Friday, December 25, 2009

Merry Christmas from sunny San Diego!

Hello Everyone!

Please excuse my lack of posts recently! I'm still kickin' and I hope to get back into blogging soon. :)

For now, here's a shot of the back (ocean) side of the Hotel Del Coronado that I took yesterday, on Christmas Eve. On the right side of the shot, you can see an ice skating rink that they set up. (When I took this shot, they were resurfacing the ice, which is why no one is skating--it was really busy when it was open!) It was a beautiful, clear day, so you can see Point Loma in the background. It was a gorgeous view!


I hope everyone is having a fabulous holiday season!
Lauren

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Saturday, November 7, 2009

An update! and some nastiness... ;)

Wow! I can't believe it's been over two months since I posted any images on here! Sheesh!

Well, I got a little story for ya, Ags! ;) My hubby and I were set to move from the Washington, DC, area to Southern California, so I was busy trying to get things ready for the move when I got sick. I had just finished my last day of work at the architecture firm in DC, which was good timing since I didn't have any sick days to use (plus I had a number of things I needed to finish up before I left). I felt horrible for a few days and decided to go see a doctor. They ran numerous tests on me (which took about a week--not fun) but didn't find much. They thought I might have had a urinary tract infection, so they put me on Cipro, and told me to go home and take it easy. (Did I mention we were trying to move?) Fortunately, I started feeling better, so we packed up and headed for my parents' house in San Antonio.

Not even three hours after we arrived, I started feeling sick again. I had a horrible night, and wasn't feeling better by morning, so Mom and hubby decided I should go to the ER. Long story short, I had appendicitis. I got wheeled into the OR and wheeled back out again about an hour later. Turns out I had had pretty bad infection that caused a some nasty problems I won't mention here and basically just created a lot of mess on my insides. The doctor thinks I had gotten appendicitis while I was still in VA, but it probably calmed down with the Cipro then flared up again two weeks later. It apparently wasn't acting like "normal" appendicitis (whatever that means) which is why the doctors out in VA didn't see it at first (plus I wasn't having the same pain typically associated with it).

And, I have pictures to prove it! If you scroll down to the bottom of this post, you'll see a picture I took of a picture of my appendix after it was removed. Consider yourself warned! It is pretty nasty looking!

So now you know why I haven't posted anything lately! Because I was sick, I had to cancel a few events I had set up to photograph (including a baby shower I was really excited about--boo!) and some portrait sessions too.

But, we've made it out to California, and I have some images I took in DC and Virginia before we left that I'm going to post here. These first two are from Dumbarton Oaks, a huge garden and museum in the Georgetown area of DC. My friend Carmen had told me about it when I first moved to DC last fall, but I hadn't taken the time to visit. When she found out I was moving, she asked if I wanted to go with her to see it before I left, and of course I said yes! It is a gorgeous place that I'd recommend to anyone in the DC area.

I liked the little yellow ladybug hanging out on these flowers.

And I thought it was really cool to see this vine sprouting from a brick wall!

And now for the appendix pic! Don't scroll any further if you don't want to see something a little nasty! :)


(I'm giving you time to decide whether you want to see it or not.)


(Did you decide?)


(Three....)


(Two...)


(One!)


Here it is! Mine was apparently about twice the size as a normal one. Shrug.

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Monday, October 5, 2009

And we're off!

Hey everyone!
Sorry for the lag in blogging... between leaving my job, being sick (really sick!) and packing, I haven't had time to add anything here. Clay and I are moving to the West Coast, so look for a travelicious post in the coming weeks! Until then.. stay frosty! :)
-Lauren

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Friday, September 4, 2009

Rachel & Craige

I met up with Rachel and Craige early last Saturday to walk around Old Town Alexandria and take some engagement photos. They got engaged in May, but I kept leaving the weekends when Craige was in town (unintentionally!) so we were finally able to meet up to get some shots! We were out for a couple hours and headed inside after we couldn't stand the humidity any longer. Here are some of my favorites.

I loved Rachel's dress! She got several compliments from passersby while we were walking around. The color looks amazing against the ivy.

I spotted this bench a few days before the shoot and knew we had to head back to get a photo with it.

I love this yellow brick wall! Plus, check out Rachel's awesome shoes. We each ordered a pair earlier this summer, and they are super cute and amazingly comfortable!

They are so sweet together!

I think this shot was my favorite from the day.

Rachel spotted this knot in a wooden fence and thought it would be cute to shoot her ring in it.

Congrats again, you two! <3

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Saturday, August 29, 2009

Karmia & Jonathan

I met Karmia when she found her wedding gown at the Brides Against Breast Cancer event last month. I snapped a photo of her in her gown, emailed it to her, and had been bothering her since about photographing some engagement shots with her fiance, Jonathan.

She agreed to the shoot, but we had a little difficulty finding a date that would work for everyone. We were finally able to meet up near the Tidal Basin last night, but the weather almost had us cancel! I'm so glad that Karmia and Jonathan were willing to get a little wet--we got some fabulous shots in the end!
Here are some of my favorites. :)

Her ring is gorgeous!

Here's an umbrella shot.

I looked down at my camera for a second, and, when I looked up, Karmia had been swept off her feet!

We were able to get some shots at the Jefferson Memorial without anyone bothering us!

I think this one's my favorite. You can tell how happy they are together!

Thank you both for a fun shoot! Congratulations on your engagement and best wishes for your wedding next year!

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Tuesday, August 25, 2009

Blue October - Baltimore, MD

As I mentioned in my last post, I was up in Baltimore on Sunday (23 August) to see Blue October perform at RamsHead Live near the Inner Harbor. Here are my 3 favorite photos from the evening.

This first one is courtesy of my iPhone and a really cool app called ShakeItPhoto. Seriously, if you have an iPhone, check out that app! It's really fun! This is from the encore when lead singer Justin Furstenfeld was singing "It's Just Me" off Foiled.

This second one has lead singer Justin Furstenfeld in the foreground and guitarist CB Hudson rocking out in the back. I love the movement captured in this shot.

Lastly, here's another of Justin and his guitar.

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Monday, August 24, 2009

Blue October Video

I drove up to Baltimore last night to see Blue October perform at RamsHead Live. It was a great show (they never disappoint) and the set list was uh-maze-ing!


Here's a video I recorded of them playing "Italian Radio," probably my favorite song of theirs. I loved it when Justin stroked his guitar at the "meet my fine new lady" line (at approx 0:46).

(If the link doesn't work, try going here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bARv8WZM9-o)


I was able to take my little Nikon in there with me, so hang tight for a few photos!

For now, here's a shot of lead singer Justin Furstenfeld (and former bassist Piper Skih) performing at the Parish at the House of Blues in New Orleans, October 2003.



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