Susan Solo – Photographer | Traveler | Adventurer

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  • Fun With Numbers

    Now that the holiday season is over and the recipient has received this gift, I can blog about it! I wanted to share this cute, easy DIY photo project that you can tailor to just about anyone:

    It’s a framed date! Chris and I just took photos of found address numbers (these hail from various spots in Old Town Leesburg), and put them in a matted frame. There are companies that custom-make these for sale, but I think it’s way more fun to do this yourself, and it’s a totally simple but super thoughtful/personalized gift perfect for anyone. You can even do this project as a piece of art for your own home.

    First, start off with an idea of what occasion you want to commemorate: an anniversary, a baby’s birthday, a vacation date, anything! If you want to use the date only, you can easily find a matted frame with three openings for the month, day and year. (Or day, month, and year if you’re British.) I found this one with three vertical openings at Pottery Barn. If you want to do the date along with a special photo, you’ll have to search a little harder to find a pre-matted frame, but something with a configuration like this would totally work. Or of course, you can have your project custom matted and framed at a frame/art store. If you want to use a pre-matted frame, knowing the orientation of the openings in advance will help you to plan your photos.

    Next, grab your camera and head out on a scavenger hunt for your numbers! Note: If you are forgetful or easily sidetracked like I am, it’s best to write the date down so you know for sure which numbers are needed. Also, you don’t need a fancy camera for this project, but a long lens or a camera with zoom capability might help if your numbers are just out of reach so that you don’t have to trespass. And I knew that my frame had three vertical openings, so I photographed my numbers in portrait (vertical) orientation.

    Now, where to find these numbers? Old historic downtown areas have tons of interesting address markers on cute little storefronts and surrounding neighborhoods. Walk around and explore. It’s art + gift-giving + exercise all wrapped up into one! Take photos of the same number in different styles so that you can choose your favorites later. When you’re taking the pictures, try to fill the frame with as much of the number as you can, but leave enough of a margin on all sides in case your mat opening is not exactly 4×6 or 5×7, etc. You can always use software like Photoshop to crop the image when you’re ready to print. I happened to like the cheerful colors of the numbers we found so I left the images as-is, but you can also use software to convert the images to black-and-white for a clean and crisp graphic feel that is timeless and sure to go with any decor!

    And that brings us to the last step – just print your photos and arrange them in the frame! Be sure to use photo-friendly adhesives. I just used acid-free tape to mount the photos behind the mat and voila! Totally personalized custom artwork bursting with meaning. Easy enough, right?! So what date would you frame? Do you have any other fun photo projects to share?

  • Happy New Year!

    As a side note before anything else, when is the official cut-off date for saying Happy New Year? Since it’s my first post of the year, I think I can safely say it, but I’m still wondering about the official rule.

    So, have I really not posted since the new year yet?! I guess I can believe it – I’ve been swamped! I’m desperately trying to catch up from the holiday slack and will be back soon with more regular updates. In the meantime, I’ll post one of my favorite images from a quick family session I did on New Year’s Eve. This is my friend Coelle and her brother, and this was all their idea (perfectly executed – look at that air!):

  • Blizzard of 2009 – Day 3

    I’m back to finish up the details from our blizzard-y weekend!

    Sunday, December 20, 2009 (a.k.a. the day before winter officially starts):

      • 8:05 am – Woke up, showered and got dressed quickly. Packed everything up so we could get going. Remember the before picture of the patio? Well here’s the after!

      • 9:12 am – We were on the road again after Chris cleared the car off for the 253rd time. We drove sloooooooowly. The roads all the way home pretty much looked like this – no pavement showing, covered in snow and ice. Not many other crazy people were driving around, which was a good thing.

      • 9:57 am – We pulled off the highway for an on-the-road breakfast of McDonald’s. Check out these icicles at the drive-thru!

    • 11:32 am – Arrived at home to 21 inches of snow on the driveway. Thankfully we had a shovel in the car so we could get started. Chris shoveled a little path up to the garage to get the other shovel.
    • 12:19 pm – I decided this would be a good time to accomplish one of my 101 in 1001 tasks – #32: Go sledding, make a snowman and a snow angel all in one day. Unfortunately my snow angel is just a big two-armed hole since there was so much snow.


    I do think my (tiny) snowman turned out pretty cute though.

    As for sledding? Well, after spending the whole weekend digging ourselves out of the snow, photographing a wedding in the snow, driving in the snow, etc., I was pretty much done with the snow. I originally put that task on my list because the past several years we’ve had snow and I’ve sort of avoided it despite how much I loved it as a kid. So I wanted to experience that feeling again. I do intend to go sledding another time, but for now I feel like two out of three isn’t bad and I’m crossing this off my list!

    And that concludes our snowy little adventure. It also concludes another year of blog posts! Stay tuned for 2010 weddings, the rest of the 101 in 1001 list, and other fun randomness. Happy New Year everyone!

  • Patty & Travis – 12.19.09

    While all of our weddings are memorable in their own way, I think it’s safe to say that Chris and I will never forget Patty and Travis tying the knot on December 19, 2009 in the middle of a blizzard. As their wedding date drew nearer I thought, I hope we have good weather, but I guess I should have been more specific with my wishes! Despite the cold, the wind, and of course the snow, the day was beautiful and we were so happy to be a part of it. I’m going to show quite a few of my favorite images because there were so many guests who couldn’t travel due to the weather, and I know they’d love to see photos, so I’ll get right to it.

    While I couldn’t imagine wearing a dress at all that day because it was so cold, Patty wore two dresses – the first one for the ceremony was her mother’s wedding dress. And the flowers were arranged by none other than Patty and her bridesmaids!


    Patty’s engagement ring:




    This is the face Patty made at the exact moment she found out that Travis had made it safely to the church. Bride, check…groom, check. (Photographers, check!) We’re all set!

    Final moments of getting ready at the church:





    Chris’s shot of Patty coming up the aisle:





    I love these little glances during the ceremony!

    Another beautiful image by Chris:



    Okay, these two were absolute troopers. I didn’t have to beg much to get them outside for a few quick pictures while we still had some daylight. I probably don’t have to say this, but it was COLD.

    Then we were back inside for dress #2:





    A quick dance rehearsal before the reception:

    And once we were at the old historic train depot for the reception, I pleaded my case for a few more pictures outside. Both were happy to humor me!




    I love these next two images that Chris captured:


    Once we were back inside, Patty and Travis were able to thaw out and dance their first dance.

    Some beautiful parent dance images by Chris:



    If I heard the story correctly, the wedding cake didn’t quite make it to the reception (the delivery vehicle was stuck in a ditch en route!), but there was a groom’s cake and a cream puff tower standing in as sweet treats.

    The last couple times we went outside weren’t even my idea, nor was the snowball fight, so I can’t be responsible for a frozen bride and groom at this point! But doesn’t Patty look so cute in her boots?




    MOH, Sarah, and Patty are showing off their boots, but Chris and I were standing in a snow drift about two feet deep taking this picture and couldn’t see over the snow…

    I asked Dan, the MOH’s husband, to take our photo when Patty jumped into the drift with us!

    Birdseed exit!

    Patty and Travis, I’m so glad Chris and I could be there for your wedding – thank you so much for your hospitality! We enjoyed our little wintry adventure with you! Hopefully you’ll get a chance to warm up on your honeymoon. 🙂 Best wishes and congratulations!

  • Blizzard of 2009 – Day 2

    Saturday, December 19, 2009:

    • 7:55 am – Woke up hoping that somehow, miraculously, the snow might have stopped overnight. Looked out the window to see this (very little visibility, no sign of the snow slowing down):

    • 8:05 am – Showered, got dressed (in layers, a heavy coat, gloves and UGGs) and did the usual day-of wedding preparations.
    • 10:40 am – Ate a quick breakfast at the Raven’s Nest across the street which was open – hooray! We just had to walk through giant above-the-knee snow drifts to get there. Fun! No pictures of that since I’m clumsy enough as it is without gear in my hands. I did fall into a drift up to my waist. Brrr.
    • 11:00 am – Chris went out to clear the car so we could head over to the B&B where the girls were getting ready.
    • 11:35 am to 7:00pm – We photographed the wedding. An official wedding post for Patty and Travis is next!