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I'm so glad the Islip Public Library asked me back for a second time to do another pet portrait program on their garden terrace. It's such a beautiful spot. We got even more dogs this year! I was so excited to see so many furry faces there for a photo. The dogs were so well-behaved and a lot of them did a great job "smiling" for the camera :) These programs are always a lot of fun for me. I love to meet these awesome dogs and their owners, and I think it's really important for dog lovers to get beautiful photos of your furry family members. Thanks so much to the Islip Public Library for having me back, and to all the patrons who participated in the program!
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I love going to Yappy Hour hosted by Who Lets Your Dog Out, a local dog sitter/walker here on Long Island. She puts on these awesome dog fairs with lots of pet vendors and demos, and they're always a lot of fun. She hosted two in two weeks, so I'm going to combine the photos into one post! The first one was held at New Village apartments in Patchogue. The second was held at The Point at Pine Ridge complex in Coram. Vendors included Taylor's Treasures, who makes handmade fashion accessories for dogs and cats, Paws and Claws 911, who teaches CPR classes for pets, and Pawesome Dogs, a dog trainer. Oh, and me! I met lots of awesome dogs and owners and was there to document the events!
Here are the photos from Patchogue's event!
Here are the photos from Patchogue's event!
And here are the photos from Coram's event!
Thanks to everyone who came to the events! It's so great to get out there in front of pet owners and meet some amazing pups!
If you want to stay updated on local events I'll be participating in, sign up for my email list here!
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I was so glad to be at LI-DOG's 3rd Annual Pints-n-Paws Luau at Off Key Tikki in Patchogue for the 3rd year in a row. LI-DOG is an organization that helps to get more access for dogs to Long Island's beaches and parks. Every year I have so much fun at this event. The restaurant is right on the water and the decor is beautiful. It feels like a tropical paradise. Then you add dozens of adorable dogs, and it is truly an amazing experience. There's also contests, music, raffles and free food from the grill. Everyone says that Memorial Day is the unofficial start of the summer, but the Pints-n-Paws Luau is when summer really begins for me. I also donated a basket to their raffle with a free session and a print credit, so I look forward to shooting that some day soon!
Here are the photos from the event!
(Click to see larger and use arrows to scroll through).
Here are the photos from the event!
(Click to see larger and use arrows to scroll through).
Want to stay up to date on what local events I'll be attending? Sign up for my email list here!
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I'll be at the 3rd Annual Pints-n-Paws Luau at Off Key Tikki in Patchogue on June 3rd from 12-4pm. This event is hosted by LI-Dog, an organization that works to increase access for dogs to Long Island parks and beaches. I'm happy to be photographing this great event for the third year in a row. I always have a great time and meet so many adorable dogs and their awesome owners.
To see all my photos from last year's luau, click here!
There will be a Margaritaville dog and owner costume contest, biggest lap dog contest, and a photo contest to determine the pup that will be the cover photo for next year's event! There's also free food from the grill, music and raffles. I'll be once again donating a basket to the Chinese auction with a free photo session and $100 print credit!
Find out more and buy a ticket for the event here!
To see all my photos from last year's luau, click here!
There will be a Margaritaville dog and owner costume contest, biggest lap dog contest, and a photo contest to determine the pup that will be the cover photo for next year's event! There's also free food from the grill, music and raffles. I'll be once again donating a basket to the Chinese auction with a free photo session and $100 print credit!
Find out more and buy a ticket for the event here!
To stay updated on local events I'll be attending, sign up for my email list here!
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On Saturday, June 9th, I'll be at the Islip Public Library doing a pet portrait program! This is my second year doing this program on the library’s garden terrace and I’m looking forward to it because I had so much fun last time. Above is the flyer and a collage of some of the participants from last year! You'll receive one free printed photo. The library asks that all pets be clean and good with other animals. Please bring them leashed, or in a harness or carrier. There will be a rain date of June 16th in case of inclement weather!
Registration is open now! The program is open to patrons of other Long Island libraries too.
It's from 1pm to 3 pm and the library is located at 71 Monell Avenue in Islip.
Registration is open now! The program is open to patrons of other Long Island libraries too.
It's from 1pm to 3 pm and the library is located at 71 Monell Avenue in Islip.
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It seems like I've been planning my sister Lisa's baby shower for years. I've had a Secret Board on Pinterest called "DON'T LOOK LISA" for years now with pins of centerpieces and balloon arches and printables of baby shower bingo. With all the trouble she had getting to this point, I was afraid that my mom and I would never be able to give her the baby shower of her dreams, but then Baby Seth came along and everything changed. I eagerly awaited her gender reveal so I could finally go ahead with one of my theme ideas: mermaids for a girl or whales for a boy. When we were thinking of venues, my mother had the stroke of genius to have it at the aquarium, which was perfect for the underwater motif.
When I plan parties, I tend to try to DIY as much as I can, because I like to craft. This led me to make the favors for the shower. I was inspired by my cousin's wife Bonnie who makes excellent peppermint sugar scrubs every Christmas. Instead of sugar, I swapped it for sea salt to better fit the theme. I added blue food coloring and essential oils to make it smell like an ocean breeze (let's just all pretend an ocean breeze doesn't smell like low tide or fish butts). I wanted to use cute little whale tags but I couldn't find any I liked online, so instead I ordered blank discs and a metal stamp and hammered my own tiny whales onto each one.
I did about 20 and thought "Why do I do these things to myself?" but I was already invested, so I kept with it. This can-do-but-maybe-I-shouldn't-have attitude
also led me to make every shower game in Photoshop, to iron endless decals onto onesies, and to take a fluid painting class with a friend to make Lisa a piece of artwork for the baby's nursery. Not to mention, I also had to create a second invitation as a decoy when Lisa suspected the shower was at the aquarium! I convinced her it was at another local restaurant and that the theme was rubber duckies by "accidentally" leaving the invitation out where she could find it. Needless to say, I was happy to get all the help I could from Lisa's sister-in-law Beth, who made the excellent onesie centerpieces that say "Whale Come Baby Seth"! I had no ideas whatsoever on that front, so I was so excited that she knocked it out of the park.
Thank you to everyone who came to Lisa's shower. She had a really amazing time and got so many wonderful gifts. Baby Seth is well set up! Several people gave her really beautiful handmade outfits and blankets, which were so special.
Here are my favorite photos from the day!
also led me to make every shower game in Photoshop, to iron endless decals onto onesies, and to take a fluid painting class with a friend to make Lisa a piece of artwork for the baby's nursery. Not to mention, I also had to create a second invitation as a decoy when Lisa suspected the shower was at the aquarium! I convinced her it was at another local restaurant and that the theme was rubber duckies by "accidentally" leaving the invitation out where she could find it. Needless to say, I was happy to get all the help I could from Lisa's sister-in-law Beth, who made the excellent onesie centerpieces that say "Whale Come Baby Seth"! I had no ideas whatsoever on that front, so I was so excited that she knocked it out of the park.
Thank you to everyone who came to Lisa's shower. She had a really amazing time and got so many wonderful gifts. Baby Seth is well set up! Several people gave her really beautiful handmade outfits and blankets, which were so special.
Here are my favorite photos from the day!
Are you expecting too? Email me at laurapeaphotography@gmail.com or
call (631)256-7476 to book a maternity or newborn photo session!
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I’m so excited to announce that I installed a display of my photography in the gallery hall at Islip Public Library! I have fifteen pieces in the gallery and they’ll be up for the whole month of May, leading up to the 2nd pet portrait program I’m doing on June 9th on their garden terrace. I’ve put in a selection of both my newborn and pet photographs. It was very hard narrowing down many years of photos to the work I’m the most proud of. I’m working on getting my artwork into more galleries, though, so I hope I’ll be able to use more of my favorite photos later on!
If you're a client of mine or were involved in the pet portrait program last year, you'll probably see some familiar faces there!
Go check it out at 71 Monell Avenue in Islip.
If you're a client of mine or were involved in the pet portrait program last year, you'll probably see some familiar faces there!
Go check it out at 71 Monell Avenue in Islip.
Stay tuned for more information on the pet portrait program I'll be doing there in June!
Want to be informed on events I'll be doing in the future? Sign up for my email list here!
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For the past 10 weeks, my sister was driving around with a sealed envelope in her car. No one but a few of the women that work at her OB-Gyn office knew what was inside that envelope. It contained the gender of her baby. It took tremendous willpower for all of us not to rip open that envelope every time we got in her car. But yesterday at her gender reveal party, we finally got to know what’s in that envelope!
When guests arrived, they got the chance to cast their vote on what they thought Lisa’s going to have. I was pretty torn. I kept going back and forth. Scrutinizing the sonogram didn’t help because, let’s face it, those things are unintelligible blobs. I ended up guessing boy, because I have a really cute baby shower invitation picked out if it’s a boy. I’m going to love and spoil this baby either way, so it doesn’t really matter to me. When the guesses stopped, the votes stood at 15 for girl, 14 for boy. It turned out later we found out that Lisa and Will's adorable niece Peyton voted twice (once for her My Little Pony), so really it seems like it was a dead tie!
When guests arrived, they got the chance to cast their vote on what they thought Lisa’s going to have. I was pretty torn. I kept going back and forth. Scrutinizing the sonogram didn’t help because, let’s face it, those things are unintelligible blobs. I ended up guessing boy, because I have a really cute baby shower invitation picked out if it’s a boy. I’m going to love and spoil this baby either way, so it doesn’t really matter to me. When the guesses stopped, the votes stood at 15 for girl, 14 for boy. It turned out later we found out that Lisa and Will's adorable niece Peyton voted twice (once for her My Little Pony), so really it seems like it was a dead tie!
After we all ate and drank and the parents in the room had a chance to extoll the virtues of having either a boy or a girl, it was finally time for the big reveal. Lisa was so nervous, she was putting off the cake cutting, but all our friends pushed her until she gave in! Lisa and Will nervously cut into the amazing “What Will it Bee?” cake made by Lil’ V Pastry Boutique. The first piece revealed.......NOTHING! They didn’t cut deep enough to reach the colored candies hiding inside. Everyone was on tenterhooks and Will got impatient and just hacked right down the middle and they both started celebrating...
It’s a BOY!
I’m so excited! I can’t wait to meet my nephew. He is loved so much already.
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I think any form of exercise could probably be improved with the addition of puppies, to distract you from the fact that you’re not eating chocolate on your couch. Yoga is no exception. Since yoga is pretty slow and deliberate, it’s the perfect activity to mix safely with puppies, who can tend to get underfoot! I was so happy to be at JABS gym in Cutchogue to document their first ever Puppy Yoga class, which gave new meaning to the phrase downward dog! The class filled up in only 2 days and the registration fee went to benefit the North Fork Animal Welfare League. Originally, the event also had an aim to get a litter of puppies adopted, but by the time the class happened, they’d all been placed in their forever homes! The owners graciously brought their new pups into the studio for participants to snuggle and enjoy while they exercised.
The puppies were so full of life and they happily entertained all the yogis while they stretched. There were a few instances of furry mischief, like when one of the pups grabbed someone’s cell phone and ran off with it, but mostly they behaved beautifully! There were only two minor accidents of the bodily type, also. Not bad for doggies so young! No doubt this was the most fun yoga class attendees had ever been to, and I was so glad I was there to photograph it! Here are some of my favorite photos from the class!
The puppies were so full of life and they happily entertained all the yogis while they stretched. There were a few instances of furry mischief, like when one of the pups grabbed someone’s cell phone and ran off with it, but mostly they behaved beautifully! There were only two minor accidents of the bodily type, also. Not bad for doggies so young! No doubt this was the most fun yoga class attendees had ever been to, and I was so glad I was there to photograph it! Here are some of my favorite photos from the class!
There were whispers of a possible upcoming kitten yoga class....Stay tuned for more!
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Last July 4th, the world lost a strong, intelligent and wonderful woman when my Aunt Cathy passed away from cancer. Her daughter, my cousin Marissa has been a beacon of strength in the face of this tragedy. Next week, she is honoring her mother’s legacy by joining with JABS in Cutchogue, their much-loved gym, for a LifeRide fundraiser to benefit Sloan Kettering Cancer Center.
There will be a group LifeRide session, raffles, 50/50 and more. I’m donating a basket to their raffle with a gift certificate for a free photo session and a $100 print credit. I’ll be there supporting my amazing cousin, so come down and say hi, and help support this wonderful cause.
There will be a group LifeRide session, raffles, 50/50 and more. I’m donating a basket to their raffle with a gift certificate for a free photo session and a $100 print credit. I’ll be there supporting my amazing cousin, so come down and say hi, and help support this wonderful cause.
