Photos for Photos' Sake

So, Winter decided to make an early appearance in my neck of the woods last week.  The temperatures dropped into the 20's!  Normally, I am a big baby when it comes to cold weather.  Give me a roaring fire, fuzzy socks, a warm blanket, and cup of hot cocoa (maybe with a little Kahlua mixed in!), and I will can deal with the cold weather.         Barely.          But, for whatever reason, I really wanted to take a photo walk in the freezing cold along the Old Town Alexandria waterfront.  I had to be in Alexandria later that day anyway, so it kind of made sense.  Still, I chose to get up before the sun and take a stroll in the freezing cold to capture some pictures--because that's my idea of fun.         Apparently.      

I was prepared.  I wore multiple shirts, and my boots that are the warmest suckers I have ever had on my feet.  I also wore my Photographer's Gloves.  If you think that sounds fancy, don't get too excited.  While they do make and sell real photographer's gloves, I'm too cheap to buy them.  I just took a pair of gloves I already owned and cut off the tips of the thumb and first fingers so that I can work the controls on my camera.

 Ok, just to warn you, you're gonna see these rope fences in a lot of the photos.  They're just cool like that.

 This couple and their photographer braved the cold morning and still did their photoshoot.  Don't be deceived by their light clothing--it was COLD!

 These shots and couple of others in this series HAD to be black and white.  Harsh shadows can make for some interesting black and white shots--even when photographing something as mundane as a bike rack.

Ok the only reason I like this shot is because of the symmetry in it.  Would I have preferred a different kind of bird? Yes, but all the others were busy sleeping in.

No, I did not place that leaf there, I promise.

Family Photos :)

'Tis the season!  The season of family photos, that is.  Fall is the perfect time to get a family portrait taken.  The leaves are turning colors, it's not too hot, not too cold, and the photos will be delivered in time for you to create a Christmas card.

I had the special privilege of taking family photos with my friend Jeff and Christina and their two beautiful daughters Catherine and Olivia.  They are fortunate enough to live right on the water in VA, so we did photos right in their backyard--gorgeous!

It was actually really hard to get Catherine to stay still--she just wanted to run!  I admit, there was some bribery on my part to get her to sit still for a while :)

Olivia had just had her first birthday party earlier that day, so we definitely got some shots of her in her cute little "1 Year Old" outfit.

Bonus!  The dog came in to join the fun :)

When kids don't sit still, I photograph them moving!  It's more fun that way ;)

And I join them in the fun and crawl on the ground right along with them!

Otherwise, I wouldn't capture gems like this.

Mother-Daughter love.  Something so pure is best captured and remembered in black and white.

Meghan and Neal get Married!

I would like to officially introduce you to Meghan and Neal Tullos!  They got married on September 29, 2017--one of the most beautiful days ever for a wedding!  I must say--I am a sucker for an outdoor wedding on the beach.  I mean, really, can it get more beautiful than that?? 

While this was not my first wedding to photograph, I did still have a lot of "firsts" throughout the day as a wedding photographer.

1. This was my first time hiring a second photographer.  Thanks to my highly connected brother, Adam, I met and hired Chris from Timeless Films.  Chris is actually an up-and-coming videographer, but he knows how to take a good picture, so he did a combination of photographing and video taking throughout the day.  Great guy! Check out his Facebook page here: Timeless Films.

2. This was my first time photographing a "First Look." All the weddings I have photographed up until now (even second-photographed) didn't have a "First Look."  The place where we did this had the high, beautiful arches and the photos came out amazing!

3. This was my first time working a wedding that my parents attended!  I have never had the pleasure of working a wedding with my parents watching me before now.  They were great, too.  I ended up using them as my unofficial assistants by holding my bags and extra gear during the reception (I usually have to hide them somewhere).  

Even with all these firsts, the day went beautifully.

<3

We started at the Westin Hotel outside downtown Annapolis

(Fun fact! Annapolis is also where Meghan and Neal had their Engagement Photos taken)

 This was one of those moments that cannot be planned or scripted in any way.  We were just putting on Meghan's dress when her mom needed help, so Meghan offered and we got this train of doing up dresses <3

 While I was with the Meghan, Chris was with the Neal, and got some pretty awesome photographs!.

 These sunglasses were significant--they came from the same company that catered the reception. Score!

 Waiting for the first look.

 This was the crowd that was behind me as we did the first look.  It was quite a spectacle!

Waiting in anticipation......

 Who has time for weddings when there's sand to play with?? :P

Beach ball fun!

This photo may not look like much, but it is probably one of the most memorable of the day.  This is a photo of people looking for the rings.  That's right.  The rings were lost right before the wedding started!  We knew they somewhere in this field.......  If you want to read the full story, you should check out Mary Higham's (event planner for the day) blog post about it--she tells this story way better than I ever could.  Read it here.

I will say this about the whole debacle--Neal and Meghan handled it with so much grace!  Completely went with the flow and didn't say anything during the ceremony when they used someone else's rings!  I mean, really, how cool are they??

 Rings: found!  We had a spur-of-the-moment ceremony right there during the reception so Neal and Meghan could do the ring exchange with THEIR rings.  

 THE rings!

 Yep, Neal's mom was barefoot.  And I LOVED it!

 Shout out to the best parents a girl could ever have! :)

 I think Neal was hungry ;)

 One of the things that Neal wanted to do at the reception was to have a rave session.  This was -by far!- the most unique activity I have seen at a wedding reception :)

 The guys had fun, and that was the point!

 One of Neal's coworkers drove his Firebird up so we could take some pictures with it at the end of the night.

 Neal was pretty psyched :)

 When Chris and I asked to borrow the rings so we could get these shots, we were SO nervous.  They had already been lost once that day, we weren't about to be responsible for losing them a second time!
Put ring on finger and close fist!  Heart racing.....

 So sweet!

Congratulations Meghan and Neal!