Little Dynamite Photography | Philadelphia Area Photography

the most ridiculous give-away EVER.

Sara — Sun, 28 Mar 2010 14:18:52 +0000

and when i say “ridiculous”, i mean it in the amazing, incredible, too good to be true kind of way.

the awesome folks over at epiphanie (aka “the makers of the new camera bag that i NEED”) are having a contest. a REALLY BIG CONTEST. the prize?

a $2,500 gift certificate to southwest airlines. or…

(that’s right, i said “or”)

A CANON 5D MARK II.

if i don’t win this, i almost feel sorry for whoever does because i’m not even sure how a person goes about choosing between such awesome prizes. that being said, i still REALLY want to win.

i mean, DUH.

Braydon’s Christmas Session

Sara — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 00:43:46 +0000

My friend Jen asked me to come do a Christmas photo session with her son Braydon last weekend. Our original plan to get a mixture of shots inside by the tree and outside in some cute winter gear were foiled by a morning (and afternoon) of nasty rain & sleet and the gloomiest of grey skies. Despite the weather, we had a fun time inside taking photos and I fell even more in love with this boy. Seriously – this kid has awesome personality.

And because I couldn’t resist…one of the outtakes -

It’s beginning to look a lot like…

Sara — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 23:44:20 +0000

There’s no doubt about it – the holiday season is upon us. Poor Thanksgiving and all the fall colors I adore so much have already been relegated to the backseat in favor of red and green and signs of Christmas everywhere you (or at least, I) go. Instead of trying to fight it, I’m shamelessly going to plug myself and offer up my services for your holiday needs.

(Classy, eh?)

Before you dress up the kids and yourselves and head to your local department store or mall studio, take a moment to consider giving a little custom photography a try. Yes, that’s right – CUSTOM. you pick the locations and the poses (or ask me for ideas) and have your holiday photos taken in a relaxed, non-rushed atmosphere. We can take your photos inside your own home next to your OWN Christmas tree or fireplace with your own REAL decorations (no fake backdrops needed!). Rr if it’s nice enough, how about some outdoor photos? Want me to tag along and take pictures of you and your family at the Christmas tree farm? Done!

The point is this – I love to take pictures that show people as they truly are. So, if you’re looking for something a little different for your holiday photos this year, get in touch with me for more information on my availability, pricing and products.

In Which I Finally Meet Braydon

Sara — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 01:36:53 +0000

Back in May, my friend Jen and her husband Jay welcomed their first child into their lives – a boy named Braydon. And then nearly six months went by before I actually met him. I’m not quite sure how that happened, but thanks to a much-needed girls day this past weekend, I finally got to fix that. I made up for it by going a little crazy with my camera. Jen liked the pictures so much, she asked me to take some Christmas shots of him for her!

(He was REALLY into the camera.)

(I switched to the 50mm for a few shots. The lighting wasn’t the best, but I LOVE the lip in this one.)

(Following a walk around the neighborhood with the stroller.)

*In other news, I walked into work today and found the best news in my mailbox – our raises for the new school year finally went into effect and they are RETROACTIVE. I’m 99.9999999% sure I’m going to celebrate this surprise by finally buying myself this.

On Being Published(!)

Sara — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 22:55:32 +0000

I took that photo nearly a year ago, on an amazing weekend trip to Vermont with my good friend Sara. Our fantastic hostess was Jenna Woginrich, who runs a small farm in the southern left corner of the state and writes an incredibly honest and inspiring blog called Cold Antler Farm. We spent our time with her eating food made with ingredients from the backyard, drinking hot cider and cold beer, watching sheepdog trials in Cooperstown, NY and helping with farm chores. And of course, I took an obscene amount of photos, which Jenna has been kind enough to feature on her website from time to time.

On a whim, I uploaded a few to the photo section of the Mother Earth News website. I was contacted by someone who told me they were considering publishing one or two of them and to my (ridiculously happy) surprise, they featured the above photo in their October/November issue which is out on stands RIGHT NOW. (Trust me on this – I rushed to the bookstore during my only prep today so I could buy a copy. When I get my complimentary copy in the mail, it will go to Sara.) If you’ve got a copy sitting at home, open up to page 15 to see the proof.

So, thank you to Jenna and the fine folks over at Mother Earth News. I can’t think of a better way to start my favorite month of the year…or a better (slightly early) birthday present! In honor of this little milestone and in celebration of the fact that it’s October and truly (finally) feels like Autumn, I went back and re-edited some of my favorite photos from that weekend up in Vermont last year since I actually have professional software now. You can view them in a new featured gallery over here.

Prints for Sale!

Sara — Sun, 27 Sep 2009 23:56:34 +0000

I’m a little giddy, folks. You see, I just sold my first print the other night. Sure, it’s going to a very good friend who already loves me, but it’s a start. Since others have been asking about them, I’ve added a new section to the website. If you look up above, you’ll see a “Prints” link now! I’m offering prints of any photos on this website, or from any of my sets over at my Flickr page. Go ahead and check it out if you’re interested!

I’ve also tidied up a few other sections of the website, including the galleries page, and added a few other pages under the “Info” section of the menu. There are also a couple of contact forms to make communication a little easier. And, if you couldn’t tell from the picture above, my business cards arrived!

Now, I’m going to go get comfy on the couch with a big bowl of popcorn, a bottle of Sam Adams Octoberfest and Ken Burns’ latest documentary. These things are all part of my plan to keep myself so distracted that I don’t go temporarily crazy and buy THIS. (Soon…just not now.)

Happy Autumn, everyone!

New Photos & Other Exciting Things

Sara — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 23:51:33 +0000

Well, hey everyone (you know, all four of you).

If you’re just here for the eye candy and nothing more, direct your attention to the galleries because there are new photos floating around in some of them. Of course by “new”, I mean photos I took last year and just got around to re-editing (oh, Aperture…I love you) and uploading.

Aside from the new photos, there are a few exciting things happening here. Sometime during the next 2-3 weeks, I’ll be taking photos for a music therapy business. They want staff headshots, interior space shots and some of the classes/sessions in action. They’re revamping their website and I’m very excited to be a part of it. I’ll be sure to post a link when it’s all done.

I’ve also been approached about shooting a coworker’s wedding next spring. In the midst of all the excitement and mild shock I’m experiencing, there’s also a bit of apprehension. It’s not a done deal yet, but it would be such an incredible opportunity and I’m so thankful for (and flattered by) the offer. I think this is what gave me the final nudge I needed to finally order myself an external flash. The flash (and my fabulous new business cards!) should be arriving at the carriage house any day now.

See? Exciting things!

*Photo above taken as my “365 Days” shot yesterday outside my landlords’ amazing house/barn.

365 Days, In Progress

Sara — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 01:07:06 +0000

Back at the beginning of this year, i decided to give the “365 Days” project over at Flickr a go. I knew it would be challenging because let’s be real here – there are just some days when the last thing in the world that you want to do is take a picture of yourself. Still, I was excited to try it because I thought it would challenge me and force me to get more creative with my photography and find ways to make simple (boring?) things look GOOD. So, here are some of my favorites from the year so far.

Oh, Hello.

Sara — Sun, 13 Sep 2009 22:54:24 +0000

This started as a simple, little photoblog a few weeks ago. Actually, if I’m being honest, this whole thing started back in the summer of 2001 when I bought my first digital camera (a 2.4MP FujiFilm Finepix 4700 and yes, of course I still have it) and started taking pictures of pretty much everything. I never thought then that I would fall so hard for photography, but here I am eight years and three cameras later and I think it’s safe to say I’m hooked for life.

Fast forward to yesterday when I spent more hours than I care to admit sitting at my computer. I’m not sure where on my to do list for the day it said “buy a domain, pay for a year of hosting and launch a new photography website”, but here we are and I have to admit, I’m pretty giddy about the whole thing.

So, now what? Well, that’s where YOU come in, folks. If you like what you see here, spread the good word (and the url, don’t forget the url!) and let people know about Little Dynamite Photography. Want some new photos of your band? Some family portraits? A photographer to come to your special events and do all the picture taking, leaving you to enjoy yourself? Whatever you’re looking for, I’m open to your ideas and will do my best to make your photos just that – yours. Since I’m just starting out, I’m going to offer up a couple of free photo sessions to build up my portfolio a bit and hopefully rustle up some business, so check back for a more detailed post soon!

Thanks for looking, everyone!