Actor’s Portfolio: Alexandra Cordle
“Thank you! They are all amazing as usual.”
~ April Cordle, mother
Actor’s Portfolio: Avni Kathju
“Amazing shots for the the show! Avni has a lot of good ones - hard to choose. Thanks for all your hard work.”
~ Luxmi Kathju, mother
Actor’s Portfolio: Sarah Grand
Sarah Grand as Soupy Sue in Sewickley Academy’s 2022 Senior School Musical “Urinetown”.
Sarah is a Sophomore and this is her fourth Senior School production as a lead dancer! She has also performed in Middle School musicals, as well as various shows with PAC.
Actor’s Portfolio: Grace Armutat
Grace Armutat as Ms. McQueen in Sewickley Academy’s 2022 Senior School Musical “Urinetown”.
Grace is a junior and she has been part of the cast and crew for all SA productions, including Spelling Bee, Fiddler on the Roof, and 12 Angry Jurors. Outside of theatre, she participates in field hockey, Polyphony Lit literary editing, and Writing Club.
Actor’s Portfolio: Avani Venkat
Avani Venkat as Senator Fipp in Sewickley Academy’s 2022 Senior School Musical “Urinetown”.
Avani is a junior and this was her first Senior School Musical. Avani also performed in SA production Around the World in 80 Days and was an assistant director for the 2021 Winter One-Act Play Retribution. Outside of school, Avani trains with Keystone State Music Theater, Junior Mendelssohn Choir of Pittsburgh, and Pittsburgh Youth Chorus.
Actor’s Portfolio: Brooke Menzock
Brooke Menzock as Josephine "Ma" Strong in Sewickley Academy’s 2022 Senior School Musical “Urinetown”.
Urinetown is Brooke’s 7th production with SA, and recently she starred in the 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee. She will be participating in theater in college, and enjoys playing varsity soccer and softball.
Actor’s Portfolio: Alena Gurevich
Alena Gurevich as Little Becky Two-Shoes in Sewickley Academy’s 2022 Senior School Musical “Urinetown”.
Alena, sophomore, performed in her final show at SA, previously being in Bye Bye Birdie and Annie. She also designed posters for Urinetown, 12 Angry Jurors, and Spelling Bee and has played the violin for 10 years. In fact, she took an ARSM violin diploma exam the day after set strike, where she had to play 30 min of very complicated and diverse pieces. It was a great learning experience having to manage a heavy workload for a prolonged period of time - rehearsing for the musical, designing the poster, and practicing for a violin exam while keeping up with homework and tests.
Actor’s Portfolio: Shivali Saxena
Shivali Saxena as Little Sally in Sewickley Academy’s 2022 Senior School Musical “Urinetown”.
As a senior, Shivali was beyond excited to have been part of her first (and last) Senior School musical at the Academy. Outside of theater, Shivali enjoys writing, piano, and martial arts.
Actor’s Portfolio: Claire Cable
“I can't stop looking at the photos!! Thank you for taking so many and giving everyone these treasures.”
~Susan Cable, mother
Actor’s Portfolio: Milla Dobrovolska-Ivanova
Milla Dobrovolska-Ivanova as Hope Cladwell in Sewickley Academy’s Senior School Musical “Urinetown” running on March 3rd-5th 2022.
Milla is a senior and this is her first high school production. She performed with the Junior Mendelssohn Choir of Pittsburgh in 2019 and Beauty and the Beast and Les Misérables outside of SA.
She will be attending the University of Chicago in the fall to study Biology and Global Studies. Congratulations, Milla!
Winter Mini Session at Phipps for Leanne Elliott and her family
Family Mini sessions at Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens.
Have you ever seen a 9-months old baby smiling and looking at the camera for all 30 minutes: no tears, not even a trace of dissatisfaction, just a pure bundle of joy? I now have! It’s Leanne Eliott’s little son. We were able to create so many photographic memories for this family, what you see here is just a small fraction of their gallery. :-)
Winter Mini Session at Phipps for Noah Robbins and his family
Family Mini sessions at Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens.
It was the second time I photographed Noah Robbins, his parents Michaela and Dave. It was great to re-connect with them again. Noah made great progress and looked strong, happy and handsome! This time the family came with the grandparents, all dressed in themed, beautifully created costumes - Peter Pan, Tinker Bell, Captain Hook, John Darling and Mr Smee. We had a blast creating a story for their family album.
Winter Mini Session at Phipps for Spencer Kingman and his family
Family Mini sessions at Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens.
Spencer Kingman brought his family fully prepared for the inclement weather, armed with five umbrellas in case of the forecasted torrential rain. We got lucky and had a blast creating group and individual portraits for all the family. Love their outfits in jewel colors - a perfect way to look gorgeous in any season.
Winter Mini Session at Phipps for Andrea D’Alessandro and her large family
Winter Mini sessions in the City.
Andrea D’Alessandro presented me with a special challenge that day: to photograph her extended family of fifteen. They did a great job of dressing in one style and the children were incredibly cooperative, so we had plenty of time to create a few of all family portraits, photos of just the kids, every family individually and even a fun time running around for the little ones.
And of course, Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens are gorgeous in any weather and any season, even when the skies look menacing.
Winter Mini Session at Phipps - Mother and Daughter
Winter Mini sessions at Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens in Pittsburgh, PA.
Mother and daughter were wearing navy, beige and burgundy colors, perfect with the remaining golden fall foliage in the background. They both looked gorgeous and were incredibly easy to work with.
Winter Mini Session at Phipps for Zach Reed and family
Winter Mini sessions in the City.
Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens look gorgeous in any weather and any season, even when the skies are threatening with rain any minute.
Love how Zach’s family played with the earth colors in their outfits. I personally have a weak spot for light dresses combined with cowboy boots. So fitting for winter and just gorgeous!
Alena’s Studio Headshots in Pink
We were creating headshots for Sewickley Academy’s senior school musical and Alena asked me to keep these portraits as well. I’m in the process of creating a wall art showroom in the studio and these portraits will be a great addition.
Keep an eye for the musical action shots in early March. I’ve just been backstage and the decorations promise to be stunning!
City Mini Session for Crela Frye and her family
Mini sessions in the City.
Some shoots look better in black and white. Pittsburgh’s signature yellow bridges are spectacular but sometimes you just want to focus on the emotions, not the surroundings and thus black and white perfect.
Winter Mini Session for Rufa Akhmedli
Winter mini sessions.
Rufa Akhmedli wanted a bunch of portraits to use on her Instagram account. They had to look different enough, as if taken on separate occasions. Rufa brought 3 charges of clothes and I was amazed how quickly she changed into yet another gorgeous outfit within the allocated 30 minutes still keeping her poise.
Winter Mini Session for Victoria Detweiler and her new husband
Winter mini sessions.
Victoria Detweiler booked a session for all her extended family but it was so cold that day that the rest of the siblings chickened out.
I always say that the brave and stoic get it all. Victoria’s session turned into a romantic shoot with her new husband who went along with any idea I came up with on how he could say “I love you” to his young bride in a silent photograph.
I wish all the happiness in the world to this sweet and beautiful couple.