Betty - The New It Girl (well, in South Korea at least)

Betty and I work together on the AnimalPlanet.com website.  She is a web producer and I am her photo editor, as many of you well know by now.  Betty was asked to be featured in an article in a Korean magazine, so she asked if I would grab some shots of her around the office when she was visiting from our NYC office.  By the way, this shoot actually took place on the 8th floor of the Animal Planet offices in Silver Spring.  This fun area has been dubbed "The Tank."

Now, one of my dreams is to be published in print.  There is something so permanent about print that I just don't get from online publishing.  Maybe it's my upbringing surrounded by Nat Geo magazines and books from my father.  See, I'm a magazine junky and subscribe to about 20 magazines.  For me it's like getting a picture book in the mail every month.  I love it.  So I'm hoping Betty and I can get our hands on the magazine once it's printed, and when we do I'll be sure to post it on the blog!

Oh Betty - I just love how busy-busy-busy you are on your cell phone. HA!

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Amy + Ian // Engaged!

I was introduced to Amy and Ian through one of my colleagues at Discovery who went to high school with Ian. But Amy and Ian met at Florida State and after graduation moved to DC for work. Ian proposed at the Jefferson Memorial last fall and they plan to wed in Amy's home state of Michigan in May 2014. So they asked me to take their engagement photos.


So Amy hatched a plan to shoot at the Jefferson Memorial and Tidal Basin with the infamous DC cherry blossom trees. Being a native Washingtonian the blossoms can come out anywhere from mid March to mid April. So we waited . . . and waited . . . and two weeks had passed. . . and it had snowed twice since we first chatted. Blossoms or no blossoms this shoot was happening on April 7th, and lucky for us about 20% of the trees were in bloom! We were in business.


Now the trickiest part was to take a very busy and crowded time in DC and make Amy and Ian look like they were the only ones there. So we waited . . . and waited . . . and tourists would walk in and out of the photos, but Ian would kindly tell them to scram and voila!

There was also a cupcake break.  I brought in some cherry blossom Georgetown Cupcakes as a special treat.

But my favorite thing about this shoot, other than Amy's adorable dresses, was the fact that Ian did not wear socks. Now my dad also grew up in Florida and he used to say he only owned 3 pairs of socks: black, brown, and blue. So when I saw Ian sans socks I knew I was dealing with an real Florida boy. :-)

Congratulations you two!

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Sneak Peek - Love (and finally spring) is in the air

Well, look what I did today!  More to come this week with Amy and Ian.

First sleepover

My son, Greydon, and his best bud, Dexter, had their first sleepover this weekend!  I have been planning this photo story for a couple weeks, so I am thrilled to see it come to fruition and it's exactly as I had envisioned.  One thing to know about my kid...he HATES having his picture taken and it's rare to catch him in front of the camera without sticking his tongue out or making a silly face.  However, with Dexter by his side he warmed up to my camera immediately.  Dexter seems to have magical powers.

These two have had the fortunate opportunity to be in school together since they were infants. Discovery Communications has a daycare/school within its headquarters and these two little guys, separated by about 5 weeks in age, have been through it all together for almost four years.  Diapers and bottles, learning to walk and riding bikes, reading letters and holding pencils.  They truly enjoy each other's company and I consider Dexter to be Greydon's better half.  Another interesting fact about Dexter is that his mother and I went to high school together in Rockville.  For any fellow RHS-ers reading this post I am talking about the lovely Kelly (Picciotta) Kane.

So, let's go on with the Dexter-n-Greydon Show!

   They talked the entire 30 mile ride home.

    After a short game of soccer, they decided that gathering rocks was more fun.

   When you gotta go you gotta go.  Boys will be boys.  *Sigh*  No comment.

    "Awwwww maaaaaan," giggled Dexter.  

    BIG ROCKS!

    Ready. Set. Throw!

    CHEERS! 

   Damascus' finest establishment.  If you ever pass through town make sure stop at Jimmie Cone.

    Pixar time

    The morning after. . .watching cartoons.  What else, of course?!

    After breakfast they returned to the couch again.  More Pixar, please.

    And one last chance to rock out before Mom arrives.