Lady Antebellum in Atlantic City, NJ

Last Sunday I was able to go to a concert in NJ on the beach thanks to my friend Lisa who won tickets and asked me to join in.  I'd known only a handful of songs by Lady Antebellum but decided to go anyway.  Even if the show wasn't great, at least it would be a nice day out with my girlfriends.  It turned out to be so much fun!  I was surprised at how good the band was and thought it was great how they interact with their fans.  It just seemed very genuine.  Having been to a lot of shows over the years, I've seen both ends of the spectrum as far as that goes.  Even to the point of one particular musician spitting on the stage and not even once acknowledging the crowd of people there to see him.  It was quite a spectacle.  Luckily I happened to get a free ticket to that show. If I had paid to go, I would have been even more disgusted that I not only wasted my time but my hard earned money as well.

Anyway, this was a refreshing change from some of that chaos.  They were energetic, happy to be there, talented musicians who even while singing, take items from people in the crowd to sign them and pass them back down.  I was impressed.

I did not take my camera because the concert rules specified no professional cameras.  But luckily my friend April had her Nikon Coolpix.  So I messed around with the settings to see what worked and what didn't and managed to get at least a handful of images that I liked.  So here are a few!  If you like this group even a little bit, then go see them when they come around!  It was a super fun time!

This last picture was from their final song of the night, the hit "Need You Now".  Just as I took it, someone's hand went through my frame as you can see.  But I still love the image.  You can tell they're up there enjoying what they do!  This is one of the biggest reasons I love to photograph live music.   

beach love

A couple weekends ago we went to OC, MD.  One of our favorite things to do is get up and watch the sunrise.

This is one of my favorite pictures from the whole time we were there.

Jamaica

Today in Maryland we have a lot of ice, downed trees, and it's just downright icky.  I know that other areas of the U.S. have had much worse winter weather than we have here, but I can tell you that I am ready for Spring.  Cold weather?  I'm OVER IT.  

This morning I've just been waiting to go to work so things outside could melt a bit.  I thought it'd be a good time to share some photos from Jamaica.  We went there this past December for the wedding of friends and it was the most beautiful place!  I would go back to the same spot in a heart beat.  If you are in the midst of the winter blues, then I hope these photos will help you feel less blue!  Maybe it will be inspiration to take that beach vacation that you've been putting off.  Either way, I hope you enjoy them!  I would highly recommend the place we went to.  We stayed at the Couples Swept Away resort and had a Garden Verandah Suite.  It was fabulous.  A lot of foliage outside our balcony that really made you feel like you have a lot of privacy.  Great food, great drinks, and great people walking around with the motto - "no problem".  Awesome.

I give you.....paradise:

Our room.  The first thing I did when we got there was open my camera backpack which is what is there along with the lens cap.  I waste no time. 

View from the balcony

Out in the water 

Resort grounds.  They comb the sand with a rake.

Representing Trey in Jamaica

Clearest water I've ever seen 

This was taken around 6am.  We were woken up around 5:30am one morning by a steel drum band.  I sat up in bed like, why is there live steel drum music this early?  There was a marathon going on and they were set up to cheer on the runners.  It was SO EARLY but we couldn't do anything but laugh.  I mean, if the biggest problem of the day is that we got woken up by steel drums in Jamaica then I'd say that's the best kind of problem to have.  So we went for a peaceful early morning walk.  It was amazing.

Wedding setup

Our friends Keith and Amber getting married

Married!

Bridal party flip flops

Groomsmen

At the pool bar at sunset

Bob Marley shot

Can I live here?

Perfection 

Fish pond on the resort grounds

These little guys were everywhere

Went for a walk along the beach to shop for souvenirs, turned around, and saw this storm brewing. Beautiful.

Aboard the catamaran

Rainbow

Taken on the catamaran.  Saw so many stormy skies but never got caught in rain.

My sand art on our last day.  So sad.  Desperately wanted to stay!

Love.

Maine

Last August my family and I went to Maine.  It was the first time we have all taken a vacation together.  It's tough when you get older and everyone has families of their own.  But this was a special trip.  In honor of my late Uncle "Shorty".

The last time I was in Maine was when I was probably less than 2 years old.  So I was excited not only to spend this time with my family, but to use my camera there.

I took a ton of photos but chose just a handful to share.  Sometimes less is more. 

my dad used to go clamming right around this spot when he was a kid.  it's a pretty neat thing to see when you yourself are in your mid thirties and you're in the same spot that your parent was when they were little.

My favorite find in Freeport---Mexicali Blues!  It was like the mothership of hippie stores.  Clothing, jewelry, home goods...check out their site here- I wish they had a retail store in Baltimore.  

The texture within these rocks was amazing

me and my old man 

Maine is beautiful.  Go there!