I was thrilled to be asked to take photographs of Lauren.  She is a friend of Linnea, who you might remember from last November.

Lauren is also from Ohio, and is a senior in High School.  She is also the first person to ever take me up on my suggestion that the light is beautiful at sunrise, and while on vacation, she and her entire family got up before the crack of dawn to meet me a half hour before sunrise.  Wow!  The sky was quite cooperative and there were very few people there at Jetty Park, Cocoa Beach, FL.  Amazing!

I really enjoyed getting to know Lauren.  She has a very gentle and kind spirit and loves to dance.  Though she isn’t positive about what she wants to do when she graduates, she is thinking about going into teaching.

Without any further ado, here are some favorite pictures from our day together.

This huge lifeguard chair was so much fun!  I think maybe they put it there just for us.  Thanks for being a good sport and climbing up on it, Lauren!

And for being a good sport to get into the water at such an early hour!

I think this is my favorite picture from the morning.  Isn’t she lovely?

Lauren with her sister, Kalie.  Kalie not only got up early for her sister’s photo shoot, but I didn’t hear a single complaint.  What a great sister!

What a fun way to spend a Saturday morning!  Lauren, I really enjoyed our time together.  I wish you the best senior year and hope to see you again.

To see the rest of the pictures from our fun morning together click here.

I recently had the opportunity to visit Washington, D.C.  Though I wasn’t there for touring, I was able to take a full weekend and sight-see.  Fortunately, I had a dear friend who was able to meet me there for the weekend, and we had a blast together!

We visited the Museum of Natural History first, then the American History Museum, and from there visited many of the memorials.  The following day, we visited Ford’s Theater and then visited some more memorials.  That afternoon we spent some time at the Air and Space Museum at the Dulles Airport.  I’ll share pictures and a story from there later on.

My time there in our nation’s capitol, remembering the men who have sacrificed their lives for our freedom, was sobering.  I have such a strong respect for those in the military and appreciate all they do.  We have such an incredible history here in the United States and I am so proud to be a part of that history. 

One of my goals while there was to not take photographs simply to record the places we were.  There have been so many pictures of Washington D.C. that it just seemed unnecessary.  Instead, my attempt was to take pictures that gave a more unique view of the places we visited.  Here are some of my favorites from the day.

This Canada Goose had a hurt leg.  He was in a pool at the World War II Memorial.

World War II Memorial

World War II Memorial – the above pictured wall reflected in the pool

A view of the Lincoln Memorial from the World War II Memorial

Another view from the World War II Memorial

These eagles holding the wreath were in the World War II Memorial as well. 

The Lincoln Memorial. 

Another angle on the Lincoln Memorial

I love this one with the guys reading the text of the speech on the wall.  This one is Lincoln’s March 4, 1865 Second Inaugural Address

I think this one is from the Vietnam Memorial

Another shot at the Vietnam Memorial.

A view of the Washington Monument from the Vietnam War Memorial

I’d love to see the picture he took!  This was at the Roosevelt Memorial

This was the coolest wall!  It was also at the Roosevelt Memorial

One of the waterfalls at the Roosevelt Memorial

This was the ceiling of the Jefferson Memorial

The Washington Monument seen from the Jefferson Memorial

The Jefferson Memorial