Megan & Eric :: Pre-Deployment Couples Session

I was so glad to have the opportunity to photograph Megan and her husband, Eric before he deployed only 3 days after our session. We decided to meet in La Jolla, and due to the gorgeous weather, parking was as abysmal as ever ;) But we had a wonderful sunset session and captured some images that will hopefully help ease the pain of the separation.

I should also mention that Eric wasn't keen on getting wet, and is not a big fan of the water. In the first 5 minutes of the session, he was on the receiving end of seagull droppings, and got splashed by a huge wave that came out of nowhere. Thanks to Photoshop, the seagull droppings were no more - but he gets serious kudos for grinning and bearing it during the shoot, since it is a little gross!

Here is the super-cute couple!





I ended up doing a lot of B&W conversions with this session - I loved it with their dark hair and black shirts.





But you can't ignore the gorgeous colors on the beach.







Love that light just after sunset!







It was so nice to meet you, Megan and Eric! Eric, stay safe during the deployment, and I hope that the time passes quickly for you both!

Ashley & Dave's Homecoming

I was so excited when Ashley contacted me to shoot her homecoming because it was going to be the very first time her husband Dave was going to see her baby bump! She found out she was pregnant after he had already deployed, and hadn't shown him her belly in photos or on Skype - so he REALLY had never seen her.

It's always interesting to see how every homecoming ends up going - some are on time, most are late...Ashley's ended up being so early that a few wives from the unit missed it!

Luckily there was still enough time to hang signs before the buses arrived.



Ashley had that gorgeous pregnancy glow going on :) And the perfect dress for the occasion!



Unfortunately, Dave ended up being on the second bus, which came up about 5 minutes after the first one. But finally, he was off that bus and back in her arms.









LOVE Ashley's face here - so happy!







One of my favorite feelings to capture from each homecoming is that look of pure relief on the wife's face.



Dave also had someone else to say hello to - their puppy, Ajax.



Kisses for Dad!




Their whole family is back together (and soon to be four)!


Welcome home Dave, and the rest of 2/5's Advon! Thank you for your service!

Hiking in Phoenix & Flying up to the Grand Canyon

Another personal blog post today! I just wanted to share some of the images from a trip my husband and I took on his post-deployment leave back in November. We didn't want to do a major trip since we were flying home for the holidays, so we just took a few days in Phoenix. I went to Arizona State, so I am familiar with the area and jump at the chance to get back to the desert :)

Our goals were to relax & get to do a few things that I didn't have a chance to while at school. The first day, we hiked Camelback Mt. We chose the more strenuous hike, but I wasn't expecting it to be quite so vertical.





He was getting whiny after a while ;)


View from the top of the Phoenix Valley



The next day, we took a plane ride up to the Grand Canyon! It was an absolutely amazing experience, and totally worth the money to avoid the drive up there. Plus, the views were incredible from the air.

Here's Patrick & I before the first flight. I got a little queasy, and had to hand off the camera to him, haha. Thank goodness for the Dramamine at the gift shop up there.




Neighborhoods of Scottsdale/Phoenix.



Starting to go further north





This was the first view of the canyon - the ground just dropped off, and it appeared out of nowhere. Amazing!







You can just see the CO River in the background


Detail of the rock





And one from the way back to Phoenix



I would really suggest getting up to the canyon, if you ever have time. We went through Westwind Air Service and would highly recommend them.

A Hunting Trip in NY

I am so excited that I have actually had a little time to breathe lately, and have been able to work on my own personal images! This fall was pretty crazy with my husband's homecoming, along with the many other homecomings I did and family Christmas sessions. My own photos went to the wayside and I've been able to catch up on them lately, all the way back from my visit to CT in August, trips to Joshua Tree and AZ in November, and then back to CT in December. Stay tuned to my blog and Facebook to see them all!

DISCLAIMER: This post does contain images of dead birds. If that will bother you, please don't scroll down!

I am not a hunter personally, but my husband loves upland bird hunting. He doesn't get a chance to go very often, so he jumps at any opportunity. His uncle works for Mashomack in New York, and we made a day trip up to visit them and take Patrick out hunting. I got a clays shooting lesson as well, which was fun! The club was absolutely beautiful.





I grew up with my Dad hunting quite often, but I had never been out with him - so this was a first for me. It was amazing to see the dogs work with his uncle, and retrieve the birds. The dogs were SO excited to go hunting, and would whine if we stopped for too long.





It had snowed the day before we visited, so the conditions were not ideal. The dogs just bounded around in the snow though, it was fun to watch! This is his uncle's dog, Haddie.



Haddie would actually find most of the birds, and then Fergus, the black lab, would try and take them from her to get credit.



Another image of how deep the snow was in some spots.



Here's a few more of the day & the scenery.

















Thanks, Uncle Charlie, for a great day!