Growing up, I had heard numerous stories about my Dad’s somewhat wild youth.  He grew up in St. Clairsville, Ohio and was quite ornery.  For his 8th grade science fair project he made a distillery to make moonshine.  He would tell me tales of how he and his friends would sneak into nearby strip mines and steal dynamite and blow things up later.  When he reached his teenage years, he grew even more rebellious but one thing remained the same – he was always dedicated to what he believed in.  He was a 3 year letterman in the pole valut – a prior unheard of achievement at St. Clairsville since most Freshmen at the time weren’t on the varsity track team.  During his senior year, the school opted for “school” rings rather than class rings and all of the seniors protested by not joining any sports.  He may not have got a 4 year letter in the pole vault but he did get a class ring for the following year of students.  The summer before he started college, he roamed around the country with his friends and wound up in a field in New York and attended Woodstock.  They didn’t have tickets and ended up being able to park and pitch their tent at the farmers house in trade for my Dad milking their cows.  I always loved hearing all of the stories about my Dad and where he was during this historic time in our nation.  However no story would really be more wow-worthy to my younger self than the story of the Kent State Shootings (although, the Woodstock stuff was a close second).

On May 4th, 1970 my Dad was wandering around Kent State with some friends.  They attended the protests that had been going on all morning but around noon decided they were hungry and headed off to a local bar for some beer and food.  During this time, the infamous shootings occurred killing four and wounding nine others.  People started racing into the bar, screaming and crying over what had happened and my Dad – along with his friends – were all stunned to hear what they had missed.  At the time, they were typical teenagers and more upset they missed something than realizing that it may have been pure luck that they missed it.

I had heard this story many times in my youth – usually every time the anniversary came around.  However, it wasn’t until this past winter that it all really hit home.  My father had recently purchased his Canon FT SLR camera and had brought it along that day loaded with color Kodachrome.  I had no idea until recently I was scanning slides that I had found intermingled with other images of his childhood that I had received after his mother’s death.  There are 6 images in total from that fateful day in Kent and even though it has been 3 months since I found these images, I’m still stunned that my father snapped images of that historical day.  I just got all of the copyrights back so today seemed like the perfect day to showcase my Dad’s images.

My favorite image from the series.

"Corey Ann is a Wedding and Portrait Photographer in Northeast Ohio. Her work has been featured in books and magazines across the country. You can read the original blog post here Personal | Kent State Shootings."

Ten years ago thanks to randomly stumbling upon a Joey McIntyre message board online, my life changed.  It’s really funny to write that still – a small community online changed my life.  I admit, I still laugh that something so silly and small could really have impacted my life so much but the crazy thing about life is that is the way it works sometimes – the things you least expect to matter the most are the ones that rock your world.  Due to that message board, I met some of my best friends in the world – Lisa, Kimberly, Jill and Gianina are just a few of the lovely ladies that I met due to this board.  My friends and I went to dozens of concerts over the course of the next three years that Joey McIntyre and his friend/sidekick/songwriter Emanuel Kiriakou played over the next few years.  Seeing them in concert and taking pictures of them rekindled my love for photography again so I finally upgraded from my personal point and shoot and got my own SLR instead of always borrowing my Dad’s.  I also found a love for travel that I never knew I had since I hadn’t traveled very much prior to this point in my life.  It was such a great time in my life and every time I think about those years I smile.

A few years ago the New Kids On the Block reunited and while their concerts are crazy fun and super awesome they never were quite on the level that the “One Too Many” concerts that Joe & Emanuel did were.  They were special.  They reunited for a couple shows in NYC & California last fall but I couldn’t get tickets or take the time off from my clients.  I was OVER THE MOON when I found out that they would be playing in Las Vegas at The Lounge at The Palms during a time that would overlap with my yearly visit for WPPI (and my birthday).  Needless to say I snapped up tickets and was crazy excited to go.  The show did not disappoint in the least and I’m so glad that I was able to make it to one – my only regret is that my “old” friends couldn’t be there with me but I am glad that I was able to make a new friend in Justine who attended with me.

I couldn’t be prouder of these two guys and how far they’ve come in the past ten years.  I hope good things keep coming down the pipes for them (and more concerts for us!).  There are still two more shows if you are near Las Vegas!   If this isn’t enough eye candy for you, head over to my Facebook page where you can see more from the show.  Please do not steal these images!

Joey McIntyre

Emanuel Kiriakou

"Corey Ann is a Wedding and Portrait Photographer in Northeast Ohio. Her work has been featured in books and magazines across the country. You can read the original blog post here Personal | Joey McIntyre & Emanuel Kiriakou | Las Vegas, NV."

I love wine. I love babies. I love to help people in need. When I was approached about donating my time and take pictures for the Sips and Dips on Sixth charity event for Rainbow Babies & Children’s Hospital I was completely on board. In the years before turning to a full-time photography business, I used to work in the medical field and after working there I realized that a lot of parents sadly have to decide if they have enough money to help their child or not. It is heartbreaking! The event raised a good deal of money for the babies and hopefully there are some parents who can breathe easier tonight because of it!

Enjoy the images and remember the babies if you have a spare penny or two!

The VIP event had the elite wines and a scrumptious cheese spread.

There were gorgeous arrangements on the tables donated from Blooms by Plantscaping.

Moss Stanley providing a beautiful music ambiance for the night.

Serving the wine is a hard job to do, someone had to distribute the wine that Heidelberg Distributing Company provided!

People enjoyed wine, munchies provided by local restauurants and like minded company.

My greatest discovery of the evening was this sparkling wine, YUM! Ironically I also tried the $150/bottle champagne they had during the VIP event and I liked this one better, that’s a bargain at $25/bottle!!

Did you attend the event and want to see more pictures?? Comment with your email address and I will send you the link to the gallery!

"Corey Ann is a Wedding and Portrait Photographer in Northeast Ohio. Her work has been featured in books and magazines across the country. You can read the original blog post here Charity Event: Sips and Dips on Sixth."

*sings the same old tune about being behind on blogging and apologizing for it*

If you’ve read my blog for more than a few minutes you probably know that I’m a die-hard Blockhead aka New Kids On the Block fan. I never attended their shows as a child (oh the inhumanity!) but I did manage to see quite a few of Joe McIntyre’s solo shows. In the past year I’ve seen New Kids On the Block – with all band members – for their first performance since breaking up, in Cleveland for their Fall Tour, in Columbus for their Spring Tour and in June I attended their Full Service Tour at Blossom Music Center in Cuyahoga Falls. I was REALLY excited for this show for a couple reasons. One – my good friend Jill came out to see it with me from Colorado and two – it was the closest one to home of all the shows I’d attended! Jill and I did the 5* Meet and Greet – because quite honestly I HATE the lawn seats at Blossom. Those that have been understand. So, in order to get pavillion I went with 5*. Plus, Jill and I met because of Joe so it was totally perfect that we’d do the M&G.

The meet and greet went OK but I far prefer my Cleveland experience – it wasn’t as rushed. I was able to talk to all the guys this time but it was wayyy shorter than in the Fall. I left Danny speechless which was by far the best part of the M&G for me (he kept complaining on Twitter about sweaty ‘nether regions so I gave him baby powder as a joke). Jon is also an absolute doll. He’s such a sweetheart. If you’re on Twitter you MUST follow him, he’s a riot.

After the M&G we headed down to our seats (4th row center) and had a blast at the show! The show openers were Jabbawockeez and Jesse McCartney – both were stellar. The NKOTB show is nothing short of awesome. They put on such a killer show!!! It’s a great blend of the old stuff and new stuff with plenty of movin’ – especially for the ‘old’ guys on the block! If you get a chance to see them near you in the next couple weeks you’d better! They are great!

All pics were taken with my trusty Sony Cybershot

Our group’s M&G picture, much better than Cleveland! I’m to Joe’s left in the red, Jill is next to me in the grey.

Obligatory selfie of me and Jill before the show started. I stole a gardenia off a tree and used it for a hair ornament! It smelled SO amazing!

And so it begins!

“Put your hands in the air and wave them around like you just don’t care!!”

Say what you want about Joe, but he can sure sing the CRAP out of anything. I love his voice (and his eyes aren’t so shabby either!).

Joe isn’t one to look over your head, he also hams it up for cameras. I’ve been taking pics of him for about 10 years now… and it’s still so fun to find shots like this!

Donnie stripping… for the Donnie girls.

Danny breakdancing!

Jordan singing “Give it to You” remixed with the Jabbawockeez as backup dancers.

Joe singing a new song he wrote called “5 Brothers and a Million Sisters.” Want it? Donate a book at any concert or go to Let’s Get This Foundation and donate money for new books for kids. Either way you will get a free download of Joe’s song AND kids in need will get books to enrich their lives! I was one of the girls selected to do the book drive for Joe in Cleveland (I’m an avid reader) but couldn’t do that and the Meet and Greet.

One of my favorite shots of Jonathan I’ve taken!

One of the first fake ‘ends’ of the show, that’s Joe laying on his back.

Taking a bow after Step by Step.

Proof Jon does sing He promises to sing a full song next tour – we’ll see!

The real end!

A few videos for any big fans…

Joe made a comment on Twitter how he has no idea where the “Yeah Boy!” came from and I was happy that I caught it on video. It’s a funny video because Joe comes out of nowhere in it.

Joe singing “Popsicle” from the old school days.

Ending of the show

"Corey Ann is a Wedding and Portrait Photographer in Northeast Ohio. Her work has been featured in books and magazines across the country. You can read the original blog post here New Kids On the Block at Blossom Music Center 6/23/09."

Last night I made the trip down to Columbus from Canton to see the New Kids On the Block. Yes, AGAIN! Due to good luck and juju, I ended up with second row seats on the floor in the center section. It was awesome! In Cleveland I had 6th row, but I must admit, 2nd row did kick my 6th row’s little booty! It was yet another fun night with a great mix of old and new songs. The show had been changed up a bit so it wasn’t boring if you’d seen it before. I hear that the summer one will be entirely different (which is said to be their final go-around of the shows). I had a great time last night and I hope you enjoy the pics!

For those that email me asking for my settings (I get a ton of these!!) I will be posting a “Corey Talks” in the next day or so on how to get good concert images even with a crappy point and shoot! These were ALL taken with a Sony Cybershot that’s about 3 years old now. Not the newest technology and it doesn’t even have the “anti-shakey-thingie” either! It’s possible if you have an idea of what you need to get the shot. You will still get some blurry ones… but that’s the nature of shooting a concert with a point and shoot and no flash Yes, none of these have flash either.

Me and my friend Jen, whom have been friends since the 4th grade and used to fight over Joe back in the day. She thought he was hers because SHE had the pillowcase AND the t-shirt. I thought I was better because I had the doll AND the topless hat. It was fun to go with someone that 20 years ago was just as much of a fan as you were.

The entrance onto the stage.

Dancing to My Favorite Girl.. oh oh oh oh she’s my favorite girl! Jordan came down in front of us and sung his solo for this and it’s really neat to hear him sing in front of you without the mike. That boy has a set of lungs!

Oh-oh-oh oh oh-oh-oh-ooooohhhh-oh! I really want to know how Joe dances in pants that tight and if that’s the secret to his high voice

I think this is my favorite shot from the night, I think it is the rim lighting. I’m such a photographer!

Joe McIntyre crooning to some song (yeah I’m totally blanking!). I think it’s Didn’t I (Blow Your Mind).

Joe singing again….

For part of the evening, the New Kids go back to a second stage further back on the floor and do a few songs there. In Cleveland I could barely make them out but the arena in Columbus was much smaller and it was nice to see what was going on back there this time!

I apologize to anyone else that may have these, but I had to post this shot and say these are the ugliest tennis shoes I think I’ve ever seen. However it is nice to see Joe’s obsession with gold has not diminished.

Jordan singing Baby I Believe in You with his shirt off, this is totally for Heidi whom was a Jordan girl.

Donnie looking awed at the crowed in Columbus. They were pretty loud, not sure if it was moreso than Cleveland though.

Donnie singing Cover Girl.

Jordan belting out a song.

Jordan giving Danny a hug after he stood on his head for the Click, Click, Click Pose Off they do every night (they always do a different pose). He was trying to be an I for OHIO.

Step By Step – the first of two encores.

My battery died after that so the ending pics aren’t that great!

"Corey Ann is a Wedding and Portrait Photographer in Northeast Ohio. Her work has been featured in books and magazines across the country. You can read the original blog post here New Kids On the Block – Columbus Concert."

My hubby got me a treat for our last night in Maui, he got us VIP seats to see The Drums of the Pacific Luau at the Hyatt! I was so stoked and excited. The reality of it was that it probably wasn’t worth the extra cost that we paid to sit in the VIP seats and the food was just okay but the show was entertaining and that’s something. I loved the fire dancer!!! Here are some images that I captured during the show!

 

The luau takes place just as the sun goes down. 

"Corey Ann is a Wedding and Portrait Photographer in Northeast Ohio. Her work has been featured in books and magazines across the country. You can read the original blog post here Hawaii Day Five: Luau."

The final day of shooting I not only loved shooting Rosanna and Jared but the class as well as the gorgeous scenery around me! We started off at the top of a hill with a field and row of trees and ended down at the beach where there were plenty of surfers enjoying the waves.

Rosanna, Mike Colon, Jared and Mike Mijangos head to the first spot for shooting for the day. 

Natalie Norton goes into the fields for the perfect shot.

Scarlett Lillian showing off her perfect photography posture!

Mike Mijangos gets creative and uses a plaque to help steady the shot.

Just another day of shooting the gorgeous Rosanna and handsome Jared! (L to R) Mike Colon, Mike Mijangos, Sommer Holden, Erin Kline, Johanna Tano and Gavin Wade.

Natalie Norton has the craziest poses of anyone I know but she gets awesome shots for going the distance! She’s in the pic above but Mike Colon is blocking her in my shot.

It wasn’t easy getting a clear shot of Rosanna and Jared (as you can see from the shot above) so I looked up and loved the pattern of the branches of the tree and shot that instead. Kind of bizarre but I like it!

After the third or fourth car got us off the road with the trees, we decided to head down to the beach and continue shooting there. I am a beach girl so I had to take a few shots of the gorgeous landscape that my eyes beheld!!!

This is the first time I’ve ever seen serious surfers in action so I had to take a shot of someone hangin’ ten!

Mike borrowed my shorter lens to work with the off camera lighting so I got to play with his monster 200 2.0 lens for a bit. Again, I couldn’t get a clear shot of Rosanna and Jared so I went for Mike but he caught me!

Scarlett makes the BEST faces for the camera!!!! She’s too fun to shoot!

Scarlett getting her winning shot of the day of Rosanna and Jared on the beach after sunset. Mike Mijangos is assisting by holding the light off to the side of the frame.

Final shot of the gorgeous beach after sunset – again, I love moon shots over the ocean!!!

"Corey Ann is a Wedding and Portrait Photographer in Northeast Ohio. Her work has been featured in books and magazines across the country. You can read the original blog post here Hawaii Day Three: Kapaula Sights."

First I want to mention that my blog will be undergoing some construction in the next couple weeks so if things look wonky at times, I apologize!

Now… the post! Day two of shooting in Maui – this time around the area where the house was located at where the workshop was held. The house was in Lahaina but in the foothills of the West Maui Mountain. There was an interesting forest behind it which made for some unique pictures and the skies were really interesting that day changing light constantly. Enjoy the shots!

 

View from the house towards the mountain. 

The class heading to the shoot location.

Mike instructs Chris and Katie on what to do next.

(L to R) Rosanna, Sommer Holden, Joanna Tano, Scarlett Lillian, Gavin Wade, Mike Colon and Erin Kline.

Crazy Maui skies.

Luke Edmonson and his monster lens.

Mike shooting Chris and Katie.

Luke shows that photographers will get into some crazy positions to get the right shot!

Shot of the houses Mike & the gang were staying at. The workshop/photog house is the one with the white peak. SUCH a great house!!

"Corey Ann is a Wedding and Portrait Photographer in Northeast Ohio. Her work has been featured in books and magazines across the country. You can read the original blog post here Hawaii Day Two: The Sights."

I have a bad habit at workshops I have found – I tend to shoot the photographers I’m with just as much as the couples – and I love it.  In Hawaii I not only had some amazing couples to play with but some super fun photographers as well that never failed to strike fun poses (yes, I’m looking at you Scarlett!).  I also couldn’t help but take some snaps of the gorgeous location we were in and one amazing guy we stumbled upon.  So here are some pics from our first day of shooting of the photographers and the scenery.

(L to R) The awesome duo of Scarlett Lillian and Erin Kline of Gavin Wade Photographers taking some smokin’ shots of Rosanna and Jared.

The amazing and super sweet Natalie Norton getting into position for a shot of Rosanna and Jared.

Erin gets some advice from Mike Mijangos whom was so awesomely helpful during the workshop.

On our way down Front Street, the access to one of the beaches was being roped off with caution tape.  I looked over the edge of the decking to see why and saw this amazing beauty.  This is a Hawaiian Monk Seal which is an endangered species and only is seen in Hawaii.  I was seriously STOKED.  Don’t worry, this guy (or gal?) is fine.  They just come to shore to chill out from time to time.  I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to get a few pics though so I had to take a pitstop while the others kept going to get a couple shots.  I don’t regret it for a moment.  This was one of the highlights of the trip for me.  I’m such an animal lover

Close up of this awesome guy!!!  All taken with a zoom from a respectful distance

Sunset from downtown Lahaina.

The adorable Natalie again. I LOVED her shirts.  This lady has killer taste in clothing people!  AND she warned me about the sea urchin down here I almost stepped on in my bare feet.  YIKES!  That would have outranked my cactus story I think, thankfully she saved me.

Rosanna and Jared sittin’ in a tree… first comes love, then comes a bunch of photographers!!!
(L to R) The Poker Queen Carla Jalbert, Scarlett Lillian and Natalie Norton.

No day is a bad day when it ends like this.  Ahhhhh I miss Maui!

"Corey Ann is a Wedding and Portrait Photographer in Northeast Ohio. Her work has been featured in books and magazines across the country. You can read the original blog post here Hawaii Day One: Downtown Lahaina."

If you have followed my blog at all you will know that I am a not-so-closeted New Kids On the Block fan.  Back in May I went to see them live in NYC for the Today Show and then when they came to Ohio in October I made sure that I got a ticket ASAP.  Because I was so deprived as a child, I opted to go for the 5* VIP package they were offering through I Love All Access which included a meet and greet, photo op (which was laughable, you’ll see the pic and agree) and a ticket for the front 10 rows.  I’m glad that I did this as seeing the concert that close was amazing!  I also can’t sneeze at meeting them all either and getting heartfelt hugs from all 5 guys (oh and a New Kid sandwich for the pic).

When I say I was a fan, I mean I was a FAN.  The walls were lined with posters.  I had the dolls.  I had the ‘Joe Hat’ without a top.  I performed concerts for the neighbors.  I forced most of my friends to become fans.  I had all the albums on tape, the VHS tapes and even the sheet music.  I even kissed my Joey poster a time or two.  Now you all know way too much about me, but I bet you all laughed as well (and you fellow girls from the 80′s are ducking their heads knowing they were JUST as bad or worse).  That’s the level of fan I was.

Now mind you, they weren’t my first crush.  Oh no, I was in love with boys very early in my life and that special first crush goes to the dreamy and oh-so-sexy Patrick Swayze.  If I ever meet him, you will find me on the ground where that happens.  Next up was the fantabulous Jonathan Crombie (Gilbert in Anne of Green Gables) whom I HAVE met a few times and is the absolute SWEETEST thing ever – and so talented.  If you get a chance to see him in the touring Drowsy Chaperone broadway play – you MUST see it!  So – maybe it’s because of of my other crushes that I was able to keep my cool when meeting the guys and I never went quite as boy-crazy over them as other girls did.  I was a fan of the music more than anything.  I’m a pop lovin’ girl until the end.  However meeting the New  Kids is definately something I will remember for my life.

We were not allowed to have SLR cameras in the show so these are all taken with my point and shoot Sony (the last image is from I Love All Access).  I probably could have tried for or got a press pass but I didn’t want to work this show, I wanted to just enjoy it.  I’ve also included a hilarious video I took that just amuses the heck out of me.

So fellow 80′s girls – which one was YOUR favorite???  I was a Joe girl but Jon is a close runner up.

The obligatory ‘selfie’ before the guys came on stage.

..and it begins!

oh-oh-ohhh-oh-oh!

Gotta have a shot of the old school oh-oh dance!

Not the best shot but Jon was so sweet blowing kisses to girls all night, I had to post it!

Donnie talking to the crowd about how humbled they are and thankful they are for the fans and their enthusiasm for the reunion.

They go to a Stage B for 3 songs, this gives you an idea of just how many 30ish year old women there were there!  It was LOUD and all kinds of awesome.  There were very few kids or teens or really anyone under the age of 21.  Also lots of guys in the crowd with their wives and significant others.  It is so nice to go to a concert without a bunch of kids running around being idiots (I’m sure you have ALL been there a time or two!).

Joe singing Stay the Same

The ‘Pose Off’ they do at the end of Click, Click, Click.  It’s always pretty amusing what they say I guess about the poses afterwards.  Joe is quite the entertainer.

Put your hands in the air and wave them around like you just don’t care, Hangin’ Tough!!

The End!

I’m the one on the left in the pink shirt between Donnie and Jon.  This is their PROFESSIONAL image which I cleaned up quite a bit from its original state.  It’s still pretty awful.  Ah well, at least the memories are there!

"Corey Ann is a Wedding and Portrait Photographer in Northeast Ohio. Her work has been featured in books and magazines across the country. You can read the original blog post here New Kids On the Block ROCK Cleveland!."