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Showing posts with label Life. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Life. Show all posts

Monday, June 15, 2009

Thirst Relief Fundraiser

Sometimes when I’m hard at work at the computer, I get really thirsty and think to myself, ‘I sure would love a glass of water.’ Then I go into the kitchen and get one. I seldom think about where that water comes from, that it might run out, whether it is safe to drink, that it might be contaminated. I just assume that it will be there for me. And it always is. I need to appreciate that more.



Clean drinking water is one of our most basic needs, one which we assume to be a basic right. It comes straight into our homes and public buildings and we hardly need to think about it. It’s difficult to imagine what it would be like to be deprived of that basic necessity, to have to walk 10 miles a day to find water and for that water to be contaminated, likely to make you sick. The startling truth is 1.1 billion people lack access to clean drinking water and 2 million people die each year due to water related disease, 90% of which are children under the age of 5. Providing clean drinking water gets to the root of many other health problems and circumvents the need to treat these problems later.

We are very excited to announce our first official fundraiser to help Thirst Relief International in its mission to bring clean drinking water to communities in need around the world. We’ve been supporting their cause (with the help of many of our clients :) in small ways but this time we are trying to launch a full effort to enable them to continue their wonderful projects.

To encourage donations, we’ll be holding a raffle- five winners will be drawn and will receive a gift certificate for a portrait session and print credit, each worth $500. The portrait session can be for kids, family, engagement, or the best reason of all- just because you love someone. There is no minimum, but your name will be entered once for every $25 you donate. With a donation, we will also offer a $100 credit to the first 15 people who schedule a portrait session.

Mike and I will be hosting an open house at our new studio in downtown Natick the evening of Friday, June 26, from 6:30-9:30, and we invite you to stop by to say hello, visit the new studio, and drop off a donation so we can thank you personally. Our address is 11 North Main Street. Donations may also be made online at http://www.thirstrelief.org/ or by sending a check to the studio written out to “Thirst Relief International.” If donating online, please select “Kate Rose Portrait Raffle” under the campaign option. If submitting a check, please include your contact information including name, address, phone number and email. The promotion and raffle will run through June 27th. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact the studio by email at donate@katerosephotography.com or by phone at 888.221.0570.


Images courtesy of Thirst Relief International

What is unique about the Thirst Relief organization is how many lives they can better with their resources: $50 can provide a water filtration system that can help 10-20 people, $2000-$4000 can build a well that will provide clean water for almost 1000 people. A donation can change an entire community and even a small donation helps save many lives.

As part of a community, we are all responsible for the welfare of our fellow human beings, whether local or distant, and our actions should work towards bettering the quality of life of those we can reach. Mike and I feel that our business should follow this model and help us towards our personal goals of creating a better world. Thank you for helping us support this cause that is close to our hearts.

“The true measure of the humanity of a society is not how the society treats its wealthy, but how it treats its poor.” ~Henry M Levin


The fine print:
** All portrait sessions are done on-location and include travel within an hour from the studio
** Scheduling is subject to availability
** Sessions need to be booked (not scheduled) by July 14 to receive the promotional $100 credit
** Gift certificate winners will not receive the $100 credit in addition to their gift certificate

Thursday, April 16, 2009

Laughter...

Almost finished editing this wonderful wedding but I had to take a break to share a bit of laughter. Just seeing my couple laughing made me smile and feel good. It's amazing how contageous laughter can be, powerful enough that it can stay alive even frozen in a photograph, to be looked at later when you need to smile again.

Saturday, April 11, 2009

Favorite Spring Activities...

Today, I finally had the chance to spend some quality time with my family and it felt so good. I've been so busy moving the studio, doing so much, moving so fast, that to enjoy a day as if time doesn't exist was so refreshing. And I got to participate in one of my favorite spring activities:



There's something about painting Easter eggs that takes me back. I still feel the same intensity of concentration creating my miniature masterpieces as I did when I was 6.



But my very favorite was done by little miss Erin, one of my favorite people on the planet. This is a depiction of me, my sister and my mom's cat, made especially for my mom. I told Erin how much my mom was going to love it, especially with her cat on there and she said that the kitty was thinking about my mom (that's a picture of my mom in the kitty's thought bubble). I love the way children think.



Happy spring everyone!

Thursday, March 12, 2009

How does time fly by...

I just realized almost a month has passed by and my blog here has been getting a little lonely...I have a lot of exciting things in the works which have been taking up all my time. A few hints of things to come...a brand new studio space, handmade (+environmentally friendly) line of prints, really cool custom framing, and an effort to help raise money for thirst relief, just to name a few. Very excited for the year to come and the lovely adventures it will bring.

A new favorite image from the wedding I'm currently working on...it tugs at my heart.

Friday, January 2, 2009

Emilie + Chris

I want to wish a happy new year to all of you out there that hold a little spot in my heart. I've had the pleasure of spending several days with family and friends over the holidays and it just refreshes all my perspectives on life, makes me remember what's most important, and to just let go of the rest. Hoping the new year will bring a bounce to your step and a smile to all your faces.

I also wanted to share an Engagement Session I photographed before the holidays. Emilie and Chris met me in Boston where we ran and around and had us some fun. Since it's so cold out, I figured it would be best to start indoors- the lovely Liberty Hotel was kind enough to let us use their premises. It's my new favorite hotel in Boston- such great design and really good restaurants.

Emilie and Chris are really sweet and so much fun, the kind of people you want to be your friends. They share this passionate sense of adventure, not just for traveling, but for finding the spark of life even in the little, unexpected moments. So enjoyable to photograph...



Two of my favorites...



Love how these next two images look full size when side by side...









A really sweet moment...









Delightful...





Heartful...(I know it's not really a word but I like it)







Joyful...





Playful...





Another set of favorites. I love how images can work together so well, to say more than one thing in one moment...







Emilie + Chris,
Thanks for being the most fun ever! Mike and I are really looking forward to your wedding next year.

Saturday, October 25, 2008

Adventures in New York City

I just spent a lovely two days in New York City. I went for the Photoplus Expo but the highlight was really spending time with new and old friends. And walking a lot in the city- I came across this on Friday morning in Hoboken- technically NJ but just minutes from NYC and such a sweet little place. So sweet, in fact, that I ate a cupcake there everyday from this friendly corner bakery. I love when I can slow my life down enough to appreciate all the little beautiful things that fill our days.



Saturday, September 20, 2008

Gratefulness

I've been thinking a lot lately about the things I am grateful for in my life. At the top of that list are my friends and family because they inspire me and teach me to be a better person and support and love me unconditionally. It feels like even if I am walking on a tightrope, I have this huge crowd down there cheering me on and ready to catch me if I fall.

I am also really grateful for my clients because they are willing to share so much of who they are with me. They let their guard down and allow me to see how they love each other and I grow as a person as I watch all the different forms in which this manifests. I think when you love someone, that love doesn't just sit there, it's an on-going process of discovery and development, figuring out ways to show how you love each other. I have a friend who said if today was his last day, he could go knowing that everyone he loves knows it. I want to make sure that I live my life like that.

Saturday, August 23, 2008

A Day at the Park

I took my little cousin to the park the other day and I had my little point and shoot camera with me so I took a few pictures while she was playing. Erin is one of my favorite people on the planet- I used to watch her every week when she was little so she's kind of my baby (even though she's getting so big!). She has the best sense of humor- she makes me laugh all day and remember how enjoyable life is when you stop worrying about all the things you think you have to do and just enjoy the moment that's happening now.



She wanted to wear her hair like mine so we both had pigtails. (Her's are cuter, though.)







Friday, August 22, 2008

Lobster Tails

Yesterday evening I photographed an engagement session in the North End with Anne and James who couldn't believe I had never tried a Lobster Tail (I actually didn't even know what it was). They disappeared into the crowd at Mike's Pastry and finally reemerged, presenting me with an eight inch box, tied together with a little string, which I managed to squeeze into my bag for later. If I had any idea how amazing this treat would be, I don't think it would have stayed in my bag for five hours. And I wouldn't have invited my sister over to share it with me. Lobster tails go in the most-amazing-desserts-ever category. I'm meeting friends in Boston tomorrow night and I'm already scheming how I can herd them towards the North End....

It really is the size of a huge lobster.



The lovely couple sharing a cannoli. Many more pictures to come later....



Thanks Anne + James for spoiling me- thank you for dinner and especially for walking me to my car. You two are so thoughtful.

Sunday, August 17, 2008

Sundays...

I love Sundays, especially when they involve a long, lazy, brunch at my parent's house. My mom makes the meanest omlettes around and there's nothing like fresh vegetables from my cousins' farm. My mom had a whole bag of radishes and as I selected a few to take home I couldn't help but be charmed by the odd shapes of these little fellows. They have so much personality.

I recently purchased a little digital point and shoot camera so I now always have a camera on me, which is so fun. I've learned not to expect it to be as amazing as my real cameras (the color is so different, there's no way to control the focus, looks better on screen than in print) but it fits in my pocket so it's always around in times of need:



Me and my new friends:



Happy Sunday!

Friday, August 1, 2008

In Wilderness is the Preservation of the World

(Henry David Thoreau)



And it can be found everywhere you look, even on a front stoop in the city. I have always had a personal fascination with the way nature flourishes even in the most unlikely of places- the way wild plants manage to grow between the cracks on highway barriers, the way vines wrap around dilapidated buildings, the way trees grow and stretch around telephone wires. I love photographing nature spring over the obstacles we create by tearing down land and wrapping the earth in pavement. That resilience makes me hopeful...