• I'm so happy you've stopped by my blog! I hope you'll stay for a few minutes, take a look around, relax with a cold, bubbly beverage...

    These days, I'm no longer working with clients. (What the future will bring, I cannot say!) You'll find me now at home, playing with my kids; and likely taking pictures of them, too!

    {Hugs} and a huge thank you to the clients who have been so supportive over the years! I will miss shooting for you.

Apr 06 2012

Chalk and Hopscotch {Bethesda, MD Child Photographer}

My children have recently discovered hopscotch.  It started with a hopscotch rug they saw one time, and then one day I realized we had never actually taught them to play hopscotch!  Sacrilege.

Yesterday, while we waited for my son to get home from a playdate, my daughter and I got the chalk out.  I thought we would practice numbers, but she really just wanted to dump out the box of chalk and fill it back up.

This game was, apparently, absolutely hysterical.

Photos of child playing with chalk

Finally, big brother came home and we we drew the hopscotch game (an especially tricky variety, in fact).  My son’s glower at me had nothing to do with me taking pictures (for once), and everything to do with my suggestion that the stone had bounced off the 7, not the 8.

Hopscotch and chalk, in pictures in Bethesda, MD

And with that, I leave you with best wishes for Passover, Easter, and apparently US National Tartan day, according to a good friend of Scottish heritage.  Who knew!

- Danie Smallwood

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Breanna - April 30, 2012 - 12:41 am

these are really cute Danie! I need a sidewalk to teach my kiddos hopscotch- we have never done it either, whoops ;) !

Apr 02 2012

“The Way I View…Happiness” {Bethesda MD Child Photographer}

In March, my ClickinMoms 12 month challenge group was focused on “The Way I View…Happiness.”  When I thought about it, I imagined going to the park, getting pictures of my kids with huge smiles….  But in the end, these were the pictures that most spoke to me.  Just hanging out together at home.  Basking in the glory of the cherry blossoms tree that has bloomed early behind our house.  Just…being.

Be sure to check out Laura’s view of happiness next!  This is a circle, so click through the links and you’ll end up back here. :)

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gretchen willis - April 2, 2012 - 8:24 am

Danie, those are just gorgeous. Your kids look like they are having so much fun. Simple, easy innocence of childhood. <3

Susan - April 2, 2012 - 8:59 am

Love these, the trees are beautiful, love that room, and your kids are so precious.

Laura A - April 2, 2012 - 10:50 am

Those are stunning! I love it!

Amber - April 2, 2012 - 11:00 am

Beautiful photos of beautiful kids. And what a great art project for them…

Mindy - April 2, 2012 - 12:02 pm

Oh my goodness Danie my kids would LOVE this! What a beautiful room and window and what a good mommy you are to give the kids a chance to get a little messy. :) The images are lovely of course too!

Breanna - April 2, 2012 - 12:36 pm

this looks like such a fun time for your kiddos!! (& I’m a little bit jealous of the light & cherry tree, beautiful!)

Mar 04 2012

When photographers babysit {Bethesda, MD child photography}

Forget about a nanny cam.  Hire a photographer to babysit and read their blog a few weeks later, and you’ll get to see it all. ;)

This is my best friend’s little girl. We were playing a very rousing game called “No, silly little one, don’t crawl off the couch!”  It went something like this.

Me: “Okay, baby girl, you sit right here on the couch…”
I grab my camera and back a couple steps away from the couch, madly trying to focus in rather low light.
Baby girl: laughing hysterically, diving for the edge of the couch
Me: throwing camera to the side, grabbing baby girl.  “No, silly little one, that’s not that game!  You don’t crawl off the couch while I’m trying to take your picture.  Okay, let’s try again.  You sit right here on the couch….”

Almost-one-year-old baby portraits

 

It was a little exhausting, actually (and don’t worry, she was never close to falling off!!!!), but so worth it.  These are actually the pictures from round two, where I discovered that she’d hold more still with a bottle.  It’s all about trying to be more clever than the almost-one-year-old!

More to come, but I just love this storyboard soooooo much!  (It’s meant to be printed pretty large, so the pictures aren’t really less than an inch in size!

- Danie

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gretchen willis - March 4, 2012 - 5:04 pm

Danie that is so cute! Thanks for showing us!!!

Mar 01 2012

The Way I View … Sweetness and Love

It’s the second month of our ClickinMoms Project 12 in 2012!  This is a circle project, so don’t miss the next interpretation, linked at the end of this entry!

During February, we challenged ourselves to capture images that fit this them:

The way I view… sweetness and love.

These images came at the end of a long day.  My kids were freezing cold, hungry, and tired, so to say they were not feeling the love when it came to taking direction would be an understatement.  But more importantly, you can see how much they just love each other (united against mom-learning-to-use-a-reflector, I guess!).

Photos of my children playing in the park at sunset

For another take on sweetness and love, take a moment to be inspired by Laura (another Maryland photographer!), as she tells a beautiful story of the example her parents have set for her.  (Not to give away too much, but her mom still has the first note her dad ever wrote her — that he dropped on her desk in science class!)

Welcome to March, everyone!

- Danie Smallwood, Bethesda, MD

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Susan - March 2, 2012 - 12:29 am

Very cute. I’m loving the sun burst in the first photo. What fun this project is.

Jo Lien - March 2, 2012 - 11:10 am

They certainly look like they’re plotting against you! What a couple of cuties!

Mindy Newton - March 2, 2012 - 11:32 am

What a fun evening! I love the starburst shots especially!

Laura A - March 2, 2012 - 3:01 pm

Great photos!! So beautiful.

Micha - March 2, 2012 - 6:38 pm

Sweet, sweet images. I love the sunburst in these shots…and the tone. I really get that ‘end of a winter’s day’ feeling!

heather - March 6, 2012 - 12:03 am

oh danie, look at those pictures! of course i love the sweetness of them. but the sunflare is too awesome.

Celeste - March 14, 2012 - 1:54 am

Great post, Danie. Way to rock that evening sunlight! I love the images you’ve chosen for this post.

Lisa Frederick - May 16, 2012 - 7:21 pm

Danie–
LOVE these shots with the light coming through the trees. Beautiful!

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