Dancer

I'm starting to play catch up with my images from California. This is Miss M. She is applying for an advanced dance program and needed some headshots to go with her application. My focus on her was her incredible brown eyes. I tried to capture the beautiful golden light in her eyes with every pose that I put her through.

Girlie Girl | Virginia Beach Family Photographer

While I was out in California I was able to stop by and say hi to a friend of mine, Dominique of D. Long Photography. Her work has absolutely blossomed into this incredibly unique style and I love watching her grow as an artist. Her daughter is the reason I would love a girl. She has this infectious laugh. Her little tongue curls out, her eyes squeeze shut and she has the girliest giggle you can imagine.

Hoping to Inspire

I came across such an incredible giveaway today, a spot in an Amy Wenzel Workshop and my heart skipped a beat. Amy wants to know how contestants inspire others, so here is my (very personal) story and my entry for this wonderful opportunity.

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Dear Amy,
I’m conflicted. I’m 23 years old and have found the man of my dreams. I always said I would never marry a service member. I couldn’t possibly be strong enough to handle the nights alone or the months of worry. Yet love has a way and I fell hopelessly into his arms. So we marry and move into a life that you never really understand until you are thrown into it.

Dear Amy,
I’m frustrated. I’m 24 years old and questioning where I fit in this lifestyle. What a wonderful and promising job I left behind to be with this person I care so deeply about. The temp agency is sending me to a new location on Monday. Someone is out sick so I know it won’t be long term. Monday comes and I spend the day at a desk, answering phones and transferring calls. No one introduces themselves, no one asks me to join them for lunch. I won’t be here tomorrow, so why bother. Andy gives me the good news, goodbye Florida, hello Texas.

Dear Amy,
I feel in limbo. My husband’s dreams are coming true. I’ve always known it was a possibility. He’s wanted to land a plane on a carrier since he saw Top Gun as a boy. Yet I feel like where once I could define myself, now I’m only a shadow waiting patiently for my chance to step out. I’ve found a job, this one working from home but something is pulling at me. Two pink lines and I’m over the moon excited. An ER visit later, numbness. I never got the chance to tell him. He won’t be home for a few days either. A few months later, two lines again! Yet life has a way of repeating itself. At least he was home this time. Training is over, time to move.

Dear Amy,
We are here in Virginia. A specialist, two lines and a heartbeat later bring a beautiful boy to our world. I dust off my camera. The months drag on during the first deployment and I engulf myself into this uncovered passion. Happiness finally arrives with a welcome home kiss that made the deployment almost seem worth it. A month or two home, then away for more training. I’ve known all along it’s coming. I spend the holidays dreading the inevitable. New Year’s Day comes and he is gone again. This time for longer. This time it’s harder. We barely had our hello. We barely got used to the idea of welcoming a 2nd child into our home. Back to the single mom routine.

Dear Amy,
I’ve read about your incredible giveaway today. Being a military wife, you get through the hard days by looking to those who inspire you and hope to one day be in a position to inspire others. When I married into the Navy, I had no idea that I would be signing away my identity. Photography has given that gift back to me. It has given me a passion that can carry me through deployments and through the career moves we have yet to make. I hope to lead others to find their life inspiration, to take risks, and to have no regrets. I have so much to learn and a spot in your workshop would truly be a gift. Amy, most importantly, I need you to teach me how to make an identity for myself in this industry. I cannot afford for this endeavor to fail. If I lose this passion, I lose myself again. I am so grateful for your consideration.

Epiphanie Bags Giveaway

Normally I don't blog about contests and giveaways, but Epiphanie Bags is giving away a Canon 5D Mark II that I would just LOVE to have. So, if you want your chance to win this awesome camera, check out their blog for details... http://www.haveanepiphanie.com/

Been Awhile...

It's been awhile since I've been able to post... or even focus on capturing an image. I've rarely picked up my camera since about November which just makes me sad. But, for good reason. The hubby and I are expecting our 2nd baby and the 1st trimester left me intimately familiar with the porcelein god day after day! Logan and I also said goodbye to the hubby who left about a month ago on his 2nd deployment. It seems like he just returned from his last deployment and this goodbye was a little difficult to accept. So, I'm out in California, resting and visiting with family and watching Logan get so much joy out of roaming our family's 200 acre ranch. We even brought the dog out (after a very expensive plane ride!). So I'm promising myself to take more walks, to reconnect and to enjoy our vacation while it lasts. I don't know how often I will post over the next month or so. I only have my laptop out here which seriously lacks color management. So I apologize if the color seems a bit off, or a lot off for that matter. Looks like I will have a lot of editing and posting to do when we get back to Virginia! But for now, here's a couple that I took while out for a walk...

Williamsburg Wreaths

My stroll around Williamsburg to see the gorgeous holiday wreaths they put out on display every year didn't exactly go as smoothly as I would have liked. A rain forecast meant that we had to smoosh all of our weekend activities essentially into one day so we attempted to walk around to see the wreaths right before Logan's naptime, which was just a bad idea. So between temper tantrums and me holding a toddler who couldn't make up his mind on whether he wanted up or down, I did manage to sneak in a few pictures of the wreath displays before we threw in the towel and headed back to the car. If you'd like to see the full collection of pictures, visit my facebook page and feel free to join my fan list!

Twinkling Lights | Virginia Beach Children's Photographer

This picture didn't go exactly how I had envisioned it. The layout of our living room was a little awkward to get the shot I wanted, but I thought I would share how to get the twinkling lights in a picture like this one. You know when you squint your eyes and look at a street lamp the lights turn into a starburst? Well, the same thing happens when you close up the aperture. Think of it like your camera is squinting. I took two pictures for this shot, both from a tripod. The first I set the aperture as high as it would go, to f/32 and got the twinkling lights effect. Then we brought Logan over to the tree and he started pointed out the lights and ornaments. The second shot was taken using bounced light off the flash, I angled it towards the top of the wall directly behind me and set the shutter speed back up to around 125 so it would freeze Logan's small movements. Then I merged the two photos in photoshop and came out with this final product. Try it on your tree and see what you come up with!