Welcome to our blog!

Hi, thanks for stopping by our photo blog! I'm Anna, the person behind all of the blog posts you're reading! I work with my husband Travis, aka TT, a wedding and portrait photographer for MD/DC/VA area. What you'll find here is our latest photography work, our life, passion, family, and all the moments that I want to remember about everything else that happens in our lives. We'd love to hear from old friends and new friends so don't hesitate to leave a comment / subscribe us to get the latest blog posts.
By the way, be prepared for some music pumping on here as it's loading; Turn your volume up/down, put on your headphones ;) Enjoy


email embrace @ embracephoto . net ; anna @ embracephoto . net ; travis @ embracephoto . net ;
phone anna 240.506.1491 travis 703.608.8152


Friday, May 30, 2008

'morning owl'

My little angel woke me up and I wasn't able to fall back asleep. That's either a sign of old aging or I had enough sleep for the night. But whatever it is, I'm here, and I'm feeling like producing some work. So if you're a morning owl just like me, stick around...I'll have something up in a bit...yay!!!

I'm BACK:::
There is something about this photo that pulled me into it...making it one of my top fav...whenever I flip through the folder of these photos, I had to stop and look at this at least twice...so, sharing my fav to you:

Love Love the look on her face:

I mentioned that I had this dress made the way I want right, well, I haven't worn it myself. So this weekend, I'll be sweating in this, can't wait! This color looks lovely and goes well with this open field.

Beautiful blue skies that day. Adore the look on their faces:





---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The moment you take the leap of understanding to realize you are not photographing a subject but are photographing light is when you have control over the medium. - Alberta (2004)

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Tuesday, May 20, 2008

Open Green Field cont.

LWith only a few steps to walk to this open field, yes a few steps it's ridiculous (it's still a mystery)! The weather was superb- sunny skies with some frequent clouds floated by. I was assisting TT on the field, one hand holding the reflector, another hand holding my camera, however, I managed to capture a few of my own. And here are a couple of shots of Long n Vy for now...




Saturday, May 17, 2008

What a beautiful day

Today, Long and Vy wanted a session in the studio and some outdoors but to stay local, we came up with this. There's a lot more so...Enjoy!!






by the way, check out the ao dai, it's one of my designs!!!


----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
------------------------------------------
Simply look with perceptive eyes at the world about you, and trust to your own reactions and convictions. Ask yourself: "Does this subject move me to feel, think and dream? Can I visualize a print - my own personal statement of what I feel and want to convey - from the subject before me? - Ansel Adams, The Best of Popular Photography by Harvey V. Fondiller , ISBN: 0871650371 , Page: 280
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
------------------------------------------

Thursday, May 8, 2008

K&N cont. part 2

So we've done the second part of the photo reviewing process. Which was to have the couple filter out which pictures they wanted to go into the album. They went through un-edited photos and drop into their favorite folder. Still very massive!! :P
Now, as I take a look at this folder, this photo totally caught my attention and I just want to share a few for now with you:

Check out the texture in the background, the winding tree trunks and the full leaves. This tree caught my eyes (did I say that already, who cares, saying it again)! TT sees sparkles in the tree. The whole composition is a "WOW" to me! Go TT! (of course these are post-processed versions)


I wanted to put a note on this one. On the original version of this picture, TT's lighting on the couple's face was amazing. As I recalled, we took these in a very shady area, of course with the big old tree. But the lighting was perfect. (I haven't given him my opinion, he can read it off of here!)


How about one of my shots, also one of their favorites:)


There's plenty more...I'll try to share as I make progress in going through these :P

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
As I have practiced it, photography produces pleasure by simplicity, I see something special and show it to the camera. A picture is produced. The moment is held until someone sees it. Then it is theirs. Photography, alone of the arts, seems perfected to serve the desire humans have for a moment -- this very moment -- to stay. - Sam Abell, Stay This Moment : The Photographs of Sam Abell by Sam Abell (Photographer), Robert E. Gilka , ISBN: 0934738726
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Tuesday, May 6, 2008

Mother's Day May 11!!!

If you're still haunting for that perfect Mother's Day Gift and if you're living in MD/DC/VA, check this out. Little Oasis Spa is offering a great Mother's Day special!!



(shh...) I treated myself to Little Oassis Spa a couple of weeks ago, and all I need to tell you is that I nearly fell asleep from the relaxation! I haven't gotten a chance to blog about it b/c I didn't upload my pictures from that day, but before I do so, at least this post got the flyer so it won't feel too empty :P

Hope you all enjoy!!

Thursday, May 1, 2008

Pre-wedding K&N

Pre-wedding sessions are photo sessions taken prior to the wedding, similar to the idea of engagement-session, the only difference is, the couple get to 'choose' to wear her wedding gown and he gets to wear his tux! This is 'the norm' for Vietnamese wedding couples especially since they ultimately will choose from the session a few pictures to enlarge and for keep. Plus, I'm sure the bride wants to make the most use out of her white gown since on the day of the wedding, she gets to wear a Vietnamese traditional dress Ao Dai as well. So there you have it, a little background of what pre-wedding sessions are.

So, back to K&N. I'm at the beginning of editing the pre-wedding session we had with Timmy and Nhi over the weekend, and wow, must I tell you, if you find me giggling through the pictures while editing, you must know I had a blast. When booking them, we know that we're in for big time shooting. The Bride- Nhi had warned us that as long as we have the energy to be behind the lens, she's got the strength to be in front of them! And that was proven on the day when we went to shoot in DC! They had chosen the landmark where they fell in love, the capital of the US! So, off we went! We got there around 11am and after 3 hours of shooting, the bride didn't seem to look tired at all!! They were just 'warming' up!! So, guess what, we roamed the streets of DC the whole DAY!! While it was cloudy, windy, felt like it would pour any second, but we took the most out of what mother nature had to offer. It really did go by fast because when we're done with the session and in the car to grab something for dinner, we asked each other what time it was and couldn't believe it was 5:30pm! This was around the time the rain shower started, so we got lucked out!

I had fun being behind the lens too and will share what I had captured!
Of course, I always have a lot to talk about, but enough said, I wanted to share with you SOME of what I had picked out from our session.










Changing into something more comfy:





Check out this awesome energy:


And last but def. not least, my captures:




'R you kidding me, To be cont...
I'm still working on more pictures, so expect something in the next few days!!

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
But there is more to a fine photograph than information. We are also seeking to present an image that arouses the curiosity of the viewer or that, best of all, provokes the viewer to think--to ask a question or simply to gaze in thoughtful wonder. We know that photographs inform people. We also know that photographs move people. The photograph that does both is the one we want to see and make. It is the kind of picture that makes you want to pick up your own camera again and go to work. - Sam Abell, Seeing and Shooting Straight by Sam Abell
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------