The Hipples

I recently had the opportunity to photograph a wedding of two beautiful brides.  I met them through a mutual friend, and when their engagement came, I volunteered to photograph their wedding.  The day was beautiful.  A small ceremony filled with friends and family in their own backyard, with beautiful handmade decorations and centerpieces, this was a true joining of two people very much in love.  With the chaos of being back in school as an art teacher, I’ll be adding to this post as I edit through and make a final round of corrections and get them blog-ready.  Be sure to check back for more of my favorite moments from their blessed day!

Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens Engagement

On a recent rather hot and humid afternoon, an amazing couple braved the weather and met me at the Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens for an engagement shoot.  I’d never been to the gardens before and if you haven’t gone, finish reading this post, and you’ll have to go!  It is a beautiful treasure tucked in Anacostia with many ponds filled with aquatic plants and wildlife.  Just in the short time I visited, I saw fish, tadpoles, frogs, turtles, a raccoon, a heron, and dragonflies!  I highly suggest going when it’s just a tad bit cooler than the typical DC summer heat, as the friendly Park Ranger told me the flowers open more.  Jessica and John are a couple filled with laughter.  For the entire shoot, John somehow kept Jessica smiling and laughing throughout the heat.  The love they share for one another is certainly evident within the photographs.  They plan to get married in August and I am thrilled to be photographing their special day, so be sure to check back mid-august for that blog entry!  Otherwise, relax, take a glimpse at our day, and get out to the aquatic gardens when you have a chance!

 

A Green Space within the City

I had the amazing opportunity to do a family portrait session for an adorable family.   In brainstorming locations, Mom suggested the Rosedale Conservancy which is a tucked away area within DC, that is supposed to be quite, sunny, and green(we all know, green space is hard to find living in such a metropolitan area!).  I wasn’t quite sure I had heard of the conservancy before so I got on Google and began to search and right there it was nestled into a neighborhood in Northwest DC.  We met on a very sunny Sunday morning, and to my surprise the conservancy was empty, and had plenty of parking to spare! Mom, Dad, and two precious kids loaded out of their car and the fun began.  We explored through the beautiful green space, and I must admit, those two kids were sometimes hard to catch on camera!  I’ve never seen so much energy and excitement to run up and down the grassy hills, play in the huge weeping willow, and explore the huge roots of trees.  It was a time, in such a beautiful space and with such a photogenic and kind family.  Take a look through the lens, these precious faces will certainly put a smile on your face.

Retirement Celebration

My mom has been a teacher for over thirty years.  It’s been a long haul and a journey that my sister, father and I have traveled with her.  Between checking papers, calling out scores, entering scores into the grade book, and making the “OMG it’s Mrs. Foy’s daughter!” appearance at her annual good work ticket party, I can only say yes at times it was annoying and boring, but looking back, I wouldn’t change it for the world.  I mean, really, the answers you see students write on some of those tests!  Then there’s the constant questioning when her students see you for the first time, “did you really not get to watch TV on week days?!” “which daughter are you?”, and then many more questions that never cease to entertain.  It’s been a whirlwind and I must say, I greatly appreciate my Mother for telling me “I will not help you with your college education if you intend to be a classroom teacher.” so I responded “how about an art teacher?” and she said “well, okay, that’s not too bad.  No standardized tests, no intense grading papers, okay that’ll be just fine”.  Both my sister and I work with children and greatly enjoy inspiring, and giving youth experiences and power of expression that they may not have had otherwise.  I’d like to think all those years of sitting around my many younger cousins, and watching my Mom in her classroom(where she made us go after middle school every afternoon, ugh, BORING!) that my sister and gained this love and passion for educating and working with kids.

On May 15th, over 75 close friends, family, and staff gathered at a local restaurant to celebrate her retirement.  She knew some people who were attending but many were a surprise including her childhood friend who she grew up with in Hancock, MD.  She had friends from the first years of teaching up through the newest members of her current school.  Below are some pictures of just a few of the many guests, smiles, and laughter that filled the celebration.

American Brittany Rescue & Taste of Arlington!

Some of you may know Paul and I rescued our American Brittany from the rescue in late October.  Since the adoption, we have had one foster dog, and had our first opportunity to volunteer with the American Brittany Rescue (ABR) at the recent Taste of Arlington event hosted in Ballston and sponsored by the Ballston BID (Ballston Business Improvement District).

We got to the event excited to see the local ABR families and dogs, as well as Tina(ABR board member,and BallstonBID CEO), Andrea(ABR board member), and of course Abbe and Craig the new parents of our old foster dog (and my coworker!).  The event was jam packed.  With over 30 food vendors from the area, including 8 up and coming chefs trying to secure themselves a location within Ballston.  All the food we tried was amazing, so clearly, by the time we left, we couldn’t imagine eating another bite of anything!  The ABR sponsored and had a booth in the barkpark of the event where we had many kids petting the dogs, we educated and informed potential adopters about the breed, and showed off the local foster Mason!  The event was truly a wonderful experience and I think we sparked an interest and love for Brittany’s in this area.  Take a peek through the lens of great food, paws, and playful pups.

 

Introducing: Baby Samuel!

I got up early one recent Sunday morning to spend some time with three month old Samuel, and proud parents Becky and Joe. I was introduced to the family through a mutual friend, who at brunch one day said  “my friend Becky has the cutest little baby!” and I jumped on the opportunity and responded “Does she need family portraits taken?! Would she let me do it?!”.  Well, two weeks later I found myself sitting at Starbucks with Becky, Joe, and adorable Samuel.   Becky and Joe hesitantly told me when we first met to discuss their hopes and dreams for the session that Samuel was happiest at around 7:30 in the morning.  Now, I understood their hesitation because usually, teachers enjoy sleeping in and sipping their morning coffee in silence on the weekend (Becky knows this, she’s a teacher too) but how could I pass up the opportunity to capture the family at Samuel’s happiest time?!  So I drove over, and they couldn’t have been more right, he was full of smiles, and even a little bit of talking here and there.  Take a peek through the lens at my morning with this adorable family.

 

As you can see, it was an amazing day full of giggles, smiles, and even the dog behaved for photos!  What an amazing family!  Thanks so much Becky, Joe, and Little Samuel!

Trashion Fashion: Part II

I promised a post soon to follow the original trashion fashion feature, and so, better late than never but here it is!  I know that I always says photographs capture a moment and can bring to life the memory or experience of that moment.  I honestly am not sure I can say that anything could ever truly capture the details and the excitement of this show.  Models running around, designers seeing their visions coming to life for the first time, music starting, and an overwhelming silence falling over the attendees, the runway show begins.  From the moment the first hat creation came out onto the runway, to the final recycled design, the attendees of the event were in shock at the amazing qualities and concepts they say.  I saw the entire show through the lens of my Nikon D3100, and through the lens of my new 85mm f/1.8 lens.  Take a look through the lens for yourself.

 

Trashion Fashion: Part I

May 8, 2014 the District of Columbia Public Schools(DCPS) held their opening reception for their district wide end of the school year art show featuring student work from over 55 schools. In years past, the celebration was strictly student art with opening remarks, light refreshments, and viewing of the work.  This year, DCPS livened up the event thanks to their new Arts Coordinator, Amanda Boggs.  Amanda cam to DCPS this past summer, and actually has roots within the school system.  She was a DCPS student and graduated from Wilson High school within the district.  Amanda brought a traveling fashion show which creates awareness through outfits made of recycled materials.  This event is known as Trashion Fashion.  Featured in the fashion show were outfits made of 100% recycled materials but students, staff, and local DC artists.  Within Trashion Fashion came a phenomenal installation artist, named Nina.  She brought down her installation from Connecticut for the event and I had the honor of working as an assistant to the assembly of the installation!  Along with Nina came the Trashion Fashion team full of amazing working artists.  I worked alongside their web master Darcy, and fashion show team members as well.    In the photos below you will find a variety of moments of the day from documentation of the installation, to our speakers including Amanda Boggs, Brian Pick, and the Head of Reagan National Airport where the event took place.  In a post soon to come (hopefully within a few days) you will see the amazing runway and models within their Trashion Fashion entries.  Enjoy the post!

 

 

Mixed Media & Margaritas Event

Art Education DC (AEDC) is the Washington, DC chapter of the greater, National Art Education Association. This past Saturday, AEDC held a professional development day for it’s members and artist community of DC called “Mixed Media and Margaritas”. Held at The Arc, a local community center which houses various programs, classes, and partnerships located in South East DC, it was a lively event filled with laughter, curiosity, and excitement about the many art supplies and techniques featured on this beautiful day in May.  Attendees of the professional development enjoyed free-creation through mini-lessons on the use of some amazing supplies all donated from Dick Blick Art Supply and Jack Richeson while sipping on margaritas and munching on chips, salsa, and some delicious guacamole.   I had a great time at the event mingling and networking with people from all over the district and even Virginia as well.  Check out some of my favorite moments capture through the lens (some even through my new 85mm f/1.8 lens!!)

 

As you can see, it was quite the event filled with creativity, a sense of community, and loads of fun!  We even had the pleasure of having our tiniest board member join as pictured above trying a lime for the first time!  Surprisingly, she loved it and devoured it!  The AEDC board would like to again extend a tremendous THANK YOU! to both Dick Blick Art Supplies and Jack Richeson Art Supplies.  Without their generous donations, this event would not have been possible.  In addition, a huge shout out to the board members of AEDC and the art educators from across the district who came out for this event!  Be sure to check back to the AEDC website for future events like this that you won’t want to miss!

Bancroft Elementary School: DC SCORES!

As some of you know, I spend my days teaching visual arts to an amazing group of students in grades Pre-School through Fifth grade.  Part of being a teacher, is not just commitment and investment in your students during the 8:00-3:30 school day, but also beyond the normal school day into extracurricular activities.  DC SCORES is the Washington, DC affiliate of the greater non-profit organization America SCORES.  The organization is in many different states, and throughout schools within the District of Columbia.  Students can first join in the third grade, and the program extends through middle school age.  DC SCORES has been a program within my school since before I began over three years ago.  Students are a team within this program but they don’t just play soccer. Students grow and learn in a multitude of ways.  In addition to learning skills of sportsmanship and honing their soccer abilities, students participate in a service learning project and an annual poetry slam.  Coaches are typically community members and teachers from the building which provides students and teachers a different environment to build a trusting and positive relationship with one another.

Thursdays are game days.  Students arrive to Bancroft typically in full uniform, counting down the hours, minutes, and seconds until the games start at 4pm.  Morning arrival typically occurs for me with each player asking, “are you coming to our game Ms. Foy?!” my response is “YES! where is the game today?” and to that I’m told “umm, I don’t know, I don’t remember.  It’s going to be awesome though!  Ask Coach Guzman!”.  There’s something about the huge smile on their faces, and eagerness to power through the day that the DC SCORES players bring every Thursday that is contagious and spreads throughout their classrooms.

I arrive on the field (usually late by 15 minutes, but hey, it’s DC and traffic is annoying let alone parking!) and as soon as I’m spotted, my attention is directed to the mass of yellow jerseys yelling”Look, it’s Ms. Foy!” and “HEY! Ms. Foy, OVER HERE!”.  No matter how many times you tell a student you’re coming to the game, they still act completely shocked but thrilled when they first realize you’re actually there!  Game days are not just about the student athletes bonding, and working together but also about parental involvement and community.  Parents who come to the game have the time to casually converse and interact while cheering on their student.  These games have really helped me build relationships with parents.  It’s turned into tutoring for me in ways as many of our parents speak Spanish primarily, so it gives me the chance to work on my Spanish. I could go on for a long time explaining the many ways DC SCORES strengthens my school community, but I’ll just end with a glimpse through the lens on game day…

 

A Special thanks to DC SCORES leadership for supporting me in this post!  Looking for a way to make a difference?

Consider a donation to help fund this amazing program!