I'm in Chicago!

Please check out my new Tumblr!
Sights, sounds, sensations from the Windy City.

A toute a l'heure,
Kristine

Fall Fashion

In the East End neighborhoods of Pittsburgh, fashion flies high with a fine blend of classy meets hip, sophisticated meets chic. Designer Cailey Breneman shares her votes for the Fall 2009 season with the help of model Grace K. Miller. Shot in Friendship, the neutral residential neighborhood smushed between Shadyside, Bloomfield, Lawrenceville, Garfield, and East Liberty, these photos unearth quiet spots lingering on Friendship's rustic avenues with the warm palate of autumn's foliage.

Kayak Three Rivers

The three rivers of Pittsburgh unite the city into an urban and natural mecca, offering residents and visitors the opportunity to enjoy city life and outdoor adventure simultaneously.

Venture Outdoors, a non-profit founded in 2001, organizes outdoor recreational activities to spur community interest in the city's natural opportunities. Activities include hiking, biking, and kayaking, in addition to many other types of outdoor excitement.

A project of Venture Outdoors, Kayak Pittsburgh began in 2005 with a downtown station near the Pirates' PNC Park. It has since expanded to include stations at North Park and at Lake Elizabeth in West Park on the North Side.

This video spotlights Kayak Pittsburgh downtown, with photographs and conversation with Liam Cooney, Project Manager at Venture Outdoors.

Kayak Pittsburgh from kristine on Vimeo.

Penguins Stanley Cup Victory Parade

An estimated 375,000 fans jammed the streets and parking garages of Downtown Pittsburgh on Monday, June 15, 2009, to celebrate the Penguins' third Stanley Cup Championship and their first since 1992.

The celebration began for some in the wee pre-dawn morning, as fans arrived hours before the noon start time.

The parade traveled the same victory route as the Steelers' Superbowl Parade, beginning on Grant Street and turning down Boulevard of the Allies toward Stanwix Street. Downtown was booming Monday. I was not even aggressive enough to push through the throng of thousands to view the stage presentation at the end of the parade route.

View the slideshow for my perspective on the parade on the Boulevard between Smithfield and Wood Streets. (For more of my photos, go to my Flickr page.)



For more fan photos of the parade, check out the Pensblog Stanley Cup Victory Parade Photos group pool.

2009 Boston Marathon

Over 26,000 runners, aged 18 to over 80 years old, ran the 26.2 miles from Hopkinton, MA to downtown Boston's Copley Square on Monday, April 20, 2009 for the 113th Boston Marathon. The course is speckled with hotspots from the starting line, Heartbreak Hill, Kenmore Square, all the way to the finish line, but I cherished the most arduous and perhaps most fascinating leg of the race - the last mile. People walk, stumble, jog, sprint, laugh, get sick... it's a messy but miraculous affair, the last mile of the Boston Marathon.

Kenmore Square was packed with spectators lining Commonwealth Avenue. I photographed and talked to fans and runners as thousands of marathoners turned the corner and pushed through the last mile to the finish line on Boylston Street.



A few of my photos were picked up by NowPublic and included in its coverage of the 2009 Boston Marathon. Look for kristine.c.sherred on the right-hand side of the page under "Crowd Power." NowPublic is a "crowd powered media" group that gives every citizen a voice, covering local, national, and international news and events.

For all of my Boston Marathon photos, visit my Flickr page.

Following the Path to Englightenment

Amidst the religious turmoil that has engulfed the classic and contemporary worlds stands a peaceful philosophy, a way of life inherent to human nature. Though the history of Buddhism strings together intricate stories of Buddhist monks to the Buddha himself, its story can, in fact, be relatively simple. At the Shambhala Meditation Center of Boston, community members share their practice with visitors and prospective Buddhist followers.

I have been working with the Boston Center for over a month, photographing and recording meditation sessions and the Center itself. My relationship with Shambhala extends past merely documenting the impetus for and mission of meditation: I have received meditation instruction myself and have joined the under-30 and community sessions on Tuesday and Wednesday nights... it really opens up your mind.

The Shambhala Boston website offers detailed information on upcoming events, guest instructors, and meditation groups.

Meditating in a Modern World from kristine on Vimeo.

Hair On Broadway at Boston University

From 1964-1968, James Rado and Gerome Ragni scripted "The Age of Aquarius", promoting its inherent ideals of peace, love, and happiness with long-haired hippie protagonists. The resulting show, Hair (aka The Tribal Rock Musical) was recently revived for Broadway in early 2009, showing in New York City, but Boston University's musical theater group, On Broadway, put up their own rendition of the 1960s rock-based show.

Selling out their Friday and Saturday night performances, the cast and crew of Hair rehearsed for almost three months in preparation for opening night on Friday, March 27. Susanna Bolle and I snuck backstage to catch some footage of the chaos that is performance day, including conversations with the director/choreographer, musical director, and one of the male leads.


Behind the Scenes at BU On Broadway's Hair from Susanna Bolle on Vimeo.