There is no "capturing" New York City. Just when you think you've photographed each juxtaposing facet - wealthy and destitute, historic and modern, stoic and vivacious - you realize you've only documented the city from one lens, one perspective, and it would take years to delve into each borough with each of its own microcosms of cultures. So, on my 2 trips to NYC earlier this year (where I stayed mostly in Brooklyn and Manhattan), I didn't set out to try to capture the heart of the city. Instead, I wanted to document my own experience of it. This meant not going out of my way for a photo, rather clicking the shutter just whenever I saw something I personally found interesting.

For our trip in February, we brought 17 rolls of film between the two of us (and shot all of them!), so I tested a variety of color and black & white films to see if I had a favorite to use for future reference. Naturally, I didn't. I love how the city's architecture (especially the Art Deco edifices) looks on black and white, like it could be from any decade if you ignored some anachronisms. But New York City in color shows off not only the lights it's known for, but the beautiful variety of skin tones. For my solo trip in April I was mostly there for digital portrait sessions, so I only had a few hours to explore with my film camera in hand, but I put that AGFA Vista 400 to use. 

Of the cities I've photographed on film, this portfolio is my favorite, foremost because of its variety of subject matter, colors and techniques. Perhaps I must attribute the variety to the city itself, in large part that would be true. However, because it's so easy to get lost in the sea of people, I was much braver in whipping out my camera whenever I felt inspired, not self-conscious about stopping in the middle of the street or photographing some random stranger 3 feet in front of me. I'm hoping to carry that same energy with me wherever I practice my street photography, creating more portraits and telling more stories. And, of course, wherever I go I will always photograph my pizza.

All of the images in this post are for sale as original prints as well as digital copies through this gallery: NYC Film prints. 

Portra 800

Lomography 800

Arista Premium 400

JCH Street Pan 400

Portra 800

Rollei Retro 400

AGFA Vista 400

If rain on your wedding day is lucky, and a butterfly flying over your is equally felicitous, then Arlyn and Alex's marriage will surely be blessed! They made their vows backed by a view of our beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains, as all of their family and friends came to wish them well. More than that, their loved ones participated in the ceremony. Both the bride's and groom's parents walked their respective children down the aisle, then the couple's godparents carried down each of the traditional El Salvadorian wedding items to present during the ceremony. It was a beautiful day and a beautiful outpouring of love for Arlyn and Alex. Thank you to everyone who helped make it such a special day!

Bridal Gown: Wedding Inspirations

Catering: M7 Event Solutions

Florals: Briana's Decoration

Hair & Makeup: Ilona Bebchuk 

Officiant: Pastor Antonio Maldonado

Photographer: Adrian Etheridge Photography

Second Photographer: Alex Cox Photography

Stylist: Just Bloom Together

Venue: The Crest Center

Videographer: Molina Vision Media

This is a bit unconventional because I always share a couple's engagement blog post on the day of their wedding, but because of my schedule this week I just wasn't able to. Nonetheless, to do this beautiful couple justice, I'm going to share their photos now, better late than never. 

We met for their shoot on a beautiful evening in June, the Arboretum was vibrantly alive with greenery. I knew they had planned a casual outfit and a dressier option, but when I saw Arlyn dressed in the most perfectly twirlable blue dress, the color standing out perfectly against the foliage, I knew we were going to make some magic! As you can see, we made use of that twirl. These two are fabulous dancers with incredible chemistry, let me tell you. 

Though I knew a little about their story through their engagement questionnaire, I got to hear much more as we photographed. These two have spent almost half their lives together! They met at the movie theater when they were 15, while hanging out with mutual friends, and that evening Arlyn went home and stalked his MySpace (yeah, they've been together THAT long!), eventually making the first move to talk to him. As they've grown together, they told me that what they wanted to remember about this engagement season was how much they love each other and that they are each other's best friend. 

I'm a sucker for proposal stories and this one really shows off Alex's romantic side. On a study break they went to Wilmington to "visit a friend." One evening, he and said friend snuck out to set up two beach chairs, a table with a cake and champagne all surrounded by a heart made of candles. When she came over to see her surprise, he got down on one knee with a beautiful ring displayed inside of a seashell. Alex said what he loves most about Arlyn is that she's caring (and smart & beautiful) but his kindness (what Arlyn loves most) and thoughtfulness definitely shone through. 

Aside from being romantic, kind and thoughtful, these two were definitely also fun! They couldn't remain serious for long, ending up in giggles after each twirl or dip or soul-searching gaze. These had such an ease together, too, a natural chemistry that comes with being happiest around the person you love most. I loved spending this quiet evening getting to know the two of them before their whirlwind of a wedding day, capturing their unbridled love for each other. I'm even more excited to share photos from their wedding this week, too! 

It was, at first, proving difficult to write this blog post, to extract these memories, so many months after Alexis and James's wedding. But that's why we have wedding photography, right?! As I looked through their images, selecting which ones I thought best showcased the day, there were a few key things that stuck out to me. 

The first: family. James presented Alexis's parents with a wooden duck at the beginning of their wedding ceremony, a Korean custom symbolizing the importance of their commitment as mandarin ducks mate for life. I love that they integrated this tradition into their ceremony, as an homage to his heritage and a way to make their otherwise non-traditional ceremony their own. Their families also played a huge part in bringing together all the unique elements of their big day. Not only did Alexis's parents in partnership with James create all of the beautiful bottle art (hooray for recycling!) but Alexis's mom even sewed her dress! Not to mention, Alexis's niece made all of the delicious owl cupcakes, which were quite a hoot. As much as the wedding was about Alexis and James committing their lives to each other, it was also a display of the couple's wholehearted love for their families and vice versa. 

Bottle art (windchimes, cheese boards, water bottles)- Gaye and Len Baker (Parents of Bride) and James Quattlebaum (Groom)

Cake and Cupcakes: Hey Hey Cupcake

Chocolate Owl Cupcakes: Cammy Holt (Niece of Bride)

Dinner Catering: Jen Mohr

Dress: Gaye Baker (Mother of Bride)

Flower, Centerpieces, and Signs: Jeannie Rebecca Paint + Fiber

Groom's Suit: Men's Wearhouse

Hair and Makeup for bride: Priscilla Nesbitt

Hat: Rubina Millinery

Musicians: Friddle and Dyer

Necklace and Earrings: heirlooms from maternal and paternal grandmothers (respectively)

Officiant: Murphy Funkhouser Capps

Rings: Averie Art & Jewelry

Puzzle Guestbook: Havoly Designs

Shoes: Kohl's

Venue: The Settings of Black Mountain Club House

Speaking of all of the custom decor, I especially loved each little owl touch! I sometimes refer to my couples as "lovebirds" in their blog posts, so perhaps I will call these two "love-owls"? Either way, the creatures provided an adorable touch to the artsy and rustic decor. As they live in Virginia, these two understand the allure of the outdoors, and all of their decor spoke to quiet, natural beauty of their wedding venue in Black Mountain. 

While I typically think of "detail photos" as those showcasing the bride's gown and accessories, the flowers, the rings and any heirlooms they may have, it was these little decor details that struck me as the most personality-filled. As such, they graced quite a few pages of their wedding album so that Alexis and James could remember just how much thought and hard work they and their families put into making their day special. 

Finally, I loved how comfortable they were together! Some people are more shy in front of the camera than others, but as soon as they looked at each other it was like the rest of the world suddenly melted away. While I must admit that my favorite images of couples are almost always of laughter (and these were no exception!) I also try to showcase the nuanced pieces of each couple's relationship; the more serious side if they're goofy, the more passionate side if they're shy, the more playful side if they're reserved. For Alexis and James, as soon as I saw that spotlight of natural light shining into the stairwell, I knew exactly what I wanted to do. Though they were a quiet couple to work with, I could feel their enthusiasm for their new commitment to each other, so I wanted to showcase their more passionately romantic side. You'll know the photo I'm talking about when you see it, and it's still one of my favorite wedding photos to date because of the more film noir-esque lighting. 

Otherwise, we just had fun! In the middle of portraits, James's niece and nephew came over for a quick game of tag, providing perfect content for candid images of the couple in their element. We ended the evening with a few relaxed portraits of the "love-owls" pretending to nap, resting from the exhaustion of planning and attending their wedding while simultaneously soaking in the calm of being together. 

I had so much fun photographing Alexis and James's sweet wedding day and can't wait to share their wedding album!

I first met Emmaleigh through one of our mutual brides, Lauren Edgerton, last year. We reconnected on social media where this enthusiastic lady cheered me on to continue posting my 35mm photography and experimenting in the medium, right as I was getting comfortable with sharing my work. Her mother had studied darkroom photography so we bonded over our love of the experience, finally planning to meet in person to get to know each other and our business ventures better. As we got to talking about our similar life experiences outside of work, we quickly realized we were kindred spirits and ended up talking for over three hours!

Fast forward a few days and we were already scheming up plans, the first of which being Em's branding photos to promote the business she was just getting ready to launch. We've since developed countless ideas spring-boarding both our businesses, but I'll talk more about those later.

The objective of her branding photos was threefold: to show the active and nature-loving lifestyle that's as much a part of Emmaleigh as her fiery red hair, to show her styling expertise and enthusiasm for conveying each client's personality through their clothing and accessories, and to show the virtual assistant side of her business where she focuses on helping other businesses grow. 

As a native Ashevillian, we knew we had to shoot against the Blue Ridge backdrop that's an integral part of her story (after all, her personal Instagram handle is @redheadedmountainwoman) so we set of with her partner and pupper to one of their favorite hikes and views. We stopped quite a few times along the hike to Em could point out mushrooms or moss. We stopped even more so I could grab cute photos of Serenity. Occasionally we even stopped to jump on rocks. 

Once we crested the hill, Emmaleigh somehow managed to change clothes in the freezing cold putting on a gorgeous burgundy dress that perfectly coordinated with the muted colors of the mountaintop. It was freezing so we had to work fast, but luckily Emmaleigh's "extraness" - her penchant for excited jumping, cheering and especially dancing - kept her warm while also providing perfect personality shots for her brand. 

In addition to the fun photos of smiles and squeals, I also wanted to capture her more serious side, the one that's gotten her through so much adversity. I'd brought my prism with me so as she was doing what I later called "harnessing the power of the mountains," I positioned it to catch just a slight reflection, to indicate the former self she had metamorphosed from. 

A few days later, we met up at Mountain Mojo to finish her shoot. For these more posed professional shots, we just wanted to create some stock images to show her prowess as a virtual assistant. The cafe's colors were once again mutedly perfect, allowing her signature purple dress to really pop. 

Since our shoot, we've worked on 2 styled shoots together (with the one we planned getting published twice!), worked on improvement and expansion of my own business and collaborated on planning and styling offerings for her clients. The more I work with this talented lady, the more I see her true passion for building others up. Just Bloom Together is the embodiment of Emmaleigh's way of making everyone around her feel at ease and confident in their own talents. I'm honored to have created these images for her brand and can't wait to see where the business goes!

For wedding coaching, styling expertise and/or virtual assisting: Just Bloom Together

Rarely, if ever, do I share a whole roll of film. Typically, I share just a few shots here and there on Instagram with my favorites from each location making it into a blog post. But this roll was special. For one, it was the first roll of color film that I've ever developed myself! Though the chemicals arrived several weeks ago, I've put off using them because I was nervous I'd ruin the roll, this being my first time using the slightly-more-complicated color chemicals. As it turns out, all that worry was for naught. Using the Cinestill development kit, there were actually fewer steps than developing black and white film. And while the directions indicated it was imperative to have the water at a precise hot temperature, as I've gone by feel for black and white for years, I'm fairly certain I'll still be able to do the same as the film turned out perfectly. 

Because I was worried I'd ruin the roll, I wanted to shoot something "unimportant." It seemed obvious to just photograph around the yard; that way I wouldn't waste time going anywhere. As I started photographing the plants, enjoying a beautiful summer evening, an idea came to me: capture the simplicity of home with a twist. Because reality isn't one action followed by another, rather a continuous dance of simultaneous action, even the perceived plainness of home is complex. Thus, I shot the roll, rewound it, then shot it again, double exposing the entire roll to illustrate the peaceful complexity of our dwelling. 

Because the camera I used is autowinding, it picked up the first frame in exactly the same spot (manual winders aren't as precise) so that each frame had two same-sized images instead of having the usual break between images in the middle where the second time winding the spool didn't line up with the first. For the first time through, I tried to shoot lots of patterns and negative space. My reasoning was threefold: to document our surroundings for posterity, to maintain a semblance of simplicity so the double exposures wouldn't be too busy and to allow the exposures to intertwine together (for example, the cat and treetops photo below.) Negative space in one image allows the subject of the other to dominate and vice versa, so overlaying two images both with negative space or repetitive patterns in them allow pieces of both images to come together into a whole puzzle. 

Creative practices like these not only allow me to take a breath of fresh air away from commercial work (though maybe not so fresh when darkroom chemicals are involved) but also inform my client work, allowing me to explore new techniques to tell my subjects' stories. Now that I can also develop my own color film (and thus save quite a bit of money!) I'll be able to do even more explorative and street work!

Interestingly enough, while I've spent the most time out of any destination in Portland, Oregon I've shot the least amount of film there. This is probably because I'm always there to do portrait sessions, which I still shoot in digital. Nonetheless, each day as I'm walking to my meetings or shoots, I always have my Vivitar locked and loaded. Along the way, I've created some images I'm quite happy with, a very basic beginning in capturing the flavor of the city. 

Though I would ordinarily post my images in chronological order, because these span 2 separate trips (last September and this past March) my eye for street photography has much improved. For this post, the images are in reverse order showing off the ones I'm happiest with, those that tell the best story. 

For these last two (of my three Portland trips) when I'd returned to shooting film, I was still shy of photographing strangers, so I focused on the architecture. I love the natural yet industrial feel of the city, so I often documented both the juxtaposition and the intertwining of man and nature. It's funny typing that now because I don't think I fully realized at the time that that's what I was doing - I see the pattern now -  I just subconsciously looked for instances where plants and people collided.

I also had the pleasure of capturing an afternoon outing with my family where my cousins each took turns being the stars of the show. While I love the versatility and reliability of digital photography, making these portraits on film adds a timeless nature to these incredibly vibrant personalities. 

When I return in November, my aim is to capture more street portraiture, documenting the actual character of the city by capturing its diversity. For now, here are some of my favorite 35mm film photos from Portland which are all for sale as original developed-by-me prints and digital copies. Check them out here! 

Arista Premium 400 March 2018

AGFA Vista 400 March 2018

AGFA Vista 400 September 2017

Next to eating anything and everything, my favorite thing to do while abroad is photograph with fun people, especially if beautiful fields of flowers are involved! When Erin and I were planning our trip to London, I ran through my list of people I knew there and, as it happened, one of my former couples, Meadow and Theo, were now living in Leicester! We were originally supposed to meet and ride up with them to the Peak District, but since Erin and I managed to get on the train going in the wrong direction, we didn't have quite the amount of time we'd originally planned. I'm already scheming to go up there next time, though!

Things turned out for the best as Meadow and Theo were able to change our tickets, meet us at a different train station that was out of their way and cruise for an hour in Theo's car until arriving at their cute house. I'm constantly amazed by the generosity of my clients, and these two being this flexible with our travel mistake made us feel so much more at ease. 

Once we'd grabbed a bite (Erin and I shared our usual fish and chips and a meat pie), we climbed back into Theo's luxurious car and set off for the countryside. Though we'd gotten glimpses along the train route, nothing prepared me for the beauty of the drive as we traveled between field upon field of sunshine yellow flowers. In the little time we had, my goal was to capture Meadow and Theo simply having fun in their new home, easy enough as they're so enthusiastic! We also schemed to grab a few photos of Theo's epic car as he was planning on selling it. As a sports photographer, I'd secretly dreamed of taking panning photos of a fast car screaming by, so I even got to live out that dream. 

After photographing both their engagement and their wedding, we'd spent so much time working together that it was easy to immediately fall back into that comfort. Perhaps some of this is also their natural chemistry; if you can't tell, they were always cuddling. I had to do very little posing or directing for this shoot other than choosing backgrounds, because they automatically put themselves into adorably photographable positions. 

As I noted in my blog about Erin's London portrait session, the interesting part about photographing sessions while on vacation is I often can't schedule sessions at the typical "golden hour", rather I have to work with the available light at my clients' available times. Working in countless less-than-ideal lighting conditions in my wedding work has instilled in me a deep appreciation for harsh lighting, particularly in making use of natural spotlights to dramatically highlight my subjects' face and little else. Although, occasionally, a bright backlight leaving the face in shadow is equally as pleasing to me, especially when my clients' are belly laughing. 

We finished up our photoshoot in one of the very many fields of flowers, actually the first time they'd taken any photos with the yellow flowers even though they'd lived there for a year! It was definitely an honor to do their first flowery field photoshoot. 

While I was a couple months early for their July anniversary, it was really fun to see how much their love had grown in the 10 months since I'd seen them. While I've done several anniversary shoots (usually for couples from elsewhere celebrating in Asheville) this was the first time I've gotten to photograph each of a couple's milestones. I really enjoyed how much more emotional and real they were in front of my camera, opening up to me so I could really capture the character of their love and their fun personalities. Hopefully, next time I'm in the UK, we can continue this tradition of milestone portrait sessions - or even better, as they're avid travelers as well - happen to be in the same country abroad at the same time!

I would be remiss in sharing my travel adventures if I didn't share my film photos, too. Especially because they're often my favorite travel images. I only started shooting 35mm while abroad for my trip to Ireland in December, although I did try on both my Paris and Scotland/Iceland trips in 2016 (but my film camera was in my suitcase that never made it for either trip!) When I brought some 7 or so rolls of film with me to Ireland, I was still a bit of a timid shooter because I didn't want to waste any film, so I wasn't quite sure I'd run through all of it. But, once I started clicking, I couldn't stop. 

The light in Dublin lent itself perfectly to film work as the never-direct sunlight created a constant moody atmosphere. The colors, too - whether in the architectural heart of the city or the vibrant natural landscape outside - were already dreamlike, so the muted tones of the film only enhanced the dreamy feel. As I was still shy in capturing portraits (after months of intensive practice, this has finally changed!) my goal was to document the activities of our vacation, the city life in a country new to me and the beautiful locations we visited; both to savor my own memories and to share my experience via my printed work. 

Below are some of my favorite 35mm images from the trip shot on both my Vivitar v3800n and a borrowed Olympus XA rangefinder. They're broken down by which film I shot and as far as I can tell are in chronological order. 

Most exciting of all (at least to me!) I can finally say that these images are for sale. Though I'm still having to outsource my printing to another lab for the moment, construction of my darkroom is well underway so I'll be able to handprint all original images very, very soon. If you're interested in which images are for sale and would like to decorate your own home with some Ireland goodness, here's my gallery!

Portra 800 on Vivitar v3800n in Dublin and Killiney

Fujifilm Superia 400 on Olympus XA Rangefinder in Dublin

Arista Premium 400 on Vivitar v3800n in Dublin and Howth

Ilford HP5+ on Olympus XA Rangefinder in Howth

Lomography 800 on Vivitar v3800n in Howth and Dublin

Ilford HP5+ on Olympus XA Rangefinder in Killiney

Lomography 800 on Vivitar v3800n in Killiney

Ektar 100 on Vivitar v3800n in Killiney

Ilford HP5+ on Olympus XA Rangefinder in Dublin

Amanda and Imran got married in 2016 at The Laurel Room at High Vista. To celebrate both of their heritages, they had two days of festivities; the first their Pakistani celebration and then a more traditionally American ceremony the next day. Unfortunately, their Pakistani celebration was so hectic that they weren't able to take couple's portraits that evening, which is where I come in! When my former professor and Amanda's brother-in-law put us in touch, I jumped at the chance to not only fill in this photo gap for the sweet couple, but to also learn more about a wedding culture foreign to me. 

As luck would have it, we were able to get into the venue on their actual anniversary, so this photoshoot was a true celebration of their first two years of marriage. As the venue was obviously not set up in the same design as their wedding, we only took a few photos inside, but I did want to make sure to document the beautiful windows and high ceilings of the event center where they chose to celebrate their commitment. Afterwards, we spent the rest of our photoshoot outside on a lovely overcast evening. 

Though I'm often partial to overcast light anyways (the diffusion is always flattering!), it was especially useful for our shoot as the muted colors of the mountains and trees perfectly offset the jewel tones of their wedding garb. To show off the incredible textures of their brocade and beaded fabrics, I played with prisms and in-camera double exposures, layering the forrest and the stone wall over the happy couple to intwine them with their venue. 

As we toured the grounds, we chatted about their celebrations, discussed what we do for a living and they educated me on Pakistani wedding customs. Amanda and Imran were as sweet as can be and even after two years they could not stop gazing lovingly at each other, which made my job even easier! 

I love that I was able to make these portraits for them, to document their wedding outfits in their actual venue so that their wedding coverage was now complete. But I think it's especially cool that we could do so 2 years later, after the festivities had worn off and they'd gotten into the nitty gritty of marriage. Not only did they get to excitedly relive their day, but they got to do so with two years of commitment under their belts so that now they can look back and see how in love they truly were, deeper so than on their wedding day. In my opinion, a photoshoot is the best way to celebrate an anniversary for that reason; because you get to celebrate your commitment as well as document your ever-growing love for each other. 

Amanda and Imran plan to use these photos to decorate their home and I cannot wait to see what they look like in print!

After 11 years together, Nicole and Chris made their vows to each other surrounded by friends and family who had traveled hundreds of miles to attend their destination wedding. Atop the roof of Highland Brewing, the warmth of everyone's love for the happy couple overwhelmed anything the summer heat could bring. Then, at the end of the night, these newlyweds cleared out their venue so that they could share one last dance together, just the two of them. 

Nicole and Chris's wedding day was extraordinarily beautiful from start to finish; I can't wait to share more images of their fantastic day. Thank you to everyone who made their celebration so beautiful!

Cakes & Desserts: Just Simply Delicious

Catering: Catering by Corey

DJ: P-Lo (Patrick Lopez)

Florist: Party Envy Event Planning and Floral Design

Hair & Makeup: Adorn Salon

Officiant: Reverend Stephanie Sebero

Planner: Party Envy Event Planning and Floral Design

Rentals: Classic Event Rental

Venue: Highland Brewing Company

As much as I love writing, particularly in entertainingly depicting my travels (and often misadventures), sometimes all I want to do is make photos. So, for this latest trip to Portland in March, that's exactly what I did. However, now that I've stayed put in Asheville for over a month and am itching to get back out on the road - or even better, the plane - I'm having to satiate my travel bug my reliving my pleasant week spent exploring more of the city I've fallen in love with. 

In particular, I keep daydreaming of the hour I spent enjoying tea by myself in the Chinese Gardens as the rained pattered off the tin roof, so to get myself back in the same headspace I'm writing this from Dobra Tea enjoying a pot of puer and tea cake. 

Because so much time has passed and because I'm really more interested in sharing my images than anything else, I'm only going to tell two stories in this post: the first of one of the best photography exhibits I've ever experienced. Now on my third trip to the Rose City, I'd been waiting to visit the Portland Art Museum until I saw an exhibit I could spend several hours immersed in. This one was the obvious choice.

From the curator's statement: 

"Common Ground: Photographs by Fazal Sheikh, 1989-2013, is a survey of the nearly 25-year career of the critically acclaimed photographer Fazal Sheikh. Born and raised in New York City, the artist has focused on raising awareness of international human rights issues through his documentary-based photography practice.

The exhibition features more than 170 portraits and landscapes chronicling individuals living in displaced and marginalized communities around the world, many times as the result of war, exploitation, and poverty. Photographs in Common Ground span a period from 1989 to 2013, offering deeper insight into major world events, racial strife, and mass global displacement in places such as East Africa, Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, and the Netherlands. Stories told through Sheikh’s pictures focus on survivors, orphans, and victims of violence and abuse."

Each individual print was beautifully created, showing the photographer's technical expertise in creating a striking tonal range that immediately catches the viewer's eye. But, to me, the most important part of Sheikh's work and what sets him apart from almost any war and poverty photographer that I've ever studied is how he depicted each subject in his portraiture. Rather than posing each person how he wanted in order to convey his own message, he asked them to choose how they would like to be portrayed. His aim wasn't to prove any sort of political point (though his work certainly does create idealogical discourse) put to truly tell these people's stories from a multidimensional humanistic view, showing them as people and not just nameless statistics ravaged by war. 

The second story, the one that got me out of the house today, is of the best afternoon tea I've ever had. After spending several hours reading about and examining 24 years' worth of refugee photographs and stories, I wanted to decompress, to think about the exhibit's influence on the collective refugee story, on photography as a whole and on my own work in particular. So I set off for the Lan Su Chinese Gardens smack in the middle of downtown in the Pearl District. Immediately when I walked through the high walls into the garden, the sounds of the city disappeared and I could only hear the chirping of birds, the melodic gush of a waterfall and the gentle breeze rustling the flowers. But it was the tea that I enjoyed most. As the storm clouds rolled in, I sought shelter in the tea room inside the gardens where I ordered the full Puer tea ceremony, a pork bun and a lotus seed mooncake. While I'm not sure I really mastered the art of brewing my own tea, I certainly enjoyed getting to learn the tricks of pulling out the best flavor, and in pouring 5-6 cups to sip. The pork buns were, of course, scrumptious but it was the mooncake that I savored most - the perfect blend of slight sweetness, a hint of earthiness and a lovely fruit finish. I turned my phone off, put my cameras away (after snapping a few shots, of course) and simply enjoyed my tea by myself as I watched the rain drops roll down the window. After several months of nonstop work, this was exactly the respite I needed. While I typically like to try all new eateries each time I travel somewhere, I think this tea will have to become a tradition. 

The rest of that day I spent drinking coffee and eating dessert while chatting with other local wedding vendors, planning the styled shoot I'm hoping to do when I'm in town in November. The next day I simply journaled in my favorite coffeeshop, enjoyed a two hour Indian dinner date with myself and took my camera out for a spin around the river. I'm already daydreaming of being back in Portland!

When I met Jen and John to photograph their engagement and elopement last March, I had no idea how great of a connection they would be! Not only did they quickly become friends (Jen - I swear we're going to align our schedules to see each other when I'm there in the fall!) but they've passed my name along to so many fantastic people that I've gotten the opportunity to photograph with. 

Alison, Tom and Josie were one such family. When Jen put us in touch, Alison said that they hadn't had any family photos made since their daughter, Josie, now three-and-a-half years old, was born - it was definitely time to change that! A family who loves simple pleasures, they wanted to do their photoshoot in their home to "capture the simple joy of being together just the three of us." I love in-home sessions for that exact reason; not only do they put my subjects at ease in front of the camera because they're in their own home, but they allow me to capture how they actually live their day-to-day lives. To me, these lifestyle sessions are the essence of what my brand is about: documenting the simple moments that my clients will want to remember years later. Not to mention, photographing inside meant we didn't have to worry about the constant Portland March rain!

Josie was a total ham and not in the least shy in front of the camera once she'd befriended me. (I let her hold my camera - after that she was totally sold!) Alison noted that one thing she really wanted this photoshoot to capture (for their family to remember years later) was the sweet silliness of their three year old, and that we certainly did! One of Josie's hobbies is performing for her parents, especially singing into her toy microphone, and while I didn't see the full performance in all its glory, I definitely caught a glimpse of her stellar dance skills. 

This sweet family also loves being outside, so once we were happy with the images in their home, we dashed out between bouts of rain to let Josie run around. And to splash in puddles, of course. As we walked around their neighborhood we found a fairy garden, picked a couple daffodils from an amenable neighbor's yard and danced a little bit more. After the rain, the skies were overcast and the grass was vividly green, creating the quintessential Pacific Northwest backdrop for the second half of our session. 

I had so much fun getting to meet and run around with these three. I love photographing kids this age because once you gain their trust, they're totally uninhibited, animately talking about anything that comes to mind all while making the best facial expressions. As I'm creating my business expansion plans, I'm working on adding specific family and kids' milestone (newborn, 6 months, one year, etc.) packages into my offerings so that I can not only meet new families, but continue to document the family journeys of my sweet clients who have trusted me with their engagement and wedding photos. I can't wait to document more of these simply yet powerful family memories!

When Nicole, Christopher and I were planning their December engagement session, we knew it might be cold, but we certainly didn't anticipate the veritable blizzard that hit Asheville the night before. Nicole and Chris wanted to have a small destination wedding in our beautiful mountains so they came in from Chicago for a weekend getaway of wedding planning and brewery-touring, and it seems they brought the windy weather with them! Luckily for us, their car rental was actually a big truck with four-wheel drive so they picked me up (and even brought me coffee!) from my apartment and we trekked to downtown. 

Originally, we'd planned to do the majority of their session in Catawba as they noted their perfect Saturday together is usually checking out new breweries in their hometown or the best local breweries wherever they're visiting. But, with downtown suddenly turned overnight into a winter wonderland, we knew we needed to take advantage of the beautiful backdrop. 

These two were total good sports about it too. Their perfectly-coordinated outfits didn't entirely shield them from the elements, but I made sure to include lots of hugging poses so they could keep each other warm. It was actually their support of each other than struck me most from their introduction questionnaire: Nicole noted that "Chris is so supportive with everyone in his life, but I feel like it's especially true for me." Their first date story immediately backs that up; Chris had waited for her after her nighttime retail shift at the Target in Pittsburgh where they both attended the university, bringing her her favorite Starbucks drive and a Pixar movie. I wanted to show through their engagement photos both how thoughtful and appreciative each of these sweet people are towards each other. 

As evidenced by the many, many laughing photos, they also love to have fun together. While they worried that they might come off as awkward or uncomfortable in front of the camera, as soon as they looked at each other any perceived awkwardness immediately melted away leaving only glowing smiles. According to Nicole and Chris, "we committed to being each others' person a long time ago and intend to be that for one another for a long time to come." After being around them for only a couple hours, it's easy to see how committed they are to each other. 

Finally, after making a huge circle up Church St. and back down Lexington, we took shelter in the warmth of Catawba and enjoyed a round. This brewery is always a fun place to shoot because of the wide variety of wooden textures, particularly all the barrels, so with the slowly-warming sunlight streaming through the windows to create a spotlight on the lovebirds, we had a fun end to our photoshoot. 

Nicole and Chris, after months of planning and waiting, will make their vows to each other this Saturday at Highland Brewing Company and I'm so excited to capture more of their sweet smiles. As they said, "every day is a new commitment to each other," but this one will be extra special.  

Somehow, this sweet girl turns 1 this month which means I'm doing a little throwback to our photoshoot from last year. I don't frequently do newborn sessions, but after this one, I've totally fallen in love with the genre! 

As with all of my shoots, I prefer to take the "lifestyle" approach to newborn photoshoots as it's not only easier on both child and parents, but better captures what life is really like during these precious first couple weeks. After all, to me, the joy in and importance of having infant photos made is having the ability to look back years later when they're older and remember exactly what life was like as new parents. 

So, I met Jenn and Kyle at their home here in Asheville on a quiet weekday morning and finally got to meet their beautiful Hazel Wren. For their family photos, we stuck to simple poses in familiar locations; cuddling and kissing her in the spots in their home where they'd normally do so. Well, minus the Lion King-esque shot, I'm reasonably sure they don't do that on a daily basis. My favorite, by far, were the photos in her bright and beautiful nursery where Jenn had created a fantastic Alice in Wonderland theme. I mean how often do you get to work with a vivid green wall like that!

For Hazel's solo portraits, I wanted to capture all the details of being just a couple weeks old: her tiny toes, her newly-opened eyes, her epic yawns. Little One had been gifted a fabulous tutu and crocheted tiara so while she did her cute thing, I photographed her parents adoring her in the background, probably my favorite photos from the shoot. 

And how could I forget Dax?! Their sweet pup seemed a bit confused at the new bundle of joy, but already quite interested in being her protector, so we wanted to make sure to include him in some photos to get the whole family in there. This was such a chill session quietly documenting the Conwells' love for their little creation as they moved about their home; I can't wait to document more families' journeys into parenthood!

Back in April, I had the opportunity to photograph for Robyn, a senior captain on the Oak Ridge High School cross country team and also my brother's girlfriend. For her graduation photos, we wanted to get a wide range of image that captured both her personality and her accomplishments, as well as the beauty of Oak Ridge, so we ended up bouncing to three different locations that evening! 

We started, naturally, at the high school. Smart lady that she is, she came in typical school clothes that [somehow] coordinated perfectly with the rather loud color of ORHS's graduation gowns. As she was a dedicated leader and athlete both on the track/cross country course and in high jump, we began our session with some badass photos on the track. We worked our way around to the school, spinning in the field and talking about post-grad plans as we went.

Once we were satisfied with our scholarly captures, we moved on to the UT Arboretum. To capture her softer side, Robyn had brought a simple but lovely light blue dress, handmade by her mother, which her sister had also worn for her own graduation. I loved this little attention to detail, particularly as the dress stood out beautifully against all of the arboretum's blooms. 

We'd managed to time the lighting of each location just right. As the sun began to set, it cast a warm glow throughout the meadow, filtering through the trees to create an atmosphere akin to an ethereal fairy garden. While I typically shoot with a speedlight or two set up to aid with light, for this shoot I opted to simply use the natural light that was likely more beautiful than something I could create. 

We finished up our session at Robyn's home, where I got to meet her two horses and puppy. Photographing with horses (or any animal) is an amusing challenge because they don't typically want to pose in the way that you want them to. Much like children, really. However, creating candid images as Robyn fed and petted her horses proved much simpler than I thought as she obviously had a very calming touch. After a few more photos in the apple trees we completed the shoot with a sequence of laughing images right as golden hour peaked.

I've done so many individual session with strong, badass woman lately and this one was so exception. I'm thrilled with how Robyn's photos came out (and how fun her shoot was!) and can't wait to share the completed album!

When Keya found me on Instagram last year, she and Eric were planning a small family ceremony at Pisgah Inn with 20 or so people. Fate and some family health issues intervened, but their parents didn't want the two lovebirds to wait any longer. So, as planned, Emmaleigh, Erin and I met Keya and Eric at Pisgah on the most perfect blue sky afternoon where they committed their lives to each other. Including the other inn visitors watching from their balconies, there was not a dry eye in the field! I can't wait to share more from this beautiful day!

Cake: Cakes by Gray

Dress: Justin Alexander

Florals: Wild Mountain Blossoms

Hair & Makeup: Danielle at Salon Roche

Italian Wedding Cookies: Tofino's

Officiant: Rev. Rosewood

Photographer: Adrian Etheridge Photography

Rentals: Just Bloom Together

Suit: Kenneth Cole

Stylist: Just Bloom Together

Venue: Pisgah Inn

Videographer: Erin Dalton

When I picked up my now 10-year-old 35mm film camera last year, I didn't really know how this was going to affect my work. At first, I just shot a few rolls around town to enjoy being outside while photographing something other than portraits. But then, I brought my camera and 6 rolls of film with me on my family trip to Ireland and realized that the missing piece in my work, what I'd been trying to put together for all these years, was this travel photography in film. Although I've always been in love with travel photography, analog travel photography is a completely different beast. Especially since my camera of choice no longer has a functioning light meter or shot counter or spool winder. I've had to [gotten to] learn the technical in's and out's of my craft which has also really benefited my commercial work while growing me as an artist. Through documenting my travels in various cities and countries I've gotten the chance to hone my craft by experimenting with light, photographing random strangers (and working up the nerve to do so!), playing with prisms, and ultimately learning how to capture the beauty of everyday life. 

Through these, I'm not only able to photograph the beautiful places I've been lucky enough to visit so that I can remember my adventures later on, but I can also share small visual stories from other parts of the world. The artistic integrity of analog photography means I have to think critically about each image;  choose which film to use in order to best capture the colors, decide how to frame each scene to tell my story of that place (while only getting one shot). The beauty is that I have a hand in each part of the process because now that I've added color chemicals to my darkroom kit, I can develop and print every bit of what I shoot! I'm so excited to get to share the way I see the world while simultaneously creating art. 

All of this to say that I'm working on building my travel catalog so that both original prints and digital image copies can be available for purchase on my website. I have my film store available here and will be adding to it periodically as I travel. For those who have been following my photography for any length of time, you know how much I love getting to create printed works, the best (and only) way to enjoy photographs in my opinion. You also know just how much I love traveling and telling stories of my travels. Now that I've finally figured out how to put these loves together, I'm so excited to share this next journey with you!

In writing these posts about Erin's portrait sessions while we were abroad earlier this month, I went a bit backwards since we actually went to Iceland first. This isn't because I enjoyed London more; on the contrary, if given the choice between photographing a classy engagement session in London and an adventure elopement in Iceland, I would undoubtedly choose the latter. And that is precisely the reason. 

Our original plan for this photoshoot had been to bring along an elegant, flowing dress to create an epic ensemble to match the landscape. I still plan to do this in the near future (and am already giddy about how incredible those images are going to be!), but as we realized that this year's Icelandic May may looked much more like our winter, we opted for warmth and adventureware instead. Not to mention, we were trying not to pay for a carry-on. So our shoot took a slightly different turn outfitting Erin in vivid colors to match her hair and contrast the snowy background; an outfit she would wear on any given day so that the portraits would capture her true character. 

As with our later plan in London, I wanted to just as often capture Erin in action interacting with this new-to-her country as I did stop to "pose" her for a photo. Most often that meant photographing the photographer, though occasionally I caught her running through snowbanks and jumping from rock to rock in a field. I loved having these candids to add into the mix to more fully tell the story of our adventure. 

The most fun part about our whole Icelandic adventure was having no plan. Whereas I always go into a shoot with at least a vague idea of where I'll be photographing, Erin and I decided it would better capture the intrepid spirit of the country if we simply drove around until we saw somewhere we had to photograph. (*Important note: we did not ever pull over to the side of the highway as this is one of the most common causes for tourists' accidents. Always pull into a designated pull-off or at least a driveway.*) 
What I love most about the area around Reykjavik that we explored is it's huge variety of colors and scenery just within a two hour radius. We captured images along the coast of Erin soaking up the ocean spray, photos beside a river of her demonstrating her superhero poses, badass shots as she mimicked the strength of the mountains behind her and images to show her intrepid spirit as she stared out over the gushing waterfall. All while documenting her goofy nature, intelligent eye and brilliant smile through candid photos. 

This small, 36 hour taste of photographing portrait sessions in Iceland has only whetted my appetite for capturing stories there. As we drove for hours around the city and countryside, I constantly exclaimed how perfect a spot would be for an elopement, how I'd love to do badass branding images in another place, how much fun my couples would have playing in the snow for their engagement sessions. I know I will have to return soon!

When I called Erin on December 28th to frantically select our travel dates only 30 minutes before the 50% off WOW Air deal expired, the only plan we had in mind was that we wanted to use this as a leisurely work trip. By that I mean I wanted to spend the majority of my time location scouting, shooting 35mm street photos for print sales and making portraits, both for creative exploration and to add another city to my list of destination photoshoot offerings. Luckily, on that last piece, bringing my best friend along also meant bringing my favorite model! For the 4 days we spent in London, we took turns stopping in the middle of the street as inspiration hit, directing the other to pose for the images we'd created in our minds. 

As I expand into travel and destination photography, I wanted to not only capture Erin in beautifully-lit poses, but document her in action as well so as to truly memorialize our memories from the trip. Any photo you see of her laughing is a reflection of this idea as we spent quite some time giggling over silly jokes; these perfectly contrast the more serious tone of the modeled images in created a balanced London portfolio. 

The most challenging aspect of documenting a vacation isn't watching for the moments or framing the scene, it is (by far) working with the available light even at 2pm on a bright and sunny day. However, this is precisely why I enjoy this type of session! Working in countless less-than-ideal lighting conditions in my wedding work has instilled in me a deep appreciation for harsh lighting, particularly in making use of natural spotlights to dramatically highlight my subjects' face and little else. Although, occasionally, a bright backlight leaving the face in shadow is equally as pleasing to me, at least when my subject is running through a field of wildflowers. 

As we only brought one backpack for gear and one for clothes, we didn't exactly have an expansive wardrobe to choose from. However, London's colorful streets, wealth of bright buildings and beautiful foliage meant that we wanted nothing more than simple, solid colored dresses anyways. My goal in each travel portrait image is to weave the story of the trip, the subject(s)' personality and the character of the destination all into one photo. This gallery of Erin (a creative badass) is meant to tell the story of our difficult yet nonetheless artistically inspiring adventure in a place filled with history. I've only gotten a brief taste of London thus far, but I have a feeling that I'll be back soon to make even more use of its variety of vivid backdrops!

We successfully began our first morning in London by completely sleeping through it, awaking after noon. To shed our remaining layer of sleepiness, we stepped out into the warm, British sunshine, picked a direction, and set off on our first international run. Since I've only run once in the past 5 months I can't say it was terribly pleasant, but getting to finally stretch our legs while simultaneously exploring our neighborhood was enjoyable.

Once again, we had no plans for the day other than to simply enjoy it, so with cameras in hand we hopped on the Tube in search of food, slowly photographing our way to a cafe near the Thames. Aside from seeing the world, the main point of these trips for me is to refine my creative eye by way of exploring new techniques; different times of day other than the "perfect" golden hour, angles I don't often shoot from, new poses. I've done this this last year through my film street photography, but this trip (and my last one to NYC) is allowing me to work on my portrait photography as well. It definitely helps to have a fantastic model! As we stopped once again in the middle of a sidewalk to photograph, Erin remarked that she's been my model for so long that she's not even self conscious photographing around people in the middle of the street anymore. For me, that's the highest compliment. 

Soon enough though, our hunger completely overtook us and we forewent our budding modeling careers in favor of a hearty meal. We're thankful to live in the age of smartphones and internet because all we had to do was type "cafe" into the GPS and turn two corners to get there. These old souls started off the meal with a pot of tea apiece - peach elderberry mint - while reading our respective novels. Once we'd sated our literary thirst, we each ordered a bowl of soup, the daily special meat option of beetroot borsch. I'll admit, I was rather hesitant when the bright magenta soup arrived, but the warm savory broth was the perfect filling meal.

I could've stayed for another full pot of tea, arguably the tastiest I've ever had, but we opted instead to return to our explorations. In need of some nature, we set off for Battersea Park along the river, spending a few hours meandering through the gaggles of people en route to nowhere. Erin's a photographer herself, so we shared my camera, taking turns documenting what we found interesting. It was interesting looking back through the photos last night seeing each of our distinct styles, seeing a stark comparison of how to people taking the same journey can see things so differently.  

After a while, we thought it might be time for a change of scene, so I looked up the closest iconic sight and we hopped on the (wrong) bus towards Trafalgar Square. We didn't quite make it there as even the correct bus terminated service early leaving us a few stops short, but serendipity was working in our favor to make sure we remembered to see Westminster Abbey. I'm not sure I could correctly spell out the sounds of awe we let out in seeing the intricately designed artifice, but it went something like "AHHHHHHGFKDJGDSJRGJ!"

We were treated to a gorgeous golden sunset, each warm ray adding a glow to everything it caressed. Naturally, we had another mini photoshoot as we watched the sky turn a soft pink, taking advantage of the radiant light.

We ended our first day here with a fantastic traditional meal of fish and chips, potato skins and pints of Guinness at the St Stephen's Tavern, eating slowly and talking for hours. Start to finish, the whole day was a calming balance of exploring while having no expectations of needing to do anything, therefore it was thoroughly enjoyable. 

I like to think that as long as things don’t go horribly wrong, mishaps can soon turn to funny stories, particularly regarding amusing travel antics. This trip is apparently trying to test that belief.

We started the whole adventure 2 days ago now, driving from Asheville to Baltimore to catch our fight (WOW Air was running a 50% off sale from this airport so we had to take advantage.) Though we left with several hours’ wiggle room, that all came to a screeching halt a few hours in when we hit construction traffic…something like 5 separate times. One hour down, we were undeterred until we hit Baltimore traffic whereupon our last bit of wiggle room quickly slipped away as we sweltered in dead-stopped traffic.

At long last and after several detours, we arrived at the airport, ran through the parking lot in search of a walkway that wasn’t there, hopped on a shuttle that went to our stop last, begged our way through 5 lines of security and finally made it to the gate right as boarding was supposedly done only to find that there were plenty of people still in line. A little shaky, a lot stressed, we happily slumped into our seats and attempted to catch up on sleep.

Once we arrived in the fair country of Iceland, we were greeting with a balmy layer of May snow blanketing everything in sight. We picked up our rental car – thankfully 4-wheel drive – and pulled right out onto the snowy highway with zero plans on the horizon.

As the title says, our plan for this trip was to have no plan, to simply travel to and how we felt in order to enjoy every minute possible. So, naturally, our quest for pleasure first led us to food. We trekked up to Reykjavik after plugging only “coffee” into the GPS and enjoyed our first meal in over half a day, particularly as it was really only dessert. Unfortunately, this café didn’t have outlets to charge our electronics, so upon finishing our meal, we walked down the street to a neighboring café, ordered still more coffee, and sat down for a few minutes to work. Funny enough, we’d inadvertently walked into the same café my family and I had visited 2 years ago; I must have really liked it.

Work complete, caffeine mainlined, we hopped back into the car in search of any and all Icelandic beauty. Again, we had no real plan, so we took a jaunt along the coastline, stopping at almost every pull-off to capture the landscape or photograph each other. One of the main purposes of this trip for me was to location scout in order to provide future clients with good suggestions for their elopement and engagement photoshoots, so it was not at all a coincidence that my beautiful best friend joined me as she’s one of my favorite people to photograph. Well, and to explore with.

After driving around for a few hours, we decided it was time to see one of the iconic waterfalls so we made chase for Gullfoss a couple hours away. Unfortunately, my utter lack of sleep overcame me soon after and I had to pull over beside a stream for a small nap. I fell asleep as soon as I pulled the key from the ignition. When I awoke, Erin and I both decided that while exploring more would be fun, the luxury of having no plans is that you can change direction at a moment’s notice, so we went to our hotel to nap. 

We were originally going to car camp (when we booked the trip in December) but as it was 35 degrees and intermittently snowing, we thought it best to sleep in warm beds. And sleep we did. I woke up 4 hours later completely rested, but completely too late to go anywhere. As Erin was still dead to the world, I grabbed my film camera, put in my earbuds and headed out for some evening street photography. I finished off my roll of film just as the sun set (at 10pm) enjoy capturing the fading light, but the highlight of the excursion naturally featured a cat. As I’d crouched down to re-tie my shoe, a little black and brown cat trotted up to me, immediately head butting my hand to pet him for a few minutes. I have no idea where he came from, but I definitely felt #blessed.

Not thinking clearly, we missed dinner as most places stopped serving food at 10pm, so we had to settle for grocery store sandwiches. This wasn’t exactly my idea of local fare, but after hot showers and hotter tea, we were too tired to care.

In order to get our waterfall fix, we woke up at 7:30 this morning (3:30 to our not-yet-adjusted bodies!) and set off once again for Gullfoss. Iceland is apparently having an Asheville-like weather as every 20 minutes a sudden snowstorm slammed into us. More than once along the way did we question how badly we actually wanted to see the waterfall. We rationalized that since we’d already seen several hours’ of countryside we could just turn back around, but something kept us going through the slush. That is, until we got to the entrance to the parking lot and it was blocked off. As it turns out, only the ravine side was blocked off and we could easily enter the other, but from our vantage point we were doomed. Because I needed to turn around, I drove 100 meters more, right into what turned out to be a parking lot. We parked and set off. Not knowing that we could easily access the falls via the far side wooden stairs, we bounded our way through the snowy grass to the edge of the ravine, photographing each other all the while. Only after we’d filled our boots with snow did we realized there was an easier way

The falls were as advertised: breathtaking, terrifying and otherworldly. We’d remarked several times along the way that the snow-covered mountains looming upwards into the crystal blue sky looked like scenes from a fantasy movie, but the waterfall took mythological landscape to a whole new level. Clear blue water hurling headlong over the deeply creviced volcanic rock so violently it created a mist of renegade droplets not yet ready to reach the lower river: I was instantly mesmerized. 

I broke the spell only to attain sustenance, and because we didn’t want to have to rush to the airport like the day before. To save time, we ate at the visitor center’s cafeteria enjoying a piping hot bowl of Icelandic meat (lamb) stew which soothed our souls if not thawed our numb toes. 

However, it was not in the cards for us to have an easy time at the airport. A missed turn (one of only 2 in the same number of days) lead to an extensive detour, the shuttle driver took his sweet time preparing to drive the 5 minutes to the airport, and suddenly we were returning to Keflavík after our flight was supposed to start boarding. As you can imagine, we got a good workout in sprinting to our gate. However, there was little need to worry since there was still a large line when we arrived. So we were 2 for 2!

Once we arrived in London we realized that the British must still hold a grudge against he States because some force was certainly not working in our favor. Of all things, we had the most difficultly orienting ourselves in the country that actually spoke English. 

Restaurants were closing by the time we stepped off the train, so we suffered through some fast food which I refuse to name for fear of besmirching my reputation. 4 hours after stepping onto British soil, we finally got to our hostel, had a glass of wine and settled in. 

Tomorrow we once again have no plans except to sleep in, so it’s already shaping up to be a lovely day.

Today was another stellar day for photography! I've only ever been in the city in December - February (and one chilly March), so this sunny and 70's weather was a highly welcome change. 

I'd planned to get up around sunrise to run (and then go back to sleep!) but either my alarm didn't go off or I turned it off in my sleep - neither option would surprise me - so I woke up around 11 instead and quickly got ready for my photoshoots. After I'd posted my images from yesterday's shoot with Denise in the GLT NYC group, several people messaged me interested in photos, so while my only plan for the day had been meeting with one of my college classmates for lunch, I ended up adding three shoots to the mix! 

I met up with my first new travel-loving friend, Mickey, at a pop-up makeup shop in Nolita so that we could create images for her to promote the shop in Instagram. The white-walled warehouse was decked out with pink and yellow playground equipment perfectly suited for 'gram-worthy backdrops, and proved fun to shoot with! In true social media nerd fashion, we immediately transferred my images from camera to phone via wifi, my phone to hers via airdrop, and then onto the interwebs within 5 minutes. 

Afterwards, I set off for Queens to meet Kelly, my college classmate, fellow artist and Laurel of Asheville alum. I only got to see the area on the few minute walk from train to restaurant and back, but greatly enjoyed grabbing some portraits of Kelly along Broadway after catching up over poke bowls. 

I quickly headed back to Midtown to meet my next subject, Haley, at the Moxy hotel. When she messaged me asking if we could shoot together, I thought nothing of her name and continued along that line until she started pulling GLT props out of her bag. Even then, I thought she was just a fanatic contributor until she began talking about the reason for her visit to New York: to discuss the #MeToo movement as it pertains to traveling. As it turns out, Haley is the founder and CEO of GLT! Networking at its finest, we've got some very exciting plans in the works. 

For my last shoot, I met up with Kira and we walked down to the waterfront for some gorgeous evening images. What I've loved most about this trip is getting to know so many women who are not only fiercely independent and enthusiastic in their pursuit of getting the most out of life, but who are just as fervent about helping others. Kira is a pediatric speech pathologist who loves all things social; from dancing to fashion & makeup tutorials to seeing the world. We were so deep in conversation while we were photographing that our hour session felt like ten minutes!

I ended the evening walking the 20 blocks up to Central Park so I could finish off my roll of black and white film at dusk. While I've run through the park several times, I've never been able to meander slowly, taking in the scenery. I've also never been here when anything was in bloom, so seeing the park in all its colorful splendor was quite the treat - though admittedly a little bittersweet to photograph in monochrome.  

For my last trick, I made my way to The Beer Shop for a flight. Though I used to think going out solo was weird, traveling has really changed that opinion, and I happily sat at the bar sipping by brews, earbuds blasting the Beatles. 

A strawberry cheesecake from next door capped off my evening of editing. I'm excited to have one more day here tomorrow!

As much as I have the travel bug to go anywhere and everywhere, I just can't stop coming back to NYC. This particular trip is a solo affair, focusing on honing my creative eye to further clarify my visual voice. Once I arrived in Midtown, I grabbed my Vivitar and set off in search of food and photos. While the emphasis of our February visit was to try any and all foods, this time I simply grabbed a sandwich and coffee at the Cambodian restaurant Num Pang Kitchen (talk about tasty!) and hit the streets again. This won't be a long blog post because in all honesty, I didn't really DO anything other than take photos, but I'm totally ok with that.

After lunch, I walked around searching for the best moments with no set destination in mind. For years I've wanted to become a bolder street photographer, not simply documenting scenes as I see them but capturing portraits of people I find interesting, that I may tell a piece of their story. Today, at long last, I worked up the courage to start asking random strangers on the street if I could make their photo - and every single person said yes! They're all on film so I won't know until I get home whether they came out, but the experience itself was just as valuable.

The other objective of this trip was to schedule several sessions to continue building my travel portfolio. Thanks to the ever-wonderful Girls Love Travel Facebook group, I got to meet up with Denise for a solo portrait session around Grand Central Terminal. We spent an hour playing with lights and motion, jumping in and out of traffic on 5th Ave for the perfect steam shot and getting to know each other. By the end of the session, we were already talking about hanging out and taking portraits for her family next time I'm in the city; sometimes the internet is a helpful place!

After our session, I walked the mile back to my hotel (with a couple wrong turns since I wasn't using GPS) photographing the evening, then grabbed some food cart food (a lamb gyro AND a hotdog since I walked nine miles!) before turning in to watch movies. Oh, and I almost forgot the serendipitous walk past a Zagat-praised macaroon shop where I definitely indulged myself. All-in-all today was good for both my creativity and my soul (really, they're on and the same.) More stories to come this weekend!

It's funny traveling to a city that's at once all the way across the country and yet so familiar. Now on my third trip to Portland, while the city doesn't feel like "home" precisely, I've found it easy to jump right into the rhythm of life here without even thinking about it. 

One of the best part of traveling from East coast to West is the time change: the only way I function decently after getting up at 7:30am is when it actually feels like 10:30! I walked the girls to the bus stop as usual, then quickly got ready and headed off to my first meeting of the day, a wedding consult for a couple whose engagement photos I shot last year. As luck would have it, for my hour long trip from Beaverton to the East Side, one of my buses was a couple minutes delayed which made me miss the next one. But, luckily enough to live in the age of Google Maps and constant location tracking, I was able to pick up a new route quickly and arrive only 20 minutes later than expected. One of the brides had had to run out to her own meeting, so I dipped around the corner into a cafe to grab some food and answer emails. I've found in traveling a flexibility of schedule that I don't often have when working at home - when my only plans for the day are to grab lunch with a friend and walk around, it's easy to reschedule on the fly. Definitely something I want to incorporate into my every day schedule! The nearest cafe happened to be a father-and-son-owned bagel shop serving house-made sourdough bagels, house-roasted coffee and a delicious local salmon plate, so I really can't think of a better way to pass the time. 

A successful consult later - I booked their wedding and will now be back in Portland in November! - I walked back around the corner to meet Steve of A Beautiful Ceremony NW for lunch, somehow only a five minute walk from the meeting with Jeannie and Anne! Steve was the officiant for Jen and Jon's Mt. Tabor elopement last March and though we were unsuccessful in connecting last trip for lunch, it was great to catch up with him, talk about our respective wedding industries and swap travel stories.

I managed to get here right at the beginning of Highball week (where 41 of Portland's top bars and restaurants serve up their favorite highball for a fantastic $5 a piece) and was treated to Dot Cafe's "A Li'l Piece of the Pie": "2 oz Jim Beam bourbon, 1 oz strawberry purée, 3 dashes of rhubarb bitters. Topped with Cock'n Bull Ginger Beer, and served on the rocks in a highball glass." Quite tasty and paired perfectly with the spicy kimchi fritters. 

The restaurant itself, a neighborhood staple, screamed "Portlandia" with its velvet wall paper, neon lights, eclectic decor and three bathroom doors declaring "It" "Doesn't" and "Matter." Although, this last part was every bit as socially important as it was endearing.  

Though I'd enjoyed my breakfast out on the deck of the cafe, the skies opened up after lunch and I was thankful for the warm bus ride. I typically plan each day's activities locally around whatever my mandatory events are, but today was an exception as I needed to get to Blue Moon in time to have my prints developed before I leave next week.  I picked up a few rolls of my favorite film, a couple new-to-me brands and selected which negatives to print, then traded the warmth of this photographer's paradise for the cold, long trek up to the Smith and Bysbee Wetlands Natural Area. I was greeting with a familiar but less-than-delightful reminder of the less kitschy side of Portland while waiting for the bus stop: a downtrodden woman's chant of "loser, loser, loser, you're all f---ing losers" as she walked past. 

It wouldn't be public transit if it wasn't a little confusing, so I accidentally missed my bus stop at the nature center. There were so few stops in the part of town that we flew a mile down the road before I was able to hop off, subsequently having to double back on foot. Additionally, when I arrived I checked the bus schedule and the last one of the day was only 30 minutes away so I didn't have nearly as much time to walk around as I wanted. But, the natural center was worth it! I took the interlakes trail between the Smith and Bysbee lakes, wandering along the treelined greenway on the lookout for the otters that the internet promised. Naturally, the only wildlife I ended up seeing was a bee while I waited for the bus stop. But, the park now scouted, I definitely want to take a few hours sometime to explore the area more (perhaps when its warmer and in full bloom) and will include it as a portrait location offering, which was the point of going there anyways. 

The bus ride this far north circled the manufacturing plants and train yards, so on our way to the MAX station I shared a full bus with the factory workers, listening attentively as they tiredly shared stories of their day. One woman grumbled about having a 2 hour commute each way to work and I don't blame her. As confusing as it can sometimes be, taking public transit is my very favorite way to experience a city because it gives me the opportunity to assimilate with those who actually live here, rather than dwell in a naive haze with the general hipster tourist population. 

Although, I will admit that I still get quite nervous talking to people, particularly traveling by myself. On the train, one of the men from the plant - a rough-looking man with one eye swollen and teeth crooked, wearing dirt-smeared jeans and a faded heavy coat - struck up a conversation with me about photography, a hobby we shared. When he asked what I was doing in the city and what my plans were, though he more than likely had good intentions of showing interest and suggesting sites, I can't say that I answered truthfully. I do, however, wish I'd made his portrait. 

Once back, I spent the rest of the evening having my makeup beautifully done by an eight- and ten-year-old, a makeup routine a will probably not incorporate into my daily life. All in all, it was a fantastic first day back filled with Portland flavor. 

As the newly married couple opted to include text in their elopement photo album, the wide variety of closeup and wide-angled portraits allowed us to incorporate that text to enhance the album, adding each quotation to the image that best illustrated it. 

To cover their album, Allie and Eric chose a glossy hard cover with their favorite image, adding their names and dates as well. 

I'm so excited that these two will have a beautiful heirloom to celebrate their intimate wedding day, and the ability to look back on their happy and exciting union for the rest of their lives! 

To see more of their elopement photos, click here. 

To learn more about my elopement packages, click here. 

Y'all know I love weddings, but I adore the romance of a couple so in love, they only want to focus on their commitment to each other. Allie and Eric were two such sweethearts! They made things legal at the courthouse that morning, then got all dressed up and met me at the North Carolina Arboretum for vows and portraits.

We started our elopement session off with a first look in the field behind the fountain, where the vivid fall foliage was completely overshadowed by Eric's grin upon seeing his bride in all her finery. In their questionnaire, they said that what they wanted to remember most in that moment was "That we have the brightest future ahead of us that will only get better now that we are one." So when photographing them, my goal was to foreshadow that bright future by capturing their pure joy at being together. They certainly made that job easy! Allie and Eric were all laughs and smiles, in turns looking at the other like they were the only two people in the world, and being goofy as any best friends would. 

Finally, after we'd toured the gardens and danced in the gazebo, we set off in search of the perfect spot for them to make their vows. Allie had been worried that she'd cry away her makeup during the vows so sagely decided to do portraits first. Yet another reason I love first looks!

Though she didn't cry, we definitely all teared up as the just-married couple vowed to love and support each other for the rest of their lives, as only the birds and the squirrels (and we two photographers) looked on. Though I don't remember their vows, what they love most about the other person perfectly sums them up: 

Allie: I love that Eric is the most kind-hearted and generous person I have ever met.
Eric: I love that Allie is kind and caring to all people no matter what.

Getting to capture their sweet and intimate day was a pleasure and creating their elopement photo album was just as fun! Can't wait to share their album video!

To see their elopement photo album, click here. 

To learn more about my elopement packages, click here. 

I love any excuse to celebrate: anniversaries, promotions, random Monday evenings. But birthdays, by far, are one of my favorite things to celebrate. So, when Jeannie asked if I could document her mother's family birthday party when I was in Portland, OR last fall, I was ecstatic!

Since they hadn't gotten photos with the whole family together in quite a long time, we started the gorgeous sunlit evening with some group portraits out in front of the house - first with just Sue and her daughters, then with spouses as well. Not only did their outfit colors all coordinate with each other (and the house!), but they had so many perfect seating spots for portraits - especially the wooden swing - so I felt like the yard was made just to be a photographer's playground. 

A talented family, music was a theme of the evening as Sue's husband serenaded us before dinner as the sun went down. Once we'd grabbed a few more group shots on the porch, we headed inside for everyone to make their dinners. As I photographed the process, I wanted to just capture sweet moments of the family spending a quiet evening together without really posing any images. I didn't have to do a thing, I love how they all interacted with each other laughing, smiling and making sure each dish was perfectly cooked. One of my favorite images of the evening is when Jeannie leaned down to smell what her mom was cooking; it was such a timeless mother-daughter scene. 

Dinner was much the same happy affair - beginning by going around the table as each person said what they were thankful for.  I love getting to be a part of intimate family gatherings like this because I get to hear their stories, namely Sue and her husband's hiking almost-misadventure that had us all laughing and gasping in equal measure. We followed dinner with presents and then a few more photos with mother and daughters doing what they most often do together: sit on the couch and talk about the news. 

To cap off the festivities, we went into the piano room as everyone grabbed their instrument of choice. With barely a word, a sudden melody filled the room and several harmonies quickly followed. I almost forgot to keep photographing because I was so enjoying the music!

As we're working on picking out photos for this family photo album, I'm excited to put the story of such a relaxing and love-filled evening into print!

"I bet my life on you." *

Music has been an essential part of my life for as long as I can remember: I don't start driving without choosing a song, I immediately turn on a playlist when I get home, I live for seeing live shows. There are certain songs and records that define each and every period of my life. For the past 6.5 years - since I left home and set off on the journey towards "adulthood" or whatever this is - Imagine Dragons (the band) has provided me with the majority of these tracks. I could discuss them for days, but the best of them all that literally gave me the defining moment to move forward into a new phase of my life is "Bet My Life" off their sophomore album Smoke and Mirrors. 

"I know I took the path that you would never want for me,
I know I let you down, didn't I.
So many sleepless nights where you were waiting up on me,
But I'm just a slave unto the night.

Now remember when I told you that's the last you'll see of me,
Remember when I broke you down to tears.
I know I took the path that you would never want for me,
I gave you hell through all the years."

Man, that intro hits home. A couple misjudgments of character in the very first few days of college turned into years' worth of pain, emotional trauma and more poor decisions that destroyed my sense of self-worth. Seemingly overnight, I became a different person that the "me" of my first 18 years of life wouldn't recognize. When I hear those first two verses, I always imagine this darker self, fighting to crawl out of that pit, writing a letter to her truer self - that soul part of your person that never truly changes - apologizing for all of the hurt. 

"I've been around the world and never in my wildest dreams
Would I come running home to you.
I've told a million lies but now I tell a single truth
There's you in everything I do."

Through the toxic relationships of college (both romantic and otherwise) and more toxic relationships afterward (in business and in love), I never thought I'd be able to get off that destructive track; once you get on that train, it just keeps going. I gave up daydreaming about traveling the world or running my company. I gave up enjoying spending time with friends. I gave up being happy. Even though I so desperately wanted to do and be those things that were a part of my core being. 

And then

I heard this song driving home after spending the day contemplating my past decisions and current trajectory. I realized that I'd made those poor decisions because I didn't value myself. Because of things I'd been told, things that others had done and things I'd done myself, I didn't think I was worth the effort of changing paths. But I was, of course I was. And I could see that even in those mistakes, the inherent parts of me that wanted to love and live to the fullest were still there, even if rather misguided. 

"Don't tell me that I'm wrong
I've walked that road before
And left you on your own.

And please believe them when they say
That it's left me yesterday
And the records that I play
Please forgive me for all I've done."

I see this whole song as a sort of internal conversation, the part of myself trying to come out of the darkness talking to the past and future selves in the light. It's both an apology and a love letter, a plea and an oath. 

Self love comes in many forms, but for me it started with ending those toxic relationships. Some of them had retreated onto to my memory, so this required therapy - I've been going to hourly sessions once a week for 7 months. I've manifested self love in my business: chasing after my dreams again, taking classes (thank you, Mountain Bizworks!) to better understand my business and the business world as a whole, and especially honing in on the areas of my work that combine my skills, my enjoyment and my ability to help people. I take the more colloquial version of self-love by actually taking days (or at least half days) off to not only give myself rest, but build and enjoy relationships outside of work.

"So I, I bet my life
I bet my life, I bet my life on you" 

And finally, I did this photoshoot with Cat Ford-Coates of Studio 828 so that I could visualize the strong, self-valuing person that I'm striving to become. My very favorite thing about portrait photography is this ability to see someone for who they are and capture that so that they can see it for themselves (often with happy tear-inducing results) and Cat certainly did that for me. It was a transformative experience.  

The funny thing about self-love is that it's not at all this selfish way of putting your importance over others', the way I used to think. Once I began practicing it, I became kinder, friendlier, more genuine and encouraging. I WANTED to donate my time or money, to talk friends through problems, to edit a clients' editing session late into the night so she could see how badass she as soon as possible. When you value yourself, you also see the value in others better than ever before. 

So, that is my goal for each and every one of my clients from engaged/married couples to business owners to parents/families to individuals: capturing each person or couple's heart and soul so that when they see their photos they realize their own value and beauty and strength (read: badassness). Once you realize that, you can change the world, even if its just your own small piece of it. 

 "I bet my life on you." 

*Imagine Dragons. Smoke and Mirrors. Interscope Records, 2015. CD.

Yes, I still buy and listen to CDs. 

Today's Jake's 19th birthday (umm what? I can't be that old...) so I wanted to give him some photographic love by showing off his senior photos from last year. I came into town for the night to photograph for 6 ORHS students who had never had their photo professionally made and had just enough time to squeeze in his evening session when we had the perfect soft evening light. We started at the Civic Center - home to many a prom photoshoot - as the vibrant green grass nicely contrasted the bright red graduation robes. While we wanted to get plenty of nice, smiling photos for mom's album, we also had some fun creating more "characteristic" (read: sarcastic or silly) images to give a more well-rounded account of his 18-year-old self. 

My first time meeting baby bro 19 years ago. 

After we'd gotten several iconic tree photos, a few GQ model poses showing off the gown, a couple spotlit portraits as the sun filtered through the dense trees and one (or maybe quite a few) airborne jump(s) across the river, we walked over to the high school for some photos on campus. 

By far my favorites from this set are the superhero images which, I think, highlight the incredible amount of hard work Jake put in through his 4 years in school. These were purely accidental, too, as he had been putting on the grad gown and happened to stand like that for a second while I was adjusting for the lighting - we snapped several more after I squeaked about how cool the pose was. 

Finally, we headed down to the track to reach the finish line of our shoot. At this point, Jake was totally comfortable in front of the camera so after a few serious (and Nike-esque) photos he started to ham it up. The puking shot probably sums up high school better than any other image from this shoot - ha!

I really enjoy senior shoots because they signify both an end and a beginning; an exciting time in each students' journey. But I especially had fun getting to spend a couple hours with my brother talking about college and goals and life. 

His album was one of my favorites to make so I'm excited to show if off once I go home and remember to get a video of it!

Oak Ridgers: I'll be in town mid April to do senior sessions - if you're interested in scheduling your own, email me at [email protected]!

I mentioned in Ashli and Dustin's wedding day blog post that I loved working with them because they were so down to earth, well this translated into the creation of their beautiful heirloom photo album, too. They went my personal favorite route and chose just enough photos to tell their full story, but few enough that their album displayed more than a few full-spread images spanning a breathtaking 24 inches wide. 

Their wedding day was filled with vivid color, especially from their portraits in front of the manor. These matte press pages don't absorb and desaturate the color like some papers I've seen, rather they retain the integrity of the initial coloring so that Ashli and Dustin's day can just vibrantly out of the pages for years to come! 

Finally, they chose the most iconic image from the wedding to grace their hard-covered album, a perfect way to showcase their classic fairytale day. I had so much fun putting together this family heirloom and am excited that these two will get to enjoy and relive their day even decades down the road. 

It's not every day that you get to photograph in a manor built in the 1920's that happens to look like a European castle! But that's exactly what I got to do for Ashli and Dustin's wedding! From her intricately-beaded gown to their floral exit to the warm, golden sun: start to finish, the whole affair seemed straight out of a fairytale.

Yet, what I loved about working with this couple is that they're so down to earth, focusing on the importance of their commitment and love for each other rather than the appearance of their day. Not only did they make sure to schedule plenty of time to be with family - like with Ashli's sister and mother helping her get dressed or the father-daughter first look - but they topped their cake with personalized Star Wars bobble heads! Most importantly, even decked out in their full wedding finery, they couldn't stop looking into each other's eyes. 

We started the day, as usual, photographing the getting ready process. I think I say this every time, but I love getting to start here, telling the complete story of the day. Homewood's bridal suite has a beautiful paneled mirror that made my job very easy - both for portraits and for details - not to mention the picturesque entranceway to the ceremony that was perfect for dress shots as the gown billowed in the breeze. 

To calm their jitters, the ladies did a (couple) toasts before Ashli had not one but two emotional first looks. The first was with her father; parent first looks are often even more emotional than those for the couple and this one was certainly no different. That first glance from Ashli's father and his subsequent happy tears made all of us a wee bit weepy. Ashli and Dustin's first look was just as sweet, but this time full of happy grins and excited giggles as they took in the full weight of the commitment they were about to make - and how fantastic the other looked.   

Though their ceremony was relatively short, it was jam packed with beautiful sentiments. By far my favorite was their anniversary box - a hand-build box they filled with a bottle of wine and letters to each other. If I remember correctly, their officiant also declared this their "in case of emergencies" box to open if they really needed it. I love their commitment to each other, knowing that marriage is not an easy thing and not taking it lightly, but preparing to work hard together. 

They exited as a married couple, celebrating through a tunnel of flower petals thrown by their loved ones - a photographer's dream, let me tell you! Afterwards, we went straight outside for a few family portraits in front of the manor before returning for fireplace photos. We capped off our portraits outside in front of the castle as the sun shone brightly through the trees making the vibrant colors even more deliciously vivid. Erin can attest to the fact that as I was photographing, I was literally dancing around saying "Oh my goodness, oh my goodness, oh my goodness, this light is gorgeous!"

Though I'd obviously taken plenty of photos during their engagement session, I only just then learned the inside joke that they call the "Ashli face," an excited, eyes and mouth wide open smile that totally portrays her cordial personality. We took plenty of "Ashli face" photos during our group shots that kept everyone in stitches laughing. 

Finally, we sent everyone back to the celebration and spent a bit with just the happy couple, capturing the contented yet fervent connection these two share. While I selected the locations, I hardly had to give them any creative direction; they were already so attuned to each other that any movement and every look made for a perfect personality portrait. 

We ended the evening capturing the festivities, from this Cinderella & Prince Charming look-alike's first dace to the funny and at times tear-jerking toasts from their bridal party and finally the bumpin' dance party. 

Even through a few tears, the whole day was full of nothing but smiles. It was such a pleasure to get to not only interact with Ashli and Dustin again to document their day, but capture their love of family and friends throughout the important moments, both planned and unrehearsed. 

I'm glad they chose the images for their photo album because I certainly wouldn't have been able to narrow them down! You can see their first family heirloom here. 

Thank you to everyone who helped put on such a beautiful event!

Venue: Homewood

Beverages: Asheville Beverages

Cake: The Hop

Caterer: Caroline Allured Catering

DJ: Sound Extreme

Dress: Wedding Inspirations

Favors: Chocolate Fetish

Flowers: Swannanoa Flower Shop

Planning: Carolina Love Events