Private Party ~ Sheila Mudd 70th Birthday

We recently photographed a private party for Sheila Mudd's 70th Birthday. It was a black tie affair and was held at the Prime Rib in DC. The Mudd's closest 55 friends and family attended the affair and they were all so gracious and happy to be there to celebrate. I knew it was going to be a good night when Sheila showed up and said "I'm the birthday girl. This is what 70 looks like." A good time was had by all, including the photographers. Here are some of the highlights of the night.

Many amazing speeches

Father and son settling a bet

A blast from the past...

An Operatic version of Happy Birthday

And so much gratitude

Portraits ~ Sara Hunziker

Last weekend I went out on a solo shoot. I wanted to get back into shooting individual portraits so in order to get reacquainted with something I used to be so familiar with, I knew the perfect person to call. Sara Hunziker (formerly Sara Wood) was my main muse in college. I have entire portfolios dedicated to this girl. Sara is awesome to photograph because she is a fellow artist and understands that it's not just the photographer making art. It's the subject too. It's so refreshing and pleasant to photograph someone who wants to be photographed. Not in a narcissistic way. In an artistic, collaborative way. Although I was nervous (I haven't shot her since 2006!?), it wasn't long before I put my camera down and said "I miss this". And I never realized how much fun we had together. Granted, you aren't technically allowed to shoot at the Winery at Bull Run on days there are weddings (which is pretty much every day). So in order to let eeeeveryone know why we were there, we downed a couple of bottles of wine during the shooting process. We had a blast. Probably too much fun really. I can't wait to work together with her in the future on more projects! Here are some of my favorites from the Winery at Bull Run.

Family ~ The McDonald's

I once read that October is to photographers what April is to accountants. It's true. There are so many opportunities to take beautiful photos using Mother Nature as a backdrop. We have several shoots booked for the season because, after all, it is the most popular time of year for families to want their portraits to be done. The weather is (usually) pleasant, and the colors are down right amazing. Here is our first true Fall shoot of the year. We photographed the McDonald family last weekend and the leaves were surprisingly still green. But at least they were still on the trees with some color!