Danielle Mahoney Photography

The Tiller Family.

Danielle — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 04:34:17 +0000

I was able to catch up with Gina and Steve a few weekends ago (on their anniversary!), and we grabbed some great family photos. The twins will be three in two months, and Gina loves how much Aaron helps to look after them. Aaron is as animated as ever (just older) and Vivienne is either getting more used to seeing me every now and then, or else she is really becoming so confident. She is silly and laughs big and looks at Aaron with adoration and pure joy. Milo is quietly observant, only hinting at a flirtatious smile after I work for it. He likes his trucks, and watching him roll them on the floor made me wish I could really see the world from his view.

It seems that family fall photos aren’t complete unless someone is diving into a pile of leaves. On this day, the Tiller leaf pile was massive, and EVERYONE dived in!! We managed to wrap it up with only one bloody nose and zero grass stains! Success! if you ask me!!

The Counts Family

Danielle — Sun, 27 Nov 2011 18:32:12 +0000

The Counts are neighbors of ours, and their Grant and my Grant are in the same class for the second year. It’s so easy to see how happy they all are together and how much fun they have! Tammy does a ton of volunteer work at the kids’ school (and reads stories to classrooms like a complete natural!), and they all spend a lot of time outdoors going to kids’ sports events or exercising. Tammy loves how much fun they always have together as a family. While taking pictures, I was so envious of how sweet and calm Grant and Cole were together. By the end of the shoot however, they had loosened up into crazy, funny, leaf-throwing, tackling brothers (and I breathed a huge sigh of relief that mine aren’t the only wild ones!) I love these photos! And I really just about laughed the entire time!

The Swope Family 2011

Danielle — Sat, 26 Nov 2011 02:46:48 +0000

I just love these kids! It blows my mind that seven (!) years ago I would sometimes struggle to tell the difference between baby Danny and my Grant. And that it was almost six years ago that I hurried newborn paraphernalia to Pam’s house when Natalie was days old. I vividly remember bumping into Pam at Safeway where she confessed they were expecting Lily. It’s hard to not be nostalgic when watching kids grow up.

Everyone is so big now, and smart and happy and crazy. Visiting for photos is usually a whirlwind of awesome sibling shenanigans, but on this day the girls calmed a bit with their library books, and Danny showed me his battle scene and taught me a few chess moves in his treehouse. We had a great morning!

Love you guys!! -Danielle

The Klebasko Family

Danielle — Sat, 19 Nov 2011 20:57:34 +0000

“Our story began on December 8th, 2010 when Alyssa was diagnosed with strep and mono,” Gretchen writes on her Caring Bridge blog. “She was placed on antibiotics, and we continued with our plans for Christmas and our annual trip to Deep Creek.” Except Alyssa stayed sick- she ran fevers, complained about pain in her leg, was maybe a little more pale than usual, and was just out of sorts.

By January 13th, 2011, Alyssa and Mike were rushing Alyssa to Johns Hopkins where they were waiting to admit her. She was diagnosed with Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia (ALL). This liquid tumor, or cancer of the blood, starts in the bone marrow and spreads through the bloodstream. It is the most common children’s cancer, accounting for more than 2,900 cases in children each year. Unlike other types of children’s cancer, ALL has an 80-90% survival rate.

Word of Alyssa’s diagnosis spread quickly amongst friends. Tears flowed freely. Our small community hung on to every update and blog post from Gretchen, and everyone rallied to help. Neighbors cooked and chauffeured and prayed for their tough little fighting princess- the little, happy, bouncy girl that couldn’t possibly have cancer. More than 90 people donned hot pink shirts on September 10th to support the CureSearch Walk in Baltimore, where Team ALYSSA raised over $13,000 for children’s cancer research.

Alyssa is in the maintenance phase of her chemo now. She takes her chemo and other medications in a series of pills at night and her hair is coming back in a little darker and maybe a little curlier. Her brother Alex helps with her physical therapy (the result of a broken foot) by tossing balls for her to kick. Gretchen gives honest updates about their cancer reality on her blog. From her account of lying face down on the Target floor (in her high end designer stilettos, no less), to the craziness about a freakin’ life sized chicken named Doofus, we all find it nearly impossible to read her updates without crying or laughing or looking for the jerk that was rude to tell them to back off.

Over the summer the Klebasko family had beautiful family portraits taken through Flashes of Hope, a nonprofit organization that aims to change the way children with cancer see themselves through the gift of photography. Since Alyssa entered the maintenance phase of her treatment, however, the family needed a little photo update for the holidays.

I went to their home on a lazy Sunday afternoon and hung around for a hot second. Alyssa was bouncing all over the place and Alex couldn’t wait to get back to whatever big kid thing he was doing before he had to put shoes on for photos. Their home was quiet. Peaceful. Easy. Something that they all appreciate a lot more these days.

Jeff, Jennifer, Madi, Logan, & Tyler

Danielle — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 03:15:17 +0000

Jennifer and I have first met more than seven years ago; she ran the school where all of my children have gone since they were 8 weeks old! Jennifer stays home now to manage the busy life that three kids create, so we don’t see each other as much as we used to. It’s so amazing to see how much her babies have grown up!

Madi is in a performing arts middle school now and she is brilliantly managing what can be a tough edge between still being a kid at heart while becoming a young lady. She’s gorgeous and confident and easily comfortable being with her family. Logan is still so energetic and vibrant and silly! He’s also fearless, evidenced by his complete lack of hesitation to do a (spectacular!) cannon-ball off a random table we found at the park! His flips and jumps made me laugh (and also made me totally nervous)! Tyler is so excited and happy to run around with Madi and Logan! He has a great smile that truly lights up his whole body!

We had such a laid back, easy evening, and it was so awesome to see everyone again! Okay- enough chatting. Pics below!

Laura, Rachelle, & Harrison

Danielle — Mon, 14 Nov 2011 01:23:57 +0000

Moments after Rachelle and I booked the date for her family photo shoot, she sent me a picture of her son with the sweetest smile that wrinkled his nose.

“We call him Mr. Wrinkle Nose!” she wrote.

I immediately knew I liked her! It wasn’t just because she couldn’t wait to introduce me to Harrison, but I could actually feel her beaming through email! I knew we’d have a great time.

Rachelle has a big, happy laugh, and as we walked around the park I noticed that she doesn’t just beam when she talks about Harrison… Laura and Rachelle have been together for 13 years, and her eyes twinkle and her face beams when she looks at Laura.

Harrison is so, so handsome, and he is a calm, laid-back, easy-going, happy baby. He turned one in October and loves to read books- flipping over each page fast and then going right to the next book.

FUN FACT: Rachelle and Laura actually took Harrison out for his VERY FIRST haircut the same day as photos (!!). And it looked GREAT! (I’m still terrified to get Hudson’s haircut…) (They made sure to leave a few curls in the back.)

Conversation with Rachelle and Laura was easy, and I absolutely fell in love with Harrison. I left the park last Saturday truly feeling like we were great friends that had known each other for years.
Thanks, Rachelle & Laura!! Can’t wait to see you guys again!

Matt, Corey & Teagan

Danielle — Sun, 13 Nov 2011 19:07:59 +0000

I had never met Corey or her friend that referred her to me. It’s so cool when referrals go through chains of friends! Despite being completely booked, we were able to make our schedules work so that Corey and Matt could have some family photos taken in time for the holidays. Teagan is a gorgeous, happy 10 month old with a big wide open laugh. She gets so much pure happiness from clapping her hands, and she likes to take off her shoes and be free to move around. They are an outdoorsy family, and Matt claims to be a really good cart wheeler (although I forgot to make him prove it!) We had a gorgeous fall day for photos, and I’m so glad we met!!

Corey and Matt- it was so great to meet you guys!! Thanks so much!!

The Araya Family

Danielle — Thu, 06 Oct 2011 03:55:06 +0000

Andria and I first met at work. Our children are the same ages and we have compared many notes on our “oldest” and “middle” children. It took about 30 seconds after meeting Andria to really like her. Everyone who meets her is drawn in to her welcoming spirit. It doesn’t take very long to confirm that she is a hard worker, fantastic mom, and behind her natural beauty and radiant smile, her sailor mouth actually rivals even the most devoted pirates! (Love her!)

Although I had met Nico a few times, I finally got to meet her whole family a couple of weekends ago. We had a great time running around an open farm field and playing all kinds of games. Nico is seven years old. He is thoughtful and warm, and unquestionably smart. He is just as happy laying back with a book as he his flying through the air with his dad’s feet as his airplane trajectory. Four year old Matteo appears to be a little shy at first, but he is devilishly lovable with his flirtatious, mischievous smile. It’s easy to see his mind constantly cranking and absorbing the world around him, and he became my fast friend when I hired him to help me take pictures. Camila (or usually just Mila) is a gorgeous girl who just takes everything in. She just turned one, and rolls with the punches and gets right in the mayhem with her big brothers. She’s a great little walker and kicked it up with a timeless polka dotted dress and Converse sneakers. Although some people claim to have literally seen a glowing halo right above her head, she isn’t afraid to eat a little dirt now and then.

Okay, enough chatter. Photo time. Enjoy!

Shenanigans!

PHOTO BELOW TAKEN BY MATTEO ARAYA, AGE 4.

Matt, Alicia & Delilah

Danielle — Tue, 06 Sep 2011 03:46:59 +0000

I met Matt and Alicia for the first time two Sundays ago and immediately felt like I had known them for a long time. They are both so welcoming and friendly and conversation was easy. Perhaps the coolest thing I learned about them during our shoot was that they first met each other in the fourth grade! They were friends through school, started dating (if I remember right) their senior year of high school, and were married a few years ago in a small ceremony. They began to expand their family soon after by adopting Delilah from the local SPCA. (She is really the sweetest, happiest girl! and so pretty!) We had a fun, early morning walk around Matt and Alicia’s city and I was able to catch some really genuine moments between these two; they are simply very easy with each other.

Sidenote: I would LOVE to see pictures of these two in fourth grade together!!

Matt and Alicia- you guys are the best! Thanks so much for a great morning, and congratulations on your NEW! home!!

Ray Family Summer 2011

Danielle — Thu, 11 Aug 2011 04:14:56 +0000

Quick sneak peak for the Ray Family!

Despite a terribly hot and humid summer morning and an obscene display of relentless biting flies, I really, really enjoyed meeting Brian, Laura, Austin and Aidan, and Kylie- their little tomboy dog. Austin is two and loves trains and soccer, and he couldn’t wait to visit the old bus stashed away at the park. He is such a sweet boy with very promising gig as my assistant shooter on some upcoming jobs! Check out how well he handled a camera…

Austin took these two shots of his mom and brother. I love them!!