Renee , Catoctin Basketball 2009

Jackson, the cattle herding dog

For the past two years, I have been working with good friend and "agriculture" warrior Becky Long Chaney, on a series of agriculture education books as told through the eyes of her twin daughters, my goddaughters, Rianna and Sheridan. Our first book was about their experience raising an orphaned beef calf, "Star" called "Little Star, raising our first beef calf". The second book taught children about the dairy industry called "Mini Milk Maids on the Mooove" and yes, there are supposed to be three ooo's! We are working on the third book now. Star has had her first calf and the story continues. Yesterday, we focused on Jackson, the Chaney's cattle dog and family companion. In earlier books, he's been photographed doing his puppy antics like eating the kid's homemade ice cream and losing his head inside a pitcher to lick out all the milk. Lately, he's really started growing his herding skills and I was able to photograph him trying out his skills while moving the herd of Herefords. It was fun watching him be bold and back off in turns, depending on the audacity of the animal. It's so obvious he loves doing it.

This one's not about to be moved by something less than half it's size.
It's all in a day's work for Jackson.

Easter Egg Hunt for the Animals

Easter Egg Hunt for the Animals CLICK this link to view a slideshow of the egg hunt.

I had the opportunity to photograph the"wildest" egg hunt I've ever seen. With the help of members of the Lewistown Mt. View 4-H Cloverbuds, who created paper mache' eggs to hide treats in and about twelve dozen colored egg, Catoctin Wildlife Preserve and Zoo had an egg hunt for their animals. Monkeys, bears and tigers searched their enclosures, high and low, finding their treats. The zoo guests were just as excited to see the animals find them as they were cheering them on.

Tommy!

I had such a good time photographing Tommy who is nearly six months old. This is a great age because it's usually full of smiles and Tommy delivered. But I have to say, it "took a village" to elicit these great expressions. Mom, Dad and both grandparents used their best laughing, squeaking, and zerbert sounds to keep little laughs coming. There was even some singing of Tom Jones! Who knew a six-month old would dig that! Thanks for all your hard work.

It's photo sessions like these that reinforce to me what I've known as soon as I took that first photo. Taking photos is not just clicking the shutter. It's creating an atmosphere, an experience, a relationship with your subjects and then capturing the feelings and expressions within that experience.

They say the eyes are the windows to the soul and one of my favorite images to take are very close photos that highlight the sparkle and personality from the eyes.
The expression on Tommy's face here between his parents is priceless.

Thanks again, I enjoyed myself.

Peyton Turns One!

I absolutely loved this photo session! I had the opportunity to photograph Peyton and the many changes of his first year through the "Baby's First Year" plan which includes four sessions from several weeks to the first birthday. I really enjoyed documenting the changes of his life, from sleepy baby up to a boy bursting with personality and smiles. It was amazing to see how much he had changed each time. For his first birthday photos, we did a variety of images including some outdoor shots walking with Mommy and Daddy, playing with some puppies and my favorite, demolishing a birthday cake.

What's so fun about these is Peyton is tentative at first and looks to Mom as if to say, "Can I touch it?"


Then he starts getting into the eating and smashing bit a bit more.....
Now, he is really happy with himself and all the good cake he has in and on himself.
After the party is over! Don't you just feel like that sometimes? I can't believe I ate the whole thing. Although he didn't eat anywhere near the whole thing! It makes me smile each time I look at these. Thanks to Peyton's family for letting me get to know the family and for choosing to work with me to capture those precious first year changes and memories.

Kaya is Six!

I had a really fun!! photo session with Kaya in honor of her birthday.
Knowing it would be cold, her Mom and I discussed outfit options and location that would make a successful shoot. Her outfit was amazing but most important, it was warm, I felt like we were having a mini fashion shoot!
Earlier in the year, I had photographed her sister near Loy's Station covered bridge, using the natural landscape and water to create images that evoked her sister's personality. Knowing we wouldn't have any natural flora, we decided to go urban with Kaya's photos. And there is no better place than downtown Frederick. Not only did about two city blocks provide an ample variety of backgrounds, but constantly moving kept Kaya from getting bored and kept the smiles coming. We were so excited to find some jazzy purple doors ( Kaya's favorite color). We played peek-a-boo, "honked" her braids and invented little games to keep her smiling. She did a fantastic job.

The Wedding of Gretchen and Brandon

Brandon and Gretchen's wedding was the first wedding I had photographed in my hometown of Thurmont and at the beautiful and rustic Thorpewood lodge on the top of the mountain. I got to see some old friends from high school that I hadn't seen in years. I really enjoyed working around people and places I knew.

But the real moment to remember for me is seeing Gretchen, who was determined to have photos in the snow, standing outside with a strapless gown on in a temperature of about 18 degrees with the wind chill factor. She and Brandon were not even shivering! But I did have to tell them not to breath as the steam from their breath was obscuring some of their faces! They did an amazing job!
Thanks to Gretchen and Brandon and their families for inviting me to capture it all.