Phenomenal Woman

Pretty women wonder where my secret lies.
I’m not cute or built to suit a fashion model’s size
But when I start to tell them,
They think I’m telling lies.
I say,
It’s in the reach of my arms,
The span of my hips,
The stride of my step,
The curl of my lips.
I’m a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That’s me.

I walk into a room
Just as cool as you please,
And to a man,
The fellows stand or
Fall down on their knees.
Then they swarm around me,
A hive of honey bees.
I say,
It’s the fire in my eyes,
And the flash of my teeth,
The swing in my waist,
And the joy in my feet.
I’m a woman
Phenomenally.

Phenomenal woman,
That’s me.

Men themselves have wondered
What they see in me.
They try so much
But they can’t touch
My inner mystery.
When I try to show them,
They say they still can’t see.
I say,
It’s in the arch of my back,
The sun of my smile,
The ride of my breasts,
The grace of my style.
I’m a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That’s me.

Now you understand
Just why my head’s not bowed.
I don’t shout or jump about
Or have to talk real loud.
When you see me passing,
It ought to make you proud.
I say,
It’s in the click of my heels,
The bend of my hair,
the palm of my hand,
The need for my care.’Cause I’m a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That’s me.

BY MAYA ANGELOU

Bre… Perfectly comfortable with who she is!   That’s beautiful.  Phenomenally beautiful.  And she has one lucky sailor who will have a little something to remind him  just how lucky he is!

The tattoo on her foot says “More than all the stars in the sky.”

My story is actually not my story at all. It’s Noah’s.

I met Noah as everyone was coming together to celebrate his Bar Mitzvah. It’s the coming of age, in the Jewish faith. I have been to quite a few but this one had a few notable twists. For one, Noah is Chinese and was adopted by two Jewish  men.  Secondly because this was a Secular Jewish service and I’d never been to one before.

Noah’s Bar Mitzvah presentation began and as he spoke I took in the faces that surrounded him.  There was so much love in that room.  Everyone listened and laughed and looked on with pride.  I want to share an excerpt from Noah’s presentation.  These are his words.

“Let me tell you a bit of my life story:

In case you didn’t notice, I have two dads, so my personal adoption story is a little unusual.  First my father Glen (who I call Dad) completed my legal adoption from China.  Because of the laws there and in the U.S. he had to do it as a single parent. But like my sister, Eve, I was given my Abba’s (that is, my other father, Youval’s name) to show that he was also going to be my father.  About 7 years ago, when the laws in Pennsylvania changed to allow it, they did a second parent adoption, and so now they are both Eve’s and my legal parents.

I was born in the city of Chungsha, in the province of Hunan, China, in the year 1997.  I have no memory of my biological parents because I was only a day or two old when I was taken to an orphanage. The day that I was born must have been very sad because my biological mom couldn’t take care of me, probably because of the one-child rule.  She took me in the middle of the night to a hospital and left me on the front steps, knowing I would be found quickly and taken care of.  From the hospital, I was taken to a local orphanage.  I personally have no memory whatsoever of my life in the orphanage, where I lived until the age of 2 and a half.

The one-child rule in China dates back to 1978 and states that a family is not allowed to have more than onechild.  The Chinese government made that law because of overpopulation, and they wanted to slow down the population growth rate.”

My assistant and I made eye contact and I was relieved to see I was not the only one fighting back tears.  He was honoring his mother and acknowledging a law that many of us in the US have a hard time understanding. Noah understood this as her sacrifice and I could not help but think that if she could see him today she would be relieved and really proud. Not only was Noah an intelligent  and handsome young man, but one of  good heart and compassion. I think she would be happy to know he was not only well taken care of, but respected and loved.

I mean really loved.  By everyone I met.

I could go on and on about how special I think this family is or how fortunate I feel for being able to get to know a little about them.  This is Noah’s story, but  when he spoke at his Mitzvah, he became a man, a Jewish Man who was now a part of my life as well as everyone else who came to celebrate that day with him.  This may not be the day his story began, but it did mark a very special beginning.

ברכות נח

Mazel Tov, Noah. I can’t wait to see where you take your life!

Glen and Youval did a beautiful job organizing some fabulous talent and I think they deserve some mention here.  I would highly recommend any of these people if you are considering an event in the Philadelphia Area.

The private party was held at a wonderful restaurant in Villanova, PA (the food and service was phenomenal) Azie on Main

The cake was amazing. Truly.  It tasted even better than it looked.  Aux Petit Delices

The magician delighted adults and children with his wonderful magic and humor.   Kevin Bethea

The face painting was out of this world.  ”Gemstone” of Peanutbutter is pictured above and her painting took on a surreal three dimensional look. It was pretty fabulous.

If you would like more information about Secular Judaism, Glen was kind enough to share this link with me: www.shj.org

An excerpt from a recent private boudoir session in Philadelphia, PA. The session had a hint of an earlier time period which included  vintage accessories and jewelry from a  collection of pieces I’ve acquired over the years..   The entire session will be published in a fine art book as surprise gift her husband on their wedding night.    He is one lucky guy!

Here’s a quick peek at one…

In coming blog posts I’ll share more of other folks who joined us, but for now… Meet Mike.

Young Men model Mike Disney

And we all know good friends are hard to find.

I’ve known this family for about a year now through the Operation Love Reunited organization; A volunteer organization of professional photographers giving their time to families of deployed soldiers. When I got the call that he was coming home, I knew that an end to a very long year for this family was finally coming to an end. The days turn to weeks and then into months and the oldest of the two boys seemed to be carrying the weight of that time away. Like his mom, he worried and as the day wore on, the happy facade began to wane to anxiety. He paced, needing his space and watching carefully in the direction he heard the soldiers might be coming. The time seemed endless to everyone, but to him, each time he heard “it’ll be soon” or “Daddy’s on his way” was becoming more and more worrying. The hours stretched out as the crowds were trying to be patient. The youngest felt the tension too.

As I looked about the crowd I realized that many of these very young children will be meeting their father for the first time. I saw mothers and fathers and brothers, uncles, sisters, and cousins. Every single one of those people have sacrificed a little bit of themselves when their soldier left. They stayed behind. They held up the fort. They carried on with the life these soldiers could come home to. In those hours they were all brought together for one reason; To set their eyes on their soldier. To know she was home safe.

This homecoming was the end of many soldier’s commitment to the Military. Some will go back. No one thought about that that day. No one complained about waiting in the heat. None of that mattered, as long as they could hold their soldier in their arms once again.

The wait was hard but we were reminded that war is harder and that some did not come home that day. “We find a way to be grateful that it was not one of our own,” I heard one woman say to another.

To all the families and soldiers who served with dignity, I salute you. To this beautiful family, thank you for letting me be a part of your story this past year. I am deeply touched by you all and feel blessed for knowing you.

Welcome home, Soldier!

Shari DeAngelo Photography | Philadelphia Wedding  Photographer & Lifestyles Photography | Fine Art, Fashion, Lifestyles and Wedding Photographer located in Haddonfield, NJ and Philadelphia PA. Local and Destination services available.

In fact she’s not. She’s stunningly open and beautiful. At 22 she’s grown into an amazing human being. She’s currently in Peru, doing a work study program and her burning desire to see more of the world, and not just be a passer-by, makes me proud to know her. I feel blessed to have had the time to get to know her a little better and am happy to know my son keeps such amazing friends. The world is better for people like her in it.

She chose the Mercer Museum to take her portrait and since I’d never been, I was more than game. It was a lot of fun in a unique environment that bounces crazy light around everywhere. It was pretty hot that day so we were relieved to have found a fan…

Katie, wherever this finds you today, I hope you are loving every minute of your journey. No matter where the path takes you, I hope you always find your way home safely.

My new site is still work in progress so I’m going to have to make up for lost time after it’s published. If you’re seeing your own images appear here, check your email for Access Codes for your full gallery.

So, you see… apparently I really can’t wait for the new site.

Now, I’d like to introduce you to Justin. About 10 hours after this session was completed, Justin, a lifelong resident of my home town of Haddonfield, moved to New York. The Big Apple. He’s now working for a non-profit that provides services to teenage girls who are hoping for a better life than the one they’ve come to know. He’s always known he was destined for public service of some kind, but when the offer for this position became available to him, he knew it was the right choice for him. We had an hour to run about town, in the rain, and make meaningful images of a guy who impressed me to no end. I can say, with all honesty, that my work here will not show you what a great young man he’s now become and how lucky the world is to have people like him in it.

In an hour I felt lucky for having gotten to know him. Thank you Justin… I’m sure you’re doing your family and your home town proud about now…

Shari DeAngelo Photography | Philadelphia Wedding  Photographer & Lifestyles Photography | Fine Art, Fashion, Lifestyles and Wedding Photographer located in Haddonfield, NJ and Philadelphia PA. Local and Destination services available.

Without further adieu, some selections from our day.

Shari DeAngelo | Philadelphia Wedding Photographer | Lifestyles Photography | Fine Art, Fashion, Lifestyles and Wedding Photographer located in Haddonfield, NJ and Philadelphia PA. Local and Destination services available.