Wait! It Can't Be 2017 Yet Until We See the Shannon Finney Photography Highlights!!!

It's been an incredible, non-stop 2016 for this gal with a camera! Watch the movie or skip below to see the highlights!!

There were Olympians...

Presidents and First Ladies...

There were visions of beauty and strength...

There were catwalks...

And starlets...

And people who didn't need fame to be fabulous...

There were actors playing superheros and civil rights heros...

And there were actors getting to meet their real-life heros...

Thank you for an incredible 2016!! Shannon Finney Photography will see you in 2017!

A Valentine's Day Love Story Fifty Years in the Making

OK, so maybe you're married to the love of your life or maybe you're nursing a broken heart on this Valentine's Day. But, no matter, your status, there is always room for one more love story, and this story stars Bill and Carla whose marriage of 50 years has seen children born and children grown, grandchildren, sickness and health. Here's to love - for love that is fleeting and love that is enduring, and here's to Bill and Carla who continue to show us how it's done!

Portrait of an Artist: Molly Smith

Photo by Shannon Finney, October 2012, Washington, DC

When Molly Smith was named artistic director of Arena Stage in Washington, DC, people wondered how a risk-taking champion of new plays, and old plays in new ways, would do in this buttoned-down town. Now, the question is what would this buttoned-down town have done without her. And while there have been countless articles written about her, seeking to describe and dissect her approach to theatre, the photograph above shows the simple of truth behind her dedication to this art form, and that is love - a pure love of theatre's ability to communicate directly to an audience. I took this photo as Ms. Smith was being serenaded by Nicholas Rodriguez, star of Arena Stage's current production of "My Fair Lady", singing "I've Grown Accustomed to Her Face."

The Friday Night (Pillow) Fights!

Pillow Fight, photographed April 2012, Washington, DC, by Shannon Finney Photography



Sometimes, when life gets too serious and you need to cut loose, then you'd better grab a pillow and a few hundred friends and let the feathers, or the foam, fly! The epic pillow fight, pictured above, was held as a part of National Pillow Fight Day, on the National Mall.

November Sky



November Sky, photographed November 26, 2011 in Washington, DC by Shannon Finney

Sometimes the perfect photograph happens when you're busy doing
something else. That was the case with this photo. My husband and
I were driving through Washington, DC after a birthday party for my mom.
We were fighting heavy traffic when my husband decided to take a detour
home, up Pennsylvania Avenue. It was dusk and and the warm day was giving
way to a cooler night. We decided to take our detour even farther, ending

up at the west front of the U.S. Capitol, and that's when I looked to my right.

My husband barely had time to stop the car when I darted out, camera in hand.
Dozens of people were milling about but all was quiet. I think we were all
captivated by the dazzling November sky blanketing us from above, this
celestial sea of pinks/oranges/blues. In a city with so many amazing
landmarks and architectural splendors - the Washington Monument,
the Capitol dome, etc. - it's nice to marvel at a truly natural wonder.

Selections from the Summer, Sand, and Sea Series

"A Prayer", Photo by Shannon Finney, April 2007, Outer Banks, North Carolina

When I'm at the beach, my favorite time of day is early

morning, before the brightly colored umbrellas begin

to dot the sand scape, before the first sandcastles of the

day have been constructed, and before the screams and

giggles of the children at play on a day at the beach. In

the morning, the only sounds are waves and gulls. On

the morning that I snapped this photo, I had noticed this

lone surfer striding down the beach, board in tow, each

step more deliberate than the next. And then he stopped,

and stood looking out. I don't know if he was praying or

meditating or just simply looking out, enjoying the view.

But for that moment, the beach was transformed into

sacred space.



A Very Special Cherry Blossom Festival 2011

In Full Bloom, photographed 2010, Washington, DC by Shannon Finney

The 2011 Cherry Blossom Festival officially opens this weekend in

Washington, DC, an annual ritual that celebrates the historic gift of the

cherry blossoms from Japan. And with the recent triple calamities that

have befallen the Japanese people, this year's festival has an almost memorial

feel. Growing up here in Washington, DC, I spent hours down along

the Tidal Basin, walking among the pink and white blooms. I also remember

how sad I was when the blossoms ceased their blooming, and all that once

lived seemedshrouded in death. But, then another year arrives and the blossoms

come back to bloom, back to life. It is a timely message of hope.

Ice, Ice, Baby!!

Leaf in Ice, from An Ice Storm series, photographed January 18, 2011 by Shannon Finney

Winter is my favorite time of the year to photograph. The skies are a

hundred different shades of grey, or the brightest, clearest blue when

the sun breaks through. I could hear the icy rain on the rooftop all

through the night, and when I awoke, I found the landscape outside my

door transformed. This leaf seemed to emerge from under 

its icy blanket. 

View more images from this series by clicking here.

Happy Birthday, Aunt Lucille



Aunt Lucille, photographed July 2007, Upper Marlboro, Maryland by Shannon Finney

My Aunt Lucille was always larger than life. She was tall with large hands and bright,

big eyes that barely hid the mischief behind them. She was my maternal grandmother

Sarah's,sister, and watching the two of them together was curious to me, as
I imagined them as young girls, two sassy women fussing with each other
and laughing with each other.  On the day that I took this portrait of Aunt
Lucille, she spied me approaching with my camera just as she was bumming
a cigarette from one of her nephews. Smoking had been Aunt Lucille's constant
vice and her children tried their best to get her to kick the habit. She smiled
at me as she sat tall and strong, her right hand gripping her walker,

her left hand clutching her cigarette, with a look on her face, a look

that I had seen her give my grandmother all of those years ago. A look of
defiance and mischief. My grandmother has long since passed away, and
Aunt Lucille died a few years ago, but what makes me smile is imagining the
first words that passed between these two as Aunt Lucille crossed the
threshold of those pearly gates,  welcomed home, a cigarette in her hands
and that rye smile on her lips.



Young at Heart



Young at Heart, photo by Shannon Finney

Some of the best photographs happen when nobody's looking. The couple in this photo are the grandparents of a young girl whose bat mitzvah was the reason for this celebration. While the crush of younger folk were heating up the dance floor, this couple was off in their own little corner of the world. It's the granddad's face that does it for me - there's a look of bliss, complete joy at holding his beloved. There is an old song by Eddy Arnold called "Come Live with Me and Be My Love" and one of the verses speaks to the sweetness and the promises of love: "Come live with me and be my love/and say to the autumn leaves turned to gold/stay and hold me in your arms/when the world is cold."