Good Golly Miss Molly! 

There was a LOT of fun happening last night in Oakland as the members and guests of the Pittsburgh Chapter of ISES enjoyed themselves thoroughly at the BURGERS, BOWLING & BANANA SPLITS event held at the  Pittsburgh Athletic Association! 

Many of the established members of the Greater Pittsburgh ISES Chapter and their wonderful guests, MPI Pittsburgh and Visit Pittsburgh were in atten-dance rocking the night away to a 1950s-themed event complete with a Soda Fountain, soda Jerks (no longer politically correct, I'm sure!), burgers, banana splits, bowling and 1950s "Hop" music provided by none other than the phenomenal Kelli Burns of Kelli Burns DJ Entertainment dressed in full 1950s regalia, complete with her own bowling shirt and white anklets! 

Sheila Weiner, Ed Amori and Lori Upperman deserve a special thank you for putting the program together for everyone - as always, they did a wonderful job! It was a great opportunity for Pittsburgh ISES members and their guests to come together for a night of networking and merriment.  I thought I'd provide a sampling of images of the evenings happenings so everyone could see how much fun really does happen at an ISES event - ENJOY! 

NOTE: MOUSE-OVER THE smaller PHOTOS ON THE RIGHT EVER SO SLOWLY to see them all!



A special "thank you" goes out to all the sponsors of the evening:
Joanne Bartone Photography - yep, that's me!  It was sooooo much FUN photographing everyone!
Kelli Burns DJ Entertainment - "the one and only" who REALLY set the mood and made the evening a truly enjoyable event!
Pittsburgh Athletic Association - Sally Fernandes and all the PAA staff did an outstanding job making the evening tasty for everyone!
The Prop Shop - who transformed the bowling alley of the PAA into a 1950s sock hop - fabulous!
Table Attire - whose turquoise and pink linens and center pieces topped off the decor perfectly!
and last, but never least...
ShutterBooth Pittsburgh! - prepared with props and strips of photo-fun that delighted all of us!

Here's a ShutterBooth photo strip of Burns + Bartone = Fun and Photography - what a blast!

The babies!  The children!  The angels!  What beautiful gifts; true bundles of joy without a doubt!

It only stands to reason that somewhere between the boudoir photography and the wedding photography comes time for children and family photography - makes sense, yes!  I had a delightful time with these little ones.  I LOVE the babies!

Here's a collage of some of my favorite images - ENJOY! ...they are all my favorite subjects!

BIG love, Joanne Bartone Photographer  ::  www.joannebartone.com  ::  tele: 412.418.8075

2009 was the year I reignited (nice word choice, yes?!) my Boudoir Photography!  It had been quite a while since I had really focused (pun in tended!) on this aspect of my art and with the insistence of my friend Elizabeth Craig we rocked out quite a few sessions together! It was FUN!  The women we photographed were fun to work with, Elizabeth and I had a blast, and our good friend and stellar makeup artist, Rachael Ryan of Ryan Makeup put on the glam for our models! 

Yes, that was the operative word: FUN!  It's the whole point of the sessions - to encourage a little fun and excitement for couples, or to celebrate the vivacious and sexy side of women for themselves!  Nothing like a beautiful image of you when you are looking and feeling your absolute sexiest, right?!  Whether it is for you or for someone you love.

Here's a collage of some of my favorites:

Elizabeth and I have a Mini Boudoir Gala upcoming on January 10, 2010, however those sessions are currently booked in full.  If you'd like to arrange a private boudoir session photographed by myself, please don't hesitate to email or call!

BIG love, Joanne Bartone Photographer  ::  www.joannebartone.com  ::  tele: 412.418.8075

2009 was a year filled with an abundance of BIG LOVE and sheer joy as I photographed a select and special group of couples here in Pittsburgh and beyond. I couldn't have been more honored to have such an important role capturing and creating memories for my couples.

Here's a collage of their love:

Every wedding was so beautiful...so special...
...there was a couple whose sibling from a previous wedding had me as their photographer, one couple was near famous because of the bride's affiliation with a popular TV show, there was one bride with a family association to a beloved local sports team, another couple where the groom's family flew in from across the pond, one who had a band play in the living-room of their house so the bride's beloved bed-ridden grandfather could enjoy and participate in her big day, another whose wedding was on the country estate of her parents - wow! what a transformation that was! - most of the couples were from out of town, some are in the theatrical arts, one bride whose heritage is from La Isla de Encanto (Puerto Rico), another couple whose wedding was entirely family oriented all the way down to her brother, a priest, participated in her ceremony, there was a couple who both are doctors and then my first, official and legal gay wedding where I was flown to a private resort in Massachusetts to partake in perhaps THE most intimate and emotional ceremony I've ever witnessed...  These couples truly value their photography and trusted their photographer, and for that I am so grateful.  I value each and every one of them tremendously in return.

CONGRATULATIONS to all my 2009 couples!  I couldn't be more thrilled for all of you and I look forward to continuing our relationship through the years as your lives progress in a blessed way!  Happy New Year!

BIG love, Joanne Bartone Photographer  ::  www.joannebartone.com  ::  tele: 412.418.8075

So, whaddaya think of this young lady?  Beautiful, right?!!! 


We took a day trip home last Saturday to celebrate yet another birthday with another one of those wonderful and special angels walking the earth; my Momma.

Mom just turned 84 and she's not ashamed to say it!  Look at her skin - could it be any more beautiful at her age?  (I refused to retouch this photo!)  She will probably tell you it's all that good livin' she's always done.  You know, like laundry, house keeping, working outside in the yard, and at Hammermill too, but  most importantly, it's probably because of all the chocolate she's ever eaten...and that is a LOT of chocolate!

My mother can pretty much run circles around everyone I know; I've never seen someone w/ so much energy and spunk!  She cooks, and cleans and cooks and cleans for everyone.  And on occasion she'll even help me organize my paperwork - she loves to be busy.  And look at that mischievous but sweet smile. It's there 'cause she really does possess both of those qualities simultaneously!  This woman is P-U-R-E goodness to the core!  She can still put me in my place too with a resounding "I don't care how old you are you will always be my baby" remark that can still leave me defenseless when trying to tell her that I'm an adult and can take care of myself!  What typically follows that remark is her handing me a container of her frozen homemade red sauce (or gravy, as some Italians call it) and meatballs to take home, which to refuse is nearly a sin.

She's an angel, I tell you, with little horns peeking from beneath her halo!  I wish I could share her with everyone who needs a good mom; no I take that back...with anyone who needs the BEST mom on earth.  You've not met her yet, but I can tell you...if you did you'd just love her!

My mom and my dad; how fortunate am I?  That's one of those rhetorical questions that really doesn't need answering...I already know...VERY fortunate!

Happy Birthday Momma!  ...and many more!

BIG love, Joanne Bartone Photographer  ::  www.joannebartone.com  ::  tele: 412.418.8075