Two ways to help save lives

So the Breast Cancer 3 Day Walk is quickly approaching and I haven't yet met my fundraising goal to be allowed to walk. Sooo, I am doing two things. First, I am doing another day of mini sessions with the proceeds being donated to Susan G. Komen for the Cure, and secondly, I am offering a raffle of sorts.

There are less details involved with the raffle, so I will start there. If the mini session date doesn't work for you, and you would still like to help, I thought I would raffle off a full session and collection of gift prints. For every $10 donated to my walk fund, your name will be entered once in the raffle. My personal fundraising page can be found here: http://www.the3day.org/site/TR/Walk/WashingtonDCEvent?JServSessionIdr011=ob4ff1g451.app320b&px=1798431&pg=personal&fr_id=1192 If, for some reason this link does not work for you, another link can be found listed under my favorite links to the right. All donations are tax deductible and will do amazing things to advance research for the prevention and treatment of breast cancer. You have through September 10th to participate in the raffle. I will put all the entries in a bowl on the 11th and select one winner. If you donate online I will get an email notifying me of your donation. If you choose to print out the donation form and mail it in, please send me an email so that you will not be left out of the raffle.

Now, on to the mini sessions. Here are the details:

Saturday, September 13th

15 minute sessions beginning at 9am

One grouping of up to 5 people (if you want individual shots of more than one child, you will need to book one session for each child)

one outfit only, no changes please

session fee is included in the collection price

price of the collection must be paid at the time of booking to reserve your session

3-5 proofs presented in an online ordering gallery

The Collections:

$50
session
1~5x7

$100
session
1~8x10
2~5x7s
1 set of eight wallets

$200
session
1~8x10
4~5x7s
2 sets of eight wallets
AND
one set of 25 photocards (no, it's not too early to do your holiday cards!)
OR
a $50 print credit to purchase other prints of your choice

If you have any questions, please feel free to send me an email or give me a call!

My sweet new niece

It's actually her fault my husband and I were sick last week. We came down with food poisoning after going up to meet her for the very first time. Luckily for her, she's too darn cute to blame. :) I must say we are totally in love, as are her Daddy, Mommy and big brother!
Big smooches little girl!! Thank you for being so good for your crazy auntie with the camera!

A beautiful evening at the beach

Just when I think I've seen all of the most gorgeous beaches in Calvert County I get invited to do a session at another one. Loved this beach! Loved this family! They braved the "bedtime hour" to get a session in during our perfect summer evening light. The kiddos did amazingly well and mom and dad did everything right. It is so important to let your kids just be themselves and do their own thing during a session and to not force them to pose and be perfect. That's the key to getting images that you will love. And I do hope they love these...

I also want to thank everyone for being so patient with me this past week. I was sick a little over a week ago and it took quite a while for me to bounce back. I should be all caught up by this weekend. Yay!! :)

Saying goodbye to a hero

As most locals know, on August 1st United States Army Sgt. Ryan Baumann, of Great Mills, died in Afghanistan from injuries suffered after his vehicle encountered an improvised explosive device. My husband heard last week that people were being asked to line the route that would take Sgt. Baumann to Arlington this morning. Let me just say that it was one of the most moving scenes I have ever witnessed. I took the kids and went to the St. Mary's/Charles County line only to find a beautiful flag hanging over the road from the ladders of two firetrucks, dozens of other firetrucks and emergency vehicles from all over the county lining the road, Firefighters and Police Officers and Soldiers and Marines and Sailors and Airmen, all in uniform, and a community that came together on a simply beautiful morning to say thank you and goodbye to a man who so bravely gave his life in the service of our country.


I wanted to share a couple of photos here tonight to ask everyone to please keep Sgt. Baumann's loved ones in your thoughts and prayers in the coming days. And also, as you kiss your kids goodnight and settle yourself into bed, please remember all of the men and women in uniform who are in harm's way keeping watch tonight. The thanks that we owe them is beyond words...

Congratulations to Starr & Thomas

Before I get into all kinds of trouble, no, I do not normally do weddings. Occassionally if my schedule allows, I will take on a small, intimate, outdoor wedding. Even then it is usually only one or two a year. I bow down to wedding photograhers. Weddings are soooo much work! I'll chase a two year old around for a couple of hours any day!!! :)

Anyway, I have taken a long time to finish these up, so I thought I would give Starr & Thomas a little peek while their photos are being printed and their album assembled. I hope you guys had a wonderful honeymoon! I'll be in touch soon!

And my favorite...I think:

One last session in Maryland

So I get a call from one of my favorite clients looking for a family session at the beach. Of course I jump at the chance. Then she gives me the news. They have put their house up for sale and will be moving soon. :( So sad for me, but happy for them as they are obviously excited about the new adventure. So no pressure here or anything. They just want some special photos to remember their time here in Maryland. ;) Luckily for me they are some of the easiest people in the world to photograph. They are so great, so much fun and just completely gorgeous. My biggest problem with them is narrowing down the number of proofs I have to show them to a reasonable number.

Anyway, here is a little sneak peek for them. We waited what seemed like forever for the sunset this night. It was so pretty though. A little Southern Maryland sunset with the Solomon's bridge there in the background.

Their gorgeous little girl. I am convinced that this child can not take a bad picture.

Their little prince. Not sure if you can see the sand all over his face, but he was really "getting in to" this whole beach photo session thing. :)

And finally...I can't take credit for this idea. I've done variations during senior sessions and engagement sessions on the beach, but never thought to do it with a family. Can I just say that I LOVE IT!!

I'll have the rest of these up for you guys soon!!

Summer Fun

I hope everyone had a wonderful 4th of July!! We almost put the kids to bed last night assuming that the fireworks had been cancelled due to the storm. We heard a couple of fireworks go off in the distance, so we jumped in the car with the kids and raced over to Solomons. I wish I had some photos to share of the show, but in our rush to get out the door I left my camera. :( Oh well! Maybe next year!

I still have a couple of clients still patiently waiting to see their photos that I took before I left for vacation. If you are waiting, I am here to let you know that I am almost caught up and they will be ready for you shortly! Here are a couple from a session I am currently working on posting. I had to share this gorgeous little princess...

holding Daddy's hand...awww...

and one of her brother and the crab he found on the beach.

He was definitely more interested in all the beach critters than he was in having his photo taken. :) Hey, who wouldn't be?!?!

I'm off to get a little more work in before naptime is over. I'll have tons of stuff to share in the coming days, including another mini session announcement. Don't miss it!