Thursday, August 13, 2009

Pre RIP Mooshi


I'm a cat lady and Mooshi has been my cat for 10 years, ever since he was a very unattractive kitten--he had to grow into his eyes if you know what I mean.

Turns out Mooshi (aka Mooper, Super Mooper, MoBerto, Wicker F*cker Upper, MooMoo, MoMan) has cancer. We're leaving for Ghana, for 2 weeks, on Tuesday, and this complicates things. See, his prognosis is not good.
Me to the Vet ,"Like six months, right?"
Vet to Me, "I'd call that a long shot".

So I'm now preparing for our trip, getting ready for Xander's 3rd birthday, finishing up all of my work, and now trying to spend some quality time with Mooshi, which isn't really very easy since he can't walk very well and he appears to be in pain.

We had to put Mooshi's brother, Sushi, to sleep in Boston, before Xander was born. We took him to the vet for what we thought was a slight illness and walked out with an empty cat carrier. That was traumatic, for everyone. I hated the fact that his last hour was one of stress as they poked and prodded him to find out why he couldn't breathe. I wish we had taken him home and had the vet come to us but we were in shock and put him down then. I know we did the right thing but I can't help kicking myself for not making his last few minutes calm and peaceful. I feel like I never really had a chance to say goodbye to him because the process was so sudden.

So, with Mooshi, I've decided to call in a vet who specializes in home visits. I want MoMan to be peaceful and calm with me by his side.
I took these photos of Mooshi on Tuesday, before I got the call from the vet regarding his biopsy.
Oh dear, I'm puddling up.

Saturday, August 08, 2009

Nicole & Graig's Wedding

I've done a good job of keeping my photog calendar filled with a variety of photographic genres and gigs so I never get pigeon holed or typecast as a photographer shooting only in one genre. This keeps me fresh and having fun, always. Case in point: I had the opportunity to photograph Nicole and Graig on Thursday, August 6th. Molly, my friend, assistant, and former bride asked me to capture their day and it was quite the unique experience.

First, I had never met either Nicole or Graig and when I did, they looked smashing. Being in black tie and a wedding dress makes a great first impression. ;)
Second, I didn't actually photograph their ceremony. Only Mormons are allowed inside The Temple, so I had to wait outside. I thought this might pose a challenge because the ceremony sets the mood for the event and gets everyone on the same page. Thankfully everything worked out, no doubt in part because Nicole and Graig were so chillax that it made doing a quick read on how to best photograph them a breeze.

Lastly, the temple is an amazing location! The fountains and gardens are spectacular--capturing love birds being love birds in a fab setting is always a pleasure!
And with that very long winded preamble, Ladies and Gentlemen, I present Nicole and Graig!