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Archive for the ‘2012’ Category

Photographing couples of any age is always such a treat for me. This was such a fun engagement session on many levels –  this Capitol Hill duo wanted to capture their DC neighborhood which I love doing so we strolled the Hill and laughed like crazy the whole two hours! And then I kept laughing as I looked through the images again and again. What joy! Keep your eyes out for more highlights from this session on my new website next month too.

Happy New Year! Like many of you I feel I am just settling in to this new year. Recovering from the busy holiday time of year and an action-packed fall portrait season. We are so busy from September through December that there’s never enough time to keep up with blog posts among other things. Susanne, my wonderful assistant, and I always say “In January!” when something needs doing and we can’t get to it at that time. In that spirit, many exciting projects are in the works including a completely new website and some fun new products! Before then I’ll scoot away for what looks to be a great week at ImagingUSA in Atlanta – weehoo! For now, some highlights from last year…….

Happy Fall! It is really here, bursting in color all over the Hill and I am so happy to be out and about with my camera! With the help of my fabulous assistant, Susanne, I recently did Picture Day for my girls’ old preschool. Could it really be the sixth year that I have done these school photos? It does feel like ages ago that my girlies were this small. Like all little ones these kiddos are so sweet and shy and wise and funny and amazing. Click on a thumbnail below to link to each full frame image – gotta check out their fab outfits!

Last night my husband and I had a rare night out to hear live music. We went to see one of our favorites, Beth Orton, play at 6th & I Synagogue downtown. She was phenomenal. Her gravelly, delicious voice ephemeral as it echoed through the great space of the synagogue. I cried at least twice it was so beautiful. When she introduced a song about love, she paused and said “Well, really all of my songs are about love!”

I realized that in some ways her work is about love and so is mine. I see the love in your families. I see the way you look at your children and the way they look at you and I want to capture that. I feel I’ve succeeded when I look at a portrait and really feel something in my heart. And I want you to have that same feeling when you see your portraits everyday in your home.

And that’s certainly what I feel when I spend time with this family. I’ve watched them through my lens over the past eight years, from first pregnancy through school age kids, from my old box camera to digital. This is our eighth year of working together. What an honor and what a joy! And what love.

Summer is officially over and the kids are back in school. I love summertime and this one was truly wonderful. Busy with work plus great family trips, hanging with my girls more and then working and playing in Maine for most of August. Oh, and mid way through the summer I broke my big toe [ouch] which has meant a much slower pace than I am used to! It has been a real exercise in patience while still doing the daily juggle.

All that has left little time for blog posts so I thought I’d kick off the fall with some faves from early summer. This little peanut was such a delight and with such relaxed parents the session was particularly calm and easy. I love how they all engaged with one another as we enjoyed the shade of the big old trees in Stanton Park. I think their clothing worked together fabulously and shows how mixing patterns and textures can add depth and interest to an image. Enjoy!

Every so often I photograph kids the same ages as my own and it makes me even more acutely aware of how big my girls are getting! I last photographed these kids when they were closer to 2 and 5 years old and now they are 8 and 11. It was such a treat for me to see them through my lens again but also just to hang out and get to know such interesting young people.  As you can see from all of the smiles below, we spent the better part of the morning just cracking up in between conversations about soccer, science experiments and books. Love it!

Springtime in DC has been quite a teaser this year…..not sure if  I’ll be wearing my gloves to a session or sandals!?! I bike to as many DC sessions as possible and have been grateful for those not too chilly mornings when I can peel of the layers and warm up in the sunshine as I photograph. The azaleas and dogwoods were truly in our favor for this session, as were the gorgeous kids, family and grandma too! Love those blue eyes and all the great patterns amongst the textures outdoors….

I first photographed this gorgeous mama her beautiful newborn baby last year – now he’s a walking, babbling, bubbly personality! We lucked into a gorgeous day in January at the Yards Park, one of my favorite new spaces in DC. Since I’ve had PHOTOPIA’s tenth year and pre-digital beginnings on my mind, I brought my old box camera and shot a few frames of film as well. So fun and especially meaningful as these two are so dear to me.

Today is the last day of January, still the beginning of 2012 and I feel that I am finally catching up and ready to start the new year. Today also the birthday of my first child – my baby turns eleven today [crazy!] and it seems a fitting time to share images of a beautiful, new baby girl and launch PHOTOPIA’s tenth year!

There are so many exciting projects and plans afoot, including new print collections, more benefits for return clients and great referral bonuses. To make sure that you stay in the loop and get our monthly news and quarterly postcards please send your info our way.

And now for a few faves of this amazing baby….and I just have to share some pregnancy images of her gorgeous mama too. I even pulled out my old box camera and film for that session – what fun!