fiamma piacentini

It has happened! I have graduated to video. This is my first attempt, a short documentary about the wonderful Beau and Caroline, therapy dog and therapy dog owner. Enjoy!

A few years ago (I can’t believe it has been that long!) I did a small project on the Mariachi Academy based out of Harlem, NY. They recently asked me to shoot some formal portraits of them for their promotional campaign, and here are some highlights for the shoot. A few of these kids can be seen in the previous series a bit younger. It was fun to seem them a little more grown up.

I was also VERY EXCITED to be able to take some portraits of Ramon Ponce Sr, the sort of patriarch of the whole organization.

I was so happy to be able to shoot my best friend Ashley’s wedding this past winter. It’s amazing how beautiful photographs will just happen when you are doing a labor of love.  It was a beautiful, sunny day in Little Rock, Arkansas when her and Travis tied the knot… 

Ash getting ready for her big day….

The ceremony:

Just married!!!

A couple of shots of the bride in all her bridal glory….

Preacher man (actually he was just the officiant, but preacher man sounds nicer)….

Not quite sure why but I love this photo, but I really do. These are wedding guests watching the bride and groom cut the cake:

Lovebirds….

While on assignment shooting for the book La Milpa, one of our stops was a farm directly in the middle of Xochimilco. I couldn’t have asked for better, I love this place so much and any excuse to go back is a good one. It’s so peaceful and beautiful, and now part of it has been designated as an ecological reserve. There are so many species of beautiful birds and clear peaceful waters. One of my absolute favorite places on earth. Everything just kind of moves slower there.

This here is our Trajinero,and his job is not easy, he must have rowed for no less than 4 hours without a break. But he was really friendly and when it started to get dark he was nice enough to creep us out with some serious Xochimilco scary stories.

A beautiful day with just the right puffy clouds for some great photographs….

Stephanie and Lisa, excursion buddies.

A couple of the locals. This man was very drunk and yelled funny things at us as we passed in the boat. I hope he didn’t fall in! He could barely stand but nonetheless he was working hard.

The book I shot the photos for is a cookbook with recipes that are based on traditional Mexican farming, so our main goal on this ride was to photograph the “milpas.” The first place we went to was an area where they only grow cactus, cactus as far as you can see. It made for some really great shots.

More farming:

Warm sunny skies turned into a cool evening. We rowed back to the docks very slowly, and quite cold.

Yes, it’s been a while, quite a while, for which I will have a lot of catching up to do and a lot of photos to post. First up, a few shots of my honeymoon in Chiapas in October. We spent a few rainy days in San Cristobal, which isn’t your typical honeymoon spot but was none the less awesome. Although it was cold and rainy it was SO relaxing and mucho romantico. We stayed in a hotel that also doubles as a museum and our room had a fireplace, which my husband put to good use.

A rainy view from our hotel room: 

Walking around town, TJ looks into buying a Mexican made guitar….

The cemetery in Chamula, a small town outside San Cristobal with some very interesting religious practices. The locals observe a religion that is a combination between Catholicism and traditional Mayan paganism. There’s chicken sacrifices, there’s burping, there’s superstitions. Very cool, very interesting, very dangerous if you even attempt to photograph inside one of their churches. They will find you, they will kill you.

Some of the locals….

Did I mention Chiapanecos are very religious?

Painted streets: keremos Rock (we want rock)…

Nighttime in San Cristobal:

As per any of our vacations, TJ made a four-legged friend. Here our new friend joins us for dinner at the hotel/museum: