The other day it snowed and after finishing up some things here in my office, I just had to get outside.
Have you ever had one of those days, weeks or months where you have been doing everything and nothing seems to be going your way?
Well, so far, 2018 has been just that. And yesterday I needed to take time off even for just a half hour to myself. It was so beautiful outside, the snow just clung to everything like lace. I’ve so fortunate to live in an area that has places to walk or have mini hikes and this one is literally across the street from me. If you’ve been following my blog for some time, you’d have noticed that I go here often. Sure, I could go in my car and hike someplace else. But I didn’t want to do this. I just wanted to grab my camera, put on my jacket, hat, gloves and boots and just go. Not worry about traffic or anything.
I just needed to get lost in my surroundings, to NOT THINK about my worries. I know that I can’t run away from anything, but I just needed this small break.
The pictures in themselves aren’t spectacular, and my camera was accidentally in jpeg, not in RAW, I found that out when I started to edit them in Capture One Pro. I had to reset the camera recently and in my mindset, I forgot to set the image capture to RAW. Thankfully the jpegs straight out of the camera were well exposed, however, I was sitting here all set to edit my RAW files and then I was like jpeg? Aww man! Eh, just add that to my list and move on.
My list of worries just got bigger today, and I’m working on ways to shorten it, but I do try my best to get outside everyday and take my camera with me on some kind of a walk around the block. It doesn’t matter what kind of camera that you use, just be creative and don’t think.
What do you do to help clear your head? Please comment below, thanks.
https://www.deirdreryanphotography.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/P1170343Blacks-Creek-Winter-2018-by-Deirdre-Ryan-Photography.jpg676900Deirdre Ryanhttp://deirdreryanphotography.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/Logo.pngDeirdre Ryan2018-01-18 20:33:062019-10-17 17:36:28Walk Your Worries Away At Least For A Little While
This is a post that needed to be written a long time ago. It’s still difficult because Pat was a friend of ours, a really good childhood friend of my husband’s, best friend of his sister’s and the best friend of my friends here in town. It’s weird, Shannon and I grew up together, then we moved back to Bordentown. My husband and Pat reconnect via Facebook and find out that Shannon’s husband, John, is Pat’s best friend! It was perfect since we all share the same sense of humor, political views, and John and my husband both work in tv.
We found out about Pat’s passing as we were literally driving down to Ocean City, NJ last summer of 2016. I mean I was reading Pat’s posts on FB I think an hour or so before? Next thing I knew, I get a message on FB that he died while my husband was driving. It was horrible and we couldn’t do anything until we reached our destination. I mean at first we thought it was a prank, but no our Ring Master was gone at the young age of 48.
Pat was happily married to his wife Terry and have two amazing boys together. Their wedding was at Madison Square Garden with Pat in full clown makeup from when he was in Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey Circus. To read a great tribute to Pat go here: http://www.clownlink.com/2016/07/rip-pat-cashin/ There are links to his wedding and more.
A group of his friend want to do something, so a celebratory comedy show was out together to benefit the family, friends and community. http://www.clownlink.com/2017/04/laughs-left-behind/ I quote the article: “The Laughter Arts Foundation (headed up by Michael Rosman) is putting on the event to remember Pat and to raise money for the family and for the clown community.
The evening will be headlined by Tony Award and MacArthur fellowship winner Bill Irwin. Other performers include: ▪ Archie Cobblepot ▪ Barry Lubin ▪ Circus Stella ▪ Dick Monday & Tiffany Riley ▪ Drew Richardson ▪ Eepybird (Maine) ▪ Greg DeSanto ▪ Hilary Chaplin ▪ Jeff Gordon ▪ Kevin Carr ▪ Mark Gindick ▪ Michael Rosman and others!
It was held at the Seashore Day Camp and School on April 8, 2017 at 7 pm. Pat was, let’s say an avid collector, of all things that had to do with the circus. So there was a silent auction of his collection, people who volunteered to get a shaving cream “pie” in the face, and more.
We brought our daughter to this fabulous event and had an amazing time! I used my Canon 5D Mark III and I let my daughter use my Olympus mirrorless camera outside. The lighting was what it was and while they had an official photographer who used his own lighting, I of course stated out of the way and captured the event from where I was sitting among friends in the front. There is video, but I think it’s still being edited, I’m not sure. But I can’t wait to see it, and I’m not the only one! LOL
Being among so much talent that night and seeing our caught taking it in was amazing. Meeting people and friends that we know via Facebook was great too. And hearing the stories, I mean there should be a book.
I quote the FB Page https://www.facebook.com/LFTLB/ for the event: I need to thank a lot of people…I’ll divide them into the audience people, the committee people, the performer people, and the donor people,. In many cases, people were part of more than one group. I thank the audience and especially the VIP ticket people for buying the tickets and expending the costs and effort to attend. We actually had people who flew in just to see the show. Thank you all. I want to thank the committee people for sharing the vision and saying ‘yes’ to everything I asked. Committee people included Joey K, Phil, Brenn, Archie, Cybele, Doug, Kevin, Shane Hansen, and Greg Here is a partial list of some people I’d like to call out for specific help. It includes committee people, performers, and other overall helpful people: Joey Klein for doing so so so much of the detail work, including handling and posting our social media content, and donating the shaving cream Damian Blake for the logo, Phil DePalo for the background support, the ticket website, handling the finances, and riding shotgun. Cybele for driving VIPs Gary Schwartz for playing piano Members of the Williams family and Cashin family for many many tasks including airport runs, helping with diet coke setup, babysitting, concessions, clean up, etc . Doug Young for pipe and drape Anthony Parziale for the video screen and the poster work John Frangio for sound Steve Sarafian Photos and Sharon (Stranger Cinematics) video Greg DeSanto for handling the sale of the collection pieces. Brenn for waiting patiently till I needed her, then stepping up perfectly, Joseph Salamone (and other Shrine Clowns) Archie and his wife for poster layout work, Dexter for picking up 250 whoopie cushions, Spencer Dystra and Owen Sahnow – stage hands/tech Elmo for being especially handy and helpful , Shane Hansen and Andrew Scharf , Joe Holiday for lending me a valuable prop that didn’t make it into the show Thank you performers, Kevin Carr , Hilary Chaplin , Greg DeSanto, Archie Cobblepot , Mark Gindick, Jeff Gordon, Fritz Grobe, Bill Irwin, Barry Lubin, Joey Klein , Dan McCallen, Dick Monday, Harley Newman, Tiffany Riley , Drew Richardson, Ethan Rosman , Sophia Rosman , Steve Voltz Doug Young.
The numerous people who donated but didn’t attend ( including these few who donated last minute; Greg May, Center Ring Circus School, Ted Baumhauer- Flower City Vaudeville, Ted Lawrence- Slapstick Science, The Bindlestiff, Family Cirkus, and Keith Nelson and Stephanie Monseu personally, Linda DePalo (for buying 140 2 liter bottles of Diet Coke) Randy Cabral and many more.
Many many people donated to the family shortly after Pat died through the GoFundMe site https://www.gofundme.com/patrickcashin before they knew about this show. We thank them for their support.
Of course we are indebted to John and Sharon Villapiano owners of Seashore Camp and Day School http://seashorecampandschool.com/ for giving us their space to use, and for bringing in risers and hundreds of chairs, and a mop and bucket.
I’m sure that there are many others I am neglecting to list here, including people who did helpful things that I don’t even know about. May you all know that I appreciate your contributions. Thank you again Joey , Phil, Sophia, and thank you Terry, Shane, and Jamie”
Warning! There are a LOT of images in this post. I meant a TON! However if you’re a fan of magic and the circus, then this post is perfect because people traveled far and wide to be a part of this event. This is a place for fans, family and friends to see what transpired and the amount of people and amazing talent who came together for Pat and his family. They did have it recorded, and I know that I’m not the only one who can’t wait to see it. I would also love to see the photos from the other photographer, I’m sure that they were amazing!
Now…On With The Show!
The entertainment started outside with EepyBird.com Stephen and Fritz. They are best known for a viral videos on youtube that involves Mentos and Diet Coke.
Our daughter took the above and 2 bottom photos with my Olympus. That’s my camera’s flash in the image.
EepyBird.com with one of Pat’s brothers. My husband took a cellphone video of their performance. I’ve never smelled that much Diet Coke in one place at one, and yes..it was an amazing experience!
Terry and the boys with the guys of Eepybird.com and that’s John in the background helping to clean up.
My husband took my Olympus for a bit.
Terry, myself and I think that’s one of Pat’s brothers.
Like I mentioned, I was taking pictures many as a guest and as a family friend. I didn’t want to use my flash if at all possible. But later on, the lights were dimmed and I had to. I think these are in order to the performance, but if they’re not, I apologize in advance. Enjoy, and please, share your thought in the comments section below.
Apparently our friend John had just the right kind of noggin he was looking for! LOL
We all loved this, his two daughters sitting behind me were cracking up saying look at daddy! I know that my husband was laughing and so was Pat somewhere, laughing his ass off at John.
A celebratory comedy show to benefit the family, friends and community Left Behind by the unexpected July passing of Patrick Cashin.
A celebratory comedy show to benefit the family, friends and community Left Behind by the unexpected July passing of Patrick Cashin.
A celebratory comedy show to benefit the family, friends and community Left Behind by the unexpected July passing of Patrick Cashin.
Bill Erwin, here, Bill was talking about other clowns taking your ideas and you’re like…..
.
Bill Erwin is known for being Mr. Noodle and in a music video Don’t Worry, Be Happy. But his career is so much more than this and it was amazing to meet and chat with him. This act was great! Bill and I 🙂 Our daughter was trying something and it didn’t quite work out so my husband got in his trunk of “Old Stuff”. I love this images of the four of us, thanks Bill! This is Barry Lubin, “Grandma”, and I remember seeing him perform as a child at Ringling Bros and Barnum and Bailey Circus.
This is our friend Harley Newman, he’s know for quite a few sideshow acts and awesome stuff!
Thank you to everyone who let me take their pictures that evening. If I made a mistake on a name or website, please let me know. If anyone is interested in an image, just contact me.
https://www.deirdreryanphotography.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/LaughsForTheLeftBehind-378.jpg601900Deirdre Ryanhttp://deirdreryanphotography.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/Logo.pngDeirdre Ryan2017-09-30 00:18:362019-10-17 17:47:22Laughs For The Left Behind, a Benefit for Our Friend, Pat -NJ Photographer
I’ve been a part of this Playground Committee for a very long time. For four years that me, as a business, I took portraits of kids and parents at the Annual Halloween Spooktacular, and donated all of the funds from those to this. Other parents and local businesses donated time and money too over the years. We’re all very happy for the children and generations to come.
And it’s not over yet. There are more Phases of this project to come that need to be planned and have money raised for to get started. Here are just some one of the events put together by CBS and our PTO to help raise money:
Over this summer parents, children and other volunteers, planted along the edges of the playground with a variety of plants. I can’t tell you the names of them, but what I can tell you is that some of them prevent weeds from growing in. Perhaps my friends who were there can comment below on the exact names and who donated which kinds, etc. I just know that they look great and that they are green 😉
Then the playground equipment arrived and was assembled. I wasn’t able to get there in time for that. But my daughter and I did go to the playground before they put it up after we spent the day at the pool. I just had my cell phone on me.
But the next time I went I had my better camera and took these:
Then I got word that they were getting the surface laid in, so I headed over again. The guys were super cool and chill and didn’t mind me taking their photos.
That black surface was just the first layer, then they came back to add the final layer and what you see next is the top green. The day was overcast and I had my daughter with me. They let her play a little on the playground before they moved over to that section.
Then this past week was the Official Ribbon Cutting. It was great seeing friends and the kids there. The evening was just beautiful, as it’s been very hot and humid so far. They had free Rita’s water ice, school officials were there, and it was a great event. A lot of hard work was put into it, from years ago until the present, and more must still be done.
Thank you to everyone who helped to make this entire thing become a possibility! I can’t wait to continue to with the rest!
https://www.deirdreryanphotography.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/IMG_3627CBS-Playground-Ribbon-Cutting-Phase-1-by-DeirdreRyanPhotography.jpg592900Deirdre Ryanhttp://deirdreryanphotography.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/Logo.pngDeirdre Ryan2017-09-28 17:07:522019-10-17 17:47:28Phase One Of Clara Barton Elementary School Playground Is Complete-NJ Documentary Photographer
I’m pretty excited to have had this post re-posted in very well respected The Phoblographer <—–click on link. Thank you Chris for spreading the word! Since then, I’ve tweaked the formatting on my post, but it’s still the same. I have also heard from another photographer whose work was also stolen from this same band. I’m waiting to hear the outcome of that. When I do, I’ll update this post.
In this post, I want to share a “bedtime story” with you all. Yes….for my closest friends and family members, you know what this post is about. I’ve waited a long time, but with so many stories showing up on PetaPixel, two years is long enough I think. For the sake of what happened, I can’t name the band.
But first!
Why do I need copyright my images? I mean, once I click the shutter and take the picture, it’s mine.
Ok, technically that’s true legally. However if someone steals your images, if they are not registered with the U.S. Copyright Office prior to anything bad happening, you may only recover “actual damages” instead of “statutory damages.” What this means is that you as the photographer will only be entitled to the “fair market value” of your work, instead of what could be up to a $150,000 award, plus legal fees. (Parts of this description came from https://www.format.com/magazine/resources/photography/photography-copyright-law-guide )
So if you need to hire a copyright lawyer, the first thing they will ask you is if the images in question have been registered yet. If yes, then you can proceed. If no, well, that’s going to be harder if your case goes all the way through and in front of a judge. The reason behind this is that professionals take the time to register their images because of the value to them and their livelihood, whereas say a, hobbyist, may not. Someone stealing images from a person and using it means a huge loss in revenue for a photographer.
I’m not going to go in detail on how to go through the process of registering your images. There are plenty of sites that can help you with this if you Google it. My favorite sites are:
Here is a great video from Scott Wyden Kivowitz on how to prep your images for the US Copyright Office using Lightroom. Lately I’ve been using Capture One Pro, but I can apply what he does here to that too.
A fellow photographer got me into this site Pixsy and what they do is really cool. You sign up, and sync your images with them either directly from your computer or social media site, website, etc. They find matches of your images online, and send you an alert. Then they’ll give you options on how you want to proceed, and yes they can handle international infringements. The service is free for up to 500 images. If you have more images that you want to have monitored they have different monthly plans. Now you don’t get the full amount if you win, they keep 50% except the the highest paid plan, you keep 55%. Overall, it’s not a bad system and I did have an image that their software found. I contacted them and they took care of it, done. I highly recommend trying it out and going with it, if you do find something that’s a huge deal then get a copyright lawyer.
Ok now that we have all of that taken cared of let’s go one with my experience shall we?
Back in 2015, I went to a concert here in my town and thanks to my buddy, a popular band from way back came to perform. The opening act was The Successful Failures and that was my first time seeing them. I was in the audience doing my usual thing, taking pictures. I wasn’t paid to be there, actually I paid for my tickets. But I asked if it was ok to take pictures and he said sure. I had my Canon Mark 5D III, the 16-35mm f2.8 L lens, and the 70-200mm f2.8 L non-IS lens. I’m working the room, doing my best to not be in the way of people enjoying the show. And we’re all having a great time, enjoying the hit songs we all love.
After the show, my husband and I meet the performers, the lead singer is a friend of my friend, and he introduces me. We get our photos taken, hands shaken, it was a great night. Before they went onstage, I met the previous band this way too, exchanged information.
Later on, I post the images from that night to this blog, watermarked them as you see here. Shared the post to social media and of course to my friend. The lead singer of The Successful Failures reached out via email and told me how he and his band members loved the images that I had posted. He wanted to know if they could use some of the images on their website and social media and how much it would cost. And touched upon the photo project for their new album.
I got back to him because at the time, I wasn’t sure how to price this sort of request. But I could see the value in what they do and they knew the value of what I do, there was going to be an awesome photoshoot coming up, I love their music, and most importantly, they asked for my permission. So I came up with a web sized per image price and we agreed upon it, had them sign a contract and that was it.
I follow the bands that I photograph on FB, Instagram and on Twitter. That’s when I noticed that that well known band had screenshot my images right off my blog and was using them on their FB, Twitter and Instagram with a link to their merchandise section to sell stuff like shirts and cds. That’s called using my work illegally for advertising. So at first I was pissed, but I played it cool because this is a friend of my friend. So I private messaged the band with this and I’m so happy that I had the insight to make screen copies.
If you can’t read it here’s what it says:
“Hey there! While I’m flattered that you like my images, I’m not cool with the screenshots and on my blog it does state that all images are copyright Deirdre Ryan Photography. Please do not copy in any way, this includes screenshots, thank you. I wanted to be nice, be cool. I’ll let it slide this one time, but please tag me and please change all posts to include Photo by Deirdre Ryan www.deirdreryanphotography.com thanks. This includes Instagram 🙂 My FB Page is http://www.facebook.com/deirdreryanphoto I’m re-branding myself again as a commercial and editorial photographer, so this would greatly help me and as a friend of Randy’s 🙂 Oh I forgot, if you could tag my IG with my IF @deirdreryanphoto Thanks again! Have a super awesome day!”
Looking back now I realize what I dork I sounded like LOL! I wasn’t asking for money or being a jerk. I just wanted photo credit. And as you can see, it was seen.
I waited a while and nothing….crickets…so I added my photo credit in the comments. Then, and I wish I took screenshots of those, they deleted my credits! And I saw that some fans had shared my image.
I tried again and they blocked me! WTH? So I hopped on IG and not only did they block me, they cropped out my watermark and slapped some crappy IG filters on some of them. The reason I knew this was because I had another IG account that they didn’t know about(ha!). I had added my credits in the comments there and at the time you couldn’t delete them, but I was blocked from their Twitter too! So I had my friends monitor their account for me. I think that they asked them in the credits who took the photos, etc. and they got blocked and deleted too, I can’t remember right now.
Here is what the originals looked like on my blog posting:
(If you notice, the copyright symbol isn’t on them, at the time, I didn’t think I needed it. But now I have them on now, but I wanted to show you what they looked like for reference.)
So I first I got a hold of my friend that I network with, she is a copyright lawyer. In fact we’re still in touch. She suggested that I email the band first, so I found their manager’s email. Btw, they have a different manager now.
Dear _______,
My name is Deirdre Ryan, I’m a professional photographer in New Jersey, (USA).
I’ve spoken with an attorney with whom I’m in the process of retaining. Before I go ahead and do so, I want to give you an opportunity to take down all of my images.
Please call back as soon as possible _________.
Take down you images from where?
_____,
These are images I shot of ________ that I posted on my website’s blog(Recent Work). These images are on their Instagram and Facebook accounts and they were Tweeted. Two were posted last week, and four this week.
So let me get this straight..
You went down, and shot the band… The band posted low rez pictures that you posted online of THEM live… and you have a problem with this… and now have the nerve to threaten us with lawyers?? am I getting this right?
Based on the tone of his last email, I called my lawyer up and I said, you deal with this. I could tell right away that this guy was hostile and would not offer a dime. I put her on a retainer and then the nightmare began. But I was really thankful that I had her. She then asked me to draw up an estimate of what this would cost them, so I did.
Their manager was rude, mean and over the phone with my lawyer, it was F this and F that, he clearly had a problem. He didn’t see the issue with what I had with my work being stolen to be used on their social media outlets and with a link to sell merchandise. I wasn’t asking for anything other than taking them down. I tried to be nice, asking for photo credit, then emailing with a polite and direct message.
Instead he was an asshole. Never asked for permission, deleted my photo credits, ignored my messages, and
it took about 3 months for them to take my images down.
In the end, I’m “banned” from their future shows(no big deal to me), and you know what he told my lawyer? This is “rich”….he was just trying to help a young photographer out.
Really.
If you wanted to help a “young” photographer out, you would’ve done what I asked for in the first place.
Next time someone steals my work like this again, they are going to pay me. I went through this ordeal because I didn’t want them to think that they could push anyone around, ESPECIALLY women. I didn’t this for myself, but for other creatives out there. They had stolen from the Getty’s site too so it’s only going to be a matter of time before they will end up shelling out thousands of dollars.
https://www.deirdreryanphotography.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/screenshot_07.7.jpg769859Deirdre Ryanhttp://deirdreryanphotography.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/Logo.pngDeirdre Ryan2017-08-11 19:26:572020-09-14 16:15:42Why You Need To Copyright your Images
Amongst my family and friends, it’s no big secret that my political views are liberal. Here my blog, I do try to stay neutral. However I am a big advocate that healthcare is a basic right for everyone. No matter what medical conditions that you have now and not, eventually as we all age, we will have Pre-Existing Conditions. This is just a fact of life.
Since Trump became the person to be in our White House, I’ve been part of groups to bring about awareness. I may not be able to be able to go to every meeting, but I do my best to spread the word, make phone calls and not just stand in the sidelines. I was part of a small press conference, UniteWomen.org allowed me to document the Women’s March in Washington D.C. on their behalf, and more.
One of the many projects in our small town is to send out postcards to representatives both local and nationally.
My idea is to take portraits of the very people that the votes affect directly, by putting them on a postcard that gets sent out to local and national government representatives. A face to the causes that they vote on, to make our voices heard visually.
Because this is a personal project that I needed volunteers for, I asked that everyone I photographed to purchase at least 25 cards and postage on their own. I decided to go with Moo because I can order batches with different images on the front. This is who I order my business cards from and I am always happy with the results. The Dorothea Dix Unitarian Universalist Community in our town is where our groups hold meetings, and they generously allowed me to photograph the portraits there.
I asked for volunteers via our Bordentown Neighbors Acting Together(BNAT) Facebook Group and I had about 10 or more respond. But because everyone has different schedules, who you see here is who I was able to photograph on that particular day.
My goal is to continue this project, get more people so that it creates more of an impact.
Some of the pre-existing conditions that I was told about the people for this project are:
This is a behind the scenes for I Am A Pre-Existing Portrait personal photo project. The oval of light coming through the muslin is the window of the front door. I shot tethered with my Canon Mark 5D III. I tried a few different setups, and decided on one light with a Phototek and a reflector. I’ve had this brown-is muslin for a long time and knew that this was the project that would lend itself nicely for it. I had everyone sit on an applebox or stand. I kept the light up on the boom, but ended up not using it. I have these images in b/w and a sepia tone to them. I wasn’t sure how I liked them that way or not. But in the end, I stayed with full colour.
Below is a behind the scenes video that is straight out of my Olympus mirrorless camera shot by my husband, David. It’s just video clips slapped together in iMovie, because I’m not an editor like he is. Eventually he’ll make something better for me when he gets some time in his busy schedule. You’ll see us having a good time, me being silly and how I like to make everyone feel good about themselves, there’s a swear word in there too.
Thanks everyone! And if you want to be a part of this project, please contact me.
UPDATE!
You can tell that I’m tired, I had just volunteered all day at my daughter’s school for the Scholastic Book Fair, I’ve been trying to get these out in the mail for the past week and I kept running into obstacles. Plus I had to copy and paste all of the names and multiple addresses of the Congressmen, Women and those in the Senate. Yes, I sent some out to House Speaker Paul Ryan, Vice President Mike Pence and Donald Trump. But you better believe that Senators Mitch McConnell, Cassidy and Graham and my continuant, Congressman Tom MacArthur got theirs among others.
There were quite a few that I couldn’t send out to, I ran out of postcards, time and something happened to the printouts of the labels. So quite a few I had to hand print the addresses. But overall I’m happy, I’ve done my part and I want to do more.
I managed to finish them and take these to my town’s post office. But I didn’t realize that they close at 4:30! So I was still able to buy stamps and adhere them to each and every one. The video above I did when I had a moment today, shot and edited on my iPhone SE using iMovie. I made a mistake with my website, but rest assured, it’s still www.deirdreryanphotography.com LOL I was just too tired to do it all over again. I’m sure you can all relate to days like that, right?
https://www.deirdreryanphotography.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/Postcard-Project2086-1IAmAPreExistingConditionbyDeirdreRyanPhotography-e1501030806185.jpg522560Deirdre Ryanhttp://deirdreryanphotography.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/Logo.pngDeirdre Ryan2017-07-26 00:41:302019-10-17 17:49:03I Am A Pre-Existing Portraits-A Personal Project(Updated)
Mount Vernon is a gorgeous place to visit and the last time I was there was with my father and grandparents in the 1990’s. Since then, they’ve built a beautiful education center and museum. And I completely forgot to mention the weather, warm, breezy, but not humid! Very “un-Virginia” for early summertime, just beautiful and perfect! If you don’t know already, Mount Vernon was George and Martha Washington’s estate on the Potomac River. You are not allowed to take any photos inside the main house, but anywhere else you are.
To see the beginning of this mini vacation click here.
Different areas has archaeological digs going on, including at the Slave’s Burial site. We met a little friend at the original family vault. Can someone identify this lizard? Inside Washington’s Tomb is both George and his wife Martha. Visiting the Slave Memorial and Burial Grounds. After paying tribute to the Slaves Burial Ground, we walked down to the river and then to Pioneer Farm. Here, a gentleman demonstrates to the children how to separate the wheat in order to eat it, as an example of what threshing does in the replica of the 16-sided barn designed by Washington for treading wheat. I asked if I could take his portrait, and he was very happy to let me, his wife is an artist as well. Inside the 16-sided barn. An example of a cabin that the Washington’s slave had lived in. We took the wooded trail back to the mansion and to meet up with the rest of our family for lunch. I wanted to wander around a little before eating…. The buildings were getting repainted while we were there. As I was wandering around, I spotted a deer near the estate. On the way back to my aunt and uncle’s home, we stopped at Jefferson’s Memorial. I had never been here before and it was on my list for a long time. My daughter checking out the view. It took a while, but after patiently waiting, there was a break in the crowd of people, and I got a shot of President Jefferson’s statue without anyone in it. An engagement session, the light was perfect for it. Across the river you can see the Martin Luther King Jr. Monument. Can you guess whose statue is shown below? Tell me in the comments.
We had done a lot of walking that day, but I want to go back, because I felt that I missed on so many things. Taking my daughter there was great because she had been studying the Revolutionary War and seeing everything that day was important to her.
https://www.deirdreryanphotography.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/P6280764WashingtonDCTrip.jpg525900Deirdre Ryanhttp://deirdreryanphotography.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/Logo.pngDeirdre Ryan2017-07-19 18:10:292019-10-17 17:49:15Personal Mini Family Vacation to Washington, D.C. Parts 3 and 4
I’m very lucky to have close family who live in the Washington, D.C. area, growing up we would visit often, and I have been to just about every museum there. But each time I go, there’s always a surprise that I haven’t seen before. Earlier this summer, my mom and I, took my daughter for the first time and she had some requests on what she wanted to see and loved it.
I didn’t take my Canon gear, just my mirrorless Olympus OM-D E-M5 Mark II, and the Olympus M.Zuiko ED 14-150mm f4.0-5.6 II lens. Yes, one day I will get some faster glass for it 😉 I did consider renting for this trip, but at the last minute didn’t. These are just personal, travel photo snapshots, I have more to show you in other posts coming up.
When we arrived, we took a little break, then headed out to the Capital to view the monuments at sunset and in the evening lights. The last time I was here at the Vietnam Memorial was to see my father, a Vietnam Vet, in the parade back in November of 1982. He is in the front row for New Jersey(each state had a section in the parade) for helping to lead and contribute to this powerful wall. Many didn’t want this and didn’t like the design. Each item that is left at the wall is kept safe by the National Park Service. I still can’t find any full length video of the parade from the 1982 dedication. If you’re interested, C-SPAN has the dedication in their archives. If anyone who reads this does have the parade in full, I would love a link to it for my father and others, please leave a comment below.
My dad is right in the middle wearing a long beige coat and has a camera around his neck, on either side of him are two men wearing camo fatigues as he’s in the parade for the Vietnam Memorial Dedication and for all of the men and women who served in the war, they finally got the welcome home they deserved. But there was still a long way to go at the time, and to this day.
That’s me in the blue sweater holding my cousin’s hand with my Grandma Martin at the Vietnam Memorial for the first time, I think I’m around 8-9 years old.Here I am with my Grandma and Grandpa Martin, holding my cousin’s hand. I was also biting my nails, and it looks like grandma had something in her eye. The Washington Monument is behind us. And yes, I’m wearing saddle shoes, I was really into them at the time, I loved those things 🙂 I’m not sure who took these photos, my Uncle Bob and my Grandpa Martin, or my mom. We had a lot of cameras as you can see. Grandpa Martin also shot a lot of Kodachrome, so one of these days I would love to see what he captured, I have his cameras as part of my collection. The watermark is there to “hopefully” deter people, no matter who shot these pictures. These images shot at night were all handheld.
Our daughter is really into spies and mysteries, so the International Spy Museum was at the top of her list.
They have a really cool James Bond 007 exhibit, I didn’t post everything, so that I won’t spoil it for you. But I couldn’t help but post Jaw’s teeth! Oh and this mask, can you guess which James Bond film it’s from? Tell me in the comments below 🙂 After the spy museum, The National Portrait Gallery is right across the street, so we ate some lunch and went there. I haven’t been inside since I was a little girl, the courtyard didn’t have the roof overtop of it back then. First, the Hall of Presidents, this is a Chuck Close portrait of President Bill Clinton. Then we wandered around, taking in as much as we could. One of the current exhibits is called The Face of Battle: Americans At War, 9/11 to Now. It had different sections, and then this one had mini hand drawn portraits by Emily Price, called: American Servicemen and Women Who Have Died in Iraq and Afghanistan (But Not Including the Wounded, Nor the Iraqis nor the Afghanis). A young man named Benjamin Moore came home far too soon, to our town. I photographed what was going on, also that horrible cult that goes to military funerals, were threatening to show up, and I heard that they did at the cemetery, but later left. I decided to see if he was on this wall and sure enough, Ben was there. I’m friends with his family and friends, sadly, I never got to know him. But from the stories, he was an exceptional young man.
https://www.deirdreryanphotography.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/P6260189.jpg666900Deirdre Ryanhttp://deirdreryanphotography.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/Logo.pngDeirdre Ryan2017-07-19 14:57:082019-10-17 17:49:28Personal Mini Family Vacation to Washington, D.C. Parts 1 and 2
“The intent of the Earth Day Weekend-long photo shoot being held April 22 and 23 is to capture the unique character of the towns that border both sides of the Delaware River from Riegelsville in Pennsylvania to Lambertville, according to a news release.
Photographers are free to roam and shoot anywhere within the boroughs boundaries in Riegelsville, Milford, Frenchtown, Stockton, Lambertville and New Hope, Pa.”–CRAIG TURPIN
I took a look and thought, okay sounds like fun and I sort of forgot about it. But those emails kept coming, so I thought well, why not? So I asked the person in charge, who is another photographer named Bill Brokaw, and decided to go for it.
When I do these type of excursions, I like to pack as light as possible. I dress in layers, bring only one camera, one lens, 2 cards, an extra battery, sunblock, a reusable water bottle, snacks, good hiking shoes(I love Salomon trail running sneakers that are waterproof), my cell phone, solar powered charger, wear a hat(for some reason I didn’t bring one that day), my Nook Glowlight eReader, and other small essentials that fit in my Think Tank Modular Belt system. I have the belt and all of these attaches to it, Hubba Hiney, R U Hot bottle holder, I have the older version of the Speed Changer. That day, I only brought my Canon 6D and the Canon EF 16-35mm 2.8 L lens, this camera combination is much lighter than if I had my Canon 5D Mark III.
The first day of Earth Day Weekend, it was pouring, and I mean torrential all day. I decided to stay home, but the next day, Sunday was perfect. My husband and daughter had stuff to do at home, so I took a drive on the Pennsy side up to New Hope. It was packed with people because the day was so beautiful. So I crossed the bridge to Lambertville and kept going up north along the river. I wasn’t sure how far I wanted to go, so I just kept driving, seeing what was around. Living where I do, I know the area pretty well, but further up not as much. Around Stockton, I got a little hungry and saw that the Delaware Canal Towpath and town wasn’t overrun by tourists. I got a sandwich at a local deli, sat on a bench underneath a tree and just enjoyed my surroundings.
Afterwards, I started wandering around looking. I didn’t take any photos yet, I just wanted to get the feel of the area first. Then I found the direction of the towpath that felt right, and I walked. There were families on bikes, people walking their dogs, the path was even, not bad. It got pretty warm, so I was really glad that I had my water with me. Then I found what I was looking for, I mean I didn’t know it until I came upon it. My process started by taking some shots from the bridge, and then I looked to see if I can get closer to the water in the canal. Yep, there was a way.
Took a few shots, really loved the light, and I felt like I could stay there the rest of the day and read with snacks.
I honestly felt like I got The Shot, but since I came up all that way, why not explore?
I decided to cross the Delaware River using Centre Bridge. It has quite a history, here’s a quote directly from Wikipedia:
“For many years, the route was called Old York Road, as it was the principal route from Philadelphia to New York City. Originally, the Centre Bridge–Stockton Bridge was a covered toll bridge of wood construction was located at the former site of Reading’s Ferry. First built in 1814 as a covered bridge with six spans and a total length of 821 feet built under contract by Capt. Pelig Kingsley and Benjamin Lord. The construction was faulty and the contractors were penalized $1,200. One of the piers soon gave way and had to be rebuilt. In 1830, the entire bridge was reconstructed by a contractor Amos Campbell, the father of Henry Roe Campbell. At that time the Raritan feeder on the New Jersey side, and the Delaware Division canal on the Pennsylvania side had not been dug. At first, the canal companies built and maintained the bridges over their respective ditches.
The flood of January 8, 1841, carried away three spans, two piers and the stone toll-house all on the New Jersey side. It was only one of many bridges between Easton, Pennsylvania and Trenton, New Jersey, that was destroyed in the flood. However, the Centre Bridge–Stockton Bridge was rebuilt well enough to be one of the few bridges not washed away by the flood of October 10, 1903.
In 1923, the bridge was twice damaged by fire and then on July 22, 1923, lightning struck the bridge and the resulting fire totally destroyed the structure.
For two years after the disaster, the Centre Bridge–Stockton Bridge saw no repairs. Eventually, the Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission gained control of the remnants of the bridge, and began rebuilding upon the same piers and abutments on which the first bridge had stood. Having been built higher than before, it escaped damage in the flood of 1955, which damaged many other bridges along the Delaware River. The current steeltruss bridge was completed in 1926 and opened to traffic in 1927.”
These bridges are up and down the river, and have a walkway either on the left or right side for pedestrians. Bikes are allowed, but you have to walk to over. It was really cool being on it while cars, motorcycles and some small trucks drove by. The thing shakes and vibrates, but I’m not afraid of these things.
Once across I was in Solesbury Township, PA. The Delaware Canal and Towpath are are both sides of the river. Here is an example of a barge and underneath the bridge that connects to Centre Bridge you see the nest of Cliff Swallows. I played around in editing to see what certain images looked like in both colour and in black and white.
I had some ice cream at a place that’s right on the other side of these buildings. They also serve hamburgers, hotdogs and other delicious meals.
Once again, I made my way down to the water and large boulders, or cement blocks. It was here that I also focused on the garbage that collects along the shore. Living on the Delaware River in Bordentown, we have the same problem. I did quite a bit of climbing up and down that day.
This is part of the towpath in PA in the other direction. Notice that the time of the day I’m in full sun and it’s right above me just about?
I really like the above image in black and white. After returning to Stockton, NJ, and was crossing the bridge, I saw some colour and went to explore.
The final image that I put in the show was the first one, which is my favorite next to the black and white of the motorcyclists crossing the bridge.
Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to make it to either showings, the one in Frenchtown or in Lambertville. Previously scheduled events and family obligations made it difficult. It wasn’t the first time that I’ve had work up in a show, and it won’t be my last. The two images below, you can see my image on the top row, in between what looks like two different viewpoints of the same red and beige buildings.
Photo by Carol Manger
Photo by Bill Brokaw
Thank you to everyone who encouraged me to do this, I had a lot of fun!
I recently held a headshot session thanks to Closet Possible, and my dear friend, Jen, who made my clients look amazing with her talent as a hair stylist and makeup artist. While waiting for my next client, we decided to have some fun. I changed up the lighting, Jen quickly did her own hair and makeup and the rest you see below.
She’s an incredibly hard working, loving mother of two, one of her daughters is in the same grade as my daughter. She’s stylin’, funny, athletic, creative and goofy. We like to send weird texts to each other LOL I need to get back into our morning routine of waking up before the sun for our walk/run.
To get your appointment with Jen, go to Sonya Salon and Spa and become one of her many happy clients!
https://www.deirdreryanphotography.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/0216-1-1PortraitofJenByDeirdreRyanPhotographywww.deirdreryanphotography.com-1.jpg526900Deirdre Ryanhttp://deirdreryanphotography.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/Logo.pngDeirdre Ryan2017-04-28 18:24:382019-10-17 17:51:19Portraiture Fun With My Friend Jen-NJ Portrait Photographer
My friends Jen, Becky, and others put together a peaceful Candlelight Vigil Honoring Refugees and Immigrants. A little over 100 people showed up, that’s huge since this only went out via email, social media and perhaps a few phone calls. I quote from the description of the event:
“For much of its history, Bordentown has been profoundly impacted by immigrants. From the earliest days of Quaker settlement to the Irish and Germans who sought refuge and employment on the D&R Canal, to the many African-Americans who organized Bordentown as an Underground Railroad stop on heir journey to freedom, to families of all European heritage to more recent refugees from the Balkan wars; we have been welcoming to all.
In remembrance of those who sought refuge and endured persecution to make this nation great, and to recognize that the concern of refugees is still what brings this great community together, we would like to invite one and all to a candlelight vigil.
We plan to quietly and peacefully walk along the sidewalks of Farnsworth Avenue beginning at 6. We will gather at the Veteran’s Memorial on Farnsworth and Railroad Avenues, across from Boyd’s Pharmacy. Bring a flashlight, or a candle and be present to show that our community stands for inclusiveness and diversity.”
Many of my friends were out tonight, my friend and fellow photographer, Phil McAuliffe, played the guitar and sang accompanied by a flutist. We all sang This Land is Your Land and We Shall Overcome. People shared their stories and struggles, heartbreaking at times….
We are in times of uncertainty for our dear friends of different faiths and backgrounds. What the new White House Administration has done so far has been illegal and unconstitutional. We are better than what is happening and it is up to us to take a stand and make our voices heard and vote those people out. Enough is enough!
Being a person who is a photojournalist, I’m sometimes supposed to be neutral in my blog, however this is way out of control. My voice is my images, my audience is you. Hey, we’re all for having our great and vast nation safer! But they is not the way to do it, not even the governors of the states knew what was happening!
So these are just a few shots, that I took for my own, I’m not with a news outlet anymore. However, I need to be out there with my camera and let stories be told.
Rebecca speaking… Jen speaking to the crowd gathered.
Bassam Rifai, a Syrian American for speaking this evening on the impact the recent executive order is having on people all across our country and the world.
Everyone walked around the block, from Farnsworth Ave, to Walnut St., Prince St. up Railroad Ave., and back to the Veteran’s Memorial on Farnsworth Ave. where we began. The Bordentown Police Department made sure we had a safe and peaceful vigil, thank you so much!The children got up to start singing.
CALL TO ACTION – If you are in Congressional District 3 which includes Bordentown call Congressman Tom MacArthur and tell him how you feel about this issue. Demand that he get back to you about his position on this issue and make sure he knows you will be paying attention. His DC phone number is 202-225-4765 and his Marlton office is 856-267-5187.
Your Senators are Cory Booker and Bob Menendez.
Bob Menendez’s DC number is 202-224-4744 and local office is 973-645-3030
Cory Booker’s DC number is 202-224-3224 and local office is 856-338-8922
Put these numbers in your phone. Use them frequently. And join us when we visit their offices.
Thank you to all who allowed me to photograph this beautiful event in my hometown, especially with so many of my friends and our children. This is America, we all stand together to fight for what is right. Our town is used to being a part of history, looks like it’s time to get back in the game!
https://www.deirdreryanphotography.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/IMG_0531.jpg635950Deirdre Ryanhttp://deirdreryanphotography.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/Logo.pngDeirdre Ryan2017-01-30 04:14:492019-10-17 17:52:55Our Community Stands Together With Immigrants and Against Fear-NJ Editorial Photographer
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Terry and the boys with the guys of Eepybird.com and that’s John in the background helping to clean up.
Bill and I 🙂
Our daughter was trying something and it didn’t quite work out so my husband got in his trunk of “Old Stuff”.
This is
Different areas has archaeological digs going on, including at the Slave’s Burial site.
We met a little friend at the original family vault. Can someone identify this lizard?
Inside Washington’s Tomb is both George and his wife Martha.
Visiting the 
After paying tribute to the Slaves Burial Ground, we walked down to the river and then to Pioneer Farm.
Here, a gentleman demonstrates to the children how to separate the wheat in order to eat it, as an example of what threshing does in the replica of the 16-sided barn designed by Washington for treading wheat.
I asked if I could take his portrait, and he was very happy to let me, his wife is an artist as well.
Inside the 16-sided barn.
An example of a cabin that the Washington’s slave had lived in.
We took the wooded trail back to the mansion and to meet up with the rest of our family for lunch.
I wanted to wander around a little before eating….
The buildings were getting repainted while we were there.
As I was wandering around, I spotted a deer near the estate.
On the way back to my aunt and uncle’s home, we stopped at Jefferson’s Memorial. I had never been here before and it was on my list for a long time.
My daughter checking out the view.
It took a while, but after patiently waiting, there was a break in the crowd of people, and I got a shot of President Jefferson’s statue without anyone in it.
An engagement session, the light was perfect for it.
Across the river you can see the Martin Luther King Jr. Monument.
Can you guess whose statue is shown below? Tell me in the comments.
Our daughter is really into spies and mysteries, so the 
They have a really cool James Bond 007 exhibit, I didn’t post everything, so that I won’t spoil it for you. But I couldn’t help but post Jaw’s teeth!
Oh and this mask, can you guess which James Bond film it’s from? Tell me in the comments below 🙂
After the spy museum, 
First, the Hall of Presidents, this is a 
Then we wandered around, taking in as much as we could.
One of the current exhibits is called 
Jen speaking to the crowd gathered.
Everyone walked around the block, from Farnsworth Ave, to Walnut St., Prince St. up Railroad Ave., and back to the Veteran’s Memorial on Farnsworth Ave. where we began. The Bordentown Police Department made sure we had a safe and peaceful vigil, thank you so much!
The children got up to start singing.
