Caroline Prietz Photography

Mandy's Maternity Sesh

2012-01-03T11:59:00.000-08:00

Let's just go ahead and start off the new year with a post about more new beginnings. A long while back I teased you all with a few images from my maternity photo session with Mandy and Stephen in Avon Park. The rain toyed with me the entire drive there. Then, just about the time I arrived at Mandy's family home, the clouds parted to leave us with a gorgeous late afternoon sunny session on the farm complete with a little bit of egg collecting and a few curious cows.

Resolutions

2011-12-31T11:58:00.000-08:00

A year ago I resolved not to resolve. And this is quite literally the way I live my life for the past year. Day by day. Moment by moment. Seizing it. I got involved in my church as a youth leader but told the girls "don't get too close I may be here today and gone tomorrow." I ran a half marathon with dear friends. On a whim I accepted an invitation for a missions trip to Peru, and on top of that I spent five days in the Peruvian jungle fishing for piranhas and trying exotic fruits straight from the branch. I ate the Peruvian delicacy cuy (a.k.a guinea pig) and found it delicious. I accepted every single social invitation that came my way. I lost sleep. I flew in a two seater plane all the way to the east coast for breakfast and back. I made mistakes. I made some really tough decisions. I cried a lot and laughed a lot too. I made new friends... some really great new friends. And I learned things about the nature of God that amaze and kind of terrify me all at once (in a good way.)

In this same year I have done over 100 photo shoots that span from county fairs to mountaintop weddings, from hospital visits with hour old babies, to a four generation family reunion, to glowing engaged couples and young families and an 89-year-old man and his bride of 50 years. I guess it was only fitting that my last photo shoot of 2011 was a 16 day old baby girl and her brand-new parents.

I have been to Kevin and Melissa's adorable Tampa home a few times before. They are the type of people that are so beautiful and genuinely sweet on the inside and out they make you want to turn green with envy and melt with love all at the same time. Their home is perfect reflection of the pair, a combination of effortless style and warmth. Not much had changed in their south Tampa home since the last time I was there less than a month ago, Melissa nine months pregnant and glowing. But this time the center of their universe has shifted. Where once there was two, now there's three.

Kevin and Melissa are as effortlessly beautiful and sweet at the new parent thing as they are with everything else in their lives. Melissa greeted me on the front steps, her baby girl cradled in her arms, on Friday when I showed up for our session. We walked around the house a bit ooo-ing and aww-ing over the tininess and newness of things, picking out spots with good light and the best clothes for the shoot. We were about to begin Sienna's very first photo session when the family of three gathered in the nursery bathed in a warm pink light to prepare. Through one door we see a peek into the home of Kevin and Melissa as it has always been and through the other we see their new world. A wooden plaque with a verse hangs on the wall in the corner... "I praise you because I am Fearfully and Wonderfully made..." (Psalms 139:14).

The presence of God swelled within the room.

2011 was a big year for them. I am sure there was plenty of preparation and planning and dreaming of the future. There were the aches and pains of growth and the fear and excitement of the unknown that lies ahead. Sounds a bit like my 2011 (in a completely unrelated way).

When I left the photo session I spent the afternoon in Tampa with my very best friend. We ran errands and chatted over pedicures and picked up $60 dollars worth of decadent burgers to take to some friends. We made our way to Tampa General and followed the signs to the "cancer center" to visit my bestfriend's husband's bestfriend, Phil. A young father of two boys at 35 years old, just two days before Christmas, went into the hospital with a belly ache and is now dealing with the weight of a cancerous, stage 4 Neuroendocrine Pancreatic Tumor. Last night before we left we poked our heads into the room to say goodbye, a yellow sign on the door read, "chemotherapy in progress," his wife, Porter, in a chair by his side. I waved through the cracked door and said, "it was good to see you," like it was any other trip to Tampa. These two suddenly seem like giants to me, super heros, facing the unknown future with a grace and strength and hope that I rarely get to see. And here I was, seeing it and wondering, how do they do it? "The Lord is close to the brokenhearted..." Psalms 34:18.

The presence of God swelled within the room.

A year ago I resolved not to resolve. I took each day as it came to me. As I look forward to the new year I want to certainly hold on to this "carpe diem" mentality but with a bit more purpose this time. We never know what lies ahead. I can't even begin to comprehend what God has in store for Kevin, Melissa and Sienna or Phil and Porter and their young family in the coming year, but one thing I do know is that God is near. And as the calendar moves forward and another year passes us by, as all the lessons and dreaming and pain and growth catches up and collects itself in our thoughts I can only look towards the future and imagine what type of breathtaking story 2012 has in store for us all.

The Humphrey Family Christmas

2011-12-13T09:25:00.000-08:00

Last week I got to spend the morning with one of my all time FAVORITE families, the Humphreys. Bianca H. is my closest cousin, we've been attached at the hip since birth... you all have heard this story many times before. I love this girl and her family and have loved watching that little family grow over the years. One of the very first "family" photo shoots I ever did was with the Humphrey family several years ago. We snuck onto the property of a local camp and captured pics all along the way of their family of three. This year, we actually called and got permission (thanks Camp Sparta!). I was doing a quick edit of a few photos for their Christmas card and just had to share...

This one is now one of my all time favorite photos...

Hey... Hey Baby / Avni's Newborn

2011-12-03T08:28:00.000-08:00

So this little one is coming up on six months old now (I know, I know, I am behind). But it has been so incredible to be a part of her life since day two. :) Over the past year I have been to the hospital to meet a handful of newborn babies, some of them only hours old, and marveled that the beginning of things in all those ways sentimental folks like myself do. How perfect, how fragile and how truly weird this whole process of giving life to something is.

These first few images are from one of those days. We were all gathered around in the hospital room, mom, dad, grandparents, family and even more loved ones. And there she was, just one day old little Avni, in my arms. My heart simultaneously leapt and ached for the world she had in front of her. And now I get to watch her grow (plus photograph her all along the way. hehe.).

Welcome to the world, Avni! You have grown into a truly beautiful little girl already.

And at just 10 days old Avni had her first full blown photo shoot in her home with lucky me. Just look at this doll. <3

There is no easy way to begin this post...

2011-12-01T20:07:00.000-08:00

There is no easy way to begin this post... I guess I could start things off with a big "I'm sorry." I am sorry for the extreme lack of communication, for the distance between us and for the possibility that I made you feel neglected in any sort of way. It was not for a lack of love. I do love you all, very, very much. You all have made my past year that I have committed strictly to photography as a profession truly rewarding. And your dedication to coming to my blog every few weeks, days or even hours in some cases (Aunt Cathy) is so encouraging. Hence the dramatic apology. I have neglected you. I have let my last post sit at the top of my blog for over two months now with not a peep from me. If you didn't live in my town or know me personally (or have been one of the many people that have hired me as your photographer in the past few months) you may have thought I dropped into the deep chasm of underwater photography never to resurface again. This is indeed not the case. I have come up for air. In fact I have been doing a ton of really cool photography over the past few months that did not involve any water what-so-ever and can't wait to share some of this with you all. Soon. Very soon.

But I really do feel like the next step for me in this post is to ask for your forgiveness and as a gift to you (a.k.a. bribe) I will be trying (trying, being the key word here, don't you just love my non-commital vocabulary) to give you all a blog update daily (or every other day) throughout December leading up to Christmas.

And if that doesn't help in your decision to forgive me I can now offer a string of incredibly insufficient and overly dramatic excuses. Here goes...

1. I've been insanely busy. (I never feel comfortable offering this as an excuse as I do not have children. And all of you parents out there are either curling your lip at this excuse or deliriously giggling in your own sleep deprivation over the absurdity of it. Right, I know, this is all relative and I will be giggling in my own delirium one day in the future every time I hear this excuse from anyone without kids.)

2. I struggle with perfectionism. (You see, ever since I started "full time" in photography and updating my blog "semi" regularly I hear from you all on facebook and in the grocery store that you checked out my blog and I panic. Oh boy, people are actually looking at this thing and some people even go as far to read my incredibly long-winded, rambling posts. I started putting WAY too much pressure on myself. The weight of choosing the images, pairing them together in clever and profound juxtapositions, and including a commentary that surprises, delights and evokes emotion as well as tells a parallel story alongside of the images just became too heavy for me. So I stopped blogging all together. Horrible excuse. I'm getting over it. Just don't expect any of the above in the coming posts.)

3. I've been doing extensive traveling. (Ok, so this is technically true. I have been doing a bit of traveling which really just involved one trip out of the state that was one part business and one part pleasure. I visited clients, and dear friends, the Dowd family in Knoxville in the height of the fall season for some gorgeous family photos, which you will be seeing this month, and for some time catching up with friends, stepping back, taking a breath and re-evalutating things, realizing what was important again. That was a true blessing.)

And if you still find it hard to forgive me after all of this groveling I offer you a single photo, of an adorable Dowd girl, Lucy. We were location scouting around Knoxville which had a plethora of possible beautiful photo spots but we wanted to find the oh-so-perfect one for our Dowd family shoot. We had been eyeing this specific spot for a full day. Just down the road from Lucy's school was an open field of rolling hills and giant hay bales all nestled in colorful fall trees complete with a mountain scape in the distance. It was perfect but we didn't know if we were going to be able to access it. We explained to the girls that we were on a "mission" when we set out that afternoon. As we pulled down the side street and up to a tall fence our hopes were high but diminishing and then there it was, to our right, a wide open gate into "our" field. It was as if the heavens were singing. (Insert angelic chorus here, "Ahhh Ahhh Ahhhhhhhh!") I don't know who was more excited out of all of us. Emily, Edy, Lucy and I poured out of the car, through the gate, and into the setting sun across the rolling hills. Lucy, with her princess backpack in tow, in complete abandon began to run ahead and there I was to capture this image.

This past year in photography has truly been a blessing in the midst of a re-building time for me. This is why I feel so bad that I have neglected you all here on my blog for a bit. You all, my faithful followers, clients and friends mean so much to me. You have no idea how much of a blessing it is to me that you invite me into your family for a bit to tell your beautiful, genuine, real life story. And as unexpected as a year in my hometown has been for me in what I thought was the story of my life I have no doubt that I am right where I need to be right here, right now. I am not quite sure what lies next for me on the horizon. I haven't really given myself the chance to raise my head from the day-to-day to take a peek, but I pray that when God does gently put his hand beneath my chin to lift my eyes to that horizon that I run with such abandon and excitement into the glorious setting sun as Lucy did that fall day in Tennessee.

Hey Ya'll! I'm an Underwater Photographer

2011-09-28T14:20:00.001-07:00

When I posted the below image on facebook one afternoon with the caption: "It is about to be serious fun or serious disaster. I'll let you know the joyful or tearful results." I recieved a flurry of curious (and anxious) comments. "Good luck..." "Oh my... so nerveracking..." "Neat!" "oh lord..." and "Must hear more."

It was an underwater test shoot for the Senior Session I had set up the next day with the Sebring High School swimmer, Davis, at the SHS pool. No tears that day or the next. The results were quite joyful, if I do say so myself...

Mary Kate Teaser

2011-09-28T14:10:00.000-07:00

So far on facebook this teaser image of Bonny and her precious Mary Kate has gotten 27 comments and counting. People seem to love these two. I know I do. :)

2011 BFC BackPack Ministries

2011-09-28T13:35:00.000-07:00

This officially begins what I have entitled the "blog dump" which will proceed over the next few posts. This is not a bad thing, I assure you. You see, I am diligently working on so many photo projects right now (today I am sorting through all my Peruvian adventure photos) and will live up to my promise from my "Gloriousness to Come" post from back in June (which I am to day just over half way through sharing all that was promised.) But in the meantime there are more and more finished projects collecting on my hard drive, waiting for their time in the light, that I feel I just have to share (before they totally lose their relevance). If you go to my church or are friends with me on facebook you have already seen a few of these and thanks so much for your support offline and all the facebook "love".

The first project is Bible Fellowship Church's 2011 BackPack Ministry. You may remember the project from last year that I posted here on my blog (check it out by clicking here.) This year the project looked a little a bit different. I still was excited to organize it with my lovely cousin Bianca ('sup, B?), and BFC's College and Career Small Group but we actually took the supplies the church collected into a community this time and helped over 120 kids fill their backpacks just two days before the start of school.

Below you can check out the movie I put together to share with the church...

On August 20th a handful of helpers from Bible Fellowship Church in Sebring, FL showed up at a local community with enough backpacks, school supplies and sno cones for over 120 happy kids. Thank you to everyone who contributed supplies, donations, time and love to the project.

BFC BackPack Ministries 2011 v.2 from Caroline Prietz on Vimeo.

Amy & Travis E-Session Teaser

2011-09-19T09:55:00.000-07:00

As I drove to Hardee County on Saturday I found myself with my eyes to the skies, saying over and over again, "Thank you Lord!" The late afternoon weather looked absolutely perfect for my engagement photo session at the Hardee Highschool football stadium with the adorable cheerleader + football player duo (coaches, that is). I love it when my couples get creative with locations that are truly unique to them and their story. How much fun is this!?

Ashley & Brian / A North Carolina Mountaintop "I Do"

2011-09-13T09:11:00.000-07:00

I have been dying to share these photos with you all for quite some time now. And a'las the time as arrived. Just a week off of my Peruvian jungle adventure (I am sharing those photos soon, I promise) I made my way to the North Carolina mountains for Ashley and Brian's Blowing Rock wedding. Getting hired by Ashley and Brian, the brother of Allison a bride I photographed two years in NC, was like getting the best kind of compliment. They saw me in action, saw the result and wanted me at their own special day. I love it!

Ashley and Brian met in college at Appalachian State University in Boone, NC, which happened to be right around the corner from their mountaintop wedding venue. And despite "uncooperative weather" (a.k.a. torrential downpour come ceremony time) the day turned out to be a truly beautiful celebration of a truly beautiful pair complete with a post ceremony mountain scape photo shoot and a ski lift ride to the reception.

If you know me at all you are aware that I am a fairly sentimental person, but photographing weddings is seriously hard work. I am busy, busy, busy coordinating things, fiddling with the dials on the camera, grasping a reflector in one hand a camera in the other standing on one foot on a chair looking for light, praying that I can be omnipresent and invisible at the same time and trying to predict the future, to name a few. (Thank the dear Lord for my second shooter Pam. Thanks, Pam!) The enormity of it all typically doesn't hit me until the day starts to wind down. At Ashley and Brian's wedding it was midway through the reception during the toasts. Standing in the corner with my eye to the camera I watched as Ashley and Brian's loved ones passed the mic around the room. I swear there had to have been at least twenty toasts. From moms, dads, grandparents, siblings, best friends, god parents, and on and on, everyone took no hesitation in publicly professing their love and adoration for these two as individuals and as a pair. As my vision became hazy from the tears clouding up my eyes I seriously had to give myself a little talking too (inside my head, of course). "Carrie, pull yourself together!" I literally almost lost it. These two were the real deal and it was evident to all who sat on the sidelines watching their lives. And here they were, gathered around, cheering them on and raising glasses. How. absolutely. beautiful. sob.

Congrats to you, Ashley and Brian! I loved being there to capture your day and to cheer you on.

Here are a few of those infamous toasts...

Flying Adventures

2011-08-22T09:58:00.000-07:00

One thing you all should probably know about me is that I can't turn down the offer for adventure. I typically don't even think twice about it until I am standing on the edge of the thing. I have found myself with my skis hanging over the edge of what seems to be a 90 degree drop off on a black diamond ski slope in Big Sky Montana, peering over a rock ledge on a Georgia lake poised to take the plunge to the water 30 feet below, hiking out over volcanic wastelands in Hawaii just before dark, fishing for piranhas in a South American Jungle, climbing through the ancient ruins of Machu Picchu high in the Andes Mountains and paragliding off a cliff on the coast of Peru to name a few examples. I was once on a diving boat in the Bahamas when we made it to a secret "last stop" that happened to be on the edge of a deep, dark underwater abyss. Our hosts then proceeded to lower a crate full of fish parts down into the sea to lure in the sharks, hundreds of them. And then you know what they did... they told us to hop on in. And what do you think I did? I was in the water before I even knew what I was doing, watching the beasts come up out of the darkness and circle below, some of them close enough to touch with my foot (if I so pleased). All of these experiences took place without a second thought (some of them without a first). This oftentimes reckless abandonment has been both exhilarating and absolutely terrifying at times. But has always made for an experience that takes my breath away.

The reaction I get from people more times than not when I tell them I went flying in a two-seater Tecnam plane twice in the past two weeks is, "wow, you are brave." My sister has even proceeded to publicly scold me (via facebook). But I just. can't. help it. I really don't see flying in a small aircraft as all that risky anyways. It doesn't even rank close to the dangers of swimming with sharks or climbing through the ruins of Machu Picchu. But I suppose there is a bit of danger involved.

We had been talking about flying for months but the "risk factor" couldn't push its way around the "adventure/breathtaking/photo-op factor" in my mind. The only time I had even a slight twinge of panic was when I was actually in the plane for the first time, we were making our way to the runway and I was looking at the space (or lack of space) around me thinking that if I get sick this is not going to be pretty. And then we lifted off and soared over Sebring where everything looked smaller from the air (everything but Alan Jays house, which actually defied all principles and looked much, much larger). And then the next week we took an excursion all the way to the east coast, where we spotted alligators in Lake Istokpoga just after sunrise, sea turtles off the coast of Sebastian in the most beautiful aqua water, and country upon glorious country in between. The patterns, the colors, the vantage point... it was a photographer's dream. Something I never would have experienced with my feet planted "safely" on the ground.

Thanks, Bobby! And good luck in all your flight school endeavors.

Hopefulness / Mandy's Maternity Teaser

2011-08-15T12:32:00.000-07:00

If I happened to be the type of person that based my decisions on general outlook as opposed to hopefulness I never would have made it to my maternity photo shoot with Mandy yesterday afternoon. The weather appeared to be completely uncooperative based on the hour-by-hour report and my own observation. And even if we happened to find a small window of partly cloudy skies nestled in-between isolated and/or scattered thunderstorms (what is the difference between those two, anyways?) the question was, would the sun even make an appearance for our late afternoon shoot? Never-the-less, hopeful me cleaned up and readied my photo equipment loaded up the car and drove 30 minutes north in the sprinkling rain to Mandy's parents place on the Highlands and Polk County line. Just as I arrived the sprinkling ceased and the sun made it's way around to blessing us with it's sweet, warm presence. And Mandy, Stephen, myself and the glorious late afternoon sun had ourselves a lovely little hour together. Hopefulness paid off, I'd say.

Florida Senior Photography: Now Booking

2011-08-09T14:19:00.001-07:00

I remember my senior photo session so clearly, well, maybe just a few bits and pieces actually. There was a room and some people, a backdrop and some clothing pieces/props. I'd wrap a shawl around my shoulders, clutch a rose, turn towards the camera and there it was the essence of who I was as an innocent 17 year old getting ready to collect up everything I knew of my past and move forward into my future... kinda. As I look back at the pics I wonder if I even knew I was getting them done that day. Did I even look at my hair in the mirror? Was that look what I was actually going for? Suffice to say, things have changed a bit in photography since then. You do still have your standard black shawl yearbook shot but seniors today are recognizing this time as a milestone in their story of life and wanting to capture a bit more of those details that make up who they really are. And. I. like it.

With just a few more weeks/days before school starts, and requests rolling in, I thought I'd let you know that now is the time to book your shoot. I am offering two options, the Individual Sesh and the Group Sesh (clever names, I know).

The Individual Session plays out like any other photo session I do. You get 1-2 hours of photography with just you, we talk about ideas and locations and the best way to tell your unique story. The time frames allows us to move around and get a wide variety of images to tell a more in depth story.

The Group Session is for 3 or more people and is based around the concept that you are most yourself with your friends, buds, besties, etc. Each person gets their own 1/2 hour photo session but your friends are there with you to make you laugh and help us to get to the real you in the images. We can even throw in a few pics of you all together.

With both of these session you also get the option of having your makeup and/or hair professionally done for $25 each service ($50 total).

To book your session or for any questions at all you can contact me via email at cmprietz@yahoo.com

Happy Friday / Summer & Kane / A Teaser

2011-07-29T14:03:00.000-07:00

As many of my near and dear friends (or even random strangers that happened to pass me by last week) may know, I was supper excited about my engagement photo shoot with Summer and Kane that was to take place last weekend on, get this, an AIRBOAT. But then weather and schedules and last minute tractor deals and well, just life, got in the way and we opted to leave the airboat in the garage and trek around Summer and Kane's beautiful central FL property for a few hours before sunset on Sunday. Needless to say, I was not in the least bit disappointed with the beauty that we found beneath the trees, sans the boat. And I really can't wait to share a little slice of that heaven with you soon. For now you will have to settle for this little teaser of the duo, Summer and Kane.

BTW, if anyone happens to have an airboat (or any boat, or a plane, or any exotic form of transportation for that matter) and wants to book a session or even just invite me along for an outing with my camera I'm definitely game. Definitely.

The Ford Family

2011-07-19T09:02:00.000-07:00

For this photo session I spent an afternoon wandering around downtown Sebring with a long time friend and her family. We explored and chatted and had story time on a quilt in the shade of a tree then finished it off with dipping our toes in good ole' Lake Jackson at sunset. Much to my surprise it was the first time ANYONE in this family of four had ventured into the lake, or any lake for that matter. It was a monumental moment for a very precious and beautiful family.

Nelly, your family is fantastic! Thanks for sharing them with me.

Blessed be Your Name.

2011-07-08T12:34:00.000-07:00

Just this past Sunday in church I stood belting out Matt Redman's "Blessed be Your Name," falling into rhythm in the standard "church worship sway." You know, the one that says I would be dancing if I didn't think I'd be tackled in the aisle by someone with a walker and a Southern Baptist disposition. Plus my arms were full with the weight of a baby boy I quickly stole from cousin as she made her way to the seat beside me in the row. And then we hit the "breakout" part of the song, "You give and take away. You give and take away. But my heart will choose to say, Lord blessed be your name." And my thoughts went back to a little shy of one year ago when I sat at the top of a hill overlooking the city of La Misión, Mexico with my cousin, Bianca.

We were in La Misión on a missions trip with Be2Live and about 40 other folks from Bible Fellowship Church. We did service projects throughout the town during the day and at night we retired to our campsite just up the hill from Door of Faith Orphanage to have dinner and sit around a fire reflecting on the day. Each night our pastor, Todd, would randomly call on people to share their testimony and throughout the course of the week we heard stories of heartache, conflict and God's undeniable redeeming mercy and love. This had Bianca and I shaking in our boots. We both happened to be right in the middle of testimony building experiences and didn't quite know how to talk about it... without crying in front of 40 people, that is, (a concept I was much more comfortable with than Bianca.) So we made our way up the the top of the hill to discuss this dilemma one afternoon.

Bianca was struggling with the fact that she was even there on the trip. She had signed up thinking that she was going to be pregnant by the time the trip rolled around and would have to gracefully bow out. She thought, for sure, God would do that for her after everything she had been through. Not that she didn't want to be involved in missions and that she wasn't completely excited about work we were doing in Mexico but her heart's desire was for another child. And being on this trip meant that desire hadn't been fulfilled. Just a year and a half earlier she and her husband and son were preparing for a world with two more youngsters. She had found out she was pregnant with twins before losing them just at the end of the first trimester. I can't even begin to imagine what this feels like. My heart goes out to any woman out there who has lost a child. Watching my cousin deal with the pain the loss of not one but two lives broke my heart.

God, you take away.

And on the hill top a year and a half later Bianca was still struggling with being able to say "Lord, blessed be your name." It was a continued daily struggle when they had gone another year and a half since the loss without a baby. She knew she had to let it go. She knew this couldn't be "the thing" that stood between her and God for the rest of her life. She knew she must give up her idea and plan for her life and learn to accept a far better, yet mysterious, one that she didn't seem to understand. How do you talk about that in front of 40 people around a fire? But somehow she did, beautifully, honestly and without crying (might I add). And it was there on that trip that Bianca, from the darkness, could honestly sing, "my heart will choose to say, Lord blessed be your name."

Fast forward to one month shy of a year down the road. I am swaying and singing in the church pew holding a precious three month old baby boy that belongs to, you guessed it, Bianca. And for those of you doing the math in your head right now, you guessed it again, Sawyer was with us in Mexico on that hill top and around that fire. We just didn't know it yet.

God, you give.

Best Big Brother, ever! (I mean, besides my big brother, of course.)

Hooray for Leftover Apple Pie!

2011-07-06T10:47:00.000-07:00

It's official, I could never be a food photographer. In the midst of my, before mentioned, series of upcoming posts I decided that I would throw together a simple 4th of July treat for you all. Just a few pics of the festivities from the day that included a backyard low country boil, homemade ice cream, my great grandma's apple pie, a colorful flag inspired cake and some firework fun. (Yours truly, making the pie and cake, dessert of course.)

As the last of our family left the house late on Monday night I made my way to my computer and started transferring photos from my camera. The post would be up by later tonight, is what I promised. Then it happened, the food coma got the best of me, I tuckered out and hit the hay with the transfer only half way through. I got up on Tuesday morning with full intentions of getting right on that post but I walked through the kitchen and got distracted by the giant wedge of left over flag cake. Cake for breakfast isn't so bad, right? Ok, back on my mission. I finally made it to my computer and started sorting through the images. Food, food and more glorious food.

Much in the same way those commercials with images of DQ blizzards swirling across the screen have me out the door and in my car in a hot second to get me one, I found that throughout the course of the day on Tuesday I had to step away from my simple blog post mission to: 1) Raid the fridge devouring any form of a leftover 2) consider contacting all my family members to see if anyone AT ALL had left over shrimp they were willing to spare, 3) Text my aunt Cathy to see how soon we could do the whole "boil" thing again (um, today please? I need shrimp!) 4) warm up and devour a slice of left over apple pie 5) stand frozen, wide-eyed, in the kitchen, inches away from the sweets, trying to convince myself that one piece of cake and one slice of apple pie are enough desserts for one day and then 6) once again stumble to my bed in the midst of a food coma without posting a single image. Ugh.

This morning I went for a jog with a friend and was back in the house before 9:00 on a healthy kick and determined to finish this post. Still in my jogging clothes I went into the kitchen and made my way to the coffee maker which just so happens to be nestled behind the leftover apple pie. Hmmm... I haven't officially had breakfast yet, fruit is considered a viable breakfast, and apples technically are a fruit...

Happy 6th of July!

Dara & Andy / Engaged

2011-06-25T18:29:00.000-07:00

Can I just say that I am in love with how this engagement session with Dara and Andy turned out. Ohh the lighting, that setting and those two... so perfect.

When I meet with Dara and Andy to discuss ideas we came up with a "Sunday After Church Picnic" theme for our shoot and chose the "Super Dreamy Tall Wispy Grass" location. It was set. We showed up on a Sunday afternoon with bags full of, dare I say it after my last blog post, props. We had two picnic baskets, 3 vintage board games, two felt hearts, a wooden letter J, a wooden Love sign, some glass bottle cokes, and of course my trusty ole quilt. But then as we were walking across the grass, weighted down with all our props, Dara pulls a bible out of her bag. "This is the bible I am going to carry down the aisle. It was my grandmothers." It wasn't just some random felt heart that I picked up on sale at Michaels after Valentines Day. This piece told a unique and personal story. My eyes widened. And voila, our shoot began. Then something else happened. We got caught up in the experience, chasing around the glorious late afternoon light, wandering through the whimsical wispy grass, pausing in an unexpected brilliant green patch, laughing over misinterpreted art directing cues. And before we knew it the bag of props was pushed completely out of the frame. Sure we pulled out the quilt and game of scrabble (because I had a tip that these two liked games), which I thought turned out to be quite adorable. And at the end of the shoot, as the sun was just about to dip below the horizon we threw in a few pics with the wooden letters and felt hearts and such. But as I looked over the images from the session it was those moments caught in between when it was just the two of them, alone in the frame of my lens, that truly took my breath away.

Dara and Andy I loved getting to know the two of you and can't wait to be a part of continuing to tell your love story on your wedding day!

For this shoot I had my dear and lovely cousin Angie on hand as my photo assistant (not to be confused with a "prop girl"). Angie, you were fantastic! Thanks!

Reina's 1st Birthday

2011-06-24T09:57:00.000-07:00

I have to admit, my all time favorite way to photograph is to be just thrown up in the mix of life and capturing it as I see it, as it reveals itself to me, as it takes my breath away. But I have this new obsession called Pinterest.com that if I am not careful just might be threatening to take that away from me. Let me explain...

Pinterest.com is a collection virtual pin-boards/inspiration-boards from things you collect on the web. You can create your own and browse and follow those of others. People pin everything from home ideas, to wedding ideas, food, travel, art, it's limitless. What I seem to find myself using Pinterest most for is photographic inspiration (it is also fun to find other folks pining my stuff.) The photography that people find and pin is breathtaking. Just before a photo shoot I go a little crazy with pinning pictures of newborns, or couples, or posing for large wedding parties. Most recently I have found that pinterest certainly gives me inspiration but also gives me a sort of panic. I find myself packing up my things and hoping on photographic band-wagons before I even know where I am going, simply because I am afraid of getting left behind.

All the craze in lifestyle photography right now is props, props, props. Photographers are using furniture and frames and vintage suitcases and giant letters and wooden lips and mustaches on a stick (and I have certainly tried most all of this with pleasing results). And I have to admit there is something delightful about introducing the unexpected into the photographic frame. But as I find myself crammed onto the "wagon" with all of this stuff I begin to wonder where all the real, live people went? I am not saying that props are necessarily bad. More times than not the photographer is simply trying to create the conditions for experience, at least I know that is the case for me. You bring along a vintage scrabble game, because maybe, if the people actually play it you will see them as their real selves. Competitive, coy or goofy. But I have to make sure that the props do not get in the way of authenticity. When a client phones me up about locations and what to wear and what to bring I ask them about locations that are meaningful to them, clothing that they have in their closet and things that they enjoy on a daily basis. Sometimes it takes awhile. We fiddle around with posing and positioning until we end up on a quilt with a pile of books, a mom asking her son where the luna is in "Where the Wild Things Are" as his finger lands on the page. Beautiful. (Look for this in my Ford Family post.)

So, when a client comes to me and says, "I want you to show up at my daughters first birthday party at Highlands Hammock the day before Easter and capture the event, actual life, as it is happening," my heart leaps. No contorting of bodies into unnatural posing positions, no awkward moments as a freshly dressed, pressed and combed family stares in wide-eyed silence at me while I stare off into the nothingness looking for inspiration for their next pose, and not a single prop because, well, life provides it all. (Okay, yes, I may have had my quilt, and some paper lanterns in the trunk of my car but I didn't end up using them.) At Reina's 1st birthday party I followed the kids around as they played ball, swung on the branches of trees, collected Easter eggs and buried their faces in brightly iced cupcakes. I snapped away as the birthday girl dug into her cake and as she giggled with excitement when her daddy tossed her up in the air. This was life and I just happened to be there with my camera. I guess I am a bit of an anthropologist at heart.

So I am not saying I am ready to give up props completely, or Pinterest for that matter. These are two valuable lifestyle photography tools. But I am willing to say that I am throwing the fear of being left behind into the wind and working to push aside the fluff to capture the true authenticity of the individual and of myself as a photographer. I am easing away from those fears and off that bandwagon and watching all that stuff disappear over the horizon, but not without hanging onto my quilt, of course.

Thank you, Reina's friends and family, for inviting me in to your celebration to do what I love best.

Gloriousness to come.

2011-06-23T22:50:00.000-07:00

Don't you think for a hot second that my lack of posting over the past month has had anything to do with me not having gloriousness to share with you. In fact it is quite the opposite. My camera and I have been so over-loaded with gloriousness that I barely even know where to begin. There has been Easter day 1st birthday parties, a super cute engaged duo and that ever-so-beautiful tall whispy grass, an afternoon with a precious baby boy, strolls through downtown Sebring with a long time friend and her dear family of four, a North Carolina mountain top wedding complete with a ski lift ride, and a few delightful days with my very best friend and her brand new baby girl. Plus in the middle of all that I embarked on a journey to South America that was half part missions trip in Oxapampa, Peru and half part adventure vacation traipsing around in the jungles, in true "jungle diva" fashion, with my sister. Phew... you can only imagine.

I hope to share every last juicy detail as well as a sampling of images with you over these next few posts. And to start things off I thought I'd give you a bit of a teaser of the gloriousness that is to come.

1) Reina's 1st Birthday Party
2) Dara & Andy's Engagement
3) Welcome Sawyer
4) The Ford Family
5) BFC Missions trip to Oxapampa, Peru
6) Peruvian Jungle Adventure on the Tambopata River
7) Welcome to the world, Avni!
8) Brian & Ashley's NC Wedding
9) Avni's Newborn Sesh

The Terrell Family

2011-05-18T13:43:00.000-07:00

Once upon a time... I spent a morning in the backyard with the Terrell family (who also happen to be my relatives) and my camera. It took me way too long to get to finally editing these photos (why does family always get neglected???) but once I got to it I found myself saying "oh my goodness" a WHOLE lot. The entire Terrell family is just darling. I felt like every last one of them could be on the cover of something, for crying out loud.

Michael and Amy have five little ones with five distinct personalities and five sets of beautiful, gleaming (and sometimes mischievous) blue eyes. One of the things I loved most about the time I spent with the Terrells was how I got to see the way they worked together. When you have four siblings you have to learn to be a team player ever-so-often. I watched as each one took there time to step in and help out with their active baby brother, Caleb. At one point in time Caleb started to cry about the same time as an unfortunate, minor, paddle ball accident that also left Natalie in tears. The next thing I knew, Miss Natalie was at Caleb's side, suddenly composed, toy in hand, calming him, with tears still lingering on her little red cheeks. And there I was, just snapping pictures of the whole thing. As Natalie pulled her glance away from her now calm baby brother and up to me with my camera I knew I was not just capturing but also learning something truly profound.

I love this family and can't wait until I get to see their sweet faces again. Come back soon Terrell family!

I don't normally post pics of crying babies (hehe) but this was that moment with Natalie and Caleb that I adored. Just look at those precious tears.

We also happened to sneak in a few pics of the ENTIRE Terrell clan...

2011 Disney Princess Half Marathon

2011-05-16T13:00:00.001-07:00

Once upon a time... (btw - this is how the next few posts will all be titled, seeing as I am catching up on blogging) I introduced you to my "blue belonging device" (A.K.A. a beautiful, beeping, blue watch) that gelled me into a running group (a.k.a. a rough, tough gang). This lovely group of ladies would gather together at various locations (often discussed in code) to synchronize our beeping devices and hit the road running. I had never run in a group before. So when I showed up for my first training run I stepped out of my car with my trusty running buddy in hand, my iPod, and was reprimanded in a way that had me throwing the thing back in the car, slam the door and lock it promptly behind me. I didn't know how I would survive without the Black Eyed Peas and Beyoncé encouraging me along the path with their "sick" beats. But let me just tell you, good company and good conversation can fuel any distance better than I ever imagined.

Some days we were a large group. Some days we even had kids in our company, lounging and snacking in their jogging strollers. (Which, by the way, are much harder to manage than I expected. Props to you mom joggers out there.) Some days we would chat about the weeks happenings, funny stories, physical ailments and new races to train for. And other days, in smaller groups, we would share prayer requests, our hearts aches and even tears. But every day, even on those painfully long runs, even when we were all so winded to even talk there was something about having the presence of another breathless jogger by your side that encouraged you to keep on going.

Our carrot at the end of the stick was the 2011 Disney Princess Half Marathon in February where we would all embark on a 13.1 mile journey in and around the Magic Kingdom joined by 17,000 or so other tiara donning runners. We made a girls weekend out of it and I can't even begin to convey the hilariousness of the whole thing. There were Whole Foods dining experiences, miracle sock purchases, coffee shop freebies, impromptu camera phone photo sessions and late night costume construction shenanigans, to name a few. And somehow come Sunday morning before sunrise we were all suited up and ready to go at the start line. With fireworks overhead we were off and over the next 3 or so hours we weaved our way in and around the Magic Kingdom where we were cheered on by pirates, and bands, and dancers, and on lookers, and princes and princesses, and every Disney character that ever was. And we all made it. All the way to the finish line, where we paused just before crossing to take one last picture with Mickey and Minnie (who cared about those extra few seconds we lost at that point.) After much contemplation I opted to not take my giant camera with me on the run. But my mom greeted me at the end of the race (thanks, mom!) to pass it over a fence so that I could capture the aftermath, which included exhaustion, elation and several ice packs. But all in all there was a sense of accomplishment that swelled up inside of our weary, aching bodies to leave smiles on our faces for quite a long while.

Don't let the Shoemaker gal's (below) lack of sweat along with their perfect hair and makeup after running a half marathon fool you. It was not a walk in the park, so to speak. And miss Nicole even had a little bun in the oven.

The night before the race we decided to add captions to the back of our shirts that corresponded with the princess we each were representing. Some were clever, some were a tribute, some of the letters hung on through the 13.1 mile jog, some didn't. :) Thanks Lisa, for your dedication to the project!

Our nine person team wanted to wear something unique. With a title that has the word "princess" in it, you can only imagine the costumes that show up at this event. Every Disney princess, prince, sidekick and villain would be represented. And we could count on there being more tiaras and tutus than we had ever seen in one place at one time. We wanted to stick with the princess theme (mainly because we couldn't pass up the opportunity to wear a tiara) but we wanted something creative and unique that would stand out in the crowd. After the success of my 2010 Halloween costume creation of the Paper Princess Bride, princess paper tutus were the natural choice. With wavy scales for The Little Mermaid, fringes for Pocahontas and rounded loops for Cinderella and Jasmine, each tutu was unique to the Disney Princess the runner represented. The paper princess tutus were certainly a hit at the race. And even with the jostling with every stride, water and Poweraide splashes, and sweating, err, I mean glistening, most of them made it to the finish line a little worn but fully intact, just like the nine of us princesses.

Paper Princesses Shown (in order): Ariel, Snow White, Jasmine, Belle, Cinderella and Pocahontas.

Kelly & Joe / Love at the County Fair

2011-05-13T14:44:00.000-07:00

Ok, I am so very behind in sharing photos with you all... << insert long, highly convincing excuse here >> So as you can see I am quite justified in my pause from posting (hehe). What I do have an explanation for is why I have a sudden urgency to, in rapid succession, share with you some of the beautifulness I have had in front of my camera over the past few months. In just a week and a half I will be hopping on a plane and heading south, of the equator that is. I am joining a team from Bible Fellowship Church in Sebring, FL for a 10 day mission trip in the highland jungles of Peru. Quite serendipitously we are flying in and out of Lima, Peru, the current home of mi hermanita (my little sis)! Which means I am going to be extending my trip to spend a few extra days with my lovely sis (in which we are embarking on a journey to the Peruvian jungles, jungle cruise, eco lodge and all). Waahoo! So hopefully over the next few days and weeks you will be able to get a glimpse into some of the fun photo (and life) stuff I have been doing over the last few months. And then upon my return from Peru... my-oh-my, that is going to be a long blog post.

Here is where the rapid succession begins. Remember that couple in love I followed around the county fair back in February? Without further adieu, here you have them, Kelly & Joe.

This is the Day Photography Workshop

2011-05-03T12:04:00.000-07:00

Back in December, fellow area photog Sarah Sandel and I sat down with a bud of an idea for a workshop for local shutterbugs. With months of planning and multiple pots of coffee in our wake This is the Day Photography Workshop has come and gone and it was certainly quite an extraordinary day! Thanks to everyone who contributed and participated.

I thought I would share with you all a little peek into the day...

Sarah and I of course worked to make the day a visually rich experience for our participants with celebratory details ranging from pennant banners made from recycled photography magazines and colorful notebooks for jotting tips, tricks and all those juicy details.

The end of the day included a super grand finale with giveaways including this set of lips and stache from Whisker Works.

There was some serious technical speak from Miss Sarah.

There was an breezy photoshoot on the circle with a super cute family of four. (Thanks Nick, Phylisha, Kaela and Olivia!)

Thanks again to all our participants for being so delightful!

Oh yes, and be sure to check out Sarah's blog post about the day...

www.sarahsandel.com

Jamie + Kenny

2011-04-18T18:01:00.000-07:00

A few months back I got to go on a two part journey/photoshoot with engaged duo, Jamie and Kenny that spanned from an Avon Park runway to the most beautiful off the beaten path field of wispy grass that I had ever seen. And what unfolded in front of my camera was a story with a bit of a vintage feel of a couple so evidently in love.

I also have been able to play a design role in this pair nuptials by designing a set of vintage postcards, using some of these glorious images, as save-the-dates. (Images coming soon.)

The Byrd Family / Four Generations

2011-03-30T13:18:00.000-07:00

The photo shoot with the Byrd family was a little different than anything I had done before. I was invited into a family gathering of four generations where they were celebrating... well... just being all together in one place at one time on a beautiful afternoon. What a fantastic idea! I arrived right about the time they all were filling up their plates to eat so I was able to wander around for a bit before any "formal" photography started. The property was a gorgeous setting with a lake and a dock and moss covered trees and the entire Byrd family was welcoming and personable (it may have helped that just as I stepped onto the back porch and meet eyes with Jeni Byrd, my cousin Angie's childhood friend, that I put two and two together and realized I actually knew the Byrd family.) But it was when I was exploring around the house that I began to really get to know this family.

As a photographer I am, of course, drawn to pictures. And I found myself standing in front of the perfect little display of old and new photographs in the corner of a room. As my eyes widened and I took in the images I heard a voice come from just over my shoulder, "That's me and my wife," he said, "That picture was taken when I was in the navy in Virginia." I was looking at a black and white picture of a beautiful young couple, the girl was in a dress and had thick dark hair with a flower in it and the boy was in a white uniform. They were looking into each other's eyes, smiling. "I'm the patriarch of this family, you know," he continued. And I turned to meet Darrell Byrd.

From the day that young couple was all dolled up, all in love and captured on film to this day where we stood in a house together talking over pictures, three more generations of Byrds had come into the world. And today they were all gathered here to celebrate what they cherished most, each other.

I took note of the image and the story and made sure that it made it outside with me when we set up under the towering trees to capture more pictures that told grand stories to be displayed in homes for generations to come.

March 25, 2011 / Welcome to the world, Sawyer!

2011-03-25T09:27:00.000-07:00

This is the Day Photography Workshop - Registration Open

2011-03-16T08:45:00.000-07:00

Registration is officially open for a one day photo workshop put on by myself and fellow photog, Sarah Sandel of Sarah Sandel Photography. I have included below our vision for the event. Visit the site to learn more about the day, the photographers, what you will walk away with and how to get yourself in a seat for that splendid day.

All of us are telling a story about our days. We may not get to control what happens in the day, but we get to choose how to respond to it. What happens isn’t what ultimately matters – it’s what we say about what happens that lasts. It’s about the story we tell.

Our desire is to see budding photographers learn how to use the tools available to them to tell the story of their lives. The beauty of our differences means the stories we tell are diverse and wonderful. We are parents, brothers, sisters & friends. We are professionals, small business owners, instructors, and artists. We raise children, we teach others’ children. We create and dream and play. Some of us own point & shoot cameras, others are shooting digital SLRs with mega lenses. Some of us snap away all the time, others bring the camera to special occasions.

We want to help you develop the tools to tell your unique story. We want to see you be inspired by the moment. We want to share what we’ve learned about taking hold of those happy accidents and creating memories out of the seemingly ordinary events of our day-to-day lives.

This Is The Day is not about growing a business or the technology of photography, it’s about the story we tell and the tools we use. It’s about a way of seeing things. It’s about being inspired by the everyday. It’s about sharing & celebrating the little things. We want to equip you to tell your stories.

Browse around a bit - gather information about the workshop, the photographers, and some of our favorite bits of inspiration! If and when you have questions, use the {contact} form above to get in touch. We're looking forward to seeing you and spending some time together soon.

Cheers!
Caroline & Sarah Beth

Spring...

2011-03-07T13:45:00.000-08:00

Train Date

2011-03-07T10:29:00.000-08:00

My lovely cousin and her (one of the loves of my life) little one, Blayne had me scoop them up from the train station the other day. I couldn't help but bring my camera along...

The Shoemaker Family

2011-03-04T07:47:00.000-08:00

Remember that post I did a while back about the Thakkar family? Remember how I wrote about how nice it is to have friends that have lasted my lifetime (thus far), and phone numbers and addresses that have stayed the same while so much keeps changing around me? Remember? Well, you could pretty much copy that post and put it here in front of this one about the Shoemaker Family. There are details that are different but the sentiment stays the same. I. Love. This. Family. Nicole is in some of my earliest memories, from pre-school, to grade school, to youth group, to bible studies, to missions trips, to after school shenanigans, to cheer camp, to cheerleading, to college trips, to seaside weddings, to baby showers, to really 13.1 mile jogs in princess costumes. As long as I can remember, she has been in my life. And as long as I can remember, it didn't matter how far away we were or how long it had been since we last talked she was the type of rare friend that you could just pick back up with as if no time or space had ever been between the two of you. I am truly blessed to be in a place in my life where the time between seeing each other is at most only a few days and the space only a few miles. (Keep your eyes peeled for my post about the Disney Princess Half Marathon we both just trained for and participated in together.)

I loved this session with the entire Shoemaker, Radonski and Sico families. I loved knowing them and getting to watch as each personality shined through. I loved how when I told the kids to play in the leaves Isabella squealed, "this is soooo much fun!" as she released a perfect handful of yellow leaves into the air at just the right time and watched them fall with a delight in her eyes. I loved the love.

Kelly & Joe / Love at the County Fair / Teaser

2011-02-16T18:40:00.000-08:00

At the end of my last blog post, Hugs & Kisses A Love Affair, I let you guys know that I was taking a real, live couple to the fair with my camera. I was definitely excited about this shoot, but little did I know how well it was going to turn out. The weather was so perfect and the pair was so evidently in love. We spent two hours there on Tuesday night, riding rides, getting dizzy, chatting it up with delightful "carnies" and caricature artists as well as munching on a variety of delicious fair foods. Now I have a whole slew of truly gorgeous pics to sort through. But I just couldn't help but share a teaser with a sampling of some of my favorite moments...

There are only a few days left of the Highlands County Fair. If you'd like to book your own fair photo session contact me by clicking here.

Hugs & Kisses / A Love Affair

2011-02-13T20:10:00.000-08:00

On Friday morning, during a coffee shop meeting with fellow area photographer Sarah Sandel I handed over fabric letter X & O and told her to have photo fun over the weekend with the pair, culminating in a Valentines Day blog post. And with a matching set of my own we set off. With the gorgeous Florida wintertime weather (60 and sunny) rolling in along with the County Fair I had myself the perfect setting for a beautiful love affair. Happy Valentines Day!

Love always,
Caroline
XOXO

PS. To check out Sarah's blog post click here.

And on Tuesday I am taking a real live young couple in love to the county fair for a photo shoot all their own. Can't wait!

Jamie & Kenny / A Teaser

2011-02-09T19:31:00.000-08:00

I am never any good at editing myself, holding things back, or practicing the art of leaving things out in order to enhance a story. I share everything. If you have ever heard me tell a story, you may have experience me getting so caught up in the details that I forget what the point was in the first place. Most people seem almost relieved when I realize this and stop talking.

One of my absolute favorite high school summer reading assignments was Willa Cather's, My Antonia. I can remember there was a scene where Cather went on for pages painting a picture of a western field with the most beautifully descriptive words I had ever seen. I loved it. I ate every word up, to the point where I could feel the warmth of the sun on my skin and the tickle of the grass beneath my palm. I couldn't wait to talk about it in class that following semester. To marvel at the skill of the author, the brilliance of the literature. I was completely crushed to find that the great majority of my classmates hated the thing, even directly referring to the painful scene that dragged on for pages describing a field, "for crying out loud." "Get to the point already," they complained. And it was there, with all my words of praise for Willa frozen at my lips, that I realized that people are just different in the level of information and/or detail they care to receive.

For my masters thesis while all my classmates were scrambling in the last days to get up to a certain page count I was struggling to get my count down to save me some money at the printer. Penning all the "painful" details of the research is just what I did all along. I loved it. (I on the other hand, was scrambling to get actual "design" work done to support my "design" thesis.) And it was there, with a 150 page book and $300 printing bill in my hands, that I realized that people are just different in the level of information and/or detail they feel necessary to give.

I run this test on myself for facebook. When I go to post something as my status I think of the most random person on my friend list and ask myself, "If so-and-so posted this would I find it interesting, valuable, or worthy?" If the answer is no, then I proceed to pound on the delete key until every letter disappears (or just press cancel, depending upon how dramatic I am feeling at the moment.) I wanted to post it. I wanted the facebook world to know those details of my life, to feel the warmth of the sun on my skin, or whatever other meaningful detail of my day pressed upon my thoughts at that time, begging to escape. But something in me encouraged otherwise. (If only some other folks on facebook would run the same test on themselves. Detailed descriptions of what is "going on" with your body while you are sick absolutely DO NOT belong in a facebook status. Period. Even I know that.)

Believe it or not, I have the same problem with photos. The first thing I do when I get home after a photo shoot is download the photos, back them up, and then look through every one (which is typically well over 500) picking out the best that will make up my edited suite for my clients. This gets hard. I try to narrow it down to between 100-150, but this rarely if ever happens. The session plays out like a story for me, and so do the images. It is hard to choose what to leave in but even harder what to leave out. Even the slight shift of a gaze in the same pose tells a different part of the story. From eyes, to lips. You know what I mean. And it is here, with a newly purchased 2 terabyte hard drive quickly filling up with image files, that I realized that my clients are just going to be different in the level of details of their story they care to receive, because the long, drawn out story, "for crying out loud," is what they are going to get with me as their photographer. And I love it. I hope they do too.

Wait, why was I telling you all this story?

Uh, well, I have been huddled up in front of my computer editing away at hoards of gorgeous photos of truly beautiful people over the last few days and weeks and I can't hold it back. I just don't know how to. I feel like I absolutely have to share something, anything with you! Because of the busy-ness there is nothing ready for a full on blog post at this time but a few teasers may leak out here and there including this one from my engagement photo sesh with the lovely Jamie and Kenny that spanned from a runway at an Avon Park airport to the tall, golden grass in a off the beaten path field, that tickled the palm of my hand, as we captured their love on film (digital film that is). The story begins...

Jack & Bobbie | 50 Years Together

2011-02-01T13:14:00.000-08:00

A few months back I was contacted about photographing Jack and Bobbie to celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary and I knew from the beginning this would be a photo shoot to remember. Just off of the pre-holiday season I had been in a photo shoot frenzy of families and had been itching to get a couple in front of my camera. And then here they were, the most adorable couple that had been loving and honoring each other in marriage for 50 years. During our time together I learned a lot about Jack and Bobbie. The first time they saw each other was in the lobby of their office building and Jack had a black eye (from a car accident on the way to work). Their first date was an Ohio State football game. Their son Brad, who was in town for the holidays, hasn't missed a Christmas with the two of them in his 47 years of life. And according to Jack the secret to longevity (he is 89) is gin. Followed by the secret to a lasting marriage being taking care of each other (a.k.a. Bobbie is Jack's at home care giver and makes him a drink with gin every afternoon). These two were a true delight and it was quite fun to see them loosen up as the shoot went on. We finished up with Bobbie making Jack (and I) a gimlet giving me the recipe secrets all along the way. Start things off with Booth's gin and add Rose's Sweetened Lime Juice for the best combo. Keep the gin in the fridge so that it pours like oil. Shake and serve it up in a chilled glass.

As Jack and Bobbie sat down together at the kitchen table in the late afternoon light and raised their glasses to toast, just one day away from 50 years together, I couldn't help but have a sense of sheer admiration and love for these two. And I couldn't help but think about all the other couples I know in my life that are weathering through the thick and the thin, for better or worse, working their own way to 50 years and beyond and celebrating all along the way.

The Thakkar Family

2011-01-26T12:49:00.000-08:00

If I lost my cell phone today with no way of retrieving my contact list I might as well be stranded on a desert island somewhere. First of all, do I even still know how to operate a land line? Do they even still exist?* I would have to borrow someone else's cell phone (preferably an iPhone) to reconnect myself with the world. But then I am not sure what I would do while looking at those nine numbers in a 3x3 square. I talk to my mom at least once a day, but have to pause and crinkle my brow when trying to come up with her cell number to tell someone. And my friends, well, I would probably have to hang out at Publix hoping to run into someone to tell them to let the world know they need to call me so that I could get their numbers again (or, then again, there is always facebook).

It seems that we no longer have to remember much of anything these days. Technology does it all for us. Which makes me wonder, how is the computer as a cultural machine effecting our cognitive abilities to remember? I had always heard that in order to help "protect" your brain against Alzheimer you should exercise it by playing memory games. I felt a sense of relief every time I would flip to the back of my mom's People magazine and find a crossword puzzle completed in her handwriting. I wondered if as the computer acquires more and more memory capabilities does our human memory retain less and less? (This is an actual beginnings of a researchable question in my thesis notebooks from over a year and a half ago. But I digress.)

Through the course of my life I have had to recommit over seven new addresses of my own to memory and more phone numbers than I can remember (of course, I am losing it). I stopped memorizing friends numbers somewhere between my first generation, yellow and black, Nextel and my second. But as machines are remembering more and more for us now-a-days it is quite nostalgic to think back to the days when you could dial your best friend's seven digits from memory in the blink of an eye to ask if she could stay the night on Friday or to let her know you were leaving your house on your bike and would be there in 20 minutes and to have cheese quesadillas ready. The Thakkar's have been at the same address with the same phone number since the day, the summer before third grade, when Radha rode her red bike the two streets down to the little league ball field where her brother Vipul played on a team coached by my dad with my brother. I think she came looking for friends, but little did she know that we would be signing our letters, RT + CM = BFF and each wearing one half of broken heart charms a few years later. Then becoming godparents to children just a few more years beyond that. (If you hunt you can find four blog posts dedicated to this BFF of mine.)

When there are so many things changing, shifting, moving and competing for our dwindling memory space all around us it is really, really nice to know that you can count on certain things, certain people, to stay the same. And it is even nicer to know that I will always be able to get a hold of (or at least dial the seven digits to get a hold of) the Thakkar family (*on their land line) at their house two streets down from the ball field.

On this past Christmas Eve day, with my camera in tow, I pulled my car into the same driveway I used to pedal my bike up into 20 years earlier to join the "expanding" Thakkar family in their yard. Hoping to capture this moment in time in their memories, and my own, for many years to come...

(So, Thakkars, let's do this again in 20 more years... Same time. Same place. I'll call you to let you know I am on my way.)

Philadelphia / A Reunion

2011-01-19T10:31:00.000-08:00

Despite the fact that for the first two days of my stay in Philly to celebrate Lauren's birthday I found myself, completely bundled up, standing at the bottom of Lauren's three flights of ridiculously long stairs, dramatically pressing my hand against the side of my head saying, "Darn it. I forgot my camera... again," I did managed to capture a bit of the story along the way...

There was snow, and boots in the snow...

and birds in the snow, and dogs in the snow (hi, Tug!)...

and foot prints in the snow...

and signs in the snow, and just plain snow...

and Brooke in the snow with my Holga.

There was architecture...

and more architecture...

and history.............. and jokes about history.

There was texture...

upon texture...

upon texture...

upon glorious texture.

And lights...

yes, those lights again, twisted, typographic, florescent delightfulness. Still in love.

There were flowers, and beeswax candles...

and coffee, and lobsters, and a Brooke (who was always a perfect model.)

There was pre-dinner wine, and another surprise portrait of Brooke.

There was dining out...

and yummy guac, and ahi tuna tacos...

and "women laughing while eating salads"

and happy, little, blurry pictures in bars.

There were pleasant surprises in the midst of forgetful moments when I left my ISO on 3600 from the night before (for you camera nerds).

There was a wait for brunch...

with just enough time for a stroll in Old Town...

and a return visit to Franklin Fountain...

for something warm this time.

Brunch, at last. (Don't worry, we ate much more than apples.)

There was a bit more sight seeing, with typographic sightings, then cheese... for four hours while watching the Golden Globes. What a delightful end to a splendid visit with friends.

To Lauren...

and Brooke...

And Remy, and even you, Tug (although our encounter was no longer than 20 seconds in which I took 20 pictures)

And, of course you too, Philadelphia, I miss you already. Until next time...

au revoir.

A Terrell Family Teaser

2011-01-19T07:25:00.000-08:00

Just a little teaser for you, Aunt Cathy! I am pretty certain that you are my biggest fan and I love it. :)

Huntley turns 2!

2011-01-10T21:15:00.000-08:00

I have decided that I would like to officially start a movement. From now on I think we should start celebrating birthdays in the same way we did as kids. Why is it that as we get older and older the parties get smaller and smaller, with thinner and thinner guests lists if there is even a party at all? Oh yes, I know that occasionally on a milestone birthday we really throw down, but in all the other years we act as if it is just another day passing us by and then it is off into oblivion.

To start things off I would like to take a few brilliant cues from the most recent birthday party I attended. Huntley turned 2 and I was there to celebrate the glorious occasion!

1. Have a theme and plan accordingly. Now Huntley's B-day party theme was based around tractors and included a collection of toy tractors for the kids to play with, tractor crayons to draw on the paper table cloths decorated with scenes tractors may like to frolic within, a tractor banner, a custom designed shirt for the birthday boy donning a replica of the tractor that was on the invite and on the piece of artwork over his bed, goodie bags for the kiddies with plenty of tractor paraphernalia, a John Deer tractor cake, and even a real live full-sized tractor which served as the perfect photo-op spot.

2. Invite a crowd. Now that you have the scene set you have to get some people in the mix. And don't just invite a crowd of friends your own age, but everyone. Your friends, their parents (or their kids), aunts, uncles, grandparents, neighbors, school friends, church friends, gym friends, work friends, grocery store friends, etc. The more the merrier, right? And definitely stand around in a circle with this crowd, hand-in-hand, and bless the b-day boy/girl, those who came to celebrate, and the yumminess you are about to experience.

3. Provide some seasonal, occasion appropriate snacks for noshing. For Huntley's party they hit this right on. There were the makings for smores for snacking then for dinner we had chili and corn bread muffins, hot dogs, chips and TWO options for dessert. There was the happiest little tractor cake I had ever seen and cupcakes. I tried both desserts, of course. And watched as little Edy, after eating her cake, sat just inches away from the cupcakes mesmerized for at least 10 min. before asking me if she could have one. Now I have learned by now that if a kid wants extra sugar after sun down you always ask the parent. "What do you think your mom will say?" I asked her. And she quite confidently told me her mom would most certainly say, "Why, yes!" And she did. :)

4. Invite a photographer, or a friend with a camera and a friendly disposition, to tell the story of the celebration through pictures. This way you can relive the celebration for the next 365 days until it is time to celebrate again.

delish........................ and delish.

and this is Edy, a double dessert eatin' girl after my own heart.

and this is the Birthday Boy. Happy Birthday Huntley!

The Blue Belonging Device

2011-01-10T09:31:00.000-08:00

So, I have signed up to run the Disney Princess Half Marathon in February and am truly excited about... #1) spending time with some really dear and hilarious friends, #2) getting some exercise in while having fun (and solving not just our own, but also the world's problems), #3) costume designing (do I see another paper princess dress in the near future?) and #4) having an excuse to purchase really cool looking things even if I don't know how to use them.

I have actually run a half marathon before but even though I was participating with a group I was training during my first semester of grad school and did all my running on my own. This is my first training experience with a pack and I have to admit it makes running a whole lot more fun. However, it is kind of like I am the new girl at school, trying to figure out where I belong. Everyone brings something unique to the group, whether it be encouraging words or hilarity or a knife to fend off the occasional bear. But they all also bring something similar, their belonging device, that gels them as a group. Whether it is strapped to their wrist or clipped on their running pants each one has some sort of time, heart rate, distance monitoring device that beeps in unison at 3 and 1 minute intervals like an angelic choir, and fits so smoothly, so beautifully into the flow of conversation as if it were as natural as breaths between words... and then there is me. I may be the only one with the cool, full length running pants (that Carolyn envies) or the toastiest gloves, but I am also the only one without a beeping, belonging device. So... you guessed it, I got online and got me a little blue piece of heaven, with four buttons and endless possibilities. I can now belong... err, kinda.

The problem is I can't figure out the thing. I have carried around the 1/2 inch thick instruction manual with me all week thinking I will have a spare moment in a line or a waiting room or while riding in the car to master my device but nada. I even thought I could just start pushing buttons and at least figure out how to make it sing out a single glorious beep, to possibly warm up its voice, but still nada. So all that I can do at this point is sit, stare and marvel at its silent beauty, and hope that the girls will still accept me without a beep to add to the choir just yet.

To just give you a hint at how little I know about this device, this picture was taken on Sunday, around 5:30.

Family: The Dearest of Friends

2011-01-05T19:52:00.000-08:00

With my first post of the new year there is so much I wanted to talk about and do. I wish I was posting about an updated blog and business, for one (But as you may have been able to see that most everything still looks, feels and sounds the same. I suppose that will just have to be coming soon.) I had started collecting pictures to start off the new year with a montage of some of my favorite smooches over the past year. A New Year's kiss to you! Yep, you don't see that either, do you? I also found myself, so many times during the holiday season stepping back and reflecting on the idea of traditions, what stays the same (a hunt for hidden cash on Christmas morning and casserole city Christmas Day at the Maxcy house), what changes (Uncle Paul... we miss you dearly) and the charming way you never know when a new tradition is being born (will we be singing carols, in a dimly lit dinning room, piano side with Jordan next year on Christmas Eve?). I even filmed the last one on my new camera, but, nope, you aren't going to see that here. I considered posting about New Year's resolutions, but then began to think of my own and realized that I am going resolution free this year. I resolve to not make any resolutions. This year is about taking it one day at a time, stepping out, not necessarily knowing where I am going, but remaining confident in my guide, the maker of every day. No pictures to post for that one.

But ultimately with the dust from the holidays settling on all those blog post plans behind me I find myself most intently reflecting on today and how I am loving being back in Florida near so many loved ones. There is something I truly cherish about being near to friends that are as close to my heart as family and family members that are also the dearest of friends. And quite honestly, most of the pictures you see on my blog are of people that are near to my heart in some way.

Two such family members are my cousins Angie and Bianca, who I have written about and showcased here on my blog before, both of which I have lived with at some point, both during what has been rather "transitional" times in my life. Angie got me as a roomie as I was transitioning and settling into college. God bless her. Enough said. Don't ask her for stories. And Bianca and I lived together in Atlanta just after I graduated from college during a much different transition in my life. This time I was turning around and running back into the arms of God, something we were able to experience together (along with the other dear girls in our North Point Community Church Small Group.) A lot has changed since back then, but I find myself loving being close to the two of them again as I am navigating life, day-by-day, in the middle of a new transition.

For Angie and Bianca they now both have some of the most precious families around (you can read about their adventures on each of their blogs by clicking here for Angie and here for Bianca (I hope you two have updated your blogs recently.) They each have rockstar husbands that evidently adore them (as they should) and with, seriously, some of the coolest and cutest kids that always make me feel like a million bucks when I walk into the room. :) I love them. I really do. And I have been able to photograph both of these families in some impromptu and "experimental" photo sessions over the past few months and thought that it is now time to share a bit more of their coolness with you all here...

Say Hi, to The Spencer Family (Angie, Jon, Peyton, Brady and Rylee)...

Sweetness... and then there is Rylee. Oh, Rylee, I love you.

They love each other. They really do.

I was asking the big brothers, Peyton (left) and Brady (center) to kiss their sister on her cheek and Rylee kept running away. So Brady, says, "I know. I'll kiss myself." I got my camera in position and told him to go for it (not knowing what was actually going to happen.) Then I got the middle shot of Brady. Look how happy he is at his cleverness. I loved it!

Goofing off. The true Spencer family.

Peyton is so intense about football. And equally as fast.

And say Hi, to The Humphrey Family (Bianca, Sean, Blayne and Baby Boy #2)...

Such a cutie.

He was a little forlorn because we accidentally had him "buddy up" to a few stray ants while trying to get the shots for the Humphrey's Happy Christmas movie. Poor little guy.

The classic Humphrey "Throw Your Head Back and Laugh" move.

Now things are getting real. The collar is popped the sleeves are getting rolled up and he is about to soar off the top step of the ladder.

I love you all! And there are more family posts to come with the Terrell clan and... my own family. (Yes, that is right. I got in front of the camera again... briefly.)

Happy Christmas!

2010-12-25T17:21:00.000-08:00

Check out a little collaborative project I did with the adorable Humphrey family for their Christmas greeting this year...

Humphrey Happy Christmas from Caroline Prietz on Vimeo.

The Stephens Family

2010-12-21T09:16:00.000-08:00

Just a few days away from Christmas I find my thoughts are consumed with gifts and I have to say I am pretty impressed with my selections this year. But then something happens... I actually listen to the words of the Christmas song Sufjan Stevens is singing in the background, from iTunes, while I am composing this post, Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God Almighty, and I am reminded of the truest, dearest and most sacrificial gift that arrived here on this earth amongst a fallen world as a baby over 2000 years ago. Not so impressed with my own gift giving this year anymore. Not. At. All.

If anything, what I want is for the world to know about this gift, but I don't always know the words to use. What I do know how to do is make a valiant attempt to capture the smallest glimpse of God's love, grace and mercy that radiates through the eyes, grins and hearts of His children in a way that always makes me step back in awe of Him. Always.

The Stephens Family was certainly no exception. Before every photo shoot I begin with a prayer. God bless this family and bless our time together. And as I pull away after our hour or so with the images I saw through my lens and the experience we shared together still fresh on my mind I find myself full of love, praise and thankfulness for the gift of those moments God allows me to be a part of. I don't know what it was about this session. Maybe it was the lighting that afternoon, or the way the weather was changing, the way our time together felt like we were writing a simple, beautiful story, the way we started off at the front of a house and slowly made our way over the next hour to the back, down the lawn to the place where the waves of Lake Jackson met the sand and then beyond, the way the sun looked in the sky as it dipped below the horizon, the look of a baby girl in her mom and dad's arms, the love and protection in the kiss on the forehead from a big brother to his baby sister, or the way when it came time to walk back up to the house just after sunset and after a chilly wade in the lake I got to scoop Nolan up in my arms and fall in love. I am not sure what it was, but I left this session with the Stephens Family feeling the same way I do when I watch movies like, The Blind Side or Hoosiers or The Holiday, I just didn't want it to end. (Seriously, I immediately got home and put in an official request to Heidi - on facebook - asking if they would adopt me, which I think somehow offended all the other families I hadn't asked to adopt me and my own mom and dad, whom I all love dearly.)

That day, as with everyday I make the drive home from a photo shoot with images in tow, I found myself thanking God for the gift He had given me as a glimpse into His heart through the lens of my own.

Hanging with Ashlyn

2010-12-17T13:59:00.000-08:00

I spent the last two days hanging out with the most adorable two year old redhead. I say hanging out as opposed to what her mom and dad call "babysitting" because she pretty much runs things. Lollipops after breakfast? Sure. Jumping on mom and dad's bed? Why, yes! And I couldn't help but snap some pics of her (sorry, your kids are free game to my camera when you invite me in as a babysitter). Before sharing, I just have to clear a few things up first. #1 - She was the one that wanted to stay in her pajamas all day. #2 - She is the one that talked me out of my boots and her into them...

Sheer preciousness.

for some reason posing required singing... love it!

on the bench her daddy built

cheeks!

she told her momma the story about the bubble on the monkey's head when she got home. :)

and then she started to get really excited and began to run around the yard...

...maybe a little too excited for her feet (or it could have been the hand-me-down crocs from Bella that she had to wear that were still a little too big that caused the tumble.)

no harm done. all is still swell.

hugs for mom.

The Smehyl Family Christmas

2010-12-10T12:48:00.000-08:00

I love compliments. Don't we all? And the biggest compliment I can receive as a photographer is getting invited back to photograph a family again. A few months back I had the opportunity to photograph Adam and Stacy's baby girl Aubrey and sneak in a few other photos of the family. You can check out that precious session by clicking here. But this time around it was a family affair, and Bauer got to take the main stage. And, oh yes, he has perfected his posing smile, head cocked to the side, smiling eyes and all. This kid is an adorable hoot! And so is the rest of the family, of course. When I arrived at their house, Stacy recommended taking a trek just a few roads down to a neighbors house who was all decked out for Christmas. As we pulled up I knew we had a gem of a location and I knew Bauer was going to be the perfect model to start things off...

The Wells Family Christmas

2010-12-08T17:27:00.000-08:00

I always forget how closely related the professions of family photographer and group fitness instructor seem to be. Seriously, you get paid to work out. But I much prefer working out in the beautiful Florida outdoors, hanging out with adorable families over a stuffy gym any day! When I got back in my car to take the drive back to Sebring from this Lake Placid photo shoot I was exhausted and parched (but that didn't stop me for pausing all along the way home to capture more gorgeous images.)

You may remember my two part post from earlier this year with the Wells family and their precious, energetic twin girls. Well, fast forward just a few months down the road to today and these girls have some how managed to get even more adorable and learned to not only walk, but practically run. I spent a delightful hour following them around their yard with my camera. And the best part was that their shoes squeaked. Yes, I said it, they squeaked, kind of like the shoes that light up, but without the lights and with the squeaks. The girls were entertained with every step and so was I. They, of course, ended up in the same spot at the same time next to their mom and dad several times so that we could get in some precious family portraits, but you won't find those shots here. We have to keep some surprises for the Christmas card. But, as you may know of me by now, it is those in-between moments that are my all time favorite things to photograph. A curious baby girl who walks up as close as she can to the camera lens, the mischievous look as one makes her get-a-way from the gang, the exchange of looks between sisters and the sheer joy of a daughter in her momma's arms. I love these things. And I love, love, love this family and the fact that they invited me back to capture more of their growing memories.

(I also loved that Jen Lindley showed up again at this photo shoot and worked her magic to capture the girls attention and keep them not only smiling but ecstatic for our time together. Thanks again Jen!)

And, of course, before I even got out of the driveway I had spotted more things to photograph. What a beautiful day it was.

The Double Header / Baker & Lee Families

2010-12-03T11:39:00.000-08:00

Just two weeks ago I hit State Road 17 and headed north to Avon Park for a "double header" photo session with two sets of beautiful families (moms, dads, kids, grandparents, godchildren, dog, cat and all - times two!). The Baker and Lee families made it a breeze (mainly because Anne, stepped up and took charge of the photo list spreadsheet. Thanks Anne!) And the men didn't even complain too much when I asked them to remove the couch from the living room, load it up on the back of a golf cart and place it in the middle of the drive beneath the trees. :) "Your gonna love it," I promised. And I hope you all do love it. I know I certainly do...

And thanks again, Jen Lindley, for being a fantastic photo assistant for this one!

Peace, Love &...

2010-12-01T19:38:00.001-08:00

Just a little teaser from my afternoon with the truly delightful Stephens Family.

Little Mermaids and Sea Witches

2010-12-01T09:07:00.000-08:00

As a babysitter I am pretty much a push over. I just can't resist those requests in the most adorable munchkin voices. So after Rylee completely soaked herself, and a pup or two, by sitting on the edge of the pool and splashing for a good long while I too thought the most logical next activity would be to orchestrate an elaborate afternoon bubble bath, with tales of little mermaids and sea witches (I was the sea witch, of course)...

2011 HardPressed Calendar: Handpressed Hardware

2010-11-29T07:35:00.000-08:00

This past summer I had the opportunity to spend a week in the tiny town of La Mision, Mexico doing mission work with members from Bible Fellowship Church of Sebring, FL. (You can read more about this experience in my previous blog post by clicking here. But wait, not yet, continue reading first.) The trip provided a host of new experiences that lended themselves to a spiritual journey like none other. One of those new experiences was building a house on a hillside for the family of two little girls that attend Open Arms Childcare Ministries (which is a no-cost childcare ministry for needy families). When we arrived at the site on Sunday afternoon there was just a slab of cement and a pile of lumber with a treacherous climb. And when we finished up on Friday there was the shell of a home and even a roof. This required a whole crop of tools and hardware I had rarely laid my hands on before in my life (Thanks, Tom Moran, for teaching me how to properly operate a hammer.)

Searching for materials to print this 2011 Desktop Calendar I found myself walking around a hardware store for hours, examining and touching everything, before leaving with bags of my collected materials. My thoughts couldn't help but go back to that experience on the hillside in La Mision. The community hardware store, where we got most of our materials, certainly didn't have attendants roaming about asking if they could help you pick out granite counter tops or new hardwood flooring. The home that we built with our own hands was nothing more than three rooms and maybe 750 square feet total, but by looking into the eyes of this family you could see that to them it was nothing less than a palace.

As I cranked out these letterpressed calendars, my Christmas gifts this year (spoiler alert for anyone close to me that I get gifts for), for some reason I decided to make a few extra, not really knowing what for. Then just a few weeks ago I got a letter in the mail from Open Arms Childcare Ministries, that spoke of Christmas gifts for their students, asking for donations and all fell into place.

So here you have it... I have 15 extra of these 2011 Desktop Calendars for sale for $35 each until December 1st (yes, that's just two days away), with all proceeds going to Open Arms Childcare Ministries Christmas Gift Fund. Give it as a gift to a friend or to yourself.

To purchase a calendar, email me at cmprietz@yahoo.com. All payments will go through PayPal. Calendars will ship beginning next week (Dec. 6th). (The 4.5 x 5.25 in. calendar comes with a stand, not shown, for viewing one month at a time.)

About the Calendar:
This 2011 Desktop Calendar was created using found hardware objects hand pressed on Crane's Lettra paper using a Vandercook letterpress. The process was a bit of an experiment in the making. I didn't really know what I was going to get until I got into the letterpress studio and got to work. Three days later (with numerous failed experiments), I emerged with this creation.

Materials Used (in order of appearance):
Composite Shims
Metal Grate
Pegboard
Washers

Dates were designed by me and printed using photopolymer letterpress plates produced by Boxcar Press

To see a bit of the process as well as two other calendar creations by fellow NCSU MGD Grads, Brooke Chornyak and Tania Allen, visit my Printing Experiments Flickr set here:
www.flickr.com/photos/27070682@N05/sets/72157625295067255...

Cox & Peterman: A Live Oak Type of Family

2010-11-28T14:39:00.000-08:00

Last weekend I spent a beautiful Saturday afternoon with the equally as beautiful Cox and Peterman families. And though we had the threat of rain (and even a few showers sneak up on us) come picture time the setting on Dinner Lake in Sebring FL was truly gorgeous. But it was the trees out front that really captured my attention as I drove up the drive way. One thing I love about being back in Florida are the beautiful twisting Live Oak trees you seem to find most everywhere around these parts. I never seemed to take much notice of them when I lived here for the first 20 something years of my life. As a child they served as the scaffolding for tree forts and shade for make believe picnics with my cousins. And as I grow older they serve as backdrops and themes for friends weddings. But for me today they stand for what I have come to discover as the essence of small town living. Each one has its own, unique, dignified look that speaks of a history and solid traditions, with roots running deep and branches stretching wide. I have known the Cox family since I first could form memories and they are a "Live Oak" type of family if I've ever seen one. It was a true treat to photograph them beneath the twisted limbs.

And thank you, Jen Lindley, for all your help with this one; creative conceptualizing, reflector holding, stringing up quilts, carrying giant terracotta pots across a lawn and scaring away all the giant bugs that made me scream and run. You're a gem!

Turkey Day Teasers

2010-11-25T20:40:00.001-08:00

Since I crossed the Florida state line a week ago I have been mad busy with photos and having a blast. There, of course, will be long blog posts to come with stories of my experiences with a collection of precious families and the pictures to prove it, but for now I give you some Turkey Day Teasers as, lets say, an appetizer of sorts...

Thankfulness

2010-11-23T11:53:00.000-08:00

Just fired up some Christmas music and am going through my collection of bookmarked favorite photographers blogs to get a bit of inspiration for today's photo shoot with the Wells family and I happened find myself overwhelmed with sense of heaviness in my heart. No need for worry, it is a good heaviness. I am so, so, so very thankful for this gloriously beautiful world we live within, for the breathtakingly beautiful people we find here, for their stories, for being invited to document a select precious few of these stories, and for the one who created it all.

Cox & Peterman Families Teaser

2010-11-20T22:41:00.000-08:00

Today as I was setting up for another glorious photo shoot beneath a beautiful sky, a few white puffy clouds moved over and I felt some crisp drops of rain on my skin. Though the coolness was welcomed after carrying giant terracotta pots across a lawn and stringing a quilt up along the branches of an oak tree, I thought, wait-a-second here, it can't be raining. Luckily it was just a teaser and the afternoon turned out to be simply perfect. And lucky for you I have a teaser myself, and a certainly good one at that, of this simply perfect afternoon with the Cox and Peterman Families...

Carter

2010-11-19T18:52:00.001-08:00

Today I had the joy of spending an hour outdoors in the beautiful Florida fall weather with Carter and his momma Christi (with dad, Matt, nearby to offer a hand if there was, say, a hay barrel that needing to be moved about or a improvised arm rest needing to be devised for an almost sitting up baby boy). Christi and I have been trying to set up this photo shoot for some time now and I was soooo happy to finally get to meet this precious baby boy. These two were nothing but laid back fun and these pics tell it all.

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Of course, I couldn't help but take some images of interestingness I spotted along the periphery.

The Paper Princess Bride

2010-11-01T14:37:00.000-07:00

Each year as October comes closer and closer to its end we find ourselves taking sides. Love it or Hate it. The haters normally do things like, disappear when the convo turns to costumes or plan an apple picking trip to the mountains for the last weekend of October (that's for you, Tim and Raylene). But you'll find me on the Love side, mainly because, the word Halloween is synonymous with Creativity for me (oh yes, and you get to act like a fool in public for one night and no one seems to care.) Every year it comes down to the decision of the costume? Basically I feel like missing the opportunity to get crazy with creativity would be a disservice to my title of "designer."

In college my cousin, Bianca and I dressed up as Baby Dolls in an old dance costume, pigtails and all at a Florida State football game. We thought we were safe from lewd comments in our modest costumes but made a big mistake by carrying around giant lollipops. Another year my other cousin, Angie, and I were insects, not creepy insects but gloriously beautiful insects. We worked all night before a party to create our glittered, glamorous creations. And proudly fluttered around all night as a lady bug and butterfly. And other years, I have been everything from a rap star's girlfriend, to a flapper girl (with an authentic 20s hat), to Jessica Simpson (blonde wig, camo hat and a "Real Girls Eat Meat" T), to a white trash bride (pregnant belly, hill-billy teeth, fake cigarette and all).

This year I focused less of my energy on "getting into character" and more on "getting into costume." The seed of an idea popped in my head early on. I had been messing around with alternate ways of creating things using paper in my graduate design thesis (where I created paper dresses for a fashion and identity exhibit, you can check it out here and here) and in a wedding invitation (where I deconstructed an atlas and used each page as a pocket folio to hold invite components, you can check it out here). Then I saw Kirk Smith's creations in this year's 2010 Art to Wear Fashion Show and I have been dying to make an actual, wearable dress out of paper, much like his creation using Jimmy John's wrappers (check it out here).

First I needed to come up with a theme. I knew I wanted it to be a book and thought about using romance novels, Stephen King's Carrie, or Margaret Mitchell's Gone With The Wind before I settled on William Goldman's The Princess Bride. I set out for supplies a few days before Halloween and two books, mounds of adhesive, a bit of clear wire, an elastic band, multiple strips of velcro, return trips to Michaels and Barnes and Noble, plus some stitching later I was wearing my creation by party time on Saturday night.

Below you will find a rare instance of me in FRONT of the camera. Ugh. I never know what to do with myself when I am looking back at the lens. Thanks, Kelly Lynn Bailey, for being such a great photographer!

photos by Kelly L. Bailey

CREDITS:
The Princess Bride book / Barnes and Noble
Tiara / Party City
Bling / Target
All construction supplies (adhesive, elastic, clear wire, hole punch, sewing machine, thread, velcro) / Michaels

State Fair

2010-10-25T14:29:00.000-07:00

I have to admit, I have been purposefully avoiding the North Carolina State Fair for the past four years. There was something about the combination of deep fried food and, er... well... "country folk" that really didn't appeal to me. No matter how much I heard, "You've GOT to go," still no desire. And every year around the end of September everyone would start asking, "Are you going to the fair?" Then talk of deep fried candy bars and krispy kreme burgers would commence. But as the days of the State Fair clicked by this year, I felt a little bit of a sense of urgency. I am pretty certain that I am not going to be living in NC through another State Fair season. And the idea of missing all that fried food, livestock and country folk hurt a bit. So I caved on the second to last day for the experience, the story, but mostly for the deep fried goodness. I didn't go on a single ride, didn't see much livestock and didn't witness too much "country folk" happenings but with a corn dog, deep fried mac and cheese, deep fried oreos, deep fried mashed potato balls with bacon and cheese, deep fried bloomin' onion, a few cheese fries, half a giant turkey leg and a few licks of soft-served ice cream sitting in my stomach at the end of the day I will have to say it was quite the experience. (BTW - my fav was the deep fried oreos. Delish!)

I also have to admit that I speedily came home and watched the 1945 version of Rogers and Hammerstien's musical State Fair, just for kicks.

The City of Brotherly Love

2010-10-22T18:27:00.000-07:00

I can certainly say I have some love for Philly after spending a few days there last week helping a friend settle into her new place near Rittenhouse Square. I fell in love with the streets, with the history, with the old signage and painted brick walls. I fell in love with the colors, textures and tiles found in every building and have decided that I shall have honeycombed tile in a house of my residence at some point in my life. I fell in love with the color red, which seemed to be everywhere (and may or may not have been contributed to the Phillies being in the playoffs.) I fell in love with the long, twisted, typographic lightbulb signs that hung in most every store front window and dreamed of one day having my name of business spelled out in all its twisted, typographic glory. I was in love with the super secretive, speakeasy style bars in the basements of buildings and back alleys (and certainly loved it when we were called from the back of the line to get in.) And, but of course, I fell in love with the food. It was love at first bite with a burger at Village Whiskey. Stood wide eyed, heart pounding, as angelic voices came down from the heavens, in the cheese section of Di Bruno Bros. (which happens to be just downstairs from my friend's place.) Had nothing but love for the creamy guacamole at El Rey. And true, mad, deep love for the enormous Root Beer Float at Franklin Fountain (although after recently watching an episode of Man vs. Food, will definitely try the Mt. Vesuvius Ice Cream Sunday next time around.) Mmmm, mmmm, mmmmmmmm.

And, of course, I came home with a few instant pics in my pocket...

Good luck in Philly, Lauren! I will have to be back to visit soon, afterall, there is much more food to try, and that Mt. Vesuvius.

FOOD CREDITS:
Best Burger Ever (also try the homemade cheese puffs and pickled beets) (all pictured) / Village Whiskey
Delicious Granola (pictured) and Huevos Benedictos for brunch / Tintos
The smooth and yummy Humbert Humbert on a rock (pictured) / Franklin Mortgage and Investment Co. (a.k.a. Speakeasy)
Gi-normous and delicious Root Beer Float / Franklin Fountain
Excellent Mexican food with a perfectly creamy heaping serving of guac / El Rey
Gourmet Grocery and Cheese Heaven / Di Bruno Bros.

Ketan Turns One!

2010-10-20T13:10:00.000-07:00

Remember that airplane trip to Tampa I wrote about a few posts back? It was for my one and only god son's first b-day and baptism weekend and I thought I would share some pics from the truly adorable and memorable weekend...

The party, which had a sports theme, was a real crowd pleaser! Guests enjoyed everything from concession stand inspired food and candy with unique sporty names, to a giant sports themed bounce house, to a b-day boy sporting a custom made FSU jersey with the No. 1 along with the his name on the back, to a "photo zone" with a life sized vintage baseball card cut out where they could take home their own baseball card sized instant pic of themselves. And as the beautiful Florida day wound down we found ourselves sitting outside watching football in the car port. A truly fun day.

Detail of invite illustrated and designed by... yours truly.

Happy Birthday, Ketan!

CREDITS:
Cupcakes by Cupcakes Royale in Sebring, FL
Cupcake toppers, favor bags, decor, party planning and much more by Radha Bachman (mom)
Invite, banners and food tag illustration and design by Caroline Maxcy Prietz (yours truly)
Vintage baseball card cutout design by Caroline Maxcy Prietz (me, again) and printed at FedEx Office in Tampa, FL
Baseball Card Sized Instant Photos taken with Fujifilm Instax MINI 7s
Non-stop one year old adorableness provided by Ketan Bachman

Aubrey

2010-10-11T19:01:00.000-07:00

A little while back Adam and Stacy invited me in and allowed me to commandeer their home, re-arranging their things, bringing in some furniture of my own, and photograph their beautiful, precious, heavenly baby girl, Aubrey. What an easy going family, that was nothing but comfortable, lovely and exquisite to photograph.

During the photo shoot, which was primarily focused on Aubrey, the new addition to the family, big brother Bauer was always close by and always curious as to what his little sister was "saying." He was constantly asking, "Mommy, what is she saying now?" And then waited with a wide eyes for Stacy's translation, giggling at her creative responses. It was so curious to me that Bauer, truly believed that his mom and his little sister had some secret language together.

With no daughter, or any kids for that matter, of my own, my only reference for this is my own relationship with my mom. So many times I have stood in front of my mom and dad relaying a story when my dad pipes up to say, "Jacque, what is she saying now?" Mostly it was illegible to him because I was talking too fast (as I have heard many-a-father complain). But it was never too fast, too loud, too quiet, or too indecipherable for my mom, even the unspoken things.

One day, I am sure Bauer and Aubrey will have a language of their own as brother and sister. But today and for the rest of their lives Stacy and Aubrey have a connection all their own. Just between the two of them. I guess it's a mom and daughter thing.

Hi, Clouds

2010-10-01T09:57:00.000-07:00

I took my seat on my flight from Raleigh to Tampa via Atlanta and watched as the other passengers filed in and took their seats all around me. I didn't really notice as the young mom with an infant in her arms and a three year old settled in just behind me. But when I heard the little girls voice I thought to myself, "Better me than most anyone else to have the three year old in the seat directly behind me." I seem to have a higher tolerance for children and their antics, especially when I am in a good mood. And today, I was in a good mood. It was a happy day. I was happily off eight hours of sleep, was taking a happy flight to Tampa for my god son's first birthday party and baptism and was happy to spend the next four days with my very best friend and her family. This story is not about happy turning to crappy by some rowdy youngins. They were actually extremely well tempered (to be honest, I didn't even know that there was a newborn behind me until after we landed in ATL.) But it was the little girl in 16A, with the cartoon character voice, only audible by the curious passenger directly in front of her, that captured my attention.

What a delightful little thing. She quietly talked about her missing goldfish snacks, pondered whether or not to try her mom's strawberries and yogurt granola bar and reminisced with her mother about the last flight she took when the nice lady treated her to pretzels. (I only remember the food related conversation, surprise, surprise.) As the plane began its descent into Atlanta I guess she caught her first glimpse of the clouds from her low position in the seat. "I see clouds!" she exclaimed. "Hi, clouds."

Well, I saw clouds too. I had been seeing them and photographing them since we left Raleigh. I happened to be a particularly big fan clouds. But never did I think to say hello. How rude of me. And it got me thinking. When did I stop seeing, with a childlike wonder, the personality of things? I mean, when was the last time I looked beyond the aesthetic and pondered the world as if everything had a soul? As a child, everything had life to me. I assigned human like qualities to everything from dolls and cars to trees and buildings, and especially, especially clouds. The clouds of north east Atlanta were in a pleasant mood today. Full of light, they were puffy and pure white. I imagined then, as I am sure 16A was doing, what the cloud might say back to me, had I taken the time to say hello, the tone, the inflection, the drawn out "well, heeeellllooooo, there," in a voice much like Falkor from The Never Ending Story. It would have been a delightful encounter indeed.

She continued to greet the clouds as we descended below them and then moved on to talking about taking the car ride home from the airport, hoping daddy would be the one driving them. And as we bounced along the runway after landing and taxied our way to our gate, a salutation from behind me reminded me that, just moments off of my rekindled appreciation for the soul of things, I had absentmindedly forgotten to greet the planes.

"Hi, plane!"

The Wells Family / Part Two

2010-09-13T18:35:00.000-07:00

As promised, part two of the Wells family with a costume change and much, much more adorableness...

These photos on the steps where the first ones we took in their new outfit. It took the girls just a few seconds to notice each other in their bloomers and bows and then they couldn't contain how delighted they were. I love it!

Emma got real smiley when we put her in the car after wrapping things up...

What an adorable duo!

The Wells Family / Part One

2010-08-27T13:15:00.000-07:00

So I am creating some suspense with this one. Here you have Part One of my recent photoshoot with the Wells: Lonnie, Kim, Anna & Emma. I am halfway through editing the photos and I just had to share. This family is absolutely precious. And it was a delight to finally meet these little girls I have seen and heard so much about on facebook. What a treat!

Anna and Emma are adorable in so many ways but one thing I found interesting about them is their "twin connection." And by "twin connection" I mean that they acted the exact opposite of how I expected. You know how you always hear about how twins share emotions even when they are away from each other, well these two share emotions alright but they pass those emotions back and forth. At times when one was all smiles the other was a perfect mess. Then as soon as she calmed down her sister got all worked up. At one point in time Miss Emma hurt herself and was doing a bit of wailing. While Kim was tending to Emma I scooped up Anna who was perfectly content and happy. Of course I managed to capture many precious moments of the two of them all along the way. And Part Two, which is just the girls, involves a costume change and much, much more adorableness (coming soon.)

Backpackin' It

2010-08-22T13:40:00.000-07:00

In the process of editing wedding, family and baby photos galore I have stumbled on a few other ventures. Here you will find a little mini photographic movie I put together about the most recent project, in conjunction with Bible Fellowship Church, that I helped coordinate with my cousin Bianca Humphrey...

2010 BFC Backpack Ministries from Caroline Prietz on Vimeo.

Stephan + Mandy

2010-08-16T19:50:00.000-07:00

I am so behind on blog posting. It has been almost a week and a half since I photographed Stephan and Mandy's nuptials in Avon Park, FL and I am just now giving you a peek at the splendid day. See here is the thing, small town Florida is all about family and ever since I have been here I have been catching up with my own immediate and extended family as well as hanging out and photographing some of the most precious families I have ever seen. I am overwhelmed with family, in a very, very good way.

Mandy grew up just one town north of me in Highlands County, FL. When she contacted me about the possibility of photographing her and Stephan's wedding a rush of memories from "back in the day" came flooding back in and I was reminded of what a blessed life I have lived. Stephan and Mandy's day was a true celebration of life, love and family.

Once again, it is those little special details that always get me at weddings: borrowed lace from a mother's wedding gown, a Gator garter, a special handkerchief, hair adorned with flowers, boys in suspenders, an antique car, a friend with a guitar, black and white pictures of weddings from the past and a table with a mini-orange tree shading a collection of orange topped cupcakes that I had to try my hardest to resist sampling.

One of the other things I just loved about this wedding was how at ease everyone was with the bustle of the wedding day, with each other and with me the photographer. I love being invited into such an personal celebration in life and asked to simply capture the beauty as it's happening. One of my favorite moments was just after the wedding, when the rest of the guests had left for the reception and we were alone in the prayer garden (Mandy, Stephan and the two of us photographers), Mandy turns to me and says... "Do you want to ride with us in the car?" Um... Yes, please!

Thank you, Mandy and Stephan, for inviting me in and letting me capture your truly special day.

And a special thanks to Erin Williams, for being a rock star second shooter on such short notice.

La Misión, Mexico

2010-08-09T08:57:00.001-07:00

It is hard to believe that it has been over a week since I returned from a missions trip with Bible Fellowship Church to La Misión, Baja California, Mexico. This past week has been spent adjusting back to east coast time, catching up on sleep, reliving the experience through the over 1500 photos I brought back and trying to process the journey I took physically and spiritually.

The trip, organized by Phil and Mindy Steiner of Be 2 Live, allowed us to spend eight days in the community of La Misión partnering with Open Arms Childcare Ministries (which is a no-cost childcare to needy families) and Door of Faith Orphanage to invest, give back and hopefully in some small way reveal God's love. Over the course of the week our team installed drywall, plumbing, electrical and two roofs on homes throughout the community as well as framed a house on a hillside perch. We orchestrated a health fair, community donation delivery, a men's, women's and couple's bible study, a brunch for the workers at the orphanage and took care of the kids all along the way. We listened to testimonies of incredible faith from those who started off with a prayer and a desire in their hearts to provide better lives for the children and families of La Misión and now through Open Arms and Door of Faith they are seeing their plea evidently answered every day.

While preparing for this trip I didn't quite know how this "foriegn" missions trip would in any way, shape or form have any effect on the incredibly "domestic" issues of my life. But on day one we headed off to church and walked into a music filled chapel, and while the language was unfamiliar to many of us, the tune was the same. As I sang the song and scribbled the words in my notebook, "Abre mis ojos, Señor" I had no idea that it was becoming the theme song of my trip. This was partly due to the fact that I just couldn't get it out of my head, but mostly because none of us at that time could begin to comprehend the ways in which the eyes of our heart would be opened over the next seven days and how that would in turn effect our lives after our return home.

My eyes (mis ojos) that originally squinted at the poverty of La Misión, were gradually opened to something that can only be described as a richness that the community possessed. My eyes were amazed at the not just contentment but joy that shone through the smiles of the children. My eyes watched those of us from Bible Fellowship Church from various backgrounds and walks of life, with diverse skills and talents came together as a family, as a body of Christ and a vision of Christ to reveal His love and bring glory to Him in this community. And my eyes were opened to the heart of God in these individual's lives through their realness, selflessness and love. And while I would pack up and head back to La Misión in a heartbeat (or anywhere around the world for that matter), my prayer going forward is that my eyes remain open to those who are hurting and needy right here in my own community.

This blog post is quite possibly the longest I have posted to date. And part of the reason it has taken me so long to get it up is because I was having the hardest time narrowing down my photos (this is the narrowed version, I promise). I hemmed and hawed over which photos to include, the stories that were being told in juxtapositions, and how I could even begin to convey the experience. I finally had to give up and realize that I may have given myself an impossible task. So here you have it, my best, narrowed down shot at giving you a glimpse at what we were blessed to experience in La Misión, Mexico.

Our campsite was just up from Door of Faith Orphanage. Colorful bunk houses sat up on a ridge and the two bathrooms (1 John and 2 John) were housed in a building that looked like a Panda. The fire pit allowed for heartfelt conversations and a little smore indulgence. And the kitchen and dining area provided us with a open area setting for coffee, delicious breakfasts and every variety of Mexican food for dinners.This camp was the perfect place for us to come together as a team as well as personally encounter God (and maybe the occasional curious dog or horse.)

Each morning we had some time set aside for devotions. We could climb farther up the mountain to "the cross" overlooking the Orphanage and La Misión valley for a quiet space.

The building team I was on framed a house on the side of a mountain. When we arrived at the site on Sunday afternoon there was just a slab of cement and a pile of lumber on a hillside with a treacherous climb. And when we finished up on Friday there was the shell of a home and even a roof. To the left is Pastor Todd Patterson helping out with some roofing. And the picture to the right is our worksite mid-way through the project. The view was incredible from up there. From our perch we could even see the other roofing team working way off in the distance.

The house we framed was for the family of two girls that went to Open Arms Day Care. Meet the adorable Alejandra (left) and Bernice (right). The folks from Open Arms told us a story of a seven year old little girl that was taking the church and worship services they had at the day care and recreating it at night in her living room for the neighborhood kids. That was Bernice, and now she has a much bigger living room to work with.

We had a free half day where we loaded up and took a road trip down the coast to Ensenada. On the way there we stopped at La Fonda's for lunch overlooking the Pacific.

Another big project we took on was a community health fair. Several members from our team worked at organizing this project far before we left for Mexico. We got donations from local FL doctors and collected supplies. The day before the health fair as we were working on the house on the hill we heard a loud speaker projecting news of the health fair all throughout the valley town. Kids and families showed up to get information on things such as hand washing, teeth brushing, eating healthy, eye examines and much more. They also got to walk away with a beautifully painted face and maybe a polaroid or two.

Ms. Dorthy worked for months before we left for Mexico sewing a whole pile of beautiful dresses to give to the community girls. Here is Patricia and Carmalita proudly trying on their picks.

We had the opportunity to deliver community boxes to needing families around La Misión, that included food, supplies and toys for the kids. The day I joined in on the delivery we went down by the river to drop boxes off at the door of "houses" (if you can call them that) like I have never seen before. Then came to find out that the kids that lived there were some ones we had already meet at the day care. They were ones who always had the biggest smiles. That is what I mean by joy.

On our last day there we provided a brunch for all the workers of the orphanage. While they were eating we watched after the kids. Abby Bone and Lauren Taylor organized a visor craft project that kept the kids very happy and busy for a bit.

The building project I was on involved framing a house for a family of two girls that attended the day care. You can check out our progress here...

Framing / La Misión Mexico / Missions Trip from Caroline Prietz on Vimeo.

BFFs in Boston

2010-07-23T22:31:00.000-07:00

Just spent the weekend in Boston with my BFF Radha and, yep, you guessed it, as most vacations go, it was quite a delightful time. A few months back we decided that we should take a trip together this summer. It began with grand ideas of venturing back to Italy for a 10 year anniversary tour (we spent a summer studying abroad together in Florence back in 2000.) After much dreaming, practicality got the best of us (as it almost always seems to do) and we decided to stay stateside. We started naming off all the cool cities we had never seen and as it turns out our lists matched up at Boston. So we packed up our bags and each side of our broken heart BFF charms and hit the city.

Our three days there were packed with tales of tea parties, trails of freedom, beers on ferries, trips on the T, an afternoon at the ballpark, devine dining endeavors, daily ice cream, a little bit of shopping and lots and lots of walking.

Adventures in Instantland

2010-07-14T14:17:00.000-07:00

Look-ey what arrived on my doorstep yesterday... Words cannot describe my excitement! Only high pitched squeals will do. Yippee!

In case you are wondering what in the world this is, it is a Fujifilm Instax Mini 7 Instant Camera (a.k.a. Fujifilm's version of a newfangled Polaroid). It produces credit card sized instant pics and with a little bit of exploration (two packs of film) I am learning to embrace the imperfection and delight in the surprise. Here are a few experiments...

(The photo on the right is what happens when you cover the flash... guess I won't do that again.)

There are not enough hours in the day for how many ideas I have for this thing. Stay posted for more Adventures in Instantland.

The Roast Grill

2010-07-09T13:14:00.000-07:00

Over a year ago I encountered a new television obsession on the Travel Channel. It was this little show called "Man vs. Food" where a round little guy travels around the country taking on eating challenges, you know, like giant pizzas and burgers, dozens of oysters, milkshakes and of course... hot dogs. The show brought Adam Richman to Raleigh's The Roast Grill, which is a speck of a place off West St. just between Morgan and Hillsborough, where he consumed 17 hotdogs in one sitting. Now that looked painful, but the dogs looked good, so I vowed to find this place and try a dog or two of my own. A year and a half later I made it.

We parked just in front of the building with a "Hot Weiners" sign as a beacon and a neon "The Roast Grill" in the window. The parking sign said 30 minutes and we debated how long it may take us to eat two hotdogs each, then decided we probably should be done in 30 minutes... probably. We walked into the place that looked tiny on TV and even tinier in person. There was a lunch counter style bar with 8 cushion topped stools covering the length of the skinny room and two, two-seater tables pressed up against the adjacent wall. Before we even had a chance to let our eyes adjust to the shade of the place we were asked what we wanted.... uh, hotdogs, yes, hotdogs please.

Well, of course, but how many and what do you want on it?
Everything but chili, please.
Blank stare.
Really? I worked on this chili all day. It is going to be the best that you have ever had.
Okay, then, chili too. (I knew this day would come for me. Better here than anywhere else)

In less than 10 seconds there was a fully loaded dog and a glass bottled coke in front of me. And in less than 13 minutes we were back in the car, with two of the most delicious hotdogs settling in our stomachs and a small chili colored stain appropriately settled in on my shorts. If only I had more cash, it would have been four, for sure.

And that is how it happened. I am now a chili dog kind of girl.

Booking Summer Sessions / Florida / Aug. 1-15

2010-07-07T09:12:00.001-07:00

Hey, people. So this Summer of Seeing project is taking me to good ole' Florida in a few weeks (well, with a side trip to Mexico for some missions work with Bible Fellowship Church). I am going to be in the Sebring, FL area from August 1 - 15 (approximately). Hit me up if you would like to schedule a photo session with your honey, sweet little thing, the entire family clan or for an event. I already have a few sessions in the books, so don't delay. Let's schedule something soon. :)

Email me at cmprietz@yahoo.com for more info and/or to book a spot.

Field to Fork Fourth

2010-07-06T08:51:00.000-07:00

For the past several years of my life I have spent the Fourth of July at the island but this year... well, a lot of things have been different this year. Several of my fellow NC State MGD 2010 graduates have been sticking around Raleigh (which I love). And we are half-way into what I have now deemed "The Summer of Seeing." Which is the opposite of a Summer of Making. The job searching has been a long process for most of us (and for those of us who haven't even started it looks like it is going to be even longer.) But I have finally become okay with that. Instead of cursing each day I am without a job, a plan or a direction, only to look back several months from now and say, "If only, I would have appreciated those days more," I am just going to actually appreciate these days more. Take time to step away, to stand back, and to see, to watch and appreciate the world before diving back in.

So, I have been seeing. Seeing Casablanca for the first time on an ampitheater lawn under the moon. Seeing sunrises over a North Carolina coast. Seeing sunsets over the Gulf. Seeing more pages of more books than I have any other summer of my life, books about thoughts on modernist design, about paths and direction and intention, as well as sagas involving vampires and werewolves (I somewhat embarrassingly admit). I have seen every word of every verse in the entire book of Proverbs. I have seen and experienced the process of hay bailing under the NC summertime sun. I have seen and experience the process of bagel making in a packed friend's kitchen. I have seen dappled sunlight on an Oakwood front porch. I have watched and waved at the backs of friends that on to the next phase of life outside of Raleigh. I have seen anxiety swell up like a tsunami while I tense for impact and I have watch as peace "like a river attendeth my soul."

And, of course, there is more to see (stay posted.) But one thing that I have noticed is that sometimes it takes stepping back to see and appreciate things that have been there all along (really profound, I know.) This summer has allowed me to breath again, away from the stresses of school, and really take stock in today. Almost two years ago I sat in a room, looking around a table at ten other anxious student faces. The director of our graduate program told us to look around the room, "these are the people you are going to be in contact with for the rest of your design careers." I couldn't have ever imagined how familiar those faces would become. And while I have always considered myself curious I have been surprised to find how much wider of a world they have introduce to my oftentimes naive and narrow eyes. Oh no, now my sight is getting blurry behind sentimental tears. So enough of that.

One of my Summer of Seeing projects was the Field to Fork Fourth with some of those very friends. Myself and three of my dear MGD friends, Brooke, Cady and Lauren, headed out early in the afternoon on July 4th to the Raleigh Farmer's Market with recipes in hand and ended the day divvying up the most beautiful leftovers I have ever seen in my life. Somewhere in between there was dicing, slicing, peeling, stirring, whisking, spreading, snacking, chatting, dancing, drinking, laughing, speculating, dreaming, napping (well, Brooke that is), indulging, congratulating, debating, sparkler twirling, firework launching and dance party starting.

I choose my recipes carefully, for the way they would look, for the visual. The fact that they ended up tasting delicious was a bonus. A colorful summertime Gazpacho Salsa, a Rosé Sangria and a decadent Vanilla Bean Ice Cream to accompany Lauren's Peach Cobbler. Brooke made Panini All'Olio (a.k.a...rolls) for Portabello Mushroom Sandwiches with roasted peppers, onions and goat cheese. Cady made a Savory Squash Tart. And Lauren made a Peach Cobbler as well as helped with the Sangria. The results were delicious and absolutely beautiful. But quite honestly the process was the best part. Happy Fourth of July!

Make/Bake: Typographic Bagel Workshop

2010-06-10T13:55:00.000-07:00

On Tuesday morning a crew of us joined up at Brooke Chornyak and Tania Allen's place in the Oakwood neighborhood of Raleigh to partake in a Typographic Bagel Making workshop led by Brooke. Brooke did a beautiful job preparing all the dough and setting up sign-up sheets, templates and guidelines in order to create a cohesive looking alphabet. Then she invited a bunch of designers and... well... you will see what happened. Happy, yummy surprises!

And then, the fruits (er, bagels) of our labor...

Make/Bake: Typographic Bagel Workshop from Caroline Prietz on Vimeo.

Memorial Weekend Island Trip

2010-05-30T11:42:00.000-07:00

The Island, at last. I spent a few blissful days with family and new friends at Little Gasparilla Island on the west coast of Florida over Memorial weekend.

Studio3z in Action 2009

2010-01-10T18:31:00.000-08:00

I just discovered this adorable year in review slide show from a husband and wife photo duo, studio3z, based out of Cincinnati. It makes me feel a little more normal (or less crazy) for climbing trees and such to get some shots... Enjoy!

http://www.studio3z.com/studio3z_in_action2009/

These are a few of my favorite things...

2010-01-08T16:33:00.000-08:00

SENTIMENTAL ALERT! In a new year cleaning sweep I was making an effort to clear up some space on my computer by transferring the past year's photography to my external hardrive. This allowed me to take a little trip down the ole' 2009 memory lane, and my-oh-my was it ever so pleasant... *sigh* I was thanking the Lord for everything that he blessed my eyes with in the past year. One of the most fantastic things about being a photographer (and why I could never put my camera down for any extended period of time) is that you have reminders of life's beauty just about everyday. Thank you, everyone, who invited me in and allowed me to capture you, your family and your special occasions this past year.

My Favorite 29 of '09. Okay, so there are really way more than 29 photos that I adore from 2009 but I had to limit it somehow. Even now as I am posting this I am thinking of things that I didn't include. But here you have them... some of the absolutely most beautiful things I got to marvel at through the lens of my camera in 2009.

The Way Home

2010-01-04T20:14:00.000-08:00

I was so fortunate to be able to spend almost two whole weeks with my family and friends back in Florida over these past holidays. And of course, it was going to be a little difficult to leave them all again to head back to the good 'ole state of North Carolina. So I stretched out the trip to include some exciting stops along the way. From New Years Eve with my BFF and her family (which includes my precious godson), to Bobby Bowden's final hoorah at the Gator Bowl in Jacksonville, to a spa weekend with my mom and sister at the Ponte Vedra beach, the trip was a delightful ease back into my busy life back in NC.

The Humphrey Family

2009-12-29T13:54:00.000-08:00

It's another one... another cousin of mine and her precious family. Bianca and I are just five months apart in age and were practically inseparable growing up. Inseparable because we hung out all day everyday in the sandbox, in the play-house (when we weren't almost burning it down), choreographing tricks on the swing-set, pouting at nap-time while our older cousins got to swim, etc. And inseparable because we got in a knock-down-drag-out fight at least once everyday (which sometimes involved slapping. If you haven't been able to guess it that was my M.O.). We don't do that much anymore (unless it is in a game of "touch" football, and that was not really fighting just a little over-zealous competitiveness that ended in a tackle, no slapping). Bianca and I were roommates in Atlanta when she meet her now husband Sean. A few years later they were married at sunset on a beautiful lake in Sebring and another year and a half down the road they had their absolutely precious boy, Blayne. We now live a couple states away from each other, but this girl and her family... well, I love them and miss them whole a lot. (*tear*)

We had quite the time traipsing around the quiet Camp Sparta camp site on Lake Huckleberry in Sebring just before sunset to get these photos. Enjoy!

The Leaphart Family

2009-12-27T20:26:00.001-08:00

After a very eventful Christmas day — consisting of gift giving and receiving, assisting my mom in lunch preparation, stuffing my face with turkey, ham and the assortment from "casserole city" as well as pie and then partaking in a friendly game of "touch" football on the lawn — I grabbed my camera and hopped into an impromptu photo session with some more of my adorable relatives. Check out the Leaphart Family (Ryan, Stacy, Madison and Maci)...

I LOVE these people!

The Spencer Family

2009-12-23T12:56:00.000-08:00

Over this past Thanksgiving Break I had the opportunity to visit my family and friends in Florida. It is always a special treat to hang out with my cousins and there adorable little ones. I sometimes forget how blessed I am and how rare it is to have such tight bonds with my cousins. There was a group of us (Michael, Ryan, Chet, Angie, Maria, Bianca, Caitlin and myself) that lived our lives together in the car rides from school, to our weekends at our grandpa's pool to the summers at my parent's house spent building forts in trees, riding bikes around the neighborhood and swimming and exploring in the lake. We still have an annual Cousin's Christmas Party where we catch up on life and let loose. I adore my cousins! Anyways, what I am getting at here is that I had the opportunity to photograph my cousin Angie and her adorable family over Thanksgiving break.

Side story on Angie: Angie, my "Roomie for Life", and I lived together for my first two years of college at Florida State University. She had already graduated and was working in Tallahassee. She knew the lay of the land and found us the most beautiful little place to live. I don't think I would have been allowed to go, what seemed, so far way for school had it not been for Angie (luckily she had forgiven me for slapping her for making fun of me in the line at the water park when we were young tikes).

Side story on Brady: Brady, the Spencer's middle child, and I (also a middle child) share a birthday on February, 22nd (obviously a few years apart). And being a fairly competitive person regardless of age was attempting to incite a little jealousy in Brady one day by letting him know that I had that birthday first. Brady, without a moment of hesitation comes back at me with "Well, I have it last!" Ouch. He got me there. Those February 22nd babies... man, they sure are sharp. :)

The Spencer family — Jon, Angie, Peyton, Brady and Rylee — was so precious that day (not that they aren't always precious). Just check it out in the photos...

Caroline Prietz Photography & Ace of Cakes

2009-10-27T18:32:00.000-07:00

Remember that gorgeous wedding of Allison and Travis' that I photographed earlier this year in Statesville, NC? Well, the cake, delivered by the groom's dear friend William Goldman, was a one and only Food Network's Ace of Cakes creation. So happens that Ace of Cakes was publishing it's first book this year. It was just released last week with a Caroline Prietz Photography contribution. Woohoo!

Welcome, Ketan!

2009-10-12T14:29:00.000-07:00

Last week I had the opportunity to spend a few hours with my very best friend, her husband and her 6 day old, brand-spankin-new baby boy, Ketan. Basically his day consists of eating, sleeping and dreaming of eating. So I got a few good pictures of him in all his slumbering glory. Welcome to the world, Ketan Michael Bachman!

Raleigh / An Alternate View

2009-10-01T05:03:00.000-07:00

For about a day and a half I thought that I was going to enter the Raleigh Abstractions exhibit and set out for inspiration. While in Peru I was memorized by the hand painted signs and "layers" that were found on most every surface in the small towns in the Sacred Valley. They told a beautiful, authentic story. When I returned from Peru I was surprised to suddenly have my eyes opened to a similar story found on the sides of buildings all throughout downtown Raleigh. The layers were simply enchanting and I set out one Sunday afternoon to attempt to capture them. (I never entered a piece into the exhibit, but I am delighted with what I captured in these photos).

Melissa & Mike, So In Love

2009-08-22T13:35:00.000-07:00

One of the most interesting and surprising things I have found that comes along with photographing weddings is the vantage point that it gives me to observe pure and simple love. At the end of the day I find myself surprised at the way and I have seen love manifest itself, those things that make the bride and groom distinct and unique as a couple. Mike and Melissa were nothing less than extraordinary. The only description I can give is that it is evident that they are "so in love."

After they said "I do", there was a hustle and bustle around them, friends and family milling about, a schedule whirling by, a coordinator shutting down the church, and then there was me and my giant camera invading their space and telling them what to do (I even climbed into the back of the limo with them) but it was like the rest of the world disappeared, nothing else existed, not even me, it was just a bride, a groom and their love. Thank you, Mike and Melissa for inviting me in to such a beautiful love.

Peru

2009-07-15T13:45:00.000-07:00

Having the summer off for the first time since undergrad proved to have it's advantages (which certainly goes without saying). But one of the best advantages was the time it allowed me to travel beyond the restricted "two weeks" I used to get when working full time. Right in the middle of a trip to Florida I hoped on a plane with my friend Lauren and went to visit my sister in Peru for a week. She was volunteering in Lima for six weeks and I was going to take advantage of having a free tour guide :) Out of the 8 days there we spent 5 in Lima, 2 in Cusco and 1 in the mystical ancient Incan ruins of Machu Picchu. Glorious!

Culture shock is all I can say about my feelings upon arriving in Peru in the wee hours of the morning on July 7th. The streets of Lima near the airport were quiet, dark, deserted aside from them occasional streetside fire with a lone attendant. The store fronts were barred, locked and chained yet beautifully covered in signs and lettering that would become the texture to our trip. It was frighteningly fascinating. These first streets we encountered were a photographers dream, my dream, but the sights could only be captured by my memory for this was an area you didn't dare venture to with such equipment in tow. We would have to settle for the picturesque (and safe) neighborhood my sister lived in just one block from the coast, Miraflores.

Our Spanish was quite bad when we arrived but certainly improved. I was surprised at how much you could learn by just immersing yourself in an environment for one short week. They write about it in books but I never understood before. The language never became fully discernible. It was more of a chatter around us everywhere we went. Musical, like an orchestra, blending with the sounds of the city and I was an observer from my spot on the map in my hands.

Cusco, Peru...

The Journey to Ollantaytambo...

Machu Picchu, Peru...

Kelly & Brian - An Engagement

2009-07-06T01:18:00.000-07:00

Who ever would have know downtown Sebring could be such a picture-esq backdrop for an engagement photo shoot? Well, Kelly and I did, of course. We both scoped out the scene, discovered the same little spots then stumbled on a few extra surprises along the way (check out the multicolored wall at the utilities building. Beautiful!) Thanks Kelly and Brian for being such good sports through the heat and the bugs (and having to look at each other for longer than you ever have before in your lives). You guys are truly a beautiful couple, which is something these pictures can only begin to capture.

Babies and the Beach

2009-06-30T00:40:00.000-07:00

There is rarely a greater joy than that which is found in summer days at the beach. For me the beach is Little Gasparilla Island, one of my three favorite places on earth and the joy is multiplied when spent with family and friends. Mom, Dad, Chet, Clay, Nicole, Brian, Kristin, Ronnie, Angie, Aunt Becky, Ryan, Stacey and the other grown folk that were there... you all are adorable but the babies were just too cute to photograph anything else (besides sunsets and sea shells of course, but that is a whole other posting.) Thus it is the pictures of their joyful faces that have made the blog.

Happy Birthday, Kyrie!

2009-06-06T13:48:00.001-07:00

I am sure that you noticed the adorable little girls in my "Sunday Summer Picnic" post earlier this week. Avery and Kyrie are the precious daughters of our dear friends Josh and Stacie. Kyrie's full name is Kyrie Eleison and comes from the Greek words for ‘Lord,have mercy’ or, ‘Lord, soothe me, comfort me, take away my pain, show me your steadfast love.’ This was everyone's fervent prayer from six months before Kyrie's birth, in January of 2008, when Josh and Stacie learned in the same day that they would be having another precious baby girl and of that baby girl's heart abnormality (one side of the heart was under developed). Joy and fear flooded their hearts and minds simultaneously. Kyrie's heart had not developed normally and her aorta and left ventricle were much smaller than they should be. The doctor was very honest with them and explained that this was not a situation that can be corrected so that she can have a normal heart. She would need surgery shortly after birth and again in several months and probably a couple of times later on. Even then, the problem would not be totally corrected. Kyrie's life will forever be effected. It was here when Josh and Stacie fell on their knees before the Lord and began to pray "kyrie, eleison!"

From that day forward Josh and Stacie have certainly had a whirlwind journey, through the rest of the pregnancy, the risky birth, the surgery when their baby was just a few days old, the lengthy hospital stay, the struggle they had to get her to eat, the unexpected hospital trips, and a second surgery (on top of all the sleepless nights and such that normally come along with having a new baby, juggling jobs and school and caring for their other daughter). I know it has been a struggle that we may never be able to understand yet over the past year and a half Josh and Stacie have been such an inspiration as they have placed their trust in "The Great Physician" and leaned on God and the comfort that can only come from an unwavering faith throughout the journey no matter how difficult it may have been.

Today on her one year birthday, Kyrie is a beautiful, bright, shining little angel (with the most adorable cheeks you have ever seen). And we have certainly been blessed by her story, her fight for life and the grace and mercy of God it has revealed to us all. Happy Birthday, Kyrie Eleison Van Leeuwen!

Now booking summer photo sessions

2009-06-03T09:22:00.000-07:00

Graduate school is certainly time consuming and sleep depriving, but fortunately they let us sleep in the summer. I have the next three months off and along with thesis research, traveling a bit and few odd and end jobs I would love to be a part of photographing you and your family, or friends, or sweetie, etc.

Click here to be directed to a site where you can download a PDF about pricing and how we work together. For any further questions or to book your appointment you can contact me by dropping me an email or giving me a call:

cmprietz@yahoo.com
863.381.0130

Below I have included the dates and places I am available...

Raleigh/Durham/Chapel Hill, NC
Today - June 18th
July 17th - 25th
August 3rd - 15th

Central Florida
July 1st - 5th

Sunday Summer Picnic

2009-06-02T13:38:00.000-07:00

Three and a half years ago Zach and I rolled up the welcome mat from the steps of our Atlanta rental and relocated it to the front porch of our new home in Durham. One of the most difficult things to leave behind (besides my awesome cousin Bianca and my dear friends) was the incredibly relevant, rocking, meet-you-where-you-are North Point Community Church. As soon as the UHaul was unloaded I hit the ground running looking for a new church home that could maybe come close to comparing. We stepped in and out of four churches in the course of four Sundays before stumbling upon a little place called New Horizon Church when a trip to the Eno River State Park went off course. We walked through the doors of NHC that next Sunday and knew our searching was over.

One of the best things about NHC is that it linked us up with a fantastic small group and our "answer to prayer" leaders, Larry and Judy. These guys definitely have a heart for young married couples and are not those kind of leaders that are like "our life is perfect, do what we do and all will be well", but rather those kind that admit that "life isn't perfect, marriage isn't perfect, it is actually quite hard and we've certainly made mistakes, but we have also certainly not just survived but thrived by the grace of God and God alone. Now let's learn about that grace." Yeah, they're those kind of leaders. The other awesome thing is that ever other Sunday we get to join them at there cabin on the most beautiful piece of property in Hillsborough, NC for a delicious lunch complete with Judy's divinely sweet, sweet tea, rich conversation and studying straight from the bible. Every Sunday I am there I look out over the field and the pond and think, man I wish I would have brought my camera! Well, this past Sunday was our last before we break for the summer (sigh) and I actually remembered to grab my camera. Larry and Judy had us all set up for a picnic in the shade. It was the perfect setting to capture the day (or a dragon-fly, or a pup) and all its glory.

Memorial Weekend Lake Trip

2009-05-26T19:52:00.000-07:00

Late Friday night we packed up the car with swimsuits, flip-flops, beach towels, wake-boards and three pups then headed out to... well, I don't really know where we were exactly. When the sun rose on Saturday morning all that I know is that we were overlooking a breathtaking view of lake nestled in the hills of Virginia. We spent the next three days between the boat on the lake, riding the wake on a board, listening to the rain on the roof, lounging on the couch with the dogs, collecting driftwood on the shore, enjoying hearty meals and making new friends. Thanks, Joby and Katie, for letting us tag along and thanks, Kay, for sharing with us a little slice of your heaven.

Allison & Travis' Wedding

2009-05-22T09:16:00.000-07:00

Early last year I spent an afternoon helping my dear friend Lauren Waugh letterpress beautifully designed invitations for what looked like a fabulous wedding taking place in the spring. Come to find out Lauren's friend's Allison and Travis were searching for a wedding photographer and, well... the shoe fit! Allison and I had several long distance conversations (she was planning her Statesville, NC wedding from California), and the more we talked the more and more excited I got about the day.

I grabbed my favorite photo-buddy Pam Brennan and we headed out to Statesville last Saturday. The wedding was so much fun and despite the threat of rain it held off until just as the reception was ending. The whole day turned out beautiful! My favorite things about weddings are all those little details that make the day uniquely representative of the bride and groom. From a oddly funny card, a sapphire ring, an "Ace" of a cake, a beautifully rusting bicycle filled with flowers to the uncorking of a bottle of champagne that was given to Allison's parents the day she was born, the entire day was filled with little mementos of their lives up to this day. These pictures now mark the beginning of a new collection from this day forward.

I thought I would also include images of the beautiful invitation components Lauren designed (photos by Alberto Rigau)...

A day at the beach with Blayne

2009-03-06T20:55:00.000-08:00

I was so fortunate to make it to my favorite beach in Florida this March and even more fortunate to get to spend some time with my cousin Bianca and her little one, Blayne. What a cutie-pa-tutie! The water was still a bit cold, but Blayne wasn't effected so much by it. I got in my exercise running back and forth from the water to our chairs beneath the umbrella. I hope to get to do it again soon.

The Shoemaker Family

2008-07-02T19:04:00.000-07:00

Over a Fourth of July vacation I had the delightful opportunity to photograph the Shoemaker (and Sico and Radonski) families at Little Gasparilla Island in Florida. The more fortunate opportunity however was the time spent fishing, eating, reminiscing and catching up with very dear friends.

Tiffany & Erik's Wedding

2008-06-19T17:53:00.000-07:00

Last summer I had the opportunity to officially photograph my very first wedding. I would have to say Tiffany and Erik made it quite easy. The day was such a beautiful celebration and I was delighted to be a part of it all. It allowed me to experience the true joy of photographing a wedding, in being there to capture that glance, that gaze, the exchange of things beyond words. I hope that the memory of the beauty of that day remains instilled in their hearts through the story collected in images.

Tiffany's Bridal Session

2008-06-05T17:12:00.000-07:00

Tiffany was having a practice session for her hair and makeup so we decided to throw in a bridal shoot on the same day at her wedding and reception location. Tiffany was such a great model. She and her mom even humored me when I wanted to climb up in a tree to get a different angle. Thanks, Tiffany! I knew that we had a great day to come at the wedding.

Samantha & Bryan

2007-10-13T15:07:00.000-07:00

Samantha and Bryan's entire wedding was themed around the oak. They were married beneath a giant live oak on the front lawn of Samantha's parents home and the reception took place beneath the twisting limbs of an oak grove in their backyard. Their wedding invitation (designed by myself) featured an oak silhouette created from an image of the same oak they were to be married beneath. But the connections ran much deep than that. The oak for them meant more than the physical tree they said their vows beneath. It represented what they desired in their marriage and family. To communicate this message even more richly they gave each guest as a favor an oak seedling with a tag that read...

In life, as in marriage, we are to be oaks of righteousness. The oak draws from its roots, as we should the word of God. It reaches up, as we should to glorify our king. It reaches out, as we should to save those around us and live by example. It gives back bearing fruit and shade as needed by those around us. Be an oak; plant your roots deep in your faith, drink up the water of life and you will grow, reach out, and shade.

Radha's Mendhi Party

2007-06-28T14:58:00.000-07:00

Radha is my very dearest friend in the world since a fateful moment at the ball field the summer before third grade. She had the most extraordinary three day celebration for her wedding to Michael. I was delighted to be right in the mix of it all and had the opportunity to steal a few photos amidst all the celebrations.

Lyndsey & Matt

2005-10-29T14:21:00.000-07:00

Lyndsey and Matt are a truly beautiful couple inside and out. They met while volunteering on the coast of Florida and came to me as a friend to design the invitation for their special event. They were married at the most adorable place in Buford, GA appropriately named "Reunion Hall."

Kristine & Eric

2005-04-16T14:02:00.000-07:00

While in Atlanta, GA I had the opportunity to photograph Kristine and Eric for a wedding invitation that I was also designing for them. With such a beautiful couple Atlanta's Piedmont Park was the perfect setting.