A professional photographer sharing sessions and life in Northern Virginia
Finally getting around to showing photos of my session with Randon, Rylan, and my brother Mark. We loaded up the car and headed to Kid Space (a park that I actually helped build in high school). The sun was shining and the weather was in the high 60s – perfect day to capture these ornery, spunky boys.
I love little boys in skinny jeans!
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This photo cracks me up because Rylan is expressive all the time, Randon truly wasn’t hurting him at all. Just looks like it!
Three years in a row now I’ve attended one of the largest photographer’s conventions in the country, gaining momentum with more friends joining in! Last year there were 3 of us in San Antonio, this year I had 6 other roomies. Plus we met up with other girls from the online forum we all are members of. Last time I was in New Orleans it was for the college football national championship in 2004 (for the 2003 season though) when Oklahoma lost to LSU. Talk about heartbreak. We were in college, road-tripped down there, and it was fun overall. I just remember the humidity and how awful the people were to us. I went with an open-mind this time and really enjoyed myself. The humidity was at bay until the last day we were there, it was in the 70s the entire time, a far cry from the snow that’s now on the ground in New Jersey!
Sunday night we went to the Swamp on Bourbon Street for a fabulous party put on by a lab. We got to throw beads onto Bourbon Street and even started the party dancing on stage. Thank goodness no one has posted the video or photos!
One of the Kelly’s and I went back down to Bourbon Street on Monday to take photos with our real cameras! But I can’t pass up photos with the iPhone too! We heard musicians and stumbled upon a MLK Jr. parade. The high school band was by far my favorite, but I loved seeing all the cheerleaders, majorettes and I’m not sure what else starting at the age of 4.
Proof that I went to the trade show. The photo of the other Kelly and I with the moo book is a re-enactment from last year.
I was feeling cruddy so I went back to the hotel, but stopped to take a few photos along the way. The home in the tree is a sculpture done by a local artist for us to always remember Hurricane Katrina. I had a hard time being at the convention center and not thinking about all the people who lost their lives down there. I vividly remember the videos and stills from those horrible days after. But luckily tourism is alive and well in New Orleans.
A quick post with not much to say as we are on the way out the door for dinner, but I’m at Imaging USA in New Orleans right now. This morning a friend Kelly and I walked around the French Quarter with our cameras to capture the essences of the city. I’ll be back to share some iPhone photos because let’s be real, you get professional photographers at a convention and they will use their phones over their big cameras!!
I did a little work while in Oklahoma for one of my bridesmaids and good friend Allison and her family. This year her older brother and sister-in-law welcomed Maggie to the family and what better way to honor that than a holiday family portrait!! The weather was warm, though a tad windy (but when is it not windy in Oklahoma?!?!?!), and everyone was dressed to perfection! I loved the brown and red accents. I didn’t know what they were actually wearing and I came dressed in my new red peacoat, I could have fit right into the family!!
Henry is 3.5 years old and was awesome at having his photo taken! At least nothing a bribery of a mini M&M or two couldn’t change!
Maggie really is the perfect addition to their already adorable family!
Uncle Andrew and Aunt Allison are stellar and shower their niece and nephew with so much love! This photo makes me chuckle because Maggie thinks we are all crazy and Henry thinks we are funny!
These are beautiful, Kim! Great work!
Thanks Kim! They are so cute, love ’em! Can’t wait to see the rest. Happy New Year!
So cute! Beautiful family!
I love seeing your beautiful family.
Happy 2012!!! I hope each and every one of you had a wonderful holiday! Anthony + I are fortunate enough to get close to two weeks away during Christmas and we take full advantage every year (though a photographer friend of mine spent two weeks in the French Polynesian with her husbands family – that would have be glorious!!!). We loaded up the suitcases, drove our tails to Philly to hop on a plane, got off in Oklahoma City to rush to the annual family sing-along! You know the Mitch Miller Christmas album? Yep, that’s the one we sing along with, we even have the old-style song sheet, album, and sleigh bells. It’s the perfect holiday tradition started back when my dad was a youngster.
We got to celebrate Randon’s 5th birthday on the 18th. As luck would have it, I was charging my camera batteries before we left for the bowling alley, I grabbed my camera and it was dead by the time I got it out. Luckily the iPhone 4S saved the day and I was still able to capture the moment! And of course we only had a #4 from Randon’s birthday last year. It didn’t matter one bit to him (though it may give him a complex later on in life!), he blew it out and little Rylan thought it was his turn. He has to wait another few weeks (January 14th) before it’s all about him!!
We spent Christmas morning with my family and got to share in the excitement with the boys. Randon started per-kindergarten this year and is really into coloring and art. My parents got him the famous IKEA art easel. Can you tell what his favorite color is? I think they are going to need to invest in more blue paint, chalk and markers. He won’t have anything to do with any other color.
We have been very fortunate the past three years to see the OKC Thunder play during the holidays! This year we really lucked out!!! We went Christmas day, opening night!! The atmosphere was electric, we were half court 7 rows up, really the perfect seats to see Kevin Durant throw down on the Orlando Magic. THUNDER UP!
I will get a post up very soon with the rest of the photos I took, including a family session with a good friend of mine!
I feel this is fairly fitting for the topic at hand – I’m not sure I’ve laughed this hard!
It’s been awhile since I’ve posted anything regarding living a more green life here on the blog. Today’s topic is hand-washing your delicates/sweaters/etc. Below you can find some tips on what temperature the water should be and more for different fabrics.
I start out with this aluminum bucket in our kitchen skin. For some it may seem a little redundant, but I do need a place to rinse. Enter in bucket/sink combo (I dream of having a double sink – or even better a laundry room with a sink!!!). I fill the bucket with a small bit of Dr. Bonner’s Baby Mild Castile Soap and water. I place the item(s) into the bucket, dunk a few times, using my hands to swirl a little and work the material in places that may need some love (armpits for examples!)
Castile Soap can be found in many places (I typically buy ours at Whole Foods or Wegmans) with lots of different varieties in bar soap and liquid form. This is concentrated stuff, you only need a teaspoon or less. Your water will not bubble but it is working I promise!
You can see that my bucket isn’t even half full of water. I will put in all my delicates or one sweater at a time. Put in enough water to cover your garment.
Pat dry between a towel or two and hang dry (I lay ours on an Ikea Drying Rack).
I’m not sure what my fear of hand-washing my clothes was about, but this is so easy and simple. The castile soap is super mild and won’t irritate your skin or destroy your clothing.
Silk: Wash by hand in warm or cool water with a gentle soap (I use Dr. Bronner’s Baby Mild Castile Soap). Swirl, swish and rinse (never squeeze or twist). Press between two towels to dry and never use bleach. Hang dry and place in a steamy bathroom to remove the winkles.
Rayon: Hand wash in cool water with castile soap. Swirl, swish and rinse then hang dry.
Wool & Cashmere: Hand wash in cool water w/a mild castile soap. Gently squeeze to wash. Rinse and squeeze gently. Blot dry between two towels and dry flat on a towel.
Sounds like fun! I am hoping to go to the one next year!
KIM!!! I missed these! They are SO great! I love how many great shots you were able to get. Sadly, I lost ALL my photos from the trip. I’m so impressed with how well you documented it. MISS YOU!