Arlington National Cemetery | A Hero's Rest | TMSN (SS) USN Robert D. Armstrong
On a snow covered ground on January 9, 2015 another one of America's Heros was bestowed with honor and laid to rest at Arlington National Cemetery.
TMSN (SS) USN Robert D. Armstrong served his country well, and left quite a mark on those he loved, and those that loved him. Dave and I were honored to be present to capture this bittersweet moment in this family's legacy. It is never easy to say goodbye to our loved ones, and this father's children did it with such dignity and grace while his grandchildren beheld what an honor it is to be a military man in the United States of America. I hope that it leaves an indelible impression on these young patriots.
Arlington National Cemetery is a place of somber beauty. There is a sadness, yet a peace at the same time. What a fitting memorial, a final resting place for our military men and women.
We have become friends with this wonderful family, and photographing at times proved difficult as my heart was overwhelmed with emotion. Emotion for our country, and it's finest, for the family...our friends. However, I am so thankful that they allowed us to share in this moment, and we were honored to be able to fulfill a request for them.
To learn about TMSN (SS) USN Armstrong's accomplishments, talent, and devotion to his country you can find information here.
I could tell you about this man's last few months with his family, but that is only theirs to tell. However the one thing that I do want to share, and one that made the most powerful impression on me was one that is quite simple, yet so very important and I would argue his most important accomplishment of his life. It is the knowledge of this one fact that I walked away with from this memorial service for quite an extraordinary man. Dex Armstrong came to know Christ a few months before he left this earth. This to me, was the most profound statement of the day. What a comforting gift to leave your children. May the peace that surpasses all understanding be given to his family until they meet again.
Thank you, TMSN (SS) USN Robert D. Armstrong for your service to our great country.
Jaxx | Class of 2015 FHS | Warrenton VA Senior Portrait Photographer | {Boho Girl}
Jaxx is a sweet, wonderful, cheerful young lady that I have watched grow from her middle school years. She is quite talented with a guitar, and has the sweetest voice you ever heard. She also is quite skilled at the game of baseball, yep, that's right folks...baseball, and has a pretty awesome pitch not to mention a mean bat! You would never know it coming from such a sweet voiced gal! I have watched and photographed Jaxx as she has played ball on my son's team from time to time, and her Dad is a fantastic coach!
Jackie has traveled on missionary trips with her musical skills and talent and I am sure that she has been an inspiration to the people that she has served for God. I am sure that God has a mighty plan for her life! It is always kind of bittersweet seeing these kids grow up and move on to a new chapter in their lives. Maybe it means I am just getting older; the song "Landslide" sung by Stevie Nicks comes to mind. Anyway, I would not have missed this moment for nothing, and I am glad that God has put such wonderful people in my life, and that they ask me to captures memories at significant moments in their lives. I consider it an honor and a blessing!
Jackie, I know you are going to do great things! You come from a great family who have taught you great values, and how to love...it is so evident in the way you all are with each other. You set an exemplary model for others to follow. Stay true to who you are and what you believe. You will do great in the coming months as you approach graduation and then on to higher education. We wish you the very, very best and I hope that we can continue to partake in the significant moments in your life!
We had such fun planning Jaxx's Senior Portrait Session; discussing wardrobe, hairstyles, location, and "the look" that she wanted for her portraits. We love doing this all of our clients, whether they be newborns, families, kids, and high school seniors.
Jaxx wanted a Boho look to her pictures, and I think we hit it out of the park for you Jaxx! You did great!
Woo hoo!! Class of 2015!! Fauquier Falcons!
Newborn Twins | NOVA Newborn Photographer | Boy and Girl Twins
Having twins, and getting one of each, in my opinion, is about as good as it gets when you are expecting two babies. Of course two of any babies is a wonderful blessing! Pregnancy is a special time, but can be taxing on a woman's body, and when you are carrying two or more, well you get the idea. We have had quite a few twins come to the studio to our surprise, and all their parent's stories are similar in that there was a bit of a challenge to get them to a safe delivery date. I'm empathetic to their experiences they share with us, because it can be scary at times.
Naturally, all parents wish for healthy newborn babies, and when we have these little sets of siblings come to our studio for their very first portraits our hearts are glad for these new parents. They have had to endure a lot to get these precious babies safely into the world, and we are honored that they have chosen us to photograph their precious newborns.
These two were just the sweetest, and we had a great time photographing them together, and of course individually. Photographing twins can be a little more challenging, but with proper planning for their session day we can always get some sweet, sweet pictures. We have lots of helpful tips for session day when it comes to newborn photography, and you can find them here.
And as always, with any babies, twins or single births, we know that they will determine how the day is going to go on picture day! It is good to be flexible, and go with the flow. This we do well, and we just take our time with each new baby that comes to our studio. We don't rush the session along, and that makes for a fun session!
Contact us to set up your exclusive appointment with us! We'd love to help you capture those treasured portraits of your newborn or newborns!
Baby S | NOVA Baby Photographer | Sweet Baby Girl
This little sweet pea was such fun to photograph being wide eyed and lots of smiles. Her grandma and I are friends, and photographing this little baby was even extra special. She will probably be one of the most photographed babies as well because her grandma is a photographer as well!
Almost three months old, she was full of smiles and very curious about her surroundings. After the sweetness of a newborn session and just a few short weeks later babies begin to smile a lot. This is a great time to have your baby photographed because of this, and they have also grown quite a bit, and have changed in their appearance considerably!
We offer a Baby Plan that captures the important milestones in the first year of a baby's life. The Baby Plan is a great way to record in pictures the first year of your child's life, and offers considerable savings over single portrait sessions.
If you would like more information on the Baby Plan get in touch with us HERE. We would love to share with you the details of our Baby Plan!
Sweet baby girl is wide awake and having fun with her photographer! She's so pretty!
She's all smiles!
Six Month Twins | Boho Baby | NOVA Baby Photographer
I have had the pleasure of photographing this sweet little family since the birth of these two adorable twin girls. It is hard to believe that six (eight by now) months have gone by already. Before too long we will be photographing their one year birthdays!
It was a lovely day for pictures at Meadowlark Botanical Gardens in Fairfax, VAhttp://www.nvrpa.org/park/meadowlark_botanical_gardens/. The grounds are spacious with beautiful trees, flowers, plants, bridges and more and perfect for family pictures! And this family is just gorgeous!
FAMILY PORTRAITS | THE CRABTREES | FRIENDS | WARRENTON FAMILY PHOTOGRAPHER
We have known the Crabtree family for quite a few years now. Our friendship started a while back, and has grown through the years. It's a good thing that our kids bring us together as they participate in sports, or other activities; for us it was baseball that brought our two families together. Brett was the coach, and the best one ever, for our son's team. Oh what wonderful memories! I just hated seeing the kids grow up, and part of the reason is knowing how much I would miss the fun of families gathering at the field for a rec baseball game.
I was thrilled when they asked us to take their family pictures, and I knew that we were going to be in for a very fun session, and indeed it was! The CRABTREES are a great bunch of people, have the greatest kids, the best mom, and dad, and I must also add the best comedic dad ever! These folks are just great! We love spending time with them, and we are so happy we got to take their family pictures!
{Baby K} | Nine Days New | Warrenton Virginia Newborn Photographer
What a sweet newborn portrait session we had with this little angel and her wonderful family! You can certainly tell that this little miss is a very welcome addition to the family. She has two very awesome big brothers who had so much fun holding and loving on her during the photo session. Her daddy is a fireman, and I was just thrilled to know that he wanted some portraits of her with him wearing his Fireman's Gear! Loved this session, and this family is wonderful!
MEGAN and NOAH | CULPEPER WEDDING
We had a great time helping our friend and fellow photographer, Pam Byrd Photography https://www.facebook.com/pages/Pam-Byrd-Photography/217735408290392 photograph Noah and Megan's wedding day in Culpeper, Virginia. It's always fun to be a second shooter, and this wedding was particularly fun because we have watched this young man grow up through high school, off to college, and now getting married to his sweetheart. It was a great day!
Part of the fun too, is of course getting to work with your friends. It's great to be able to share an interest with a friend, and to help them out on important assignments like these. We always have a great time working together whether it be a wedding or a newborn session, or family session. However, weddings are in a class of their own. It is a momentous day for the couple, and it is very important to get those "first everything's" that tell the story of love shared that day. We take great care in capturing those moments for the couple. When you get to work with friends that you are familiar with what they want it makes the job that much better. When you know the couple, well that's just the icing on the cake!
Megan and Noah I wish you many, many years of blessings in your marriage!
Warrenton Virginia Newborn Photographer | Baby D | Little Pilot
I will say it again that I have the best job ever photographing sweet little newborns! This little guy came to our studio not too long ago. When his mom called to inquire about a session I was ecstatic when she mentioned that she wanted to do an airplane theme! The one thing that we love to do is provide themed newborn and children's photography sessions. So, we got busy planning and looking forward with anticipation to a fun day, and it surely was.
This little guy was very sleepy being he was still very new! However, he did manage to wake up and look around a bit, and oh what a sweet expression. Sleeping babies are such a cute thing to look at, but when they are awake and taking it all in I just love it. Those sweet little newborn eyes so innocent just melt my heart. I love getting awake pictures of newborns!
Baby D has a big sister, too! Watching her interact with her new little brother was a fun thing to behold. Not so sure about this little guy at first, but as always it is evident that they love their new sibling as they begin to cuddle next to them and shower them with little kisses and hugs. The sibling bond is a powerful, wonderful thing. I hope they have lots of fun moments together throughout their lifetime.
We really enjoyed photographing this sweet little family!
LITTLE SAILOR | Baby O | NOVA Newborn Photographer
Oh my goodness! Adorable doesn't even begin to describe how cute this little guy is! We have been eagerly waiting for this little fella to make his debut into the family. Little Oliver was born to my niece and her husband. He is the little brother to Caleb, who we had the pleasure of photographing when he was born. Being born into a family of photographers means you will never lack in having your pictures taken! Oliver's grandmother, my sister, is also a photographer in North Carolina. She and I both grew up with a dad who enjoyed photography and had his own business for a while.
Oliver is such a cutie, and I am happy that his family brought him to me for his first newborn portraits. Oliver's nursery is decorated in a nautical theme, and so naturally we photographed him with that in mind. What a fun, fun session!
We certainly enjoy photographing newborns in our home studio, and when it's a member of your family it's extra special! For expecting or new parents looking for a baby photographer we offer a comfortable and safe studio with seating areas that allow you to observe us work with your baby. There is also a private nursing area, and a changing station. We also offer a wide variety of props, wraps, colors, etc. with your home decor in mind. You are welcome to come by our in home studio by appointment to check out what we have to offer. We take great care in handling newborns and children, and strive to provide a safe, and relaxed environment for your photo session.
