Fall for the Book 2007

Every year, George Mason University organizes Fall for the Book, a literary festival that is pretty much the best collegiate literary festival in the world. They bring in dozens of writers, from all sorts of genres and from all over the country. I am currently a graduate student in the MFA writing program at GMU, so I was coerced in taking photographs at some of the Fall for the Book events. Actually, I'm did it gladly, I love photography :)

The images here are from the readings by Jennifer Egan, Alexandra Fuller, and James Houston (respectively). I had the opportunity to drive James Houston around the Fairfax area and although I had printed internet directions, I got horribly lost (on both occasions) but he was really nice about it. I wish I had been in his Visiting Writer's class this semester but I did manage to get a spot next semester, when Jennifer Egan will be coming back for it. If you're looking for books to add to your reading list, check out The Keep, Don't Let's Go To The Dogs Tonight, and Birds of Another Heaven.

Operation Crossroads Africa

Those who know me in my personal life know that I spent a summer in Nkubu, Kenya in 2006. I pretty much talk about it all the time and as if I was there for 5 years. I really did have an amazing time and I learned so much about myself and about a land and a community 7,500 miles away from my own. I worked at an orphanage called the Huruma Centre, through a program based in New York City called OPERATION CROSSROADS AFRICA.

Yesterday, I was looking up the OCA website to include in an email to an interested friend. When the OCA main webpage loaded, I was incredibly surprised to see one of my images from my trip! In fact, the entire website, which was recently redesigned, is loaded with my images! I am really honored that my photography is being used to represent this incredible program, which was the progenitor of the Peace Corps. It definitely was a challenge to lug around my camera; there was a time when I slipped into a river bank and my camera was inches away from being soaked in muddy water. Everyone else was worried about my well-being while I was only concerned about my camera!

The OCA website also has a link to my KENYA SLIDESHOW. Here are a few of my favorite images from my time in Nkubu:

Christine and Nate at Meadowlark...

Take a look at Christine & Nate's SLIDESHOW!

Christine and Nate, the awesome couple I photographed in July, were married at Meadowlark Botanical Gardens in Vienna, VA. The day was particularly special because their good friend Gary married them in the ceremony. The event was catered by Well Dunn Catering and the food was fantastic. Many thanks to my friend Pete for being my assistant. I really enjoyed capturing their wedding day; all the flowers were just so fun! Here are some highlights:

Welcome to the world Max!

Take a look at Max's SLIDESHOW!

Congratulations to Alexa and Jeremy :) Their first child, Max, was born on August 13th! I photographed him at just 10 days old. You might be thinking he's a big 10-day-old, well... Max decided to lounge around in the womb as long as possible. He definitely is quite mature for his age; he was nearly lifting his head on his own! When I was looking through the images, I was really taken aback by the range of expression on such a young face! I'm so happy for this awesome family :)

Shimona and Geoff's wedding in Annapolis

I helped out the incredibly talented Andy Peterson with Shimona and Geoff's wedding. They were wed at the lovely Governor Calvert House right near the Capital Building. There was an enormous Ripken 8 banner (because of his Hall of Fame induction) hanging over the Capital, which I wasn't so keen on as they guys were! Shimona is a wedding coordinator (but not for her own wedding!) and, true to form, everything was perfect :)

Definitely check out ANDY'S BLOG and ANDY'S SLIDESHOW. Here is a sample of my own work:

I love John!

This is one of my favorite images of John, the love of my life and the man I will marry next year! We were on a beach in Okinawa (Japan) and I snapped this one before he was fully aware I had the camera on him. The next series of images were of him being Jim Carrey-esque to purposely sabotage my photography efforts. I think I remember that he didn't want a picture showing his teeth. Ohh, John. On Thursday we are headed to California for a mini-vacation!

Christine and Nate's Engagement Photos

Check out their SLIDESHOW!

Christine and Nate are a very cool and fun couple who are getting married in September. We went the super beautiful Meadowlark Botanical Gardens in Vienna, which is the same location they will have their wedding. I loved the brightness of Christine's outfit, it definitely went well with the bright colors around us in the gardens! Our favorite was the "Bold Garden." Thanks to Lucinda for recommending me. I'm looking forward to the wedding in September :)