40 and Fabulous!!!!

September 27, 2010September 29, 2010
by Victoria J

Milestone birthdays… We all know about them. We all know people that have had them. We all either get excited or don’t look forward to our next one… Whatever the case, they are only really big because we make them that way. What do I mean by that? Well, who said that 16 was a big deal? I am guessing it was the kid who couldn’t wait until they were 16 so that they could officially drive. Who made 21 a big deal? It was probably the young person that was looking forward to legally partaking in some of those forbidden “spirits.” Who made 30 a big deal? Now that I don’t know, but I am guessing that after the age of 25, we just started getting excited about anything that ended with a “0.”

Regardless of what it takes to make a person celebrate another year, the celebration itself is a beautiful thing. You see, life – it’s not promised, and it’s surely not without issues or problems. But when you have the opportunity to see another year, another year that God has carried you through, it’s a reason to celebrate! With the economy where it is, wars, natural disasters, man-made disasters, car accidents, etc, I am glad to see that we live in a world of survivors and people that thrive! I celebrate life! I celebrate age! I even celebrate gray hair because I read somewhere that it was a person’s wisdom!

So please allow me to share with you images from one of my aunt’s recent birthday celebrations! A few weeks ago, we went to the National Harbor in DC, and ate at the Gaylord Hotel, stopped in Cake Love for desserts, and then went to Charming Charlie’s for a little shopping. By the way, if I hadn’t given this post such a descriptive title, I don’t think you would have guessed my aunt’s age… I’ll just say, we have some really good genes! (Thank you Lord!)

By now, you all know my new closing statement: If you see something you like, please don’t hesitate to leave a comment! I love the feedback!

I Like Having You Around…

September 20, 2010November 20, 2010
by Victoria J

I recently had the opportunity to photograph a family in a portrait session, and it is always exciting to see how the dynamics vary from family to family. With this particular family, the little boy was at that age where he really liked hanging out with dad; he wanted to go wherever dad went. The whole session just reminded more and more of the importance of family and having a combination of the male and female perspectives in parenting. I share some of the images from this session because I don’t feel that we see enough of these kinds of images!

By the way, if you like what you see, please feel free to leave a comment!

Taking it Easy in South Carolina

August 26, 2010October 24, 2010
by Victoria J

We recently reconnected with some old friends of the family that moved to England when I was around 6 or 7 years old. Their children changed a little in this time, but the mom and dad look the exact same! Growing up with parents in the military, I quickly got accustomed to my friends leaving after a few years. Even though we were military, my dad managed to stay in the same city for many years, so I did not do as much traveling as most of my friends did. Regardless, I think the short assignments made us all bond quickly, love deeply, and then try to stay in touch. Well, my mom was much better at staying in touch with this particular family than the rest of us (perhaps age was a big contributor to my not keeping in touch), but when we reconnected earlier this summer, it was as if we never really skipped a beat! I truly thank God for friends and church family like these! The love, hospitality, and support that they have for us is truly noteworthy. I love you guys!

Below are several photos from the easy, not-too-breezy moments that we shared in South Carolina (once I pulled my camera out).

Reunited, and It Feels So Good…

August 16, 2010
by Victoria J

A couple of years ago, I had the pleasure of photographing a mother and her daughter at Brandywine Park in Wilmington, DE. So a few weeks ago, this same woman’s mother wanted to schedule a portrait session with the three generations, and we decided to use the same venue. So my mission became clear: use this background, but use it in such a way so that it does not look like the same photo session from 2 years ago. Well the season difference definitely worked in my favor (the first session was in the fall, this session was in the summer). So in the end, we worked in different areas of this very large park, but, to be a little nostalgic, we used a couple of the same scenes from the first session. I have truly been blessed with some great, and photogenic clients; they make my job easy!

I have included the new images as well as a couple of throw back images from this family portrait session.

Throw-Back Photo:
Follow Me (November 2008)

Throw Back Photo:
The Fountain Pose (November 2008)

I don’t need a Valentine’s Day to tell you how much I love you!

June 28, 2010June 28, 2010
by Victoria J

Over the years, I have been so blessed by the presence of family in my life. You see, members of my family were the first to believe in me, the first to give me a chance with this camera, and the first to purchase me a great camera. They were the folks that kept posing for me when they were ready for me to be done like an hour and a half ago. My family has supported my business and ALL of my pursuits through the years, so I cherish and value family.

I recently had a family portrait session with a wonderful family, and I was so blessed by this opportunity to capture their moments because you could not help but to see their genuine love for one another! In a time when the media feeds us so many broken and unloving families – especially families of color – it is good to see images of those solid families that are there for each other, and ready to smile and encourage each other! From the brothers to the sisters to the husbands and wives, this family was not shy with their love and affection for one another. All that I could say was the phrase I remember my granddad using all the time in his latter years, “Beautiful!”

See images from this recent family portrait session below.

Dad’s Bar-B-Que Ribs

June 16, 2010June 16, 2010
by Victoria J

Somewhere in my childhood, I discovered the joy of eating ribs. I can remember every summer holiday (and in Texas, that’s anything between March and October) filled with the smell of Bar-B-Que smoke as Dad grilled hotdogs, hamburgers, ribs, and brisket. Back in those days, pigs were in and chickens were out… Well in my latter years, I have let the pig go, but occasionally my taste buds take to flight when I indulge in some artfully bar-b-qued beef ribs. They always take me back to those middle school moments when I did not know how to do my hair and my teeth were too big for my face, but it was in those moments that I could just appreciate good food and not think too hard about bar-b-que sauce getting on my shirt or the issue with eating potato salad and potato chips in the same sitting.

Many, many years since the care-free days of my youth, I have yet to meet someone who can bar-b-que a rib quite like my Dad! Perhaps it’s the near-Memphis roots or the rights of passage in the Texas soil that produced such a technique and sauce – I’m not sure, but whatever the case, I always have room for some of my Dad’s BBQ Ribs! See what I’m talking about below!

A Mommy’s Love

June 14, 2010
by Victoria J

When it comes to photography, I think my first love was the portrait. Whether I was capturing an individual or a family or friends, it was all just as thrilling. Sometimes I would pose people, and then other times, I’d just let the natural moments flow and captured them. It was in the free-flowing moments that the true personalities of my subjects were captured. Well, I recently had the opportunity to photograph a mother and her son in Delaware – what a joy! As the son was still under a year old, I really was able to just capture the moments that happened, especially since he couldn’t really understand my direction 😉 Needless to say, the session went well, and I believe that I captured the essence of Mommy and Baby, but don’t take my word for it! Check out select pictures from this session below!