San Diego Trip

Gosh!!! It has been awhile and so much to post! I didn't even post half of the things I wanted to post before heading out on my trip to Cali!!!  What a gorgeous state!!! I have a ton of pics and will share some of the highlights of my trip in the coming weeks.  I hope that you all had a great Thanksgiving! 

Here are a few pics from the workshop that I attended in San Diego. Eileen was an awesome model. Super photogenic! She is a student who heard about the workshop and volunteered to be one of our models. Here are a few of my favorites that I edited at the airport and during my plane ride home! 

At the workshop we all had to submit our favorite image of the day, and I entered this one for day one, and it was chosen as the best overall photo of day 1.... and I won a shootsac and cover!!!! What a wonderful surprise! I actually won the cover that I wanted to get for Josh!

Stay tuned for more posts in the next few days... Off to watch the Steeler game with hubby! I surely missed him!

m.e.

Therol + Alex.... and San Diego!

Hello all! I am here in Charlotte, NC getting ready to board my plane to San Diego, but had one last post to complete before I head off to the Love Affair Workshop!!! I can hardly believe that it is already here! I am going on about 3 hrs. of sleep... on top of several other days of minimal sleep.... but, I am so excited that I don't think it will even hit me! I will be in San Diego until Friday and then will be driving the coast with my friend Meg... and returning to San Diego on Thanksgiving to fly home! It will be fun and full of adventure... I will be taking tons of photos so expect to see some awesome shots of my trip when I return.... as well as several other sessions that I have yet to blog! So much going on. Business is awesome! Thanks everyone for your patience!

Ok. Now to Therol and Alex. They met in Hawaii and then eloped, so they never had the chance to really have wedding photos so we had a portrait session at Centennial Park in Columbia... We had so much fun! They are so cute!!!! And the fall colors were amazing!!!!!

m.e.

Katie + Drew

Katie and Drew got married at the end of October at the First Unitarian Church of Baltimore and had their reception at the George Peabody Library.  It was a gorgeous wedding! 

I showed up at the Lord Baltimore Radisson Hotel ready to shoot.... but locked my keys in the car (while it was running!).  What a disaster that was! I think that I accidentally bumped the lock door button when I went back to the car to put my window up after talking to the Valet... so needless to say, while I took photos of getting ready, I was on the phone with AAA to have them come and unlock my car. Really I didn't even care if my car got towed... I just wanted to take photos and deal with my car later. All worked out though... Katie and her gals were so sweet and understanding. I felt terrible!!!! But, I am pretty sure that I will not do that again! Praise God that I had my camera equipment out of the car!

Poor little guy!!! I came in with my camera and started snapping pictures and frightened him! He didn't know that I couldn't "see" him getting dressed. In fact, I might not have even noticed if it weren't for the look on his face!

Here is Katie's audience!

One of the guys had the idea to make a photo like Abbey Road... They only had a few seconds to pose... because the cars were not going to wait... It was a god try though!

Thanks Katie and Drew! Gorgeous wedding!

m.e.

Neil and Cassen Trash the Dress

So awhile back (obviously if you take a look at the trees/weather!) Neil and Cassen had their Trash the Dress Session! So fun! Love, love the pics! We were back at her Aunt and Uncle's property where they got married. It truly is a little slice of photography heaven out there!

I definitely wish I would have taken more at this spot using those shadows!!! They are awesome!

Here is Cassen in her garden attire....

Thanks guys!!!!! You have been so much fun to work with!

m.e.

The Grieb Family!

I met the Grieb family on the perfect fall day just before Halloween... Chilly air, gorgeous sunshine... colorful leaves....  And, an awesome family!  You might recognize Mollie and Brian from April and Andy's wedding. Brian and Andy are brothers... and Brian's family took advantage of my fall family portrait session special in Federal Hill Park. Here are some of my favorites of the day. Talk about a family with energy!

I just love the warm light from the sun!

m.e.

California!!!

So as you may or may not know, I will be headed to California from the 17-27th... for the Love Affair Workshop as well as to explore the state. My friend Meg and I will be heading all of the way to Northern California, and plan to see as much as we can!!! If you have any places that you have been and that you think we should visit, leave a comment and tell me where we should stop! :)

m.e.

April + Andy!

Andy and April got married a few weeks ago at St. Paul's in Old Ellicott City. They had amazing fall weather! We started at April and Andy's house where the ladies were getting ready for the big day....

Andy sent some flowers with a sweet note...

Just enough to make a girl cry!  

April pinning the boutonniere on her dad.

This is April in her limo, leaving for the church... Take note of the magnet on the side that says go Black and Gold.... yes they are Steeler's fans! Gooo Steelers!

Andy's brother works for an architecture firm in the Inner Harbor, so we were lucky enough to grab some really cool shots.... You can barely see them in this shot, but they are right in the middle. All of the people in the harbor were hooting and hollering... and so excited to see the bride and groom!

Now can you see them?

If you couldn't in the above shots... you can now! 

A fun chair in the Architecture Firm...

This shot is from being up on the balcony with them overlooking the harbor.

Ok....now this is leaving the church... A little out of order.... I am redoing my blog. It is in process with flosites.... so soon it should be a little bit easier to get my photos in the order I am looking for! 

Uh oh.... someone got caught! :)  

Aren't the clouds awesome!

Now to the reception at the World Trade Center.

A few details...

Ahhhh-mazing view!!!!!

Andy had a little surprise for April. He sang her the sweetest and most hysterical song!!! It was soooo cute. I was holding back tears as I took photos!

I love how much effort Andy put into tossing the garter... He is basically bent over backwards, yet... none of his guys even moved to catch the garter! 

April with her mom and sister. They have such wonderful relationships!!!

The song playing was not "Walk Like an Egyptian"  despite what you might think by looking at the photo!

Boys will be boys!!! (These are Andy's brothers)

And like father like son (dad is on the left...) You will actually see this family on the blog this week, because we did a family session in Federal Hill Park! 

Hiding from the camera is not allowed!

The bride chugging, Round 1

If it weren't for Andy closing his eyes in a lot of shots.... I don't know if I would have had that many photos to get rid of from the wedding! The two of them are always smiling and laughing! Such a cute couple!

April chugging, Round 2

Thanks guys! Such a fun wedding!

m.e.

Emily + Steven!

Meet Emily and Steve! They are getting married next weekend!!! I will just have to say... that for the record, I think this was my  favorite engagement session. I really enjoy all of my clients... and when I edit my sessions, I always sit at my computer with a smile on my face because I always have fun with my clients... but I found myself actually laughing out loud as I edited their session. We spent our time in Federal Hill... and totally found some awesome spots!!! I love not having a "plan" and just discovering cool places. Emily and Steven are a super fun, laid back couple... I think we captured that!!! And, to keep you coming back, I am just going to give you a hint that their centerpieces just might have asparagus in them... Can't wait to see them!

Love this little staircase that their neighbors have! Emily and Steve live in a cute little side street of Federal Hill....It is a quant little street...they all hang out... Sounds like their neighbors are a bit like family. :)

Very cool spot...  

This alley was really cool... Steve knew about it and we did some exploring...opened "secret" doors...   :)

One of my session favorites... although I do have many. I think I might feature their engagement session on my website in my galleries as an example.... 

Another favorite...

Ok, sorry Emily... If you look at this photo fast, she is suddenly looking preggo!!! :)  Don't worry folks, that is just Steve's leg!

Their cozy little house. Love the light!

Emily and Steve: Be the Flower!

They would seriously do anything that was suggested.....   :)

I just love the way he looks at her.  

There is a whole series of these photos here... I just love the light! So gorgeous!

Steve had a little difficulty with the flying thing.... I saved the embarrassing ones for their private viewing gallery...  :)  You are welcome Steve.  :)

So I have been wanting a couple to make a fun heart in a shadow photo.... and they did it! So, the next step would be a cute kiss... with a heart....or kiss in the heart...??

Here is the church that they are getting married at! Look at that sunset!

So apparently this shot is just a tradition of theirs...  I am not quite sure how it started, I didn't ask any questions.  :)

Thanks guys! Can't wait till next weekend!

m.e.

News Update!

Hello faithful (and new) blog readers!!!

Just a quick note to share a few holiday deadlines for you!  Yes, holiday deadlines already!

As you may or may not know, I will be leaving on November 17 for the Love Affair Workshop in San Diego, CA! I have never been to CA and am SUPER excited! I will be attending the workshop from November 17-20, and on the 20th my good friend, Meg will be flying in and we are going to take a road trip to explore CA. We picked a big state to conquer.... but we are so excited to see as much as we can cram in! I am flying back to MD on Thanksgiving Day. All of this to say that from November 17-30th, I will be closed and will return to complete all of your orders and requests on Monday, December 1!

So with this being said, here are your order deadlines:

Last day to submit pick up orders: Tuesday, November 11

Last day to submit print orders shipped to your address: November 13

Holiday deadlines:

Last day to submit holiday card orders: December 5

Last day to submit holiday print orders (unless you want to pay for expidited service): December 15

Thank folks!!! I have a TON to blog... Halloween fun, some awesome weddings, engagement and family sessions.... new sample albums... ahh the list goes on! Stay tuned! Have a blessed day!

m.e.

Jumi -Senior

Meet Jumi! Jumi is another senior at Atholton High School in Columbia. We headed to Ellicott City just before the weather started to get a bit chilly.... It was actually quite warm and I was sweating just looking at Jumi in all of her layers! I had on short sleeves... and she was full of jackets, scarves, hats, etc... but I love her style!

Jumi is the super free spirited, playful, adventurous type. She cracked me up... and she does this cute squinty face smile thing... love it!

See the cute squinty smile....

This is one of my favorites of the day.

Thanks Jumi!!!