September 28, 2019 Mountain Wedding in Downtown Asheville, NC

For the very last photos of their Charlotte engagement session, Laura and Chris (per Chris’s half joking idea) ran through a fountain. We finished our photoshoot all laughing; them completely drenched, Emmaleigh’s shoes and pants soaked through from holding a flash, me nicely dry but nonetheless ecstatic about our photos.

A few weeks later, Emmaleigh and I stood on the balcony of the penthouse suite of the Indigo Hotel watching an enormous rain cloud roll over West Asheville towards us, this time quite a bit less excited about the impending drenching.

Parent Photo Albums || Nicole + Chris's Highland Brewing Company Wedding in Asheville, NC

I loved giving people gifts. I love even more getting to make said gifts. From age 5 onward, whenever I could, I handmade all family Christmas gifts, starting as early as June to ensure that everyone’s was completed on time.

So, to be able to incorporate gift giving into my business has been a real pleasure. My favorite product that I started offering last year was a parent album, a smaller version of each couple’s photo album showcasing almost exclusively the images that the couple, the parents and siblings are in. This way, each parent gets their own commemorative album tailored to them, highlighting the moments that they were a part of.

Engagement Photo Album || Tara + Q's Zillicoah Beer Company + Beaver Lake Engagement Session

They loved so many of the photos that rather than try to narrow it down further, we decided to include near-duplicates (or at least photos in very similar poses/moments) which made for an interesting design challenge combining quite a few photos into one spread. I love the cinematic quality to their album because of this - as if each photo sequence is its own storyboard for a scene in their romantic flick.

Photo Album || Keya + Eric's Engagement + Elopement Weekend

My goal was to make the two separate photoshoots blend together into one cohesive story about their lovely weekend, although we only spend about 5 hours total with them. As we ended our engagement shoot (see the full post here) with the most beautiful summer sunset leaving our couple in awe, I decided to set the scene with this opening photo of our Blue Ridge Mountains bathed in color. Photos-wise, from there I moved forward chronologically, ending our first day’s image showing Keya and Eric walking into the distance, alluding to their walk towards their future as husband and wife.

Spain Day 3: New Horizons

To me, the idea wasn’t complete without a little “danger” so my plan was to throw off my dress as I was running towards the water and sprint in just in my underwear. Mind you, the water was probably only 50 degrees and there were still people walking at either end of the beach as well as along the boardwalk. But it was dark, I didn’t know anyone else there, and I was ready to practice being bold. So, I took a deep breath, tossed my dress to Erin and dove under the waves. I came up breathless, shocked from the cold even though I knew it was coming. I ran back in, ready to get warm. But somehow, I still wasn’t satisfied. I hadn’t fully reveled in the feelings of discomfort and uncertainty. So, I ran back in and this time held my breath under water for a few seconds, coming up to stand in the waist deep waves while I gazed into the vast, dark expanse.

Travel Prints || Portland Film Photos

Interestingly enough, while I've spent the most time out of any destination in Portland, Oregon I've shot the least amount of film there. This is probably because I'm always there to do portrait sessions, which I still shoot in digital. Nonetheless, each day as I'm walking to my meetings or shoots, I always have my Vivitar locked and loaded. Along the way, I've created some images I'm quite happy with, a very basic beginning in capturing the flavor of the city.

Branding Photos for my Branding Company

Kudzu Brands is without a doubt one of the best in the biz. I hadn't even met Murphy myself (my husband met her) before I knew she needed to be at the helm of my branding design launch. As we got to know each other, we realized we could create a beautiful symbiotic relationship wherein I would photograph for them for certain projects, especially environmental portraits as that's my specialty.

Iceland & Scotland: The Rest

I would be remiss in my duties as a traveloguer if I didn't document the last few days of my trip. Unfortunately, as I returned Stateside a week ago, the details are more than a little fuzzy around the edges so this could be an interesting test of what my brain can come up with.

My family seems to be full of adventurers and one of my favorites parts of the trip was simply listening as they told their tales of past trips in various countries, recounting what traveling was like in the dark ages before cell phones. Part of me would love nothing more than to ditch all of my electronics and fly into a new place with no agenda other than immersing myself in the culture. And the other part of me really enjoys being able to text home lots of pictures of delicious food to make my family jealous.

Iceland & Scotland Days 6 and 7: Searching for Nessie

Not much to report yesterday and I was very tired, so I decided to combine the two posts. We used all manner of transportation yesterday, first disembarking from the ferry, then taking a train through some beautiful countryside to Elgin, then hoping in the car to finally reach Craigellachie. Of the three, the train is certainly my favorite mode of transport as it is quick and efficient without us having to do any navigating or driving. I sure wish the States had a fully-developed national train system like many European countries because it would be so much easier to get from state to state.

Prints from Paris

Aside from the visceral experience of adventuring, my favorite part of travel photography is getting to enjoy those experiences and moments in time long after the trip is over. My apartment is covered with my favorite photos from each of my trips, not only serving as aesthetically pleasing decor, but allowing me to relive the stories that the images tell, be them of my own experiences or the subject(s) in the photos.