The Successful Failures and Men Without Hats came to Bordentown back in June of this year. Randy Now is a great guy and a very good friend who brings awesome bands and talents to our little town at The Open Arts Theater.
They have a blue-sy, rock, sound that is loud and incredible. The guy on the lead guitar just wails and you can tell that he just loves his instrument and what he does with it.
Randy and Ivan(the lead singer of Men Without Hats) go way back. So it was really a treat to see Pop Goes The World and The Safety Dance, among others live and up close.
All images copyright Deirdre Ryan Photography. DO NOT SCREENSHOT IMAGES or copy in anyway. By doing so is not only illegal, but will give you bad karma. Thank you.
All images copyright Deirdre Ryan Photography. DO NOT SCREENSHOT IMAGES or copy in anyway. By doing so is not only illegal, but will give you bad karma. Thank you.
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The other day I had my nine year old daughter help me test some new lights in our backyard. It was dusk and the temperature was dropping. I had her sit down in front of 2 of my speedlights, each with a softbox and I wirelessly triggered them. She wasn’t feeling that well, but at the same time wanted to have a little fun.
There were a couple of little birds playing the in pine tree above us and she was watching them.
After this was taken she was ready to go back inside. I’m really happy with how this one turned out, and I love the others too for different reasons. When she’s feeling better I’ll take her out again.
Photographers are always testing new ways of photographing, before we go out and use them with our clients, we do this first. And if we have children and significant others, they are most often our test models. Aren’t they lucky? 😉
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Please No Screenshots, All Images Copyright Deirdre Ryan Photography.
I have wonderful friends and one of them turned 50 the other night. So as a surprise, we all gathered together to have dinner at the White Dog Cafe in University City in Philadelphia. It was interesting because traffic was hell, it was Friday night, but unusually bad. Either way, we were all going to make it! Dinner was delicious and we were able to walk over to The World Cafe Live just up Walnut St.
In 1994, I met my future husband in Center City Philly and we lived on 15th and Locust, so Philadelphia is like home to me. Unfortunately my husband couldn’t be with us, he was working in NYC.
I didn’t bring any big cameras or lenses. I just brought my little Canon s100,an extra battery for it, my iPhone 5, and 2 battery power banks.
We get there, check out coats, and somehow I get separated from my friends. I thought that they were right behind me, but I get right in front of the stage. We got there just as The Ocean Blue was starting, I took a few snapshots and video, but for the most part I just enjoyed the show.
To view my YouTube Playlist from the concert click here. For this tour, The Ocean Blue played their first two albums.
Please No Screenshots, All Images Copyright Deirdre Ryan Photography.
Please No Screenshots, All Images Copyright Deirdre Ryan Photography.
Please No Screenshots, All Images Copyright Deirdre Ryan Photography.
Please No Screenshots, All Images Copyright Deirdre Ryan Photography.
Please No Screenshots, All Images Copyright Deirdre Ryan Photography.
Please No Screenshots, All Images Copyright Deirdre Ryan Photography.
For an encore, Riverside came onstage as a surprise! The card in my camera became full so lucky for me, my iPhone 5 was full of juice, I grabbed it out of my purse and started to shoot video. The reason I did so much video, even for me, was because my husband saw their first major concert at The Trocadero in Philly. As a matter of fact, in one of the videos, you’ll see their tour dates, and the crowd will start to cheer certain dates that some have been too. And since David couldn’t be there, I wanted to share the experience with him.
My friends and I got pictures with the band which is so great of them to do. None of us look our best, which is just fine, we were all in the moment. I bought this beautiful screen printed poster. These were all done by hand so I just couldn’t resist getting one, it’s going to go in a frame. When I was in high school and in college, my walls were literally covered from almost floor to ceiling with posters.
Once again, thank you to the members of The Ocean Blue! You put on a fabulous show, and thank you for taking the time to chat and get pictures taken with us!
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I lived in Los Angeles for 10+ years, and while out there my husband worked for a few tv studios. He worked on he tv show Profiler, and met up with some people who did a spoof of Allie McBeal called Allyn McBeal during the height of the show.
We had a lot of fun on the set, and I have fond memories. However, I don’t have any of the stills from the spoof because I stupidly gave them all of my slides. But I have this promo shot which I had no idea at the time, but it ended up in various entertainment magazines, like The Daily Variety magazine and tv shows, like Entertainment Tonight. I wasn’t happy about that, because it was never discussed with me previously. I didn’t receive any photo credit in the magazines, except in the running titles of the film. True it was low budget, we all worked for free for exposure and to add to our resume of experience. Overall, it was a great time, and I’m thankful for working on set, and meeting great people.
One of the tv shows he worked on was Judging Amy, the first season and it was shot on the Paramount Studio lot. I worked on the lot with David because there was a little girl on the show who played Amy’s daughter. She had a brother who needed a babysitter while her mother was on set with her daughter. The Paramount Studio lot is still my favorite lot, it’s small, beautiful and very old Hollywood.
We became very good friend with Mike Risner, the A.D. (Assistant Director) on the show, who worked on one of the Star Trek shows. Across the way from our studio Star Trek Voyager was being filmed. Mike knew the cast and the people there. I forget how it happened, but I was cast as a still photographer for the film 9mm of Love, by Robbie McNeal, who was an actor on Star Trek Voyager. It was shot on the Paramount lot and we had a lot of fun on set.
Here’s Robbie with Ethan Philips, yes those are Ethan’s dogs. I loved talking to him.
Here’s Liz Vassey. She’s so pretty isn’t she? And such a sweetheart!
The guy in the rimmed hat is our good friend Mike.
Unfortunately 9mm of Love is not on YouTube but we did see it in one of the larger screening rooms on the Paramount lot. That was fun. I wish that there was some way that it could be released, but then I don’t know what kind of releases the actors signed or what is going on with the film. If Robbie sees this, please let the world see it online!
Back then all of these were shot on film. I did 9mm of Love with black and white film, Allyn McBeal with colour slide film. We all worked for free and it was also a lot of fun. On 9mm of Love I didn’t have to relinquish my negatives, I gave them copies of everything, and it was all good.
I have more to share at another time in another post. But these two were my first.
Honestly, I LOVED being on set. Yeah the hours are brutal, but the people are great. I also love the way the sets are built, the behind the scene lighting, I don’t know I just can’t quite explain it. I loved it. If I could do it all again, I would try harder to pursue it. It’s a hard field to get into out there, a Union Still Photographer. But I would love to get on set to photograph the actors and cast for a magazine.
Now THAT would be great….
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Like many playgrounds, ours is in need of a major makeover. This is the Clara Barton Elementary School playground. It has not changed since I went there and for many other generations of kids and adults. Years ago, it went up to grade 8, and when I went there, it went up to grade 6.
The pavement is hot in the sun, there is no shade. The only place to really play is in the kindergarten play area, but that is closed off to the bigger kids during recess, because it is a safety issue with the smaller children. I understand this.
The reason for the fence in the middle of the playground was to keep the much older kids from the kindergarten areas. But now, there’s really no need for it. There’s some sort of outdated play things here and there that the kids bang on for noise, but the the most part, they are ignored. The basketball court is used, and so is the climbing wall. The school brings out jumping ropes, balls, and other items for the kids to play with during recess. But recess these days even for a school that is for grades Pre-K to 3 is limited because of curriculum. That’s hard because everyone, including the teachers and staff want the kids to play.
The kids play on this after school because they can actually have fun on this structure. Even when they come over from the intermediate school across the street that is grade 4-5. They come over to play on this playground and the rest because I’m told and many of the other parents are told that recess is terrible over there. I’m not there during recess, so I’m only hearing this from several of my daughter’s friends including her.
Honestly, does this look like fun? And really, we all want the best, but playgrounds are really $$$$. A single swing set is around $20,000! The pavement needs to come up and re-done, I mean we’re talking a complete overhaul.
This is where the Friends of The Ecological Schoolyard at Clara Barton comes in, my committee. We are a committee of parents, faculty and community residents dedicated to the responsible and ecological redevelopment of the Clara Barton schoolyard.
We started this while our children were in Clara Barton, some of my friends who are in the committee have children still there. But we are committed to getting this done. The playground here has been an issue for a long time. Money has been raised, but now we need more. What we have in our account isn’t enough and that is the sad and awful truth. Did I mention how much the swing set is?
What we want is something that will be lasting and beautiful for generations to come. Something that has been going on for years across the nation and around the world. A playground that is not only safe for our children, but a place for them to learn, an environment of sensory and visual wonders. Not your usual playground of swings and slides.
“Asphalt to Green Space: Clara Barton Eco-Schoolyard:Clara Barton Elementary School Project was conducted by a Temple University Senior Landscape Architecture Studio during fall 2014. The project involved a comprehensive study of the school to transform the site from an asphalted schoolyard to an eco-friendly school by integrating principles of green infrastructure and best management practices. The goal was to create designs for an educational and active environment for children, teachers, and the community.”
So this past spring, we purchased two Chinese Elm trees, our little city dug up the black top for us in the spots we wanted. They had to go through many layers before hitting dirt 😉 The day arrived and we had to find a way to get water for the trees, here are my friends, Karen and Harry with a boy who lives across the street getting it set up.
This is Mikki, she is also a member of our Tree Planting Committee here in town, and among other many talents(an artists, and skilled gardner), knows a lot about planting these.
Another friend, Debbie, told the many children volunteers what needed to be done, and they started to dig. That’s my husband, David with my other camera, shooting video.
Photo by Caroline Conroy. This is me and my daughter at this year’s past Green Fair. As you can see, we have the plans for the playground, we’re all very excited! And best of all we’re now 501C3!
This past summer, local artists, past and current students, friends, including myself, worked with artist, Stephanie Neuhaus, on her mural that is being painted on the back wall of Clara Barton’s school. It was hot, but we had a lot of fun being together, working on this beautiful project for the school and the community.
That’s my husband, David with my other camera, shooting video.
Here is Stephanie showing local artist, Al Barker what to do.
Hi Vikki!
My husband got some shots of me painting. I actually used to paint a lot back in the day, mostly in oils.
Stephanie’s husband, Mike, a local fine art photographer, taking some photos of us.
At the end of the day, we got together for a group photo, thanks Mike for the image!
Here is the next time we all got together, this time we used my camera for the group shot. Gotta love a self timer!
Each of us were assigned a colour that was a number on the wall to paint.
I love her heart shaped sunglasses!
The mural is not finished yet. What we all did was just blocked out the main colours with what Stephanie told us to do. Then she went back, and cleaned up the lines, and is still working on it. Adding in shading, more details, and other extras that as an artist only she knows what is needed.
What we now is MONEY and LOTS of it. Our committee is 501C3, so we are in the process of applying for grants, BUT we still need help. Contact me via this site or via our FB Page.
Thanks everyone, and subscribe to my blog to keep updated 🙂
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UPDATE:The dear sweet woman for whom this glorious event this was for, has passed away this evening, November 21, 2015. As you read this post and view these images, please think of her, her family, friends and the community. I met Kelly for a brief moment, and seeing how much she was loved, the photos on her Facebook profile, made me smile. Say a prayer, or a special thought for them all. From what I understand, these photos brought much comfort and joy to them, and I say to, that the honor was all mine. Please leave a lovely comment for the her family and her friends. Thank you everyone.
Our community does a lot of wonderful things for people. A woman, a daughter, a sibling, a wife, and a mother, has cancer, and is fighting hard. She just came home from the hospital. Battling cancer for 7+ years is hard. I don’t know her, but I want to now. My friend contacted me, because she put together a last minute fundraiser to help the family with meals and money to get through these days.
We met at the Holy Cross Lutheran Church in Bordentown Township, NJ. They walked a half mile to their home, and then another half mile back to the starting point, this included members of her family, including her mother. What transpired was amazing.
I got up on a very tall ladder and with the help of others, arranged all of these people and children into one large group photo.
Then the walk began.
The balloons were placed on their front lawn.
I was more towards the back of the walkers, but as you can see, the love of people towards the family was true.
That’s her daughter in the middle with her besties.
Family photo back at Holy Cross Lutheran Church where we all met and ended.
Our adult choir lost a dear friend, a fierce, fun loving, full of life woman last week. Today is her viewing, and tomorrow, we are going to sing her funeral Mass. It’s going to be so hard. So, I needed this event, and I know my friend was looking down on me yesterday, I can’t explain it, I just know it. Thank you everyone for letting me be a part of something truly wonderful.
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I had a former ballerina model for me in Los Angeles and what you can’t see is the fun we had with a hair and makeup artist. Laughing between takes, she was a natural, with a few directions from me. What transpired is what you see below, beautiful, black and white photographs.
I asked to let her hair down, shake it out, she looked like a diva, and reminds me of a singer from Motown Records in the 60’s.
Grace and beauty.
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Our daughter loves cats, so I introduced her to the musical Cats. It was my first broadway show back in the 80’s, my mother took me to see it at the Winter Garden Theater in NYC. I loved it! I really hope that they bring it back so that I can bring our daughter to see it on Broadway because there’s nothing like it!
So, we took her to see it at The Kelsey Theater at The Mercer County Community College, and she loved it. It wasn’t quite like the broadway show, but regardless, it was really good! For about a year she’s been wanting to be Rumpleteazer from this musical. My husband found a tutorial online for the costume, he works nights and had her help, and he did the makeup, below is the result:
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