05-16-2013

Some thoughts, and some double exposures

So, I have some down time this month before wedding season really kicks off for me in June so I’ve been trying to “re-kindle” some old loves of mine. I’ve read a few books (Secret Life of Bees and EXPOSED: The Magazine, both inspiring in their own way), I’ve explored different foods, I’ve been training for a 5k (I know, I know…some people can not exercise a day in their life and wake up and run 3 miles. I, unfortunately, am not one of those people), and I’ve messed around with my guitar a bit more. I used to play all the time in high school and college, but it’s been less than sporadic these last 3 years. It probably doesn’t help that it hasn’t even left its case since we moved to Atlanta this past January. So, last weekend I finally got it out, dusted it off, and learned a few new songs. It felt soooo good to play again, despite the fact that I was a little rusty…it’s been so long, that my fingers nearly bled AND I literally pulled a muscle in my hand. That’s embarrassing.

To make certain that another 9 months doesn’t go by before I pick it up again, I hung it in my office. Hopefully it’ll get a little more use  ;-)

We also recently upgraded to the mark iii (a little sooner than planned, but I’ll take it!) so I’ve been messing around with some of its fun new features, mainly the multiple exposure feature. I’m still trying to figure out what works and what doesn’t, but it’s been crazy fun. Here are a few recent ones…

edited with VSCO. Only, the best.

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05-10-2013

Happy [early] Mother’s Day ‹‹ Featured ››

I can’t believe it’s already coming up on Mother’s Day! This means that April is way in the past, and that’s sad because I don’t remember anything about last month.

But it’s true. Mother’s Day is in 2 days! I remember this always being a fun day as a kid because it usually meant going to a nice restaurant and getting a delicious meal – yes, I constantly think about food. I also remember the BEST gift we ever got my mom. I was probably around 10, making my sister 12 and my brother 5. We were living in Chesapeake, Virginia, and there were these gorgeous buttercup fields all over, and my mom LOVED them. So, the 3 of us kids got dressed up (matching blue jeans and white shirts, haha) and my dad drove us out to the field and we snapped a few pics. We picked the best one, got it framed and wrapped it up. I know this was the best gift, because when my mom opened it, she cried…SUCCESS!! It’s literally hanging in her kitchen today, reminding my sister, brother and I how incredibly awkward we looked at the time. Man. Those days were rough  ;-)

Anyway, the one and only Southern Weddings did a mom feature today on their blog, featuring some sweet mom/bride/groom moments, and one of mine got picked up! Go check out their post here to see all the motherly love!

Having a great mama is something special, and I grew up with a fantastic one. I’m sad I won’t be able to spend Mother’s Day with her, but she’s gonna LOVE our gift! Happy Mother’s Day to all you moms out there. Keep raising awesome kids because they might just change the world one day.

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05-06-2013

What I’ve been thinking about all weekend

I just finished reading Jasmine Star’s EXPOSED: The Magazine and I rather enjoyed the whole thing. If you’re a fan of her, then you already know she’s an excellent writer and communicator, and her magazine was nothing short of that. I’ll try to do a re-cap blog post of everything I took away from it soon, but one of the main themes throughout the whole publication was to constantly focus on making yourself better. The exact quote (from JD actually) is:

“We all have our own unique abilities. Don’t focus on what others can do, but, rather, what you can do to make yourself better.”

I’ve been thinking about it a lot this weekend. Not only does this thought apply to business, but also to life in general. Everyone falls prey to jealousy, coveting, wishing and wanting, buuuuuut I think everyone can agree that that gets you nowhere.

And while I’m excellent at avoiding this during the busy season, to be totally honest with you, I struggle with it during the not-so-busy season.

Idle hands.

Hmmm. Isn’t there a book or two in the bible that talks about this very thing? Oh oh oh yeeeeeah: “Idle hands make one poor, but diligent hands bring riches.”  And while in its literal sense, that’s definitely true, its metaphoric sense is strickingly obvious to me as well.

I woke up this morning and if I’m gonna be real with you all, I immediately fell into this slump. I’ll go ahead and blame it on this gross weather we’ve been having lately, but as I sit here and type this blog post up in a coffee shop (yes, I had to GET OUT OF THE HOUSE), listening to the Civil Wars Pandora station, I know it’s not reeeeeally the weather. But I’m okay with that because I forced myseld to *snap* out of it, and now I’m sitting in this bustling coffee shop, surrounded by people who are working hard, and keeping busy, and I’m enjoying some green tea as I think about how I can make myself better. Not just as a photographer, but as a person. a wife. a sister. a daughter. a friend.

Whew! What a truck-load for Monday, huh? Can’t wait for the rest of the week  ;-)

p.s. Let’s connect. Follow me on Instagram. I post awesome photos ^^^ like this one ^^^

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Lisa Lupo - You’ve summed it up perfectly. Seriously a great reminder! I live in Washington and I’m so guilty of these feelings (jealousy, coveting, wishing and wanting) during the winter months – when it’s dark and cold and ugly. But like you said, we just have to snap out of it and be reflect on ways to make ourselves better as a whole.

Keep up the amazing work!

Christina DeVictor - Craziest thing ever. I literally just read that scripture this morning! I’ve been doing a Proverbs study and couldn’t help but sit on those very words today. Thanks for the honest post. We all could use this reminder more often.

1 Peter 5:10

Meg - you are frickin awesome. you should come visit cali!

04-30-2013

Chelsea & Justin ›› Piedmont Park Engagement Shoot ‹‹

They met at a bar. He had just finished school, and she was eager to finish up her last year at GA Tech. He helped her get through those last credit hours of grueling hard work, and now they’re both college graduates, in love, and planning a wonderful Atlanta wedding.

We decided to meet in midtown at Piedmont Park for their engagement shoot. I always forget how big that park is! I can’t believe it’s right in the middle of the city. I’m glad it’s big though because there were a million people there since it was the first sunny/warm day in about a week. The park was buzzing with kickball teams, joggers, dog-walkers, and kids playing. It was the perfect “Welcome to Spring” moment just walking around a gorgeous park with the skyline in the background, and the sounds of birds chirping, kids laughing, and games being played. It was PERFECT weather and PERFECT light, and we all had so much fun walking around.

After using up all of Piedmont Park, we walked over a few blocks to the heart of midtown where things got saucy. Seriously. These two brought some heat. I was editing through the pics last night and thought, “daaaaaaaang!”

Don’t believe me? Just see for yourself…


 

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jamie - these. are. gorgeous! great use of light and so creative! that couple is stunning too. well done!

Susan - Very nice, they make a lovely couple.

04-29-2013

Whimsical Seaside Dessert Buffet ‹‹Malibu Wedding Photographer››

I think I could shoot on the beach everyday.

I wish I could shoot on the beach everyday. 

One day I *will* live by the ocean, and then I *will* shoot on the beach everyday.

I digress.

This shoot required a little bit of an adventurous spirit. Why? For starters, we had to carry ALLLLLLL of this stuff down 200 stairs to the ocean. Secondly, we didn’t take into consideration the changing tides, so when we got down there high tide was quickly moving in on this already extremely shallow beach. There was also a good chance we could get stranded down there if we didn’t work fast enough (we weren’t sure if the tide was going to come all the way up to the cliffs, and totally sweep us all out to sea!). Thankfully, high tide peaked, leaving us a few feet of safety in between us and the rocks.

My sister-in-law (the one from this shoot) owns an etsy shop called iSewpose, filled with super cute hand-embroidered pieces. I’ve been trying to convince her for a while now that there’s a market for that kind of stuff in the wedding industry. We finally decided to plan a mini stylized shoot, along with her good friend, and baker extraordinaire, Kristi – owner of Tempt Cupcakes and thought a seaside dessert buffet was perfect.

iSewpose created whimsical dream catchers which were the perfect accent to Kristi’s amaaaaaaaazing cupcakes and ombre rose cake. Seriously. Her cupcakes are amazing. Not only are they cute and delicious, but she specializes in some of the coolest fillings ever: irish car bomb cupcakes, eggnog & rum filled cupcakes, chocolate raspberry amaretto, peach bourbon, caramel macchiato martini…I don’t think I need to go on. I’m pretty sure I ate an entire box over the 3 days I was out there.

If you’re in Los Angeles…or even CLOSE to L.A and you’re looking for some unique hand-made details for your wedding, or a yummy dessert buffet, I would check out iSewpose and Tempt Cupcakes RIGHT NOW.

Also. If you’re in Malibu, or driving through, you should stop at El Matador State Beach. Try to make it at sunset…you won’t regret it.

Enjoy our colorful, ombre wedding inspiration shoot!

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