eid mubarak!
September 22, 2009 | Filed Under family photos, friends | 2 Comments
sunday was eid al-fitr for most of the muslim community in america, and much of the rest of the world as well – a remarkable occurrence of unity not unnoticed on the day of! perhaps that was just one of the signs of how blessed a day it was – it certainly felt blessed! could not have been a more perfect day – that blue in the sky in the images below? for real. smiles, bright sunlight, crisp-but-warm weather… a joyful communal prayer with a meaningful sermon, then lots of presents for the kids and plenty of excellent food… especially sweets! the only thing missing from my perfect eid was the chance to put some henna (mehndi) on myself… but at least i snapped a shot of a friend’s decorated hands.
so, this is entirely a personal post, but if you’re visiting and don’t know much about eid in america, i hope this helps… we had the prayer in the morning at the muslim community center in silver spring, md., then went home for the first round of the kids’ eid gifts with my husband’s side of the family (my adorable nieces, five years old (almost six!) and eight months old); we then went to lunch with family and friends, and then drove to my brother’s house in virginia to hang out with my nephew and do some more gifting. i think i had a nap somewhere in there too – a perfect day, subhanallah!
all the pictures are taken with the tamron 28-75 2.8… proving that in the right lighting situation, this lens can totally rock the clarity and colors!!
baby maryam’s aqeeqa
August 21, 2009 | Filed Under events, friends | 5 Comments
for a baby whose existence i only discovered at minus three months (thanks sara!!!), maryam’s appearance into the world sure made me happy! her mom is a good friend of mine from the college park days, and i was so honored and excited to be asked to take pictures of maryam when she was only six days old, the day her family conducted the traditional head-shaving ceremony and held her aqeeqa celebration. (the shaved hair is weighed and its weight in silver is donated to charity… i think!). anyway! so after we shared labor stories – amazing how i never get tired of hearing them and reflecting on my own! – we took some portraits of baby cutie-pie maryam with her hair still on, including some in an outfit her grandmother sewed for her that very morning, and the rest of the images show the actual head-shaving itself. i’ll include a few explanations with some of the images below… sara, thanks so much for the honor and i can’t wait to take more of maryam’s pictures in the coming months! btw, i didn’t get a chance to hold her at all last time – i expect some cuddle time in the future! :)
we started with some portraits using the great big window in maryam’s nursery:
then the arriving family members took some turns holding her while mama got ready:
maryam’s maternal grandmother sewed her this adorable pink shalwar kameez in the morning, just before coming over!
adoring elders looking on:
we took some quick family portraits, too:
after this, maryam was ready for her head-shaving!
her paternal grandfather had the honor of starting it off…
but others, like maryam’s youngest uncle here, had a turn, too:
when it was over, grandma placed the little hat she had sewn for the occasion on the newly-bald head:
this was the only smile i could capture on maryam’s face this day! oh well… next time, more! :)
attending weddings as a guest
July 2, 2009 | Filed Under family photos, friends | 6 Comments
last weekend i got a chance to attend the wedding of another girl i knew growing up – the oldest of three daughters of one fabulous woman who has always been an inspiration to me, in my home community of raleigh, NC. i am not always in the loop with the raleigh community, and especially with the younger generation now graduating from college and moving on with their lives, it blows me away to see how they are taking the helms of their own lives and accomplishing amazing things in pursuit of their own dreams, like nadia and her sisters. nadia married a young man whose involvement in the washington, d.c.-area muslim community brought many other familiar faces to this wedding; even my husband realized he knew the groom’s family from long ago.
so i had a wonderful time, seeing old and new friends, and faces i couldn’t put a name to but i’ve known for years, at this wedding held at a simply beautiful waterfront venue on the chesapeake bay.
of course… that was only in the moments in between running around after two three-year-olds, my son and my nephew, who really had a fabulous time themselves, i’m sure! (i should add that my husband did a terrific job of watching him most of the time so that i could chat a little with my friends…)
so – just clarifying that i did NOT shoot this wedding, but i did take my camera along (and if i can find the link to the official photographer’s site i will post it here!) – just to capture a little bit of what i could get while being a guest and a mama and an aunt at a wedding!
AND, before i forget – i wanted to let you all know my blog was featured on a fantastic site, blogs of photogs, several days ago. thanks so much, mary! this site features plenty of talent in photography as well as links to related business, like wedding vendors and graphic designers, etc. be sure to check it out!
my son, enjoying the breeze from the open window on the drive to the venue:
the fantastically gorgeous bride, nadia, making her entrance with her husband!
my brother, sis-in-law and nephew as the couple walked in:
the kids, sitting down for the few minutes at the beginning when they did sit down:
i put on the long lens for a few minutes to get some shots at the beginning, while this young boy was reciting qur’an – traditional at the start of any major muslim event:
aaaand… they were off in search of adventure, or at least some strawberries and grapes…
i followed them down to the gazebo where they looked out at the water for a bit:
i couldn’t resist processing this shot like this… they looked so don’t-mess-with-us cool :)
but i also loved this image of the two of them looking out to sea… er, bay…
so then my husband took over and i went back to the wedding activities. here, the groom is shaking hands with his teacher, the extraordinary calligrapher mohamed zakariya, after receiving a handmade gift from him.
groom’s brother, speaking…
two of my lovely friends, who came up from NC to stay with us for the wedding (do you like how i fixed the hijab issue, hana?? :) ) :
this one’s just for you, taiyyaba! one of my best friends’ parents, who have known me since childhood:
so then nadia and aasil came around to mingle with their guests, and we oohed and aahed over her dress and jewelry…
and finally, i got a friend to take a shot of me (left) with my beautiful sister-in-law, who i am thrilled to share is expecting my second nephew or niece in about six months, God willing! yay for babies!
after that we went into the reception tent for lunch, and things rapidly degenerated as my unnapped son’s mood went downhill, so the camera stayed in the bag and i’m not really sure what went on in terms of wedding festivities… but such is parenthood’s blessing!
an extraordinary baby shower
June 9, 2009 | Filed Under events, friends | 2 Comments
so, maryam and modassir are family friends; modassir was slugging relentlessly through law school and working full-time while my brother and i were gallivanting undergraduates, all together at UNC Chapel Hill in the early 90s, and maryam joined our north carolina community from far, cold michigan about 10 years ago (i hope that’s right maryam!). anyway! at long last, this couple – always a beautiful example to those around them of a loving, happy marriage – is expecting a midsummer addition to their family, and their generous circle of friends threw one GLAM baby shower on june 6th. maryam herself is known for organizing fantastic parties, and so her friends decided to give back to her in similar fashion: the result was a red-carpet extravaganza with the close-knit feel of a “chill” evening at a friend’s house. the organizers and guests poured their hearts into making it an amazing night, and when i was asked to take the pictures, i wanted to capture not only the emotion of the evening, but all the details of the labor of love – pun intended! – maryam and modassir’s friends put forth.
if i’m on your facebook, you’ve probably already seen all of these images, but i chose a few of my favorites to share here in larger format!
