Latoya & Shawn: Married November 11th, 2023

On Latoya and Shawn’s wedding day, time danced in harmony with their love – a surreal blend of moments that lingered and flew by in a heartbeat. It feels like just a whisper of seasons since Shawn surprised Latoya during a family photo session, yet in reality, a whole year has woven its tale. On a serene Fall day at a country club, nestled not far from the heart of Fairfax, friends and family of Latoya and Shawn converged to witness the couple's union and commemorate the commencement of a new chapter in their lives.

Engaged in shared glances, a symphony of happy smirks adorns both Latoya and Shawn when their minds drift to one another. I sensed their magnetic connection the day Latoya unknowingly spoke of Shawn, just materialized before he materialized for their proposal. That same smirk, perhaps embellished with a dash more sass, graced Shawn's face when Latoya sent over a box of breath mints while Shawn was suiting up for saying “I Do.”

Shawn, a fellow photographer, got to experience being on the other side of the lens; you can catch glimpses of his photography on Instagram @828Visuals.

Amidst the breathtaking canvas of Autumn's final flourish, Latoya and Shawn exchanged vows just before the sun dipped below the horizon. The celebration continued with the dance floor alive with lights and favorite songs. As the night embraced its final moments, the Latoya and Shawn stole away for an intimate last dance, savoring the essence of the day. Loved ones bid them farewell in style, showering them with confetti and streamers, creating a dazzling spectacle as they kissed beneath the moonlight before embarking on their honeymoon.

What a magnificent conclusion to 2023! Wishing you all a Happy New Year – dive into Latoya & Shawn’s wedding pictures to usher in the magic of 2024!

Madonna and Rubin - It’s a Girl

I’m admittedly a bit behind in sharing updates on many of my recent projects, and the last session I shared was Madonna and Rubin’s Fall Portrait Session when the leaves were in peak color; I think it’s fitting that the next update (and first post of 2023) is also with Madonna and Rubin as Spring sets in.

Spring brings bright colors, so what better way to celebrate the announcement that Madonna and Rubin are now expecting a baby girl this Summer!  We had a blast being artistic with colored smoke bombs, and the pairing cannot be more excited to welcome their new baby girl into the world.  She even has a pair of baby Crocs awaiting her to go adventuring with her excited and loving parents!

Outtakes

This was everyone’s first time playing with smoke bombs, and I have to say, religiously checking the weather was key and instrumental in ensuring the pictures came out as great as they did.  This day still had a bit more wind than I had wanted, but March is traditionally a rainy, windy month, so you do the best you can.  The smoke bombs were cooperative for the most part, but they weren’t without a few bloopers.

Madonna and Rubin - Fall Portraits

You might remember Madonna and Rubin from their spectacular travel themed engagement at the Dulles Airport gate where they met, or more recently Donna’s graduation portraits from George Mason University (Go Patriots!).  This Fall they took a stroll with me through Huntley Meadows Park in Alexandria, Virginia to take in the Autumn colors at their peak and occasionally cuddle up (or get in a leaf fight after carrying one another).  The sun made for an unseasonably warm day, but it fit the feeling, because it’s clear just spending a few moments with Rubin and Donna that they both married their best friend.

As the sun set, and we were just a few short days from Halloween, Rubin got spoopy on the return hike.

It had been a relaxing day, and I’d once again lived up to Rubin’s famous quote about me: “I’m pretty sure David’s face just looks like a camera.”

Ilana and Chris: Engaged

For as long as I’ve practiced photography, I’ve had an off-and-on relationship with film. As a child, digital cameras didn’t exist yet for the consumer market, so my first camera was a cheap Kodak C400 point-and-shoot that used the short-lived Kodak Advantix APS film format: a now-discontinued film format that was meant to modernize and simplify film photography for the entry-level consumer. The APS format, aside from its 1.6x crop factor limiting its resolution compared to 135 film, was quite progressive in its ability to store exposure and print metadata magnetically on the film, similar to cinematography formats, but was discontinued not long after its introduction as digital cameras became more prevalent.

In college I learned to develop, process, and print film with traditional darkroom practices, which I found relaxing, but only for fun, as I’d been shooting digitally for years at that point. Since then, I only shoot film for fun, embracing its imperfection as beauty, and its pastel color palette influencing my digital retouching style to some extent. Flash forward to today, and while I’d always been fascinated by the Polaroid format, I’d never even shot a single Polaroid until I treated myself to a Polaroid instant camera for my birthday in 2020. I’ve found it to be an even more enjoyable film format than traditional 35mm film, because who doesn’t love instant gratification in the Instagram age - Instagram’s icon is even based off the design of a Polaroid camera.

The Polaroid format is just fun; not only do you have results “instantly” (it takes about 10min for the image to develop), but there’s a delight in being able to give people prints on-the-spot; oftentimes, in the Instagram age, even though a digital image may be more “perfect,” it’s the imperfect, moment captured physically that we remember the most.

At the start of one of my long-distance runs, I found a rare spot in the US: A Daihatsu Rocky with the 5 speed manual in Marine Blue, a color that was only offered in 1992. Mostly sold in other countries, Daihatsu only sold vehicles in the US from 1987 to 1992, only selling 3 models: The Charade, Rocky, and their possibly most known vehicle in the US among enthusiasts, the Hijet cabover microvan / kei truck. The Rocky was powered by the same 94HP I4 engine that powered the Charade, and was offered with a 5 speed manual or 4 speed automatic transmission providing power to all four wheels. In 1992 ten color options were offered, and the choice of a removable soft top, or hard top with removable panels was offered. Being the car and photo geek I am, I took a Polaroid of it and left it as a gift to the owner; anyone who owns this has to be an interesting car geek.

This is how I met Chris and Ilana… and I was right: they’re even bigger car geeks than I am! A few months after I took this photo, they found me and as it turned out were recently engaged and looking for a photographer to capture their engagement and wedding. We met to go over details, but ended up talking for hours about cars we’ve owned, driven, and wrenched on. Cars aren’t just a hobby for Chris; he rebuilds classic cars to their original condition with frame-off restorations by day, and builds vehicles in his own collection with Ilana for racing, cruising, and showing on their off time. Chris and Ilana even have a spunky pupper named Maverick!

This Fall, we’d planned to shoot an engagement session including their beloved Daihatsu Rocky, even discussing going off-roading in it to get pictures with it in its natural habitat. Unfortunately, being the uncommon bird it is in North America, its natural habitat has instead been more in the shop, as parts are hard to come by for an older and barely sold truck in the US - its estimated that only three are still in existence on the East Coast, with Chris and Ilana’s being the only one that still runs and drives. The day of our shoot, the Rocky’s leaky radiator gave out, sadly sidelining it out of the photoshoot, but we still made the best of the day hiking around the Virginia shoreline at sunset.

NASA's Orville and Santa Claus Visit the Dulles Funway

This past Wednesday, just a few days before taking off on his 'round the World trip to deliver toys to all girls and boys on his nice list, Santa and Mrs. Claus landed at the Dulles Funway to meet kids and wish them a Merry Christmas.

Santa's timing was perfect; Orville, NASA's flying squirrel mascot (named after Orville Wright), also dropped by to present Santa Claus with Quiet Super-Santa Transport (QueSST) technology which will enable him to circumnavigate the World faster and quieter than ever before, thanks to NASA Aeronautics.

After the technology transfer, it was time to relax and have some fun; Santa and Orville spent some time playing with kids awaiting their flights at the Dulles Funway kids play area.

Even flight crew stopped by to with Santa a safe Christmas flight and show off their holiday cheer!

All that play wore Santa out, and he decided to get a massage at Be Relax in Dulles' Concourse B.  He is sure to now be loosened up and ready to fly tomorrow night!

Meanwhile, Orville had decided to head outside and check out the aircraft; he is a flying squirrel after all!  A Southwest flight was just arriving and he helped marshal in the 737, and even  assisted ramp crew offload luggage!

Before going back inside, Orville greeted passengers boarding the outbound flight, giving high-fives and taking selfies.

As his day came to a close, Orville checked the flight status boards to see when he was scheduled to take off from Dulles; thankfully, Travelers Aid was there to help Orville find his way to the gate.

...and of course on the way there Orville had to join in singing with the carolers!

Click here to find out more about NASA Aeronautics, or find where Orville is right now!