So to all the skeptics, here is proof that YES I am a graphic designer as well: A recent postcard/flyer project I did with a local company who distributes handcuffs to prisons. Interesante, no?
The official title of my business is "Cat Dunbar Photography and Graphic Design." I post photos upon photos of photography endeavors here but haven't shared much graphic work. The "design" section of my site has been under construction FOREVA and lingering somewhere around item #429 on my to-do list is to update and photograph my portfolio.
So to all the skeptics, here is proof that YES I am a graphic designer as well: A recent postcard/flyer project I did with a local company who distributes handcuffs to prisons. Interesante, no?
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Before they flew back to D.C., I headed to the Queens County Farm with Laura, Brian, Casey G, Claire, Papa and Nana. What a crew! Casey was a little groggy when we first got there, good thing Papa was around... Some shiny red tractors and he is wide awake! Casey G was fearless when it came to feeding the goats. Aunt Catherine kept a safe distance... Here he is with his baton...oh, have you not heard? Casey is the leader of a rather impressive marching band... Look who's awake! It's family picture time! Take #1 Take #2... Take #3... The happy girl <3 Nana and Papa Oh my goodness I love this picture. My sister is such an amazing Mother. So much fun hanging with these guys this weekend...can't wait to do it again in a few weeks...YAY CHRISTMAS!
UGHHH writer's block. I have started, deleted and restarted this post 18 times so far. Last February, while down in our Nation's Capital (Forrest Gump...anyone?) JImmy and Sarah let me parade them around the mall on a mock engagement shoot. Well guess what...10 months later we were shooting for REALZ because Jimmy popped the question a few weeks ago and Sarah said YES! yay! For those who don't know me well, Jimmy was born 3 days before I turned 1. We are "Irish Twins" and shared everything (including birthday parties) until age 10-ish. Even though he joined the D.C. movement he is still my sounding board for major life decisions or a good old-fashioned pity party and I am so beyondddd thrilled that he has found someone as awesome as Sarah. I love the light and "end of autumn" look to these pictures. Jimmy, Sarah (and Shea)...congrats. I hope you like. This is the part where Shea completely photo-bombed us and started rolling around like a lunatic in the middle of my shots... comical to say the least. It must be said that this next series is my favorite. like ever. Sarah's ring is an heirloom that belonged to her Great Grandmother in China. And wow, it is gorgeous. Question: Is it weird to photograph your own brother being all lovey-dovey? Answer: Not when the light is THIS amazing. Thank you late November golden hour... and they all lived happily ever after. the end.
Today was the kind of day that gives me the holiday warm and fuzzies. Devoting a whole day to giving thanks can be a bit overwhelming. There are so many things that I am so grateful to have, I barely know where to start....and I inevitably end up feeling blessed beyond deserving. Which I should. Because I am. Joe&Gillies, our families, our friends....I really don't need anything more. ever. It's late, my pajamas are screaming my name and I ate about 3 brownies too many, so I'll get right to the pictures.... Here's the Turkey Trottin' crew...Kevin, Casey G, Brian, Laura, Jimmy, Sarah and Dad Joe and I have a holiday family-share system that works out super swell. This year it was dinner at his Grandparent's... Thanksgiving dinner at the Perri's brings one thing to mind...Grandpa's famous antipasto.... Here's Gillies being Gillies... Poppin some bubbly. COUSINS!!! {Rob missed the "wear plaid today" memo} Here comes the Turkey! Alicia and Rob. Can I get a collective "awwwwwww?" Rob and Nan Best buds. Oh man, this picture makes me feel feelings. For realz. I lugged my camera to my parent's house for dessert with the full intention of taking more pictures, but somehow I never even took it out of the bag. Sigh...there's always next year. Happy Turkey Day everyone!
They're baAAaaaAAAacckkk! These 3 familiar faces were my first test subjects when I kicked around the idea of starting a business. Needless to say, I was pretty excited to see them again and see how they've grown (and wow, have they grown!). Charlie, Liam and Alice are all walking (running crazy) now and I definitely got a workout in chasing after them during our session. One thing hasn't changed about Alice...her heart-stoppingly adorable expressions have only gotten cuter... Liam definitely has a mischievous side...as proven in some of the group shots below...and man oh man he is a dead-ringer for his Aunt Kaitlin... Charlie is a mover and a shaker! I think I have 50+ images just of him running away from me... These pictures were all taken at the Centennial Gardens in Floral Park....a place where people just happen to leave bails of hay stacked up perfectly??? This photographer was a happy camper. In all seriousness, Mr. Corbett and his team have done an absolutely fantastic job of turning this property (once known as "the sump"...i'll leave it at that) into a beautiful park and garden. LIAM! There's that devilish side I mentioned before.... Is there anything cuter than 1.5 year old triplets in overalls? I think not... This session was a lot of fun...and I don't usually do this...but on my way home I got a text message from Charlie, Liam and Alice's mom that said "can you send me the one where Liam is picking his nose?" I love it! Usually when culling images from a session, a nose-picker would never make the final cut. I love the idea of including the "not so perfect" pictures as part of a set. Isn't that what life with triplets is probably like anyway?....a non-stop series of perfectly imperfect moments? Without further adieu, here are some of the "outtakes" from this session: Here's Liam just after helping himself to a gourmet mouth full of a dirt... Here's Liam making a break for it during an attempted family shot... Anndddd my favorite. EVER. Charlie: "get a room people!!!"....hahaha love this. I'll end it right back with Liam...the repeat offender. What a little stinker!!!
As I looked to cross another item off my 30 in 365 list this week I saw #4 and stopped. I rerouted to some bookmarked pages on my browser of workshops that I have long-dreamed of attending. They all cost $1,500 or more (not counting plane tickets and hotel accommodations) and are run by fabulous photographers whose images I have drooled over for almost a year. I scrolled through the countless rave reviews and cringed at bold statements like "this workshop changed my career" and "my business is what it is today because of ________'s workshop."
Then I got to thinking (no, this is not a Sex In The City column) about the hours/days/months (LITERALLY...Joe can attest) that I have spent reading, researching and obsessing over various photog resources. To steal a quote from Jasmine Star's book (which, since receiving on Monday, I've already read three times, dog-eared and highlighted to my hearts delight): "I, however, make no qualms about how I made things happen because I simply made them happen the only way I knew how. Sure, if given the chance to redo a few things I might, but, overall, I stand by my performance and own it." What's my point? I don't think I'll be spending that $1,500 after all. And in the meantime, as 30 in 365 list Commissioner, I award myself partial credit for the progress I've made and amount of information I've absorbed up until this point. SO THERE! So it's definitely been a while since my last post, but I spent most of my spare time this week OD'ing on tylenol cold & sinus and hiding under the blankets. Thankfully I woke up this morning feeling much better because I had a not-to-be-missed session with Stephanie and Shawn "bright and early" ( 11 a.m.) Ladies, all I have to say is, be prepared for some insane jealousy. Stephanie is 8 months pregnant and drop dead GORGEOUS. No one should be allowed to look this fabulous while they are THIS pregnant....it's just not right. anddddd YUP...it's a girl!!! After shooting for a bit at the house, we grabbed Shawn and headed to a local park. Shawn is the kind of guy that helps Stephanie put her boots on, opens her car door for her and gets nervous when she starts climbing around on a big boat (more on that later). A+ in my book... We then hopped on Stephanie's family boat for some more pictures. I don't know what part of the boat this is (the "I'm the King of The World!!!" part?) but it was tough getting up there! Stephanie lead the way fearlessly - boots, belly and all. So I tried not to act to scared but yeah...I pretty much expected my camera and I to go plummeting into the water. Congrats you two!!! Can't wait to hear the news of baby M's arrival!!!
*Special thanks to Makeup By Kristen Nicole Today I met up with Nicholas for some portraits to capture an important milestone...turning 3! Yesterday he had a big birthday party at his house and, according to him, his FAVORITE present was his Buzz Lightyear Powerwheels. When he came whipping around the corner in his shiny new ride, I'm not proud of it, but I was totally jealous. Powerwheels were the ONE thing that I coveted most as a child and the Jeep Wrangler version was at the top of my Christmas list 6 consecutive years beginning somewhere around 1989. Sadly, Santa never delivered. I am now way over the maximum weight to ride one and the emotional scars remain. (Just kidding Mom...I love you!). Anyway, back to business...the best part about Nick's party (at least from my point of view) was all the left over balloons! After bouncing around the house for a while, we meandered down to the park around the corner. The weather today was beauteous to say the least. Obviously we brought the balloons... On the way home Nicholas hit up his Mom for a grape Tootsie-Pop...yum! I'll end with my favorite shot of the day...those eyes are criminal! Happy Birthday little guy!
BOLD STATEMENT OF THE DAY: This might be one of my favorite sessions to date. Caden and Reagan's Mom, "Ms. O", was one of my lacrosse coaches in high school. We reconnected via facebook a few months ago so I already had a preview of how ridiculously adorable her kiddos are. Naturally, when she asked me to take holiday pictures of them I was more than happy to oblige. These two showed up in their holiday best with a no-nonsense attitude. A little birdie told me that big smiles and happy faces meant a trip to get ice cream right after our shoot. To say that Caden and Reagan were cooperative would be an understatement. Mental note #456: never underestimate the power of ice cream! I'll shut up now and let the pictures do the talking... Reagan's two front teeth fell out just a few days ago. As if the hair, the eyelashes and the adorable dress weren't enough? It was so fun hanging with these two and catching up with their Mom!
So I've heard from many photogafriends about the warm and fuzzies that come along with seeing your images framed in a client's home or used on a Christmas card etc. The other day I had my first dose when I received the birth announcement my sister made with one of the pictures I took of baby Claire a few months back.... I was all prepared to write an informative and professional blog post about the many benefits and applications of photography - but while I was snapping some images of the birth announcement, Joe got home from work and heated up some hot pockets. Let me just say, after we got Gillies one of the first things we read about beagles is that they love food and will do pretty much whatever it takes to get their paws on something edible. However, nothing could've really prepared us for how crazed this dog is when it comes to eating. I decided to document what goes on when we try to enjoy a meal. Cesar Milan, I hope you never see this... Strategy #1: Sit like a very well behaved dog and hope the reward will be a mouth full of hot pocket On to Strategy #2: Jump up and get ready to catch any wayward crumbs Last but certainly not least-infuriating, Strategy #3: Snout on table and sad eyes combo pose After whining and jumping up for 20+ minutes with no hot pocket to show for it, Gillies still puts on his best "circus dog" for half of a healthy-weight MilkBone Biscuit. To him, it might as well be a steak. I have two family shoots this weekend that I'm really excited about, so check back soon for updates that
are a little more relevant and a little less crazy dog lady. |