omar and alia: durham wedding photography
June 9, 2010 | Filed Under wedding posts | 13 Comments
i have so much to blog all of a sudden! and i know i haven’t been doing so well! so i do apologize… but first, i’m truly excited to share some images from omar and alia’s wedding, which took place may 30 at the beautiful millennium hotel in durham.
i’ve said before, i love shooting in the raleigh muslim community, because it’s where i grew up; i actually came to this wedding through an old friend who is now a cake decorator and baker extraordinaire – whose wedding was, incidentally, one of the VERY first i ever shot, years ago! but i also knew the groom’s family from childhood; omar’s sister, reem, was one of my good friends growing up, and i knew her parents pretty well, too, from the local masjid. and i’m pretty sure i have seen alia’s family over the years… years ago!
anyway. whether i remembered them or not, it was an absolute joy to see how truly happy omar and alia were with each other: there is usually something about every wedding that stays with me long after i’ve finished processing the pictures, and what i will always remember from this one are the smiles on each of their faces when they looked at each other. they’d get LOST in the middle of all the music, lights and people – subhanallah! i pray that your marriage always grows in the light of that love, omar and alia, and that God blesses both you and your families.
since alia – and many of the women who attended this wedding – wear hijab, i won’t be sharing many of the pictures from the earlier part of the day, or the women’s section after the men left and they got down and partied! but here are some of the moments i CAN share, including the fantastic groom’s cake alia had made as a surprise for omar, as well as some of the general fun and horsing around that went on as the evening progressed.
carnival!
May 21, 2010 | Filed Under family photos, friends, personal | 2 Comments
can’t believe i didn’t blog these before! actually found them by accident last night, and realized i hadn’t put them up yet. last month, pennwood shows brought their annual carnival to the sarem farm market just around a couple of corners from our house. we went for the first time last year (musa’s first carnival experience) and i found what so many aging parents like myself have found – that it really is possible to go to a carnival and not enjoy any of the rides yourself, but to go purely for the sake of the smile on your child’s face, and for the funnel cakes (for yourself). oh, and to take pictures, of course, challenging yourself to use only one slightly dinky prime lens (my 50mm 1.8), always shooting wide open, to try to get the best shots you can.
we had ben repeatedly driving past the carnival over its few-week stint at sarem – always by mistake, unless i WANTED to hear the endless, “mama! let’s go right now! i wanna go right now! it’s not fair!” – until we finally chose a warmish, rain-free friday evening to visit (turned out to be the carnival’s last weekend there!). i spread the word and some of our friends came to enjoy the carnival with us, and i daresay a fun time was had by all… 
Protected: the ameen family: maryland portrait photography
May 17, 2010 | Filed Under portraits | Enter your password to view comments
hiba & sajid: virginia engagement photographer
May 10, 2010 | Filed Under engagements | 19 Comments
it wasn’t until after hiba had signed me on as her engagement party photographer that i found out i already kind of knew her in-laws – more specifically, her fiance’s brother’s wife is a friend of mine. but even without that bit of serendipity, hiba’s family made me feel so welcome at their home that i would have had a blast anyway hiba’s family and friends decorated their basement with simple elegance – in colors matching hiba’s dress – to celebrate the couple’s engagement with just those closest to them. it was a pleasure for me to be a part of this ceremony, and absolutely my honor to be trusted with capturing it. hiba’s makeup and hair were beautifully done by the talented oriana.
