Melissa Hassey » Philadelphia

Harry The “H”

melissa — Thu, 21 Apr 2011 15:49:14 +0000

Today marks the day that my dad would have turned 60. It also marks 4 weeks since his sudden passing. I’m not sure where to start but I wanted to write something that is a tribute to him.

** UPDATE: MY MOM INFORMED ME THAT MY DAD DID NOT LIVE “UNDER THE EL”. INSTEAD, HE LIVED IN THE PARKING LOT OF THE PANTRY PRIDE **

Shew! glad I cleared that up!

footnote: my mom’s name is Paulette

Portraits of Cousins at The Philadelphia Museum of Art!

melissa — Mon, 15 Nov 2010 20:33:36 +0000

2 families, 4 beautiful and fun children and The Philadelphia Museum of Art….

It had been a year since I saw these kids and they all have grown so much! They were, as expected, full of energy and smiles. I had a great time with them all!

Just for fun, here are links to view their portraits from last year at Valley Forge National Park:

http://melissahassey.com/2009/11/valley-forge/

http://melissahassey.com/2009/11/valley-forge-again-this-time-with-deer/

We did separate siblings portraits as well as all 4 cousins together… Here they all are four running to me:

SOFIA & JACK:

TYLER & CHASE:

Fun Couple in Northern Liberties!

melissa — Tue, 21 Sep 2010 20:09:03 +0000

I recently got to meet up with Rosario & Javier for a session celebrating their one year anniversary! What a wonderful idea. Not enough couples do this kind of stuff and I think that they should. And… not just to celebrate one year but 2 years, 5 years, 34 years, 50 years, etc… In fact, I think that the more years a couple is together, the more celebration that should be required.

ANYWAY! I had such a wonderful time wondering around Northern Liberties with these two. They were so fun and adorable together. Congrats Rosario & Javier!! Thanks for making my job so simple and such a pleasure.

It was a beautiful evening which made for dramatic shadows….

I can’t take full credit for this next image. I was inspired by another photographer that did this idea of the shadows dancing…though I am not sure who that photographer was. Also, I can’t help but think of Duane Michals’ (a photographic hero of mine!) “Chance Meeting” series too. Anyway, I couldn’t resist my interpretation when I saw their shadows on the wall. A little goofy, I know… but kinda fun, right?

Both Rosario & Javier are Puerto Rican. Rosario is also Mexican. I love that they brought their flags as props. Oh, and they had these cute iphone messages too!

We stopped for some ice cream!

Did I mention that they also like Spanish dancing? Well, they do. They played some music on Rosario’s phone and then worked their moves. It was quite a show! I really enjoyed it!

We also got to play around with my Grandpop’s vintage camera. Javier & Rosario were the perfect mix of fun, romantic and authentic! An absolute pleasure.

Adventures in Fishtown & Kensington….

melissa — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 14:56:59 +0000

This is a blog post for all of you fishtowner’s. SoYo’s, NoYo’s, Newbie’s, Lifers, Oldheads, Yuppies, Hipsters, Thugs….. whatever you care to call yourselves…… :0

It was one of those recent days where it was somehow storming and sunny all at the same time. Beautiful, really. My friend Jenn called and asked if I had any city photos she could have. I then suggested we wonder through the neighborhood on this gorgeously dreary day. It was fun to get on the streets again and photograph. The streets of Philly are where this entire photo adventure of mine started many years ago….. I was much bolder then… See “Don’t Talk to Strangers” series.

My most frequented corner store:

Check out this awesome door made of, I assume, bench ends. Very cool!!

From the Spring Garden El stop. Many years ago I was kicked off the El at this very station for taking photographs. A friend and I were “written up” by a cop and told never to photograph on the El again. Haha!! I will say that, at that time, I was using a giant 4″x5″ camera with a hood over it. And, I was attempting to photograph the people on the train. Wow, I really was bold back then!

Cool PBR advertisements at Spring Garden (designed by various different artists).

You can see the El steps and, I believe, some of the new art school that they are building on Front Street. Oh, and a bit of the city line on the left…. This shot really shows the dark cloud, bright sun contrast that was happening that day.

Water from a fire hydrant…

Gamer…

Kensington. Does it look like I am jailed in or jailed out?

Melissa Hassey….. Guest Columnist….

melissa — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 19:39:49 +0000

So, my recent blog post The Other 4% of Philly , was picked up by Spirit Community Newspapers. My blog post was featured as well as a few of my photographs. You can view it HERE. More photographs were used in the actual article.

I was excited to see this and hope that Mayor Nutter and other city officials read our local newspapers and react to community needs. As I look out the window and watch the snowflakes fall, I expect we will find out soon. I would love to think that a story like this could make a difference. Time will tell. Stay warm, everyone!!

DIY Beer Sled….

melissa — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 05:16:38 +0000

So being “snowed in” can be fun. Besides trekking around the city taking photographs and throwing snowballs, it is a good excuse to watch movies, cook a new recipe, enjoy neighborhood friends and, of course, drink beer. So, Carl & I realized that we were running low on our supply and needed to go to the distributor. Luckily one isn’t too far from us. However, with our cars officially stuck in the snow, carrying 2 cases of beer over our shoulders and back to the house seemed daunting. Carl said something like, “I wish we had a sled”. To which I replied, “we just used trashcan lids as kids”. Problem solved. We grabbed a drill, poked a hole through the lid and threaded the rope. We picked up 2 favorites. Yards Pale Ale (my very favorite local and “drinkable” beer) as well as a case of Ommegang’s Hennepin, a Belgian inspired Ale from New York. A bit pricey, but sooo good. We got lots of hoots and hollers and at least one “good thinking!”.

Without further ado, here is Carl taking a break from pulling the beer sled. I helped by taking photographs.

A fun snow video!

melissa — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 17:40:39 +0000

I wanted to share with you all my awesome husband’s (the famed designer of this very website) video of us playing in the snow after the December snow storm. It is fun! : )

Check out the rest of his blog and website too! Enjoy!!

http://www.philadesigns.com/myblog/

Hawthorne Yoga & Reiki in South Philly!

melissa — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 15:03:08 +0000

So….. a while back (yes, again, I have been a bad blogger), I had the privilege of photographing Sean Jacobs of Hawthorne Yoga & Reiki.

We got in touch through the craigslist barter section. I am always game for a good barter. This one was for some photographs in return for free yoga classes. Sweet deal, huh?!

Hawthorne is a great studio in South Philly and definitely worth checking out. They have great teachers, a relaxing atmosphere, a wide variety of classes and they also offer sliding scale payment, which is great!

Here are a few photos::

love the sandal tan!

Philadelphia Area Weddings!

melissa — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 17:56:57 +0000

I just wanted to share a few new wedding compilations I made recently…. okay, more like 22, but at least they aren’t holiday portraits anymore! ; )

Helping Hearts Annual Gala – 2009

melissa — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 19:05:21 +0000

On February 13th, Valentine’s Day weekend, I was happy to donate my photography services to a fabulous event called The Helping Hearts Annual Gala. The Helping Hearts Foundation is a non-profit corporation that holds a Gala each year to raise money to fund cardiac research at The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP). If you are not familiar, check out their website at http://www.helpingheartsgala.org.

This year, the event was held at the Crystal Tea Room in Center City. It was catered with delicious food, dancing, and entertainment. Particularly, the music, casino table, silent auction, raffles and popular guests kept everyone entertained!

DJ Nevada (hip hop/ house/ dance) donated time to the event and truly kept everyone on their feet throughout the entire night. When people weren’t dancing they were checking out the Casino table, run by Pass Line Casino Parties. These guys were a lot of fun and always had a full table.

The silent auction and raffles had some amazing prizes including a signed Eric Clapton guitar, a Pearl Jam autographed record, some great Phillies paraphernalia, local restaurant and spa certificates, and….. well, the list goes on and on. There really were just too many to name!

Lastly, if you attended the event, you would have seen both Miss Philadelphia and Miss Pennsylvania wandering around talking and taking photographs with everyone. How exciting!

All in all, it was a wonderful event with an even more wonderful purpose. If you are looking for a charity to donate to, this is a great one. They are hoping to grow the event next year. Again, for more information please check out their website. Here are a few pictures from the event::

Helping Hearts Annual Gala