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!
Michael and Ashley…are engaged.
November 26, 2009
me and you and you and me
no matter how they toss the dice, it has to be
the only one for me is you, and you for me
so happy together
The Monkees never had it so right–if there are any two people perfect for each other, it’s Michael and Ashley. After all, their engagement shoot was at the same playground where they got engaged, at the church where they both do youth ministry…they’re fun and joyful and very excited to get married to each other. I was so glad to be part of a couple that was so full of life that obviously comes from Jesus (John 15).
Sass-ay!
The bling!
What else do you shoot in at a church? The church bus.
Absolute favorite.
Oh, Ashley…beautiful
I, being the smarty I am, said “you two have matching eyes”. They responded “Yup, and that’s why we’re getting married.”
Adooooorrraaable.
The one request? A jumping picture. I’ve seen a lot of them, and this one is pretty awesome.
And one last demonstration of their crazy fun awesomeness–these are from their handshake. Who has their own handshake? Michael and Ashley, that’s who.
Thank you both!
Joe and Ana…are in love.
November 26, 2009
Yeah. That’s my man.
Very few words are found as often on Ana’s lips (with the exception, perhaps, of “I digress”). There’s no mistaking what’s going on.
They are in it.
Theirs is a deep love, a stick-it-out love, a love for the long haul. It’s found rarely, and especially rarely found so young. And yet, it’s theirs, because of God’s grace.
I have the fantastic privilege of getting very photogenic roommates. First was Rachel. Now Ana is my roommate. And not only am I friends with her and Joe, but I get to take their pictures…again.
Joe and Ana recently celebrated their two year anniversary. We didn’t take these pictures on their anniversary, but it was close enough to count.
(and get used to these faces…you’ll be seeing them for years to come)
Perhaps my favorite of all time.
Um, hello gorgeous!
“Ana, look pretty!”
Dear world: this is a fantastic woman.
They whirled around at the exact same time.
Joe explaining…something.
(I’m sure Joe would say “that’s my woman” too)
One of the best dips I’ve ever seen.
STUD.
Joe and Ana love baseball.
I just love this one–it’s a favorite.
Air baseball…
Really, really ridiculously good-looking.
Um, yes.
After the sun had set…
Drew and Janae…are in love.
November 25, 2009
His eyes light up.
He looks over at her, sometimes when she’s not even looking at him, and his eyes light up. In that moment he is completely vulnerable. He’s saying “you have a part of my heart that no one else does. I could talk to you for days, spend hours at a time with you, and stare at you the whole time. You’re beautiful and lovely and you’re mine and I’m thrilled that you are.”
That’s the look that makes me love photography. And Drew and Janae’s shoot was filled with them.
You see, Drew saw Janae her first week of school and immediately was head over heels. He decided to do whatever it took to get this girl to be his. So he did. And Janae? Well, she knows a good thing when she sees it. So one year later, I had the privilege of shooting a Love Shoot with them, a surprise for their one-year anniversary.
Let’s start with some fantastic light, shall we?
Coming soon…
November 11, 2009
I’ve been very busy this semester, and blog posts are forthcoming from….
Brandon and Liz’s wedding:
Joe and Ana’s Love shoot (and sort of Two Year of Love Shoot)
Drew and Janae’s One Year of Love shoot…
Michael and Ashley’s Engagement
Keep your eyes peeled–these are such beautiful people and really fantastic shoots!
Protected: Carolina Gymnastics Center
November 8, 2009
Jay and Joy
September 28, 2009
My favorite part of taking Jay and Joy’s pictures was the willingness they both had to trying some unconventional places where we took their pictures. We went to a laundrymat, an abandoned motel, a college that is not ours, a seminary that is also not ours, a street, and a small diner. In all of this the afternoon was filled with laughter and joy and the kind of delight that I find only comes when the couple is in love.
So here they are…Jay and Joy.
Why hello, beautiful eyes!
Yeah, Joy…you’re smoking.
Funny story–the police thought I was taking a picture of them for a second. Jay and Joy had to assure them that I wasn’t!!
Thank you for the privilege of shooting you!!
Brandon and Liz
August 7, 2009
Brandon and Liz are in love. Period. He looks at her and it makes him smile. She looks at him and it makes her smile. And although it has been a rough road at times toward marriage, the two of them find there is remarkable strength when they are pointing one another toward Christ. And when they are reflecting His love toward one another, a beautiful thing starts happening and they began reflecting His love to all those around them.
This post is far too late in coming, but at least it comes before their upcoming nuptials! They’ll be getting married in Pennsylvania and I am delighted to get to shoot their wedding!
Since they are both outdoorsy folk, we started in a field.
