Back in DC!

I have missed DC, more than I knew. When Ben first reached out to me and we talked about location, the "classic" DC look was top of the list. And I've been in my 5-block home radius so long, I nearly forgot how wonderful it is to just walk around the National Mall! So Ben, Katie, Alexa, and Raylan walked around with me as I snapped photos of their precious family.

Happy Birthday, Katie!

Ben's first note when he contacted me was, it's my wife's birthday that day! So together we planned a birthday photoshoot for Katie, a local teacher (aka rockstar)! Looking wonderful, they and their adorable children arrived to a bright, sunny day downtown. It was chilly but the sun had us feeling the springtime coming. Alexa, in one of her favorite colors (pink!, the other being MY favorite, purple) was in for photos but especially when Mom and Dad would swing her. Raylan, almost a year old, was full of smiles too!

We wandered in front of the Washington Monument and brought out the blanket for some cute shots there and with the Lincoln Memorial in the background before moving down closer to the Lincoln. By this time, Raylan was winding down and Alexa was off dreaming about her "sprinkle bagel" (c-o-o-k-i-e) after the session. So we had time for some shots with just Ben and Katie, which I always love to do. After all, when's the last time you got professional pictures of you two as a couple?

Songs, and Learning to Human Again

Then I did what we are all trying to do: stumble interacting with humans, in person, again. Alexa, all of three years old, asked me a very simple question: what is your favorite song? Now, did I go with an easy one like Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star? Or favorite camp song (Oo-oo I Want To Linger) or even campfire song (Brown-Eyed Girl or, from evenings of the past, Dave Clarke's Arthur Brown original)? No! Like many of us, I have spent a lot of pandemic time re-watching shows I've already watched. So...I've been on a kick watching The Blacklist. And I made a Spotify list with songs from the intense FBI-crime show, and listen to it walking around. Mid-snap, and without a filter I blurted out, "There's this uh, song, from a TV show? Called James Bond...by Iggy Pop." And let me tell you. This is a bizarre song. I like a lot of kinds of music, and I do like this... and it is weird. So, realizing I did in fact use that as a reference for "Sarah's favorite song" out loud, I amended my answer and said I also loved music by The Head and the Heart. That's probably a little more accessible for littles. Sorry, Katie! LOL! Still coming out of hibernation!

It was SO wonderful to be back out snapping pictures of my incredible families and absorbing the sunshine.

Ben and Katie: Thank you for such a fabulous time together! I loved our session and being back out on the Mall with you was so lovely.