The Knot Best of Weddings
I am proud to announce that Kiley Mullen Photography has been rated by local brides and voted The Knot Best of Weddings 2012 Pick! Thank you all so much for your amazing support. I truly have the best clients in the world!
xo, K.
Farm Sanctuary Internship Update!
Well I can’t believe it, but my internship is quickly coming to an end. I can’t believe I’ve been here for three weeks already, time has just flown by!! I have come to truly love and respect this place, and all the staff, and especially my fellow intern housemates. I feel so fortunate to live with four wonderful women who make me laugh and remind me why I’m here. Of course, we’re all here for the animals and to support such a great organization.. But I’ve realized that being around those who share your values and passion to make a change is nearly as important for the cause. We feed off of each other, getting angry about animal rights issues, sharing our thoughts and hopes and wishes. We sit around together pretty much every night talking, watching How I Met Your Mother dvds and laughing while we simultaneously each do our own thing on our Macs.. We cook and bake, and have shared some really nice meals together at the dinner table. I am so grateful, and it will be so difficult to leave. But I will leave with four really amazing new friends. Well, many more actually, if you count the animals and staff 
Last weekend I took some videos on my Mark II, for the FIRST TIME EVER. I wouldn’t have wanted my first videos to be of anything else.. They are all pretty short and shaky, but I did put together a little video/stills slideshow about Farm Sanctuary, and hopefully I can share it soon. But I will share a few snowy scenes of the farm, which is pretty much how each day has been looking here. A beautiful blanket of fresh white snow nearly every morning.. And when the sun is out, it’s brighter than ever, and the air feels so crisp and refreshing.
In peace,
K.
Farm Sanctuary – the lovinternship
I want to post a few more photos really quickly before I go to bed. Being an intern here has put me into a great routine, including a much earlier bedtime! Enjoying every day here, and I can’t wait to spend more quality time with the animals when I’m not in the office. I definitely have my little helpers in the office though, three cats who love to hang out. I have included the names I can remember from my visit last weekend on the farm, I’m so sorry to those adorable ones whose names I haven’t remembered yet. By the way, Holly & Tinsel – two young calves who are truly the cutest little babies ever. You will be seeing more photos of them, I assure you!!
Goodnight, and more to come soon
Day 5 on the farm!
Visited many of the farm animals today.. The weather was beautiful, just perfect and unseasonably warm. I took many photos, so I’ll just post a few for now, and some more later.
If you’re interested in learning more about the animals who reside here at the Watkins Glen shelter, visit www.farmsancutary.org. There are around 500 animals at this shelter, and although I probably won’t be able to learn all of their names before I leave, it is honestly the best feeling in the world to interact with them one-on-one. Cows, pigs, sheep, turkeys, chickens, ducks, and goats are all very intelligent and compassionate beings. I can’t emphasize enough how important it is for everyone to see and feel and touch and hear these living creatures; because this is your food. And the way they are raised to become your food is anything but humane, no matter what the industry pays big dollars to make you believe otherwise. If you think these animals are beautiful, consider the possibility of leaving them off your plate at your next meal. I promise, it will be one of the best decisions you will ever make.
In compassion …
Farm Sanctuary Internship, Day 4
So today was my third work day as an intern in the administration department at Farm Sanctuary. So far, things have been great – I love the staff here. It’s truly a dream to be working among such an admirable team of dedicated people, with hundreds of rescued animals living peacefully right outside.. We have some really great cat co-workers in the office. As you’ll see below, the calico kitty, Hermighty, loves to hang out at my desk. She came up and sat on my lap while I was filing yesterday (but stood up right as I asked my boss to take a photo of us.) The weather was still pretty cold up until today, when the temperatures rose to the high 40′s, low 50′s. All of the snow here melted and it literally felt like Spring! Quite a change from the snow flurries yesterday! We have an intern lunch every Wednesday, and our coordinator Becky made the most delicious meal this week. I am definitely looking forward to our next meeting.
Living in the Vegan House on the farm has been a lot of fun so far, and my housemates are truly some of the nicest people.. I am really looking forward to going out this weekend and spending time with the animals, and taking some more photos! I don’t have any sunlight after getting off work at 5, and the farm closes down for the night at 5:30, so I have to use my weekends for some snuggling, photo sessions, and lots of lovey dovey time with all the babies here. Fortunately the weather for this weekend looks great as well!!
A few snapshots for now.. promise to post some more from this weekend after my adventures.
Farm Sanctuary Internship: Day 1
First, let me just say .. BRRRRRRRRRR. First day here (well technically I got in yesterday, but let’s pretend) and the high was around 16, with a current “feels like” temperature of -6. Yeah, that’s pretty cold. I am beginning a month long internship at Farm Sanctuary, a beautiful non-profit organization that rescues and shelters abused or neglected farm animals. I am at their national headquarters in Watkins Glen, NY, but they also have shelters in Orland, CA and Acton, CA. FS also works very hard to promote a cruelty-free lifestyle and to eliminate factory farming and inhumane farming practices. By consistently proposing and supporting many legislative actions for animals, FS has had a great deal of success within the animal rights movement in the past 25 years. To read about Farm Sanctuary and it’s wonderful staff, mission, origin, etc. visit www.farmsanctuary.org.
I originally applied for this internship last summer. Since becoming a vegan in 2006 I have been actively involved in animal rights activism, and volunteered at the FS shelter in Acton, CA a few times while living in Santa Monica. Since moving to the east coast, the thought of interning here has been on my mind, and learning all that I can about working in this field. After a few months I was so happy to hear that I’d been accepted into the program as an administrative intern. I arrived yesterday and am living with four other interns on the farm in a nice, cozy house called Vegan House. Living with compassionate, like-minded vegans is pure heaven, and I feel grateful to be rooming with such kind girls. I am the only one interning in the admin department, they are all working in the shelter department (bless their hardworking souls). I will begin my official intern duties tomorrow, and I am thrilled to jump right in and help out as much as I possibly can.
Today, our wonderful intern coordinator, Becky, gave us (three new interns) a thorough tour around the farm. It was brisk outside to say the least, ha ha. I thought I’d tough it out, and I did for about 13 minutes.. about the time it took for my one pair of socks to stop doing their job of providing warmth to my toes. Shame on me for not layering socks 
BUT — I could not possibly complain when everywhere in sight were healthy, happy, warm, safe, beautiful, living, breathing, feeling creatures we all call animals. Today, and every time I am greeted by farm animals, I feel renewed. You can see by looking into their eyes that these rescued farm animals are grateful, accepting, curious by nature, and loving by all means.. despite whatever horrible situation they once experienced. They are now home – and yes, quite lucky compared to most others, but these few hundred creatures truly represent the prospect of hope that lies within the animal rights movement; these animals will live out their lives here as peacefully as possible – a small yet significant step toward the end of all animal exploitation.
Some photos, of course, to share this time here & hopefully show just how wonderful Farm Sanctuary is ~
In compassion ..
Kiley
~ Favorite Wedding Images of 2011 ~
I am really in awe that this year is coming to an end in just a few hours. 2011 has been an incredible year – as my business has grown, I’ve met and photographed so many wonderful couples, and witnessed pure love and happiness on so many occasions.. I feel truly blessed to be a wedding photographer, to say the least. I have chosen my favorite images from weddings this past year, a very difficult task. I had so many favorites, it’s nearly impossible to choose just a few from each wedding. My favorites here are based on technical reasons, great lighting, emotional moments, and images that just stuck with me from the time of capture.. Again, these are merely my top favorites, and I wish I were able to sit down and post more than just a few dozen.. But that might take a while!
I want to thank each and every person who came into my life this year – whether a client, colleague, friend, or just an acquaintance. Every encounter is meaningful in some way, and my life wouldn’t be the same without the happiness that I feel when meeting new people, and especially when given the opportunity to photograph a couple’s wedding day. It is an honor every single time. This year has definitely been a struggle, as I am slowly building a new business at a young age, learning from the ground up. My amazing partner, Amanda-lee, has been so incredible and supportive. She is there for every wedding to ensure that we deliver exceptional images and go beyond expectations to create beautiful moments. I have learned so much from her, and I feel so lucky to work with such a talented photographer! Thank you Amanda
In closing, 2012 will indefinitely have some changes, as I begin the year with a month long internship at Farm Sanctuary in Watkins Glen, NY. I have been eager to become more involved with animal rights efforts, and am beyond excited to experience this field with such an admirable organization. I will continue my photography business of course, with the hopes of doing more work for Farm Sanctuary as well. Each day is a new beginning, and I feel confident that this new year will be full of prosperity, happiness, and positive change.
Check back in soon as I will be blogging from Farm Sanctuary during the month of January!
Happy New Year!!
~ Kiley
A beautiful twin boy baptism!
What could be better than getting to spend a day photographing an adorable 5-month-old baby boy? … Spending the day photographing TWO!! Yes, I was very lucky to take part in these little guys’ special day, as they shared their baptisms together in Poughkeepsie, NY. Their Mom is the sister of Mike, and his fiancee Kiki – one of my 2012 couples. They are the proud Godparents of Dimitri. These two are such a cute couple, and I can’t wait to see how their summer wedding comes together!! With their amazing families who I met at the baptism, I know it’s going to be a blast.
Matthew & Dimitri are truly the sweetest boys – and so very well-behaved all day long! Their little suits were just too much — we were teasing that they just needed little newspapers to hold and they’d be all set. And the hats, priceless!! Their big sister, Sophie, was very proud, as you can see below. Just a great family and a great day overall! The reception was held at Anthony’s Pier 9 in New Windsor, NY. Enjoy
Gabrielle & Alex ~ engagement session
Ah, just looking at these photos reminds me of how incredibly beautiful this day was! It was perfect weather for Gabrielle and Alex’s special day at Colonial Park in Somerset, NJ. If the trees weren’t colored amazing shades of yellow, red and orange, you’d think it were a Spring afternoon. But as you can see, Autumn is in full swing here – and they couldn’t have chosen a better location for their engagement photos. These two are just plain adorable, sweet, kind, and so happy together. We had a ton of fun with their session (especially when they were tossing leaves into the air! Yay!) and I was amazed at how natural they both were in front of the camera. I mean, aren’t they a gorgeous couple?!
I’m really looking forward to their June 2012 wedding – and I know that if they look this cute in regular clothes, they are going to be breathtaking in their wedding attire!!
Happy Thanksgiving everyone!
Kristin & James’ magical day
Kristin and James. Beautiful couple. They are both teachers, and so kind-hearted. I originally met with them over a year before their wedding, and I can’t believe how quickly it came! The day was so lovely, and had a magical feel to it — gray skies, with different shades within the clouds.. a brisk wind that felt like Fall, and the spirit of a very important person who couldn’t be there, James’ father. Their families felt very close knit, and it was a very happy occasion for everyone. We took James and Kristin’s formal photos near an apple tree that was planted in the memory of James’ father; such an amazing gesture that I found inspiring. The reception was held at The Crabtree Kittle House in Chappaqua, NY. What a gorgeous, rustic place for a wedding! Everyone there was dancing the night away, we even had a duet with James and a pumpkin (see below) that ultimately ended in two pumpkin halves on the dance floor, ha ha. There was also a very special person in attendance who I would like to mention. Kristin’s grandmother (pictured below in a black and silver blouse with the couple and also on the dance floor) was clearly elated to be at her granddaughter’s wedding. Amanda-lee and I found her to be so sweet, and I was happy to see her dancing as much as she was able. With much regret though, Kristin told me that her grandmother passed just days after the wedding. I was shocked and heartbroken, and so was Amanda. Fortunately, I was able to send Kristin all the photos I took of her grandmother, and they even used one for her funeral. I can’t help to think that this beautiful woman was holding out – for just a few more days – so that she could dance at her granddaughter’s wedding before her time had come. I can’t explain why things happen the way they do, but looking at the photos of her smiling next to Kristin and James, I feel certain that she passed with happiness. And I am so glad that their family has these photos to cherish forever. Sometimes I don’t appreciate the power of photography – even when capturing someone’s wedding day. But moments like this remind me that life is very short, and having photos of the ones we love may be more important than we know.
I hope to not make this a sad memory, but a day that was simply magical and joyous. Kristin and James, I wish you both all the best – happiness and love, and many many years of memories. I am beyond honored to have been your photographer.
