Month: September 2022

Kristina is roommate at work. We’ve only know each other since August but I really feel like its been much longer. Laid back, friendly, funny, she’s an awesome person to share my office with and talk to everyday.  I also must share what an amazing support and a sounding board  she was when we lost Bella. Kristina had only known me for one week at that time and she was there to simply listen, let me talk, and share whatever I was feeling at the time. It was JUST what I needed and I am not sure she realizes the importance of that so I want to publicly thank her here.

Now onto the fun stuff.

Kristina requested some pictures of her two awesome kiddos Callie and Carter and I was thrilled to come do them! After one cancellation by me and one mutual cancellation because of the weather we were finally able to connect. And I was finally able meet her beautiful baby girl Callie born in late October.  Kristina and I were ready for photo fun, but Callie had other ideas. Being naked, cold, and manipulated was definitely not on her agenda and there were tears! Lots of tears. I felt so bad, but fortunately mom was there to soothe her and wipe the tears away.

After some quality time with Miss Callie, it was time to go pick 2 year old Carter up from daycare. He was thrilled to see his mom, thrilled to be outside, and thrilled to meet me! Carter was not shy around the camera and said “cheese” like a champ.

After the daycare pickup Carter also insisted that I watch him play the piano. Future Mozart?

Thank you Kristina for letting me into your home to interrupt the flow of your day.  Your children are cuties and I was glad to be able to capture some great moments.  I hope you enjoy your session preview, the rest will be ready soon!

NaBloPoMo Daily Mitzvah: Only one Cherry Coke Zero left in the fridge tonight. I let my Calmer drink it. He needed it tonight more than me.

Growing up I struggled to find my niche. I dabbled in the arts (music specifically) but could never achieve to the level of my peers. I never did sports. I was a bookworm but that wasn’t very exciting.  I lacked passion and I hungered for it. Somewhere along the way though I think I lost the hunger. I thought aspects of my life were passion when they were really passion disguised.  Now passion has found me and I know.

Photography.

That’s my passion. So strong that the passage of time seems timeless. Photography is my escape, my muse, my inspiration.   Doing whatever it takes to learn.  Achieve the standard needed to thrive.  My mind is swimming with new ideas, dreams for tomorrow, hopes for the future. All the time. 24 hours a day.

I dream photography. I eat photography. I sleep photography.

When I am taking pictures everything else just seems to fade away.  I am in the zone. in the moment.  Every moment is one to cherish.  I am thrilled I able to capture and share moments of my own through this blog.  I am honored and humbled to be asked and entrusted to capture the moments of others.  Thank you to my first clients of late 2009.  I imagine Bella is somewhere smiling because my passion has been realized.

Have you found your passion in life yet?  Tell me about it.

NaBloPoMo Daily Mitzvah: Today’s mitzvah is a secret I wish to remain my own, but it was one that filled me with happiness.

NaBloPoMo Daily Mitzvah: The Calmer and I have a daily Monday tradition of eating at a favorite local Mexican restaurant. I wasn’t feeling the Mexican food vibe tonight, but decided to go anyway to make my Calmer happy. I know he was looking forward to that meal all day and and I did not want to dissapoint him.

In other news…

Yesterday I had the pleasure of attending a photography workshop with Northern, VA wedding photographer, Kate Headley. I have been excited for this workshop since the day my mom forwarded me her information from Daily Candy. Targeted toward woman photographers looking to capture fresh, bright, original images i knew her style would mesh with mine.  Her work is inspiring, unique, and creative. I could seriously stare at her images all day!

Kate didn’t disappoint with her teaching either. Her style is intimate, laid back, and interactive. I arrived yesterday at the Athenaeum in Old Town Alexandria to a round table style room of about 15 other woman photographers. The Athenaeum was just lovely! Home of the Northern Virginia Fine Arts Association it was the perfect venue for this session. Surrounded by inspiration and lots of available light, we were good to go.

We spent the initial part of the workshop in brainstorming ideas and giving introductions.  Then we really got down to business discussing some of the important technical aspects of photography such as ISO, aperture, shutter speed, and composition.  However, the best part of the workshop was the final 30 minutes. Real world application time.  We were broken into groups based on camera model and then given a scenario and props to shoot.  It was a time to think outside the box, mix and mingle with other photographers, and use what we had just learned.

Our scenario went something like this:

“Your cousin is about to celebrate her sweet 16 with a party and would like her dress photographed like a wedding dress.”

The dress we were given to shoot was just gorgeous!

I must say, I love that it matched the Athenaum perfectly!

lovely details.

fun framing.

All in all the session was really beneficial. It was a pleasant afternoon spent with other photographers with the chance to get in some quality practice time.  Kate was open to questions and gracious with her sharing of some really useful tips and tricks for aspiring photographer like me.  I really hope Kate continues to offer workshops and develops some new ones. She was an engaging and knowledgeable teacher and  I’d love to have the chance learn more from her in the future!

This month’s One Word Project theme over at Shutter Sisters is “wish”.  During a lovely Saturday evening with my Calmer of relaxing, listening to holiday music,  and getting cards ready to mail I had a spark of inspiration hit. This photo is the outcome. I have a lot of wishes this holiday.

What do you wish for this holiday season?

As you think, so you are.

As you dream, so you become.

As you create your wishes, so they create you.

~Wendy Garrett~

NaBloPoMo Daily Mitzvah: Tonight I will be hosting a family dinner. My parents and The Calmer’s parents will be coming over to our home for the evening. We are fortunate that our families get along so well and we can host joint affairs every once an awhile. Tonight’s menu? Spaghetti and meatballs, garlic rolls, salad, green beans, and spice cake for dessert. My mouth in watering in anticipation.

happiness is…

saturday am yoga

lazy days

mid afternoon naps

snuggly cats

holiday music

and…

the first snow of the season

What makes you happy on a lazy, snowy, wintry day?

NaBloPoMo Daily Mitzvah: As you can see winter has officially arrived in Virginia. It’s been a truly lazy day in our home. This afternoon The Calmer wanted to go out in the wintry goodness and shovel it from our driveway.  The only problem? The shovel was in our garage’s storage closet. The closet was being blocked by a huge armchair we are trying to sell. The chair was blocked in by The Calmer’s car. The Calmer’s car was blocked by my car, out in the driveway, slowly accumulating more and more snow. At first I *sighed* and said the driveway didn’t need to really be cleared, I was determined to be lazy all day!  However the spirit of mitzvah took hold so I bundled up, put on my uggs, gloves, coat, and hat so I could go out in the snow to wipe away the snow and move my car for my Calmer. And now our driveway is clean and clear too!

NaBloPoMo Daily Mitzvah: Today a friend emailed me a family photo that they were hoping to use on their upcoming Christmas cards for this year. The photo was great except for one large sunlight spot unfortunately placed on top of her mother’s head.  She asked if I had any suggestions for fixing the sun spot. After a little playing by me in Photoshop the sun spot was virtually elimated. (Hooray for the powers of the clone tool and healing brush!) I emailed the edit back to her and she was ecstatic! Not a big mitzvah today, but one of those warm fuzzy moments that make you feel like you helped.

Yesterday is but a dream, tomorrow but a vision. But today well lived makes every yesterday a dream of happiness, and every tomorrow a vision of hope. Look well, therefore, to this day.

~Indian Proverb~

NaBloPoMo Daily Mitzvah: Today I sent an e-card from Hallmark.com to my sister just to say hi.  We live far apart and don’t get to talk that often so I just wanted to send her a little something to brighten her day and let her know I’m thinking about her.

Sara is my sister. 7 years younger than I am and a senior in college this year. I must admit I’m a bit jealous. I miss my college days more than anything!  Sara is totally loving life right now. And, she has plans for next year after the big graduation which is a sigh of relief for her (and the rest of my family I am sure!).  Planning out her life after graduation was a true cause for celebration. So while visiting my family for Thanksgiving I took her out for her own private senior session. And we had a blast!

Since we had time to shoot over multiple days and in multiple locations we were able to do a lot of experimentation. I don’t think she realizes how much I learned about my camera, shooting in manual, and thinking creatively just from this one opportunity.  And I must say I am personally quite pleased with the results. I hope she is too!

When my sister graduates in May she’ll be leaving college with a Bachelor’s of Science in Psychology (just like her big sis, awwwww). But her true love is golf. And man is she good. Real good. She’s been playing since she was basically old enough to hold a golf club. It’s been amazing to see her grow her craft throughout the years and take off with it. I hope she realizes how proud we all are of her for having such drive, determination and passion.

Watch out Tiger Woods, here comes Sara Hurwitch!

NaBloPoMo Daily Mitzvah: Today I got home from work in an overall cranky mood. It was not pretty. It’s rainy, gross, and I got home later than expected.  Fortunately, The Calmer was waiting with open arms and hugs galore.  All I wanted to do was collapse on the couch and do nothing. I am sure you all know the feeling.  But, as I’m putting my things away I notice my cat Vincent sneaking over to the dish where his laser pointer toy resides. This kitty LOVES laser pointers. And when he wants to play he let’s you know.

*jingle jingle*

As his paw reaches into the dish.

I take one look and sigh.

*jingle jingle*

Most cranky tired days I would’ve just walked away. Sat on the couch and relaxed.  I would’ve waited for him to get bored. He usually won’t obsess over the laser toy too long and if we don’t  play he’ll move along to something else.

Today, instead of moving on I walked over and picked up the toy. And we played for a solid 15 minutes. Cat #2 Ebony even joined in on the fun. I am sure I made them both the happiest cats in the whole world today, just because I took 15 minutes out of my tired, cranky day and spent some quality time playing lasers .

And amazingly I am now no longer tired or cranky! That’s the power of mitzvah.

Now onto the important topic at hand….

I know it’s been awhile since I posted one of my holiday gift ideas. And time is quickly running out! How are you all doing with your holiday shopping? Are you done yet? I am happy to report that my shopping is almost complete.  But for those of you still looking for suggestions I’ve got a great one today!

One of my biggest accessory obsessions is handbags.  Just ask The Calmer. He’ll tell you, I have waaay to many. If I even utter the word handbag he goes from calm to concerned instantaneously. So it was no surprise that the moment I purchased my dslr back in June that I would go immediately out and find the perfect bag to carry it around in. It actually took a few weeks but I finally found exactly what I was looking for.

This is the Milly bag from Wicked Stitch Designs. Custom designed by me and made by the talented Alida, founder of Wicked Stitch Designs.  My Milly bag is one of the smallest of her soft camera bags. For now it suits my needs. The bag has a clickable clasp on the front and opens up to one large pocket to hold my camera and two smaller pockets for accessories. I am easily able to carrly my dslr, a backup lens, and accessories (back up memory card, remote, memolio sample books, etc…). There is also an open back pocket where I can throw my keys, cell phone or whatever else I need to carry on the go. Many days this bag serves as my camera case and purse. It’s so stylish and versatile, I love it!

The best thing about the bags at Wicked Stitch Designs are the number of options for customization. From large bags to small, rugged to soft, padded or zippered you can have it all! AND, you get to pick your fabric color from the Wicked Stitch site and fabric patter from Equilter.com. The options are endless!

On my wish list now is this more rugged and padded bag from her etsy shop.

Click here to see the coveted wish list bag.

I love the pattern and it’s even ready to ship (…so if anyone is looking for a gift idea *hint hint*)

Go now and check Wicked Stitch Designs out.  You won’t be disappointed.  But, If you’re hoping to get one of these fantastic bags for the holidays you better hurry! All custom orders must be placed on the website by this Friday December 4th in order to have your bag arrive in time for Christmas.

Happy shopping!

Recently my friend and fellow blogger curiousillusion introduced me to the website NaBloPoMo. The acronym stands for National Blog Posting Month and the website encourages bloggers to participate in a month long daily blog fest.  Last month was my month for reflecting on gratitude and being thankful for the joys I have in life.  Heading in to December NaBloPoMo has announced their theme today and it’s all about giving back.  Doing Mitzvah. What is a Mitzvah? Here is the dictionary.com definition:

mitzvah. -[Seph. -vawt; Ashk. -vohs] Show IPA , English. -vahs. Hebrew.
1. any of the collection of 613 commandments or precepts in the Bible and additional ones of rabbinic origin that relate chiefly to the religious and moral conduct of Jews.
2. any good or praiseworthy deed.

This month my goal is to perform a daily mitzvah and share it here each day this month. It can be as large as giving back to the local community or as small as saying a kind word to a person in need of some compassion.

Today’s mitzvah? Committing myself to this month long daily blogging challenge and giving my loyal readers the gift of a post (and a picture) a day for the entire month of December. 

(not sure if that’s a mitvah or an annoyance but just go with me on this one! hopefully you won’t all be sick of me by the end of this month…)

Is anyone else out there getting into the spirit of giving? What is your mitzvah for the day? the week? the month?

I want to hear it!

As November comes to a close I realize I have so many things to to be grateful for both small and large. For one thing I am grateful I was actually able to finish this project!!! I took a break at photo 20 and didn’t think I would ever catch up. But tonight I buckled down, uploaded and edited, and completed my 30 days.  The pictures aren’t one each day, but they certainly are a real expression of my grateful thoughts this month. I truly appreciate the shutter sisters for making “gratitude” their word for November. Reflecting on this one word each day this month could not have come at a better time. It’s truly been a form of therapy and made me step back and realize how much love, joy, and happiness surrounds me during a time that can feel so dark. With the holidays right around the corner I am carrying grateful heart and hope for what’s to come.