Animal Refuge League of Greater Portland Press Release. A Maine Photographer.

The Animal Refuge League of Greater Portland announce via press conference yesterday their plans to build a new animal shelter, and I was blessed to be there for the exciting news.  This has been in the works for quite some time, and what started out as a bit of a dream is now very much a reality.  A very exciting time indeed.
Several years ago I was asked to photograph parts of the current building...the parts that needed much repair...for documentation purposes...not that anyone was arguing that many repairs were needed...so even though I am not employed by the shelter, this project has been close to my heart for some time.  In addition, the sheer number of volunteer hours that "run" the shelter is mind boggling.  There are more than 200 volunteers who help take care of 4000 abandoned, stray or surrendered animals per year.

Here is a link the ARL has specifically set up for this journey called The Future Fund.
I will continue to share info as it becomes available.  The shelter is being built on the same property that it currently resides on and will continue to be open during the entire process.

I've included photos from the press conference, photos from an event that occurred in late January where the reality of a new shelter was shared with many of the investors, and the last set of photos are the cats I photographed on Monday, many of which are still available for adoption!  If you haven't already...it is time to Fall In LOVE!!!

Annie

Bailey

Bear

CB

Charley

Chloe

Cuddles

Domino

Fluffy

Izzy

Janey

Momma Cass

Noel

Samantha

Snuffles

Sunshine

Winter West Festival Part II. Westbrook Maine Photographer

As promised, Part II of the Winter West Westbrook Maine Festival that was held on Saturday February 15th.  If you recall, parts of the festival were postponed due to unfavorable winter conditions.  You can view Part I on my blog here.

This time around there was plenty of snow and cold temperatures...and it appears...fun had by all.  Enjoy :)


http://video214.com/play/FaumV9GMCgr0bmHuP38gcA/s/dark

My Sister's Birthday. A Maine Photographer

Every year since my sister Carmen died I have been blogging on her birthday.  It's kind of like a recap journal for myself of how I'm working through stuff without her. Here is year three, two, and one and the first birthday after her death.
I met with Mom today to go out to lunch together.  I also started doing this a few years ago to help cheer my Mom up on this day.  We had a nice lunch which we were going to follow up with a little shopping, but Mom wasn't feeling well, so I dropped her off and headed home myself...

Which I thought was a good idea...because Ms Chloebutt, AKA Chloe, born on the day my sister died, named after my sister, also hasn't been well for the past 24 hours.  I am assuming it's pregnancy related...after all...she is sick like a dog.  This is how the last two days have gone...SpotBot going 24/7 and after three trips to the bathtub we finally shaved a bit of her back end out of shear exhaustion!  One month ago Chloe attempted to fulfill her destiny as a Mommy...but when she failed to play naturally, science played a role and she was artificially inseminated.  If the procedure worked, and if Ms Chloe is indeed "with puppy" we have a due date of March 6th.  I will have a series of blog posts devoted primarily to Ms Chloe, starting next month.

Two weeks ago I unpacked Carmen's kaleidoscope

collection.  They had been packed since I packed up my old studio in October of 2012.  It was wonderful to get them out where they can now be enjoyed.  In addition, I've decided to revisit making kaleidoscope art with my photography.  I had begun doing this when my boys were very little...not sure why I stopped...but this is one area where I know I can offer clients one of a kind art like no one else does.  (this photo is my wedding bouquet...and yes...a bit of my cleavage too)

I continue to photograph the cats at the Animal Refuge League, every Monday.  I started doing this in the Spring of 2010, inspired by Carmen's absolute love of cats, and I am still doing it today.

 
Every year I miss picking out that perfect birthday gift for my sister.  I used to keep my eyes open all year round to pick out a gift that I knew she would love, and she always did the same for me.  I can remember all the way back to when my sister was in college and she would pick out something perfect for me at a craft fair. I absolutely always looked forward to reciprocating and picking out the perfect gift for her.  I wish I had told her that was one tradition I would never give up...and to this day I continue to search for that perfect gift I know she would love.  This year I'm buying her a bottle tree.  The one in this photo belongs to my friend Cheryl.  I had never seen or heard of them before, but the moment I saw it, I knew my sister Carmen would totally have loved it.  I'm sure you can guess Carmen's bottle tree will not look quite like this one...lucky for me...Carmen loved blue, purple and green!  Carmen's tree will be a work in progress and I promise to post photos in the Spring!

  

Snow Day Catch Up. A Maine Photographer

I've been waiting for a snow day to share these photos.
Last summer was a whirlwind for my family.
We had the closing on our house in July...yet we didn't move in until mid August.
We had a few updates to do in the new house and many updates to do in the old.
I had weddings and high school seniors to photograph and...well...summer is short.
Because of our crazy busy schedules we knew having fun was in short supply.
When we were asked to chaperone some high school boys on a quick overnight camping trip I jumped at the chance because I knew having fun this summer wasn't penciled in on the calendar.
But I was worried...not about being the only female...but a bit about what high school boys might want to include in a overnight camping trip away from home...for entertainment...I here enough about the parties...etc etc.

Whew, I was pleasantly surprised.   No sooner had we got the vehicles unloaded and all supplies moved to the camp site...the main event began...and continued for the following 24 hours...

Frog catching.

Yup...a first for me.

I've raised two boys...spent many hours at campgrounds...but I admit...high school boys and their facination with frogs...again...a first for me.

The following day after arrival we climbed Tumbledown mountain.  If you're a native Mainer and you haven't been to the top of Tumbledown, please add this to your bucket list...the view is worth the climb.

My photo video is quick!
Enjoy your snowday :)

Digital Photography 101 with Joanne Minor Starts Tonight January 23, 2014

Hey, I'm sending out a last minute reminder that I have a Digital Photography 101 Class starting up tonight at the Westbrook Community Center and it is not too late to sign up!  Here is the link

All you need is your digital camera, one that has manual mode options, your camera manual, and a desire to learn something new!  It's fun!  I've posted a few pictures below from a former student....and I've taken the liberty to copy and paste what some of my students said about the class when it was over.  The photos represent the basics of what you will learn.  How to control the "speed" of your shutter so you get the results in your photo that you want...Buzz Lightyear is my trusty prop...fast spinning lights is a slow shutter...freezing the lights...that's a fast shutter.  The naked troll with the beautiful "bokah" lights in the background...you will learn how to do this too.  Thank you to former student Bridget DeRoche for sharing with us these photos she took in class.

...and here are some of the comments from my last class.

"Thanks for the fun class.  You opened my eyes up to explore with my camera more! I enjoyed your class because it was laid back and not TOO technical.  Easy to follow."

"I wanted to thank you for the incredible amount of knowledge I acquired while in class and I can honestly say that I would not have learned so much on my own.
I appreciate all the info that you have given us and the ability to send me out to shoot great pics"

and if you need any more encouragement to come out one night a week and learn something new, you can read a blog post I wrote last March, featuring photos from Elizabeth, a former student HERE

Come on out and have some fun!

Winter West Festival 2014 Part One Westbrook Maine. A Maine Photographer

January in Maine...can be pretty slow.
Maine in January.  Again slow.
A few folks in our community put their heads together to put on a Winter Fest...to keep many of us from the obvious cabin fever that can easily set in about this time of year.
I volunteered to photograph the events...and was so looking forward to all of it...but particularly the dog sled racing...after all...Joanne and photographing dogs...yes!
But alas...Mother Nature did not play nice.
Some events did go off without a hitch...others have been postponed until February.
The events that I did photograph kept a smile on my face all weekend.
I'm looking forward to more outdoor winter fun in mid February.
Here are some of my hand picked favorites...and I've included the rest of the collection in a slide show below.

if you don't see the slide show below, you can view it at this link.  http://video214.com/play/ucLuNj2yggPfLzqVMsefmA/s/dark

December 6th. Year 20something. A Day of Love

December 6, 2009 my sister Carmen died.
She was 52 years old.
I will turn 52 years old before this year ends.
I know I am not ready to die.

I had two great Aunts who lived into their 90's.
They were sisters and lived together.  I believe between the two of them they had outlived four or five husbands.
There was a time where I thought that would be my sister and I.  Two ninety-something-year-old bitties sharing the remaining years of their lives together.

I had planned to write this post for some time now...with words of gratitude and reflection.

Everything changed this week.

Our community suffered a tragic loss.
A violent loss.
A young and promising life loss.
A beautiful family shattered with grief.
A community grieving together.

I cannot see through my own tears to write this.

Today we will begin our goodbyes to Matthew Rairdon.

Matt's senior portraits were one of the first I ever took.
I was more nervous than he was.
He sent me an email afterwards.  It simply said
"Thank you for taking my senior photos.  You are a very good photographer"

Oh Matthew, thank you so much for the vote of confidence.  I'm guessing you now know how much I needed to hear that :)

xoxo

I will forever remember your smile!