Baby Phoebe and Her Beautiful Family

I had the pleasure of photographing newborn Phoebe, her big brother Emerson, and the parents Rachel and Alyson. Rachel is Alexa's sister (who, with her husband and son, makes frequent appearances on this blog), so it was so nice to photograph more of the family out here in California. I was thrilled to see Alexa and Max again during their visit here; I do miss being neighbors with them. Well, welcome Phoebe and congratulations Rachel and Alyson!

Max at One Year

The day before leaving Virginia, I photographed Max--the son of my good friends Alexa and Jeremy--when he was nearing his one-year-birthday. We went to a nearby playground and also Ellanor C. Lawrence Park. I've had the pleasure of photographing Max before: when he was 10 days old and when he was in the womb--well, technically, I photographed his parents :)

Alexa, Jeremy, and Max were also our neighbors in Virginia. I'm really going to miss them and also miss watching Max grow up. Alexa helped found the Holistic Moms Network of Northern Virginia; she's an amazing woman. They have family in the bay-area, so I suspect (and hope) that this won't be the last time you see Max on my photo blog :)

Here's the adorable Max! (You can compare how he's grown from his newborn and even earlier in the maternity photos.)

Jammage, Inc.

Jammage, Inc. are siblings Bradley and Kimberly. Bradley will be a senior GMU, where he is studying English Literature. Kimberly will also be a senior this year, in high school. Every time I hear Kim sing, I think, "That is amazing!" And then several months will go by and I'll hear her sing again, and I'll be completely blown away again, even more so. She is only 17 and her voice is developing absolutely beautifully. And Brad is also a fantastic guitar player. He carries it with him everywhere and it's the best. I hired them to play at my engagement party in 2007, and Brad again for my wedding in May. Highly recommended! Thanks to my best friend Heather for helping out with the photo shoot :) Heather will also be using her graphic design talents to use these images for an album cover or something. (Heather is cousins with Jammage, Inc.) We shot in Pennsylvania, at my mom's house, where we were all hanging before the drive across the US. Brad and Kim performed after the shoot and even the Von Kundra bird was dancing. You have to hear them, if you ever get the chance.

You can get more info, hear a few tunes, etc. on the Jammage, Inc. myspace.

Here is the talented duo:

Logan

Last March, my good friends Erica and Jeff became parents for the first time, bringing into the world the beautiful Logan Michael. When Logan was just 15 days old, I had the opportunity to photograph him. He was a little bit sleepy through most of it, but still so adorable! I love the photos with either Erica or Jeff holding him. You can tell they love him so much.

I met Jeff and Erica because they were our neighbors in Centreville and we often borrowed milk, eggs, etc. from each other (like neighbors did back in the '50's) and also spent countless weekend nights playing poker and making mozzerella sticks in my half-broken toaster oven. Interestingly enough, Erica and Jeff were how I met Andy Peterson; Erica was Andy's son's second-grade teacher. Andy taught me a good deal about shooting weddings and also photographed my own wedding! (His work is beautiful!) I owe much of my image capturing and editing skills to his continued advice and guidance. Andy and his wife, Andi, recently opened a studio in downtown Austin, TX. Get your picture taken if you're ever there :)

Enough about background and history, here is Logan! Congratulations, Erica and Jeff. I'm so happy for you two.

Joan & Lindsay

A while back, I attended the commitment ceremony between Joan and Lindsay, two lovely ladies whom I met at JMU during my freshman year on the Women's Rugby team . I was roommates with Joan during our senior year; we lived at 95 1/2 Franklin St., possibly the best address ever! We had a pink flamingo displayed in our window (because we had no yard) and when I drove through Harrisonburg last year, it was still there! (I had emphatically told the next years' residents they were not allowed to remove it.)

More to the point, Joan and Lindsay's ceremony was absolutely beautiful. Joan is a graphic design artist and all the wedding stationery/programs/etc. was designed by her (I'm assuming!). Their colors were red, white, and black; classy but with spark. Joan completely surprised Lindsay by walking down the aisle in a striking red dress. (Lindsay had thought Joan's dress was white.) They were married at the Camden County Boathouse in Pennsauken, NJ. Almost immediately after the ceremony, the DJ kicked it off with some upbeat tunes and the dance floor was occupied the entire night. Everyone had a blast :) Pictured break dancing, below, is Marc, whom I went to elementary school with!

Unfortunately, John, Jennifer (WXJM legend), and I were stuck in some major traffic on our way up north (as if we hadn't lived in Northern VA the past decade or more and known about what the roads are like on Friday afternoons!) We just barely made it before they walked down the aisle. After my nerves calmed, I enjoyed witnessing their exchange of commitment. Joan and Lindsay have been deeply in love with each other for almost 8 years now; they really have something spectacular. I wish you both a lifetime of happiness!

A preview...

I know I haven't posted in a while, the reasons being that I got married, drove across the country, and relocated to California, all within a two-month window! It's been phenomenally exciting. But very stressful and exhausting. All in all, John is enjoying his new job and we are both very happy.

I have a lot of catching up to do with my photography, and I'm starting to edit photos from a while back. Today, I was editing just a couple photos of Max, because his birthday is August 13th, and his parents wanted a few photos for when he turns 1! You'll remember Max from his newborn photos last fall and also his mother Alexa's maternity photos before he made his entrance. Anyways, I thought this one was just absolutely adorable and I wanted to share :)



Stay tuned for a wedding, a newborn, a band, and more of Max! Then after that, I'll post a few of the honeymoon and our cross-country trip :)