Purple Orchid PhotoBlog

Proud to Be a Golden Panther

noreply@blogger.com (Purple Orchid Photography) — Sun, 31 Jan 2010 17:21:00 +0000

This morning I set out to join students, staff, and fellow alumni of Florida International University to sort through 160 tons of relief items for Haiti. The email I'd received said that help would be needed between 9 am and 1 pm on Sunday Jan 31, 2010.

I rolled out of bed and jumped into the shower at about 8 am and got my sons ready to come with me. We left the house at about 9:15 and arrived at the warehouse where the sorting was to take place at 10 am. The turn out was so high, and the volunteers so diligent that all of the work had been done within one hour.

When I got there, the last few boxes of medical supplies and other donated items were being shrink wrapped and packed onto trucks. Although I did not get there in time to lend a hand, I felt tremendous pride in this diverse group of Golden Panthers. I was glad that my sons, ages 9 and 6, were present to take in the energy that is generated when people stand united in favor of the greater good.

Freak 'em Shoes

noreply@blogger.com (Purple Orchid Photography) — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 15:15:00 +0000

I think every woman should have a pair of "freak 'em" shoes that make her feel fierce and make men squirm even just a little. The thing I love about shoes is that even if I put on a couple of pounds here or there, my freak 'em shoes always fit and always make me feel sexy.

These were taken during a fashion show at a local mall.

Farm Work (in passing)

noreply@blogger.com (Purple Orchid Photography) — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 00:58:00 +0000

Self Portrait

noreply@blogger.com (Purple Orchid Photography) — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 15:18:00 +0000

Right now I'm working on adding some self portraits to my portfolio. I want it to be fun, edgy, and experimental. I don't take myself too seriously, but I do want to show exactly who I am in this body of work.

I started my project by playing around with the thermal camera on my MacBook.

Grandma's Ackee Tree

noreply@blogger.com (Purple Orchid Photography) — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 20:45:00 +0000

This afternoon, my father and I had lunch together at my grandmother's house. We ate, chatted, and picked ackees from the tree in Grandma's backyard. It seems that woman can make anything grow! As a matter of fact, both of my grandmothers are blessed with green thumbs. I guess that gene skipped me. I'm hoping it's something I'll acquire with age, though.

The ackee tree is nice to look at, with its bright leaves and yellowish-orange fruit

My grandmother's tree is pretty tall

Here, my Dad is searching for ackees that are ready for picking

Ackees are ready when they have split open, exposing the yellow flesh and black seeds inside

Yup...these are good to go!

Nice work Grandma!

Puerto Rican Vacation

noreply@blogger.com (Purple Orchid Photography) — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 22:07:00 +0000

I just got back from my trip to San Juan, Puerto Rico. It reminded me a lot of Miami (but with narrower roads and fewer English speaking people); city life meets island life. My girlfriends and I stayed in an area called Carolina.

One of the views from our room

The other view from our room

My friend took this pic of me hanging out on the beach near our hotel

On the last full day of our trip, we did a morning hike through El Yunque Rainforest. It was such a spiritual experience. The glorious mountains burst mightily with crystal clear water, which rushed over and through rocks with tremendous force. How could something so powerful and vigorous translate into something so tranquil? I don't know, but the relaxation and vitality I felt after having bathed in the ice-cold waters at La Mina Waterfall could not be denied. I was so energized that the remainder of the uphill hike only propelled me into a greater state of calm and cognizance. Days later, I still haven't come down from my Puerto Rican high.

The water was so cold!

Whoa!

After our amazing hike we made our way back to Old San Juan, where we spent the rest of the evening. Here, you could find street vendors selling sweet treats and handmade crafts, shops where vintage items and souvenirs are sold, colorful architecture, men playing dominoes, and museums among other wonderful things.

Baby Shower

noreply@blogger.com (Purple Orchid Photography) — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 17:21:00 +0000

So, my friends Sue and Kevin are having a little bambino and I photographed their co-ed baby shower, which Sue's mom, grandmother, and sisters threw for her. It was a lot of fun and the food was delicious!

Nice tie, Kev!

Isn't this the cutest baby shower cake ever?!

Here, I have pictures of the silly (and messy) baby shower games they played before opening their awww-inspiring gifts.

The fellas chugging beer from baby bottles.

Guests trying to guess the size of Sue's belly.

Race to the bottom of the baby food jar.

Green peas...yum.

The lovely couple received a ton of really cute gifts to help prepare for their little girl's arrival, but this one was the most sentimental, because it came all the way from the Dominican Republic and was given to them by Sue's grandmother.

This Ásabache from D.R. is meant to ward off the mal ojo or evil eye.

Mismatched Socks

noreply@blogger.com (Purple Orchid Photography) — Sun, 24 May 2009 05:06:00 +0000

Here's a picture of my son showing me that he's wearing mismatched socks...

The Fair

noreply@blogger.com (Purple Orchid Photography) — Sun, 24 May 2009 03:46:00 +0000

I took these pictures back in March at the Youth Fair and Exposition here in Miami. My family and I had a great time. This was the last night before they packed up and cleared out.

In Honor of Earth Day

noreply@blogger.com (Purple Orchid Photography) — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 19:36:00 +0000

While I do not profess to be a green guru, I do know that there are small things we can do to be a little friendlier to our environment. I thought I'd take this opportunity to share some of the things that I've found help make the task of improving my relationship with the Earth a little easier.

We all know the various benefits of packing lunch daily rather than eating out. For those of us who practice this, there are alternatives to paper bags and plastic sandwich bags. I recently purchased a personalized canvas lunch tote and a very cute re-usable sandwich bag from etsy .com (my new favorite website...okay, second favorite after purpleorchidphoto .com). These items are inexpensive, adorable, and environmentally responsible.

Additionally, we've all seen canvas bags in grocery stores, retail clothing stores, etc. As accessible as they are, I rarely see people in my community using them for groceries. Don't get me wrong, this is not a self righteous rant, because I had a few of those bags folded neatly in the cabinet under my kitchen sink for months before using them. I would usually end up forgetting to grab them when I'm headed to the grocery store, and I'd remember them just as I'm parking my car before going in to shop. What I'm saying is that we know where to get these bags, we may already have some...we just need to take more care to use them. What I started doing is keeping my re-usable shopping bags in the trunk of my car. That way I can actually use them (light bulb!). Even if I don't have enough of them and need to use paper/plastic shopping bags anyway; I'm still using less than I would have had I not brought my own re-usable shopping bags.

Lastly, however cliche this may sound; here goes...EVERY DAY IS EARTH DAY!

If you have any green tips you'd like to share you are welcome to post them in the comments area.

...Happy Earth Day!

Water and Fire

noreply@blogger.com (Purple Orchid Photography) — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 00:18:00 +0000

These pictures were shot for an assignment where I was asked to photograph my interpretation of one of the four elements (earth, wind, fire, water). I wanted to keep it really simple, so I decided to work with things I could find in my home --fire and water.

Trashing Sue's Wedding Gown!!!

noreply@blogger.com (Purple Orchid Photography) — Sat, 26 Jul 2008 04:27:00 +0000

My friend Sue told me about this thing that Brides Against Breast Cancer does called "trash the dress". We were inspired to do a shoot where I could capture images of her and her bridesmaids destroying their wedding dresses. It was so much fun! I'm looking into submitting some of the pics to trashthedress.com...