Here is my family's Christmas card which pretty much sums up my holiday wishes for you.
I hope everyone has a very Merry Christmas. I'll be posting again before New Year's to announce a few exciting things I have planned for the new year.
It's been a week since I got back from San Diego and the image is found One Day Our Way Shootshop, and I am still processing everything I took away. Nate and Jaclyn are about as real as it gets, and no question was off limits or without a no-punches-pulled answer. From shooting to post-processing and yes, even how to manage client expectations, Nate and Jaclyn filled my head with so much to think about it hurt [in a good way]. And, they are as funny as they are good. Nate had me laughing so much with his Nate-isms, that I started writing them down. You can read them here.
Have you ever asked yourself, "How do they do that?" I have, and the best part of the Shootshop is seeing how they do it. I left my gear in the studio while we walked around Oceanside with the über photogenic Molly and Matt, but I did grab a few how-do-they-do-that behind the scene shots with my iPhone [Click on the image below to see a larger version].
On the flight home I wrote down several pages of post-'shop To Do's. Some of them have already been crossed off, while others will be coming in the New Year.
I have been admiring Nate and Jaclyn's work for nearly three years—they shot my sister's wedding in San Jose del Cabo in November 2006 which you can see here, here and here—and it was a thrill to see them again. See you guys on 11.11.11.
Since I spent all day Thursday traveling back from San Diego and most of today catching up with Christy and the kids, I'm still working on a recap of my awesome experience at the image is found One Day Our Way Shootshop. Suffice to say, I did come back with the Kaiser Fever I was hoping for. In the meantime, head over to Nate and Jaclyn's blog to see images from the Shootshop as well as a list of Nate-isms I wrote down. And a huge thanks to Nate for the blog love.
Today, I am headed to San Diego to join 16 other photographers for a full day with the über talented Nate and Jaclyn Kaiser of the image is found at their One Day Our Way Shootshop.
Nate and Jaclyn are not only at the top of their game, they're at the top of the industry, and their passion for their art and life are infectious. I hope to return home with a bad case of Kaiser Fever.
Congratulations to Mary Reider who outbid her competition at the Mount Airy and Parrs Ridge Elementary Schools' annual dinner auction and took home the "An Hour in the Life" photography package I donated. Through Mary's generous bid, the schools' PTA can continue to fund all of their great programs, and Mary receives an hour of paparazzi-style, on-location photography along with a keepsake 8" x 6" softcover photo book.
Scroll down the page to see more images from my recent "An Hour in the Life" sessions with Katherine and Cassie. And, click here to email me or call me anytime at 301.524.0777 to schedule your own "An Hour in the Life."
There's still time to schedule a holiday mini-session for your holiday card and gift giving. My holiday mini-sessions are designed at a jolly 30-45 minutes, and at just $125 even Ebenezer would approve. The session includes 30-45 minutes of on-location photography, editing, an online proofing gallery, a holiday card mock up, use of the image(s), and ordering. Too much to do between now and Christmas or Hanukkah? Consider a Happy New Year card instead. Here's my family's card from last year.
I've sketched out this year's card, and now with the kids out of school for Thanksgiving it's time to get them—and the dog—in front of the camera. Click here to email me or call me anytime at 301.524.0777 to schedule your holiday mini-session.
Another session several months in the making, but we could not have asked for a more beautiful fall morning for a soccer game. Katherine's teammates kept asking her, "Who's the guy with the camera?" When she explained, they said, "You have your own photographer!" Katherine certainly looked like a star on and off the field and was so much fun to photograph.
Last December, I donated a Family Session to the Mount Airy & Parrs Ridge Elementary Schools PTA Dinner Auction. Kathy and Ed were the lucky winners that evening. Well, it took us a while to get this one on the calendar but it was definitely worth the wait. Emma's red hair and blue eyes are a photographer's dream and she was a natural in front of the camera. Joey warmed up after I explained that his mother had been waiting 11 months for this day.
Towards the end of our session as I was shooting Emma, Joey started making shadows in the setting sun against the red barn where Emma was sitting. My back was to Joey and when Emma started laughing I turned I got this shot of Joey "shooting" Emma.
You can see Joey's shadow in this image.
Finally, here's one of the whole family that should make the short list for this year's holiday card.
To Kathy, Ed, Emma and Joey, thanks for being such great sports as I walked you around Historic Savage Mill, and thanks again for your generous donation to the Mount Airy & Parrs Ridge Elementary Schools PTA.
I credit these brothers as being one of my first clients. I can't believe it has been almost a year and a half since our first session. And though I see Noah, Kolton and Landon at least once a week, it wasn't until I got home and began reviewing and editing the images that I realized just how much they have grown during that time—especially Landon. We captured a lot of great images during our 30-minute mini-session at Gaver Tree Farm in New Market, MD. Below is a favorite of each brother.
These brothers managed to grab another first—these images were taken with my new Nikon D700.
Interested in scheduling your own 30-minute mini-session in time for your holiday card and gift giving? Click here to email me or call me anytime at 301.524.0777.
Jennifer was referred by another blp client—we love that, and thank you [you know who you are]. I had so much fun running around the waterfront in Olde Towne Alexandria shooting Jennifer and her daughters Bella and Nikki. The girls had me laughing more often than not, and we all managed to get through the session without anyone falling into the Potomac. Here are a few of my favorites from our session.
1. Jennifer, Bella & Nikki
2. A commercial shoot for Educate Online.
3. Katie and Kyle's wedding at the Schuster Performing Arts Center.
Congratulations to the Straley family, winners of an iPod Shuffle from brian lausch photography. blp donated the (PRODUCT) RED Special Edition iPod Shuffle as a door prize to the Inaugural Nottingham Knights & Maidens Triathlon which splashed, mashed and dashed its way into the history books this morning.
I love the iPod Shuffle, especially the (PRODUCT) RED. There's just something about its shape and design that feels so familiar and likeable...
This summer, I had the joy of photographing the Nottingham Marlins Swim Team. The Marlins went undefeated all season and went on to win the Central Maryland Swim League Divisional VIII Championship.
Over the last week, as I opened the morning paper to another image of Michael Phelps setting a new World Record and winning gold, it was with an appreciation for the skill, time and absolute number of images required to get "the shot." This morning was the first since the 2008 Olympic Games opened without such a shot.
"The shot" below of Jason, a rising Maryland swimmer in his own right, was taken at a tri-meet held with Southdown and Farmington earlier this summer. I won't tell you how many images it took to get this shot, but it was more than one.
Recipe for Yummy Images
Take four adorable siblings, add a beautiful deck and yard, mix in a little late afternoon sun and shoot.
I had so much fun chasing—I mean shooting—Caroline, Abby, Andrew and Phillip, and they were all such naturals in front of the camera.
On Monday, the kids and I headed down to Washington, D.C. to return the lens I rented for the Blink of an Eye Photography wedding [that post is coming soon]. Since Penn Camera is just blocks from the White House and we had an hour on the meter, we hopped, skipped and jumped our way over. The kids stood in front of the fence along Pennsylvania Avenue and I took the obligatory tourist snapshot. From there it was past the U.S. Treasury and then back to the car. Once back in the car, I felt a lot like Clark W. Griswold as I circled D.C. shouting, "Hey look kids, there's the Capitol, and there's the Washington Monument!" 
The kids took turns shooting out their windows with my Nikon. They saw more of D.C. than they ever could have on foot, and it's fun to see how D.C. looks from their perspective—through an open window from the back seat of a car.
1. Washington, D.C. sightseeing from a kid's perspective.
2. A session with Caroline, Abby, Andrew and Phillip.
3. Katie and Kyle's wedding at the Schuster Performing Arts Center.
Today, D.C. Mayor Adrian M. Fenty will kick off SmartBike DC, the first high-tech public bike-sharing program in the United States. I was in D.C. Friday picking up a lens for the Blink of an Eye Photography wedding in Dayton, OH, the following day and grabbed this ultra wide angle shot [I was inches from the nearest bike] in front of the Smithsonian's National Portrait Gallery. Imagine my surprise when, while waiting for my Dunkin' Donuts' coffee this morning [blp runs on Dunkin'], I saw this familiar-looking photo in the The Washington Post. I was just having fun with the 14mm lens—who knew I was onto something so hip and green.
As the country and world watches and cheers Baltimore, MD native Michael Phelps to an unprecedented 8 gold medals in a single Olympic Games, our own Olympic hopefuls are setting albeit not World Records but Personal Records every day. And, judging by the Olympic coverage, one never outgrows the funny faces created or marks left behind by their goggles.
I am off to Dayton, OH this weekend to second shoot a wedding with good friend and fellow photographer Carmen Nauseef of Blink of an Eye Photography [this will be the second wedding I have shot with Carmen, the first back in September 2007]. Both the ceremony and reception are being held in the Schuster Performing Arts Center. I can't wait to shoot with Carmen again as well as get inside [and outside] this unique space in downtown Dayton!
Anna is now on the other side of the pond representing the U.S. Pony Club in the 2008 International Tetrathlon Exchange, but before she left for England and Ireland I got to spend some time with her and her beautiful horse Abe. When Anna returns she'll have just a day or two at home before starting her freshman year at St. Mary's College of Maryland—good luck Anna!
Good friends and former Sprint Nextel colleagues joined forces recently to start a new business, Just Basements, LLC. Just Basements brings a personalized, client-centric approach to their projects and the principals are involved in every step along the way from design and budgeting to planning and construction. Just Basements asked me to shoot several of their projects for their soon-to-be-launched website. This unique assignment called for an equally unique lens: the NIKKOR 14mm f/2.8 with its amazing 114-degree picture angle.
From darkly colored media rooms to granite covered kitchens, no detail is overlooked and I often forgot I was shooting a basement. I especially liked this media room with its chocolate colored walls and "Take One" sconces.
Cassie was so much fun to shoot—I just loved her braided pony tails. This "Hour" took place from 6:30 PM to 7:30 PM, and the setting sun presented a few challenges but also some opportunities. Below are some of my favorites.
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