This is Talia, the brand new daughter of very good friends, Jen & Marc. Talia was an unexpected 2011 tax deduction, as she surprised Mommy & Daddy with an early arrival ahead of her January 4th due date. Talia let me take a few photos of her for her birth announcement. So, I thought I’d share some from our morning together.

Yes, I included some crying shots. Is that bad? I know Jen isn’t using them for the birth announcement, but I still think they’re funny / cute because it’s real. Like…babies CRY. A lot! You see photos of babies (and this is not a critique, just an observation) and they’re all serene in their little buckets and pails. PUH-LEASE says bucket baby. She’s all “don’t take my clothes off. It’s cold.” Right? I’d be cold, too, even after the heating pad trick.  Anyway, I don’t think I ever blogged my personal snapshots from Jen’s baby shower. Now would probably be a good time to do that!

So, there you have it. Ms. Talia’s life has been pretty extensively documented thus far. She’s a sweet thing who promises to bring her parents and loved ones much happiness. I wish them all the very best!

Lovely Kat here modeled for me today. I wanted to share this abstracted image.

I don’t know why I’m posting at midnight on a Friday except that I sat down at my computer to buy some new music and I was like “I’m just going to do this one thing.” One “quick” thing is slippery slope, right?  Incidentally, I finally downloaded Robyn’s “Call Your Girlfriend” because despite ranking it as one of my favorite dance songs of the year, I hadn’t gotten around to buying it. The music blog’s obligatory best of 2011 lists reminded me of this oversight. So, shall we have a Friday Night Dance Party? Or a pretend one. I have neighbors and a sub-woofer. Check out this video, it appears to be captured in one take. I adore Robyn. You know who else loves Robyn? Jen & Marc and though it’s too early to tell, I’ll bet through transference their new baby daughter, Talia, likes Robyn too. I get to photograph baby Talia on Sunday. I’m very excited!

Last week, I photographed Anna for a developing project of knit patterns…more on that later.  Photographing the model of a sweater is different than taking someone’s portrait. It’s a fine line between the two goals. As Anna is the young daughter of friends, I tried to capture a few portraits along the way. Anna has an enigmatic face revealing almost no self-consciousness, a trait I hope she never loses. She’s a natural beauty, caught here in her coltish years.  I thank you, Anna, for bearing the cold weather like a pro. You’re a total sweetheart. And a big, big thanks to Anna’s parents for graciously permitting Anna to model.

So, I hope I don’t get in trouble for posting these images of my friend and fellow photographer, Debi, before she herself has even seen them. Since I know she’s in yoga right now, I made an executive decision. Personally, I love these. Debi (and our mutual friend Lisa) have been developing a nice friendship over the past year. It’s wonderfully generative to have such collaborative professionals on your speed dial… for advice, second opinions, salsa dancing, drag queen brunches and all the cocktails that go along with that. We opt for French 75s. Cause you know, they’re classy.

Oh, yeah. It’s also her birthday on Friday. Happy early birthday, Debi!

I know I haven’t been blogging lately. I’m busy finalizing a gorgeous wedding album for Raj & Jessica. This over-sized album is in a rich, debossed chocolate leather – a leather called date book! The spine is in a soft nubuck suede. Seriously, I want to WEAR this thing. It will be early summer before I get this album completed from the vendor. Perfection takes time. Trust me. It’s gonna be worth the wait.

Some awesome curators over at Etsy have selected two more of my prints to be included in their treasury lists. Check these out.

Girl Looking Out a Window photo by Modern Toile Photography

Girl Looking Out a Window was featured on a treasury list entitled, “I’ve got a gypsy’s soul to blame, and I was born for leaving…” It was also featured in the treasury called “Spring-a-ling”. Thanks again to curators, Cool Ranch Studio and Wild Wilderness Photos, for the Etsy love.

Well, it’s game night for my adorably nerdy husband (who today is rocking some adorably grown-up new shoes!),  which means I’m going to get a few more hours of edits in. Then I’m shutting this computer down to chip away at the some 5000 pages of Harry Potter that I’m rereading before the final movie releases in June. It’s going quickly. I’d forgotten how much better the books were. Anyway. I’d better get to it.

Hello! I hope everyone’s week is going well.

Above these images, I should have placed a warning to women of child-bearing years that this blog post will make your ovaries all twitchy. Sorry. These images were taken awhile back of some super duper adorable kids. I’m blogging through some older work. You’ll be seeing more from Ashley & Kevin’s engagement session soon.

This week I’ve been busy setting up my new Etsy storefront.Thanks again to The Future Mrs. Darcy for creating the Etsy banner and my new less obtrusive watermark. The moment I think I’ve finished I remember another image and I spend 10 minutes scouring through Bridge to locate the file. Wedding and portrait work are neatly organized chronologically. My personal and fine art work is filed by an illiterate helper monkey whom I pay in jellybeans. He’s not very fastidious, but he is cute in his little hat. In Nick Hornby’s, High Fidelity, the protagonist organizes his music collection uniquely. It’s not alphabetized or chronological, it’s autobiographical. It’s creatively narrative. It’s so self-indulged. I can relate. More so than I care to admit.

Please check out the new storefront. I’m pretty proud of it. Showing fine art makes one a bit vulnerable. It makes me a bit neurotic. Pulling one’s work together, editing and self-curating is how one grows as an artist. My sincerest thanks to those close friends who offered their critique and support. You are a lucky person if you have people in your life who will tell when something isn’t good enough, because you know you can trust the compliment that is paid.

Hello! I’m blogging from Boston today.  I’m here visiting my friend Kristen from The Future Mrs. Darcy. We’re about to head to Salem, Mass for a little tourist action, so this will be a short post.

The first time I photographed Bella she was a wee lass. Now, she’s all grown up! During an exceptionally mild Fall day in October we played at a pumpkin patch, the very same pumpkin patch Bella’s Daddy worked as a teenager.

My gosh, is she adorable or what?

- Brandy

Although this looks like an engagement session, it was not. Patricia and I used to work together at Paper Source. She and her husband, Dan, are leaving DC for bigger and better things. They wanted some images to remind them of their time in DC. I was excited and a little bit nervous to photograph Patricia whose mother is a really really established photojournalist. It’s ridiculously easy to make these two look good, as they both hit the genetic lottery, what with Dan’s height (Dan is 6′ 5″)  and Patricia’s glossy shampoo ad hair. Seriously you two…can you be more adorable? Standing next to them I felt like an Ewok. Well, to be honest I feel like an Ewok most of the time. When we started shooting in Old Town, the sky was cloudy and beautifully diffused. By the time we hit the District the afternoon sun bathed us in warm glowy light.

My new 27″ iMac arrives this week. I’m psyched at the promise of a faster workflow! Today is Sunday and I’ve been at my computer all day. If I don’t get off this computer my husband might just unplug it on me. Bye for now!

Thank you, Easter Bunny!

Oh, Bella!

Bella is as cute as well….a basket of puppies.¬† No, a basket of kittens. KITTENS!!! KITTENS & BABIES. OH MY!

What a lovely segue to my next topic: Kitty Wigs.¬† The book I should have photographed. If I had been in charge of art direction, this book would pay tribute to the woman of MTV circa 1985.¬† Madonna.¬† Cyndi Lauper.¬† Joan Jett.¬† But I wasn’t asked.¬† Whatever.¬† I don’t even care.

That much.

]]> http://www.moderntoilephotography.com/2009/11/isabella/feed/ 0 http://www.moderntoilephotography.com/2009/11/rudy-oh-and-jason-rachel-of-course-but-lets-not-forget-rudy/ http://www.moderntoilephotography.com/2009/11/rudy-oh-and-jason-rachel-of-course-but-lets-not-forget-rudy/#comments Mon, 23 Nov 2009 19:09:27 +0000 Brandy http://www.moderntoilephotography.com/?p=381

Happy Turkey Day Eve Eve Eve, kids!¬† Okay, so Thanksgiving is still a few days out which means it’s time to start panicking about your holiday cards.¬† I’m done already.¬† Whats that?¬† You hate me?¬† Well, there is a queue of haters forming behind all my disorganized friends. Don’t hate the playa, hate the game.

One couple who will not joining that line of haters is Rachel & Jason (& Rudy)!¬† Rachel is hand-making photo cards this year.¬† Last weekend we hung out snapping some portraits in front of the Jefferson Memorial.¬† Rachel, who is an architect, says it’s her favorite DC monument due to the curve of the dome.

This was my favorite shot of the day! Fall foliage is made to serve as a backdrop to Rachel’s gorgeous red hair.

Rudy, you, baby cakes, are one sweet dog.