Baby Pictures: Isaiah
Meet Isaiah. His beautiful mother Kim appeared on the blog about four months ago when Isaiah was just a bump in her belly. Now he’s here! And let me tell you, this little one is a serious cutie. Get ready. Here he is…
…getting a sneak kiss attack from Mom.
Isaiah’s hands and feet are so small and perfect. They won’t be this tiny for long, though. He’s growing so fast! J.P. was amazed at how much he had plumped up since the first time they met two weeks or so prior to this shoot.
Here’s J.P.’s shot.
And here’s mine from two weeks later.
Here are a few more.
And finally, here is Isaiah with his favorite buddy Mr. Giraffe. Isaiah held his own for a long time during this staring contest.
We had a great time hanging out with Kim, Matt and Isaiah! Check back later this week for some rockin’ shots from the Lake Eden Arts Festival (LEAF) and a debonair pug in black tie attire.
Me Ra Koh Confidence Workshop: Washington, D.C.
A couple of weekends ago I had the pleasure of attending an amazing women’s photography workshop by day and visiting Betsy, Loren, Ethan and Brooke by night.  It was such an incredible time – even the trip home!
For those of you who don’t know about Me Ra Koh, you need to check out her blog!  Me Ra and her awesome husband Brian do stunning work that will leave you smitten and speechless.  Being quite a fan myself, I was so, SO excited to get to participate in their (appropriately named) Confidence Workshop for women in D.C.. It was great to get to meet them, learn from them, hear their stories, and laugh and cry with the other amazing women who traveled from near and far for this experience of a lifetime!
Here’s Me Ra demonstrating for us with some kids. Watching her engage the models was a valuable lesson by itself!
Here’s Brian talking to us about light metering. There were some fun demonstration photos involved. :)
We ladies had plenty of opportunities to try out what we had learned! Kudos to the models who cheerfully endured swarms of women wielding lenses!
Let me say that my dad was the best!
He was already in D.C. visiting Betsy, Loren and the kids, and offered to stay a few more days to chauffeur me downtown and back Saturday and Sunday. Â Thank you, Dad (and thank you Mom for doing without him for a few more days)!
The first day, our models were beautiful mothers and their beautiful babies. Here are a few of my favorite shots.
I just loved how this baby squealed when her mom came in for another kiss!!
The second day, three wonderful families let us crowd around them with our cameras.
Of course, this trip was all the more exciting due to the most recent addition to our family!  Welcome to the world Brooke! Each evening after the workshop, I was so pumped that I couldn’t help but take some pictures of my precious new niece Brooke and adorable nephew Ethan.  These kids have my heart! Betsy and Loren, I just don’t know how you two handle this much cuteness on a regular basis.
Here’s Brooke dreaming sweetly…
and Ethan playing with dad.
He was all about these new boots.
It was so hard to leave!
When I thought the trip was almost over and couldn’t get any better, I had this heart-melting experience in the Washington airport on the way home.  Having just returned to the gate after getting some food, I noticed a mother with her two children waiting eagerly for dad to get off the plane (I later learned he was returning from Iraq). Sure enough, he came walking through the gate, dressed in uniform and locking eyes immediately with his wife. The family came together in a powerful moment that hit me so hard, I nearly started crying as their energy spread from where they stood and held each other to everyone who was blessed to catch a glimpse of them.  When I showed this next photo to J.P., we were struck by the strength and sacrifices made by military families.  Monica, thank you so much! Here they are.
Finally, I made it home to my beloved husband who encourages me in so many ways. Â Without a doubt, I left the Confidence Workshop with increased knowledge, vision and excitement, and J.P. has done nothing but help to keep the passion going!
Leah & Greg: Engaged
This is an especially exciting post for me because the lovely young lady featured in it was my student the first year I taught high school. Leah and Greg met later, though, while they were both attending Lander University. It’s there that Greg, the big romantic, asked Leah out for the first time via AOL Instant Messenger. (Even now, some of you are reminiscing: “Aw, I remember AOL IM!”) Technological nostalgia aside, however, Leah eventually agreed to go on a date with Greg and it must have gone pretty well, because they’re getting married in Greenwood in January.
Greg and Leah decided to have both their engagement photos and Leah’s bridal photos taken on the same day, and Leah was an absolute trooper posing for us for hours on end. She had a fantastic attitude toward it, though, and it shows in her pictures. (You’ll have to wait for the bridal portraits, but take my word for it, Greg, you’re going to be blown away!)
We started out with some photos on the Horseshoe at the University of South Carolina.
Leah hopped on Greg’s back in front of the McKissick Museum…
…Wendy and I both thought it was a great idea.
After a while, we moved down to the Vista and found this fantastic wall.
I like that Greg cracks Leah up.
I don’t recall the exact instructions we gave Greg and Leah here, but I think they involved the words, “like a model.” They nailed it.
Greg and Leah, thanks for a wonderful day. We’re looking forward to celebrating and capturing your wedding day.
Everybody else, it’s no TEN (business) DAYS OF BLOGGING, but there are adorable baby photos, some unofficial wedding photos, and possibly a Snuggie photo coming up in the next few days. Check back soon!
Lollapalooza 2009: Day 1
Lollapalooza 2009 was a three-day music festival held August 7-9 in Chicago’s Grant Park. Lunch Money got to be a part of this extravaganza of awesomeness, playing two shows on the Kidzapalooza stage. What follows is a brief photographic journey through our first day, with posts for days 2 and 3 to come.
We (maybe I should say Jay) drove into Chicago at around 12:30am on Friday morning.
Chicago’s finest came out to greet the crowd.
Although Lollapalooza is pretty much packed with music fans of every age, Kidzapalooza aims at a decidedly younger (and more adorable) demographic.
Yeah, I know. I’m pushing into Cute Overload territory.
That’s Henry rocking out as he plays his part in “HEY! YOU’RE A ROCK STAR!â€, a short interactive play put on by The Cool Table, a Chicago improv comedy troupe. Henry was the guitarist in “Sponge Blue Square Blue”, the greatest rock band the world has ever known.
The little guy above didn’t have a role in “HEY! YOU’RE A ROCK STAR!â€, but he played his part by watching from the sidelines and having excellent hair.
Meanwhile, the child below practiced for a life of indie rock shows by looking vaguely put-upon by the whole affair.
In addition to the adorableness, though, there was also awesome kids music to be heard.
There was Frances England, who I got to meet for the first time (she’s awesome!):
…and Secret Agent 23 Skidoo always gets the crowd on its feet…
At the end of the day, Lunch Money played, and it was every bit as warm and toasty as it looks.
But fortunately Lucy figured out the key to a good first day at Lollapalooza–a good umbrella.
By the time we finished playing at the end of day 1, we were all pretty worn out, so that’s about it for pictures from that day. Come back soon, though, for pictures from the second and third days of Lollapalooza, including more kiddie cuteness and even a band or two.
Lauren: Bridal
I’m fairly certain that we’ve never included military hardware in a bridal shoot. Today we remedy that.
Lauren started off her bridal shoot at our place with some shots on a simple gray background.
One of the wonderful things about photographing Lauren, though, is that the shots didn’t stay simple for long.
After breaking out the cowboy hat, Lauren showed off her United States Air Force garter. (If I were single I would have actually tried to catch this one.)
We didn’t stay in one place for too long on this shoot, though. Next we headed over to the South Carolina State House where we took this shot on the gorgeous marble floor. (Doesn’t her dress look like something Marilyn Monroe might have worn?)
By this point, we’d been shooting for a couple of hours, so we thought Lauren deserved a break.
Don’t you love the boots? You’d think that would be enough, wouldn’t you?
Not Lauren!
Why settle for just cowboy boots in your bridal shoot when you can also also have combat boots? (Answer: no reason at all.)
Lauren, you see, served for several years in the Air Force Reserve as a bomb loader or, as she affectionately called the position, a “load toad”. I’d love to show you tons and tons of pictures of Lauren with the F-16, but frankly, the guys at McEntire Joint National Guard Base scared me silly that I’d accidentally post something that gave away national secrets. (You might note that this F-16 has no weapons whatsoever on it.) The bicycles (they’re actually tricycles) in the background are apparently not weaponized…yet.
Despite my fear of being whisked away by armed men in a camouflage jeep, here’s one more picture of the beautiful bride and one serious flying machine.
