A Glimpse of the Holidays: Christmas In Canmore, Alberta, Canada

Oh the holidays -- one of my favorite times of the year!

As I mentioned in my last post, I've been spending my time off this December/January with my family in Canmore and Calgary, Alberta, Canada. 

It's been a magical two weeks up here in this winter wonderland and I've had a wonderful time relaxing, catching up with family and, of course, capturing a few shots of my time off!

I won't take a ton of time away today to talk about my vacation (I still have a few more days left!) but here's a look at what I've been able to capture between snowshoe excursions and cookie baking so far:

Happy Holidays: Gingerbread Houses

Hi friends! Can you believe it's Christmas Eve already? I sure can't!

It seems like just yesterday I was in full-on work and school mode, balancing my USO work responsibilities with writing my final papers for my Georgetown grad school courses, just counting the days 'til my winter vacation...

Anyway.

This year, I'm spending the holidays in Canmore, Alberta, Canada with my family and I couldn't be happier. Mr. Man is coming too and will be celebrating his first Canadian Christmas with us!

In preparation for this year's festivities, my niece, nephew, mum and I all sat down to put together and decorate gingerbread houses. I know I'm the biased aunt, but I think they turned out lovely!

What do you think?

All of the Fall Feels: Mini Session with DC Zumba Teacher Melanie Smith!

The holiday season is in full swing, but my mind is still in fall mode, mostly because I've been doing this fall mini session flashback blog posts :)

Speaking of --  for the final installment of my fall mini session flashbacks, I present the lovely Melanie Smith.

Melanie is a zumba instructor for Washington Sports Club in Silver Spring, MD and is an amazing fit model. I mean LOOK at these shots!

If you've been following my work for a while, you'll probably recognize Melanie. I've done several shoots with her before -- urban DC, Costa Rica, etc. -- she's basically my best client.

Anyway, I'll let the snaps speak for themselves...

Autumn Mini Session with DC Yoga Teacher Charlotte Bowden!

Happy almost Friday world! 

I thought I would keep to my fall flashback theme from last week and share about another yoga mini session I had in October. I mean, who doesn't love looking at fall photos, #amiright?

On Halloween weekend, I had the pleasure of snapping some photos of local DC-area teacher Charlotte Bowden. If you're a local yogi, you may have seen her teaching at Grip the Mat events or at Corepower Yoga in DC.

Charlotte and I had an early morning session, which was absolutely magical. The fall colors contrasted perfectly with her outfit and the scenery of Rock Creek Park was stunning.

I think I'm going to let the photos speak for themselves...

Flashback to Fall: Mini Session with DC Yoga Teacher Justina Tong!

As we slip into the winter season over the next few weeks, I thought I would take the chance to share some of my fall photography before the glory of all things pumpkin-spiced is replaced by peppermint mania...

Earlier this fall, a DC-based yoga-teacher friend of mine, Justina Tong (she teaches at GW's Lerner Health and Wellness gym and subs at Yoga Heights!), asked if I could take some fall-themed yoga portraits for her. I met Justina while on my Yoga retreat this summer, so, naturally, I was jazzed to capture these shots for her!

The only catch? The leaves weren't quite in their fall glory just yet, despite it being mid-October. So is the pain of being a photographer's first fall mini session of the season...

Anyway, Justina was daring enough to stick to our shoot date and trusted that I would use my post-production magic to add in a few fall touches (thank you Lynda.com!).

I must admit, I'm very pleased with how these came out! Not only did we shoot in a beautiful new location (a hidden sliver of Rock Creek Park), but I used a new editing workflow to produce these final images.

Thoughts? I would love some creative criticism and feedback!