A Beautiful Sunday

I celebrated my 42nd birthday on Friday. It was wonderful.

I received:

• Well wishes from around the Internet.
• Chip Willis dedicating his blog entry to me.
• Tito buying me a coffee and hanging with me at my apartment and offering life-changing advice on “the shit.”
• Toby sending me a Captain Beefheart "Mirror Man" re-issue that I didn't even know existed.
• My parents calling me on my cell phone, while I was having coffee with Tito, and putting my 92 year old Grandmother on the phone, who couldn’t hear a word I said.
• My sister singing some weird, twisted and warped HAPPY BIRTHDAY song that she always makes up. Again.
• My girl giving me the best gift of all – loving me so much she is still with me – and taking me out to Patois on Smith Street (Brooklyn) where, we had a great bottle of wine, and against my better judgment, I ordered the 14 oz. Steak Frites that was DELICIOUS, but since I ate 13 ounces of it, kept me awake the entire night, tossing and turning.
• Our friends, Michael and Kelli, joining us for an after-dinner drink and shutting Brooklyn down with us!

My first shoot in my 43rd year (hey, I was nervous) was beautiful. I rented the most economical studio in Manhattan (no, I'm not linking) and shot an eight page FASHION story with the beautiful Natsuko.

She had an antique Japanese umbrella that was given to her by her mother, so that became the "through-line" of the "story."

I’ll post shots shortly…

She was awesome. And a great sport. And cute. Really cute.

I also had my dream team on hand; Martha on MU and, on hair, the newly christened SANTIAGO!

(He's gonna BLOW UP, this SANTIAGO! Trust me...)

Natsuko wanted a candid shot for her scrapbook. I shot this in the make-up mirror since all my lights were packed up to go at the time and I AIN'T GOT NO FLASH. (North Carolina schooled, don'cha know?)

I am doing that weird neck thing that you do when you try to take a picture of yourself while thinking backwards. If I were shooting me for real, I would have deleted this.

I may be 42, but just for the record, I do not have a double chin, unless I do what I'm doing here.

It's horrible.

Hurrumph...