In other news, I’ve been tagged! Excuse my lack of knowledge in this whole blog ‘tagging’ business, as my good photog friend Amanda actually had to GChat me to let me know I should DO something about her tagging me, haha. She’s a fellow photog out in Cali whom I adore for her always being online for me to bounce ideas off of, and to share recent work with! Check out her 5 interesting things- one of them is the fact that her hubby learned Portugeuse (having only spoken English) so that he could speak fluently with her family (she’s from Brazil). He learned a whole ‘nother language, people. I think he earns husband of the year award :)

So here goes, I have to come up with ‘5 Interesting Things About Me’:

1) I eat my cereal with Orange Juice in it. Oh gosh, did I just admit that? I was made fun of at breakfast mercilessly by my college rowing team as, every day for breakfast, I would pour myself some Kashi ‘Heart To Heart’, and skip the milk, beelining straight for the orange juice dispenser. I still have my H to H with OJ, and don’t drink a drop of milk with anything. Even brownies.

2) I have a collection of National Geographics from the 1910’s and 20’s. Something about looking back at the ads for Ford family cars for under $1000 makes me very happy.

3) I have a thing for family albums and photographs. No really, stay with me on this one! I know it’s hard to believe that I actually like pictures. ;) But seriously- anyone’s house that I went to, and still do, my favorite thing is to look through their family albums and watch their home videos. I love making family connections, piecing together the history of a family by the moments that they have chosen to keep. Give me a family album of someone I don’t know and I’ll be entertained for hours. :)

4) I am one of the few people that I know that drives a minivan, with no kids to put in it (yet!). :) The mileage may drive me insane, but the room in the back for all of my props and equipment is priceless. The Honda Civics are miiiighty tempting to me right now though, as are these. Imagine me showing up to sessions in one of those! Ha!

5) My dream is to live on a farm, when all is said and done. A farm with acres upon acres of fields to photograph in, a farmhouse with a wraparound porch, and horses, cows, sheep, goats, and chickens that I can take care of while not photographing in my state-of-the-art natural light studio on one of my many acres. Gosh golly, a girl can dream.

And the second part of being ‘tagged’ is tagging back! Right? Maybe one of my interesting things should have been that I’m “tech-culturally challenged”, haha. I tag:
Heather- Fab photographer down in Maryland. She’s traveling up to Boston to help with the workshop, and I’m making her asking her nicely to take some new website headshots of me :)
Erika - My fabulous painting friend and new business partner. Clients can look forward to their images painted on canvases in her signature, whimsical style this season and beyond. I also love her blog- she JUST moved out to CO and got married, so wish her well over there! Oops- did I just give away some of her interesting things? ;)
Stacey – Besides being the master of black and white emotive images, this is one of the sweetest people I have ever met. She’s from Florida, and I suppose one of her interesting things might be that she JUST had a baby girl! Head over there and wish her some congratulations!
Amy – Also one of the sweetest- and busiest- photographers I’ve had the pleasure to meet. I stalk her blog like none other, haha. It’s okay if you don’t have time to tag back, Amy :)
Kyung - Her style is so fresh, fun, and lovely. And I absolutely adore her branding. She’s coming out with a new photo album line, so stay tuned for that, fellow photogs!

Okay, and here are the rules of the tagging:
* Link to the person that tagged you and post the rules on your blog
* Share 5 things about yourself that others might not know
* List 5 random people at the end of your post and include links to their blogs
* Let each person know they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blogs

And a post is not a post without some images. More of Baby B:

Until Next Time,

MG

 (I just thought of those ‘interesting’ things I put up there, and realized they consisted of Orange Juice, National Geographic, Family Albums, Minivans, and Farms. Lord. I am absolutely the most interesting person you know.)

 :)

The chill outside we felt a couple days ago made me want to break out the corduroys and head to Starbucks for a Pumpkin Spice Frappuccino. Mmmm. My favorite Fall drink, other than hot apple cider. My sister and I got into an argument over which season was better- Fall or Spring? I was on the Autumnal side of things, and I think I won. I mean, c’mon. Think of the Topsfield Fair, the cozy sweaters, the excuse to buy new leather knee high boots. Well, it’s MY excuse.

Speaking of my sister, she was just accepted to Cameo as a model, through their new adults division. I took her out for a shoot today at a local farm, Cider Hill, in Amesbury MA, and we hiked to the top of the hill to the peach orchard to take a couple shots.

Isn’t she just adorable?

A couple notes:

-I’ve been having phone problems, where my voicemail box has been literally filling with sales calls. I’m sorting it out with my phone company (sorting is the nice way to put it), so please bear with me. The best way, and quickest way as always, is to email me- for booking or for questions. Please use this method until I can convince my phone company that no, I do NOT need ‘new, lower car insurance!’. Thank you very much.

-I’ve sent out the information for the September Modeling Shoot previously announced to all the models and families that volunteered. Thank you to everyone that’s participating! If you volunteered and did not get an email with details for the day, please check your Spam folder. If anyone would still like to join, please email me ASAP. I am willing to take two-three more kids.

-The Holiday 2008 Schedule will be posted Monday, and booking for these sessions will start then. I will be offering both mini sessions and regular sessions, both of which include digital files and Holiday Cards. Mini sessions will be held on two weekends in October.

Okay, business is done. If it weren’t dark out, I would be outside again. Here are a couple images to remind us of Summer when the chill sets in (coincidentally peach-themed as well):

Until Next Time,

MG

Mama love. Nothing better. My stunning friend Tess, and her son, G. He’s now almost 2 weeks old, and the time has flown by already (well, for me…probably not for the sleep deprived parents! :) ). I photographed his birth, and it was the most amazing thing I’ve ever witnessed. You feel an inexplicable bond with someone you watch come into the world, and the pictures still make me tear up when I go back to look at them.

As such, this will definitely be one of the most well-photographed babies in New England, as both his parents are great photographers…and I will be sure to take every shot of him I can get, haha! Poor kid won’t know what I look like without a camera in front of my face ;)

Oh, and I’m testing out/debuting the new watermark! I’m quite pleased with the way my little bird just sings right into the photo :) Adds a wee bit more color, too, which as you probably know, I am all for!

MG

My beautiful friend Tess’s baby boy, G :) Is he not the sweetest doll you’ve ever seen? I didn’t know it was possible to be so in love with someone else’s child! :) Excuse the outdated watermark…I am working on uploading a new one!

Until Next Time,

MG

My lovely designer, Lisa Reichman, is (as we speak!) updating the design of my blog to accommodate our new brand and logo! Isn’t it beautiful? This is the official new name-MariahGale: Modern Portraiture. Excuse us working out the kinks for the rest of the day.

I’ll be slowly switching over the old ‘pink square’ logo to our new ‘arboreal chic’ brand over the next couple days. I’m easing myself into the transition….and marveling at all of the places my logo has ended up over the year since I’ve had it! If I miss one anywhere, feel free to let me know :)

I’ll also be switching over my domain name on my website to mariahgale.com shortly. Conveniently, you’ll still be redirected to my website when you type in mariahgale.com, even after the switch. I will make the official announcement when we become mariahgale.com, so get ready to update your bookmarks!

Phew! Off to go update!

Until I finish locating every single logo placement ;) ,

M

He’s a ridiculously nice guy. Humored all of his fans and their cameras for over an hour after his set- we had to take advantage of the CD signing and photo op! We were at Riverfest in Newburyport, and though Blind Melon’s comeback was scintillating, Matt clearly stole the show, along with the newcomer band that opened, Needtobreathe. I didn’t bring any of my long lenses for fear of any type of concert-going mishap, so I took this photo with my camera about 3 feet above my head, held there, hoping I would focus on the band. :)

It was an absolutely beautiful day, and Newburyport was packed- we’re lucky we got a seat that close!

Matt Nathanson does, indeed, heart me. ;)

In other news, I will be away from email and phone for the majority of today, Monday. I’ll be photographing the birth of my dear friend Tess’s son. I’m so honored to be documenting his welcome to this world. Pictures to come, along with his newborns, very soon! Oh, and I have the cutest little models to post, too. Stay tuned :)

Until Next Time,

Mariah

Sweet summertime. :) One of my favorite little clients….I did a modeling shoot with her a while back, and got to work with her and her family again for a creative shoot. We picked some hot days to shoot, so out came the sprinkler!

This kids’ tent is a Lucy and Michael cloth tent…LOVE it. It’s a teepee style tent that pitches itself, and folds up for easy storage. If anyone’s interested in using it for their sessions, let me know and it will come along!

I have so much more to edit from so many shoots. Stay tuned for a blog posting extravaganza!

Mariah

Her mama loves this one, and I do too :) Had to share an image before the….

Big News!

Drumroll PLEASE…..

Mariah M Photography is about to change! Yes, change- quite literally, in fact. Our business name will be changing to simply “Mariah Gale” in the next couple weeks- a sleeker, more palatable title to say than our current 8-syllable mouthful :) Mariah M Photography has carried me thus far, and I will be sad to see it go. However, I think the new name/brand will be absolutely well received. Wouldn’t you rather say “My photographer? Oh, Mariah Gale of course”, when your friends ask who did those fab photos? Absolutely! :)

Why Mariah Gale? Gale is my middle name, and some of you may have guessed it, but I was named after the wind (no, not Mariah Carey). I’ve had folks singing “They Call The Wind Mariah” to me since the day I was born. That combination is close to my heart, and, I feel, a reflection of my identity and creative style as a photographer. Not to mention 4 syllables less to say!

I will be unveiling our new branding (don’t worry, the pink square may not go), and our new logo in the next couple weeks. I’m working with a fabulous designer, Lisa Reichman, that I feel confident will take my brand in the direction that the company is headed- toward style, modernity, dependability, and fun!

Happy Fourth! *Fireworks and BBQs*

Mariah (Gale)

Speaking of internet obsessions, I went to check my website stats today, and happened to glance at the “Summary”- the log that tells you how many people have visited your site since day one. I made a TV-style double-take…’is that RIGHT?!”: My website has been viewed well over 200,000 times since last July when I launched it, which, had I not been sitting down, would have absolutely floored me. Thank you to everyone who has supported my work over the past year! I would hug and kiss you all if I had more than your IP addresses. :)

I will make an image post later on tonight, since I know this one is woefully devoid of smiling faces and color. I recently completed the shoot for “Recess”, the new kids’ clothing store in West Newbury, MA. We shot at a playground, and I have the cutest images of our little kid models. Recess will be opening the second week of July, and is located in the center of town on Main Street.

Stay tuned tonight for images from the shoot!

Mariah

Please email me at contact@mariahgale.com, or use the “Shout Out” form on the website. Also email me if you know of any can’t-miss restaurants in Rhode Island…because yes, I am already thinking about my meals :)

A photo from a recent newborn session to keep this a true photography post:

2 weeks. Isn’t she purdy?

Mariah