Today was the Festival Virgin del Mar, and they celebrated in Playa Sámara with a procession of ox carts on the beach.

Who, being loved, is poor?  ~Oscar Wilde

It happens. But, most of the time it’s pretty cool.

A few shots from Sarah and Zach’s wedding at Smith Mountain Lake. The perfect luck…… rain on their wedding day but not enough to dampen the party, only the party planners! I couldn’t have picked a nicer family to work with. Grandpa and Grandma were wedding photographers in the day so I enjoyed chatting them up for a bit. The bride and groom totally enjoyed their day and are off to a very happy Life together with their awesome friends and family. Thanks Sarah and Zach for making this such an easy day for us, I enjoyed every part of working with you both.  And a great big thanks to all the behind the scenes folks who worked so hard to make their perfect day. Awesome job from a crew of Roanoke’s top tier wedding professionals!

Flowers – Corsair Floral and Events

Catering – Schaal’s Catering and Events

DJ – RSP Entertainment

Planning and Coordination – That Wedding

Reception Venue – Bernard’s Landing

I just had to post this one of Cricket. I shot her wedding on June 5th and she looked beautiful.

As the Hokies get ready for the Spring Game I thought I would post a little  eSession I did at VT two weeks ago.

James, Jack and I ventured out on a three day backpacking trip in the Mount Rogers National Recreation Area last week. It was kind of the Four Seasons trip, starting out on Wednesday with temps in near 80 and ending up on Friday morning a bit below freezing. It was an awesome trip. I’ve mountain biked a lot on the northeastern side but I had never been to Mount Rogers on the southwestern exposure. I was truly amazed at the beauty, especially this time of the year before much had leafed out. It really doesn’t seem like Virginia at all. An added bonus were the ponies which seemed to be several places as we progressed through the trip.

It was Jack’s first time backpacking and he got a new pack just for the occasion. They say a large dog and carry 30% of their weight in a pack. We didn’t load him up that heavy, but it was pretty clear he had no problem with a mostly full pack. He plotted along a few feet ahead of us for most of the trip, turning around every twenty yards or so to make sure we were still coming. It’s pretty nice having a dog that you don’t have to worry about running off or getting lost. There is no way Jack would ever let us out of his sight long enough for that to happen. He is a joy, especially outdoors.

Here’s just a few pics from the trip. I don’t take any of my professional equipment on backpacking trips because of the weight, so these were shot with my little pocket Olympus that I hate so much. I guess I will get around to replacing it this summer. I kind of would like to get another Canon G series. I had a G1 about 10 years ago that I really liked. Now they are up to the G11. It’s a little big, but still portable, and much more adapted to manual shooting which is what I prefer. I think this trip convinced my I need a better knock around camera.

Sarah and Zach’s eSession was done at Mary Washington University and downtown Fredericksburg a few weeks ago. I normally don’t travel too far for an eSession but sometimes it just works out, and that’s great when the location has special meaning to the couple. It’s kind of a fresh challenge for me, too, and a break from the usual scenery.

This one also had a little side benefit for me. I grew up in a little town not too far from there and Fredericksburg was where you went when you needed to go to the “big city”. So, I had to give Sarah and Zack a mini-tour of what I vaguely remembered. We found my old pediatrician’s office and I still got that knot in my gut thinking about the top drawer on the right where he kept all the hypodermics. And I remembered the hilly and historic downtown which I believe was home to the only J.C. Penny I remember being dragged to for clothes shopping as a kid.

Today, Fredericksburg is not the same as it was when I was a kid. But, despite the sprawl and traffic that surround it, I found it to be much more pleasant. The old downtown is interesting and vibrant, the campus was beautiful, I got to meet and hang out with some really nice people, and I even got a bite to eat at one of the old Frederickburg eateries from way back. Most of all, I think it was particularly pleasant because I didn’t have to try on school clothes or get a shot. Yep, much better now :D

Spent the weekend in a PATC cabin by Shenandoah National Park and we had a spectacular sunrise coming through the ice covered trees right outside the cabin on Saturday morning.

…..and here’s the totally freakin’ gorgeous panoramic view from the front porch of the cabin. Just incredible!

Remember Pia from way back when there was a post on here trying to place her in a GOOD home after her not so great stay in a BAD home? Well, I’m happy to report that Pia is doing great. Jack had a sleepover with Pia last night and the two of them had a great time getting reacquainted. So, this morning I took a much awaited opportunity to have a photo session with the two of them. I wish I could do one with all six of them but I’m sure that will never happen. Anyway, here are a few shots from the session and I’m pretty darned pleased. Both of their personalities (which are remarkably similar, but still different) come shining through.

Pia is in the red collar.