By AML Publisher

Blushing bride Vicki Pettinaro at her spring 2008 wedding

AroundMainLine.com recently celebrated our six month anniversary in March, popping the champagne as we look back on this exciting and rewarding adventure we embarked on in September 2008. It’s been a fantastic experience to publish Philadelphia’s first e-magazine, bringing the best of the Main Line and western suburbs to life online, like never before, and delivered directly to the desktops of our loyal readers across the region. Now, its time to look ahead at a great future!

As our tagline communicates, AML’s goal is to consistently honor this area’s culture by ‘Living and Loving Philly’s Main Line.’ And, that philosophy will continue to be woven throughout everything we do—from features and parties to events and exciting new corporate partnerships with some of the region’s most prestigious companies and business owners. As the weather warms, the crocuses bloom and we embark on a spring season that offers renewal and hope, AML will be blossoming as well.

The next few months you will want to stay tuned as we have big plans to continue to publish some of the best editorial yet! We have uncovered the most amazing, fascinating local stories and unique editorial you have not seen, or read, anywhere else. Thank you for joining us in our exciting journey. There is much more to come as we continue to connect the Main Line… one click at a time. So, spread the word, bring your family and friends along and stay tuned for details on our next exciting event with our (furry) friends at the PSPCA!

A key part of our expanding business and regional online editorial is our staff. And, I am proud and very pleased to announce a dynamic and talented trio of photographers who eagerly joined AML this winter. Stacey Granger, Bernadette Uzcategui and April Ziegler are new friends of the AML family. Each with their own style and outstanding portfolios that creatively capture the regions most amazing engagements, weddings, babies, expectant mothers, families and life experiences, Stacey, Bernadette and April will be an integral part to a highly anticipated busy spring and summer with AML. So, look for their fabulous photos and artistic talents to grace the pages of our e-magazine weekly. Below is a profile of each of our new sensational staff members.

If you have a great story you think would be of interest to our readers, I would love to hear from you. Feel free to email me at: info@aroundmainline.com with your suggestions and feedback.

Happy Spring!
AML CEO and Publisher

Life Art Imaging Photography is spearheaded by owner and award-winning photographer Stacey Granger.

Stacey Granger
Life Art Imaging Photography
Philadelphia, PA
www.lifeartimaging.com

Started in 2002 under the vision of Stacey Granger, Northern Liberties-based Life Art Imaging’s philosophy is one of creating art through photography. As a mother of six children, Stacey spent many years searching for a photographer who would spend the time to find that perfect moment that would be forever captured for years to come. After a studio refused to take more than the allotted number of images per session, Granger took up the camera and decided it was time to do it herself.

It didn’t take long to find other mothers who were desperately searching for the same thing. The result was Life Art, a studio who knows it’s not about the photo; it’s about the moment, the expression, and the special event in time that begs to be captured. Now Life Art has evolved into offering a division for nearly every stage in their clients’ lives. Granger strives to make her clients’ portrait experience relaxed, heartfelt and worth every moment to deliver the most unique and artistic images. “We are not a high volume studio because we are high quality and offer that special time and attention. And we develop great relationships with everyone we meet,” explained Granger. “I have clients that I started shooting in 2002 with their engagements and weddings and now they have three or four kids! That is my philosophy, to embrace them as friends and capture the most meaningful moments of their lives.”

Granger, an award winning portrait artist, works with her partner Zeb Congdon and feels that connection as a photography duo and couple facilitates a strong, positive experience—especially with their booming destination wedding business. Stacey’s personal energy and zest for her work is infectious, and that is not lost on her clientele.Vicky Pettinaro, who hired Life Art to capture her four-day wedding celebration in the Dominican Republic last spring, attested to the exceptional service offered by Life Art. “Stacey is so great! She was amazing at our wedding, which was four days of back-to-back parties and events. We both spent over a week putting together my album together. And, I was thrilled with my photos. Life Art captured the fun, the romance, and the amazing memories of our wedding day. I have the most important day of my life perfectly captured in the great photos Stacey took and will remember it always when I look back on my beautiful pictures.”

April Ziegler Photography
www.aprilziegler.com

April Ziegler Photography
Schwenksville, PA
www.aprilziegler.com

April Ziegler is a Philadelphia-based pet photographer that specializes in modern pet portraiture. AML first met April over the winter, when she reached out to generously donate a photo session for AroundMainLine.com’s PSPCA fundraiser, Be Mine on the Main Line. Inspired by our February 6th party, April is now training as a volunteer every Sunday at the PSPCA headquarters in West Philadelphia. She has also quietly donated her inspiring photos to the PSPCA website and for the organization’s important marketing efforts. There is hardly a week in which I am speaking with my contacts at the PSPCA that April’s name does not come up, as her passion for pets and her enthusiasm has captured everyone who has come into contact with her.

April is a dynamo with an infectious, positive attitude and a strong following in the pet photography blog culture—and rightfully so. Her talent and exquisite, unique way of capturing animals comes from her early childhood and lifetime love and appreciation of animals. “I grew up in a home where pets were not only an essential part of our lives, they were furry family members. This included, along with the typical dogs and cats, a rabbit, chinchilla, ferret, numerous carnival goldfish, a gecko, snake, iguana, turtle, hamsters that magically multiplied, and a bird that would cuss at people. It was a happily chaotic home,” recalled Ziegler.

On her twelfth birthday, Ziegler received a black lab puppy—the first family pet she would call her own and whom she named Tessie. “In her short fourteen years, Tessie taught me many invaluable life lessons and reaffirmed the fact that my life is not quite as full without the companionship of a dog. So, when I began this adventure into photography, naturally I was pulled to photographing what I am most passionate about…pets.” Today, Ziegler and her husband Kevin are the proud parents of three: a six-year-old shy cat named Riley, a three year old mischievous Boston Terrier named Chloe, and an irresistibly sweet Miniature Schnauzer puppy named Lucy. “My pets are my inspiration, a steady supply of unconditional love for my husband and I, and a daily source of laughter. I am looking forward to growing my photography business with AroundMainLine.com through my images and the animal-based features planned for this spring. AML will be another extension of what I love to do,” enthused Ziegler.

Bernadette Uzcategui Photography
buphotography.com

Bernadette Uzcategui Photography [BUP]
Bryn Mawr, PA
buphotography.com
buphotography.com/blog

Bernadette Uzcategui is an on-location photographer specializing in baby, pet and family portraiture. Bernadette is a Texas native and alum of Texas A&M University where she studied photography. Uzcategui also trained at Castiglion Fiorentino, Italy for six months before graduating with a degree in architecture. After a career as a junior architect that spanned six years and took her from Texas to Georgia and Manhattan, Uzcategui finally pursued her passion for photography (after some coaxing from her husband) when she moved to the Philadelphia region.

The consummate pro, I have had the distinct pleasure of working with Bernadette on two recent photo shoots. Her quiet confidence and sweet personality comes shining through her work. Bernadette has a great eye for detail and amazing work ethic and has built a prestigious, loyal clientele on the Main Line. Uzcategui is also very active and creative with her compelling blog that weekly highlights her latest work, www.buphotography.com/blog and her muse, her dog Kia. “When I started photographing Kia, I discovered the freedom and honesty she expressed naturally. From the way she wipes her feet after a walk in the rain to the way she squeaks when she is “talking” in her sleep, she is so unique and special to me and to our little family,” Uzcategui reflected.

Media savvy and sensationally talented, Uzcategui has her finger on the pulse of online marketing trends and understands the power of the internet. AML had the privilege of meeting Uzcategui a few months ago and we feel super lucky to welcome her into our family and have her talent showcased on AroundMainLine.com. Bernadette described her career and natural passion for celebrating life’s little moments, through the eyes of her camera, as a very rewarding experience. “Photography has always been such a fascination for me, and each time I walk onto a shoot, I get to experience love first hand, through someone else’s eyes. Every time I aim my camera, I am looking for that spark….the little light that make someone’s eyes dance, the fascination on a new mother’s face with the tiny toes of her newborn baby, a contagious giggle from a toddler…these things make my heart sing and are the reason I feel so passionate about what I do. I am truly lucky to be living what I love.”