Weekends in Nature

For the past two weekends, I have been very fortunate to be able to visit some beautiful places with beautiful scenery. The first weekend was spent at Malabar Farm near Mohican State Park in Loudonville, Ohio. It was one of THE most peaceful places I've ever been and it was one of THE most perfect evenings for a tractor ride in the country!

The sun was low in the sky with the cows grazing in the pasture.... all you could hear (no car engines) was the sound of a very angry cow moo-ing! And all you could smell (no diesel fumes) was "fresh" country air..... Ahhhh....

This past weekend, the hubby and I spent some time with our friends (and photo buddies) Vicki and Dan of Rye Designs. We were in the town of Burlington, KY. Of course, Vicki and I were armed with our cameras on our afternoon hike in the woods. Here's a collage of some of the photos I captured. And, the second photo is my attempt at softening running water with a slow shutter speed. Enjoy!

Drumroll, please....

If you can believe it, Harrington Photography is finally ready to unveil its official website! I had a temporary site up for the past several months that I wasn't 100% satisfied with. I had been debating about spending several hundred dollars for a photography website software package (think: really easy/very professional looking). However, my hubby Adam and I got creative this weekend. He had the technical skills, and I, the creative skills. Together, we designed our site!

It started on Friday when I finally got inspired to design my business cards. (I've had about 5 previous designs I didn't feel I could live with.) But the other day, I had an idea, tried it out, and it worked! I wanted something simplistic, but elegant and I think that's what I got. Here is my business card design, front and back:

I'm going to have them printed on pearlized stock card paper and they are going to look so pretty! I'm very excited with how the cards turned out. So now I've created my "brand/image" and carried that over to the new website. Check it out and let me know what you think at www.harringtonphotos.net. Some special features that I'm really excited about are still in the works, but for now I have a professional site and image that I am happy with. Thank you to the best hubby in the world for all his help! :)

#1 Buckeye - Smoky

My session with Smoky (the minature schnauzer) two weekends ago was so much fun! He's an adorable little guy and he loves the camera! He didn't take a single bad shot! He was so well behaved and put up with us even despite the H-O-T weather.

And, he is just that much of a Buckeye's fan that he was willing to wear his Jim Tressel sweater for a few poses.

Clearly, you can tell his mommies Diane & Kelly are big Buckeye fans too! Thanks for the suggestion for this cute picture, you two! You are all decked out! OH -- IO! :)

I hope you enjoy the photos of your furry little man!

Nadia's Big Day

Several weeks ago, I had a blast shooting photos of little Nadia and her parents, Crystal and Terry. She was so adorable, and had the cutest little outfit! She was so silly and loved to stick out her tongue in pictures. We found out the secret to getting her to smile - sing the ABC's! I think Crystal and I sang the ABC's at least 20 times throughout the evening! :) Whatever works!

We took our photos outside at Franklin Park. We spent some time with the flowers and then on the playground. We played with Nadia's big ball and bubbles. I had a great time! And Nadia was just the most adorable gal ever! This is why I love my job! I hope you enjoy your photos!

Waiting for Baby...

Beth (and especially Chris) were such good sports during our maternity photo shoot. Baby Sophie is inside Beth's belly! They were happy to pose with Beth's belly. And I LOVE the pictures of Chris kissing her belly - I got two lucky shots in before he'd had enough. Hehe!

Baby Sophie is going to be my first recipient of the full Baby's First Year Story photo album. I'm going to photograph her when she's born, at 6 months, and at one year as well. I can't wait to meet her! :)

Butterflies for Baby

I'm so behind on my blogging! I've been keeping very busy with photo sessions and special projects! Here is a peek at one of those special projects!

Baby Sophia is due in September, and her mommy and daddy (Beth & Chris) are decorating her bedroom in butterflies - how sweet! :) My mission was to take photos at the Butterflies and Blooms display at the Franklin Park Conservatory to frame for her room. I framed a 10"x10" of this photo (my favorite!).

And then 5"x5"s of these two.

And gave them as gifts... I hope you enjoy, Beth & Chris!

Shayla and Rahman

Shayla and Rahman picked up their Save the Date cards this weekend. They turned out SO cute! Hope you two like them!

Here are some shots from their engagement shoot several weeks ago. I'm looking forward to their wedding on New Year's Eve! :)

Sky Houndz Frisbee Championship

We kicked off the Fourth of July weekend by attending (hoping to participate in) the Sky Houndz Annual Frisbee Championship. However, we've learned that our youngest dog, Brutus (who has been training hard with his daddy) has a crippling fear of fire crackers. As soon as we arrived at the contest, there were fire crackers going off in the distance. This combined with a fire cracker incident the night before, took us out of the competition. Either way, we still got the Sky Houndz experience. Here are some shots from the competition.

And, just between you and me - Brutus and Adam would've had the competition beat by far!

Prison Photos

Last weekend, my hubby Adam and I spent the night in prison - as ghost hunters! We visited Mansfield Reformatory and had a blast there. I also used it as an opportunity to take some photos in some poor lighting situations. I also fine-tuned some panoramic skills.

Here's a pano of 5 photos stitched together with a simulated High Dynamic Range special effect, and of course a border and text:

Here's a another photo of the exterior of the building:

Here's an interior photo of solitary confinement:

And, finally, one of the Warden's rooms at the prison:

Looking forward to our next investigation... :)

Baby Sebastian

Last weekend, I spent time with Baby Sebastian and his parents Todd and Rachel. We went to the Park of Roses at Whetstone. It was so huge and pretty! It was so quiet and peaceful on a Friday afternoon. Sebastian was not interested in smiling for us, but we decided we had to document all his silly expressions anyways! Something for the parents to show him when he's a teenager!

This was my favorite compilation of the shots. Just an idea of a layout for a birth announcement...

His typical expression... what a cutie! :) (We were interrupting his nap/dinner time.)

The family... cute little hand!

Daddy and his little man...

Mommy's little angel... I also love this picture!