Fallon's Senior Session with her Horses | Leesburg, VA Senior Portrait Photographer

So much for trying to not share a million photos from every session. This session was like a dream come true for me - I absolutely love horses, and would really like to do more senior photography sessions. It almost didn't happen when a storm rolled in just as we were supposed to get started, but it passed just as quickly and we only started about 10 minutes late.

I seriously don't think even I scratched the surface of my favorite photos from this session. This is the stunning Fallon celebrating her high school graduation - now on to Virginia Tech to study meteorology! It's no secret that she is beautiful on her own and next to her horses, feisty Bets (who is 22 years old!!) and gentle Ginger, but once she got on them (bareback!!) she was just beaming. I had a lot of fun playing with the variety of light we were getting; a combination of passing clouds from the storm, a setting sun, open shade, full shade, and open fields.

Congratulations, Fallon!! Best of luck in college and with all the amazing things you're going to do!

Ms G and Tilley | Leesburg, VA Family Photographer

I photographed G turning 3 last year at Oatlands; this year we celebrated her turning 4 and getting a new puppy at Morven Park. Is there anything more amazing than a gorgeous little girl in the soft light of [almost] Golden Hour, just being herself and loving life? Honestly, this has to be one of my favorite sessions to date. Everything about her is just perfect *insert heart emoticon here, since Blogger won't let me!*

Isn't the last photo so whimsical? The light in that spot was perfect for what we were trying to capture. I processed in color and converted to high-key black and white for my weekly photo challenge. Which do you prefer??

Happy 1st, Beautiful F.! | Leesburg VA Family Photographer

We battled some harsh backlighting for beautiful F's first birthday shoot but the halo only serves to accentuate how sweet she is! Everyone was all smiles during our it's-finally-not-snowing session - even the dog!

Check out the rest of her preview on Facebook.

The National Zoo | Northern Virginia Photographer

We had friends in town and decided to head to the National Zoo in Washington, DC. I am always excited for any chance to use my Canon 100mm f/2.8 Macro! I usually spend lots of time at the Invertebrates house but on this trip I wanted to try something a smidge different.

project 52 of 2013 | urban/street photography

Let me start off by saying that I have great admiration for street photography and I always find myself in awe of the candidness in the images - simply put, I love how real it is. Humans of New York is one of my favorites, even though they're not candids, it's every day people sharing just a little piece of themselves with the world.

project 52 of 2013 | no faces

This week's challenge was "no faces." Being that it's spring in Northern Virginia, the first thing I thought of was to share photos of the cherry blossoms in our yard, but it's been really windy here. Then I took this of me shaking paws with our German Shepherd, Snoopy; I liked the imagery of the bond between man and beast. Working with rescues again has reminded me of the appreciation our dogs have for us. Even though they sometimes drive us completely nuts, and are not without their quirks, we're their family and they're ours.

project 52 of 2013 | from above

For this week's challenge of "from above" I went with an image from my trip to Friends of Homeless Animals (FOHA) yesterday. You might remember that I'm working with them to update the photos of their wonderful adoptable dogs on the website. Thanks to Billy and Marla and a few other volunteers I ambushed while they were innocently out walking them, I was able to photograph 37 more dogs this weekend! This is Carma:

Friends of Homeless Animals [adoptables.]

Some may already know, but before we brought our daughter into the world my husband and I used to bring dogs into our home...a lot of them. In about two years we fostered 15 dogs, and thankfully only kept one - our wonderful Snoopy. Even though we won't foster again until our daughter is older, I still want to continue volunteering, and what better way than to take pictures of the incredible dogs available for adoption?

project 52 of 2013 | framing

This week's theme was framing. I hit a bit of inspiration-block and happened to come across my cat being ridiculous at just the right time. This is Molly, being framed by our kitchen sink :)

project 52 of 2013 | animals

Not to rag on Apple, but our hard drive crashed last week and needed to be replaced. This is the second time in four years. I'm pretty sure that's not normal. As great as their customer service is, "sometimes it just happens" is really not an acceptable answer when we're talking a $200+ repair on a $3000+ computer every two years. But I digress.

Baltimore Aquarium

On Friday my family and I went to the Baltimore Aquarium for my daughter's 2nd birthday! I love aquariums. I love the water and I love the fish. I feel so peaceful. And it's always interesting to see fish I've swum with up close and personal on a dive (including sharks) behind glass, where I can stand there with my camera and connect on a very different level.

Labor Day

Hope everyone had a safe and happy Labor Day! We had good friends in town and spent our afternoon at one of my favorite wineries, Village - I may have mentioned them before ;)

Augie the Kitten

My friend Kelly brought over her new kitten today for a little kitty photoshoot. She adopted Augie from the Loudoun County Animal Shelter. LCAS actually rescued my own cat after she ran away last winter, so I'm a big fan.

Wine, please.

I recently mentioned that I enjoy a glass of local wine now and again...and again. I live in Loudoun County, Virginia - Wine Country, as it's known. There are more than 30 wineries within a decent drive from our house, and some that are only minutes away. We also have a lot of farms.

Put Me in the Zoo

Today, my friend Kim and I took my daughter to our local zoo, the Leesburg Animal Park. For anyone in the area, it's a great little place to check out. Entrance for adults is only $10 and you get a cup of food to feed the animals. The chickens and giant turkeys are just out and about with you, and they have a huge petting zoo area with all kinds of animals in it. They have a free wagon ride that takes you to see some cool, larger animals as well as the zebras, and they do free shows with some of the exotic animals. They also offer pony and camel rides. It's a very neat place to have right in town.

I Heart Faces Photo Challenge | Pet Faces {August 2012}

Meet Finn; he is our 5 year old German Shepherd/Pug mix. Yes, you read that right. And to answer your next question, the pug was the mama. The couple we got him from were pug breeders who also had a GSD they showed so he couldn't be neutered. So while it was no surprise when the pug got knocked up, they were a bit thrown off when she gave birth to these little monsters they call "Shugs." :)