Well, it's Friday and GORGEOUS out. Weather for the weekend is looking pretty good according to our sources...are you gonna do something outdoors? If so, you should check out the article in the June issue of Parents Magazine all about safeguarding kids from harsh summer sun! Amy Postle headed down to Miami to shoot for Parents and had a blast doing so! Adorable shots and an informative article all in one! Check out the article to learn a thing or two about protecting your childs precious skin!

Be sure to lather up and enjoy the weekend!

Lee Clower and the Makeunder team at XOjane.com have taken on their latest subject and she is just as well madeunder as Sammi Sweetheart!

TV talkshow personality Wendy Williams agreed to participate in a "makeunder" of epic proportion! Wendy and her regular hair and makeup crew were quite skeptical of the makeunder team and what it all meant claiming that what makeunder means to XOJane is vastly different than what it meant to them. Ultimately surrendering to the team, everyone got down to business. Here is one of the "madeunder" shots:

Wendy stepped out of her comfort zone and into some comfy clothes and opened up to the XOJane team. After seeing her "madeunder" and learning some interesting new facts and quirky insights (ex: that regular Tobasco sauce is not "hot" enough for her so she keeps a special bottle with her) we gained a serious new affinity for the "big hair" star.

It seems like Mother Nature and Father Time decided to skip spring and go straight to summer this year. And we're not complaining, especially after seeing Marcus Nilsson's cover story for the June issue of Martha Stewart Living. Nothing kicks off summer like fresh-picked berries! (Or fresh-bought from the local green market for us city-dwellers.) Marcus Nilsson traveled up to Martha Stewart's estate to photograph her beautiful garden full of seasonal fruit, and the treats you can make with them. That chiffon cake with strawberries and cream looks perfect for a Memorial Day BBQ! 

And he sailed off through night and day

and in and out of weeks

and almost over a year

to where the wild things are.

For this weeks Photo Phriday, we found it necessary to honor the genius that is Maurice Sendak. Saddened by the news of his passing earlier this week, much of the world spent time reflecting upon and recalling memories of reading his beautiful (sometimes considered controversial) storybooks. Most of us know him for Where the Wild Things Are but he had an extensive portfolio of work beyond that including a book published last year.

If you aren't familiar with his work, clicking through these slideshows which include portraits, illustrations and images representing Sendak's life will help you see the true visionary that he was. Slideshows (linked below) courtesy of The Guardian and Talking Points Memo.

Maurice Sendak: A Life In Pictures

Maurice Sendak: 1928-2012: Beloved Childrens Author Dies at Age 83

While it isn't the happiest Photo Phriday, we hope you have a great weekend and a very Happy Mother's Day!

The cliche is to serve your mom breakfast in bed for Mother's Day. Breakout from the "norm" and do something really special for Mom! Forget the eggs and bacon and take the recipes from the Bon Appetit Test Kitchen and their adorable "Mother's Day Tea" brunch feature! She will absolutely love these creative and cute springtime recipes shot by Marcus Nilsson.

Happy Mother's Day!

The PDN Photo Annual 2012 winners have been announced and this year's Photo Annual issue is now avaliable! We wanted to wish a huge congratulations to Frank Herholdt who won the Stock Photography award for his image "Gymnast In the Forest". Shot in a forest outside of Cape Town South Africa, Frank played the role of both photographer and art director.

Frank says that he was inspired by early morning exersise for this particular shot and was excited to share that the model was a "genuine gymnast" that a local production company found. Frank also shared that the shoot took only a few hours because he had spent time at the location the day before checking the light, timing of the sun and rigging the ropes.

Congratulations Frank on this award!

Shot Taken from PDN Photo Annual 2012 Issue.

Happy Friday!

Yesterday at a food shoot for one of our photographers, as soon as she got the last shot, the digital tech jumped up out of his seat and said, "those are awesome, I gotta get that on Instagram!"

There's no doubt that you've heard about the free app that allows one to alter images (coloring, borders, add filters) and share with various social networks at the tap of a finger! We've all heard about the astronomical amount of money Facebook paid to acquire Instagram, ($1 Billion) a company that has zero revenue. It's all the rage these days and I'm totally guilty of being an Instagram user (and lover...)

So what's all the hype about? How does the development of apps such as Instagram and Hipstamatic make "everyone is a photographer"? And most importantly, what does it mean for the photography industry? (more after jump)

You can find LOADS of information (and we mean loads... from essays to articles) on the "Instagram debate" but we came across one particular blog post that we found to outline the positives and negatives written by the chairman and co-founder of PhotoShelter, Allen Murabayashi. Take a look here: Why Instagram Is Terrible for Photographers, And Why You Should Use It

Where do you weigh in on the issue? Go ahead, when you're out tonight at happy hour or at the dinner party this weekend, ask people what they think and report back!

Enjoy the weekend!

And by "rock" we mean "deliciously rockin' food"! Food & Wine recently comissioned Marcus Nilsson to take a trip to the Motor City to see what it's food scene had to offer. Check out what he found!

We know Detroit is about music and cars, but it might be time to coin another nickname that portrays it's all-American culinary offerings!

Here is one of two stories James Merrell shot for the June issue of Living Etc magazine! The story features the eclectic and modern home of Shaun Clarkson and Paul Brewster located in north London. Interior and textile designers (respectively), the owners share in the article that they were originally inspired by the Alfred Hitchcock movie Rope. "It started out with a very muted palette -- mainly blue and grey tones with little pops of colour. But as we've grown into the house it's become much more colourful and contemporary, mainly because we can't stop buying new things."

The neutral tones of the apartment coupled with the accents of color and  the quirky decorative details made for a perfect shoot environment for James alligning perfectly with his style. Beautiful story, take a peek:

Did you happen to pick up Thursdays Style section of The New York Times? Or even glance over it? If you did, you most certainly saw the beautifully shot little ladies that graced the full page "above the fold". Lee Clower spent a fun day at Shoot Digital a couple of weeks ago working with Cathy Horyn to put together this beautiful designer children's wear feature together.

Here it is, if you missed it: