart phone, but I think this is one that I may just have to save for since I already adore and use the Mac platform and Cingular cell service. It will available in June.
Learn more at Apple, CNN and the reaction at USA Today.

In other tech news, are you in search of some memory cards for your digital camera? Be sure to check out the great deals on slickdeals.net for the Kingston compact flash cards from the Monday, 1/8 listing (I'd recommend 133x).

Angela Adams

Did you catch the rugs of Portland's own Angela Adams on "The Apprentice" LA tonight? Her patterns are clearly recognizable underfoot in the contestant's mansion. Cool!

Angela Adams website.

Merry, Merry

If you are "from away" (a favorite expression of the natives here), you might be impressed to hear it's 50 degrees today! Wow!

I hope you are all able to spend the holidays with loved ones and reflect on the amazing year that has come to pass. Thank you so much for your thoughtful holiday cards and emails (it's been extra fun to see my imagery on so many of your correspondence!). Here's to wishing you and yours a bright and beautiful holiday season and new year ahead!

Below is a comic I received via email from my grandmother. Probably a bit inappropriate for my blog, but you gotta love wine humor- especially from grandma.

Cheers!

Inspiration

A while back, I stumbled across a shower curtain in a store that became the inspiration for emilie inc: Chocolate brown and pink circles. Now, nearly two years later, I finally hung that shower curtain in my new upstairs bathroom. Fun!

Chocolate brown towels from Pottery Barn tone down the trendy pink a bit!
Other cool stuff in the new bathroom: Mercer triple sconce and Kensington tilt mirror from PB.

Big brother for D

Last month, Dakota received an early Christmas present- a big brother! My boyfriend J and his dog, Destin (an 11-year old shepard/lab/chow mix), moved to Maine from California. The two pooches are getting along fabulously.


Destin gives me a wink!

Cancun

It's that time of year when the wedding madness has slowed down, allowing me a little time to breathe. Next month we're headed to Cancun for a little R&R and a little work, too. I haven't been there before and was wondering if anyone has any suggestions on a cool boutique hotel. I've spotted a few eco-friendly gems a little south of Cancun (Ana y Jose, Maya Tulum...). Please let me know if you have any personal favorites! Thanks in advance!

personalized postage

Looking for a way to make your holiday cards stand out? Check out the following companies that offer personalized photo stamps!

Picture It Postage
Stamps.com
Zazzle

Ed Kashi

During college I spent a semester in London studying photography under National Geographic photographer Ed Kashi. At that time he was working on an extensive personal photography project about aging in America. Ironically, Ed is now living his work... he and his wife Julie recently moved their family from San Francisco to New Jersey to care for Julie's aging father. Take a peek at their moving video.