I shot this photo of Jen Goldsack (closest to camera) a few months ago while she was training for the Pan am games. I had watched her on the river all summer long, not knowing her but in awe of her strength and determination of rowing over 30 miles a day. She was incredible to watch as she whizzed by me in the rain, in the glaring sun and sometimes even in 100 degree heat.. She never missed a day and seemed tireless..  So when her famous coach Nesh asked me to take some photos for fundraising to the Pan Am games, I was more than happy to help out..

I shot this photo of her  hanging off the side of his launch as Ted put her and  two other elite rowers through their paces . I fell in love with it.. Its tight, powerful and precise. You can see how and why she just won Gold at the Pan Am games in Mexico in her single scull..  Even with 30 bearing down on her and numerous back and shoulder injuries she is still a force to be reckoned with!

Philadelphia Mayor Nutter at a presser is photographed by a man with a cell phone

Or so it seems… With the emergence of digital photography came a plethora of cheap digital cameras and cameras in every cell phone. (Which have gotten quite a few politicians in trouble) They do everything but take the photo for you. But the one thing they don’t do is compose and see a photograph were others see none…

see front in center of the website but one of my photos. It was one of my favourites, of that same little girl looking at a princess mummy… a few hours later a slide show popped up.. I liked every one of the photos they picked, but there was one or two that I really liked that were missing.. I’m gonna post them here so they will at least get a little light!  plus a link to the page and the slideshow.. so you can judge for yourself. all in all a memorable shoot and a bit of education too.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/21/arts/design/21silk.html?ref=arts

for more of my work check out www.sabinashoots.com

Normally we get a few storms a year, but we’ve already had 37 inches so far and counting…  As a photographer I like it as it makes the winter’s browns go away for awhile.

Usually with the first snow fall I feel the need to go out and search for a few fresh photos, but after the 5th, not so much..

But with cabin fever Wednesday I was eager to do something  so I set out in the snowstorm to find a fresh photo or two and to try to keep my eye sharp.

From a perch high above the mighty Schuylkill river I was working on shooting the lines of this Victorian jetty at the Waterworks  when this man walked out to take in the view. His coat was similar to the soft colors of the railing and his pants dark like the stones below. It was simple, but it was perfect.

And of course it was taken with my trusty little Dlux 4 Leica!

The same can be said for anything in life..

This particular photo was just that kinda moment.  Last week when I was in San Francisco at Crissy Field, a beach that overlooks the Golden Gate Bridge I was shooting a chef, her two dogs and her family for my upcoming book Lick Your Plate when suddenly I saw behind my subject a woman throwing a ball far into the surf for a cute little lab mix.  I knew it would make a great photo with the soft fog and the Golden Gate peaking through it.  So I took my camera off the chef and shot the dog coming out of the water with the ball…

After wards I was more excited to get back to my digs to check out these photos then I was of the ones of the chef I was shooting.  And I wasn’t let down.  So much so, that I had a hard time picking the frame I liked best out of the few I had fired off.  But I settled on this one as there is something so wonderful about the way the dog looks loping back with the ball.  I can’t really explain it, but it wreaks of a job well done, happiness and well what a dog can always  do…Bring a smile to my face every time I see one playing..  And I know I’m not alone on that one. Enjoy!

I don’t know why…

I just do…

Maybe I shouldn’t question it or try to figure it out but just accept it.

I’ve shot this tree many different ways and moments of the day and its life.   Each shot is just as beautiful as the next, and each time I shoot it my soul leaps with joy as it feeds my eye…

I don’t live near it… But If I’m in the area I will  go out of my way to see how it looks that day… It’s an hour away from my city home, in the rolling hills of horse country so last fall I printed a big 20 x 30 of this photo, one of my favourites ,  with its big puffy clouds and put it up in my house for the days I need its strength.

As silly as it sounds I think its appeal to me lies in that its the idyllic tree, what all tress should strive for.  Bold and strong, beautifully shaped, sitting on top of a large crest all alone, going through the rough cycles of the seasons of life but still managing to keep  its strength, beauty and grace..

I know one day I will drive by and it may be gone.. I will be sad but I will revel in the fact that I got to witness and capture its beauty in my camera for all of eternity.

Hope I did him justice..

One of those occasions just recently happened, my cousin wedding. I had  been upgraded to a better table with her parents after my older sister had made complaints of having to sit at the same table with me (long story, her problem) but one that worked out well for me. I had a great view from my seat of all the action.

So with that in mind, I snuck out of my tiny Leica D-lux 4 and snapped a few photos in the ambient light.  I’ve been very pleased with this little digital camera over the past year for its light weight and  jaw dropping glass, but now I have another reason to love it. It fits into little black handbags too!

So after quickly reminding myself of my new found credo I cut Jason off and said I needed to take a photo.  Without waiting for his reply I bolted down the street with Jason, his wife and toddler quizzically in tow. With the commotion of a pack of hounds coming at the pup she fearlessly bounded down the steps to greet us… The moment I had seen was gone but as quickly as it went a new one was created with our disturbance. The little pup, Brindle had eyed Jason’s big trainers and decided they were a perfect chew toy.

Just like the old adage from Alexander Graham Bell “When one door closes, another opens…” This photo is exactly that. So I think it can be said for moments in photography too..

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Enjoy!!

And every spring I run out and shoot the cherry trees. We have quite a few and could give Washington DC a run  for their money.. I shoot this one or that one and almost always have the beautiful river soft in the background. Sometimes with an occasional rower  in the background.  Sometimes not.. This year though I wanted to do something different. Challenge my eye, as those other photos were like taking  candy from a baby.. tooo easy!

So yesterday I decided I had better get out there as one windy day could take it all away and it was a windy one.

I had scoped out a few trees the day before that I had never noticed,  they  were off one their own on the other side of the river tucked  up against the woods.. It’d be a challenge, I thought… and what made it even more fun was that there was a gusty cool wind…

How to make it work, I said to myself…. I wanted to show the movement of the wind and the  vibrancy of the pink blossoms, the overcast grey day and the chaos of March..

So after a brief walk around I stood on top of my car trying to not get blown over by the cool wind and came up with this….

Hope you like it! Sabina

As always.. all photography is for sale

As always, photos are for sale.

My eye dances ! and I like that in a photo..

PS.. all photos are seen on the site are for sale.. setting up a site soon for easy access but you can email me for now