Asheville, NC Wedding on September 3, 2016

We couldn't have asked for better weather for Katy and Mark's September afternoon wedding! The sky was a perfect blue with those puffy clouds that look like you could sleep on them and the sun shone brightly, aluding to the bright future ahead of this couple. Katy and Mark had two subtle but personal themes in their decor: "America" and "New York" (though one could argue the two are inseperable.) The nod to 'Murica wove through the color scheme: navy bridesmaids' dresses, red and white roses with a nautical striped ribbon, and red and blue ties coordinating with gray suits. As far as patriotic color schemes go, their's was incredibly well done. Though maybe not born-and-bred, these two new New Yorkers also incorporated their hometown into the decor at their destination wedding, particularly in their table settings.

Katy + Mark's Downtown Asheville Engagement

These two [current] New Yorkers traded the hustle and bustle of the big city for a quieter Asheville wedding with perhaps a bit more of a scenic view. For their December destination engagement photos, we choose downtown and the Botanical Gardens to match their "outdoorsy" location desire. To match their personality style, we selected the Double Decker bus to emulate a whimsical coffee date, a quiet romantic walk through downtown with their puppy, Layla, and the river and cabin in the Botans for a few fun photos.

What To Do With Your Wedding Photos: Alex & Zack

Last weekend I got to enjoy my favorite part of the process - delivering the finished products to two people who put their complete faith in me to capture the most exciting day in their lives to date. Alex and Zack were the epitome of my ideal customer - they were looking for a photojournalistic style but also left the creativity up to me and most importantly they knew the value of printing their images to enjoy in multiple forms.

Volleyball Trio Senior Photoshoot

While many students seem to prefer solo graduation shoots to have some 1-1 time with the camera, for these three [former] UNCA volleyball players who had studied, competed and grown up together for the past four years, it only made sense to have their graduation photos taken together as well. This proved to be great fun and we spent an hour giggling with a few minutes of photography thrown in.

Branding Photos for my Branding Company

Kudzu Brands is without a doubt one of the best in the biz. I hadn't even met Murphy myself (my husband met her) before I knew she needed to be at the helm of my branding design launch. As we got to know each other, we realized we could create a beautiful symbiotic relationship wherein I would photograph for them for certain projects, especially environmental portraits as that's my specialty.

Montgomery Family Photos

As my family lives as missionaries in Guatemala, it had been at least three years since I had seen them, so I shouldn't have been surprised when the girls had grown about a foot each. At 5'6" I'm not entirely vertically challenged, but I must say it is a bit disconcerting when your cousin six years your junior towers over you. It also makes it a bit difficult to take flattering photos since I prefer to shoot from a level or high angle. Thank goodness for foot stools!

Iceland & Scotland: The Rest

I would be remiss in my duties as a traveloguer if I didn't document the last few days of my trip. Unfortunately, as I returned Stateside a week ago, the details are more than a little fuzzy around the edges so this could be an interesting test of what my brain can come up with.

My family seems to be full of adventurers and one of my favorites parts of the trip was simply listening as they told their tales of past trips in various countries, recounting what traveling was like in the dark ages before cell phones. Part of me would love nothing more than to ditch all of my electronics and fly into a new place with no agenda other than immersing myself in the culture. And the other part of me really enjoys being able to text home lots of pictures of delicious food to make my family jealous.

Post 70 Menu and Website Food Photo Shoot

I have a confession: food photography may be my favorite genre of the art. I mean, capturing important moments in people's lives is great and all, but why do that when you can take photos of food for one of your favorite Asheville restaurants and then get to eat all of the food?! This was probably one of my most enjoyable shoots in the past few months because all I had to do was sit back and wait for the chefs and bartender of Post 70 to work their magic and then capture their creations. It also helped that my at-the-time-fiance-now-husband tagged along to entertain me, hold my reflector, and of course (first and foremost) to eat the delicious food.

Iceland & Scotland Days 6 and 7: Searching for Nessie

Not much to report yesterday and I was very tired, so I decided to combine the two posts. We used all manner of transportation yesterday, first disembarking from the ferry, then taking a train through some beautiful countryside to Elgin, then hoping in the car to finally reach Craigellachie. Of the three, the train is certainly my favorite mode of transport as it is quick and efficient without us having to do any navigating or driving. I sure wish the States had a fully-developed national train system like many European countries because it would be so much easier to get from state to state.

Iceland & Scotland Day 5: Shetland Island Traffic Jam

We spent all of 8 hours on the Shetland Islands, but even in that time we managed to see up close 15 pigs, 6 bunnies, 0 whales, 34 ponies, 6 puffins, 1 otter [crossing sign], 30++ lambs and 1 seal, according to Lucy’s spreadsheet.

When I heard we were taking a guided tour of the island, I immediately envisioned a tour bus packed with rubber-necking tourists (and Stella apparently envisioned a cranky old lady), but instead we got our own personalized tour with Sarah, an older Yorkshire woman who had lived on Unsk for 23 years, guided for 17, and knew a wealth of information about Scotland and the Shetlands – both past and present.

Iceland & Scotland Day 4: I'm on a Ferry

I’m currently out to sea as I write this, and I mean that literally. Today was one of many travel days on this trip, beginning with a mini bus taxi and ending on a ferry with a rented van in between.

We left civilized Edinburgh this morning to explore what I’m hoping is more wild country like in romanticized tales of Scotland. A taxi driver picked us up in what can only be called a bus (a small one) to take us to the airport so that we didn’t have to attempt to drive on the wrong side of the road through city traffic. The cabby was great, particularly insightful in the local opinion of Brexit wherein the Scots’ opinion on their own freedom is concerned. It is quite interesting to hear how people from other countries stereotype those from other countries than them, and our driver exclaimed that he’d be happy to be free of the British because they’re mean; when he was last in London the people on the street cast their eyes down and frowned – a far cry from the friendly Scots.

Iceland & Scotland Day 2: View From the Top

Today started off slowly with a leisurely nutella-on-toast-and-tea breakfast in the beautifully sunny dining room. I think perhaps my very favorite part of vacation is getting to sit down for a long breakfast and slowly sip my tea, easing into the day rather than immediately jumping into work or a workout like I do at home. Tongue in cheek, I packed the outfit I bought in Paris when we arrived without luggage, thinking it would be kind of funny to have to wear it again for the same reason. Turns out, it's just as "funny" as I thought it would be.

Iceland & Scotland Day 1: Always a [Mis]adventure

Ordinarily, I would begin my blog post with “We’ve arrived in Iceland!” However, we only managed to stay in Iceland for 12 hours before departing for Edinburgh as our primary Icelandic stay will be at the end of the trip. Nonetheless, at the time of this posting, we will have arrived somewhere that is definitely not North Carolina.

Prints from Paris

Aside from the visceral experience of adventuring, my favorite part of travel photography is getting to enjoy those experiences and moments in time long after the trip is over. My apartment is covered with my favorite photos from each of my trips, not only serving as aesthetically pleasing decor, but allowing me to relive the stories that the images tell, be them of my own experiences or the subject(s) in the photos.

Franklin, NC Wedding June 25, 2016

Alex and Zack celebrated the beginning of their next chapter together surrounded by family and friends. This sweet couple exchanged vows on the exact day Alex's parents did, adding even more sentiment to the special day. Thank you to all who helped to their day so full of love, laughter and fun! I can't wait to get to work on all of these fabulous photos!

Alex + Zack's Christmastime Sylva Engagement Shoot

I probably look as giddy as Alex and Zack do in the picture above because tomorrow is my first wedding of the season! Even better than that, its this sweet couple's big day. Alex and Zack booked me as their wedding photographer almost a year ago (way to plan ahead!), 6 months later I did their engagement shoot and now another 6 months later I finally get to shoot their wedding in Franklin, NC. And if tomorrow goes anything like our engagement shoot, it will be full of laughter and love.

Mountaintop Graduation Shoot

There are some people you will drive two and a half hours to photograph and Megan is one of them! We had been talking about taking her senior photos since last year and I'm so excited that it came to be. The overcast morning proved a beautiful backdrop for our summit setting adding the perfect color contrast to her vibrant dress.

Nature Inspired Fall Wedding at the NC Arboretum

I first met these two lovebirds 2 years previously while photographing Matt's sister Kari's wedding. It was an absolute pleasure to shoot another wedding for the family, especially since I already knew so many people there! But even if I hadn't, it wouldn't have mattered; Cara and Matt and friends and family warmly welcomed me, keeping me in side stitches laughing at their antics when I wasn't tearing up from the tender sweetness of the couple's love for each other.