Emily wins the award for cutest look of disgust.

Matt probably wins “Most Dramatic”.

Patrice – fourth photo included to show how unbelievably unkind my husband is.

This is also my sex face.  You’re welcome.

Topher and Rob are playing it cool.

Here is proof I saw the oh-so-phallic Washington Monument.

Here is proof I saw the White House. Bam! I’m a “real American” now.  Just after I snapped this, Shasha and Malia came out and played on the front lawn with Bo.  This was exciting.

Here is proof my husband is cute, and also a hipster with those glasses.  They are Warby Parker, like mine, and now we sort of look alike which is a little bit creepy.

Here is even more proof my husband is a hipster.  He bought that sweater for $2 from some guy selling them from a table on the street.  It’s a “Van Heusen for her”, and I’m pretty sure this was in my mother’s closet in the mid-90′s, and that she wore it to often prayer meeting.

We ended up sleeping over an extra night last minute because we were exhausted when we got back.  Everyone went to bed around 11, but we woke up at four, and were wide awake.

“We could just drive home now…” Rob said.  So we did.  Around 6:30 we stopped at a rest stop in Maryland and went exploring.  We found this gigantic Big Boy shoved in a corner.

Rob insisted I pose with him, too, even though it was 6:30 in the morning and I hadn’t finished my coffee yet.  I gave him my best bershorn face.

Here is proof we watched the sun rise.

Here is proof that everywhere else is friendlier than New York.

I went apple picking on Saturday for the first time.  I’d never been and Rob was out of town, so I piled in the car with four friends and went to Outhouse Orchards.

This is Josh, originally from Michigan who now lives in Thailand.  He posed with some fall things, because he is awesome.

“It’s decorative gourd season, motherfuckers!“

We capped off our day with apple cider donuts.  (These are the orange corduroy pants.  They are perfect for apple picking and being seen from space.)

Oh hel-lo!

Back at BlogHer, Laura Boyd did a few photoshoots with some bloggers, including Yvonne from Joy Unexpected. They left me inspired to create some of my own.

I Iove women. You know those girls in college that always said, “I’m one of the dudes.” or “I get along better with guys than girls.”? I’m not them. I like girl power, gal pals, ladies lunch and all of the divine secrets of the traveling vagina monologues. So when I saw Yvonne’s photos, traditionally for a man’s taste but so “girl pretty”, I was excited by how empowering they were, and how empowered she said they made her feel. I wanted to create that, too, and I want this to be part of my business.

Apparently it’s not an especially tapped market, and many of the photographers that offer this have a more – ahem – “unwholesome aesthetic” or don’t have women with actual curves in their portfolios. Thus, anyone who doesn’t have an in-your-face kinky streak or has an extra pound or two is intimidated. You know, most of us.

Then I realized, of course, that I’d need a model to get me started on this, my first of hopefully many boudoir shots.

Thankfully, my friend Nicole is shameless and gorgeous.

So ladies, who’s next?

His name is Zachary, and he was at the corner of Union and Smith in Brooklyn, dancing and singing to himself in the rain.  Rob and I had to buy a lemonade from him.  He was just too cute.  (It was lost on neither of us that we sort of look alike.)

A while ago, my friend Emily asked me to take some photos of her son Jack, to commemorate his turning two. I LOVED doing this shoot, even though, or maybe especially because, it required me to get literally down and dirty; Jack is short, and the playground was all mud and wood chips.

You can see a few more selections on my photography blog, over at AmberMarlow.com/Blog

These photos are totally unedited. I shot them through my hair in my backyard in the setting sun. My curls make a good filter.

Alice asked me to do a boudoir shoot with her. At first I was shocked! Scandalized! But it was tasteful. She posted some of her favorites today, and they are pretty cute if I do say so myself! Click the link to read her post and see all of the pics.

Now is as good a time as any, I suppose, to remind you that I am available for hire to take your family photos or portraits, too; you can see my portfolios at AmberMarlow.com

Furry friends are optional, but totally encouraged.

I have some awesome photos up on my photo blog of Oliver, who belongs to Erica from Fucked in Park Slope.

Check ‘em!

The thought of having another blog makes my everything hurt. I suck at branching out and branding and all that stuff, but I thought it was important to have a separate space for photography-related posts. I dunno.

What I do know is that I’m really excited about the pics!