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.”

Portia and Nick: Married October 2nd, 2021

Just as Summer was drawing to a close and Autumn was beginning to shift the trees’ colors warmer, Portia and Nick, accompanied by their family and friends, gathered at the quaint Ballenger Farm in Hamilton, Virginia to say “I do” and dance the night away celebrating tying the knot.

The farm has free range chickens, much to the entertainment of younger guests, and a lucky black barn cat that wants allllll the cuddles - he even curled up in my lap for a few minutes while I was on the ground capturing a low angle!  The chickens; oh my goodness, I just have to say, I captured a photo that ranks among those I’m most proud of in recent time during Portia and Nick’s ceremony - the free range chickens freely roamed, including one keen to be included in the wedding, photobombing the readings!  Truly one of my most favorite captures at a wedding in years, and it’s a great example of how I approach weddings and all events with a photojournalistic eye and mindset.

As night fell on the dinner party, Portia and Nick shared their first dance under the stars to a medley sung by a close friend to wish the newlyweds well as they start a new chapter together.  Afterwards, everyone retired to the patio to dance and enjoy drinks and dessert.

Natasha and Zach: Engaged

Natasha and Zach, in all our planning over Zoom (the new norm), presented me with a new idea that I was immediately all in on: Natasha had found a farm with rolling fields of sunflowers!  I’ve shot in botanical gardens in Spring, and lavender fields in Summer, but a sunflower field was the perfect spot for an early Fall engagement session!

With weather that made the day look like a vibrant painting, Zach and Natasha explored the paths cut through the countless sunflowers, before stopping by the barn which was just beginning to prep for a pumpkin patch opening later in the week.  As the sun set on the Fredericksburg farm, I even caught a few Polaroids of the newly engaged and very upbeat couple!

While marching through the endless sunflowers, I was surprised to find that none of the sunflowers were facing the sunset; this threw me off, because I remember being fascinated as a child by how the sunflowers in my parent’s garden would rotate through the day to follow the sun (and by how tall they were above me).  Not only was I taller than all the sunflowers today, but these sunflowers weren’t rotating - I’ve learned since this shoot that only young sunflowers follow the sun due to a circadian rhythm that helps young flowers develop, but isn’t needed once reaching maturity.  This tracks with my experience, because my childhood garden’s sunflowers were grown from seeds, and the stationary flowers at this farm are either many years or generations old, depending on the variety.

Mahsa and Peyman: Married January 17th, 2021

Foreward

As I’ve mentioned in all of my posts lately, I am currently working my way though a backlog of photoshoots I have already completed and delivered, but have been behind in sharing my most recent work online.  Mahsa and Peyman’s Bridal Portrait Session is one such photoshoot; it was completed and delivered on time, this past Spring, but I was onto photographing and editing more photoshoots before getting the chance to share Mahsa and Peyman’s session.

Mahsa and Peyman: Married

Mahsa and Peyman, like so many of the couples I’ve met in the last year and a half, had their wedding plans shifted by COVID-19.  We first spoke in the Fall of 2020, with hopes of phogoraphing their engagement and later wedding, but the pandemic made having the wedding they wanted impossible, so rather than put love on hold, Mahsa and Peyman tied the knot on January 17th, 2021, with plans to hold celebrate their wedding in style with their family and loved ones at a later date once the pandemic has settled down.  Unfortunately their small ceremony didn’t allow a photographer to be present due to safety protocols, so in lieu of this, to celebrate their new marriage, we captured Bridal Portraits this Spring with Mahsa in her wedding gown and Peyman in his Tuxedo.

Mahsa’s bouquet and Peyman’s boutonnière matched the Spring colors of the botanical gardens’ cherry blossoms and lilac trees.  At an overlook in the garden, we made sure to capture their Kaleh Ghand, sugar cones rubbed together during the Sofreh Aghd to shower the newlyweds with sweetness, imparting blessings from one generation to the next.  Mahsa and Peyman were naturals in front of the camera; every moment you could see the love in their eyes as Mahsa’s playfulness and Peyman’s affectionate veneration perfectly matched and balanced one another.

Behind the Scenes

As a photographer, my goal is to do “anything to get the shot.” Oftentimes this means getting into the right spot for the moment, but sometimes that means getting into an awkward or difficult spot for a few moments. Today’s spot was down low, to include the beautiful Spring flowers in the foreground for a few portraits.

Kevin and Rhoda: The Proposal

Last week, on a snowy Sunday at Stone Tower Winery, Kevin and Rhoda spent an afternoon wine tasting and picnicking by the fire pit.  Later in their day the couple went for a tour of the winery, and at a secluded spot outside the cellars, Kevin dropped to one knee and popped the question.  After celebrating with some sparking wine, the newly engaged couple toured the winery with me for some portraits with the barrels and snow-covered vineyard hills in the background.