Cosner Photography

Things that make me happy!

2008-06-26T10:39:00.008-07:00

I love the way the internet works, first thing this morning I was checking out Melissa Jill a wonderful photographer I just discovered well from Melissa's blog I found a link to The Photogirls another very cool site of women photographers whom I would love to hook up with some day, be sure to check them out, and, from their site I found this video which made me very happy. I think it will make you all happy too, check it out:

J

Where the Hell is Matt? (2008) from Matthew Harding on Vimeo.

Steven in Monterey

2008-06-09T15:26:00.010-07:00

Fourteen months old, full of spirit, and utterly adorable. Steven was having lots of fun in Monterey helping his parents Heather and Steve celebrate their fifth anniversary.

Lovely Tiara

2008-06-03T10:52:00.005-07:00

Have you ever met a pit bull puppy? Oh My Goodness, they are so adorable. Tiara was happy loving and so gentle.

2008-06-02T13:39:00.003-07:00

I found these simple statements on a photography forum I am a member of and thought they were worth posting.

I would love to know which ones you already embrace and which you would love to incorporate more fully into your lives.

Hope y'all enjoy!

J

Tips for Better Living - 2008

1. Take a 10-30 minute walk every day. And while you walk, smile. It is the ultimate antidepressant.
2. Sit in silence for at least 10 minutes each day. Buy a lock if you have to.
3. Buy a DVR and tape your late night shows and get more sleep.
4. When you wake up in the morning complete the following statement,'My purpose is to __________ today'
5. Live with the 3 E's -- Energy, Enthusiasm, and Empathy.
6. Play more games and read more books than you did in 2007.
7. Make time for prayer.
8. Spend time with people over the age of 70 and under the age of 6.
9. Dream more while you are awake.
10. Eat more foods that grow on trees and plants and eat less food that is manufactured in plants.
11. Drink green tea and plenty of water. Eat blueberries, wild Alaskan salmon, broccoli, almonds & walnuts.
12. Try to make at least three people smile each day.
13. Clear clutter from your house, your car, your desk and let new and flowing energy into your life.
14. Don't waste your precious energy on gossip, energy vampires,issues of the past, negative thoughts or things you cannot control. Instead invest your energy in the positive present moment.
15. Realize that life is a school and you are here to learn. Problems are simply part of the curriculum that appear and fade away like algebra class but the lessons you learn will last a lifetime.
16 . Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a college kid with a maxed out charge card.
17. Smile and laugh more. It will keep the energy vampires away.
18. Life isn't fair, but it's still good.
19. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone.
20. Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does.
21. You don't have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.
22. Make peace with your past so it won't spoil the present.
23. Don't compare your life to others'. You have no idea what their journey is all about.
24. No one is in charge of your happiness except you.
25. Frame every so-called disaster with these words: 'In five years, will this matter?'
26. Forgive everyone for everything.
27. What other people think of you is none of your business.
28. GOD heals almost everything.
29. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.
30. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your friends will Stay in touch.
31. Get rid of anything that isn't useful, beautiful or joyful.
32. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.
33 . The best is yet to come.
34. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.
35. Do the right thing!
36 . Call your family often. (Or email them to death!!!) Hey I'm thinkn of ya! =)
37. Each night before you go to bed complete the following statements: I am thankful for __________. Today I accomplished _________.
38. Remember that you are too blessed to be stressed.
39. Enjoy the ride. Remember this is not Disney World and you certainly don't want a fast pass. You only have one ride through life so make the most of it and enjoy the ride.

WPJA Top Tens Q4 2007

2008-03-06T22:23:00.010-08:00

The Wedding Photojournalist Association sponsors an international photo competition fours times a year that is judged by some of the best photojournalist and photo editors in the business. I have placed four times this year in several different categories. This quarter, two in the top ten rankings. Jane and I are proud just to be in the organization because it holds the highest standards for photographers who document the moments of a wedding in a candid and unobtrusive style. Wedding photojournalism is the core of what we strive to do. Storytelling that is uniquely photographic.

Category: Food and Drink. Fourth Place

JUDGES COMMENTS: Funny picture of the bride gulping down her food while the rest of the wedding goes on without her. The angle and the background makes it a storytelling picture.

Category: Details Found. Tenth Place

JUDGES COMMENTS: This picture could have been a Degas painting had he painted brides. Lovely composition, light and color. Really poetic the way the photographer cropped it.

This Morning at Pacifica Beach

2008-02-08T14:46:00.000-08:00

Cute Boxer named Kalie.

John

Waiting

2008-02-05T15:21:00.001-08:00

I had lunch at Tartine today, yummm, and as I was leaving I noticed this little pooch waiting patiently while her mom shopped. Another amazing place to visit when you are in the area is Bi-Rite Creamery I sampled the ginger, mint chip and chocolate, so delicious.

Anya

2008-02-05T09:58:00.000-08:00

Yesterday on our afternoon jaunt Rocky met Anya, who is just so darn sweet. She is an Otterhound mix, which is a breed I had not known of. Rocky and Anya got along famously and it was quite fun to watch them play. I was happy to catch her reflection in Barry's sunglasses, cause it means the sun was out
Yay! Hope we meet up with you again Anya.

A Little Bit of Rocky's World

2008-02-01T16:42:00.000-08:00

ROCKY

In the afternoon Rocky and I like to stroll on up to Esprit Park, which by the way is located in The Dogpatch District here on Potrero Hill, how cool is that?

Anyway here are a few pics of some of the doggies who come to sniff, jump, bark, and enjoy the sun. Rocky mostly just sniffs and looks for interesting things to eat!

Janie

Colette Cosner

2008-01-30T18:37:00.000-08:00

The Best Part of Me Part 2. My daughter Colette continues to find wonderful ways to blend art, social consciousness, and fun.
Last summer she and her friend Ruth used photography as a hook to work with immigrant and refugee kids in North Carolina.
A nice article about them appeared in the Greensboro News and Record titled Changing Their Focus.

Part of her work here was inspired by a project she participated in in fifth grade

Another Wedding Photojournalist Placing

2008-01-29T18:06:00.000-08:00

Another photo placed just recently in WPJA (Wedding Photojournalist Association) 3rd Quarter contest. Category was emotion. This was from Carly and Jay's wedding August 4th, 2007.

JUDGES COMMENTS: An emotional moment and a lovely composition. The beautiful bride has a classic and timeless face, tear and gesture. The picture is not original but classically beautiful and full of authentic emotion with a classic and graceful composition.

Marc and Sophie

2007-04-11T14:05:00.001-07:00

My wonderful niece Sophie and her equally wonderful boyfriend Marc came to visit us a couple of weekends ago. We had so much fun! They are both students at Berklee College of Music. Marc has written a beautiful story that he hasn't completely put to music yet. Here is one of his songs from the story that he has recorded. It is called Amsel and Josephine. Besides writing the music and lyrics,Marc sings and plays guitar. Sophie is singing harmony with him. We think they sound so soulful together. Click on the link to hear: MARC'S SONG.

Of course while they were here we had to snap a few pics.
Thanks you two for brightening up our weekend, looking forward to seeing you both soon.

Wedding Photojournalists Association

2007-04-05T09:02:00.000-07:00

Jane and I are proud members of the Wedding Photojournalists Association. One of my photographs placed in their recent Winter 2006 Contest.

Judges Comments: A great little moment that uses each part of the frame extremely well. Each of the subjects contribute something that works towards the success of the photograph—the bride’s expression, the woman at center with her expression and the cupping of her hands and the drink and gesture of the woman at right. Nice moment.

April is National Poetry Month

2007-03-30T08:03:00.000-07:00

COMPOSED UPON WESTMINSTER BRIDGE, SEPT. 3, 1802
by William Wordsworth

EARTH has not anything to show more fair:
Dull would he be of soul who could pass by
A sight so touching in its majesty:
This City now doth, like a garment, wear
The beauty of the morning; silent, bare,
Ships, towers, domes, theatres, and temples lie
Open unto the fields, and to the sky;
All bright and glittering in the smokeless air.
Never did sun more beautifully steep
In his first splendour, valley, rock, or hill;
Ne'er saw I, never felt, a calm so deep!
The river glideth at his own sweet will:
Dear God! the very houses seem asleep;
And all that mighty heart is lying still!

One of my favorite poems is “Composed Upon Westminster Bridge” by William Wordsworth. I like it because I am photographer and the poem to me is like a great photograph. A moment captured that flows into your imagination like a river. Once read or “seen” it colors your world forever. I read the poem in college. I have never seen a sunrise since that didn’t evoke the heartbeat rhythm of this sonnet. This photo that I took here in Newburyport is one of those moments for me.

John

Mabel's hairdo

2007-03-29T07:55:00.000-07:00

Okay, I know I posted some photos of Mabel and Abraham yesterday, but I just couldn't resist these two, I mean come on, is her hair just too adorable or what? Also,if you look closely the two of them are sitting the exact same way!

Meet Abraham and Mabel

2007-03-27T19:08:00.000-07:00

Meet Mabel and Abraham, twins!! These two cuties are the children of my wonderful friends Claudia and Ethan. Lucky me, I got to spend some time with them yesterday. Let me tell you crawling does not slow these two down, they were moving at pretty much lightening speed around the house. They also have a wonderful doggie named Otis, I promise to post some pooch photos soon.

Janie

"Art, not just photography, is our inspiration." David Williams

2007-03-19T07:27:00.000-07:00

Jane and I have had the great fortune of taking one of David William's seminars. David is one of Australia's (and the world's) great fine art wedding and portrait photographers. David Williams inspires through his great love and knowledge of art and his absolutely irreverent humor. One of his favorite painters is John Singer Sargent. We are very fortunate in the Boston area to have access to so many of Sargent's paintings. I am particular fortunate to know a contemporary artist, Dennis Perrin, who lives and works in Maine, not too far from where we live in Newburyport. Dennis Perrin's work is exquisitely luminous and reminiscent of Sargent and the other great Bostonian painters of that era. Inspired by David Williams and my friend Dennis Perrin, I have begun a personal journey to learn as much about light from fine art painting as possible. These are the first photographs of a documentary project I am doing on the work of my friend, Dennis Perrin.

Color Me Gone

2007-03-13T12:42:00.000-07:00

John and I were recently looking through the wonderful, bold, and definitely colorful collection of photographs by the Magnum Photographer Constantine Manos. Click on this link to hear him talk about his great photos: Magnum In Motion, American Color

I had taken a seminar with him about a year ago and boy was it inspiring and challenging. Anyways the weather was so beautiful and the light so interesting we decided to take a quick trip over to Salisbury to see if we could find some of the amazing locations and colors that he captured in a few of his photos.

Well, wow, is Salisbury beach ever changing! All sorts of spiffy new condos, mixed in with the now peeling paint and abandoned arcades.

Here are some of the photos we captured, and we are so glad we got a chance to catch just a little bit of what is left of this unique
(at least to this area) seaside amusement center because it seems like it may all be gone very soon. It sure holds lots of memories for me. Janie.

Hailey's Funky Birthday Bash

2006-07-31T09:18:00.000-07:00

Saturday night live at the DoubleTree in Boston. Hailey D.D. Klein's birthday bash. The Fabulous Funk Brothers played in her honor. Yay!

The Best Part of Me

2006-03-03T07:18:00.000-08:00

The best part of me is definitely my daughter Colette. When Colette was in fifth grade, a very fine photographer named Wendy Ewald came to her school and did a project connecting photographs, words, and self-image. Colette took this photo and wrote this about her hands. Wendy Ewald published these photos and words in a book called “The Best Part of Me”.
The photos and pictures were originally published in "Double Take", a documentary magazine.

My Hands

I like my hands because
They turn the pages of a book
Slowly and magicially. Reading makes
Me happy. They wipe my eyes
When I am sad. They threaten
The things that make mad.
They pull the covers over my
Head when I am scared.
They feel my forehead when
I am sick. They write
I am writing now. They touch
The precious earth and round.
They dance. They act. They’re
Slender and uniqe. They’re mine—
That’s all, slender and unique.

Colette

Mardi Gras

2006-02-28T07:44:00.000-08:00

It’s Mardi Gras, mes amis, mes amis Louisiane, mes amis Bostoniane, laisssez les bon-temps rouler!

I was born in New Orleans on a July day so hot and thick it needs no metaphor. I saw my first Mardi Gras pass by on a balcony on Prytania Street. This city, called the Big Easy, so livable and so unlivable. It gets in your soul and never goes away, no matter how far you stray.

A couple of big shouts from Jane and I to those we will never cease to love:

• Daughter Colette, who is going to spend spring break helping rebuild New Orleans.
• Son, Dylan, who is traveling down under.
• To a some of my favorite Cajuns:
o Johnny Chauvin, the best wedding photographer in New Orleans, which of course is the world.
o Michael and Marsha, dynamic duo, architects, in Baton Rouge.
o Sue Blanchard, sweet femme de New Orleans who now lives in the smokies with Jimmy.
o Sister Claire, cultural journalist and photographer.
o Skeeter who loves the city and the city loves.
o Eddie and Celeste, dynamic duo, caretakers of Tchappella Creek and all that is right and good about ma Louisiane.
o Gaston, keeper of the trees.
o Tom Anderson, lawyerly Cajun.
o David Werboff, Jewish Cajun.
o Diana, Italian Cajun.

****I took the photo of the ducks on the creek in Louisiana in late October when I was last there.

Valentine's Day

2006-02-14T15:54:00.000-08:00

It was freezing cold this morning on the beach and at Plum Island. So cold, it was difficult to even hold the camera, but then again, I am just a southern boy. These two trees seemed kind of lonely but at the same time they seemed to be moving towards each other as the moon sets.

We want this blog to simply be a way for those who know us to check up on what we are doing and for those who don't know us yet to get to know us in an informal way.

Dynamic Duos

2006-02-12T07:45:00.000-08:00

Dynamic Duos

Couples who love each other madly, sometimes too madly, but always find a way back to each other through a shared passion for art, work, and family.

Check out this pricey but wonderful looking book of photos of John and Yoko called Sometime In New York by photographer Bob Gruen.

Geneis Publications
www.genesis-publications.com/books/sinyc/

Love and Photography

2006-02-08T13:09:00.000-08:00

If you haven't guessed it, this blog is dedicated to love and photography. To kick things off we want to share one of our favorite books, "Couples" a rare collection of fabulous photos by Magnum photograhers such as Cartier Bresson, Burt Glinn, and Bruce Davidson. We stumbled on this book in a small Montreal bookstore. It may be out of print, but try www.photoeye.com

John and Jane

Plum Island

2006-02-03T14:51:00.000-08:00

Lovers and madmen have such seething brains. It's true. I gave this picture to Janie on our anniversary. Fifteen years of wedded bliss. There is a poem written on the back. The beach where we live is her heaven.

John

This Blog will officially launch on Valentine's Day

2006-02-03T09:20:00.000-08:00