New Year Business Announcements

Beginning January 1, 2010 I will be increasing my rates. I thought I'd let you guys know ;)

The sitting fee will be $75 and will be the same for all shoot types (i.e. engagement, portrait, pet and family). Just like the sitting fee now, it will cover up to 2 hours of shooting. I love to spend time getting to know you guys and get a wide range of shots. Soooo if you would like to be locked in at the current rates - get in touch with me now to schedule a session! Really, email me now :)  This year is filling up quick and I can only shoot on weekends! 

Those of you that have already contacted me and set up a session time - 1. you're AWESOME and 2. you're locked in at the current rates! SCORE!

To conclude this blogpost with a photo... I'll let you in on a little secret. I love candles. I don't burn them a lot in the summer, but once the cold weather hits I light a ton up every night.  Here was the setup last weekend during a romantic dinner. I used some of my favorite antique candle holders.  So pretty.

Satisfying my Inner Child

This past weekend I got in touch with my inner child!  Reggie and I met up with a great group at King's Dominion for some rollercoaster and haunted house entertainment.  I was unable to take my SLR with me, which made me a little sad, but it was still a great time.  Despite the lack of photo quality, I still wanted to share. 

Truth be told, it was a fantastic weekend overall.  We did a lot of traveling and got to meet some really cool new people. 

On the drive to King's Dominion I was in love with all of the wonderful fall colors.

The view from our first rollercoaster ride of the day. 

We couldn't have asked for better weather.

Ferris Wheel's are so classic, I think I took 10 pictures of the same one.  Reggie kept waiting for me because I was continually falling behind snapping photos.  I can't help it! 

It's a good thing he's patient :)

The "Eifel Tower" at dusk. 

Seeing this mini version made me want to go see the full size beauty!

Sunset rollercoaster ride. 

I'm sure this guy had a beautiful view of the park!

The swings are so much fun! I grabbed this shot on the way to stand in line

for one of the haunted houses :)

Colors of Fall

Fall is in full swing. The trees show off bright colors of red, yellow and orange. The sun sets earlier and earlier... rises later and later. Soon I won't see it at all during the week. The fall always gives me mixed emotions. I love the crisp air and bright colors... but I don't enjoy thinking about the coming winter.

Last night on the drive home from DC I suddenly realized that I am running out of beautiful sunsets after work. Sitting on the deck, glass of wine in hand, watching the sun fall behind the horizon will soon be a distant memory. I'll be bundled up in a thousand layers sitting in front of the fire trying (unsuccessfully) to keep warm. I'm just not built for the cold!

We pulled up to the house and I looked on in sadness to see my sunset had long since reached it's peak... the light was almost completely gone! *sigh* I ran up to my room, grabbed my camera, cranked up the ISO... way up... and captured a few photos of the fall colors.

Taking photos always relaxes me. I don't know why, but when I'm behind the lens it's easier for me to reflect on the world. This week was long and stressful... but when I came back into the house I was calm and content. It's great to take a moment, step back and gain some perspective.

The Butler Family

Some more of my favorites from my morning with the Butler Family! The rest can be seen on the website, here.

I love everything about this photo. The expression, the fall colors, the leaf, the bokeh. Lovely.
Such a great little model!

His smile just kills me! So cute!

Sun flare, love it.



Just look at those big, beautiful, brown eyes!!




A candid laugh, simply stunning.

What do kids love doing the most at the park? Playing, of course!



Swinging with mom :)

Getting some air!

Butler Family Preview

I have known the Butler family for some time now and I fall in love with them more and more every time we see eachother. Tiffany is such a beautiful person - inside and out - and I am incredibly lucky to call her my friend. Her boys are adorable and growing way too fast! I can't keep up!

We met on a beautiful fall morning with the golden light shining through the trees at Allen Pond. It brought back a lot of fun childhood memories to be back at this park. I used to go here all the time with my babysitter. What a perfect start to the day.

Here is a very small preview of our morning at the park! Stay tuned for the rest ;)

TRAs are Totally Rad

So I recently took the plunge and bought the long-time-drooled-after Totally Rad Actions (TRAs). If you own Photoshop and you're serious about photography - I highly recommend these actions!! They'll cut your post processing time down and help you to create absolutely stunning images.

I wanted to purchase TRAs before I even owned Photoshop (this makes no sense, I know)! About 2 years ago I started spending a lot of time on Canon POTN. Following other photographers, learning from them, and being stunned into silence by their work! (BTW this site is awesome - photographers helping other photographers - check it out!!) One particular wedding photographer that stood out from the rest is Bobby Earle. This guy is a fantastic and his style is unlike anything I had seen at that point. I began to follow him on his blog and on Canon POTN. He continually sang the praises of TRAs. I was hooked. I wanted to try them for myself. But, I couldn't justify the purchase at the time.

Sooo fast forward a couple years... I know I'm 100% devoted to my growing business and TRAs will be a good investment. I have heard so many raves and played around on the website for too many hours... I decide to make the purchase. I love them.

I've been working with TRAs for about one month now and I can officially say I'm completely absorbed in Photoshop (more so than usual! ...if that's possible). Instead of taking 6 or 7 steps to get the desired effect I want. I click 1 button and make small adjustments. What a time saver!! Plus, they're so much fun to toy around with!

So, add me to the list of TRA lovers. I submit to all the Totally Rad-ness!

New Business Cards

I am so excited about my new business cards! I designed them myself and they're printed by The Sustainable Group. The cards are made of 100% Recycled Fibers and I think they're just oh-so-pretty! I love the earthy feeling. I want to do my part in helping our beautiful plant.

Plus, aren't they lovely??
...and yes, I removed my cell phone number :)

Congratulations Jackie!

This last weekend I went to Pennsylvania to visit my friend Jackie in her home. She recently bought a house, and I am so incredibly proud of her!! We cleaned the floors, replaced knobs, got confused wile trying to piece together a coat rack... haha. All while listening to the record player. Jimi Hendrix, of course. Truly a great time. It seemed to be a revelation every time we paused to realize "Oh. My. Gosh. This is your house!"

It's a beautiful little home in a great neighborhood. I do not doubt that she will have many years of happiness there. Hopefully not too many though... I'm still hoping she'll move back to Maryland... Well, one can hope!

Bert giving Jackie a congratulatory hug, while a proud father watches from the front of the house :)
...still waiting for the furniture!

Fall came earlier there than it did for us. All the old trees in the neighborhood and local city are gorgeous! (I had to ooo and ahhhh when I saw this view - it thoroughly satisfies my love of symmetry)

Hayes Family

More photos from the Hayes' shoot! I truly enjoyed meeting this family and putting these photos together -- I love my job! :)

The rest can be viewed here. (there are a lot - don't say I didn't warn you!)