Cullman Halloween Costume Mini-Session

hello there, goblins. i'm not even sure what a goblin is, but i like the way it sounds.
well, everything is gearing up here for the halloween mini-sessions in the new studio! bring your kids by for some portraits in costume or even a cute halloween outfit. (rain or shine.) we'll have a fun, festive background that will help create photos you will enjoy for years and years to come. : )

it's hard to not think about christmas, that's for sure. but the focus is on saturday. i'm posting below some information regarding the packages for those planning to stop by.

the mini-session will last about 10-15 minutes. i imagine we'll end up with 5-10 unique proofs from this amount of time. all ages are welcome! that means you big kids too - if a photo of your well-thought-out costume would be of value to you! times are available to schedule from 12pm to 6pm. an appointment is not necessary though, if you don't mind waiting a few minutes. we'll also have candy!

you will be able to choose a package out of the three. we'll get your contact info, payment and package choice. within 2-3 days, you will receive an emailed link to an online gallery of your proofs for viewing and further ordering (if you wish.) once you choose your favorite shot and let me know, we'll print the images from your package and notify you as soon as they're ready to pick up. it should be a quick turnaround time.

location: historic west side (thompson's) furniture building - right off highway 278 across from office equipment and next door to f&o architects.

feel free to shoot me an email or give me a call if you know what time you'd like to come by!


PACKAGES
(all include online proofs available for order -- 1 package per family)

JACK O’LANTERN -- $40
Includes --
Session Fee
1 5x7
1 4x6

SCARECROW -- $60
Includes --
Session Fee
1 8x10
1 5x7
1 4x6
4 Wallets

CANDY CORN -- $80
Includes --
Session Fee
1 8x10
2 5x7
2 4x6
8 Wallets


and of course, i must include at least one photo. this is a shot of avery and bennett (dorothy and the lion) from last year. the lion likes to enjoy a green sucker from time to time........

Studio and Halloween Sessions - Cullman, Alabama

Whoa nellie...I'm not even going to talk about my lack of blogging, because I always start out a blog post that way. I will say that lots of exciting things are going on. My to-do list grows and grows, but it is not full of many things that I'm dreading. How nice.

Big news on the homefront is that my studio is almost complete! There are many details that come along with that news bulletin, but I will save them for later. The studio will be in another business...a SUPER COOL business right here in the heart of Cullman, Alabama. Who would have ever thought??

If you have kids who will be sportin' some fun or scary costumes on Halloween, we are setting up the studio for all day mini-sessions. You can come by before trick-or-treating, visiting with family or festivals, etc... and I'll snap some professional shots with them all dressed up! I'm really looking forward to this. What a blast. I will post more details with what the package includes. Short and sweet for you so you can head out and go get some candy!

Up next -- a few shots I've been meaning to load on here. This is Anna - who is a Senior this year. Her mom asked me to do a small session with her in her Phantom of the Opera band costume. They were placing pics in the football program too. Anna is SO beautiful and photogenic. She was fun to hang out with. I hope I'll be doing more of their family, because I certainly enjoy them! Here are a few of my favorites......







And sometimes you need randomness:

-Isn't the cold weather great? I'm always ready for a change of season. I like scarves.

-I am getting a new cel phone next week. My END button doesn't work. For a few months now, I've had to click into the menu and scroll up to end a call.

-I live with a man now. It is different than living with a woman. But I'll be cheesy and say that just when I think I couldn't love him more, the next day I just love him even more. It's bananas.

-Today a rock hit my windshield while on the interstate and it looks like a bullet hole. Yikes!

-If I regularly sold items on Ebay, I would be more addicted to checking it than Facebook.

-I was married 3 months ago, and I still have thank you notes to write.

-Saturday is the 1 year anniversary of mine and Steve's 1st date. That night when we were in the car, I told him I was so nervous I thought I might get sick. It got better though.

-I like to buy gasoline locally. The Clean Fuels station on 278 always has the lowest price, and they are my friends now.

-I am looking forward to seeing the new Michael Jackson movie.

The End. Goodbye.

Love and Marriage - Cypress Lakes Country Club - Muscle Shoals

Well, hello there, blog world! I am now a married woman! What a change in life over these last few posts. I thought I was doing better about blogging, but I was just fooling myself. Things are settling a bit after a crazy last few months. It was been wonderful though. When I get some wedding pics back of our own, I will post them and share. Being married has been an interesting thing. So far I love it. When I have said that to numerous people, the response is - "just wait...that will change." Hey - thanks for the encouragement! : ) But I think it could mostly be about attitude. I know it won't be easy, but I am so grateful for an amazing husband. Nope, he's not perfect - but thank God, because neither am I!

One month before my own wedding, I shot Laura and Denny's wedding at Cypress Lakes Country Club in Muscle Shoals, Alabama. It was a beautiful spot for an outdoor wedding. Yes, it was blazing hot during pictures, but right before the ceremony, their prayers were answered. The skies turned cloudy and a breeze came through. It was perfect! Here you go!

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...