. . . ok, not mine, but my friend Karen Doody’s and I am VERY proud of her! For those of you that may not know, for years (15 to be exact) I owned and operated a scuba and snorkeling company and spent LOTS of time traveling with groups of divers around the world. One of those divers, was Karen Doody, who came into the store to LEARN how to dive, ultimately became an Instructor, married another instructor (my good friend Mike, and no they did not get married underwater), and they moved to the Mexico to “retire.” So prior to their move in (I think 2001) we traveled to many foreign lands, and a couple of continents together, and Karen and I were ALWAYS laughing at something – we could find humor in just about anything . Can you believe that between 2 photographers and numerous countries, neither of us can find a photo of us together? Anyway, I had a ball with these two and they worked closely with my business and led a lot of group trips during that time. Their “retirement” in Playa del Carmen did not last long, because short of having a baby, there isn’t much you can do to get scuba out of your blood, and they are now co-owners of a fabulous business – Dive Aventuras. To say that Karen’s love for u/w photography has grown since she started out with her little u/w point and shoot camera, is an understatement – she is SOOOO talented. When she told me that she had earned an honorable mention in this year’s Wetpixel and DivePhotoGuide’s INTERNATIONAL u/w photo and video competition she could hear me cheering all the way from Annapolis! Way to go KWD! Boy this makes me want to pull my fins out of the closet. For those of you underwater photographers out there, leave a little hello for Karen on the blog! And for those of you who want a great place to vacation – whether diving or not – be sure to check out Mike & Karen’s DIVE AVENTURAS on the Riviera Maya. So, without further blabbering, here’s Karen’s beautiful photo of 2 anemone fish. Hmmm – I forgot to ask her where she took that? KD?

Heather Crowder

. . . seems like I was just gone!  I will be out of the office through Wednesday and will have VERY limited access to email.  My laptop is still being upgraded and put back together so I won’t have it with me, as I usually do.  I will do my best to check mail while I am gone, but might not be able to respond until I return.  Have a great weekend

Heather 

. . . that’s the best word to describe this little girl! I think I saw every side of her personality (at least all of the good ones anyway Just one pic for now, and not a lot of time for my usual mindless chatter – I have a few other anxious parents patiently awaiting their sneak peeks! Happy Wednesday.

Heather Crowder

annapolis maryland portrait photographer 

I love Real Simple magazine. Always so full of great tips, it’s a quick and easy read, and recipes that I have tried have always been good. A friend/client (thank you Samantha recently sent me a link to the Real Simple Blog where they posted a great article about having professional portraits taken of your family. The timing of this was ironic because I have been busy going through my own family’s photos and have been reminded just how precious they are to me.

The blog article briefly discusses the difference in snapshots and professional portraits and I can’t stress the importance of each. Snapshots have a wonderful place in recording memories – the first day of school, breakfast out with the family, splashing in the tub, dressed up for Halloween – all capturing bits and pieces of childhood. I do my best to take snapshots on a regular basis and just last week made the effort to PRINT a ton that had been sitting on my computer’s hard drive since my daughter’s birth nearly 2 years ago. Mommies and Daddies – PRINT the photos you take! I can’t tell you the gift that it was to me to get a very large box of snapshots on Saturday (over 200) that I finally got around to having printed. Granted, they were not all “fabulous” in the image quality sense, but each recorded a special moment in my family’s life, and some of my favorites were really crummy technically less-than-stellar. Now, all that being said, the snapshots that we take (hopefully) on a regular basis, can’t compare to professional portraits.

For one thing, if you’re having family portraits taken, that means EVERYONE in the family will be in them. In the case of so many families that I know, Mom and/or Dad are consistently not in their snapshots because one of them is behind the camera. I’m sure many of us find that it’s typically the SAME person behind the camera (I’m just sayin’), and you don’t want your children to look back years from now and not have photos of you!

The quality of a snapshot can’t compare to a professional portrait, on so many levels. Portraits become art in your home. It’s not just about the camera (I take snapshots with my big fat fancy camera all the time); it’s about the right light, the right moment, the right lens, the editing/processing of the image, and so much more that make it the best it can be. I could go on and on but I won’t, you get the idea!

I plan to have my family’s portraits taken by a dear friend/fellow photographer this spring, and CANNOT WAIT!

If you are debating having your child or family’s portraits taken professionally, take a minute and read this article on the Real Simple Blog – it outlines just a few of the reasons that you should take this important step in capturing your family’s memories!

Heather Crowder Photography 

. . .  Check out the “catchy” tune on my website, which I LOVE!  It’s Catch The Moon by Lisa Loeb and Elizabeth Mitchell.  BOTH of these ladies are wonderful artists, and while you may recognize Lisa’s name, cool glasses and music from back in the day (hee hee, I am dating myself), you may not be as familiar with Liz.  If you are looking for some great music for your kids (that you’ll love listening to over and over again), definitely have a listen to Catch the Moon – I purchased it from Amazon and the whole cd is great.  Best of all, I really feel like the song suits my style and provides a cheery, upbeat backdrop to all of the images of beautiful children and families that I have on my website.  Lisa has a new CD “Camp Lisa” which is being released on my little one’s second birthday in May, so there’s one gift checked off of the list!  Happy Friday everyone!

I have joined the your-hard-drive-has-had-a-catastrophic-failure club today. Fortunately, ALL of my images (both personal and clients’) are backed up in triplicate, so no harm there, but still a big hassle because a lot of my day to day stuff isn’t accessible right now, and I may not have it until early Monday. If you have sent me an email and I haven’t responded, please resend to heather@heathercrowder.com to be sure that I received it. What a total pain, but I’m trying to keep it in perspective. Thank goodness for backing up.

. . . I’m back and will return to the office in the morning to return voicemails and emails. Hope you are enjoying this weather – has spring sprung? (fingers crossed. fingers crossed). How cute is this little fella?

heather crowder photography