Andrea & Dan

I had a blast taking my sister's family pictures a few weeks ago. I was excited to try out my brand new camera (probably not the smartest idea, before I'd gotten used to it!). We met right at sunrise in downtown Arlington near the river. Gorgeous location!

My first two favorites were sunrise sillouettes. I couldn't believe how lucky we were to get such vibrant colors!





Just up the shore from the river was an unused train track. I love this shot of their little family walking.



Aren't my sister and niece gorgeous? I love the colors in this one (we tried some family shots a few feet down from this location, and you would not believe how bright that newly-risen sun was!)



Next, a change of clothes and a drive down the street for a different feel.



These shots by a purple door are probably my favorites! What a beautiful family!



LOVE this one!!



We had to do a few of Vanessa alone. Don't I have the cutest niece??



By this point in the shoot, Vanessa was NOT wanting to sit still (do you blame her?). She was being silly here, and I lucked out to catch her looking back at me.



Another favorite of Vanessa. I love her little profile, and the steam on the window. I love all of the colors in this part of Arlington!



One last family shot....I love these guys! I'm so glad they live close enough to get together (although most days it's not close enough!!)

"I hope they call me on a Mission!"

One of the best things about being a photographer (or even a photographer wanna-be!) is being able to participate in milestones in people's lives--births, marriages, graduations....missions! This is the second pre-mission photo shoot I've done, and I must say that it was probably my favorite shoot to date. I had a blast chatting with Caitlin, who has a personality to match her eyes....beautiful! We were freezing cold (very odd September weather!) but just glad to have beat the big rain storm that came just a few hours after we were done.

Caitlin leaves for the Missionary Training Center next week. She'll be a great missionary!

Allie's wedding

I was delighted to be asked to be the photographer at Allie's wedding last month. I have known Allie and her family for over 10 years (in other words, since Allie was little!) so it was especially fun to be a part of her wedding. The day was gorgeous--not too hot for a mid-August D.C. wedding. I think Allie's dress is one of the prettiest I have EVER seen, and she looked stunning in it! Her new hubbie was looking pretty good himself!


Allie's niece was adorable!



I loved the color of the brides maids' and sisters' dresses. That's a beautiful group of women!

The men were good for a few fun shots. :)



The happy couple, next to the reflecting pool. See what I mean about that dress?!


And the groom....this looks like an ad for GQ!


This is one of my favorite pictures of the two of them.


The entire family (both sides) outside the temple. It was a large group to fit in the frame, and I had to stand with one foot in the flower garden. I tried not to kill any of the flowers!


This is another one of my favorites. The reception was held at a fire station, and the brick walls provided a perfect back drop.


The dancing at the reception was kickin'! I loved it! My kids joined in, too!


My favorite dancing picture:


Yay! So much fun!

Miss A

My friend and fellow photographer, Melissa, and I had a great time together on this photo shoot with spunky and gorgeous Miss A, and her boyfriend, Mr B. They were so fun to work with!

Old favorites, revisited

I was recently looking through some older photos, and found this picture of newborn Mason, which I fell in love with all over again. Now, a couple of months afterwards, I think that this picture is my favorite of him.



This is a slightly older photo that I took at my Grandma's funeral. Someone alerted me to the fact that they were getting ready to release doves, and I turned around just in time to capture this inspirational shot (well, to me at least!). I have had the opportunity to be a photographer at two funerals in the last few years, and strangely enough, I love it. There is something special about the cross-roads of life--birth, weddings, and funerals. Despite the sadness that surrounds most funerals, I have found the emotions and reunions and memories that surround funerals to be touching and priceless.

Beautiful Lexi

Thanks to my sister, Andrea, who is a much better photographer than me (she is my inspiration, and why I'm trying to be better!)....I figured out how to make my images appear larger on my blog! Yipee! Now I can show off Lexi's cuteness with more bang!

These pictures are not really from a photo shoot. Lexi's mom and I are trying to practice and become better photographers. Lexi was just so fun to practice on (you might see more of her in the future!)

Beautiful Lexi, drool and all!

Favorite babysitter

When I took Reta's graduation pictures (previous post), I also took a few with the family that she has babysat for several years. They love her -- you can tell by the interactions that I got of Reta and the kids together.

I think this next picture is my favorite of the day. The kids' mom has taught them sign language, and here is number 5 saying "Thank you."

The baby of the family is a hoot! She may be the smallest, but she has tons of spirit!