Welcome to the world, sweet baby Connor!

   So you know that old song that third graders sing to each other? First comes love, then comes marriage... then comes a tiny little person who will take over your entire heart in the space of six seconds... Right?
  In this particular case, I've had the privilege of knowing Mary and Bryan since long before their happy marriage a few years ago. Check out their fun engagement shoot as well as their amazing wedding post from days gone by.
  But now, there is a new man in their lives. Little Connor is the sweetest little newborn baby. All wrinkly and precious. I adore him already. Thanks so much to both Bryan and Mary for showing me a tiny window into your happy little family. I wish you many other happy memories in many, many years to come. Love you all!
  Congrats to Mary, Bryan and Connor! Here are a few of my favorites from the day. Enjoy!

Durham Easter 2013

In the fine city of Durham, Vintage Church puts on a fantastic celebration of Easter. It's one of my favorite events on the church calendar. Not only do we get to be outside in the sunshine, hanging out at the Durham Farmer's Market, loving on our fellow Durham-ites, but we get to have a great time ourselves.

Of course, there is some Jesus time thrown in, because it kinda makes sense to talk about Jesus at an Easter celebration, but mostly its just sunshine and joy.

Double points if you can figure out which two images are two sides of the same view. Hint: the one of yours truly is one of the two!

  Here are a few of my favorites. Enjoy...

A Fishy Story at the Atlanta Aquarium

At times, it is important to take a break from behind the camera and enjoy some family time. Well, I'll be honest. I tried that. I managed 50%. I completely enjoyed my family time but couldn't break away from my lenses. My family is a family of simple joy. We think nature and science and history are cool and often take vacations that touch on one or more of these themes.
  Recently, we packed up the extended family and journeyed to Atlanta. While we were there, the Atlanta Aquarium called our name and we went to go swim with the fishes. Actually, we just watched other people swim with the fishes. In the deep blue, there are some really, really big fishes.
  Here are a few of my favorites. Enjoy...

Hernandez family Rocks out!

   Who's that familiar face, you ask? Why, that's our favorite Michelle and Brian back with her awesome family. This time, not only do we get to re-meet sweet Easton, but we have Michelle's brother, AJ, and sister, Brooklyn, as well as awesome Mom.
  Hey hey, the gang's all here! This particular family togetherness is inspired by AJ coming home from the Marines. To celebrate, of course, Brooklyn came out rocking electric blue pants and Easton was cuteness embodied. Michelle just smiled and raised the bar with neon yellow shorts and a pink that was absolutely to tie to die for. What an awesome shoot! Thanks so much for letting me be a part of your family, if only for the evening. I had so much fun!
  Here are a few of my favorites. Enjoy...

Emma turns three whole months!

Friends, bloggers, country men... let me introduce to you... the fabulous Emma.
Recently, I met up with my good friends   Molly and Ben to get better acquainted with their daughter, darling Emma. Honey, let me tell you, she is a diva waiting to happen.
I had the BEST time taking photographs of this little sweetheart on her third
"month-iversary." I love everything about how this turned out. I loved the hair bows, the feathers, smiles and the pearls!!
But best of all, I love the family together in these pictures, so laid back and so happy just to be taking it easy in the sunshine. Clear skies above and sweet smiles all around. Thanks again for letting me be a part of this day!

Take a look... here are a few of my favorites...

Newborn Ashlyn Makes Her Entrance!

Remember just last month? We went for a beautiful, blustery day in at Duke Gardens in Durham, NC with Leanna and Ben. They were such a precious family ... even with only two and a half of them there!!
   Well, allow me to welcome Ashlyn to the family, just in time for Easter! She is indeed a photogenic and darling little child. She loved all our soft blankets and she adored being wrapped up tight and warm. See if you can photo the shot where she really wanted to be warmer! She's so tiny that she made the perfect Easter bunny to celebrate the spring.  Too cute!
   Regardless, I had a great time playing with Ashlyn and I am so glad for the Kendall family as they start their new lives together.
  Here are a few of my favorites. Enjoy!

Leanna and Ben - Ready for Baby...

 New babies are arguably some of the sweetest images you can take as a photographer. With Ben and Leanna, we decided to get a few pre-baby pictures and celebrate just how beautiful Leanna is with her "bean."
   Ben, Leanna and I got together at the scenic Duke Gardens in Durham, NC and wandered around in the fields and flowers and trees. We even found some bamboo to use as a backdrop!
   It was a gusty, blustery winter day and Ben and I were constantly throwing our coats around Leanna shoulders, while she spent her time convincing us that she was a happy incubator and quite warm without our help! I hope that helps you understand just how much fun it was to photograph these two!!
   I can't wait until their little girl makes her entrance in April. I'm sure she'll be as much fun as her parents and just as photogenic.
   In the mean time, here are a few of my favorites. Enjoy!

Chad & Erin...Wine, Wedding and Joy!

   Chad and Erin have long been two of my favorite people. Erin and I have been friends since we both lived in Boone, NC and we killed time by traveling the parkway, our cameras in tow. After a while, getting lost among the mountains and leaves became our favorite pastime.
  Chad is the kind of guy who can fix anything you throw at him and he was certainly up for the challenge of fixing himself a permanent spot in Erin's life. We had a chance to showcase Chad's love of classic cars in their engagement session this spring and Chad broke out an epic Chevy truck as the gettaway car. Love it!

  Since both Erin and Chad love being outdoors, it's no wonder that they made a deal with the Powers that Be to grab themselves an absolutely beautiful autumn day to cap off their gloriously joyful wedding. Set in a picturesque vineyard against a magnificently blue sky, these two love birds tied the knot in front of family and friends. A sweet gazebo over head and love all around. I had a hard time seeing through the weepy- joy tears in order to snag some photographs.
  Of course, a sweet ceremony had to be paired with a kickin' party... and Erin and Chad brought down the house. From the firecrew to the bridesmaid brigade to the Shag dancers cuttin' a rug, everybody had a great time partying with Erin and Chad on their fantastic wedding day.
   I am so grateful I had a chance to be a part of such a joyful occasion. Truly, it was an honor.
  Here are a few of my favorites. Congrats you two! Enjoy!
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Kaylyn makes her entrance!

   Kaylyn made her entrance into the great wide world a few weeks ago on April 12th. She's a bundle of preciousness. But when her parents, Aaron and Sarah had the good grace to let me steal in and take pictures of their newborn, oh, I was beside myself.
   What a darling! We spent several hours getting great detail shots of Kaylyn's tiny hands and feet, curling her up and letting her stretch her sleepy body out. Her sweet ghost of a smile just made your heart melt.
    Kaylyn's proud Nana, Mrs. Kay, spent the evening being the best helper a photographer could ask for. It was great! Below are a few of my absolute favorites from our evening together. Tell you what, I'll give you double points if you can figure out why Sarah is laughing so hard in the picture of her, Aaron and Kaylyn. Leave you ideas in the comments!

  In the mean time, here are a few of my favorites...
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The Johnson family shows their sweet side

A couple of weeks ago, I had the chance to get together with the Johnson family and their sweet baby Finn. He's celebrating his first autumn this year and we couldn't pass up the chance to plunk him down in the middle of some leaves and see what happened.  Needless to say, I'm glad we did!

Finn's mom and dad were also game for some leaf time and took the time to explore the North Carolina Museum of Art with me and the sweet baby. What an amazing family!

Here's to many more firsts with sweet baby Finn! Here are a few of my favorite shots from the day...

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The Franz family cheeses it up!

'Twas the night before Thanksgiving and all through the... well, this rhyme isn't going to be a classic. Regardless, it actually was the evening before our country's major turkey day, when I got the chance to run around with the fantastic Franz family. The three of them kept me hopping for sure!

The boys, Manfred and Sebastian, enjoyed jumping off of anything handy, especially if I was taking shots at 5+ frames a second! We had lots of great moments taking photographs and then watching the still-frame animation on the camera play back screen. Some things just never get old. Whitney, my dear, I'm sure you have your hands full with these two boys, but I'll bet you're never bored!

So here's to you Franzes!! Here are a few of my favorites!

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