Maryland Family Photography // Must Love Dogs // Patterson Park, Baltimore

​Before we bought our house, Alex and I lived in Baltimore City. We rented the most adorable little townhome in Canton that I still drive by whenever I’m in the area. Hopefully the current tenants haven’t noticed! I learned a lot of things while we lived there. I learned there is nothing quite like the satisfaction of finding a parking space on the same block as your house. I learned you can spend a lot of money when everything you love is within walking distance. And, maybe most importantly, I learned that Baltimore loves their dogs.

​Other than our oddly personable fish Shane, Alex and I don’t own any pets. The beauty of living in the city is that you don’t have to actually own a dog to feel like you do. Whenever we went for a walk there were fluffy dog snuggles to be had. Any time we peeked out the window (literally any time!) we would see someone strolling with their pup. It was awesome! And we definitely miss our fur neighbors as much as our human neighbors from that time in our lives.

​You would think, with these lessons in my back pocket, that I would have taken something called BARCStoberfest a little more seriously. This is an annual event at Patterson Park that celebrates - you guessed it - dogs! BARCS is an incredible organization in Baltimore that takes in strays and surrenders, and works tirelessly to find them loving, permanent homes. Every year, they have a festival to celebrate their furry friends and raise money for their cause.

​The Bryk family and I chose that day to have their family session.

​Beyond the fact that it took me about 25 minutes to find something that barely resembled a parking spot, many of my favorite Patterson Park locations were being occupied by our four-legged friends. This meant either wandering around to find ideal lighting or posing in front of a rather large audience of dogs and their loving parents.

​The bonus? Olivia loved watching all of those cuties running around and was much more willing to pose for photos when we were in the more heavily crowded areas. Although taking photos is tons of fun, I think we were all a little tempted to just stay in the thick of things and participate in the festivities!

We had a great time strolling through the park on what turned out to be a beautiful fall day. I loved hearing about their experiences living in Baltimore and comparing it with ours. Canton is such a tight-knit community and I will always look back fondly on our time there. I love getting the chance to go back and take photos in one of my favorite places!

Take a peek at some of my favorites from the Bryk’s session. You can tell how much fun all three of them were having. There’s just something about being surrounded by dogs that brings out those genuine smiles!