Winter Wonderland

With another big winter storm passing through and two storms in one day, we found ourselves left with 12 inches of snow on Wednesday.   We had a mix of snow, rain, thunder, and lighting all at once!  These photos were taken around the house since we were pretty snowed in.  We were lucky that we didn't lose our power.  You can see in some of the photos how dangerously low our power lines got.  We also had a lot of broken tree branches.  As you can see my new Bernese mountain puppy, Arthur is my new muse.  I decided to put all the nature photos in a slide show and showcase his photos... otherwise this post would have been really long!  All the photos in the slide show are untouched.  

"A Winter Wonderland"

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BOB

This is Bob.  Some of you may know him.  If you have ever gone to "Caplan's" down in Old Ellicott City you've probably seen him.  He's a huge Mancoon, so he's kind of hard to miss.  He is a lovable gentle giant and just lounges around the store!  Sadly, he has to find a new home since Caplan's is closing it's doors after 23 years on Main St.  My friend Shelley is heartbroken at both the closing of the store and having to find Bob a new home.  He gets along with her two giant Bernese mountain dogs but not her other cats.  Bob and Caplan's will be missed!

I'm surprising her with these photos on her last day (today).

Sweet as HONEY

My brother and his girlfriend added to their boxer family with this little 8 week old boxer puppy.  She was as sweet as can be and her name is Honey.  

Second photographer!

This afternoon after several hours of editing photos, I realized I needed to take a break.  My husband and I pulled out my collection of old cameras and shot some photos.  They were all shot right outside of my studio at the old hen house on our property.  Besides it being utterly freezing outside it was fun!  I believe I only showed how cold I was in one of them when the wind blew the snow around.  I also had to put my jacket on for a few of them.  We were only out their for maybe 15 minutes but, when we came in my hands were on fire!  You can't get that kind of wake up call with any kind of caffeine drink!  

I can now update my profile pictures with these great shots.  Since I've been with my husband (almost 5 years now) I've been teaching him how to take pictures (my way).  This was a man who when asked to take a picture you would mostly get the ceiling... lol  As you can see he's gotten quiet good.  I know it's a lot of photos of myself but, I'm really proud of his work.

After planning out the shoot together, and my editing I'm really happy with how they turned out.  I wanted to use different techniques on each photo.  Since they're photos of me, I have a little more freedom and can play around more than usual.  My husband and I have always worked well together and that's why soon I will be adding him as a second photographer with my wedding packages. 

Please let us know what you think of them!

It's a little Icy out there!

We woke up today with everything covered in ICE!  It's one of those you're glad to stay in.

Baby Justin

I had the pleasure of photographing one of my closets friends newborn baby boy "Justin" the other night.  He is so adorable.  I fell in love the instant I laid eyes on him!  As you can see in the photos my friend looks amazing!!!  Her french bulldog "Hachiko" wanted to be part of the action as well.  When Justin turns 3 months old he will venture out to the studio where I will take family's photos.  Here are a few of my favorites!

The Studio is a work in progress...

I was hesitant about putting up any "before" photos of my studio since it's SO messy but, after taking my friends photos tonight she encouraged me to do the "before" and "after" posts.  I'll be posting her photos of her new beautiful baby boy tomorrow!

So, here are some shots of the studio in it's before phase and should be done in less than a week... I hope.  The first four photos is what was left here when we moved in that's why it's not completely empty.  I love all the natural light that I get!  I'm very happy with how it's going and love the items we picked up at IKEA!  My new craft/packaging table is my favorite piece from IKEA.  I can't wait till it's complete and the clutter is gone!!!!

I would also like to thank my husband for without him I would never get any of this done!  He has been working around the clock putting things together and helping make my dream come true.  I'm a very lucky lady and I know it!

Drew and I being silly as we were getting ready for the first session that was shot here when it was empty.

A stroll down the street.

I decided to take a little stroll down the street and snap some pictures of my neighbors homes in the snow since they all have a lot of character and charm to them.  I would have walked to Main Street but, decided it might be a little too dangerous.  I have decided to drive down later today instead.  With it not being to cold out, the sun shining, and the wind blowing the snow around it made for some nice photos.  Since I grew up in this area one of my favorite homes is this castle and now I'm lucky to be able to look out my window and see it everyday.  I love the charm that this historic town has, it really makes you feel like you have stepped back in time.