There's No Place Like Home...

I am so super excited to be home for Christmas.  We've had an awesome time with family and friends.  We even drove into Boston Christmas night so I could get a skyline photo.  It's not quite what I envisioned it would be, but I'll just have to go back and try again. 

Photo Fun with The Hamilton's

Meet The Hamilton's, this session was a blast!  Holly knew exactly what she wanted and came prepared.  It was a ton of fun trying to get all 3 kids to stay still and look at the camera, but I always did love a challenge :) 

Feeling Adventurous!

First off, Happy Veteran's Day to all of the men and women who have fought for our Freedom!  I appreciate your service and sacrifice.

So, today I was feeling a little adventurous. I've always wanted to get a few photos of my dogs and the foliage is just beautiful...so, out to the park we went. I waited until Meg got home from school, so she could help me with the boys, and then we headed out to the park. 

Let me tell you what a challenge it is to get two dogs to cooperate.  Unfortunately, they have two totally different personalities and wanted to do two different things so, I couldn't get a photo of the two of them together.  Just individuals.  But they are still adorable.  I love the boys so much.  So, here they are.  Mr. Buddy and Mr. Pork Chop!

The Locklear's

Sunday I had the pleasure of photographing some of our great friends.  Calvin and Jennie are just adorable.  I had so many great shots of them it was so hard to limit it to 30 photos for their gallery.  We did the shoot in Raleigh, I must say I really LOVE the city setting for pictures.  We had some great spots to shoot.  I went through and tried to pick just a "few" favorites, but go so carried away that you guys are getting an extended sneek peek.  Enjoy!

Fall has Arrived!

Anybody who knows me, knows just how much I love fall.  It is my, by far, my favorite season.  I think my love for Fall comes from growing up in Massachusetts.  After I met my husband we would take day trips once a year to go "leaf peeping".  We would go to New Hampshire, Vermont, Maine or even just the Western part of Massachusetts.  It was one of my favorite things to do.  Foliage in the Northeast is usually at peak right around the end of September, so adjusting to the timing in the South was hard for me. 

Today I woke up and decided to take a ride to Virginia.  Everyone talks about Mabry Mill and I wanted to visit it at peak fall time so I could see what all the fuss was about.  Funny thing is, and it's just my luck, they had a storm last night and it blew most of the leaves off the trees.  So, I knew it was going to be a challenge to get the shot I was looking for.  But, I was able to get some gorgeous shots.  The plus side of this trip, I let Meg take the day off of school and we had a great Mommy/Daughter day. 

It's amazing to spend time with her as she's growing up.  She has so much to say and it just warms my heart to be able to do these types of things with her. 

Here are some shots from our trip.

Megan's Love of Horses

One of my daughter's favorite things to do, is horseback.  Megan has been taking lessons since she was 7 and has not waivered from it at all.  You know she's really committed when she volunteers to go and clean stalls.  Who does that?  Our Thursdays consist of coming home from work, Meg getting ready and then we head on over to the barn for her lesson.  While she's doing her lesson Chris and I watch, I occasionally take pictures of her on the horse and then I take pictures of some of the other horses as well.  Below are a few of the pictures from today's lesson as well as one of the horses at the barn and, of course, the barn cat that comes and keeps me company while Meg is riding. 

Scott Kelby Photo Walk

I took the opportunity to go on my very first Scott Kelby Photowalk today!  I had a great time, I even had my daughter come along with me.  I was able to catch a few photos of her throughout the day as well.  I just LOVE being able to spend this time with her and capture her true personality.  There is nothing better in this world, than being a mom.

Flowers

It seems like everytime I turn around I see a gorgeous flower. My poor husband always sees me poking around the garden, but not to pick the weeds, I'm always there trying to find a new perspective of taking a photo of a flower. I just love the colors!



 

NCPG Cookout

Yesterday afternoon, I attended the NCPG 1st annual cookout. I was very excited to see one of my favorite models, and she brought her boyfriend!  I had so much fun photographing them :)  Here are some of my favorites.

Baby "H" has arrived!

Today I had the opportunity to photography two week old baby "H".  Newborns are so unpredictable. It took a little bit to get him to fall asleep, but he did and we were able to capture some gorgeous pictures of him.  The wait was well worth it.  How precious is he?

Outer Banks

This past weekend we took a family camping trip to the beach.  While the weekend was cut short because of torrential rain and our campsite flooding, I was still able to get some great shots.  I woke up early Saturday morning to see about getting some sunrise pictures.  Let me tell you, if you have the opportunity to go to the beach and watch the sunrise... I highly recommend it.  There is nothing like it in the world!

The "T" Family

Had the opportunity to shoot the "T" family this morning.  I was so excited to get such a great shot of the 7-year old boy.  Last year we had a bit of a hard time with him, he wasn't too interested in pictures, but this year we got a GREAT shot of him.

Fireworks!

One thing I've always wanted to photograph and could never really quite get were fireworks.  Well... after a couple of years of practicing (along with taking my tripod and having a TON of patience) I was able to get some great shots.  Here are some from tonights fireworks in Gibsonville, NC.

Ms. D

In an effort to help me get some photos for my photography assignment, my friend D came over with her family to be my subjects.  Unfortunately, due to some lighting problems, I wasn't able to capture the photos I needed for my assignment, however I did get these GORGEOUS pictures of her outside!  She's so photogenic!

Ms. B's Maternity Shoot

Had a great maternity shoot today with B & T.  We had so much fun with this shoot, it was great to see them and capture the special memories for them.  Now we wait for baby Hyder to make his appearance :)

Old Rundown Church

My daughters friends parents just purchased land that had an old church on it. While dropping her off today, I just happened to have my camera, and decided to take a couple shots of the church.

A Mother's Day Surprise

For Mother's Day my daughter and husband surprised me with a trip to the Biltmore Estate. Such a lovely place, and a great place to take some awesome pictures. The grounds and the estate are absolutely beautiful. It's one of my favorite places to photograph.

The Loft at Union Square Meetup

Today I had the opportunity to go to a NCPG meetup at one of my favorite places, The Loft at Union Square in High Point. This location is absolutely beautiful. It was a great shoot with a lot of great people!

Brandy

One of my best friends came to visit and I decided to do a photo shoot with her so she could have some nice pictures of herself.  We had a great time and lots of fun doing this shoot.  Here are a few of my favorites.

It's here! The new Logo!

Well it's been a long time in the making, but our new logo is finally here!  I'm excited to share it with you!  Please let us know your thoughts! Thank you to MJM Consulting for all of your help on the logo!  

Creating a Logo

For the last few weeks I've been working on a logo for my Photography business, let me tell you it is NOT easy.  When you actually sit down to do the logo there are so many things you have to think about...Is it reversible?  Will this look good on your photos?  Can it be easily printed on letterhead and business cards? Are there too many colors?  Is it elegant and not distracting to the viewer?

And those are just a few of the questions.  Then you run into the design questions... does this really represent the kind of photography you will be shooting?  That in turn gets you thinking, well.. what kind of photography do I want to do?  After a while I realized, I don't want to be tied to one specific type of photography.  I want to do it all.. Families, children, newborns, weddings, pets, landscapes, photojournalism....you name it I want to do it.  I just want to be behind the camera, I don't care what I have to shoot!

I digress..  Well hopefully the logo will be worked out soon and I can share it with everyone!

Business Name?

What is a business name and what does it mean to me?  These are all things I had to think about when trying to determine how I wanted to name my business.  Well, when I asked people what they thought about my business name I had a few different comments.  Some saying to just use my name and the word Photography and others telling me to use whatever name I wanted to use.

I can see the point of people thinking I should just use Linda Grant Photography, but for me, I'm just putting myself out there as another "normal" photographer.  I didn't want my business name to be just like any other ordinary Photography business name, I wanted a little bit more.  

I sat down and thought a lot about what to name my business and kept coming back to the word "Memories".  For some reason, it just kept coming back to me.. maybe because photography is all about creating memories for people.  But, for some reason, I couldn't find the right word to go along with Memories.  So... I decided on Memories by Linda Grant Photography!  I know many people probably think the name is too long, but we will shorten it for the web and email to Memories by Linda.  And so the name of my new baby has been picked!

Stay tuned, I plan on starting a logo creation in the very near future.

The Museum of Natural Science Trip

Today was a great day! Our family took a trip to Raleigh with our neighbors, the Murphys and the Hamiltons to see my first place picture hanging in the Museum of Natural Science. It was a great day with great friends and truly rewarding to look up on the wall and see one of MY pictures hanging there... in a museum :) 

After the museum we took a quick ride by Yates mill, I absolutely love older buildings, farms, and mills.  It was a great detour.