How often do you go to a wedding and think “how could this be more perfect?”
If you’d gone to this wedding today, you would have thought exactly that. The sky was like a huge bright sapphire, the breeze was just about right, and the temperature and humidity were practically tailor-made. Just look at how beautiful that sky was!
Danielle came to us through referrals via magazine work we had done and the wedding work we also do. It was as important a wedding as any other, but somehow this one just seemed charmed. I spent a lot of time on the floor trying to get the right set of images that brought out the beauty of the front of this church.
Because we were fortunate enough to have a beautiful day, I asked the happy couple to take a walk with me after the wedding. At one point we stopped and I was a few feet below them and was making some adjustments to my camera. They looked at each other for a moment, pausing to ask what they should be doing at this point – and then did exactly what I’d hoped for, an impromptu kiss.
I haven’t met too many bridal parties that were so devoted and committed to the bride and groom. Here, Danielle poses with the TWO bridesmaids who caught the bouquet. Unusual, yes… but certainly a lot of fun.
Being afforded the opportunity and time to take some really nice portraits for Danielle and Ronnie gave us time to explore the surrounding woods at the reception site. Danielle ended up with a little tree sap in her hair, which also ended up on my shirt. But the images we got from this location was worth a little sap.
Interestingly, as I was showing some of the images from the wedding to Diana, this one moved her to tears. I suppose there is no greater compliment to me than to take an image that Diana finds such joy with.
It was a great wedding with a wonderful group of people. Don’t get me started on the cake incident or the band leader. Those are stories that you will have to wait for my memoirs on. 🙂
Quick… what’s more fun than a barrel of monkeys?
Yeah, lots of things. How about twin two-year olds and a five-year old? That has the potential for lots of things, including fun.
The Penningtons originally contacted us because they’d won the cover contest from Child Guide Magazine. Every two months, Child Guide picks an entry from the list and have a complementary photo taken at our studio – which ends up on the magazine cover.
Mom and dad were extremely patient, hoping to get the cover shot done quickly and move on to some other photos we’d offered to take for them. The cover shot was… challenging. Not because the kids wouldn’t cooperate, though. Only one child had to act up, and then the others would do something to top their sibling. It was most prevalent in the twins. Mom would come over to correct one two-year old and, not wanting to be outdone by his brother, the other two-year old would get up and start acting like he needed to do something sillier. The five-year old was fairly well-behaved, too.
We still managed to get a great cover shot (for the Holiday issue), and this gem below of the three boys in their Ravens shirts. Okay, so you can’t see he logo, but trust me. These are some really cute kids!
So I’m out at Morgan’s Grove Park this morning and I hear a man call to his wife and say “what is today?” I’m assuming he meant what the date was, since it was pretty obviously Saturday. Before his wife could answer, their child said “it’s Soccer Day!” and thrust his fist into the air joyfully.
And so it was, soccer day.
I spent six hours taking pictures of children six years of age and under, playing soccer. Some are deadly serious, others are just out for a run in the grass, and still others just astonish me by standing and watching – while IN the game! But they all seem to have fun. I enjoy the younger kids, because there doesn’t seem to be that compulsion to score, score, score. It’s just about having fun.
Made ya look!
No, that’s not a real crab on the roof. But it gets your attention, doesn’t it!?
One of this month’s assignments was to visit Chic’s Seafood in Hagerstown to get some pictures of crabs. I met briefly with the owner, who enlightened me on his business, his customers and seafood. I liked his place a lot, and hope to get up that way for some good seafood – soon!
You should, too. Easy to find on Summit Avenue in south Hagerstown.
13 years of wedded bliss.
So are you saying “yeah, right!”? Long ago, while unmarried, I never really saw myself as the marrying kind. Even into my early 30’s, I didn’t think I would ever marry. But I certainly didn’t believe that marriage could be as happy as this.
Oh, shut up! It’s my turn to talk. 🙂
Seriously… there were always a few naysayers here and there. Many had no idea what they were talking about when we got married. They didn’t understand what kind of people we are. It’s funny now to look back and think that 13 years have gone by – and so quickly!
What’s even funnier, though, is that it seems like each day we seem to become a little closer. We laugh together, cry together (usually at the same silly stuff), and we have a fondness for family and friends who we’ve treasured through the years. We’ve certainly been through our share of ups and downs… but marriage-wise I don’t think we’ve ever had a time when we doubted how things would turn out. Now we’re at the point in our marriage where we talk about what we’ll do in our 60’s and 70’s together. It’s fun knowing that Diana is always going to be there.
A tribute to my wife goes something like this:
She is truly my best friend, my partner and my soulmate. I cannot live without her, and nor would I be able to be happy knowing she would never again be by my side. I will always cherish her smile, her laugh and her love. We are so alike, and so different, that it is often hard to tell where one of us stops and the other starts. I have found my life’s partner – today, again.
I love you, Diana.
Have you ever been hugged by a chair?
On Friday afternoon, I was hugged for the very first time in my life by a chair. Which created something of a minor problem. I didn’t want to get out of the chair.
Jose Ayala brought two of his custom-made chairs for some photos to use in ads and website samples. Which in and of itself doesn’t sound like much.
Jose spent a lot of time with us, explaining processes, educating us about woods and craftsmanship, and in short showing us the absolute passion he has for something that he does to make very nice wood into a product that is not just a work of art, but a treasured heirloom.
The challenge was to do justice to something that was both beautiful and functional. There are so many features in these chairs, that I wanted to make sure a single photo could easily identify not just the features, but the beauty and craftsmanship that goes into them.
Many of you are familiar with the work I do for the Valley Homes and Style magazine. That is thanks in part to Margo Williams, who does a ton of work on that magazine, and the quality of it shows as a result.
Lindsay is Margo’s daughter, and we were honored to be taking her senior pictures. Lindsay didn’t want the typical school pictures that everyone is so tired of, so she came to us, with her doggie (a fun-loving mixed breed) and we did some pictures this afternoon.
They loved all of them, but this is the one that caught my eye the most.
We take a lot of pictures of babies, of all ages.
And throughout the years we’ve been photographing babies, we have never had two different sittings in which the parents wanted naked baby pictures in the same day. This was truly an exception, as we had two different sittings with two girls, one a year old and the other ten months. The first also had an additional outfit, but it was the naked pictures that truly brought out the fun baby pictures we love.
Each parent spent preview time with plenty of ‘ooohs’ and ‘aaahs’. It was a lot of fun for both babies, and we’re looking forward to more in the future.
A side note for those who follow our blog. Each year, we host a Most Beautiful Baby Contest. This contest runs from January 15-February 28 each year. In 2008, we will host our fifth annual contest. We are planning a lot of promotions for that contest, so stay tuned not only to our blog, but email us to be included on our exciting newsletter that will start going out to our regular customers in the coming weeks.
Many of the high-school seniors we see have some interesting back story that their mom or dad will tell us that sets us up to make a few great photos that mean something special.
Kayla’s mom told us that Kayla (whom she calls her “Mercedes”) rarely smiles. While not an unhappy child, she just doesn’t smile a lot. That kind of personality often lends itself to some really great mood photography. This photo, one of the favorites, brings out so much of who she is to other people.
As rare as it is, we always welcome seniors to have a picture with one or more of their parents. Although it took a suggestion by us, Kayla and her mom posed for a photo, which ended up being one of their favorites as well.
Kayla will graduate from high school in 2008, and we look forward to seeing her and her mom again in the future.
So, when you think about weddings you are likely thinking the young couple in love and having a big party with all the celebrations, and drinking and dancing and carrying on. Right?
That’s just about the usual, but not always. Harriet and Bill are quite the perfect couple. But both are in their later years, and it didn’t seem to matter one bit to how much happiness they had on their wedding day. Interestingly, Harriet actually seemed a little nervous, while Bill met with family and reviewed photos from an earlier reunion.
So this little guy became something of a treat for me during the wedding and reception. He repeatedly asked if he could take my picture. I obliged a couple of times, and the second time with my camera. This was our first encounter.
In case I had to tell you, he was the official ring bearer.
Following the service, Harriet and Bill offered up over 100 balloons to their guests to be released all at once. After taking a picture of everyone holding balloons, they counted down (1, 2, 3) and everyone released their balloons.
It was quite a site to see 100+ balloons headed skyward. With almost no breeze, the balloons stayed a steady course upward. Eventually, they started to move northwest, but not much. It was great to watch them. Harriet and Bill watched them for awhile, too.
After this release, and some family photos, I took the newlyweds down to a site I had scouted out earlier for a few photos of just them. It just screamed “PICTURE PLACE” to me. Diana added enough flair to make it a really stand-out image.
The wedding celebration wrapped up just after sundown.
Funny side story. The next day we met some friends at Three Onions restaurant in Shepherdstown for brunch. Not long after we were seated and enjoying catching up on things, Harriet and Bill and about ten more relatives came in to sit at a long table just across from our table. We accused them of stalking us at first, but quickly realized that they really liked good food, too. They were headed out the next day for a honeymoon.
Best wishes to Harriet and Bill for a great marriage!
Because we were fortunate enough to have a beautiful day, I asked the happy couple to take a walk with me after the wedding. At one point we stopped and I was a few feet below them and was making some adjustments to my camera. They looked at each other for a moment, pausing to ask what they should be doing at this point – and then did exactly what I’d hoped for, an impromptu kiss.
