Erin + Bobby + baby | Richmond Maternity Photos | Richmond Portrait Photographer
I had the great pleasure of documenting Erin and Bobby’s wedding just a few years ago and I was thrilled to hear about the next big adventure they have embarked on. This beautiful couple is expecting a baby girl, who is set to arrive this June and has so much love and cuteness awaiting her that I bet she can hardly wait! We lucked out with blue skies and spring temperatures as we played in Richmond’s own Maymont Park and then made our way to Carytown. Many many girly points to Erin for doing the entire session in heels…my hero. Following are my favorites from the day: enjoy!
Puerto Rico | Honeymoon Photos | Puerto Rico Travel Photography
2012 was an awesome year, full of life changes and exciting new adventures. The absolute best thing that happened was that I got to marry my love, Mika’il, or as some of you know him, MP. We had a perfect D.C. wedding, complete with courthouse ceremony, lunch at Ben’s Chili Bowl and bowling. It was us, matched our personalities perfectly and, although we weren’t able to have all of our family and friends there to witness this huge moment, we were blessed with the presence of parents, siblings, mentors and some of our closest friends. MP and I tied the knot on June 29th, 2012, in about 108 degrees, and we made it to our honeymoon weekend getaway bed and breakfast in Hume, Va., right as the derecho storm was getting ready to pummel the region. On our first night as a married couple we lost power and water, but, of course we didn’t care, we were married! We ate the cheese and drank the wine left for us by our gracious hosts by the light of our iPhones and enjoyed our newly married status. The next day, when we learned that our bed and breakfast was closing for the weekend because of the loss of electricity, we still didn’t have a care in the world. We ate a fabulous picnic, explored the area, toured caves, drove along skyline drive in Shenandoah National Park for hours and watched the sun set on the valley below us. Only later that evening, as we went from calling bed and breakfasts in the area in search of a vacant room, to calling nice hotels, less nice hotels, motels…you catch my drift…did we realize exactly how the derecho had affected the region and that our honeymoon getaway was going to be cut a little short. Well, as much as I love our wedding weekend story and don’t wish a single part of it was different, we were blessed again this past December when our family decided to send us on a second honeymoon to Puerto Rico. This blog post is a collection of travel photography from our amazing trip there and I am thrilled to share it. We spent time both in San Juan and on the Eastern side of the island in Ceiba. I was absolutely blown away by the natural beauty of Puerto Rico. We went from exploring old San Juan and the Castillo San Felipe del Morro, a 16th-century citadel designed to defend the Spanish colonial port city of San Juan, to hiking in the rainforest in El Yunque National Forest. We spent a day driving up terrifyingly narrow mountain roads to reach the Pomarrosa coffee hacienda in Ponce, and had the distinct pleasure of getting lost in its owner Kurt’s stories about the history of coffee in Puerto Rico as we drank cappuccino after cappuccino. We spent a few days at the Ceiba Country Inn, where the sounds of the Coqui`, the official frog of Puerto Rico, kept us company at all times, as well as the resident dogs and cats. We tried pastelillos everywhere we went, ate more dishes made from yucca than I ever thought existed, and wound up at a local bar somewhere near Ceiba celebrating the owner’s brother’s birthday with incredible music and birthday cake. Our great friend Alberto made our vacation perfect by welcoming us on our first day there and then later in the trip taking us to a few of his favorite places, where we discovered even more incredible landscapes just outside of San Juan, including the Cueva Ventana, or Window Cave. This trip was a wonderful coronation of an even more wonderful year. MP and I loved getting away, but we especially loved exploring a new place, spending time with quality people and continuing to add more memories to our tapestry as we enjoy married life together. Following are some favorites from the trip. Enjoy!
The Happy Family | Northern Virginia Family Session | Northern Virginia Family Portrait Photographer
And the cutest kid award goes to….Tate! I recently had the great pleasure of doing a family session with some of my favorite people. Fellow photographers Katye and Joe, from the fabulous The Happy Couple wedding photography, and their little man Tate played in the leaves and celebrated their new home with a fun fall session right here in Northern Virginia. This happy family will be expanding quite soon and I can’t wait to meet their newest little addition come April. Many congratulations and much much love to you guys!
Baby Frances | Washington DC Family Portrait Photos | Washington DC Family Portrait Photographer
Baby Frances, or Frankie, is hands down the happiest baby I have ever photographed. The only time she wasn’t smiling during our play date, was when I was so mean and positioned her so that she was facing the sun. Otherwise, she flashed me grin after heart-metling, joy-inspiring grin and made me absolutely fall in love. I’ve known Frances’ moms, Carrie and Jami, since their Washington DC engagement session and wedding a few years ago, and I was thrilled to have the opportunity to document their expanded, beautiful little family. Enjoy!
Jennifer + Kyle | Vienna Engagement Photos | Northern Virginia Engagement Photographer
We had a gorgeous day for my fall engagement session with Jennifer and Kyle at Meadowlark Botanical Gardens, in Vienna, Virginia. Luckily, this sweet couple was willing to tolerate my excitement for everything autumn, to wait with me for just the right golden light, to trek all over the gardens and even to lay down in some leaves. After spending a few hours with them, I’m a huge fan and I can’t wait until their May wedding next year. Enjoy!
Jackie + Ben | Richmond Engagement Photos | Richmond Engagement Photographer
I am super excited to finally get to share Jackie and Ben’s engagement photos. They’ve been kept secret until now because the first part of the session was dedicated to photographing Ben’s amazing woodworking talent. As this couple’s guests now know, each one of them was given a unique and handmade wine stopper that Ben personally sculpted in his wood shop in his and Jackie’s backyard. No instructions or designs, just Ben’s imagination, his woodworking tools and his hands. As you can imagine, the wedding favors were a huge success and I look forward to sharing how the wine stoppers and these photos were displayed at the reception. After such a fun start, Jackie and Ben decided to continue the engagement session with a picnic, complete with wine, on the campus of Jackie’s alma mater, the University of Richmond. And, since our session fell on their joint birthday, yes, there were cupcakes!
Darci + William: engaged!
With Darci and William, let’s just say that it’s a family thing. Last year I had the privilege of photographing Darci’s brother’s wedding and one of my favorite reception photos was of Darci and William getting their groove on on the dance floor. Shortly after, they got engaged and I was thrilled when they asked me to document their wedding this coming October. The photo didn’t lie and these two are fun, sweet and most definitely in love! When talking about locations for their Richmond, Va., engagement session, we decided to use Comfort, one of my personal favorites and Darci and William’s date night favorite as well. The Broad Street area around Comfort has a great feel to it that we decided to try and capture a little bit of for the second part of the session. Lucky for us the G40 Art Summit was in Richmond shortly before our session and 12 of the top mural artists from around the world were called on to create 23 large scale murals throughout Richmond. Well, William picked the panda mural and I can’t blame him one bit!
Mary Elizabeth + Paulin: engaged!
For Mary Elizabeth and Paulin’s Richmond engagement session, we decided to walk on over to the VMFA. If you haven’t been, you need to go. I think this museum and the surrounding sculpture garden are one of Richmond’s new jewels and I have found a sunny afternoon wandering through the garden or hours spent soaking up the exhibits to bring me much peace and serenity. That aside, we had a lot of fun exploring all of the nooks and crannies of the garden, from the fountains all the way to the parking lot. Following are my favorites. Enjoy!
Caroline + Reid: engaged!
Caroline and Reid decided to have their engagement session in Colonial Williamsburg, near where Caroline grew up. First off, let me just say that I love when couples bring along their pet, but I really love when they make their dog wear a bowtie! Well, we played and played in Colonial Williamsburg. Caroline and Reid let me drag them all over and even tried on a few hats to get into the spirit. Once we were satisfied with the results from the shoot, we decided to pop on over to The Williamsburg Winery and check out where they will tie the knot this December. Most of you probably know that when the light gets good, photographers get excited. As soon as we reached the winery, the light became subtle and golden and beautiful, so I started dragging this awesome couple all over the place all over again! Luckily they obliged and I love the images that came out of the afternoon. Following are some of my favorites. Enjoy!
DC portrait session
Beautiful Spring day in DC, elegant architecture, bright colors and a subject willing to go from serious to goofy in seconds? How can you go wrong! Here are some of my favorites from this fun portrait session in Washington Dc. Enjoy!
S@mple
I recently had the opportunity to photograph S@mple, the latest addition to Richmond’s dining scene, for the Richmond Times-Dispatch. Apart from the fun juxtaposition of metal and brick, the clean white lines, occasional orchid, and of course the abundance of technological geekery that was hard to pry myself away from, I had my choice of beautiful food to photograph thanks to the small plates by chef Todd Butler. In case any of you felt the urge to order one of these dishes, this is what yore looking at: the farmer’s basket with shaved brussels sprouts and kale, sunflower seeds, walnuts, dried cherries, pine nuts and parmesan peppercorn dressing; Shanghai fried rice with rock shrimp, shrimp tempura, forbidden black rice and egg omelet; royal trumpet mushroom kebab; the cubano, with roast pork, smoked bacon, gruyere, mustard and grilled onions (please, I want one now); cinnamon apple empanadas with caramel sauce and vanilla bean ice cream. To see my slideshow with an interview with S@mple owner Adam Bell click *here* and for Dana Craig’s review of S@mple click *here*. Enjoy!
Photos by Eva Russo
All photos @ Richmond Times-Dispatch
The postings on this site are my own and don’t necessarily represents the positions, strategies or opinions of the Richmond Times-Dispatch.
Pasture
As you all know, I love shooting a good restaurant review. There’s nothing like spending a few hours making pictures of a chef’s creations and a new dining space, complete with fresh and unique decor in an old Richmond building. Pasture is located on Grace Street in that part of downtown Richmond that is just starting to show signs of life again. I never eat when shooting a review, but after smelling everything from the olde salt clams to the brussels sprouts, and salivating over a handmade nutella candy bar, I left hungry and made sure to get back as soon as possible to try it all out. Well, my taste buds were as happy as my trigger finger, so I am excited to share some of my photos with you. Following are my favorites from the shoot. The dishes shown are: olde salt clams with cabbage, bacon, butter and lemon; sweet tea smoked trout with apple, bacon and benne seeds; steak tartare, with jalapeno, chili ketchup and quail egg; lamb sausage with navy beans and basil; brussels sprouts with winter squash, preserved lemon and pecan; and a homemade candy bar, with hazelnut crunch, nutella and chocolate. I also photographed the Deltaville, with house made cranberry jam, vodka, fresh lemon and soda over ice. To hear about Pasture in co-owner Jason Alley’s (from Richmond’s own Comfort) words you can find the audio slideshow *here* and for Dana Craig’s review for the RTD click *here*.
Photos by Eva Russo
All photos @ Richmond Times-Dispatch
The postings on this site are my own and don’t necessarily represents the positions, strategies or opinions of the Richmond Times-Dispatch.
Station 2
I recently had the opportunity to shoot the Richmond Times-Dispatch restaurant review of Station 2, one of the latest additions to Richmond’s restaurant scene. As far as ambience goes, this converted historic fire station in Shockoe Bottom doesn’t disappoint with its exposed duct work, repurposed wood finishings and firefighter vibe. Foodwise, I photographed the beerfest burger (with potato shingles, bacon, onion straws and beer cheese on a pretzel roll), the Hawaian sun burger (a teriyaki glazed burger with grilled pineapple, cheddar, teriyaki grilled onions, lettuce, tomato and wasabi aioli), the sweet potato tots, the grilled cheese burger (with mozzarella, pepper jack and cheddar on Texas toast), the New Mexico burger with chili, and last, but certainly not least, the naughty girl scout milkshake (with vanilla ice cream, Irish cream, creme de menthe, creme de cacao and chocolate chips). And really, how can you go wrong with burgers and adult milkshakes? Also, naturally raised beef from Buffalo Creek in Lexington, bread from Richmond’s Lucille’s Bakery and a selection of Richmond-brewed beers will make all localvores smile. For a menu click here. To read Dana’s review click here. Enjoy!
Photos by Eva Russo
All photos @ Richmond Times-Dispatch
The postings on this site are my own and don’t necessarily represents the positions, strategies or opinions of the Richmond Times-Dispatch.
Hadley
One of the biggest compliments I can imagine as a wedding photographer is when a couple asks me to come back and continue to document their growing family in the years after their wedding. I had the privilege of documenting Jenny and Gaston’s wedding over a year ago and recently photographed their brand new beautiful baby girl. Hadley posed not once, but twice for my camera. The first time, when she was one week old, was cut short after she had a little accident on her dad (the danger of no diaper). So, I had the opportunity to check in on Hadley again this past week now that she is 2 months old. With the best bows in town and some very expressive little eyebrows, she is a stylin’ little one who has definitely won my heart. Following are some of my favorites from our mini sessions: enjoy!
Dining Out: Hermitage Grill
It has been a long time since I had a dessert that was truly to die for. However, after shooting this week’s restaurant review for Hermitage Grill in Richmond’s Lakeside neighborhood, I tried chef Nancy Smith’s chocolate kahlua creme brulee. I literally could not stop putting spoon after spoon of it into my mouth, and the only reason I did leave some behind was because I didn’t want to be known as the photo lady who licked the dessert plate clean and left with chocolate on her face…This everybody-knows-your-name kind of restaurant is definitely a place I would go back to. I loved all the bright colors, the friendly staff and everything I photographed made me hungry. Following are photos of a few dishes: fried green tomatoes with cumin shrimp, corn and black bean salsa; salmon jalapeno croquettes with cajun tartar; and shrimp and grits with andouille sausage. For Dana Craig’s review click *here* and for my audio slideshow click *here*. Enjoy!
Photos by Eva Russo
All photos @ Richmond Times-Dispatch
The postings on this site are my own and don’t necessarily represents the positions, strategies or opinions of the Richmond Times-Dispatch.
Conch Republic
I recently had the opportunity to make a series of pictures for Dana Craig’s Richmond Times-Dispatch restaurant review of Conch Republic, in Richmond, Va. I’d been here for happy hour before and instantly *loved* the terrace/balcony overlooking the James River, complete with tiki bar and enormous open windows leading into the main dining area. The restaurant is part of the Rocketts Landing complex and is a great addition to rva’s going-out scene. I felt like I had stepped away from the office and onto a beach in the Caribbean (almost). I know the James isn’t exactly the Caribbean, but if you need a break, this is a good place to start! For Dana’s review click here and for the slideshow click here. Enjoy!
Photos by Eva Russo
All photos @ Richmond Times-Dispatch
The postings on this site are my own and don’t necessarily represents the positions, strategies or opinions of the Richmond Times-Dispatch.
Love in Annapolis
Here is a fun fun fun engagement session in the beautiful city of Annapolis to kick off my summer blogging. Who doesn’t love charming old brick buildings, sailors and hearts in random places? And did I mention the super sweet couple who made it all come together in a few hours of photo love? Following are my favorites from the session, enjoy!
Broad Street Angel
The Ukrop’s Monument Avenue 10k is such a Richmond experience and I have been fortunate to run it twice and photograph it a bunch of other times. Every year I try to capture photos that are different than the year before, and I wanted to post one of my favorites from this past Saturday. As I was looking for pre-race features I noticed this angel walking quickly by me. I never saw her face, but with the early morning light and the expanse of Broad St. in front of her, plus the looks on other runners faces as she passed by, that was my shot. The photo ran in Sunday’s paper and I received a message Sunday afternoon from the angel herself. As it turns out, she is a jewel of a woman who I have met before and who always sends the RTD photographers the most heartfelt and complimentary notes. In her note she told me she was dressed as an angel to symbolize “all of the angels on earth who’ve been there for us with the passing of my husband on Valentine’s Day.” My thoughts and prayers are with her and her children and I wanted to share the photo because I feel like it captures a little of her beautiful bright spirit. 
Photo by Eva Russo
All photos @ Richmond Times-Dispatch
The postings on this site are my own and don’t necessarily represents the positions, strategies or opinions of the Richmond Times-Dispatch.
Off the Hookah
Off The Hookah is a new club and restaurant overlooking the Canal Walk in downtown Richmond. With an Egyptian theme upstairs in the club and a zen/Asian theme downstairs in the restaurant, the vibe is decidedly not that of your typical Richmond hangout. The food is a mix of Middle Eastern and Mediterranean and the downstairs has a sushi bar to complement the Asian theme. Following are images from my shoot for the Richmond Times-Dispatch. For Dana’s review in the RTD click *here* , for an audio slideshow on Off the Hookah and chef Ed Blase click *here* and to check out the menu click *here*
Photos by Eva Russo
All photos @ Richmond Times-Dispatch
The postings on this site are my own and don’t necessarily represents the positions, strategies or opinions of the Richmond Times-Dispatch.
Joaquin: 1 whole day old!
Everyone, meet beautiful baby Joaquin Xavier! A few months ago I photographed a belly session with Chris and Susie and now their family has grown by one healthy baby boy. Following are images from my first visit with Joaquin when he was just 1 day old. Enjoy!
Chris and Susie: oh baby!
Chris and Susie chose Gari Melchers Home and Studio at Belmont in Fredericksburg, Va., as the location for their belly session. Even though she’s quite close to the big day, Susie was full of energy and spunk as we explored the property and had a fun morning together. With their baby boy on the way, she and Chris danced and played and I could feel that these first-time parents are going to be great. Following are images from our morning together: enjoy!
Emily and Ethan
7-week-old Emily and her big brother Ethan hammed it up for my camera a few weeks ago during Emily’s new baby session. Their mom Sara has her hands full, but these two little ones were a joy to photograph. Welcome to the world Emily!
Judith and Latte
I recently had the pleasure of photographing Judith and her horse Latte at Hunter’s Ridge Equestrian Center in Powhatan, Va. Judith is a high school senior and opted out on the traditional senior portrait and in on a lifestyle session with me! She has been riding since she was 4 and she has been riding Latte ever since she helped nurse him back to health as a rescued horse. The two seemed to be one the extension of the other, natural friends, comfortable and affectionate. Below are some of the images from our session: enjoy!
