Phalaenopsis (moth orchid), unknown variety

© Cindy Dyer. All rights reserved.

Phalaenopsis Orchid (Moth Orchid), unknown variety

© Cindy Dyer. All rights reserved.

Cymbidium Red Beauty ‘Evening Star’ Orchid

© Cindy Dyer. All rights reserved.

Cymbidium Pebbles ‘Santa Barbara’ orchid

© Cindy Dyer. All rights reserved.

Cymbidium Ken Siew ‘Santa Barbara’ orchid

© Cindy Dyer. All rights reserved.

Twilight

© Cindy Dyer. All rights reserved.

Megan & Landen

My nephew Landen and his girlfriend Megan

© Cindy Dyer. All rights reserved.

Megan

Megan is my nephew Landen’s girlfriend—and very photogenic, too!

© Cindy Dyer. All rights reserved.

Phalaenopsis Orchid (Moth Orchid)

© Cindy Dyer. All rights reserved.

Buddy Miller and Jim Lauderdale with Max Gomez at The Birchmere

Thanks to my friend Nancy Dunham, a freelance writer, I got to photograph this concert at The Birchmere in Alexandria, VA on Tuesday night. I also got to meet Buddy Miller, Jim Lauderdale and Max Gomez after the show.

I must confess that I hadn’t heard of any of them before, so I wasn’t familiar with their music. The Birchmere was the first stop on the “Buddy and Jim Tour 2013,” which showcases Americana/country duets by these two singer/songwriter/music directors. Their band member include Fats Kaplin on pedal steel guitar and fiddle, Jay Weaver on bass (Weaver is also part of the contemporary Christian band, Big Daddy Weave), and Marco Giovino on drums. It was a really great show!

Buddy Miller is a producer for singers including Emmylou Harris, Shawn Colvin and Robert Plant. He is currently working with T Bone Burnett to produce the music in NBC’s Nashville. Jim Lauderdale is a Grammy-award-winning songwriter who has written hits for George Strait, the Dixie Chicks, Patty Loveless and Shelby Lynne. He is the longtime host of the Americana Music Awards. Buddy and Jim are hosts of the Buddy & Jim Radio Show on Sirius XM Outlaw Channel 60.

The opening act was singer/songwriter Max Gomez, whose music was part folk/part rock and highly enjoyable. (I couldn’t get over how much he resembles Jimmy Fallon!) I told Nancy that I thought his voice was reminiscent of Gordon Lightfoot, James Taylor and Harry Chapin all rolled into one, with bluesy raspy tones woven in to make it his entirely his own.

© Cindy Dyer. All rights reserved.

Cymbidium Happy Days ‘Green Dragon’ orchid

How pretty is this green orchid?

© Cindy Dyer. All rights reserved.

From Celebrate Home Magazine: Delicious Pops of Color (Tom & Holly’s house)

I photographed my friends Tom and Holly’s light-filled, color-infused house in Arlington, Virginia, a few weeks ago and was thrilled with the results! Below is a collage of spreads with photos of their beautiful abode, which we recently profiled in the winter issue of Celebrate Home Magazine.

Reader spreads version (my favorite!): Celebrate Home Winter 2013 Spreads

Single pages version: Celebrate Home Winter 2013

You can order a print copy of the magazine (at cost, plus shipping) here: http://www.magcloud.com/browse/issue/513977

Design, photographs and interview © Cindy Dyer. All rights reserved.

From Celebrate Home Magazine: Gladys Roldan-de-Moras, Impressionist painter

Gladys Roldan-de-Moras is our cover feature for our second issue of Celebrate Home Magazine, which was just published on Monday. I met Gladys in January when I was visiting my family in Texas. My sister, Debbie, introduced me to her and she graciously agreed to be interviewed and photographed for our magazine. Debbie and Gladys were “band moms” when their eldest children (Landen and Rafael, respectively) were in high school together several years ago.

She is an incredibly talented artist and spending the entire afternoon with her was both an honor and a memorable experience! I absorbed everything she said and we found that we have a lot in common. I look forward to the opportunity to paint alongside her in a future visit to San Antonio!

Talent runs in the family, too. Her eldest son, Rafael Moras, a tenor, is a 2006 NFAA Young ARTS Winner in Classical Voice, United States Presidential Scholar in the Arts, and a Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions 2009-2010 National Semi-Finalist. Rafael is currently a second year graduate student at the Shepherd School of Music at Rice University studying under Dr. Stephen King, Rice’s Professor of Voice and Chair of Vocal Studies, under the generous gift of the “Renee Fleming Endowed Scholarship in Voice” and the “James and Rose Marie King Prize in Voice.” You can see Rafael Moras in HBO’s Master Class 2010 with Placido Domingo here and read more about his experience in his article here. His website can be found here.

Glady’s middle son, David Moras, is a ceramic artist working on his BFA. When her daughter Annie isn’t posing for many of her mother’s paintings, she is working on her degree in psychology and music. Her husband, Rafael Sr., is an engineering professor, poet and musician. He composes religious music and sets the music to religious plays that his mother has written.

Reader spreads version (my favorite!): Celebrate Home Winter 2013 Spreads

Single pages version: Celebrate Home Winter 2013

You can purchase just this feature in magazine format for just $4 plus shipping here: http://www.magcloud.com/browse/issue/515281

You can order a print copy of the magazine (at cost, plus shipping) here: http://www.magcloud.com/browse/issue/513977

© Cindy Dyer. All rights reserved.

In the studio: Bon Appétit! Images from the winter 2013 issue of Celebrate Home Magazine

I’m learning food photography by the seat of my pants…and hope to keep improving! The images in the collage below were all shot for our winter 2013 issue of Celebrate Home Magazine, a quarterly magazine published by me and my publishing partner, Barbara Kelley.

Check out the three food-related features in our new issue: A Wintertime Dessert Party (Recipes by Barbara Garneau Kelley), Bowls of Comfort (Recipes by Bobby Garneau, Gay White, Michael Schwehr and Karen Byer-Storch), and Green Chicken: Creating a Family Heirloom Cookbook (Recipes by Margaret Barker and family)

Reader spreads version (my favorite!): Celebrate Home Winter 2013 Spreads

Single pages version: Celebrate Home Winter 2013

You can order a print copy of the magazine (at cost, plus shipping) here: http://www.magcloud.com/browse/issue/513977

© Cindy Dyer. All rights reserved.

Winter 2013 issue of Celebrate Home Magazine now available for digital download!

The winter 2013 issue of Celebrate Home Magazine is now available for digital download in the links below. Click on either of the links below to download your FREE pdf copy of this issue. The first links is for single-page viewing (perfect for printing off your favorite recipe!); the second link is set up for “reader spreads,” so you can see the magazine in spread format (my favorite!).

The more clicks we get, the better we do with promoting and getting advertising! We thank you for your support.

Single pages version: Celebrate Home Winter 2013

Reader spreads version (my favorite!): Celebrate Home Winter 2013 Spreads

You can order a print copy of the magazine (at cost, plus shipping) here: http://www.magcloud.com/browse/issue/513977

Click here to view on issuu.com.

On the cover: Gladys Roldan-de-Moras, award-winning Impressionist painter from San Antonio, Texas

In this issue:

FEATHER YOUR NEST
Winter-inspired lovelies for you and your home.

HOME
Delicious Pops of Color
Easy on the eyes, the Hedstrom house takes advantage of light-filled views with clean lines and engaging color.

FAMILY
Living the Fairy Tale: To Quit or Not to Quit?
Mothers share their struggles with jobs and families.

FOOD & ENTERTAINING
Bowls of Comfort
Take the chill out of winter with our filling soup recipes!

A Wintertime Dessert Party
Pair wine and desserts for elegant and easy entertaining.

Green Chicken: Creating a Family Heirloom Cookbook
Create a cookbook that cherishes family recipes.

The Many Seasons of Beer
Beer aficionado Jefferson Evans explores the world of seasonal brews.

THE ARTIST
Gladys Roldan-de-Moras, Impressionist Painter
Always proud of her Colombian and Mexican roots, this artist’s passion is reflected in her colorful work.

HOW-TO
Winter Photography Indoors
Stay indoors to photograph nature this winter.

PETS
How Much is That Doggie in the Window? Choosing the Family Pup
Think you’re ready to add a furry friend to your family? Here are some things to consider.

THE CREATIVE LIFE
Every Picture Tells a Story
Discover five tips for decorating your walls with original art.

THE COLLECTOR
Bejeweled: Camilla Houghton’s Unique Ring Collection
What started as a gift exchange between two sisters expanded into a beloved collection of rings.

CRAFT
Ring Bling Box
Give your rings a new home with our easy craft project.

PERSPECTIVES
What Home Means to Me

 

Scenes from a wedding: Ashley & Chase, New Year’s Day, 2013

Ashley is the eldest daughter of my college roommate and friend, Sonya, and I had the honor of photographing her wedding in Austin at The Allan House in Austin, Texas. It was a nice way to start out the new year!

© Cindy Dyer. All rights reserved.

Re-post: Ellie, Claire and the manatees

Originally posted Feb. 9, 2010. I just love this shot of the twins with a manatee and wanted to share again!

Michael and I just got back from Sarasota, Florida, where we had been visiting his parents for a few days. Later this week I’ll be posting some images from our various adventures, including visiting the Marie Selby Botanical Gardens on Thursday, a windy walk through Historic Spanish Point on Friday, and showcasing and selling my Polaroid transfer notecards with his mother at an art show in their lovely community on Saturday.

On Sunday I spent a truly blissful day with my friend Camilla and her children—son Nolan and the twins, Ellie and Claire. After breakfast, we headed to the Mote Marine Aquarium and Laboratory. The twins were especially enamored with Hugh and Buffet, two manatees who were born at the Miami Seaquarium and brought to Mote in May 1996 to help teach the public about sea cows. Mote Marine Laboratory is the first facility to have been granted permission from US Fish and Wildlife to conduct basic husbandry training with captive-born manatees.

I’m not sure if the manatee below is Hugh or Buffet, but he was as drawn to the twins as they were to him (he probably thought he was seeing double!). A Mote employee told us that this one had weighed 2,000 pounds, but currently weighs 1800 pounds. The average weight of a manatee is approximately 1,000 pounds, but it can exceed 3,000 pounds. Learn more about manatees on the Mote Aquarium site here.

According to the aquarium’s website, Hugh and Buffet eat about 72 heads of lettuce a day! (Which begs the question—if all they eat is lettuce, how do they pile on all that weight? Are they going heavy on the ranch dressing, shredded cheese and croutons?)

The manatee below would grab a head of lettuce with his tiny flippers and slowly eat it as he sunk to the bottom of the tank (slow food fashion). The other manatee stayed up at the top of the tank, swimming in circles and grabbing chunks as they floated back up (drive-thru fast food style).

Interesting fact: Manatees are not aggressive and they have no social hierarchy. Humans could learn a lesson or two from them, couldn’t we?

Speaking of seeing double, the twins are identical, so it is very difficult for me to tell them apart. I learned that at this point in time, Ellie has all of her front teeth but Claire is missing a few. Unless they smiled and showed me their teeth, I kept calling them by the wrong names all day—despite my internal repetition of this refrain—Ellie Teeth, Claire No Teeth, Ellie Teeth, Claire No Teeth. I took a closeup head shot of them facing the camera and when I showed them the photo on my screen, I asked “which is which?” They both pointed to the face on the right and simultaneously said, “that’s me!” If they can’t tell each other apart, how are we supposed to?!

The Orlando Sentinel reported on manatee deaths in record numbers here. Most of the deaths have been linked to the cold snap that hit the state in early January.

It was a bit chilly that day, so you’ll notice that the twins are wearing coats. What you don’t see are their summer shoes—blue thong sandals and pink Crocs! And speaking of chilly—we left mostly mild and sunny Sarasota yesterday to return to Washington, D.C. and the remnants of the weekend’s blizzard…just in time for another possible snowstorm beginning today and not ending until tomorrow (with a predicted 10-20 inches more of the white stuff). Oh, joy.

© Cindy Dyer. All rights reserved.