Here's hoping the appearance of rainy days in the Midwest means the snowy ones are officially over for this season. 

There were some lovely days, though, to be sure. Below are my favorite snow/ice images of this winter, all taken about a month ago one afternoon.

For any photographers who might be reading, I shot most of these as wide open as I could on my 50mm 1.4 to play with really selective focus. Unfortunately, I often had to close to 2.2 or so because I kept hitting my 1/8000 max even with ISO 100. It was pretty bright out with all that sun and snow! 

Here are some of my favorite images from my very first maternity session!

Valori is a friend from high school who was back in town for a baby shower and, at 28 weeks, the perfect size for some pregnancy pics. It was so great to see her again. She and Aaron (and Little Leinmiller!) did an amazing job in front of the camera.

A huge thanks to my Aunt Nancy and Uncle Vic for offering their lovely home and land for our use on a sunny but chilly February morning!

The image on the right is my absolute favorite of the day.

While at the library on Saturday, I found these words from Depression-era photographer Dorothea Lange in a collection of her work (she quotes Sir Francis Bacon at the end). As someone who gets easily nostalgic about times and places and who usually prefers to observe rather than direct, I identify with her approach:

My own approach is based upon three considerations. First—hands off! Whatever I photograph, I do not molest or tamper with or arrange. Second—a sense of place. Whatever I photograph, I try to picture as part of its surroundings, as having roots. Third—a sense of time. Whatever I photograph, I try to show as having its position in the past or in the present.

But beyond these three things, the only thing I keep in mind is that—well, there it is, that quotation, pinned to my darkroom door:

The contemplation of things as they are
without error or confusion
without substitution or imposture
is in itself a nobler thing
than a whole harvest of invention.

What do you think? I don't always follow this philosophy of not arranging or inventing, especially when I photograph high-school seniors, and I think that's OK. But when it come to photographing families at home, it's exactly the way I want to do it.

I'll close with a trio of photos of my cousin's daughter from this last Easter season. They're some of my favorites, and of my work so far, I think they best reflect this approach.

Meet the Moores. Our families went to school and church together for years, and in May of 2008, their daughter Beth (top right) married my brother Andrew (next to her).

My sis-in-law Beth with her sister Gretchen. Aren't they beautiful?

And the guys who married them. (Kudos to my mom for these next 3 photos!)

They call themselves the outlaws.

Some shots of each of the couples. 

Anyone who's seen While You Were Sleeping with Sandra Bullock and Bill Pullman will notice that Andrew and Jeff have each got "leaning" down pat.

And finally, some shots of the pets.

It was an honor and a joy to photograph this family that's so special to me.

So as we gathered at my aunt and uncle's beautiful home for Christmas Day...

...we noticed that quite a few of the male cousins were wearing argyle sweaters (except for one who wore plaid that we'll get to later). First off is my gorgeous husband, Josh, who is obviously very practiced at looking at my camera.

Then my cousins Ben and Jeff, who are brothers.

Then my cousins Bryce and Grant, also brothers (no argyle on Grant, but a still very smart cashmere sweater.) Here you'll notice the appearance of the second trend of day...women with cameras.

More argyle and camera cameos...

That's me on the right, with a slightly odd expression but without a camera in front of my face for one of the few moments that day. 

And before we move on to the last big feature of the day, here's one of my Aunt Denise that doesn't fit the previous trends but that I just like.

Now, meet my brother David, owner (at that time) of a very large beard.

Toward the end of our Christmas dinner, the cousins decided it might be fun to see David decorate his beard.

And it was.

My argyle-free but still cool cousins Grant, Joel and Daniel.

I like this clock mirror.

An appearance by our mom...and notice the camera's return to the scene.

As David's Christmas present to our mom was going to be shaving his face, we ventured out into the snow to get a few last portraits with the beard.

Stay tuned for a few more Christmas photos and the conclusion of the beard saga.