The P family: Christmas card photos

Last month I took photos of my former housemate from college and her beautiful family, for use on their Christmas cards this year. We met at the Point of Rocks train station in Maryland, just on the other side of the Potomac, and took photos throughout the park there. After warning me that her kids may not cooperate, it turned out that they were perfectly delightful! They were all so much fun to work with, and we captured some really great moments.

Disney's Animal Kingdom | Nature Photographer

We began our day in Disney's Animal Kingdom by going on the Kilmanjaro Safari. Disney is home to a 110 acre wildlife preserve, where the animals are completely self-sustaining (they are not fed each day by the employees, unlike at a zoo). There are over 34 species of animals that live there, and according to our guide we were able to see just about all of them! We were very fortunate that the animals were all up and about so early in the morning. Here are my favorite shots of the morning.

Day and night in the Magic Kingdom: Part 2

On our second day at Disney in October, we spent a full day at the Magic Kingdom, which meant we got to spend a lot more time covering all areas of the park. Here are some of the highlights of what we saw throughout. We once again started at the front of the park; while we were waiting to meet Minnie Mouse, I grabbed this photo of some of the Halloween scarecrows. How gorgeous are these colors?!

Day and night in the Magic Kingdom: Part 1

At the beginning of October we spent 3.5 days at Disney, with the first 1.5 days in the Magic Kingdom. I went through my photos from the first day we spent there and pulled out a few of my favorites, highlighting my favorite shots taken during the afternoon (with quite cloudy skies, and some sun later on), as well as later that night.

 

Macro photography: Trees

For a photo project this week, I needed to photograph "something from a tree". While walking the dog early one morning, I saw drops of water hanging from the nearly bare tree branches and had to go back with my camera. Using my 85mm lens, set at the widest aperture (f/1.8) I captured a few macro shots; these proved to be my favorites.

Fall in Leesburg | Virginia Nature Photographer

At the end of last week, I walked around the grounds of my office complex capturing some photos of the beautiful fall foliage.While the leaves are on their way out, some of the trees in my complex are only turning red now, and the morning light coming through the trees was lovely.

Little Miss E: Newborn photos

During the last week of July, a good friend of mine here in Leesburg gave birth to a beautiful baby girl! Not only did I get a chance to visit with them in the hospital, but a few days later after mom and baby had returned home, I went to their house for a newborn photo shoot of the beautiful girl. This is the third shoot I've done with this family, and I'm so happy that they continue to ask me to photograph their life! Especially with this adorable new addition.

We started off with some "lifestyle" photos in her nursery.

State Arboretum of Virginia | Nature Photography

On Saturday I did a photo shoot at a new location: the State Arboretum of Virginia. The shoot went really well, partially because of the amazing location. The setting was stunning, and on my way out I encountered these beauties who were good enough to pose for me!

Back to School 2014 | Leesburg Child Photographer

I love back to school photos! This year I did a separate photo shoot for each of my children. For my daughter, I did the same as last year and took her out by our pond for an evening photo shoot. Unfortunately the weather was not as cooperative as last year, but I still captured her beautiful spirit and excitement over being in first grade.

For my son, there unfortunately was not time to take his before or after his first day of preschool (and the weather wasn't great that day either!), so at the end of his first week I did a shoot in front of the building that houses his school. One of the best things about little boys is their sheer enthusiasm and ability to have fun just running around!  I was also fortunate that, unlike some other times I have tried to take his photo, he was very cooperative with me. I think he was also very excited to be in the 4s preschool class; one step closer to kindergarten!

Ms. L: Author Photos | Northern Virginia Photographer

About a month ago I met up with the lovely Laura, a friend of a friend. Laura is getting back into freelance writing, and needed some photos taken for an article she was writing. I was happy to help, and so I met Laura at her house and we took some photos to go with her article.

The article is very moving and personal. It's hard to read at times, and eye opening, and I really respect Laura for putting herself out there to hopefully help others who may be in her position. I highly recommend clicking through and reading her very personal story.

http://www.xojane.com/healthy/i-reread-the-journal-i-kept-on-the-psych-ward-to-remind-me-what-i-learned-there

Little Miss J Turns 2 | Leesburg Child Photographer

A few weeks ago, my neighbor asked me to take photos of her daughter for her second birthday. She was an absolute gem to work with (which you can't say about a lot of 2 year olds!), and I could not be happier with her shoot! I mean, who can really get enough of those cheeks?!

Little Miss S: Lifestyle Newborn Photos

At the end of July one of my best friends gave birth to her second daughter. I visited her in the hospital, as I did the first time, only this time she asked me to also take some photos of her beautiful new baby girl. I was happy to oblige, as the love in the room was overflowing! Plus, who wouldn't want to photograph this beautiful baby girl?

Practicing with a macro lens

At the end of August I was invited to one of my client's sites for a one-day meeting. I didn't have too much to do that day, just listen to the talks and see the facility. It turns out that the man who put the meeting together also enjoys photography, and had seen my site. He brought all of his gear with him, and gave me full license to play! He's got my dream camera (the Canon 5D Mark III), and wow was that fun to get to use! He also had a 100mm macro lens (the one that I really want to buy next), and in addition to taking photos on his camera, I put the macro lens on my camera to see how well it worked. I am definitely a  fan of this lens now, and wanted to share a couple of my favorite shots that I took while messing around.

Ocean City, NJ | Travel Photography

At the end of July I had the chance to meet up with a photographer friend in Ocean City, NJ. She lives near there, and it was convenient for me to get to from my last appointment of the day, plus I had never been to that part of the Jersey shore, so it worked out perfectly! I hadn't actually met her in person before, and she is as lovely as she seemed over Facebook. We went to her favorite place at the beach, near a mostly washed-out pier, and had some fun discussing photography while we snapped away.

"Elsa" outside

I finally found an Elsa costume for my daughter, and she loves nothing more than to wear it as much as possible. While we've tried to keep the costume inside, I wanted to get some outdoor photos of her. Unfortunately, after about 5 minutes we started to get rained out, but before then I was able to grab a couple of fun ones, and then play with editing to make them really pop!

Little Miss S: 1 day old

Just over a month ago, one of my best friends gave birth to her second daughter. Just like the first time, I wanted to visit her in the hospital, as I know how nice it is to get people to visit you during that time! Plus, you're of course very excited to show off your adorable new baby! This time, I brought my camera with me to capture some sweet newborn hospital photos for her and her husband. 

Lilies at Rust Nature Preserve

Last week I went to the Rust Nature Sanctuary with my family. At the end of our excursion, we came across these lovely lilies blooming in a garden. I adore photographing flowers! My new 85mm lens made the process even more fun, as I was able to play with focus and depth of field.

Puppy love

During a newborn photo shoot at a good friend's house last weekend, I captured these photos of my daughter with their dog. The light coming through this window was stunning, and the two of them together were just so sweet.

 

Weekly Photo Project: July 2014

June 30 - July 6: "Red, White, and Blue"
The theme for this week was a fairly obvious choice, given that it was July 4th! On the beach on July 4 morning we came across a lifeguard team moving one of the lifeguard chairs. I saw their ATVs with the flags and knew this would be my submission.

Still life with tulips

For a photo challenge this week I chose as my subject a bouquet of tulips that have been on my kitchen table for a while. I moved them in front of my living room window, with the evening light coming through, and experimented with shallow focus. Since these flowers only lasted another day after this, I'm glad I was able to capture them. And what beautiful colors!