2011: year in review
January 12, 2012 | Filed Under photography, portraits, wedding posts | 6 Comments
so everything takes me a while with the whole new baby and two kids instead of one thing… here, two weeks into the new year, is a selection of my favorite images from wedding and portrait sessions through 2011. at the very end down below, there’s an image my second shooter amber wilkie took of me (five and a half months preggo and looking a hot mess after eight hours of shooting) with some of my most awesome clients – osman and lubna, at their walima in july in DC. and the very last image, i just blogged prior to this – but it might be my most favorite image from all of 2011 :) thanks SO much to my family, all my clients and my amazing second shooters for taking this journey with me last year – can’t wait to get started on 2012!!
all the reasons i’m a wedding photographer…
December 19, 2011 | Filed Under baby, family photos, personal | 19 Comments
…all come down to this. meet my newest, born at 4:19 a.m. sunday, november 6, 2011. born just before dawn on a time-change sunday morning, just like his brother five years ago. born a week and a half early, before i could finish all my editing work for the year! born on the day muslims around the world celebrated eid al-adha, the festival of sacrifice, as over two million pilgrims completed the annual hajj pilgrimage in saudi arabia. we have two eids every year, and give gifts to each other on those days, just like christmas. i can’t help feeling blessed to think that god gave me this gift on eid day… not just baby zayd, but the new brotherhood with my firstborn, musa. there is nothing more beautiful in this world to me.
i do also want to say thank you to all of my 2011 clients who waited patiently for their pictures throughout my crazy last trimester and after the birth! i am of course taking a little break from shooting, but should be back in business early in the new year – so yes, i’m taking 2012 bookings :)
in case you’re interested… the first few pics are from the hospital/ride home; i did a little shoot with both boys when zayd was six days old. at about two weeks we shaved his head – an islamic tradition for newborns – and those images were not taken by me but by my wonderful friend ayaka, who happened to spend the night when i went into labor and stayed home with musa while we went to the hospital; the later images are from around the one and one-and-a-half month marks.
little pumpkin: baby and family portraits
November 16, 2011 | Filed Under baby, portraits | 8 Comments
for my last official photography commission of 2011, i had the pleasure of working with amna, the sister of one of my brides from last year, and her beautiful family. i absolutely fell in love at first sight with baby ayah… she smiled when she first saw me and i was hooked!! amna and amer wanted some shots in a pumpkin patch, so we met up at clark’s elioak farm to take advantage of a gorgeous, sunny fall afternoon among the pumpkins and fanciful sculptures there. amna and amer were incredibly patient with their 9-months-pregnant photographer – thank you guys so much for that, and for your patience in waiting for these pictures since my own baby decided to show up a little bit earlier than expected!! it was such a pleasure to see you guys again and i hope you enjoy the pictures!
wajiha and awais: a dc love story
November 5, 2011 | Filed Under portraits | 11 Comments
we met at the gate to chinatown, and wajiha and awais were filled with stories about how each one had lived down the street that-a-way at one point, or used to study in that location. it was such a pleasure to do my first urban couple’s session with two people who knew this part of the city so well – and had such a clear emotional connection to the places we walked. plus – they are so much fun! and – stylish, gorgeous, smart… the list goes on. wajiha and awais, i had such a great time meeting you guys and photographing you too :) so here they are – chinatown, the national portrait gallery, and the streets in between…
