The First Call Civil War Expo at the Carroll County Farm Museum in Westminster Maryland was this past weekend. I was assigned to capture the essence of the event, and what a blast it was! It was a gorgeous day to be on the farm museum grounds, and my first exciting stop was at the campsite of photographer J. C Milleker Jr. There he was practicing the photographic craft of the wet plate collodion, and I was delighted to oversee the process from beginning to end.



I also enjoyed a stop at another campsite to chat with and watch Reb Staub as he shared the craft of blacksmithing.



Then it was time for the soldiers to do their thing. The reenactment was very exciting and great for all ages to see. I look forward to next year!

I had the pleasure of photographing the wedding of George and Joe at the embellished St. Mark's Lutheran Church in Baltimore, Maryland. Their celebration was everything you would want at a wedding - closest loved ones, wonderful memories, and a unique, vibrant theme. George and Joe live in Mexico, and decided to incorporate the essence of their home into the wedding. The attire, the accessories, the decorations, and the meal were all Mexican! There wasn't a dry eye during the ceremony, including myself. Congratulations George and Joe! I wish you many happy years together.

Earlier this year I was the photographer for a Carroll Magazine story, Eastern Approach to Physical Fitness. Talented instructor Courtney A. met up with me to share her knowledge of Hot Vinyasa, commonly called Hot Yoga. We had an awesome session together, and I loved learning about and trying the poses with her. Following are a selection of favorite shots from 40 or so poses we documented.

Join us at Hot Yoga some time! It's really fun. Courtney teaches on Monday and Friday evenings, I believe. And check out Groupon once in a while - they've had deals there a couple times now. :-)

Last weekend I shared a beautiful spring session with a couple in College Park. Sachi & Brent are finishing up their last years as students at the University of Maryland. Though spring blossoms were not yet in full effect, we took advantage of vibrant foliage and a beautiful, sunny morning.



I plan to begin sharing more of my work, not just personal photos. I hope you enjoy them! :-)

Finally, after months having passed since my vacation with Andy to Alaska, I would like to share some of my favorite images from the trip. We flew into Anchorage, Alaska to stay with Andy's brother Jeff and his family, who reside in Eagle River, about 45 minutes north of the airport. We spent a considerable amount of time on the Kenai River for camping and two fishing trips. We also hiked Hatcher Pass and Mount Baldy. We enjoyed delicious, fresh salmon, and great company.


We began our first fishing trip at a beautiful camp site near the Kenai River with great views from every angle...



The sun set lasted hours, leaving lots of opportunity for colorful sky shots...



Above are Jeff and Colt Foglesong, our generous hosts. Colt was fighting a rather large salmon with the help of his father. This was our first fishing stop, and I caught my very first salmon!


Then we spotted our first bears! While in Jeff's personal float boat, we spotted a mother grizzly and her two cubs. Pictured above is the mother and one cub. Jeff pulled the boat off to a pebble bar so we could enjoy seeing them and for me to get pictures. For a moment, we worried we had stayed too long, as the bears joined us in the river and began to float towards us. We got moving along just in time, watching the bears as they became specks in the distance...

On our drive home from the first fishing trip, we made many stops along the way for sight seeing...





Along the way, we stopped at the town of Hope! While I took photos, the boys fished for pinks.






On the way back we stopped to take photos of this water scape. Across the water, where the land meets the water, was the road we traveled to get to the Kenai River. It's a gorgeous drive.



We spent one of our days at Hatcher Pass, hiking the unique landscape. The grassy mounds that made up the land were so interesting - soft and padded knolls covered the ground.



Above are Andy and I, taking a fun photo as we made our way to the highest peak at Hatcher Pass... and once there, it was an amazing sight!


At the highest peak, was a turquoise lake, with patches of snow still on the far side, melting into the pool of water. You really had to be there to see it... the pictures do not do it justice.


I loved the details I saw everywhere - these petite yellow flowers that looked like butter cups grew along the water's edge...




During another road trip, we stopped for photos of a polar lake, and I spotted a moose carcass. Just above the moose, in the backdrop, is a tiny ice berg! Woohoo! I saw my first ice berg! :-)


Jeff's wife, Beth, is the polar bear care taker and seal care taker at the Anchorage Zoo. We were treated with up close views of all the animals, and we had the pleasure of feeding and receiving kisses from the seals!



Fishing was difficult during our trip. Salmon were in between runs, meaning that those we caught were not in good condition for keeping. So Jeff arranged a paid fishing trip with a nice man, Kyle, and all of us went home with fresh silvers. So to end this picture story, here is a shot of me (looking sleepy) with one of the last fish I caught... I was shouted at a lot because the boat's motions were so relaxing, I kept falling asleep. Then my fishing rod would jiggle and all the guys would go nuts... "wake up Kelly! There's a fish on your rod! Bring it in!" And so I did.


So thank you for taking the time to look through my Alaska documentation, and I hope you enjoyed looking at the pictures. Have you been to Alaska or want to? Tell me what you did that you would love to do again... where did you go and what did you see? If you haven't been, share what you would like to do during a visit. I think, having stayed with locals, I would love to go on an Alaskan Cruise for a totally different view!