Northern Virginia Family Photographer - Chilly

This past Saturday I met with this beautiful family downtown at a new location. I love finding new places to hold my sessions that not many people know about or dare to go. I, as usual, had great expectations but Mother Nature decided to cut them short by turning down the heat. These kids were troopers and it didn't seem to bother them that it was barely over 40 degrees outside. Even though it was very chilly, we got the job done and by looking at the pictures I don't think anyone will be able to tell that we all were freezing our tails off.

Thanks for coming out and enduring the cold with me "H" family. Your children are absolutely beautiful!

How cute are these twins? I could have just played with them all day!

And their adorable big brother, right before he showed me all his great sports moves.

Northern Virginia Child Photographer - Bows, Bows, Bows!!!

If you read my blog on a regular basis or if you are ever out and about and run into us, you know that I love bows! Specifically I love BIG bows on little girls and babies. Nothing is cuter than a little girl with a great big bow in their hair.

As luck would have it, a new bow store has opened near me and one day I went in there and started talking with the owner. I told her that I was a photographer and would love to photograph some of her products on my clients and daughter. Seeing that I do have one of the cutest little girls EVER ;), she readily agreed. These are a few of the bows and pictures that I was fortunate enough to provide for them to help promote their store and products. I am looking forward to working together with them to help them get the word out about their business in the future. We have lots of great ideas so keep a look out in the Spring.

So if you live in this area please go see my new friend Kristen at unBOWlievable in The Dulles Town Center shopping mall. She will take great care of you. Tell her Dorie sent you!

For this session we featured some of the great Winter and Holiday bows they have in stock.

I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE, these little hats. They have a small loop where you can interchange the bows to match different outfits. SOOOO cute, I would have them in every color if I could.

Northern Virginia Child Photographer - Update

Ok, so I know this isn't going to be the update that most of you will really be interested in but I wanted to show it off again. The HUGE wasp nest that is near our house is still intact and has even grown a bit larger. I have taken some pic's to show it's progress but today I had a little bit of fun. Thankfully the wasps were well behaved as they have been every other time I am out there standing right under it. I am sure the neighbors think I am crazy but it won't be the first or last time that happens. I still think this is an amazing creation and will be sorry to see it eventually fall or be torn apart. It looks like the side is starting to come apart a little bit so it is probably just a matter of time.

The sun was in just the right spot for me to get some incredible flare. Usually photographers don't want too much of this in their photos. I happen to think it looks pretty cool in these.

These shots are pretty much straight out of the camera with very little post processing done to them. You can create this effect in Photoshop but that is not the case here.

Northern Virginia Photographer - Getting Big!

Today I had the pleasure of going to photograph one of my best clients. She is so sweet and is just the best baby model ever. I think you will agree, if you look at her past two sessions that she is growing perfectly. We met today for her 6 month session, we were a few weeks late but I wanted to make sure that we could document her sitting up in order to show the next phase in her development. We all know that babies do things in their own time so I was happy to wait a week or two so she could perfect her sitting skills. I think you will agree that she has it down. Can't wait to see you when you crawl little one.


Her 3 month session

Her Newborn Session

The Winner is..... {Northern Virginia Child Photographer}

This past weekend I had a contest listed on my Facebook page. I like to do that occasionally. It is fun for me to photograph new people and I hope that in return they have an experience that they can share for years to come with friends and family.

Congratulations to MaryBeth for winning the free session!!!
I am looking forward to it.

Amazing {Northern Virginia Photographer}

Today was a special day. It isn't often in our household that we can greet a Saturday with absolutely no plans. Usually one of us is going in one direction or another while the other one stays home with our Little One. So before we went to bed last night we planned out our morning. We made a trip to the Farmer's Market, the computer store, the park, and drove by a few garage sales. One of the garage sales was right around the corner from our house and as we were pulling away we saw the most amazing sight. A HUGE wasp nest was hanging up in the tree right by the side of the road. This thing had to be over a foot long and almost a foot wide. I immediately knew that as soon as someone went down for her nap that I would be back with my camera to take a few pictures of it.

When I came back I was standing in the middle of the road when the owner of the house drove up. He got out of his car and said something like, "I'm glad someone else has an appreciation for that like I do." I asked him a few questions about when it was started and how long it took to get so big. He told me that he first noticed it in July and it was the size of his fist. He had been tempted to come and spray it but because the wasps weren't anywhere near the house or bothering anyone, he couldn't bring himself to take it down. I had to agree. The pictures do not do it justice. It is beautiful in it's own way.

Huggable {Northern Virginia Family Photographer}

We have had quite the busy two weeks on our household. We have traveled to Little Rock, Seattle and Portland. Along the way we have met up with friends and family and had a wonderful time. This past week, while in Portland visiting my 99 year old Grandmother, I met up with some of my friends at a park. I love Facebook (you can become a "fan" of mine here) but there is nothing like sitting down with a good friend face to face. I love this lady and her two adorable kids. Our daughters share the same birthday and being the over achiever that she is, she has had another one since then. Two kids under the age of two. Any woman who does that is my hero! Here are a few of her sweet, sweet little boy. He is the type of baby that when you pick him up he just cuddles right in. I could have played with him for hours. Thanks for a great afternoon, I hope to be able to do it again real soon!!!

We love how he is holding on to her "leash" here.

Energy!!! {Northern VA Family Photographer}

This past week we had the pleasure of traveling to Little Rock, AR to visit with some great friends of ours. We spent 5 days sweltering in the Little Rock heat enjoying the company and catching up on the distance between us. They have a little girl that has so much energy that she puts the electric company to shame. Don't you wish we could just bottle this stuff up and use it as we got older? I got tired just editing these pictures as I remembered the circumstances behind them. Whew!

We did a short family session at the Old Mill in North Little Rock. It was a photographer's dream with fountains, bridges, lakes, steps, a real running mill and foliage to spare. It was hot, hot, hot but I think we got some great shots. I'm not sure you will be able to tell from the pictures but the Old Mill was featured in the opening credits of "Gone with the Wind".

Thank you "M" family for a wonderful vacation. I hope we can do it again real soon!

Freedom {Northern Virginia Photographer}

Yesterday our country celebrated it's independence. It is a time where we can reflect about the freedoms we enjoy and the price that many have paid on our behalf so we can enjoy them. My dear friend Erma Bombeck puts a pretty good spin on this day. (OK, so she isn't my dear friend but if she were still alive and we were neighbors, I know we would be great friends)

"You have to love a nation that celebrates its independence every July 4th, not with a parade of guns, tanks and soldiers who file by the White House in a show of strength and muscle, but with family picnics where kids throw frisbees, the potato salad gets iffy, and the flies die from happiness. You may think that you have overeaten, but it is patriotism."

I hope you had a wonderful day, doing something that you enjoy with people you love. God Bless America, Land that I Love

Fancy Shmancy {Northern Virginia Family Photographer}

This past Friday night we were treated to a special dinner out by some dear friends of ours. You see, my wonderful husband has a real knack for computers, networks, routers, and hard drives. All the things that make my brain hear "Blah, Blah, Blah" whenever he talks about such things. He spends a large amount of his time helping out our friends and family (as well as his wonderful clients) with all their computer problems. As a thank you for all his hard work, our friends Chris and Graham took us out to dinner at one of the best restaurants in Washington, DC and as an added bonus, two of their beautiful daughters babysat our little one so we could enjoy the evening.

We had heard wonderful things about this restaurant but had never taken the time to dine there ourselves even though it is close and gets rave reviews from anyone we know who has eaten there. When we heard of their dining selection we were both excited to be finally going to this eating establishment.

Well, it certainly didn't disappoint. It was probably one of the best meals we have had in a VERY long time.

So if you are in the DC/Northern Virginia area and are looking for a wonderful, long, dining experience with great service. Please visit L'Auberge Chez Francois in Great Falls.
http://www.laubergechezfrancois.com/

It won't disappoint.

And of course, my camera came along for the ride.

(For you non-photographers out there, the blurry parts are on purpose. I was shooting using a very narrow depth of field so my camera focused clearly on a very small portion of the picture.)

The incredible menu with so many choices it took almost an hour to pick what we all wanted.

My appetizer

Main Dish

And Dessert

Sunny Afternoon {Dorie Howell Kids}

Today I went to Old Town and met with a group of fellow photographers to take pictures, chat about photography and just enjoy the beautiful day. We had a great time talking "shop". Here are a few from the morning.

Special thanks to the "B" Family who I met at the park and who allowed me to take pictures of their beautiful family. Your pictures will be e-mailed to you soon. Thank you!

And this is how I figured out it was time to go home.

Summer is Here! {Dorie Howell Kids}

Well, Summer is officially here. We celebrated by taking an extended Memorial Day weekend trip down to the Outer Banks of North Carolina. A weekend filled with family, friends, food and fun. What a great way to start another summer. I hope you had a relaxing weekend. Happy Summer!