Eastern Polar Bear Plunge in

A group of plungers run into the 32 degree Delaware River during the eighth annual Eastern Polar Bear Plunge to benefit Special Olympics Pennsylvania (SOPA) Saturday January 30, 2016 at Neshaminy State Park in Bensalem, Pennsylvania. (Photo by William Thomas Cain) (William Thomas Cain/Cain Images)

A group of plungers run into the 32 degree Delaware River during the eighth annual Eastern Polar Bear Plunge to benefit Special Olympics Pennsylvania (SOPA) Saturday January 30, 2016 at Neshaminy State Park in Bensalem, Pennsylvania. (Photo by William Thomas Cain) (William Thomas Cain/Cain Images)

A group of plungers exit the 32 degree Delaware River during the eighth annual Eastern Polar Bear Plunge to benefit Special Olympics Pennsylvania (SOPA) Saturday January 30, 2016 at Neshaminy State Park in Bensalem, Pennsylvania. (Photo by William Thomas Cain) (William Thomas Cain/Cain Images)

A group of plungers exit the 32 degree Delaware River during the eighth annual Eastern Polar Bear Plunge to benefit Special Olympics Pennsylvania (SOPA) Saturday January 30, 2016 at Neshaminy State Park in Bensalem, Pennsylvania. (Photo by William Thomas Cain) (William Thomas Cain/Cain Images)

Judy Misoyianis of Vincenttown, New Jersey and Dennis Hart of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania dressed as Baby Boomers exit the 32 degree Delaware River during the eighth annual Eastern Polar Bear Plunge to benefit Special Olympics Pennsylvania (SOPA) Saturday January 30, 2016 at Neshaminy State Park in Bensalem, Pennsylvania. (Photo by William Thomas Cain) (William Thomas Cain/Cain Images)

Judy Misoyianis of Vincenttown, New Jersey and Dennis Hart of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania dressed as Baby Boomers exit the 32 degree Delaware River during the eighth annual Eastern Polar Bear Plunge to benefit Special Olympics Pennsylvania (SOPA) Saturday January 30, 2016 at Neshaminy State Park in Bensalem, Pennsylvania. (Photo by William Thomas Cain) (William Thomas Cain/Cain Images)

From left, Amber Kenney, Karli Krug and Adam Bockius exit the 32 degree Delaware River during the eighth annual Eastern Polar Bear Plunge to benefit Special Olympics Pennsylvania (SOPA) Saturday January 30, 2016 at Neshaminy State Park in Bensalem, Pennsylvania. (Photo by William Thomas Cain) (William Thomas Cain/Cain Images)

From left, Amber Kenney, Karli Krug and Adam Bockius exit the 32 degree Delaware River during the eighth annual Eastern Polar Bear Plunge to benefit Special Olympics Pennsylvania (SOPA) Saturday January 30, 2016 at Neshaminy State Park in Bensalem, Pennsylvania. (Photo by William Thomas Cain) (William Thomas Cain/Cain Images)

600 souls braved 32 degree water temperatures to plunge into  the delaware river and raise money for special olympics on saturday at neshaminy state park in bensalem.

they helped raise $120,000 during pennsylvania special olympics’ eighth annual eastern polar bear plunge.

for $50 per person, a person could take a dip in the freezing river fir a good cause.

participants waded and splashed their way out into the water and around a banana rescue boat while high-fiving officers as they exited the frigid water.

members of trevose fire company wore white wedding gowns into the water.

hot chocolate and coffee was served by duke donuts, a sponsor of the event.

Cooper Digs Snow

On Sunday, Cooper had a field day in the snow. This little dude loves, loves, loves playing in the snow. His biggest bit of fun is when he gets to play “snowballs”. For that, I make a nice sized snowball and throw it. he chases and tries to catch it in the air. He then proceeds to eat the dean thing. If he can’t catch it, he will bury his head into the snow until he comes up with it. Not just any bit of snow, but he will find the snowball that I threw his way.
Very cool smart little doggie.

My Pic On Pierre’s Christmas Card….Finally!!

After 30 years, I finally have had one of my images on my old friend Pierre‘s Christmas Card. The image, which shows Rodney, Pancake and Pierre on Rittenhouse Square during a live broadcast celebrating WMMR‘s 47th birthday at the station’s old home on Rittenhouse Square April 29, 2015 in the Wellington Building. Pierre's Christmas Card with my image from Rittenhouse Square

It was a nice Christmas present from something that I just went and shot for fun.

Philadelphia Trash Strike of 1986

While I was a student at University of the Arts in 1986, the city of Philadelphia endured one of the worst strikes in it’s history. Municipal workers walked off the job July 10, 1986 and came back 20 days later. During a 20 day strike, about 20,000 tons of trash piled up across the city. It made for one smelly mess. I decided to photograph the scene at Veterans Stadium, which was home to the Philadelphia Phillies and Philadelphia Eagles. I had never seen anything like it. Or as stinky. #tbt #throwbackthursday

A man unloads trash into piles next to Veteran's Stadium in August 1986 during a municipal worker strike in Philadelphia, Pennslyvania. During the 20 day strike, that started July 10, 1986, about 20,000 tons of trash piled up across the city. (Photo by William Thomas Cain/Cain Images) (William Thomas Cain)

A man unloads trash into piles next to Veteran’s Stadium in August 1986 during a municipal worker strike in Philadelphia, Pennslyvania. During the 20 day strike, that started July 10, 1986, about 20,000 tons of trash piled up across the city. (Photo by William Thomas Cain/Cain Images) (William Thomas Cain)

Trash piles up next to Veteran's Stadium in August 1986 during a municipal worker strike in Philadelphia, Pennslyvania. During the 20 day strike, that started July 10, 1986, about 20,000 tons of trash piled up across the city. (Photo by William Thomas Cain/Cain Images) (William Thomas Cain)

Trash piles up next to Veteran’s Stadium in August 1986 during a municipal worker strike in Philadelphia, Pennslyvania. During the 20 day strike, that started July 10, 1986, about 20,000 tons of trash piled up across the city. (Photo by William Thomas Cain/Cain Images) (William Thomas Cain)

Archdiocese of Philadelphia Church Closing

BRISTOL, PA - MAY 31:  Ralph DiGuiseppe of Bristol, Pennsylvania is hugged by Sister Mary Donald, O. SS. T after the closing of St. Ann's parish is announced May 31, 2014 in Bristol, Pennsylvania. (Photo by William Thomas Cain/Cain Images) (William Thomas Cain)

The Archdiocese of Philadelphia had been discussing the merger of several parishes in the Philadelphia area over the last few months. The announcement was to be made last Saturday night to parish members of the affected churches.

On Saturday night I was assigned to photograph what potentially might have been one of the last masses celebrated at St. Ann Catholic Church in Bristol, Pennsylvania.
I arrived early, to make sure I had time to speak with the church pastor and secure permission to snake pictures during the service as well as the announcement of the merger.
The padre agreed, although I did receive a bit of resistance from some parishioners that has said they didn’t believe the pastor would like anyone making photographs. They seemed surpassed when i told them I had secured permission, and all was good.

It seemed as though people knew what was coming when Father Tom Morris read the announcement from the Archdiocese. There were plenty of tears beforehand as well as during. It was a difficult assignment to photograph, because I could feel their pain. Below are some of the images as well as the video I made during the announcement from Father Morris.

BRISTOL, PA - MAY 31:  Monica DiGuiseppe and Robyn Trunell, both of Bristol, Pennsylvania tear up after the closing of St. Ann's parish is announced May 31, 2014 in Bristol, Pennsylvania. (Photo by William Thomas Cain/Cain Images) (William Thomas Cain)

BRISTOL, PA - MAY 31:  Robyn Trunell, of Bristol, Pennsylvania wipes a tear after the closing of St. Ann's parish is announced May 31, 2014 in Bristol, Pennsylvania. (Photo by William Thomas Cain/Cain Images) (William Thomas Cain)

BRISTOL, PA - MAY 31:  From left, Ralph DiGuiseppe, Monica DiGuiseppe,  Robyn Trunell and in the foreground Ann Sidorak, all of Bristol, Pennsylvania continue worship after the closing of St. Ann's parish is announced May 31, 2014 in Bristol, Pennsylvania. The woman on the far right is unidentified. (Photo by William Thomas Cain/Cain Images) (William Thomas Cain)

Whitney Elizabeth Cox – Philadelphia Phillies Opening Day

The Philadelphia Phillies start their season on Monday March 31, 2014. To celebrate, Whitney is appearing on the Preston and Steve Hottie Cam for the #PhilliesHomeOpener. Here’s some pictures of Whitney in Phillies garb.

Here’s the non-flash gallery:

Watermarking Images

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Watermarks. I’m not a fan and really don’t like using them. But, when it comes to protecting our copyrights, incidents of late have made me rethink our whole policy.

While I can appreciate the fact that someone likes and wants to share an image, I can not allow theft of our images. There are sharing icons under an image for just that reason. If a person shares our images via one of those links, they and I can be assured that whomever sees the image will be viewing it as intended and that our copyrights are protected. One of the features of our host for galleries is those images can not be downloaded. In the past that was enough of a deterrent.

Recently, someone that we photographed made a frame grab of an image on one of our galleries and uploaded it to Facebook. They didn’t attribute the image, just posted it. Aside from the fact that the person did not have permission, one of the problems I have is the fact that the frame grab is not a finished product and totally misrepresents our work. The image file size is at least 3,800 pixels wide when I upload to my site. Most times when viewing on my site the image will display at at least 900 pixels wide. Those images are optimized for viewing on the site at that size. Then someone views the image on their iPhone and makes a frame capture of that picture. That image size is roughly 400 pixels wide. When posting the image on Facebook it looks nothing like we originally intend or want.

When we do find that someone has posted one of our images on Facebook without permission, we immediately report it and have it removed from Facebook.

There is a huge expense in producing high resolution images. Each camera costs at least $3,000 and then you factor in travel time, fuel, tolls, insurance, car insurance, etc., it adds up quickly. We can’t allow people to STEAL images from our site and post them somewhere without our permission.

We reserve the right to control how an image is reproduced because that is how we stay in business.

It seems that people generally do not understand that when we make a picture, we own the copyright of the image as well as the right to reproduce that image any way we see fit. We may chose to have an agreement, in writing that the client can reproduce the image, but that is at our discretion. And the client NEEDs to have permission via a written LICENSE to reprint pictures.

So, for those reasons, you may see some of our gallery images now feature a watermark like the one above. Proof CD’s will also now come with watermarked images.
Print orders will not be watermarked.

I do apologize for any inconvenience, but we need to protect our work and copyrights.
Please do not infringe upon our copyrighted work.


Family Portrait Photo Shoot Norristown, Pennsylvania Elmwood Park Zoo

I made some nice images the other day of a little guy at the Elmwood Park Zoo in Norristown, Pennsylvania for his mom.
Full gallery @ http://cainimages.photoshelter.com/gallery/Lowenstein/G0000U_7XFv.EaBc


Old City Philadelphia Photo Walk

Image from today’s Old City Philadelphia Photo Walk.
Full gallery @ http://cainimages.photoshelter.com/gallery/Old-City-Philadelphia-Photo-Walk/G0000fMTx6RAGXzg


Family Portrait Photography Shoots

Over the course of a few days last week I had a few photo shoots.
Here’s some of the images.
Click the links to see the galleries.


Family Portrait Photo Session Avalon, New Jersey

Shot this little one on the beach in Avalon last week. Other pictures from the family shoot can be seen in the full gallery @ http://cainimages.photoshelter.com/gallery/Pizzillo/G0000XprAXA0Vxn8


Photo Illustration Eyes in Mask Philadelphia Illustrator Artist Photographer

Playing with some old images and made a photo illustration as a demo for my Surreal Digital Photography class.
This is the kind of stuff I wanted to create while attending University of the Arts. Problem then was that it was frowned upon to use photos in illustrations. A while back I had to photograph one of my old professors at the college who told me that this is all the students do now. The illustration was created using Adobe Photoshop CC.

Looks like I was ahead of my time. 🙁


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Das Family Portrait Photo Session Newtown, Pennsylvania Photographer

Can you tell if this was lit by natural or artificial light?

Allot of times photography is about finding the light. Sure a good subject helps, but the right light can make an image pop. That was the case when I photographed the Das family in Tyler State Park in newtown, Pennsylvana recently. For the first 10-15 minutes of the shoot I walked around with the couple placing them in various nooks and crannies of the park until I found the perfect spot. My goal was to make the couple look as though I had lit them with studio strobes. I believe that’s what I achieved in the image below.

Full gallery @ http://cainimages.photoshelter.com/gallery/Das/G0000.9.LAJ7sVEs

Defelice Family Portrait Photo Shoot Newtown Pennsylvania Photographer

Met and photographed a lovely couple and their adorable daughter. I met the Defelice family at Tyler State Park in Newtown, Pennsylvania for a photo shoot. While the weather was excruciatingly humid, the baby and the family was cool. This enabled me to make some cute pix in the park. Check them out @ http://cainimages.photoshelter.com/gallery/Defelice/G00009NMIkFlIpzQ

Hammond Family Portrait Session Hatfield Pennsylvania Photographer

Photographed the Hammond family in a gorgeous park in Hatfield. What a pleasant experience.
Happy children and happy parents always make for good imagery.
Here are some of the pix.

Full gallery @ http://cainimages.photoshelter.com/gallery/Hammond/G0000rFRaeveVT_A

Frascella Portrait Photo Shoot Newtown, Pennsylvania Photographer

Originally married 5 years ago, the Frascella family had been photographed at the formal gardens on the campus of Bucks County Community College. The photographer they hired had a problem with a disc, so the couple had no images from their portrait session as well as other gaping holes in their wedding photographey coverage from the day.

On Thursday in between thunderstorms, I was able to squeeze in a photo shoot with them at the college. I had them walk through the gardens and act like I wasn’t there and just enjoy each other’s company, eventually while dodging rain drops. There are some really nice moments that show their personalities as well as love for each other.
This may fill some of the gaps, but the original photographer should have attempted to try to help them out a bit more then saying, “sorry, we had a problem.”

See the gallery @ http://cainimages.photoshelter.com/gallery/Frascella/G0000RncSVE69iPE/