Ms. Veteran America 2016 - Maryland Photographer

In early October, I had the honor of capturing the Ms. Veteran America award celebration.  These ladies are amazing and have proudly or are currently serving in the military.  These women as part of the competition take on the platform of raising money and awareness for homeless female veterans and their families.  For this campaign the women raised $80K towards the initiative and the organization of Final Salute Inc. 
This competition is far from a beauty pageant!  These ladies not only compete in talent, questions and stage presentation; but they also competed in a push up competition right on the stage in front of the spectators.  It was great to see those that dropped cheer on their comrades in this section of the night.  From 25 it went to the Top 10 and then the Final 3 and then the final question.  Congrats to Captain Molly Mae Porter who was crowned Ms. Veteran America 2016!
 

MILITARY SPOTLIGHT: Prowess Modeling Agency

There’s a new and unique alternative to hiring our heroes. Prowess steps away from traditional employment and launched the nation’s first fashionable employment initiative. Founded, operated and owned by veterans in spring 2015, Prowess is making its mark by penetrating an industry typically not pursued as a career change for service members in transition. The military has taught our nation’s heroes to adapt and overcome any obstacle; if they can march, then they can surely strut the runway with the best of them.

Prowess’ fleet includes, Prowess Women, Prowess Men, Prowess Curvy, Prowess Physique and Prowess Brats. U.S. military bases have Military Exchanges, which bring in hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue each year – a majority of the consumers are service members and their families. Troops and their families enjoy popular brands at Military Exchanges, such as, Coach, Ralph Lauren, Lucky Brand, Tommy Hilfiger, Bali, Hanes, Under Armour, Nike, Levis and Michael Kors and many more. The time has come where we should walk into any Military Exchange or Fashion Week and see these designers represented by our nation’s finest!

If veterans have modeling on their bucket list, then they are perfect candidates for Prowess. Interested veterans should contact Prowess at model@prowessmodels.com and visit their website, www.prowessmodels.com, for additional information about the agency.

Frances & Carlo Engagement Session

Frances contacted me not to long ago with a request to have photos done during Cherry Blossom time in DC!  Unfortunately their schedules got us out a week late and we were on the tail end of the festival and the day of the Kite festivities. Now y'all know I am not from DC and being in all this traffic freaked me out!!! However, I braved the traffic and met this awesome couple in the District.  We walked and saw a couple of great locations and got some amazing images.  I am glad we decided to stay in the city and not venture to far off.  I can't wait until their wedding sometime this fall!

Anderson Addition

New family additions are a joy and when I get to be apart and photograph the family it is extra special for me!  The Anderson's came to the studio and had ideas of what they wanted in their photos and Latoya had the most gorgeous gowns.  We added a bit with the tutu for the black and white and she was very pleased with her images.  I am eager to meet the new addition who should be arriving soon.

DC Fashion Week 2016 - Maryland Photographer

Being in the DMV for two years has been an eye opening experience in many ways.  One way was to be able to discover the local fashion scene here in the city and it only took two years to find out that DC has a fashion week.  I was fortunate enough to be able to cover three of the events they had starting with the mens fashion show on the first night.  The second event I covered was the emerging designers of the area and eight designers were featured.  The finale night, which was my favorite, showcased a lot of the international designers that live here in the DMV area.  Below are just a few of the images I was able to show on this blog but believe me there were plenty of amazing designs this year!  I can't wait to see what the next season will bring for this DC designers.

The Shade Family - Maryland Photographer

While I was in Alabama a great friend and old boss of mine needed updated photos to document her family and there time in the south.  So while there we had this mini session at a nearby park and got these great shots.  I even got my little Calvin Klein model for the day to give me some interesting faces while we were out.  It was so good to see them and hang out for the few moments we had.

Climbing the Ranks w/ Jas Boothe - Maryland Photographer

When you look around you see women in the military all the time!  It is not often that you see women that have gone through as much as MAJ Jaspen Boothe and have survived to tell her story.  Jaspen has made it her mission to tell her story and other women vets stories that cannot tell their own.  MAJ Boothe has organized countless resources for veterans across America and continues to do so through her organization Final Salute.  I am glad that she asked me to capture her moments as she pinned on the rank of MAJ in the US Army.  It was a joyous day for her and her family.  Please enjoy, like and SHARE.