Oh man! Busy, busy summer. Now, fall is in full swing and weddings and portraits and seniors and babies are everywhere. This is probably my favorite time of the year to shoot. It’s nice and cool (although I shot a fantastic session on a 100 degree day this year!), colors are turning here and there,  and skies are interesting.

Just a few from last week.

After a bodacious storm the other night which crashed our little eSession party, the skies parted and a spring day commenced. This shot makes me happy when I look at it.

Alex and Bryan are going to be married at Silver Hearth Lodge in June, but for their engagement session they had me come down to Elon University where they have lots of memories over the past several years. I love to travel to new places for eSessions and you really can’t beat a college campus for atmosphere and backdrops. There’s always an old building, nice grounds, and I’ve seen only a few that didn’t have a duck or a goose somewhere. Elon was beautiful and we had a great session. So now, the signing book is done and we’re just waiting for the big day. Here’s a few from their session. Some of their faves and some of mine.

I love The Signing Book and at Saturday’s wedding I was reminded several times why they’re so special.

Earlier in the day I had asked the groom what he thought of it as only the bride and her mom came by the studio to pick it up and take a first peek. His comment….. “It was way beyond what I expected”. I get that kind of comment a lot from my clients. They’ve seen my sample albums and signing books. They’ve looked at a proof of their own before it goes to press. But, to see a finished album or book and hold it in their hands is something special. They thumb through the pages and see a portrait of their life,  a “forever” piece that captures a very, very special time.

It made me think of wedding albums, too. I feel sorry for today’s couples who forego the album for a “disc of images and copyrights please”.  They miss the real “art” of their day, the final piece that keeps it fresh forever. Sometimes it amazes me that they will drive around in a $ 25,000 car that will be a bedraggled heap of rust in 50 years. But, the wedding album which would have been loved by them, their parents, their children and their children’s children, never was. It just doesn’t make sense. It’s such a small investment in comparison.

Anyhoo, back to the Signing Book. It was the end of the day and the bride and groom had been sent off by all their family and friends. I wandered back up to the reception venue and to the table where the signing book had been for the evening. I thumbed through it and, despite the fact that I knew it intimately, the last time I had seen it it hadn’t been loved yet, at least not thoroughly loved. As I went from page to page, I noticed it was completely full. Not just signatures with “Best Wishes”, but messages of love, affirmation, encouragement, remembrance and  reflection.

So, there it was. The flowers were stunning and made for a spectacular day. But, soon they were to be no more. The food was amazing and everyone raved about it as they enjoyed the evening, but now there were only empty plates, balled up napkins, and ice melting in the glasses. The band was awesome and everyone danced the night away. Now they were packing it up to head home as the party was over. Yet, over in the corner the Signing Book was still there, better than ever; filled with beautiful photos, memories, and words that will last forever. And in my bag with used up batteries, sweat soaked napkins, lens caps strewn galore, were the photos that will be crafted into the story of their day. The beautiful custom wedding album awaits the rest of their life.

So worth it :)

Kemper

What a better time to post a 26 degree eSession at Virginia Tech than SPRING! Outdoor portraits in the winter can be a challenge but whenever circumstance dictates it a must, they have turned out stellar in my opinion. Sometimes the lack of green can really be a good thing, and what a nice surprise to trot up to Blacksburg and find just enough snow on the ground to make things extra nice. Oh, and added bonus, since both the bride and groom to be are chemists and met spent a lot of time in the chemistry lab cooking up those love potions, they wanted to do part of the shoot in the lab. Hmmm. Creativity and fun a must! I love different stuff and I love these.

Happy Spring everybody!

Alison and Will are getting married in a couple of weeks and I was busy this week putting their signing book together. Their eSession last fall included the pups which always makes for an interesting shoot! I gotta admit I came away with a certain fondness for Pugs. Here are a few from their session. Some are my faves and some are theirs.

Who, being loved, is poor?  ~Oscar Wilde

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

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

As the incredibly busy fall wedding season came to a close, it was time to squeeze in an eSession for Stephanie and Matthew, a couple who is getting married next June and wanted beautiful fall colors for their backdrop. As many of you may recall, especially if your were GETTING married in October, it was not the driest month on record. So, just finding a sunny spot was a bit of a challenge for most of the month. But, we picked the perfect day and here were a few from the last eSession of 2009! :)