I had the opportunity to assist Tricia again last weekend at Jonathan and Eric's Wedding Lunch at the Milleridge Inn.  I won't spiral into a politically-charged rant on my feelings about the long overdue legalization of gay marriage in New York State but I will simply say:

love + equality + kind people = warm&fuzzies

These guys were playing amazing mood music from the adjacent room throughout the afternoon...

The ceremony was very intimate.  J&E have been together for 10+ years and were surrounded by their closest family and friends (and Tricia and I haha) as they finally exchanged vows....i heart these next 3 shots.

I really don't do well around happy tears.  I should add a clause to my contract stating "if at any point you see me sniffling and sobbing like a fool behind my camera, please disregard"

Head on over to Tricia's Blog to see her shots from the day.  Mazel Tov Jonathan and Eric!!!!

So I finally did it.  Bit the bullet.  Threw in the towel.  {insert additional cliches}.

I had procrastinated on starting a Facebook business page for a while now because, quite frankly, it kind of peeves me when my own Facebook feed is bombarded with people asking me to "like" this and "like" that.  I mean seriously, how awkward is it to ask people to "like" you!?

Anyway, that all being said, I do see the marketing value in establishing the whole social media platform shabang so I put my trepidation aside and launched my official Cat Dunbar Photography and Graphic Design business page.

That leads me to the inevitable:  Please "like" me!!!  Haha (nervous laughter).  I won't beg, but if you "like me" you will earn brownie points with me.  Which could lead to real brownies...or maybe even a hug!

My sister and niece were up from D.C. today for a mini-visit.  It never ceases to amaze me how much and how quickly babies change.  Perfect excuse to take lots of pictures! (like i even need one).

Here's little Claire with her Grandfather (Papa).  You know those mugs and t-shirts that say "#1 Grandpa"?...seriously, my Dad IS the #1 Grandpa.  He is Casey's best buddy AND baby-whisperer extraordinaire.

If it's coming from Papa, this is actually a term of endearment...

Itsssssss pictures in the kitchen time!

Hello little one...

My favorite shot of the day <3

Here's the happy girl with Nana

Great-Grandma, Nana, Mommy and Claire.

And back with good old Papa...

My schedule lately has been curazzyyy and a lazy day catching up with my family is just what the doctor ordered.  Grandma's apple pie didn't hurt either.  I have many images to share from recent and upcoming photog happenings so check back soon!

Slaves to my to-do list, Joe and I took advantage of the gorgeous weather and headed into Manhattan recently for some touristy sight-seeing.  Naturally, I snapped a bunch of pictures of our adventure...no tourist is complete without an obnoxious camera.  I considered really getting into character and wearing socks with sandals/stopping abruptly in the middle of oncoming foot-traffic to stare up at the buildings, but a line needs to be drawn somewhere.

First up was St. Patrick's Cathedral.  Joe is Catholic and i have a vague appreciation for insane architecture so we stopped in.

After lighting a candle for my Pop Pop and listening to part of the mass, we headed across the street to Rockefeller center and waited in line with all the other tourists to go to the "top of the rock."

Next up was F.A.O. Schwarz...not as cool as the movies.  "E" for effort on the focusing Joe!  (Sidenote, if you happen to be walking the streets of Manhattan with Joe, an easy way to embarrass him is to insist he photographs you with a man dressed as a toy soldier).

Then we took our touristy-selves to Central Park for some dirty water dogs and a rest on the bench.

Last up was a trip to the WTC to check out the progress on the new Freedom Tower.  This will be cool to have in my photo archives and show it to my Grandchildren...who probably won't care.

There you have it!  Another list-item down the drainnnn.

Yesterday I had the opportunity to 2nd shoot a fabulous NYC rooftop wedding with Chris Polinsky.  The reception took place at Gary's Loft.  I cannot describe in words how amazing this venue was, you'll just have to wait for the pictures!

I have tons of images to sort through and edit but for now, here's a little sneak peek:

I know, I know...what a tease.  I promise I'll be back soon with more from the day but I couldn't resist sharing these.  Lawdy lawdy, I love me some wedding details. {previous sentence a result of severe sleep-deprivation}.

Chris - I CANNOT WAIT to see your shots!  Thanks for having me along!

Today I channeled me some Julie and Julia and made Meatball Monday for Joe.  In doing so I can happily cross numero uno off my 30 in 365 list!

I know what you're thinking..."big deal, you made dinner."  Let me start off by saying there is only one thing on the list I dreaded doing more than making this dinner and that is cleaning out the trunk of my car.  I can almost promise you that will be the absolute last thing I do.  I've had my car over 3 years and I've never taken anything OUT of the trunk, just thrown more crap INto it.

Anyway, back to the point.  I hate grocery shopping, I HATE cooking and I HATE HATE cleaning.  (Sorry guys, I'm taken).  Women burned bras back in the day so lazy gals like myself could sit back and enjoy the fact that their boyfriend is kick-ass in the kitchen, right?  Right!

For those who don't know, here's a little background on Meatball Monday (the capitalization is not an error...I'm pushing for this to be a National holiday):  About 6-7 years ago my Mom's (marmy) usual once-a-week Meatball dinner started routinely falling on Monday nights.  We Dunbars have a genetic condition known as the Sunday Sads.  On a Monday morning in the middle of January-when it's 21 degrees on the LIRR platform-what more does a human being have to look forward to than some amazing Meatballs waiting for them when they get home??  It just kind of caught on and the rest is history.

Okay...I feel like explaining it didn't make it less weird.  We eat Meatballs every Monday.  And they're awesome.  Get over it.

ANYWAY...back to the task at hand.  Yesterday after work, with an ingredients list from marmy in hand, I went to Stop and Shop all by myself for supplies:

With recipe and ingredients ready to go...I got to work.  Pictures of me in action taken by Joe.

Did I mention I am not really a fan of touching raw meat??  Plastic baggies over my hands and problem solved! (kind of, I think I gagged a little).  I never claimed to be a normal person...

Finally the worst is over those meatballs are rolled and a'cookin...

Here's some photographic evidence that I made everything completely unassisted.  While I was cooking Joe was doing this...

And Gillies was doing this...

Some garlic bread, some pasta and it's almost ready.

It looks good...but is it edible???

Verdict:  SUCCESS!!

I am more than glad to cross this bad boy off the list.  I look forward to reverting back to my role of dish-washer and cheese-griller.

Happy Friday everyone!!

On Saturday Tricia asked me to 2nd shoot at Jenn and Matt's intimate Garden Wedding.  Jenn and Matt are the kind of people that instantly make you feel at home, like you've known them forever.  They are so adorably in-love.

Here's Jenn.  Maggie Gyllenhall meets pin-up perfection, no?

MULTITASKER ALERT!  Not only is Jenn a stunning bride, she made the most unique and amazing bouquets for the day....

The ceremony took place in a gazebo with a small circle of close friends and family.

After they said "I Do" Tricia led Jenn and Matt to an amazing garden for some portraits.

Then we headed to "THE" door.  LOVE.

Then it was back to the casa for the backyard par-tay!

I absolutely l.o.v.e.d. the details!  They labeled each table with their favorite books.   Table 6=blah.  Table Shakespeare=awesome.

It really was an amazing day.  Congratulations to Jenn and Matt and thanks again to Tricia for having me along!

This past weekend I was invited by the very talented Tricia LaPonte to assist/2nd shoot Jenn and Matt's lovely garden wedding in New Jersey.

I'll post some of my shots and get into more details soon but for now here are some behind the scenes looks at Tricia rocking out in the face of heat, rain and kamikaze mosquitos.

Hellloooo crowd control!

"THE" door.  Wait until you see her shots from this setup...amazing.

There's me.

There's Tricia.

Hahaha and here we both are.  This may or may not have been after the sillies set in.

So much fun working with Tricia.  Stay tuned for my pictures from the day!

On September 11th, 2001 I was 17 years old.  That day will always stand, for me, as the unofficial end of my childhood.  Remembering what happened with a heavy heart and without the ability to write anything that will do justice to what took place.  God Bless America.

At the DFS I took about 150 pictures.  I edited and blogged 15-20 of my favorites and the rest have since been laying on the cutting room floor (dumped onto my hard drive) already collecting dust.

Then the other day, Kathy (my future sister-in-law) tagged me in this picture on facebook:

After making a mental note that a squatting profile shot is probably not my best angle, I realized I had a corresponding series of images with future lax star Casey G.  I'd guess they were taken within 60 seconds of the picture above.

This last one is my favorite.  If you're wondering what that big blur is, it's a lacrosse stick being swung about 0.25" away from my lens.  Scary moment=Cool picture.

A quick look behind the scenes on a rainy hump-day!