summer vacation | more rhode island!

back to vacation - even if only in my mind and in my pictures!  reacclimating to the office environment has been rough this week and i've been putting off the final RI blog posts because i don't want to think about the fact that august is upon us and the best beach days of the summer may be in my past. sigh.

while on vacation, even if in my hometown, i love having my camera in tow.  sometimes it gets a little heavy or cumbersome, depending on the outing, but i know there are just some things that my iphone can't capture. plus it's a great way for me to work on different shooting techniques and then play with a variety of editing options that are outside of my typical style.

for example...little miss j was rocking yet another adorable (and ruffled!!) frock with a bright pattern on it.  and i loved it.  but when i saw this inquisitive face staring back at me against the gray day, it was just calling for a little vintage effect.  so i spiced it up to give it that washed beach babe vibe.

in case you were wondering, this little lady LOVES rhode island about as much as i do (she's secretly planning to convince her mom & dad to move there, wink wink!)...the grass, on the other hand, she was not so certain about! the only thing i regret about using my camera on vacation, is that i don't use it MORE!! i love these family snapshots at our family's cliff house but i'm so bummed that i didn't force more of my family members to strike a pose.

i am so fortunate to have grown up on the water and have a special place in my heart for my grandparents' house with it's sprawling lawn that pours right over the cliffs.  the hidden cliff house, that's undergoing some impressive transformations, just makes the location that much sweeter! my parents threw a fantastic dinner party for our vacation guests and some local friends.  while we may have had plastic chairs, there were nice linens and lobsters to keep the whole thing beach chic.  such a great evening! thanks again to our great hosts!!

even the pup was enjoying the company!

sometimes when you've had too much fun on your vacation, you need to just take a nap in the middle of the dinner party...no big deal!

it's only natural that i have an obsession with all things water related, i am a pisces after all (btw, had no clue how to spell that, oops!). i could listen to the tide lap against the shore all day long. sleeping with the windows open in my childhood bedroom was like magic - the bugs, wind chimes, babbling brook and fountain was better than any white noise machine around.  walking around wickford on a gorgeously sunny day resulted in some pretty magical views and pictures!

this truck belongs on a movie set...then again the whole historic part of town basically could be a movie set! ugh, love it to pieces!

when i saw my sister-in-law lounging on the dock, gazing out at our guys in their red kayaks, i couldn't help but think of the wyeth painting of the girl in the field, so i creepily snapped a shot :).

my favorite unplanned/planned photo of the day.  the guys had brought the kayaks back to my aunt and uncle's dock on the harbor and the vibrant colors and strong lines were just screaming for me to capture them!  of course i had to coil the line and wait for the sun and current to cooperate perfectly but it turned out exactly as i'd imagined nearly straight out of the camera. i've already ordered a print for my walls to remind me of the great times we had this trip!

based on some recent requests, i'm making some of my personal pictures available for purchase.  they are at a discounted price, no minimum order size, and all prints will be presented matted with a small signature.  if you're interested, please visit my sales site.  If you're looking for a specific image that's not listed in stock, leave a comment or send me an email and i'll be happy to make it happen!! thanks!