The Story Behind the Look | Ocean City Fashion Photographer, Dana Marie Photography

As an artist, sometimes we see things in our head that we really want to get out whether it be through our lens or with a paintbrush.  I saw this dress while perusing a local clothing website and I thought, I have to have this dress.  I never dress like this, in fact, my style might be a little on the tomboyish side.  Comfort is my thing!  I have three kids at home and I am lucky to get myself half decent looking on a normal morning but this dress screamed a concept shoot and I wanted to star in it.  I saw boots and a cowboy hat with this look.  Something to harden the feminine simplicity of it.  I saw myself with long flowing locks and a dark scene.  You see, this winter has taken a toll on our family, for those that do not follow my son's blog he has recently undergone limb-lengthening and the amount of time spent on physical therapy and appointments, traveling to and from has left me with little time to make healthy meals and even less time to spend on me.  Stress has made it's mark on my body and in my heart.  Feeling in a funk I wanted this shoot for myself, I wanted to feel good again.  Knowing all of this and how extremely difficult it is to photograph yourself and in focus, I set myself up for the challenge and went for it.  I borrowed the hat and boots on short notice and I plastered my nails in drug store glue-ons, of which I am still paying the price for but it was worth it.  The end result on the screen and in my heart has helped me catch my creative spark again.  I will be adding photos to this entry as I finish them, with a rack of client work to finish up this is all I could muster to get through for now but this is what I envisioned and exactly how I feel on the inside even when my outside screams I need a stylist :)

DIY Fathers Day Craft Gift for kids | Handprint Beach Theme | Dana Marie Photography

If you are anything like me you waited until the last minute to do something for Father's Day.  I went to sign my kids up for a local craft get together and I was too late, the spots had been filled.  I searched and searched on Pinterest but didn't find quite what I was looking for so using an idea on how to make handprint jellyfish, I came up with this neat canvas.  This was super easy and only took about an hour when using a hairdryer to speed up the drying process.

You will need the following to recreate this look:

Hairdryer
Canvas (this is a 12x36 but could be any size)
Watercolor Paint - Blue & Red
Finger Paint - Various Colors, Atleast a Blue Sparkle, Silver Sparkle, Black
Acrylic Paint - Green
Paintbrushes of Different Sizes

1) Coat the canvas in blue watercolor paint.  You want to get the whole front and the sides.  Once you have coated the canvas, you can blowdry it to speed up the drying and when it is relatively dry you are going to add in red in different areas to make a "purple wash look".

2) Once you have gotten your water background done and it is blended nicely you are going to blowdry until it is completely dry.  I was using the dryer on a high setting but held away so it didn't make water drops run across the canvas.  I was also pushing the cool button so I didn't melt the canvas.

3) Make children's handprints on the canvas.  Layer them with the thumbs in the middle so it looks like the fingers are tentacles.  Let the paint sit a few minutes and then dry well with the hair dryer.  Again hold it away so it doesn't smear your paint as this part will be thick.

4) Make seaweed on the bottom of the canvas using the acrylic paint.  Make it in thick layers so you can't see through it.  Blowdry and and let sit.  When it is just about dry add in some darker green accents using the finger paint.

5) Make bubbles using a sparkly blue paint.  Drop in small circles all over your canvas.  When I did the watercolor portion on ours I noticed natural circles that already looked like floating bubbles so I just filled those in with the sparkly paint.

6) When the jelly fish are dry add two black dots for eyes and when the black dots dry you can add in a touch of silver sparkly or white paint for catchlights to give them some life.

Voila.  Let it sit overnight to dry and it will be ready to hang.  All of the items were purchased from a local Michael's craft store and some of the paint I already had.  With the 50% off sale on canvas our total for this project was about $30.  Happy Crafting!

Assateague Beach Maternity Photographer | Dana Marie Photography

Beautiful maternity photos taken on Assateague Beach near Ocean City, MD!

SonRise Church Berlin Wedding Photographer | Outdoors | Dana Marie Photography

A quick sneak peak from the outdoor wedding photos from last weekend taken at SonRise Church Property in Berlin ~ more to come soon!

Mr. Ravens Newborn Baby Photos | Dana Marie Photography

 This sleepy little guy stole my heart!  He arrived a few weeks early but held his own at 7.5 lbs, I was surprised to hear from the parents that he was here so soon.  Daddy is a Baltimore Ravens fan so naturally we worked a little football action into his session.

Tractor Tractor Family Farm Photos | Berlin Child Photographer | Dana Marie Photography

I saw these tractors and thought this would be perfect for these family portraits.  She has been asking me about doing updated photos of her boys and our schedules hadn't been able to line up so I thought this would be a great backdrop for her and called her up.  The boys loved the tractors in the background and there were tons of smiles to be had.  The baby loved playing with mama in the rays of sun.  The weather was nice and sunny as we did the photos in the late afternoon to keep from running into bedtime. 

2013 Tough Mudder PA | Bombsuit Event Photographer, Ocean City, MD

Tough doesn't begin to describe the Bombsuit Mudder Team running in the Tough Mudder today.  I got to watch 5 very brave, strong individuals run a course together that was tough for any person let alone someone wearing an 80 lb bombsuit.  What?  Yes, an 80 lb bombsuit.  Eric Johnson's team of Tough Mudders called themselves the Bombsuit Mudder and challenged the course alongside Eric who was wearing this hot and heavy suit.  The heat was a sweltering 95 degrees without a breeze to be found.  Shade was minimal and it was hot!  Why did they do it?  They were raising money for the wounded warriors foundation and sold T-Shirts sponsored by "SayiWon't" clothing line before and after the race.  I was honored to don the same red T-Shirt the day of the challenge that the team members wore and I must say it is a quite comfortable T-Shirt.  You can find these shirts still on sale and support the Wounded Warriors Foundation through https://www.facebook.com/bombsuitmudder.org.