Kate Baylor Photography

Kelly + Johnny

katebaylorphotography — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 01:27:36 +0000

Johnny and Kelly got married last summer at the Brookside Gardens in Silver Spring, Virginia, and I was honored to be their photographer. It was a gorgeous summer day, perfect for an outdoor wedding. What I loved about this wedding was that the whole family pitched in to create the perfect little details. Kelly and her bridesmaids put together their own bouquets. Kelly’s mom decorated the gazebo and laid out the aisle for Kelly to walk down. It was a very laid-back affair, and everyone was so at ease that morning. Here are a few of my favorites from that day. Congrats, Johnny and Kelly, on a beautiful day and a life full of love!

My first front page!

katebaylorphotography — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 18:32:13 +0000

Wow, today I got my first front page! The Washington Examiner printed one of the photos that I took of National Geographic’s Terra Cotta Warriors exhibit. (The Examiner kinda forgot to print my by-line and just said “courtesy of NG,” so I guess that just means I’ll get to do another post someday that says “My first front page …. with credit!”)
Drum roll, please:

Old Rag

katebaylorphotography — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 20:38:54 +0000

Took the boyfriend up to Old Rag for his first time ever, and my first time in almost two years. If you’ve ever done this hike before, you know it deserves 5 stars for breathtaking scenery … and 0 stars for being one of the most crowded hikes you’ll ever go on. I was sweating like crazy by the time we got to the top because he was practically running up the trail to get away from all the school groups and boy scout troops! It was a perfect fall weekend, with a just a few leaves left up on the trees. I’m glad we could make it up there before the winter winds sweep through and de-leaf the rest of them. (Is de-leaf a word, by the way? Sure. Why not?!)

Terra Cotta Warriors are coming!

katebaylorphotography — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 20:06:02 +0000

Some days my job is really really cool, and today is definitely one of those days! I got to witness (and photograph) staffers at the NG Museum un-crating one of China’s famed terra cotta warriors for their next exhibit. I was only inches away from one of these incredibly beautiful and important artifacts — pretty breathtaking! I think everyone in the room actually stopped breathing for a few seconds when they lifted him out of the crate (I know “Don’t drop him, don’t drop him, don’t drop him” was the mantra running through my head in between shots). But the crew was so professional, there was no chance something bad would have happened.

If you want to get up close and personal with one of these guys too, fifteen of the warriors will here for the exhibit “Terra Cotta Warriors: Guardians of China’s First Emperor,” which opens November 19 at the National Geographic Museum. Cool fact: This will be the largest number of warriors that have ever traveled to the U.S. for a single exhibition! For more info go to warriorsdc.org

Trick or Treat!

katebaylorphotography — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 17:00:40 +0000

Boo! Happy Halloween! Okay, I know it’s a few days late, but you see, I’ve been in a Kit-Kat – induced coma lately. We only had 10 trick-or-treaters thanks to the nasty rainstorms on Halloween afternoon. But we had bought about 4 pounds of candy. So, a girl’s gotta do what a girl’s gotta do.

Here’s our little jack-o-latern. Not the most impressive one on the block (we didn’t have the fancy carving set, just a kitchen knife!), but I like him just fine. Maybe HE is what scared away all of the kiddies this year!!

Dog Days of Summer

katebaylorphotography — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 19:39:13 +0000

You are not going to believe this, but I have to tell you … it is HOT today! Like, the temperature is warm, my skin feels good when I’m outside, I am wearing short sleeves and not regretting it…. wow, feels kinda like heaven. I still wouldn’t quite call it the dog days of summer yet. But I bet those are just around the corner. To celebrate, here is a picture of a pooch I took back in Puerto Rico last March. (Get it? Get it? The Dog days of summer? I know, groan, I should never be allowed to write). Anyway, I was there on vacation with my friend Leslie. We had just arrived on Vieques, and were enjoying a lunch of fried plantains and red beans and rice in a little tiki hut overlooking the ocean (gorgeous!), when this little pooch arrived out of nowhere. We came to find out there were about a MILLION dogs roaming all over the island. But this guy was really friendly and let me take his picture, so I like him best.

Lens: It’s all the Rage

katebaylorphotography — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 22:52:35 +0000

Right now I am really digging “Lens,” the new photography blog from the New York Times. The NYT has some of my favorite editorial shots — like Todd Heisler’s excellent photos of Obama, and all the funky stills you find in the Style section — so it’s only natural that they would lead the charge on photoblogging too. “Lens” is like one big melting pot of cool photo things. Photographer profiles. Weekly “Best of the Web” recommendations. Peeks into interesting archives. Photos of the Day. Do check it out.
(ps. One of my favorites was a post on Polaroid photos — Lens displayed *hundreds* of Polaroids sent in my readers. They are so fun and nostalgic!)

Look3!

katebaylorphotography — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 18:43:09 +0000

If you’ve ever wondered what Disneyland looks like for photographers, LOOK3 no more. It’s the LOOK3 Festival of the Photograph, an annual gathering of photographers and photo lovers alike in the best town ever (Charlottesville, of course — I’m starting to notice that nearly every post of mine is from Cville and I don’t even live there!). It’s 3 days of exhibits, masters talks and workshops from some of the best photographers on the planet. The headliners are the amazing Giles Peress, Martin Parr and Sylvia Plachy. Why am I so freakin’ excited? Drumroll please …. I just found out that I’ll be able to go! The festival kicks off next week, and I could not be more excited about it. I will definitely be blogging while I’m there, so stay tuned for updates “from the field.”

Snow Day!

katebaylorphotography — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 14:49:13 +0000

It snowed a whopping 6 inches last night in DC … it may not be much if you’re from up north, but for this Tennessee transplant, it’s a whole lotta white stuff. So pretty! But so cold. Time to go back in and get some more hot chocolate. Here’s my street, decked out in its winter best.

Happy Heart Day

katebaylorphotography — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 00:52:58 +0000

Happy Heart Day, as my goofy fun little cousins Colleen and Leigh would say. I went to visit them (and their Mom and Dad … My Aunt Ann and Uncle Dave) yesterday. We have a Valentine’s Day tradition of making fondue together…. not your traditional Valentine’s, but fun for sure!! We have one simple rule: If you drop anything into the fondue pot, you have to run around the table and give everyone a kiss. At the end of the night, there’s always chocolate on our faces and kisses on our cheeks! Here are my little goofballs: