Third Day
March 1, 2010
I’ve met two people in my life that have the kind of joy Paul talks about “overflowing” in 2 Corinthians 8:2. One of them was a wonderful man named Enrique who lives in a tiny mountain village in the Dominican Republic, without electricity or other conveniences we take for granted. His face radiated joy.
The other is a friend I just had the privilege of meeting. Her name is Eve, and we met last weekend.
You see, I drove from a teacher workday on Friday back to Columbia so I could go see Third Day, my favorite band, at the WinterJam tour. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen the guys, and it was a much needed time of encouragement.
I only had my 50mm, so these are just a few shots of the concert I got. 
And here’s a video of Mac singing Love Song, per “request”. (All I’m saying is that it took 2 years of asking and 14 signs before they played mine…)
Afterward, I went to the WIRED Meet and Greet. While waiting with the other fans to go back, Eve came and sat next to me. She and I began talking about how many times we’ve seen them, our favorite songs, and other things like that. It turns out that the WIRED M&G is a present from her sister. You see, Eve is a huge Third Day fan (and I don’t say that lightly) who has been battling cancer for awhile. Throughout her journey Third Day’s music has been what’s encouraging her. Some of her favorites that she mentioned were Mountain of God, God of Wonders, and well, pretty much all the others. The Lord has used Third Day to strengthen her and focus her heart.
Eve was most excited about being able to meet the guys and tell them her story before the Lord calls her home, which will be soon.
As she shared this with me, the joy radiating on her face reminded me of Enrique. She was a living example of James 1:2, “Consider it pure joy, my brothers, when you face trials of many kinds”. I knew that meeting her was absolutely God’s orchestration. I wanted to spend as much time with her as I could, so I asked if I could take some pictures of her meeting the guys. She graciously allowed me to do so.
Here are a few of them.
First, some of Mark and David (who were closest to us) meeting other humans.
Finally, David was the first to come to us.
Sweet, sweet Eve.
David signing Eve’s Bible.
And Mac came next.
Sweet hugs after telling her story.
Talking with Tai.
And I only got 3 or so with Mark because it was time to take pictures. This was the only one in focus.
To Third Day, thank you for being a great band to follow all these years. I’ve not found another favorite. 
To Eve, it was an absolute pleasure to meet you. I am so excited that not only were we able to spend that evening together, but we’ll get to spend eternity together. I’m excited to recognize you in heaven and rejoice together that we’re with Jesus.
Much love to you (and everyone else!),
Dittmar Wedding
February 22, 2010
You remember Tyler and Alma? Well, at least you remember Alma from her bridal shoot.
They got married in January, and it was a wedding like no other. This was not in small part because in the middle of the ceremony, one of their groomsmen fainted! It turns out he just locked his knees and so he passed out, but it definitely made for an exciting moment. After the ceremony Alma remarked that him fainting made everything better for her, because she knew she couldn’t do anything worse than that!
I am so excited to be able to share these with you. I hope that the sweetness of their love is evident.
Tyler and Alma, many congratulations on your marriage, and thanks for the privilege of shooting your wedding!
Matt and Ashley…are in love
February 22, 2010
It was cold.
No really, freezing cold.
When I met up with Matt and Ashley at the USC Horseshoe, it was so cold that there was no one walking around. The wind was blowing and all three of us were shivering.
However, even the cold can’t dampen their love. Even though it was too cold to stay outside for 5 minutes, much less 45, they laughed and smiled and had fun.
And really, that’s typical for Matt and Ashley. I’ve known them for almost 4 years and their joy has always radiated. It’s obvious that their happiness and joy isn’t based on external circumstances, or being warm, but rather on Christ’s life in them.
Since this love shoot, Matt and Ashley have gotten engaged, and I am delighted that God has brought them together for a lifetime!
Congratulations again on the engagement!
Alma…is a beautiful bride.
February 21, 2010
Remember Alma?
Well, she got married in January, and the week before the wedding we got together to take some bridal portraits. We went to a lovely private home in Orangeburg and had a delightful time exploring it. It reminded me so very much of all the historical homes in Williamsburg and other places. It even had its own library!
Because Alma had a winter wedding, it was a fantastic idea to do a bridal shoot. It’s a great southern tradition, but I highly suggest it for girls who won’t have a lot of natural light at their weddings.
Enjoy her beauty!
Mason Wedding – Part Three
February 21, 2010
I wish that I could show you all of these pictures from the wedding – but there are just so many of them, so I had to pick the ones that I felt like expressed the Jesus-given joy of this wedding.
Here is the last part. If you didn’t see them for some reason, parts one and two have been posted!
Thank you Liz and Brandon. What a blessing to experience the love God has lavished on the two of you!
Mason Wedding – Part Two
February 21, 2010
These are pictures from the girls getting ready through the ceremony.
If you missed part one, you can find it here.
Part three is next – some of the portraits and the reception!
Mason Wedding – Part One
February 21, 2010
This blog post is a long time coming. I’ve had most all the pictures from this wedding done since last year, but there was one little set that kept taking so long to get done, and finally I knocked them out last weekend.
This is Brandon and Liz’s wedding from September. Yes, last year. Don’t judge, internet. Ok, judge a little.
Anyway, their wedding was one of the most joyous events I’ve ever been to. From all the wedding party to every one of the guests, it wasn’t hard to find a smiling face to take a picture of.
This also was a very DIY wedding, which made it even more fun. 2 days before the wedding a large group of us made the trek up from Columbia and the day before the wedding everyone pitched in to help decorate the gorgeous old buildings.
I wish I had adequate words to express this event. I hope that the pictures say enough.
Here are the pictures of setup and the rehearsal.
Part two, preparing for the ceremony and the ceremony itself, are coming next!
Lack of posts!
February 8, 2010
Once again, I apologize for the lack of updates. It seems that grad school doesn’t leave much time for photography!
I’ve got a few things to blog, but for now I’ll just show you some of the sights from Greenville, SC where I’m student teaching. It snowed last weekend and I ventured out for 5 chilly minutes.
Enjoy!
This is Biscuit. She and I would be good friends if it weren’t for the fact that she jumps on my school clothes (or my bare legs) when I’m leaving in the morning. Plus she’s so tiny I can’t see where she is right under my feet!
And this is Josh. He and I are MarioKart buddies. Plus I help him with the tricky things on MySims Agents.
Much love!
DJ and Natasha…are engaged.
December 10, 2009
“So what do you do with people who hate having their picture taken?”
After we said hello and prayed, those were the first words out of DJ’s mouth. He smiled as he said them, but I realized that there was a lot of truth in his words.
“I trust that you love her enough to take good pictures!” I said in return.
And my words were not empty, because if there’s anything that DJ has for Natasha, it’s love. It’s obvious he would do anything for her. And although there were many mishaps in our time together (dead batteries! cloudy skies! freezing cold temperatures! a mean lady at a church!), the one thing that was almost overwhelming was that love.
Every time DJ held Natasha’s hand, every time he looked into her eyes, every time he smiled at her there was a tenderness and kindness to his actions. He loves her.
Enough to take pictures for her.
Thanks for being troopers, DJ and Natasha!
Natasha is from Japan. These beautiful yellow leaves come from Japanese trees. Thus, I LOVE Japan!
Oh yellow leaves, how I love thee!
DJ being goofy, as usual
I LOVE the vertical lines!
Gorgeous girl!
Yeah, I loved those yellow leaves. A LOT. (one of my favorite ring shots ever)
We decided this was probably St. Francis of Assisi.
Holding hands behind a saint’s back!
Another favorite ring shot.
Very sweet and tender.
Natasha’s parents were married in this very same courtyard–crazy, right?
I really love this shot.
Such a sweet girl.
Such a tender look from DJ
It was sooo dark when I took this.
Perhaps my favorite from this shoot.
The other side of the courtyard where Natasha’s parents got married…thus the vintage editing.
Thank you both!
Tyler and Alma…are engaged
December 3, 2009
He takes her hand, and it’s comfortable. She leans her head on his shoulder. Comfortable. They look and laugh and smile and hold each other and all the while it’s comfortable.
My favorite love stories begin with “Well, we were friends for awhile…” Alma and Tyler’s story starts like that. They both were involved in their youth group and pretty soon they became involved with each other. Friendship blossomed into love and now marriage. They’ll be tying the knot in January and I am so very excited to be there and capture the best moments.
For this shoot I was privileged to have my friend Justin shoot with me–he’s going to be joining me second shooting their wedding and I’m excited to have him along. His pictures are noted.
First a few comfortable smiles.
Yes, Alma is that gorgeous.
I love this sign!
I photograph the most beautiful girls on the planet, I’m sure of it.
I get to photograph lots of good-looking men too.
I love taking ring shots. Love it!
Tyler and Alma made these cool signs with Bible verses on them. My view of 1 Corinthians 13:4-7.
Justin’s view.
And Genesis 2:18, 24.
Flip the sign over and it says…
Blowing dandelions was just too much.
Tyler’s turn
One of my favorites!
I love couples walking together.
Justin’s picture…:)
My view
Justin’s view
Justin’s shot.
Justin’s idea…Ephesians 5:22-23.
A little sass never hurt anyone.
Other favorite…gorgeous Alma.
(Here’s a secret…this picture was a lovely accident. I was actually just changing some settings on the camera and took this test picture!)
Seriously Alma…are you sure you’re not a model?
I love how sweet this picture is. LOVE it.
Gorgeous light, how I love thee!
Laughter out of kisses.
Yeaaaah girl.
And a few of Justin and myself in action, for fun.
Excuse my hot mess of hair.
Justin at work.
And taking the picture you saw above!
That’s the end. (And I promise I’m not that short, though I look like I’m 5′ 3″ here!)
That’s all for now!
