I have had a busy month, for sure! The highlight was definitely my trip to San Antonio for the Imaging USA convention. IUSA is put on by the Professional Photographers of America. It’s a once-a-year convention and trade show for photographers all over to get together and get new ideas, see new products and listen to some fantastic speakers. Let’s not forget to have fun. San Antonio is a really cool city, and I love that Riverwalk! I got a chance to try out my new Canon S95 point-and-shoot at night.  It takes amazing photos for being a point-and-shoot.  And the best part?  It fits in my back pocket.

So back to amazing products… watch for a new type of album to be offered early this year in the studio.  I was amazed at some of the lay-flat albums that have pages mounted on board.  The look and feel is so completely amazing – I can’t wait to offer these to my clients.  Gorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous!!

Image boxes – I will be offering beautiful boxes for your lay-flat albums as well.  Product photos coming soon.  They are AMAZING.  You can also order prints mounted on black mounting board to fit in these amazing boxes.  Really, really neat.

Another really neat product that is really hot right now with really good photographers that are in the know, are boutique note cards.  These are printed on the same type of card stock that you’ve grown to know and love, but come in all sorts of fantastic shapes!  Circles, scalloped circles, scalloped squares, rounded corners, stars, snowflakes…. the list goes on and on!  Look for some really cool stuff to make its debut in the studio soon!

Finally, I want to tell you about Float Wraps.  These are the neatest thing ever.  I actually just ordered a series to put next to my front door, so if you have an upcoming session, be sure to take note.  Float wraps are similar to gallery wrap canvas prints, but the print can be printed on either traditional paper or canvas and is wrapped around a piece of mounting board instead of a stretcher frame.  Behind the print is a block about 1″ thick that causes the print to “float” away from the wall.  These are SO amazing!  And with all of the neat things I am doing lately with textures and pattern overlays, I’m creating some amazing art pieces for your homes!

So, I hope to see you in the studio soon!  There are so many new things that you should come check out.  Call or e-mail today to book your session!

This little guy is not so little anymore!  I have photographed him since he was 9 months old.  Every year, we do a Christmas card shoot… Mom can usually not decide on one card, so we usually do two – how fun!  BOTH of our card designs are always so amazing, and this year is no exception.  #1 – “JOY”

And #2:  ”Christmas Tree”

And the inside of this one, which I LOVE!

This one turned out so cute!  It was a work in progress for a while, but after several iterations, we finally came up with the perfect card!  These girls come for a Christmas card photo shoot every year too.  They are the most fun, silly little ones too – a lot of fun for me to photograph!  Look closely at the letters the girls are holding…

If you are a follower of my blog, you may recognize these cuties.  I photographed each of them as newborns, and I see them every year too.  It is so much fun to see how they change.  Mom has impeccable taste and comes with the perfect little outfits for them each year too!

Clowning around:

Little “S” is so hilarious… I love her spunk:

Another gorgeous family – and one that I am lucky enough to photograph each year:

And, finally, another young lady I get to photograph each November.  She and I always seem to have the best conversations.  She brought me a neat little acorn that she had “needle felted”.  So neat to get a present!  And, she told me all about her dad’s honeybees and how this year they were going to get honey from them.  I was so intrigued!  And I heard all about the zipline in her backyard… I am jealous!

That’s it for now – I have had such a great time photographing each and every family that has come through my doors.  I thank you for your business and support!

Happy Holidays!

In order to earn the designation, I had to meet some rigorous requirements that measured my artistic and technical competence, including passing an exam that tested the technical aspects of photography as well as passing a portfolio review that was judged by a panel of judges.

The Professional Photographic Certification Commission currently recognizes less than 2,000 Certified Professional Photographers internationally.    Certification must be renewed on a periodic basis.  I’m excited to have achieved this goal!

This year, however, I feel it is crazy in a good way.  My youngest turned one on December 1st.  What a whirlwind of a year!  When her first birthday arrived, I had all of the feelings that all of us moms do – excited about that big first birthday, sad that the little baby is almost gone and is blossoming into a little kid, and amazed at how incredibly fast that first year goes.  I came to realize that I can either lament the passage of the first year, or I can just be thankful and happy that I have been blessed with so much in my life!  I’m just trying to enjoy it moment, by moment.  That’s all we can do, really, right?

So, I am posting a few images of the little miss during her “cake smash” photo shoot.  We had a good ol’ time with this, and she went straight up to the tub afterwards!

Cupcake from the Red Velvet Bakery in D.C.  Yummy!

Mmmm… what a mess!

Not so sure about all of this frosting!

And…. after we had her all cleaned up:

Is your little one about to have a first birthday??  Be sure to schedule your “cake smash” shoot!  I just can’t provide the tub…

How fun to be a little girl.

How fun to be a photographer photographing a little girl.

“D” has been coming to me since she was about 7 months old.  Every year I get the privilege of photographing her.  It is truly one of my favorite things about my job.  When you see a particular child just once a year, it just amazes me.  Obviously, they change, but it is such a marked difference when you see them just once each year.  It might sound corny, but I really am so fortunate that these families have chosen me to photograph their little ones lives each year.  To capture who they are and how they have changed.  So, without further ado, here she is… don’t you love the pigtails?!

First stop, Neal Family Vineyards, up on top of Howell Mountain. The tasting room up here was a little different, not quite as friendly as some of the other places, but their wines are really nice. My favorite was the Rutherford Dust Petit Sirah.

purchasing wine at Neal Family

pretty door handle detail on tasting room door

Next stop was the Vincent Arroyo winery, in Calistoga. This was our favorite place. Family owned and operated, it was really neat to see Vince behind the tasting table chatting it up about his wines. He is an ex-engineer that purchased his plot of Napa land when he became bored with his 9-5 cubicle job (I can relate! This is exactly how I got into photography!). He bought the land with the intent that he would just sell the grapes on the bulk market, but decided eventually that he would like to try his hand at winemaking. So, he bought a book on winemaking and the rest is history. We were in Napa during “Crush” as it is called, and even though not all of the grapes are ripe enough to pick, some of the wineries were picking and sorting. At Arroyo, we saw the family operation at work. Neat.

neat bicycles at Vincent Arroyo

It's Crush time! Sorting and de-stemming grapes

grape sorting

Also, of note, I loved meeting the winery dogs, J.J. and Bodega. J.J. is a black lab and Bodega is a chocolate lab – just like I have! The experience of visiting a small, casual, family-run winery was so much fun, but I haven’t even mentioned the wines yet! They actually produce several, but are really well-known for their Petit Sirah. They also make a very nice Sangiovese, which is an unusual grape for the Napa Valley. Between us and our friends, we purchased a case, with a couple of additional bottles signed by Vince himself!

J.J. at Vincent Arroyo

Bodega at Vincent Arroyo

Our crew at Vincent Arroyo

Next stop, Rombauer. Touristy, busy, wines nothing to scream about.
Lunch at the Culinary Institute of America’s restaurant. We had some yummy appetizer-sized things, including a “small bites” plate with five different little bites. Yum. My favorite was the fig topped with prosciutto and cheese and also the falafel. Mmmm..

From there, we headed up to Pride Mountain Vineyards, on the top of Spring Mountain. Beautiful, beautiful setting, and you must come here if you visit Napa. Tastings by appointment only, and also includes a barrel sample. You also get to take a walk through their caves, a welcome respite on a 98-degree Napa Valley day! Did I mention their wines are awesome?? They were named wine of the century several years ago by Robert Parker himself.

The view from Pride Mountain Vineyards

The tasting room at Pride Mountain

We were all a little tired at the end of the day, so decided not to go out for a fancy dinner.  We hit the Oakville Grocery to pick up some salami, cheese, bread and other light picnic food instead. We found a good spot at the pool at our hotel, and chowed down.   This was our last night in Napa. Back home tomorrow.  We had a wonderful trip and enjoyed our time away, but time to get back to reality.  I miss my kids and must get back to work!