LOUDOUN COUNTY PHOTO CLUB AWARDS | Goodhart Photography, Northern Virginia Family and Child Photographer

Heart of a Clematis

I entered these prints in the Loudoun County Photography Club's 'Close Up and Macro' print competition, Intermediate division. The print above received an honorable mention, as did the print below:

Bleeding Heart

The flowers in my garden provide me with endless inspiration! But so do other random things I find, such as my children's scooter blocking my path to the front door:

Razor Scooter in the Rain.


There is one more competition coming up this year in May - the subject is Nature. So many possibilities....

BEAUTY IN OUR NATION'S CAPITOL CITY | Goodhart Photography, Washington DC Metropolitan Area Teen and Family portraiture

I spent an amazing day in Washington D.C. with two gorgeous ladies - one a friend from college who could still pass for 18, and her lovely daughter.



Even though the forecast threatened storms,and the sky was dismal and grey, we took lots of photographs outside around the Capitol building before heading indoors to the beautiful Botanical Gardens. There are so many more to come, and they'll be ready in about two weeks.

THE BLUE DREAM OF SKY | Goodhart Photography, Fairfax County and Washington D.C. portrait and family photographer (and lover of e.e. cummings)

What an amazing weekend! Fantastic photography sessions at Meadowlark Botanical Gardens in Fairfax County, gorgeous saturated colors everywhere I looked. It was rather breezy and cool, but those beautiful children gamely threw off their jackets for the above portrait, which is one of my favorites of the session.

Below, you can see how the sky teased us all afternoon, with grey storm clouds that would suddenly part and reveal a slip of "the blue dream of sky". I did not exactly succeed in getting all 21 pairs of eyes on me in this portrait, but I love it anyway, as it shows kids being kids.


Before I photographed the large family above, I spent a few hours this afternoon with this gorgeous young couple, who has a very special place in my heart.


And yesterday, I had the pleasure of going on one of David Luria's "Washington Photo Safaris", which I will blog about in more detail another time, but I highly recommend it, and had a fantastic time! Below is a "cliche" photograph of the Capitol, my old stomping grounds. These monuments and buildings have been photographed so much I'm not overly concerned with avoiding "cliche" photographs, as that would pretty much eliminate every photography angle available to the average citizen like me. Sometimes cliches make me happy. What can I say. I also cried when I saw "How to Train Your Dragon" so I guess that means I am pretty easily moved emotionally.



There are so many more photographs to come! If only my kids didn't need three meals a day, the groceries just showed up at my door step, and the laundry would do itself. Then I would be able to finish everyone's proofs in a week. However, given the way the world works, it will be at least 2 weeks before the proofs are ready. But it will be worth the wait as the best is yet to come!

TIDAL BASIN AT DAWN | Goodhart Photography, D.C. Metropolitan area family photographer

I got up at 5am last weekend to take these photographs! I drove down to Washington DC with a fellow photo club member. Unfortunately, I didn't have my tripod, but at least I had patience, fast lenses, and the willingness to sit on the wet ground and steady my elbows on my knees - turning myself into a tripod of sorts. I probably ruined my jeans but such is the pursuit of artistic photography....



I didn't get many photographs of the blossoms, as my fellow photo club member had just gotten out of the hospital after three months (pneumonia and a sepsis infection) and still tired easily. So he was ready to go by 7, and it wasn't quite light enough to really capture the blossoms in all of their translucent white glory. As you can see, the sun's rays haven't really illuminated the branch below.



However, as I walked back to the car I noticed the beautiful forsythia and magnolias seeming to glow...

And this traditionally dressed couple apparently texting...



My favorite shot of the morning is below...the colors in the sky were spectacular!