Thursday, May 30, 2013

North Carolina :: Memorial Day Weekend

Ahhh, it's amazing what even a three day getaway can do for your soul.  The green mountains of North Carolina are one of my favorite places on earth.  The weather was perfect.  The first night we arrived it was 42 degrees.  Yes, that's Fahrenheit...in late May.  I was never without a fleece on the entire time...even during the day.  It felt like heaven on earth.

Our internet went out too, which at first I thought was a bad thing.  But then, like humans do, we adjusted and life was actually better.  I finished a book in three days (something that would normally take me a month), and had absolutely zero real life distractions (we don't get cell service either).  We slept in, reconnected with mother nature, and just enjoyed life (and wine- lot's of wine).

From a photographer's point of view, the highlight of the trip was seeing my first rattlesnake, which we accidentally ran over.  It slithered off and seemed to be fine!  Do these things actually die?  I have run over snakes before and they always seem to not even be bothered.  Don't you crush their organs and ribs and spines?  Does anyone know??  [I'm serious, this is not a rhetorical question.  Please just leave a comment below.]  

Anyway, it was a perfect three days and just what I needed.  Back to reality and the humidity.  




Gracie, in heaven. 









North Georgia junkyard.  I would've loved to spend more time here, but I was getting weird looks from a guy in a dirty wife beater.  All I could think of was, "squeal like a piggy!"







In search for a graveyard containing some of our long lost relatives, my mother and I discovered an entire abandoned neighborhood.  It's not as cool as it sounds...no houses were ever built, just a bunch of empty lots.

After searching in the middle of nowhere for more than an hour, we were forced to give up.


But, we did get to at least check out some abandoned school buildings.  





Pure Americana.

Kinda weird mural...

More abandoned goodness...
















I don't know why I don't bust out my 100mm macro lens more often.  It the sharpest lens I own for sure, and it can make the mundane look amazing.  




Dead wasps make great subjects.

So long from NC...

9A8582.jpg

Saturday, May 18, 2013

Allison & Chris :: Married


I'm putting the finishing touches on a few of the weddings and other events I've shot over the past couple of months, and I'm finally getting some of my favorite ones up on the blog.  Meet Allison and Chris, two of the nicest people you'll ever meet.  Not only were they an awesome couple and totally in love, but their entire circle of family and friends made Riki (my assistant for the day) and I feel like we were special guests.  I can't tell you how much of a difference that makes.  When you're around genuinely happy people it definitely rubs off on you, and makes the work very fun.  

Anyway, I'm now working on a big beautiful coffee table book for the happy couple, but here are a few of my favorites.  Enjoy!