PORTRAIT: DC UNITED'S CHARLIE DAVIES

This month I had the opportunity to photograph DC United's Charlie Davies for On Tap Magazine. Charlie has an amazing story that has unfolded over the past few years. In early 2009 he was moving up the ranks of European soccer, from a Swedish team to a French Ligue 1 team, and making an impression on American fans with some goals for the US National team. Many Americans, myself included, saw him as the kind of striker we would need to successfully compete at the World Cup in South Africa—fast, creative and competitive. But in late 2009 a car crash left him with head injuries, a broken leg, broken arm, lacerated bladder, and little chance of making a full recovery before summer. Charlie began his rehabilitation in early 2010 and with a new lease on life and a positive outlook worked his way back to fitness. Unfortunately, he didn't make it to the World Cup but by late 2010 he was back on track with his French club. Early this year Charlie was loaned out to DC United—a big pickup for a team struggling to find the back of the net—and Charlie has already become one of the league leader in goals.

Since moving to DC, Charlie has had a lot of people interviewing him and photographing him. Sometimes when athletes are made to do a lot of press they are moody and not willing to cooperate, but Charlie was a super nice guy, easy to talk with and he went along with my creative vision for the shoot. I was even able to get some tips from him for muscle recover after a hard workout! We started in the locker room at RFK stadium for some moody portraits and then moved out to the field for some daylight shots. The week before I was able to get a press pass to shoot the game against the Colorado Rapids for some action shots of Charlie at work. It was a thrill to be right there on the field and to meet some of the other photographers who have a lot more experience photographing soccer matches than I do.

The whole experience has been one of the highlights of this year. I have to thank my sister Stephanie for coming out as my assistant and contributing ideas and extra hands for this shoot.

ARLINGTON ENGAGEMENT PHOTOS: JENA & KENAN

Jena and Kenan are getting married in just a few short weeks and last week we were able to meet up and check out the venue and take some photos in and around Rosslyn. They said they are not very comfortable in front of a camera. From these photos, it's hard to tell. It is easy to tell that this couple is very comfortable with each other and completely in love. We started the day at the Artisphere and ended our session at Roosevelt Island, where Kenan proposed. Both were great spots and made for some beautiful photos!

WASHINGTON DC ENGAGEMENT PHOTOS: GRACE & HUGH

This has been a really rainy spring. I guess that's kinda normal for around here but it has made planning outdoor engagement sessions really difficult. Those weather reports with 50% chances of thunderstorms really stress me out the day before a shoot. However, lately I've been getting some really great images on days when the rain is imminent. Grace and Hugh decided that we would take our chances with the weather and I'm glad we did! This early morning shoot left us (mostly) dry and with some cool photos from around the Jefferson Memorial, Tidal Basin, and some of the tucked away gardens within the National Mall. The light was soft, the pavement had a nice sheen to it and this couple was two of the nicest people I have photographed.

WASHINGTON DC ENGAGEMENT PHOTOS: LAURA & KEVIN

Laura, Kevin and I met up early one morning this week to grab some photos out on the National Mall before the tourists started flooding the monuments. Just after sunrise proved to be perfect timing—the sun was moving in and out of some low hanging clouds, letting us get some shots in bright light and some in soft diffused light. There was even a moment when we had the entire Lincoln Memorial to ourselves!

After that, we took a walk through Georgetown and talked about food and soccer (Kevin is a chef and soccer fan) and some of the details for their wedding up at Liberty Mountain in Pennsylvania. Along the way we took a few more sweet photos of the two of them. I really really like the ones with the green circles on the ground and Key Bridge in the background. With every engagement session I'm finding cool new spots that I never knew existed, like that concrete maze. And I'm so lucky to have clients like Laura and Kevin who are willing to explore... and to get on the ground and play along for shots like that.

BALTIMORE ENGAGEMENT PHOTOS: CYNTHIA & MATT

We originally scheduled this session a week ago but the weather forecast was calling for rain and hail. Cynthia and Matt said they could handle a little rain—hail might be too much. So, this weekend, since it was "only raining" we met up for engagement photos near where their wedding will be in Baltimore's Inner Harbor.

It ended up being a really great time! By the time we started the rain had been reduced to a light drizzle, the light was near perfect and we pretty much had the entire harbor to ourselves. Between that and the fact that you can see on their faces that Cynthia and Matt are in love and have no problem having fun in the rain as long as they are together, it was a recipe for great images. We also managed to make it to the spot the engagement took place at the Air Force Memorial in Arlington for some more great light and a phenomenal view of DC. I'm looking forward to their wedding in November!