Hello Again! It's been a while :)

Wow! My last post was almost a year ago in October! Shortly after that, my husband transferred to a new command and as a result our lives became *extremely* busy! His schedule was very unpredictable, and I found myself often having to choose between spending time with him and working my photography biz...so I ultimately chose him and put photography on the back burner for a while. (And I'm sooooo thankful for that flexibility!)

I've spent the past year devoting most of my time and energy towards being a Navy wife, supporting his ship as Ombudsman, and keeping things going in our personal lives. In May, we bought our first house (I closed by myself while hubby was deployed!), and have been moving in and working to get settled ever since! We love being homeowners - even with the loooong to do list that comes with it :)

Unfortunately hubby recently deployed again...but fortunately that means I'm able to get back to what I'm passionate about - photography! :) I have a long list of things I want to accomplish and can't wait to get to work on it. Between catching up on the photo biz and decorating our new house, I'll be plenty busy and the time hubby's gone will (hopefully) fly by!

One of the perks to the military life is meeting all of the wonderful people who are 'in the same boat' as you are. The significant others of those deployed with yours become like family and you learn to lean on one another for support - and to fill the extra social time you have! A group of us girls spent this past Sunday afternoon at a local wine tasting festival. I've been itching to get the camera back in my hand, so I brought it along to 'play'. Here are a few pics I took while we enjoyed sampling wines from across Virginia. Enjoy!

(**If you click on the images individually, they will open in the browser in a bigger size...then click the 'back' button to come back to this post :) Improving this blog is on the to do list! )

Megan and Randy

I met Megan and Randy through a Facebook referral - and I'm so glad that I did. They are a great couple and were a blast to photograph. It is music to a photographer's ears when a client says "If it will look good for the picture, we'll do it!". Even more exciting for me is that they wanted black and white photographs, and I LOVE black and white! (I felt like a little kid in a candy store :) )

In addition to this being a maternity session for their first child, the day of the shoot was also their 2 year wedding anniversary! Congratulations! These photographs were taken in their beautiful backyard. It was a gorgeous VA fall day - the weather could not have been more perfect. It was definitely worth it to wait and reschedule due to the nasty weather the day before!

You both will be awesome parents and I look forward to photographing your new family in the future!

(I had to leave one color because it was just so pretty!)

Theresa B

This past week I photographed Theresa. After a session with her entire family last November, I asked her to model for me. 9 months later, our schedules (and the weather) finally cooperated. She has a fun, laid-back personality and is a blast to be around. I'll be photographing her whole family again in September at the beach - can't wait!

Heather and Meagan

During a trip to FL in June, I had the privilege of photographing one of my best friends and her sister. They were both pregnant, and due within ten days of each other! Perfect photo opportunity! Within the past week and a half, they both had their babies. Welcome to the world Caleb Michael and Isabella Renee! Can't wait til I get to photograph you together again :) Here they are when they were still 'in the oven'.

Jazz Concert

This past weekend I photographed a jazz concert at the Kaufman Theater, located inside Chrysler Museum of Art. One of our neighbors, Ty Marquis-Smith, is a jazz musician and he asked me to photograph the live recording of his upcoming album. It was a win-win-win situation since I was able to photograph, listen to some good music, AND I was able to set up a table display with my business information. Here are a few images from the event.

Josh and Kimberly

Here's another session from my trip to FL over the Christmas holiday. Josh and Kimberly were recently engaged and that's always fun to photograph! The weather was gorgeous and I had a wonderful time spending the afternoon with Kimberly, Josh and her family. Great friends, beautiful weather, and fun photography...who could ask for anything more! :)

Can't wait for the wedding next year!

Mike, Heather, and Gabe

I photographed one of my best friends and her family back in October. I wanted to photograph a child playing in a pumpkin patch, and I knew her son would be perfect! Here are a few images from the session. He is such a ham! He is definitely fun to photograph :)