iheartfaces, Week of May 31 :: Best Face of May

I have seen Angie's lovely daughter featured on her mother's blog and on the I Heart Faces' website for a couple of years now. She possesses soul. She possesses quietness. She has a maturity in her eyes that belies her young age. And I often thought how lucky her mama was to have her at her disposal.

Finally, I had my fifteen minutes with her at the I Heart Faces Dream Big workshop and she was a photographer's dream. She knew where the light was. She knew where the lens was. She just knew what to do. And then I got home and saw maybe, perhaps, I knew just what to do, too.

It's People's Choice week so come share your very best face of May...

Forever Babies :: Lexington, VA Family Photographer

It is hard to photograph through tears. It is hard to hold still with trembling hands. When I got home yesterday from my session and tried to tell my husband about it, I broke down and wept, enveloped in his arms as my mind raced over the events of my morning.

One year and 5 days ago I met this family. I met them in turmoil. Their foster babies, who they hoped would become their adopted sons, were going back with their birth mother. But they did not want to forget the twins' precious smiles, their silly 8 month old faces and the joy they brought into their lives.

I didn't know what to expect that morning last May. What I found were the cutest, happiest, funniest set of twins, completely loved by this wonderful couple. I could see the love. I could see the family that desperately wanted to be.

September rolled around and the twins celebrated their First Birthday. Still foster babies. Still completely, absolutely loved and doted upon. And simply thriving with the love and attention of their foster parents.

The days rolled into weeks, weeks rolled into months and Christmas arrived. I returned to take a picture or two for their Christmas card...which was going to announce to all their family and friends that the boys were going to be theirs! Forever. And ever. The long awaited, desperately wanted sons of this beautiful couple.

The new year brought many changes for me and my eyes were set on the fast approaching move. I decided to stop taking clients in the month of May so I could focus completely on the needs of my family and the preparations to move. But I got an email. The adoption date was set and would I be able to photograph the ceremony? No second thought, I could not miss this moment, I was going to be there.

And I was. Yesterday, I went to the Court House and watched as a couple who had cried and doubted and hoped and dreamed became parents to two delightful, happy, healthy boys. Their forever babies. And there is nothing more amazing than watching someone become a parent, whether through birth or adoption. It is amazing and moving and incredible. Every single time.

Today, the family (Family. Of Four. Forever.) celebrated with an Adoption Party. The boys' birthday is in September, but I am pretty sure May 27th will be a huge day every year.

Their mother made a video of the road that led them to this day and you can never underestimate the power of an image. These boys, in ten or fifteen years, will look back and see the love they had surrounding them from so many people. And they will never question how much they were wanted. From the very first. Forever.

San Antonio :: I Heart Faces Workshop

Anyone who reads my blog or follows me on Facebook is well aware of the glorious, rejuvenating, child-free weekend I just spent in San Antonio helping with the I Heart FacesDream Big workshop. Even though I was there to instruct and share my photographic perspective with other portrait photographers, I couldn't help but look around the city and itch to take landscape images. I don't live in a big city. I don't have skyscrapers. I don't have an awesome Riverwalk. But San Antonio does. Oh yes, San Antonio does!

A Classic Beauty :: Lexington, VA Senior Photographer

This past Friday and Saturday I surrounded myself with photographers at the I Heart Faces Dream Big Workshop. We spoke in ISO, aperture and shutter speed. Nikon versus Canon. Manual or Av. I was a photography nerd and it was magnificent. Even better than fully embracing my nerdiness, I had the privilege of leading three groups of gals through a shoot with the absolutely stunning Lauren. (Who happens to be a photographer herself. And obviously a natural at this modeling gig.)

Our location was a piece of God's country out in the hills of San Antonio, complete with wildflowers, a horse and a barn. And we used it all.

Something magical happens to me when I am sharing my photography with other photographers. My creativity grows. My images are stronger. My work just seems better. I am pushed to try new things and explore different ways of using my equipment. Workshops, to me, are invaluably fertile grounds for improving myself. And for meeting gorgeous models like Lauren!

iheartfaces, Week of May 23 :: Yellow

Sunshine. Daffodils. Canaries. Dandelions. Happiness.

I can't think of yellow any other way. Okay, maybe dijon mustard is a sad color. But, yellow mustard is very cheerful and looks great on a hotdog. I digress. Yellow is the color of happiness, pure and simple.

Share your touch of happy yellow over on I Heart Faces this Monday and Tuesday!

(This little guy was our Super Trooper at the San Antonio workshop. Even though this was at the end of his second long day of modeling, that yellow chair and straw hat brought out his smiles. I mean, really, it's yellow! Of course he is happy on the chair!)

Not So Sharp(ie) :: Personal

The packers come in three weeks. Three. Oh, no, I just checked the calendar, and it is only two weeks. I lost a week somewhere. It might be hanging out with my mind, sipping coffee and eating biscotti.

Regardless, two weeks or three, I don't have a whole lot of time to get the house ready to move. Today I decided to tackle the old bills and insurance records that need to be shredded. Instead of waiting until my sweet, very mobile, very inquisitive 18 month old was napping, I did it right then. Right now. Must be now. So she helped in her special unhelpful way.

Then it grew quiet.

And I was happy. I was on a tear. I was plowing through papers like nobody's business. Then the silence registered with me. And I poked my head around a corner and saw my beautiful baby:

Covered in blue Sharpie marker ink.

I guess naptime really would have been the better window of opportunity.

iheartflowers, Week of May 16 :: Flowers

No faces for I Heart Faces, just the beautiful flowers found in this most perfect of months, May. And I was lucky enough to see flowers in two states: Texas, where I have lived for eight years and Virginia, where I will live for the next two. I was struck by the color difference in the blooms. Texas flowers are full of fire, oranges, yellows, reds. Virginia flowers are softer, more subdued in their purples, pinks and blues. But both are stunning. May, you are glorious!

Sun Kissed Smiles :: Lexington, VA Family Photographer

We have been Facebook friends for over a year. We met in passing at a school carnival. Our daughters take art classes from the same art teacher but we didn't get a chance to talk at the Fall Art Show. Last weekend we finally got to spend a delightful, fun, beautiful hour together under a magnificent Texas sun.

This is my last family session in Texas and it makes me sad. But I could not have asked for a better send off. The ten year old son gave me his cool look, but I also managed to get him off guard and smiling. The seven year old daughter put on the goofy smile that seems to be standard for that age, but she also had a lovely, natural smile that made more appearances than the silly one. And the parents? Just enjoying the time as a family, letting the moments develop as they may.