Carter at play..

I recently headed into DC to meet Carter. At 14 months old, he is a running, silly, emotional and fun guy. They are fabulously beautiful family. Here's a little sneak peak, but first...

A picture of Carter and me. He decided the BEST place to be when a photographer has come to take your picture is ... on her lap. I've had plenty of hugs and kisses, but never a full-on seat plant and decision to stay there.

And after he got off my lap:

Sometimes you can't get enough...

I was so lucky to get to see Kristy and her boys along with Katie and her kids so soon. The kids worked me hard and gave me a lot of laughs.

Here are a few of the fun images:

So much fun!

The Ruizes were at it again with their fun and crazy antics with their two little girls! We had a really fun session with a lot of laughs and bonding time.

They're having a baby

I was so glad to meet Shaina and John. They are a sweet couple, whom are excited to meet their baby girl very soon. It brought back a lot of good memories from my Bella pregnancy.

Kisses and wishes for an easy birth!

Noah is just two months old

ahhh... babies. I shot Erin & Mike's wedding about two years ago. Such a sweet, in-love couple. And then I get the call for this little guy. Just look at him and his beautiful parents.

Foundation Workshop 7

I had never taken a workshop before June of last year. The timing hadn't worked out with two little girls. I'm making up for it, and I topped it off with the Foundation Workshop (FW).

FW is an intensive "boot camp"-like workshop meant to make good photographers find their way to being great photojournalists. I didn't think it felt like boot camp since I never felt broken down. Frustrated, maybe, but I always new that I had support and I knew everyone was there to help me learn. It's really just about a bunch of photographers out there working with each other to be better photographers. The free sharing and giving of knowledge is unmatched. I haven't been to any other experience like it.

The first day was all about inspiration and lectures. Amy Deputy gave an amazing, heartfelt slideshow that opened up my heart. Just check out her slideshow she prepared for Monday. Heartfelt & amazing. http://peacelovepictures.net/ I think I am her new biggest fan. Neil Cowley helped me to find my peace and creativity behind the lens. Mark Adams told me how to NOT get in trouble when out in the field--and how to get in there without question. And Huy told me he was there to make me great and urged us on--he was there for all of us. It's very reassuring and I felt totally supported.

Brooks Whittington was my team leader. His images, vision, technique and knowledge are stellar. He is a bad ass. He cleaned up my technique and then told me to "shoot the sh*t out of it" when I need to. To look for moments, constantly. To never put down the camera and stay ready. And how to edit, and find better shots. After two days of shooting and many, many, many hours of critiques, I got what they were talking about.

The whole idea is too make an interest image out of a boring situation. Easier said than done. I was given Morrow's Performing Arts Center--a dance+ studio in Plano, TX, located in a strip mall. Great people in a basic 3-room dance studio. I loved pushing myself to break some boundaries and learn how to get in and work it.

Here's an image from David Pullum, when he and Vlad came to visit:



And here's some of slideshow:







And Vlad's video, taken with the new 5d mark II is too good. Just too good!


FW7 from Vladimir Chaloupka on Vimeo.

California Dreaming

San Francisco was incredible as always. Seeing all of our friends made us feel right back at home. And seeing everyones' growing families made us very, very happy...

Here is a few of our favorite photos...