Winter is beautiful and so are my home-grown models!  We had a ton of snow this winter, but it was also VERY cold, so hard to get out and take a few lovely shots.  We finally found a good opening late in the season -- a lovely, soft snowfall with relatively moderate temps.  Perfect!  I quickly assembled my older girls and headed out for some shots contrasting their beautiful red gowns with the white of the snow.  

A few weeks later, we were blessed with another perfect snowfall, so this time I grabbed my younger girls and went to a lovely, wooded spot in town.  This made for a beautiful backdrop.  I also thought it would be fun to try white-on-white for one of the girls.  The outfit and white coat were a gift and I love the challenge of these kind of tones.  I also wanted some contrast, so the red-and-black dress on my littlest girl really popped.  

I ended the season with a few adorable shots of my little boy in a knitted fox cap, created by my older daughter, Hannah Small.  There are no words for how much I love those!  And, finally, a few indoor shots with my little girl who was playing in her ballerina costume. 

So, here are my favorites from the season -- I could have kept going and going, especially with such cooperative and natural models.  What more could a photographer ask for?  This was winter, 2015:

I had the privilege of taking family portraits for this family back in the fall.  The session was extra special because the husband and father of the family was nearly killed in a terrible accident less than a year before.  Many braced for the worst, but would not give up on God's intervention against all odds.  Many, many prayers went up and support all over the state poured in.  Through an immense struggle, this faithful family never wavered. God was with them through everything and would continue to be no matter what the outcome.  Thankfully, life and a family were preserved.  7 months after the accident, another small member joined the family and we all celebrated.  The love was evident during the photo-shoot and I was moved.  This makes my job worth it all.

I had a new challenge this past fall -- photographing a band.  These guys were  a lot of fun and game for anything, so we braved the chilly temps and head downtown for some "edgy", urban-styled shots (well, as "urban" as a small town can get.)  We also made good use of the local parking garage.  It was fun to work with the instruments and try different poses and ideas with them.  The guys have a song about a share-plow, so we had to incorporate one that we happened to see in a courtyard.  These guys are great and you can check them out here: Calvary Road. 

We had a gorgeous fall here in New Hampshire.  Good weather and beautiful color.  People come from all over the world to view our foliage, so you can bet I'm going to get the kiddos out there for some great shots!  You really can't beat a setting like this, esp. in gorgeous, late-afternoon light.  

This was my first foray into pet photography.  I was up for the challenge and really love the results.  I have never had a dog myself, so very little experience around them and I was a bit nervous, but these 4 were really good and fun dogs.  I find that they are a bit like toddlers -- full of energy and tough to get to focus on one thing for long, but we managed to pull it all together for some memorable shots. 

This is actually 2 sessions combined into one as one of the dogs was not at the first session and could not be omitted.  Happily, one of the owners was able to join in for a few fun shots.  

Say hello to Deisel, Carter, Jada, and Toby Keith!

After several guy sessions over the past year or so, it was fun to have sessions with the girls again!  Tori really came through with a lot of wonderful ideas and made my job easy.  We drove around town and landed in some fun spots -- starting with a beautiful, iconic covered bridge (perfect for this New Hampshire girl) and ended at our quaint downtown just as the sun was setting.  

I'll let the pictures do the talking!