Please come join us for the first annual ELEEF 5k Road Race and Kids Fun Run on September 25th. The Kids Fun Run is for kids 10 and under. The first 40 kids who sign up get one of these fun t-shirts! This is a great way to support ELEEF and raise money for all the extras our teachers need.

The 5k Road Race starts at 9am and the Kids Fun Run starts at 10am. Please come cheer on our kids!

This portrait contest is for kids 10 years and younger who live in Western Mass and will be held at the Norcross House in East Longmeadow.

I held this contest last year and it was a blast! Click here to see images from last year.

What:  ’Spring Has Sprung’ Little Models Contest
Who:  Children 10 and under
Where:  Heritage Park Gazebo, N. Main Street, East Longmeadow (across from 382 N. Main St.)
When:  Friday ~ April 15th ~ 9:30am-11:30am
Saturday ~ April 16th ~ 12pm-2pm

Each child who enters will be photographed for about 10 minutes during the times listed above. This contest is not about who is the most adorable, we know ALL children are adorable! It is about the model that best personifies Spring!
The images will be posted on a web gallery for friends and family to make their vote. The winner will receive over $200 in gifts and prizes!

There will be balloons, pinwheels, and lots of laughter. All models must register in advance by contacting Suzanne at 413.525.9089.

Tip:  Have your child wear bright, vibrant colors. Raincoats and umbrellas work great too!

Contest Rules: Images will be posted by Tuesday, April 19th, on this blog. Voting will end on Thursday, April 21st at 11:59pm and the winner will be announced on Friday, April 22nd.

For the next few days, where ever you go, simply smile at people. You’ll be amazed at what you find. People will actually smile back. Maybe you’re having a bad day, or maybe the guy passing you on the sidewalk is having a bad day. Smiles are contagious and leave lasting positive effects. Just trust me and try it.

I love what I do. After all, I get to create portraits of people, children & families all over New England, helping them to capture memories. But sometimes, I like to challenge myself beyond the typical family portrait. Last year I created the Vanity Chair portraits which challenged me to photograph women in a very different style than my usual modern, yet traditional, style.

This year it was creating images that would make the viewer smile. It seems like it would be an easy thing. And with children, it can be pretty easy to get them to laugh. The more challenging aspect for me this year was getting adults to let down their guard long enough to give me a genuine smiling expression.

I really want to thank everyone who helped to make this event such a great success. Drs. Scannell & Hollinger were generous enough to sponsor the event and Lighthouse Liquors provided three amazing wines for us to sample. And, Dee from Pea Soup Catering created some really delicious food. The rosemary sugar cookies were absolutely addictive! Also a quick thank you to my step-dad, Bill, for taking photos for me at the event.

After all the snow and cold weather this winter, you could use a pick-me-up, right? Well, there is no way you’ll want to miss this great art exhibit which will be showing over 20 shining happy faces. The show will be up for one night only at the Pheffer Gallery at the Norcross House in East Longmeadow!

This year-long project has taken me on a personal journey of happiness that I want to share. Not only have I met and photographed some amazing people, I have also taken the opportunity to appreciate the joy felt by both my subjects and myself during the process.

[You can also check out this event on Facebook, click here]

I gave up watching the news and reading the papers a long time ago. It was tiring to always read about the doom and gloom that sells papers and gives better ratings for networks. It is quite easy to get caught up in the negativity we are presented with by the media and therefore it is challenging to maintain a positive attitude when surrounded by such negative energy.

For the past couple months, I have been working on a series of images that I hope will counteract some of this unhappiness. I call the series ‘Shiny Happy Faces’ and it is designed to make you, the viewer, experience some “Happy” in your daily routine. After all, who among us can stifle a smile when surrounded by happy, smiling faces?

From Oct. 1 through January 21, 2001 this series of photographs will be on display as part of the Smile Once art exhibit at the Eagle Hill School in Hardwick, MA. The Opening Reception is October 2nd from 5:30pm to 7:30pm. I am so thrilled to be part of this exhibit and I hope you can join us at the reception!

So, I am proud to announce the winner … lucky number 15, with a whopping 197 votes. Numbers 4, 8 and 13 were very close behind! Congratulations!

I’m SO excited to share all the photos from my ‘Little Models’ contest from over the weekend. We had a great turnout and I ended up photographing 18 children for the contest. It’s going to be very difficult for you all to vote which is the winner – they are ALL great!

Contest Rules: Please vote for the image that best personifies childhood & Springtime! Votes must be made by leaving a comment on this blog page (below the photos) with the image number. For example, “I vote for image number three.” Please vote for only one image. Voting will end on Thursday, April 1st at 11:59pm and the winner will be announced on Friday, April 2nd.

HAPPY VOTING!

What:  “Spring Has Sprung” models contest
Who:  Children 10 and under
Where:  Norcross House, 89 Maple Street, East Longmeadow, MA
When:  Friday ~ March 26th ~ 9:30am-11:30am
Saturday ~ March 27th ~ 12pm-2pm

Each child who enters will be photographed for about 10 minutes during the times listed above. This contest is not about who is the most adorable, we know ALL children are adorable! It is about the model that best personifies Spring!

The images will be posted on a web gallery for friends and family to make their vote. The winner will receive a cool multi-image collage print AND a custom designed portfolio card.

There will be balloons, pinwheels, and lots of laughter. All models must register in advance by contacting Suzanne at 413.525.9089.

Tip:  Have your child wear bright, vibrant colors. Raincoats and umbrellas work great too!

Contest Rules: Images will be posted by Tuesday, March 30th, on this blog. Votes must be made by leaving a comment on the blog with the image number. (For example, I vote for image number three). Voting will end on Thursday, April 1st at 11:59pm and the winner will be announced on Friday, April 2nd.

Just before I left, I hosted the Vanity Chair event. It was so much fun and we raised over $100 for Girl’s Inc. I am so pleased with the project, if not a bit sad that it’s over. This personal project challenged me in many ways and pushed me beyond my creative comfort zone. I don’t think I’m quite ready to let go of it yet so if you were at the event, give me a call to create your very own Vanity Chair style portrait. Heck, even if you weren’t at the event, I’d love to photograph you.

I wanted to share some of the images I created for the project as well as some photos from the event itself. We all had a great time and raised money for a great charity too. I really want to thank Kim for taking photos at the event and Heather from Suki and Karen from Salon Karma for helping to make the event such a great success!

-Suzanne