Fort Morgan, Alabama and Morris Avenue

hey hey hey -- this might be a random post. i'm trying to be better about blogging. it just takes a real effort. one of those things i am determined to do. maybe it's just easier for some folks - i don't know! anyway, steve and i just returned from our very first pre-marital counseling session, and it was FABULOUS. he is not quite as enthusiastic as i am about it, but he is at least content. i'm up for as many sessions as possible, and i'll let anyone know it. john richter at st. john's in cullman will be marrying us off, and i really like him a lot. i'm looking forward to the remaining sessions.

we were at the beach this weekend in fort morgan. what the weather forecasters said would be a rained out holiday turned into a beautiful, sunny, warm, painfully sunburned vacation. other than the fact that i am still hurting on my shoulders, it was a blast. steve and i went down to the fort and took some pictures. when we returned, my stepmom informed us of all the snakes that hang out in the cool hidden spots. i'm certainly glad i didn't think about that while i was leaning back in a corner trying to set the automatic timer. i haven't edited any of the pics, but i pulled this one out that i liked. i think it would be cool to do some portraits down there. i also have a favorite pier on the bay side of fort morgan road that i have always wanted to use for portraits. no one has taken me up on it though!



on another random note -- i haven't posted any other work i've done in the last few months, so i sized and loaded these pics from one of my favorite engagement sessions (of two of my favorite people - melanie and joey.) they are now married. i thought i had not posted these, but i realized i put the link to their slideshow in an earlier post. oh well. if you actually clicked on that link about 6 months ago, you will be seeing them again. at this moment, i don't have as much time to go back and add others! these were shot at morris avenue. you can count on your photos turning out super cool any time you're at morris avenue. i love these type settings.







i hope you all have a lovely thursday.

Back and Engaged - St. Bernard Chapel

Heeeeeyyyyy, I'm back! Well, I have been in relationship and marriage world for the last 2 months. I haven't even announced on here that I am engaged! It's easy to become quite focused on each other and tune the world out. But we are beginning to resurface. Steve asked me about my blog and if I had updated. So we checked it and burst out laughing at HAPPY NEW YEAR. It's been a while. I am now planning my own wedding, and it has been a great process so far. I have some great local suggestions if anyone is interested (cake, dress, etc...) We are having Nate and Arancha shoot the photos. I have worked with them once on a wedding and am very excited to have them hang out with us all day. Our date is set for July 25, so it's coming up! We are having a "garden wedding" in my dad and stepmom's backyard. Praying all the time for good weather.

Steve and I have been working on shooting more artistic photos for prints and such. So since I am a photographer and don't like to post without a picture...here is one for you. This is the chapel at St. Bernard in Cullman, Alabama. We aren't necessarily getting married there. But if you are Catholic, it would be divine. It is beautiful out there. There is no short supply of great photo opportunities. Have a great day!

Happy New Year!

Well, holy cow! I almost forgot how to blog - it's been so long. No, I did not fall off the face of the planet. Yes, I am still alive. I've thought about blogging recently, but it's been one of those situations where so much time has passed you just don't know what to say. Lots of things have been going on, and it's been a pretty busy time. And this will probably be short and sweet.

Hmm...let's see. Thanksgiving and Christmastime were crazy, because I scheduled many portraits. People are serious about getting those Christmas cards out on time, and I don't blame them. I love getting cards in the mail and seeing how families have grown and changed. Also, helped my friend, Carla, shoot a fun wedding at the Sonnet House in Leeds. Took a big road trip to Boston to see my mom (6 inches of snow and a windchill of -12 degrees!) Stopped in New York City....fun. My love life has taken a turn which is a bit awkward to suddenly announce on my blog...uh...but it's been a huge part of my life. So....needs to be said and has been quite unexpected and amazing. And Steve went with me on the road trip, which was a blast. Maybe I will put a couple of those pictures up later. In the meantime, I will post a few from the portraits over the holidays.

I haven't set as many defined goals for the New Year as I usually do, but I am working towards building up my photography business. That's the big goal with a bunch of smaller ones to go with it. It looks as though I will be moving back to my hometown of Cullman in March. I would like to build a foundation there but also expand nationally (for weddings and such.) I will still be working full time in Bham though. We'll see about it all. Here are some pics. And I just realized I did not resize them, so they are huge....

Sweet Lillie....




My friend, Jessica's, boys...Seth, Luke and Will...







Little Addy...who just became a big sister this week!



Her two favorite things: Roll Tide and Doe-does...





Also, I'm really looking forward to shooting a wedding this weekend for Melanie and Joey. This one will be at St. John's in Cullman. They are both so sweet. The engagement session was so special and fun. Here's the LINK to see their slideshow.

Holiday Inn

Hello friends and neighbors. I haven't posted a LAUGH for the day in quite a while. When this occurred earlier, I decided to bring back the laughs. My Dad is the source of this one. He loves to forward emails, and most of them are pretty funny. But I usually delete pointless forwards. You know...the ones that tell you that you're not a Christian if you don't pass it to 10 people. So my Dad sent me (and quite a few others) the one that tells you if you forward it to so many people, you're phone will ring and you're wish will come true in however many minutes equal your age, etc... Then it gives the 'true' stories of everyone else. I was like...what?? This is from my Dad? Seriously...

I replied to him: 'Dad...I have to be honest with you. You can't forward these type of emails and still remain at the coolness level where you are currently positioned.'

His reply: 'I know I don't usually forward these types of emails, but it was a test to see if my phone would ring. The test failed. My phone did not ring, but I did stay at a Holiday Inn last night.'

I thought that was hilarious. It might be funnier if you know my Dad.

Anyway, I thought I'd post a few more pics from Stephanie and Jody's wonderful day. I have been a color maniac lately. I still love black & white or antique style photos, but vibrant, rich colors are wonderful!



One of my favorites so far...

Stephanie & Jody - Wedding in Birmingham, AL

Well, I almost went so long without blogging I was wondering if I would even be able to still sign into it! Sorry about that, Blog. I have no idea why I neglected you for so long. I've been a bit busy. But anyway. I've been working hard on finishing the wedding pics for Stephanie and Jody who were married here in Birmingham at Trinity United Methodist Church and had a fabulous reception at Park Lane. These two locations were amazingly beautiful. Kathy G and her team have such a talent for unique details.

And to top it off, they had Neki Garrett from Engaging Celebrations coordinate it all. I think it was love at first sight for me and Neki! She is a dream-come-true! So sweet, organized, such a pleasure to work with. I hope I will be hanging out with her at many more weddings to come!

This wedding also had special meaning for me, because it's the third one I've shot in the same family! My friend, Dyroma, has surely sent me business through all of her cousins. The Browns are like family to me. As a matter of fact, I believe I'll be inviting Uncle Chris and Aunt Monica to my own wedding just so they'll dance (because they are the MOST fun ever!)

I'm still in the progress of editing photos but here are a few pre-ceremony that caught my eye.

The rings...


These hydrangeas were beautiful, and their main color was this bold, autumn orange that really stood out...


Getting ready....


Aww...soon after their first look before the wedding...

Portraits in Cullman, Alabama

Well, I have already come up with two New Year's resolutions. Can you do this so early? Does it mean I have to set them now? I guess they wouldn't be New Year's resolutions if I did that. Anyway, the first one is to floss more. Really...this is a matter of keeping your teeth, people. I hate flossing, but it's the greatest feeling after you do it. The second one is to make a bigger deal out of everybody's birthday. I just turned 30 years old on Friday (I'm not a granny yet! Let's not talk about that.) It really makes a huge difference when people celebrate your birthday with you. What if there wasn't anybody? I don't think I realize what an impact it makes even when you just send someone an email or card on their birthday. I want to do that more.

I've been hustling and bustling with portrait sessions here lately. I hesitated to post pics from them, because I'm trying to turn my focus on just wedding photography...and not take on any additional portrait clients. Since I work full-time, it's difficult to open up the time to do both. I could probably keep a business running just with my group of friends from high school! So here are a few from the last couple of weeks.

This is Kate and Allie (daughters of my friend, Kelly)......





This is Anna Hampton (daughter of my friend, Dyroma).......

I do love her even though she loves the Auburn Tigers!




She's not a big fan of bows though...

Randominities

What's up, friends? It's a been a long time no bloggin! My schedule is picking back up just a tad after my little break from photo sessions and/or weddings. And with football picks, who has time to do anything?!? I am shocked at how well I've done this week. So far I'm in the top 5 - woooo! I have no idea what I'll win if I stay there after tomorrow night's game with the Jets/Chargers. I do not have the experience and knowledge to be in the top 5, but I'll never tell my secret source of information....hehehe.

I did finally hit 88888 on my odometer! The number for new beginnings, right? It's still pretty cool that I hit it in 2008. My friend, Carla, and I were headed to Nashville, and I took a picture as we drove down the road. Here you go....



The other night, I went with Rebecca, Krista and Alex to the Switchfoot, Third Day, Robert Randolph and Jars of Clay concert. It was a BLAST! Because of these girls, we had free 8th row tickets and got to go back and meet Switchfoot. I had never even heard of Robert Randolph, but he seriously rocked it. Here's couple of pics....



Lead singer of Switchfoot...