Posts Tagged ‘Columbia’
Family Photography: David & Susan Faith
This is an especially special post for me because I absolutely adore the people and the story behind it. OK, so take a look at David and it’s pretty clear that he’s adorable:
Yeah, I told ya’.
What’s not readily apparent is that David was born with a large ventricular septal defect and a patent ductus arteriosus–congenital heart defects that kept his blood from circulating properly and, thus, kept his body from getting the oxygen it needed. This was keeping him from growing the way he ought to. Fortunately, at the end of October, David went down to the Medical University of South Carolina where they were able to surgically repair the problems with his heart. This little guy was bathed in a lot of prayer and, as you can see, he’s coming along quite nicely now.
While recovering from his surgery, David wasn’t able to go out in public, and as I followed his story I kept wanting to see better pictures of him, so I got in touch with his mom, Melissa, a friend of mine from back when I was in high school, and asked if she’d like Wendy and I to get some pictures of David and his big sister, Susan Faith. She liked the idea, and so here are the photos!
This is Susan Faith with her mom. She has the cutest little nose!
Susan Faith and her dad.
Boys + bonnets = unhappiness
Finally, I thought I’d close with a shot of what David’s parents call his “zipper”, the scar from the surgery that has allowed him to grow and develop those adorable rolls you see over the top of his diaper.
To learn more about David’s story and the wonderful people at MUSC who helped to make it one with a very happy ending, I suggest you check out his Caring Bridge site. His mom also has a new blog about children, books, and children’s books called Growing Up Reading. (Susan Faith taught herself to read before she was twenty-one months old, so I’d say Melissa is someone’s advice you might want to consider when it comes to children’s literacy.)
Wendy and I are so thankful to have gotten to play a tiny part in David’s story and we look forward to seeing the wonderful young man he’s going to become.
Thanks for hanging out with us for this week of blogging! There are some cool photos in the pipeline and two shoots coming up this month we’re really excited about, so check back soon!
Snow in Columbia!
We got snow! Snow!
Yes, on Tuesday night a tiny dusting of snow fell on us here in Columbia, SC. Many of us stayed up late constantly refreshing the school closings page on WISTV.com, only to be met with sadness and frustration. Still, it was a nice reminder of the snow we had in February, and so I thought today I’d post a few pictures Wendy and I took back then.
There aren’t a whole lot of pictures because (1) while I can handle the cold and wet it doesn’t seem ideal for cameras and (2) it’s all well and good to take pictures, but when you get snow in Columbia it’s important to put the camera down and play in it, so that’s what we did.
Since most of us in South Carolina aren’t very familiar with snow, I’ve prepared a brief primer on proper snow behavior. Let’s start with Snow 101: Snowflake catching.
Next, stand in awe upon realizing that it’s actually snowing.
Next, simply delight in the snow.
After that, realize you’re freezing because you have no clothing appropriate for snow and go inside.
Finally, after you’ve had a chance to warm up, forget that you have no appropriate clothing, raid your kitchen, and go outside and build a snowman.
Our snowman featured a real corn-cob pipe (well, a real corn-cob left over from Chili’s, anyway), a cucumber nose, and two eyes (and a mouth) made out of coffee beans. We felt he represented us well.
We hope our fellow South Carolinians enjoyed the snow and that you’ll all come back tomorrow for the Friday edition of FIVE (business) DAYS OF BLOGGING.
Candide
Friday before last Wendy and I had the pleasure of attending a production of Candide put on by the Alliance Française de Columbia. From their web page:
The Alliance Française is a worldwide non-profit organization founded in Paris in 1883. It is part of a network of over 1,000 chapters in 133 countries. In the United States, the Alliance Française counts more than 140 locations…The mission of The Alliance is to encourage the study of the French language and the various cultures of French-speaking countries and, more specifically, to foster friendly relations between the French-speaking and American peoples.
For those unfamiliar, Candide was written by Voltaire and ridicules the philosophical optimism of Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz. The play was performed entirely in French, which means that Wendy enjoyed the subtlety of the satire while I laughed when someone died in an especially comic way. All told, though, it was a lot of fun, with flying sheep, horses whose galloping sounded suspiciously like coconuts, and a hero who saves the girl, even though she’s gotten very, very ugly.
If you are a student of French or are simply interested in French culture, get in touch with the Alliance and get involved, and be sure to keep your eyes out for another performance next year!
Here are a few shots we took of the magnificent cast.
At last, we meet our daring hero Candide…and his flying sheep.
And finally, the entire cast of Candide.
Thanks for sticking around for the third day of the FIVE (business) DAYS OF BLOGGING. There are two more days to go, and I hope you’ll join us for both of them. See you tomorrow!
Melissa: Bridal
Welcome to the newly redesigned blog! Now with 46% more picture-y goodness! (Seriously, I did the math.) If you haven’t dropped by our homepage lately, that’s also gotten a facelift, so you might want to check it out.
It’s pretty exciting to have two brides to share with you in two weeks. Melissa also got married last Saturday, but since Wendy and I were in Greenwood photographing Leah and Greg’s wedding and Melissa was down in Florida, getting hitched to Jon, we didn’t get to spend the day with her. Fortunately, she asked us to photograph her for her bridal portrait, so we got a sneak peek at just how beautiful she was going to be on her wedding day.
Melissa told me that she and Jon were getting married in a swamp in Florida. I’m still not sure how literally to take that, but nonetheless we figured it would be a good idea to reflect the outdoors in Melissa’s bridal shoot, so we headed down to Sesquicentennial State Park, where there was still some beautiful fall foliage on the trees.
Of course, we didn’t just stick this bride out in the woodsand make her stand around –we also gave her a chance to sit down…
…and generally be gorgeous while the sun set behind her.
Yup. She’s barefoot. We seem to attract that kind of bride. Thank goodness!
Finally, as the sun went down, we decided to have a little more fun with a bunch of balloons we brought along just for the occasion. They didn’t carry Melissa away cartoon-fashion which was, on the one hand, a bit of a disappointment, but on the other, kept me from having to explain to Jon why his finacée was floating over the city of Columbia in her wedding dress.
Jon and Melissa, we hope marriage is as magnificent for you as it has been for us. You’ve both found someone very special!
To everybody else, check back later in the week for adorable children and next week for Leah and Greg’s teasers!
Leah: Bridal
One of the hardest things about wedding photography is taking bridal photos, being really delighted with them, and then not being able to share them until the wedding. Well, we can finally share with you Leah’s bridal portraits. She and Greg were married Saturday in Greenwood and Wendy and I (and everybody else, as far as I can tell) had a fantastic time.
Way back in September, though, Leah came down to Columbia and we got to capture these lovely images of her in her wedding gown.
Since she was a little girl, Leah had wanted to have her bridal photo taken at the South Carolina State House. We certainly weren’t going to argue with a little girl’s dreams.
Wendy got this picture of Leah that really shows off her amazing blue eyes. Greg’s eyes are almost as bright as you can see from their engagement photos. Their kids’ eyes are going to be gorgeous! (Not that we’re rushing you, guys.)
We had so much fun with Leah that we wound up shooting until the sun went down. Even though there wasn’t much light to work with, we decided to get in a few more shots featuring the lights of Columbia. This was one of our favorites.
We have a lot of pictures to go through, but we’ll be sharing a few quick teasers from Leah and Greg’s wedding next week. Be sure to come back and check them out!
Merry Christmas!
‘Twas the night before Christmas
And strange as it seems
J.P. and Wendy were relaxing
Their apartment was clean!
They’d watched Lost off of Netflix,
Ten episodes or more,
Odd since they’d just started
Watching two days before.
They’d sung ‘long with Sufjan,
Read some Lord of the Rings,
Watched Peanuts and Garfield
From Bittorrent streams.
And soon they’d be dreaming
Of lenses and lights,
Softboxes and snoots
To make portraits look right.
But first to their blog
They posted scenes of cheer
To thank friends and clients
For a wonderful year!
Wendy and I are celebrating our third Christmas together as husband and wife and, if you’ll pardon a little bit of bragging, I’m reminded that I am the luckiest man on earth. Seriously, how many guys have a wife who can decorate cookies like this?
I’m guessing very, very few.
I’d also expect that there aren’t too many wives who would indulge their husbands in decorating their gingerbread men to resemble web comic characters.
Meet Faye and Marten…
…and Winslow and Pintsize.
Now say goodbye to Pintsize.
Besides decorating cookies, we got ready for Christmas by going to “The Lights Before Christmas” at Riverbanks Zoo.
(I think Wendy looks good in red, don’t you?)
I don’t know if the fish were in the Christmas spirit or not. Some of them were kind of sparkly, though.
Meanwhile the Lizards were decked out in their best Christmas green.
Wendy and I wish you a very merry Christmas and suggest that you put a star on your tree…
(Not this one)
…snuggle up with someone you love…
…or in my case…
…and have a happy New Year!
Baby Pictures: Sophia
The last time we saw Sophia was in Wendy’s maternity session when she was rounder and not nearly as expressive.
Now Sophia has joined us on the outside and is busy growing, eating, and generally being adorable. Her mom got in touch with us about taking some baby photos of her and we were more than happy to oblige.
Like I said, significantly more expressive.
Sophia is very fond of her changing table. Wendy (my Wendy) and I were very fond of the green wall as a background!
We decided to spend a little time outside since it was a gorgeous, warm, South Carolina November day.
Even Sophia’s canine siblings hung out with us for the shoot.
Then, since the sun was starting to set, we went inside for a few more pictures.
One more change, during which Sophia tried to eat her mom’s ring.
Speaking of eating, I believe the technical term for what’s going on in this next picture is “Nom, nom, nom.”
Now that’s just cute. I don’t care who you are.
We had a great time spending the afternoon with Wendy, Anthony, and Sophia. Apart from just being delightful to hang out with, Anthony shared his recipe for white beans and leeks with me and they were delicious. So, cute baby, cool parents, and yummy soup all add up to a pretty fantastic day. Thanks, guys!
Amie & Chris: Engaged
A couple of weeks ago, we introduced you to Sir Chubbs II, the pug. Chubbs was all decked out for the wedding of Chris and Amie, his awesome owners. We’re going to be photographing Chris and Amie’s wedding next year, but in the meantime, we got some photos of them to help them celebrate their engagement.
Amie and Chris were an absolute blast to work with. First off, a mutual friend told them about our pet allergies so Amie cleaned the apartment where we took Chubbs’s picture to the point that you’d never know an animal (let alone three) lived there…you know, apart from the animals that were there. Even then, she kept checking with us to make sure that we weren’t having any trouble. She is an absolute sweetie!
Chris is actually the one who, when we first met, let us know that the photograph he had to come away with was Chubbs in a tuxedo. Based on the way Chubbs did (almost) exactly what he said during the photo shoot, he’s clearly spent a lot of time with that dog and the affection runs both ways. (Amie seems to like him pretty well, too.)
After shooting Chubbs, we just went downtown and hung around with these two, who made photographing them wonderfully easy. There’s nothing, as far as I can tell, that makes for better engagement or wedding photographs than a couple who are seriously into one another and these two are seriously into one another. They flirt and play and smile and laugh and generally make getting adorable pictures of them a breeze.
I love this shot. Dancing in a parking lot?
No problem.
(I told you they’re fun.)
(I have no idea what Amie is thinking here but I like that Chris is apparently A-OK with it.)
We wrapped things up on USC’s Horseshoe, with the sun casting a gorgeous golden light…
*ahem*
…with the sun casting a gorgeous golden light…
(That’s better.)
…on this lovely couple.
Photographing Chris and Amie was way more fun than it ought to be and we can’t wait to shoot Amie’s bridals and their wedding!
We hope all our readers had a wonderful Thanksgiving!
Dog Portrait: Sir Chubbs II
Amie and Chris are an absolutely awesome couple whose wedding we’ll be photographing next May. When Wendy and I sat down with them to talk about their photos, we asked if there were any specific photos they felt they absolutely had to have. It turns out there was only one: a photo of their pug, Sir Chubbs II, wearing a tuxedo.
(Is there really any need for more introduction than that?)
Because Chris and Amie’s wedding is outdoors, Chubbs won’t be able to be in attendance. We learned from them that due to pugs’ shortened breathing passages, they can’t really stand to be out in the heat for extended periods. So, since Chubbs couldn’t be a member of the wedding party, Amie and Chris dressed this precious pooch up in tails and a bow tie for his own pre-wedding portrait just before their engagement session.
Meet Sir Chubbs:
After a few casual poses on the pillow, Chubbs changed into his formal attire.
(Wendy’s mother said she thinks he looks like Winston Churchill in this picture.)
(Yup, his tail is sticking out from between his tails.)
(If they ever make an all-dog version of Oceans 11, Chubbs is a shoo-in.)
I have never seriously tried to photograph dogs before, figuring that it would be too hard to pose them and that the noise of the camera and the light from the flashes would spook them. Chubbs, though, was a real trooper, and Chris and Amie were terrific at keeping him where he should be and looking in the right direction. Still, after hundreds of shots and two different outfits, Chubbs had pretty much had it…
(Don’t feel too bad for him. That expression could be exhaustion or the look a dog gets when he has been stuffed to the brim with doggie treats.)
We actually did photograph Chris and Amie, but we figured Chubbs deserved his own post. Nonetheless, here’s Chubbs with his mom and dad, of whom you’ll be seeing more soon.
Remember, sharing is caring, so if you’d like to share Sir Chubbs II with your friends, you can do so easily by clicking on the links below for Facebook, Twitter, or the social whosamawhatsie of your choice. I’m not saying the ghosts of Christmas past, present, and future are going to visit you if you don’t share, but why take the risk?
More to come!
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!
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.
Tamy’s Grandbabies
I know, I know, I promised pictures of six adorable kids almost two weeks ago. Well, I’m finally following through. Sorry to keep you waiting.
These are some photos of the youngest generation of one of the coolest families I’ve ever known. I grew up with the kids and now they’ve gone and had kids of their own. Their mom asked Wendy and me to get some family photos of the lot of them, and I can’t say no to Tamy. The result was an absolute blast, but it definitely increased my respect for my buddy Rebekah and other photographers who are especially adept at kids and families. Did you know, for instance, that infants will not necessarily look at the camera when you ask them to? I mean, what are these kids thinking? They’re grandmother is paying good money for these pictures and they’re more interested in the dog than they are in looking good in their family portrait.
I blame television.
All kidding aside, bask in the adorableness that is Tamy’s family. First off, the twins.
Can you guess which is the boy and which is the girl?
(Insert Dora the Explorer pause)
You’re right! Was it the haircuts that gave it away?
This little guy wanted to show his cousin some affection. After all, doesn’t everybody love a kiss?
Admittedly, this may have been excessive.
Even he seems to agree.
(Chalk it up to a life lesson, kid.)
Do you think this photo presages their future relationship?
Argh! Can’t make…snarky…comment…baby feet…too…cute!
While we were shooting, Tamy quoted these lyrics from the musical Annie to me and I thought they’d go nicely here:
Some women are dripping with diamonds,
Some women are dripping with pearls.
Lucky me! Lucky me!
Look at what I’m dripping with:
Little girls!
Wendy: Maternity
Perhaps I should specify at the outset of this post, this is not my Wendy… this is Wendy who I’ve known at least since we were in middle school together. Wendy and her husband Anthony are expecting their first child in August, and Wendy decided to have maternity photos made as a first Father’s Day present for Anthony. My Wendy and I were more than happy to oblige and, apart from the requisite name confusion (is it bad form to ask your subject to move a light while you photograph them?) we had a great time. Since Wendy and Wendy were both dancers, there was fantastic communication between the two of them about finding graceful poses and lines to help accentuate the beauty of motherhood. Also, Wendy has a well-defined and daring aesthetic sense which challenges us as photographers in the best possible way. Add it all up, and we had a blast. Anthony is a lucky guy.
Although this next photo is probably technically better…
It’s this one that I think captures Wendy’s personality.
his last photo was one of our favorites from the shoot and, as it happens, it’s also one that Wendy chose to have blown up to 16×20. It’s pretty encouraging when that happens.
We’re so excited for Anthony and Wendy and look forward to meeting their little girl in a few months. Also, it’s a little late, but it’s probably a good time to say a Happy Father’s Day to all the dads out there. Without you, there would be no maternity photos. ;-)
And with that, TEN (business) DAYS OF BLOGGING draws to a close. We hope you’ve enjoyed it, and that you’ll keep checking back to see what we’re up to. Have a great and restful weekend!
Zuleika: Maternity
Zuleika, a friend and colleague of Wendy, is, along with her husband Jose, expecting her second child…right about now, actually. Jose, Zulieka, and their son Maxi came over to document Zuleika’s pregnancy and get a couple of family photos. Here are a few of our favorites:
The affection between Jose and Zuleika was apparent, as was the love they have for their coming daughter.
I know this next shot may be a little cliche, but I don’t care, dogonnit! I like it!
Ladies, if you are thinking about having maternity photos made, may I please humbly suggest a pink tiara? Don’t get me wrong, you have to have the mom-chops to pull it off, but I don’t think there’s any question about that with Zuleika.
Initially, Maxi was absolutely sure that he wanted nothing to do with this whole photography thing. Eventually, though, and after a few minutes of my (awful) juggling, Maxi agreed to get into the frame with his mom. He may not like the camera, but the camera likes him.
You can’t see them, but Maxi is holding my juggling beanbags in this photo. Does it look to you like he’s daring me to come and get them?
This looks like one proud mama to me.
Come back tomorrow as TEN (business) DAYS OF BLOGGING continues with…well, I’m not entirely sure how to tease you with this one. Let’s put it this way: pink taffeta and a swimming pool are involved.
Divided by Friday
Back in May I got a message from Jason (the awesome/lucky dude who recently married Britt) asking if I was able to photograph a band he manages. Thing is, they needed the pictures by the weekend in order to get them to their web designer. This happened to be during one of the busiest weeks of the year for me, and I honestly didn’t have time, but 1) Jason is a great guy, 2) I have a special place in my heart for bands generally, and especially those made up of high-schoolers, and 3) they play music with Christian themes that is actually really good.
They’re called Divided by Friday and they’re based in North Carolina, but this summer they’ll be playing in Virginia, Tennessee, Pennsylvania, Indiana as well as at the Cornerstone Festival in Illinois. Shooting them was pretty cool because my first real ‘photo shoot’ was for Luke Marr’s Unemployed Potential, the band of one of my former students. It was exciting to once again come up against the problem of how to shoot ‘a bunch of dudes’ and not fall into one of a half-dozen cliches employed over and over in band press photos but this time to have a lot more tools in my mental arsenal.
In any case, we squeezed the shoot in between school and another event that I had that evening so the band’s big photoshoot was with a guy wearing khakis and a tie. I’m sure that’s the way they pictured it–very rawk. In any case, they’re good guys and they play good music so check them out if they come to your town.
I absolutely love the lens flare in this image.
One of the questions I hear pretty frequently when taking group shots of guys is, “Are we smiling?”
Yup.
You’ve done it! You’ve made it half way through TEN (business) DAYS OF BLOGGING or, if you haven’t read the other four posts, just scroll down or click on the banner up top…and then scroll down…or click on the tag below that says “TEN (business) DAYS OF BLOGGING”. I’m all about options. Come back next week; there are two more weddings, two more moms-to-be, and a girl swimming in a pink ball gown.
I promise I am not making this up.
My favorite model
I had all ten (business) days of blogging planned out then Wendy had to go and get her hair cut and colored. So today we’re taking a break from the more ‘official’ work to show off my wife’s new hairstyle.
Wendy had gathered a few pictures that gave the direction she was looking for and took them to Laura at Urban Nirvana in Columbia. Laura took those different photos and came up with something awesome that Wendy and I love and I think suits her perfectly.
…yeah, she could only hold the serious face for so long.
Come back tomorrow; we’re not done by a long shot.
Danny & Becky: Married
Danny and Becky were married May 25th at the Corley Mill House & Garden in Lexington, South Carolina. Wendy and I photographed their joyous day along with our photographically and personally awesome brother-in-law Loren. (If you’re in the DC area and need a great photographer, he’s your man.)
Wendy started the day early, photographing the girls as they got ready at Becky’s place. Becky not only did her own makeup, but that of several of the bridesmaids as well.
Meanwhile, Loren and I headed to the Corley Mills House to photograph the guys finishing up their preparations and get a few shots of Danny with his groomsmen.
Finally, the big moment arrived. The ceremony was beautiful. Danny and Becky had written their own vows and immediately after exchanging rings they took communion together for the first time as husband and wife. It was absolutely lovely.
The reception was, like the reception of most Shack weddings, raucous and tons of fun. We especially appreciated the enthusiasm of the folks vying for the garter and bouquet.
Though everyone wanted to spend some time with the new couple, we managed to pull them aside for just a couple of minutes to get some shots of the two of them alone. How did they spend that time? Well…
When it was time for them to go, Becky and Danny’s guests sent them off in a hail of bubbles.
Finally, here’s the slideshow I promised yesterday. Give it a little time to buffer and I think you’ll enjoy some fantastic music along with some more of our favorite images from the wedding.
Danny and Becky’s Wedding Slideshow from J.P. Stephens on Vimeo.
Kim and Matt: Maternity (and Paternity?)
School is finally out and at long last Wendy and I are able to focus on photography and, more importantly, each other. Now that we have a little bit of leisure, we’re excited to share with you some of the images we’ve captured over the past month. In order to do that, I’ll (J.P.) be posting a new blog entry each week day for the next two weeks. Check back in and see three weddings, three mothers-to-be, one bride-to-be (who’s now a bride), and a band from North Carolina who’ll be appearing at this year’s Cornerstone Festival. So enjoy these photos from Kim’s maternity session and keep checking back to find out what’s been keeping us from hanging out with our friends enough lately.
Kim and Matt are an awesome couple that Wendy and I met when Kim started teaching with me and they invited us over to their apartment to eat the delicious dinner Kim had prepared while they regaled us with stories of life at Bob Jones University. It took us almost a year to finally get them over to our place because, you know, if you have people over you have to clean and, if you have them for dinner, you have to cook. Our solution was to invite them over to document Kim’s pregnancy with their first child. We still had to clean, but all the cooking we did was to brew a cup of coffee–just about my speed.
Kim and Matt’s excitement about this baby is evident in the way they talk about him and in the way they interact with him in his present bump-ish state.
Additionally, they’re pretty crazy about each other.
Unfortunately, sometimes Matt pushes Kim too far.
(Actually, something had blown into his eye, and Kim was very sweetly helping him remove it…but I still say it looks like an eye gouge.)
Wendy and I had a great time with Matt and Kim and are looking forward to meeting the new addition to their family in a couple of months.
Stay tuned for nine more posts over the next two weeks and come back around August to find out how cute this baby is when he’s ditched the uterus for new digs on the outside.
(Update Oct 25, 2009: Isaiah has arrived and you can see his baby pictures here!)
Becky’s Bridal Session
Things have been quiet here at the blog lately, but there’s been lots going on. One of the most exciting things on our plate is photographing the wedding of our beloved friends Becky and Danny. Danny has been attending our house church for over four years, and his fiancee (now wife) Becky is the women’s director at The Shack. Among the many reasons shooting their wedding is so exciting are the fact that they’re just good lookin’ people and that Loren (Ethan’s dad and our brother-in-law) is going to shoot with us. It’s going to be an amazing day.
While you wait with bated breath for the wedding images to appear, let us whet your appetite with a few favorites from Becky’s bridal session. She was a great sport as we moved her around from place to place and stuck her in funny positions. We think her tolerance paid off.
Phil & Tracie’s Wedding
Wendy and I were blessed to have the opportunity to photograph the wedding of one of my former students, Tracie, and her fiance, Phil. The wedding was a particularly special time for me since I’ve taught three of the attendants. Tracie, as you can see from the photo below, was an absolutely beautiful bride and everybody had a fantastic time.
Below is a slide show of some of our favorite images from the wedding set to “100 Years” by Five for Fighting. Luke Marr, another former student, played the song beautifully during the ceremony. Sadly, I don’t have a recording of that, so Five for Fighting will have to do. You can click the button that looks like this 
to watch it full-screen.
Phil & Tracie’s Wedding Slide Show from Lumos Studio.
