aileen reilly photography | 703.599.3046

LIFE.STORIES.GENERATIONS.

Céad Míle Fáilte.

That's Irish for "a hundred thousand welcomes."

I'm so happy to have you here, peeking into what I see. Looking through my lens.

I've been capturing the little moments with my camera for as long as I can remember. I'm the one hovering around the edges, watching and catching the little glances, the slight touch, the sparkling eyes, the hands, the smiles, the laughs. With a click of my shutter, those moments are preserved, remembered years down the road when memory fails or when the little things can no longer be pictured in the mind's eye. My camera is my life (you know, right after my four kids and husband...).

This blog will be for many things. It is another creative outlet for me. I love to write. Writing and photography, for me, are the perfect combination. Here will be my many musings on life, photography, parenting, and more. I will also preview my client shoots here. You will get a taste of what our sessions looked like - the fun we had and the laughs we shared.

So, come in. Take a look through my lens.

A hundred thousand welcomes to you.

Note: The top shot is five generations in our family, ages 9 months to 93 years. Although our great-great grandfather is no longer with us, we have this moment and those memories preserved. A family's hands through time.

Three of a Kind | Vienna Family Photography

03.10.2010 9:51 am

Well, hello March.

I’ve been absent. I think it may be a February thing. This year in particular, there was a lot of snow. Add to that, shorter days, being cooped up, and you get a big hunkering down ~ almost as if I’m wrapping up into my own little cocoon. I’m so happy to see March, and I want to thank the D family for opening the door out.

So, the D family. What fun I had. The best part of my job is meeting new kids, new little people, new little people becoming bigger people. I LOVE these ages. And I love seeing how God has worked his magic in creating different individuals from the same parents, same upbringing, same environment = different personalities, different interests, and different dreams. Let’s see what I found on this Sunday afternoon!

The little sister, E, and her two big brothers. Would it surprise you to know that on this afternoon, she had just gotten back from a laser-tag birthday party where she was the only girl in attendance?! Probably not. With two older brothers, I get the impression she is not your dresses and dolls kind of girl. The entire session, she was climbing, swinging, more climbing, jumping. When it came time to climb high up onto a tree-stand play house, she refused her oldest brother’s help and insisted on doing it herself.

I’ve known E for several years now. She and my E have played soccer together for about three or four seasons. I’ve done the team pictures and individual shots, and can I just tell you, this girl is beautiful. And she gets more and more beautiful each year. Her eyes. Wow. As I shot her on this day, I saw shades of her as a teenager. Mom and Dad, watch out!

The middle child, R. This guy cracked me up. Such a fun personality and great sense of humor. He was hesitant for me to take his photo, so I had to catch him unawares at times. It became a game, and I had fun playing. As the session went on, R started coming up with shots for me to try. Down below, the Abbey Road shot, all his idea. I liked his imagery.

A family of gorgeous eyes, as you can see.

I love eyes. Probably just about my favorite part of a person because there is so much there, so much presence (or not, and that tells you something too). The oldest here, C, had such genuine eyes, laughing and fun. And what a smile.

He is a budding actor (just had the lead in the high school play), a talented musician (plays four instruments), and a great guy. And as he told me, collared shirts? Not really his style. He wanted to make mom happy, but when we were done, I had him change so that I could get a few shots of him as he sees himself, doing what he loves. And here he is.

R ~ here’s your Abbey Road shot! Love it.

And then it was time for me to go home, though I would have loved to stay and play Rock Band, but you know, my kids were waiting for mom (my other calling).

I love this last shot. The sister with her big brothers. It was such a natural togetherness. And though there are differences amongst them, the love, caring and support is unmistakable.

Thanks guys for a great late afternoon.

xo

A

Posted in: families.. family photography.. lifestyle photography.. oakton photography. portraits.. siblings.. vienna photography.

by Aileen

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Life On Hold

02.10.2010 9:45 pm

It has been snowing here in D.C. for what feels like weeks. It’s only been one. We have more snow than I have ever seen in my life. Somewhere around three feet.

My family of six has been in our house together since Saturday. Tomorrow is Thursday. Yes, we go out to play and for walks, but it’s not quite the same. Our road is impassible unless you have 4-wheel drive. We don’t.

The kids are now out of school until next week. Funny, I think they’re even tired of it now. It’s too deep to really do much with it. Yes, we have igloos. And a toboggan run. And then we have the rest of the 20 hours in a day.

Here are some pictures for you. Keep in mind, these were taken after the FIRST snow dump. Another 10 inches arrived today. No photos of that.

This is a photo of our backyard oak, after a snowfall a couple weeks ago when I thought that 3 inches was our BIG snow for the year. HA!

On the major plus side, we never lost our electricity. Extremely thankful for that.

Thank you for hanging in here with me while life is on hold.

xo

A

Posted in: me.. nature photography.

by Aileen

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Inspiration | Generations

01.31.2010 12:18 am

The question was asked, “Where do you find your inspiration?”

Inspiration.

I pondered it for a long time. The truth is, I find inspiration in so many places. Curves, lines, colors, lighting, people, expressions, relationships. So, I went about my life with this question hanging in the back of my head. And a couple weeks ago, I worked an 80th birthday party of a dear friend of mine. She is the mother of my neighbor. My neighbor is the youngest of 7 and has 2 young daughters herself. Those little girls are almost like my own. I have been photographing them practically since each of their births. That 80 year old woman has LIVED her life. She had 5 children in her first marriage, and at a young age, fled a bad situation with all 5 children in tow. Eventually, she met and married her husband and had two more children. They have been married 39 years now. Her youngest son was involved in a tragic car accident leaving him with a serious brain injury. He hovered near death for a long time. He is married (and was at the time), and is a father to an 8 year old autistic son. This grandmother, this woman is full of peace, despite all the hurdles and struggles along the way, and there is no other way to describe it ~ inner peace with herself and a desire for peace for the world. Her heroes include Thomas Merton and Mother Theresa. Her home is decorated with her beliefs (Tibetan prayer flags), crosses of all styles, campaign signs (Obama), anti-war signs. Her home is filled with love with family photos everywhere, in every nook and cranny. Knick-knacks from around the world decorate everywhere. Her home has been lived in and loved in. And yesterday that dear sweet woman turned 80. What a life. In editing some photos from the birthday party, I kept coming back to this one. It is the 80 year old birthday girl and her two year old granddaughter (my neighbor’s daughter). I look at this image, and I see the spectrum of life, from one stage to another, generations holding onto each other and helping each other along the way. Both gingerly in their steps, but moving forward together. One life passing on to another. Continuity in this universe.

It is these connections that inspire me the most. When I capture an image like this, I consider myself so grateful to be a witness to this absolute beauty, this absolute love. There is no greater inspiration.

Peace,

Aileen