Alice Star Markham Cantor is Bat Mitzvah

Alice was Bat Mitzvahed this past Saturday at the Prospect Park Picnic House in Brooklyn. She was poised and practiced and gave a marvelous speech about the meaning of biblical Esther.

The ceremony was wonderful: over 30 family members and friends spoke or read poetry. Cantor Doug Cotler, a cousin of Alice's, officiated on the guitar and Alice charmed everyone, including Doug, with her amazing voice.



















-----------Oh yeah, Alice is this photographer's niece.

Sammy's Bar Mitzvah

Sammy Mellman's Bar Mitzvah is March 29, 2008. He is the son of musician Bob Mellman and artist Janice Belove. I first met Sammy, not in my role as photographer, but rather as a baseball umpire for the town of Montclair. Unfortunately, Sammy struck out the first time he came to bat when I was behind the plate. The next time he hit a double. Not bad!

Congratulations to Sammy and the Mellman family.

Giclée: the ultimate in wall portraits

I have added Giclée to the list of beautiful wall portraits that I offer and I want to take a moment to answer some questions about Giclée, which means "spray" in French.

What is distinctive about Giclée Printmaking?
My Giclée prints are extensively worked on to be more dramatic than a regular portrait. They can be in color, though, I often choose to convert them to a strong black and white. They are produced on heavy weight fine art papers which impart a rich look and feel that cannot be duplicated on standard resin-coated photographic papers.

Do Giclée Prints require any special care?
Just like any piece of fine art, they should be kept from direct sunlight, extreme heat or humidity. Classic gallery-style display, matted and glassed with a simple frame will provide protection with an elegant look. They may be hung without glass protection because we use DuraFiber, which provides a waterproof, scuff-free finish.

Why are Giclée prints more expensive than standard photo lab prints?
The Giclée process is time intensive and requires expensive museum quality paper and archival inks.

Matthew, Six Months Old

Matthew has been to the studio twice to have his portrait taken as part of my BABY COLLECTION series of portraits. He came with his mom Rebecca and his dad, seen here, also named Matt. \

What a wonderful personality this little guy has. I love this portrait...there is something so "disneyesque" about it...it is both cold and hot at the same time.

The talk in the wedding community is about the demise of Celebration Studios, one of the largest "factory" type wedding photography studios around. Their impending bankruptcy has left hundreds of brides without their proofs or albums or even, a photographer for their 2008 wedding.

The Montclair Times did an extensive story about Celebrations - http://www.montclairtimes.com/page.php?page=16603 - in which I am interviewed about how to avoid such an annoying outcome. I do think that all the 2007 brides will eventually get their pictures and all the 2008 brides will find a new photographer. Caveat Emptor.

Holiday Portraits: deck the halls with boughs of pixels

What a great time of year...dinners cooking in the kitchen, leaves falling...we just need some snow to make it picture perfect. I've been making lots of wonderful portraits as people gather for the holidays.
Happy holidays!

Petography

On a whim, I put a sign in the store window inviting folks to bring in their pets for a free photograph. First of all, I got lots of calls asking what the catch was. "I'm not kidding," I told the callers, "it's really free." When the day arrived, there was a line out the door of people and their pets. Denise Gebroe, who assists me is also a dog trainer and veterinary technician, and she was in charge of making the cats and dogs smile for the camera. It was so funny and silly and I look forward to doing it again. And, everyone got their free picture in the mail.