The San Francisco Giants may have won the World Series on November 1st, but around here it’s still something to celebrate. When a friend presented her with specially made jerseys, Carolie decided she wanted to build a photo shoot around them. She knew her father and brothers would love to see their girls all decked out in orange and black. So Carolie, daughter Caitlin, niece Cassie, and I headed for Memorial Park baseball field. They put their happy game faces on.

Everyone got their own baseball card photo.

It was so much fun to hang out with these guys.

Then we headed over to the high school for some portraits, but even then we didn’t completely play it straight. People mock the glass tower at Albany High as unnecessary ornamentation, but I found a great use for it. What a cool background for Cassie’s “ballerina” pose.

Three lovely ladies. I’m a fan!

That’s what this afternoon was. We went to the park and I watched what the kids did. Baby Paul enjoyed the swings with his dad. Beth ran around with her real dog and her imaginary horse. Drew played in the sand, and climbed the structure, and rolled down the grassy hill. The sun was shining. It wasn’t too cold. Pretty much perfect.

Joy. Beth knows how to do joy.

And she’s all about the pink cowboy boots.

Drew is all boy and so much fun.

It wasn’t easy to get the whole family in one spot, but the kids liked the idea of a squeezy hug.

Thanks, everyone! I had a great time playing with you. Although with so many moving targets, I felt a little bit like Paul when it was all over. I think that means I had a really good time.

You can see the whole gallery here.

You know it’s a good match when someone speaks your own philosophy to you. Late last year Patricia Berryhill called to set up a family portrait shoot. She could see how fast her children were growing and changing. “We’ll never have this moment again. I want to capture who they are right now.” I couldn’t have said it better myself. That’s exactly why I think family photographs are so important.

We decided to go up to Lake Anza, where they walk their dog Tiberius almost every day.

It was so much fun to just take a walk with this lovely family. Vincent is an explorer who loves insects.

Because we were just taking a walk together, everyone was at ease. Vincent and Sarah are the nicest kids.

I love this soft mother/daughter moment.

What a fun way to spend an afternoon. Thank you Patricia, Sarah, Vincent, and Tiberius for letting me hang out with you!

You can see the full gallery here.

I love the challenge of doing weekly features for Albany.Patch.com. For the past few months I have been talking to artists who do their work in home studios in town. It’s fascinating. The work Martin Webb does in the studio and workshop space behind his house was particularly unexpected. I loved learning about the stories he tells through the medium of layered cement, and I tried to tell his story through a small series of images and a limited number of words.

My intention is to use my images to draw the reader in and pique interest. Albany.Patch.com provides the link that allows you to learn more. I love having a reason to meet people and talk with them about the things they are passionate about.

Albanians, if you know of other artists who work from their Albany homes, please let me know. I’d love to continue telling these stories.

I began this blog almost a year ago, with a post about celebrating connections and leaving a trace. The work I have done since then only strengthens my conviction that images we can hold in our hands are priceless. Moments matter. Stories matter. And photographs illustrate them.

In December my family gathered to mark a milestone, celebrating my husband’s aunt’s 90th birthday. Bunty’s siblings, children, grandchildren, and all but one great-grandchild were there, as well as members of slightly more extended branches of the family tree. Whenever four generations of a family are together, photographs should be mandatory. From a technical point of view, these aren’t the best pictures I ever took, but they are among the most important. This moment mattered.

Bunty’s daughters wanted to strike a fine balance between respecting the wishes of someone who didn’t want a fuss made over her, and making sure that someone had the opportunity to hear and feel just how much she means to all of us. Seeing Bunty’s expression, I think they did okay.

I love this one:

Beautiful great-grandchildren:

The Buchanan siblings, Bunty (90), John (86), and Patty (88). Oh, the stories they tell!

Whenever you put the camera on timer, it’s an adventure. Ten seconds is a long time in the life of a toddler. But overall, I’d say well done, group! (And I’ll count this as the first step of my resolution to put myself in front of the lens more. It’s important. We’ll see how I do with that.)

Happy birthday, Aunt Bunty. I’m honored to be a part of your family.

Things have been busy behind the scenes at Dorothy Brown Photography for the last several weeks and today I’m happy to unveil my new blog. We are still getting used to each other. Some images are Too Big and some are Too Small, so I’ll continue to work at getting them Just Right. But I hope you’ll agree they all look much better here.

I have several shoots to share with you, but it is appropriate that I begin with the beautiful Analisa. Analisa is an actor. We met in early December to update her head shots. We had a grand time finding locations in my garden and at a local park. I wanted to offer her a choice of many poses and moods and she was right there with me. What fun to work with an actor! Not only is Analisa stunning, her eyes are alive with intelligence and emotion. I predict we’ll all be hearing great things about her in the years to come.

But wait, there’s more. Analisa is also tech-savvy and generous. And very patient. She is the brains behind this new look, and I am so grateful. So . . . thank you, Analisa, and happy new year to us both.

Dear Readers, I’d love to know what you think of the blog, and my Facebook page if you haven’t wandered over there yet. (See the link above.) Meanwhile, here are some more highlights from our portrait session.

You can see the entire gallery here.

My hope is that this format will make it easier to have a conversation. If you are so moved, leave a comment here or on Facebook. I’d love to hear from you!