"Baby makes the belly go round"

This fun couple were such good sports about waiting for me to return from my trip, and I am so glad that despite my crazy jet-lag, we were able to meet up and do their maternity session last week. I got to meet their new addition (the four-legged one) and I look forward to meeting their baby girl in a few weeks.

New Year's Baby

My studio-mate's little one was born right after the turn of the new year, and I'm glad I got back in enough time to catch some newborn portraits of her with her mommy. Isn't she just the sweetest little thing?

India, Part 4: The Culture and History

After spending time in the big city of Mumbai (India's New York), and then at the beach in Goa, we took a tour of the state of Karnataka aboard the new Golden Chariot luxury train. The historic stone cities were simply stunning, and the culture that we encountered along the way was always intriguing. Above you see the work animals painted and decorated in honor of the pongol festival. The day we arrived in Mysore, we were surprised to find pink and yellow cows all over the city.

The ruins of the city of Hampi were definitely one of the highlights of the tour. It is no wonder that it's a UNESCO World Heritage site. Not only the intracately carved temples and buildings, but the actual landscape it was built on make for a breathtaking view.

The sculpture carved into the granite in the cave temples has withstood hundred of years of weather and war.

Fishing boats--I loved the colors.


The temple complex in Hampi lit up just for our group. For my fellow Nikonians, this was ISO 3200 on the D300, handheld.

The government of Karnataka has a policy of getting schoolchildren out to visit their historic sites. We encountered many of them along our tour. These are at in Pattadakal.

This was one of the "menace monkeys" we encountered on the way to the cave temples. They will steal even your water bottles are you walk by.

The stone temple complexes not only served as cultural centers, but also stored literature in carvings on the exterior walls.

And finally, one of the few Asian elephants we encountered on our trip. This one was at the Bandipur National Park. We spent an evening at a safari resort there, and got to go on a short safari tour. We saw some elephants, peacocks, two different types of deer, an eagle and many kingfishers, monkeys, and warthogs. We looked hard for a tiger, but no luck.

India, Part 3: The Beaches

We had the opportunity to spend a few days at the beach in the former Portuguese colony of Goa. The beach in Calangute was a lot of fun, with "shack" restaurants lining sand, and free, comfortable sunbeds that came with chair-side service. The water was just the perfect temperature for swimming and wasn't plagued with Jellyfish like the East Coast beaches can be.

India, Part 2: Around Town

A colorful day at the Dhobi Ghat in Mumbai. It's like a big outdoor laundromat.

Children on the street looking for a few rupees.

And this is why Americans shouldn't be tempted to get the beautiful-looking colorful shaved ice treats at Chowpatty Beach (the ice delivery bike).

A paan vender. This legal, but additive, stuff always looks so enticing.

Another nice paan display at Chowpatty Beach in Mumbai.

Headed home from school.

Washing clothing and green channa on the canal.

I wish the tour guide's arm hadn't gotten in my way for this one--I just thought the contrast of traditional and modern was really interesting here. Note this is an English-language newspaper. This is in Mysore.

India, Part 1: the Wedding

I'm back from my 3 weeks in India, and am excited to start sharing some images from my trip. We were enticed to travel in order to attend a close friends' wedding. I had played a role in introducing the bride and groom, and we especially wanted to be there for the wedding, despite the fact that it was halfway around the world.