I recently came across card.ly. It’s a website that provides services for creating your online business card. The idea is simple, you want to send folks to a simple yet elegant page that gives them general info on who you are and how to contact you. Card.ly does this in a very cool way with their never-ending templates, it’s a breeze to create your online business card. This is especially great if you like a minimalistic design and don’t want to spend time figuring out how to design a website just for a simple purpose. Not only that, the website supports most social networks, so now you have one place where you can share all your handles with your friends for your social networking sites. Finally, once you’re done, you can embed the code on your website.

So, if you’re sold, then head over to card.ly and create your online business card.

Check out my business card.

I have always been obsessed with old family pictures. I was born a little too late to remember what my parents looked like in their 20s, even their early 30s.  I can’t even picture my dad without a mustache. My sister made the brilliant decision a couple of years ago to scan some of our family photos, which included a few images of my parents’ wedding day. Recently I showed the pictures to Kyra and she refused to agree that they were of my parents. They looked the same, but also different.  Then, after a closer look, she agreed that, once upon a time, they did have a future in Bollywood had they not produced me and my sister and moved to Bombay.

We’ve shot so many weddings and, at each one, we get the chills not only re-living that special moment through our lens, but watching others experience those exact same emotions and sentiments that my parents must have experienced 40 years go.  They were both born on the same day, but in different years; maybe that’s why they understand each other so well.  When I look at their pictures, I realize how happy they were then, and how their happiness has only grown over the years.

Today is their wedding anniversary and I just want to thank them for everything they have done for us.  To this day, I can count on them for anything and, when I say anything, I mean it.  Throughout our lives, my sister and I have been given the freedom to form our own ideas and opinions, to create and follow our own path.  And, for that, I appreciate them greatly.  So, hats off to you, mom and dad.  And, a very very happy anniversary!

Here’s a little walk through memory lane from both of us.  Hope you like it.

Here a little slideshow as well.

Happy 40th Wedding Anniversary from Khanna Photography on Vimeo.

So may things to love about today and this time of the year.  For starters:

- NFL starts in a week…um, dare we say, “go Redskins!”?  They’ll be playing Dallas in the Sunday Night Football opener on the 12th!  High hopes?  Sure, why not?  NOTE: We’ll probably become fair weather fans in, oh, week 3.  Not gonna lie.

- College football, only because we now have two family members who are officially Hokies.  Yeah Virginia Tech!

- It’s time to grill some awesomeness with a cooler nearby, one of our favorite past-times.  I mean, how could it not be, really?

- Fall is close.  We love everything about the changing of the seasons on the East Coast.  September has arrived, which means perfect weather, vibrant leaves, and light jackets/sweaters are on the horizon.

- Many teachers and students are heading back to school.  Wishing you a great academic year.

- Tennis is on all day (see previous post) and for the rest of the week.  MAJOR woohoo!

- Sales, sales, sales.  The Bloomies in NYC even offered us a 10% visitor’s discount…without asking us to sign up for some madness.  Cheers to that.

- And, lastly…it’s a well-deserved Federal holiday.  Relax, replenish and enjoy what’s important. 

To all we love, cherish, have met, and will cross paths with, have a fabulous day!

I’m a major supporter of all things denim.  I love jeans and can’t count the # of jeans I own on my hands, feet, and ears.  Some women love shoes.  Others love bags.  I happen to adore the versatility and  comfort of jeans.  You can dress them up, you can dress them down.  You can go wide-leg or skinny.  You can roll them up boyfriend style or leave them dragging until they’re so shredded, it may just be time to throw them out.  Or not!  Jeans are a mega-fixture in our closet.  And, yes, G loves them almost as much as I do. 

But…not all denim is created equal.  And, I’m not talking about comparing brands.  I’m talking denim vests.  Now, I’m all about jumping on the style bandwagon, that is, when it’s warranted.  And, as much as I dig my denim, I kind of feel like it should apply only to pants, jackets, and shorts.  Throw-back vests, regardless of the wash, not so much.  It’s actually astonishing to think of how many people blindly follow Vogue and InStyle as if they’re the bible.  In its August edition, the editors at InStyle tried to transform the denim vest look into some sort of inspired, layered masterpiece.  Granted, I’m a firm believer in the magazine’s recommendations most of the time.  And, isn’t the point to create looks that are outside of the proverbial style box?  That said, just because a look has been glamorously placed in a magazine doesn’t mean we should be indulging.  Or running to Barneys.  Or supporting so-called trends that, well, just shouldn’t be.  I guess, to each his own.  Which is why fashion is so freakishly wonderful.

What are your thoughts on denim vests, and style trends in general?  To buy or not to buy?

Happy Fashionable Friday!

We’re in Manhattan for the long weekend and are so very happy to be here!  We love everything about New York City.  From the food to the buroughs to the hum in the morning and the bustle at night to the diversity to the cutting-edge, eclectic style to the gruff charm.  It’s got it all.  Quite honestly, it’s somewhere we both could live and maybe even grow old if it weren’t for the lack of space.  We love the outdoors.  And backyard BBQs.  And parking.  Thank the green gods for Central Park…only 5 blocks away from my mom’s place.  Truly a magical, urban oasis.

It’s amazing how you can explore for days on end and never run across the same alley twice.   Or the same grocery.  Or barber.  Or Chinese restaurant.  Or pigeon.   Well, that goes without saying.  And, the people are one-of-a-kind.  Anything goes and everything goes.  We love how when you go down into the depths of the Subway, you literally see a microcosm of the country and world.  There are Wall Streeters, performance artists belting out their own rendition of Bamboleo, Ad execs, non-profitters, actors, athletes, students, media moguls, people speaking Turkish, French, Swahili…all co-existing on top of and in between each other relatively comfortably.  At least it seems that way on the surface.

True, there’s a certain grit that defines this city, but that’s what we adore.  Real is the name of the game, and, no, real should not imply mean or unpleasant, much to the surprise of many who seem to have a great misperception about New Yorkers and its transplants.  The residents of this wonderful place are independent, opinionated, passionate, and – drumroll - really quite open and friendly.  Stop a random woman at Zabars or Citorella and ask where she bought her shoes and she’ll likely oblige rather than turn away in fear.  Or, crack a sarcastic bumper-to-bumper joke with a cabbie and he’ll laugh alongisde you.  Just don’t stop abruptly in the middle of 5th Ave and look up in wonder and awe.  It’s tempting, we know, but you’ll get whisked away into the chaos!

And, on that note…it’s time to enjoy, indulge in a little food and beverage, watch some  tennis (woohoo!), run the length of Manhattan (crazy?), and take it all in once again like two teenagers in a boutique cupcake shop for the very first time.

If you haven’t heard of swipely then don’t sweat, you’re not in the minority. Swipely is a social networking website that is based on products. The idea is to share your daily purchases and have a conversation about them with your friends and family. It works by either linking your credit card to the website, by linking your popular email clients, or by manually forwarding purchase receipts via email. The goal is to somehow bring your purchases made by credit card to the website.

I did create an account, but I didn’t link my credit card to the website. I manually forwarded my order confirmation emails to their email account. The cool feature is that by default your updates have to be approved by you and then only are  they posted. This way, you have control over what gets posted on the website. I’m still not comfortable with linking my credit card to their website; in this day and age it is better to be more careful. I’m not too worried about security, I’m more worried about my buying habits being used to market things directly to me. I don’t need to purchase more than I currently do

So, if you’re down for this, then head over to their website and sign up. My handle is “khannaphoto”. See you there.

1. B&H has a huge collection of refurbished and used Nikon gear, if you are an amateur photographer and looking to buy your first DSLR then this is a great place to start. Like they say “make your money work harder for you”. B&H is reputable and that’s where I buy most of our gear. So it’s got KP stamp of approval. Here’s the link.
2. Adobe release Camera Raw 6.2 Update and Lightroom 3.2 Update. Here’s the link to download.
3. Canon developed a 8X8 inch CMOS sensor. This is the biggest CMOS sensor in the world. More info here.

Link of the week: Check out Susan Striplings work on her website. I am happy to say that I attended her workshop.

Happy Tuesday.