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Mother’s Day afternoon was spent at my mom’s farmhouse. I was inspired by the glorious day, the wind, the flowers, and the chickens so I took pictures like crazy. There were so many details to capture!

Like Sophia, who decided the chickens were just a little too close for comfort . . .

Sunlight and wind and the colors of drying laundry . . .
Purple, white, and yellow . . .
Chickens! Lots of chickens! Also known as “the ladies” with an occasional rooster thrown in for fun.
Owen, who’s favorite pastime is to play “cheetah” these days . . .
My mom and sister gathered eggs with Sophia.
Wellies . . .
Fine wisps of hair, chubby neck . . .
Paper airplane fun . . .
Wearing mommy’s sunglasses . . .
Sophia doesn’t “do” baby swings anymore. And you know you’ve had lots of fun when you’ve got no more sock left!
A Happy Mother’s Day was had by all! I hope those of you who are moms had a wonderful day too.

Last Thursday I got to meet Kelly Sauer of Kelly Sauer Ltd. Co. Real Life, Fine Art and The Girl in the White Dress. I’ve long admired Kelly’s ability to take amazing self-portraits, and had told her I needed some updated head shots for my websites. Kelly was flying into BWI and suggested we meet up to do a little head shot session. She was coming to Virginia for a weekend of photography sessions and graciously suggested meeting in real life. We met up at Patapsco State Park.

First, a little background. I discovered Kelly’s blog through a mutual friend. Before Real Life, Fine Art and The Girl in the White Dress I knew Kelly through her A Restless Heart blog with it’s gorgeous pictures and her intimately shared spiritual journey. Kelly is one of the few photographers I know who truly captures emotion, and I don’t mean the emotion of her subject, but her own emotions and moods through often near abstract photography. Since that time, Kelly has started her own brand and is talented portrait and wedding photographer living in Charleston, South Carolina. I was a bit shocked to realize we’ve been following each other for over five years now!

Finding each other at Patapsco State Park proved a comedy of errors. I got there a little late, and then proceeded to find out Kelly was at another entrance 15 minutes away! I’d assumed that if we got directions using the address on the site’s main page we’d end up at the same place, but apparently not.

Kelly, however, was very laid back and obliging. I had hauled the kiddos along with me and she found a location with a playground. Josh had been out of town on business since Monday and he came into BWI from Atlanta and met us there, taking charge of the kids so we could go play with light.

Being the subject of my own session was definitely a different experience for me. I have to admit I was nervous! It was very different from our family session where I interacted with my kids and Josh. Instead, it’s just me and the camera, trying to figure out where to look and what to do with my hands. It made me consider new ways I can help my own clients comfortably interact with me during a session. Kelly and I also tried to stuff in hours of conversation in-between shots, and we left many  subjects only half explored and discussed. Skype will have to solve that problem.

Kelly, it was so awesome to meet you in person! What a unique experience to become friends through online journals and emails and then finally meet years later already feeling like we know each other so well.

Last Sunday my church had a special event to honor our senior pastor’s 22 years of ministry. He will continue being on staff at our church, but is no longer the senior pastor. So a surprise Sunday was planned to celebrate our pastor, Jim, and his wife Daryl’s service and sacrifice over the past many years to our church.

I photographed the event, along with another photographer, Jennilyn. The challenge for me in shooting this event was the lack of good lighting. However, despite this challenge, I was happy with the end result.

Below is a collage of photographs depicting various scenes from the past 22 years of church life.
Above are cards made by the children of the church displayed on hallway walls.

(Left) The founding pastor of our church, back for the special occasion. (Right) My fellow photographer, Jennilyn.
(Above and below) A most surprising moment during the morning service was a flash mob singing “God is Good.”

Parodies were sung . . .
Stories shared.
A special song was written for the occasion and sung by Steve and Vikki Cook.
(Below) A special photo book was created with letters and pictures from all the members of the church.
The service was officially closed with congregational singing led by my favorite (and the most handsome) music leader ever–my husband.
Jim and Daryl are originally natives of New Orleans, so it was appropriate that the food was New Orleans-inspired. Yum.