Eat. Drink&Be Merry: Part I, The Portraits
Good friends, good food, good times… a picture is worth a thousand words, no? (please note that I am barefoot in half of these photos, using the self-timer + running in heels=hazardous to Emily’s safety)
The Weekend…
Listened to Arcade Fire’s ‘The Suburbs’ all weekend long in the car. Really solid album… I remember playing their album ‘Funeral’ for a couple of my friends when it first came out years ago… they looked at me and said: “Who is this? They’re weird.” But I knew they were going to stick around…
Shot some photos with my sister tonight after a long afternoon nap…
Wedding ‘Tease’
Here’s just a couple more from Michelle and Justin’s June wedding… full blog post coming soon… I promise. The photos are almost completely done and getting ready to be shipped to Michelle and Justin….I always get nervous before sending the final product out- but that’s part of the fun, right?
I have a ridiculous obsession with softly focused shots- for some reason they just grab me- there’s a little bit of mystery, a little bit of romance… its more like a piece of artwork than a crisp, sharp realistic photograph….
….and I adore the serene look on Michelle’s face here… gorgeous.
Wedding: Robin&Philip- Part III
Showing off the adorable shoes!
Directly after the ceremony, we snuck outside to shoot a few shots with the beautiful sunset….
We all know I love me some sun-flare
So excited for Robin and Philip to look through their photos- this wedding was definitely a highlight of my year!
Wedding: Robin&Philip-Part II
Sometimes shooting the groomsmen is the hardest/most fun part of the day. Hard- because I’m not a guy and I have to keep them on task- and fun, because I’m not a guy and they are usually sort of crazy and ridiculous.
All I had to do was mention: ‘model’ and this is what I got….
Handsome groom
Love this one
and then… the groomsmen asked if they could pick up Philip- “sure” I replied, and Philip seemed to agree…. so, they picked him up. And then? They….dropped. Him. On. The. Ground. I didn’t know whether to laugh or gasp. Philip was a great sport- after a brush off and laugh we were set to proceed with photos….
Robin and Philip decided on doing a ‘First Look’ and take all their photos pre-wedding ceremony. I love shooting this way- because it always allows plenty of time for shooting, and lets the bridal party proceed to the reception quickly after the ceremony!
First sight…
then we snuck off to get a few bride and groom photos sans bridal party….
Into the car and onto the ceremony!
Wedding: Robin and Philip- Part I
My lovely friends Robin and Philip said ‘I do’ in June. I was super excited to share their day with them…. from the delicious cupcakes at the reception to taking photos with our Team 1 band members, to bridesmaid dance parties and photos with Robin and Philip at sunset- it was a beautiful day. Enjoy!
From the rehearsal:
…wedding day:
Robin made a bunch of cake-plates with vintage cups and plates to serve goodies on at the reception! (like I did here) Such a great idea.
Yum…and that’s the best I’ve seen the Missions Cafe at Apex… that’s all I have to say about that….
So delicious- plus, check out their ‘logo’…. creative!
Robin is known for her fabulous shoes…. these did not dissapoint.
Is Robin GORGEOUS or what?! Seriously, beautiful lady.
So many smiles- so many wonderful ladies!
Recap: The 3rd of July
I spent the 3rd of July down at Riverscape with my new house church family (they’re an amazing bunch! I’ve been blessed these past few weeks with all the new friendships I’ve formed) and we celebrated with sparklers and the downtown fireworks….
Its too bad I only brought one box of sparklers- we ran out way too fast….but we had fun while they lasted!
These girls are amazing…and of course- beautiful. Obvi.
thanks to whichever lady shot this of me and my sister- check out how pale I am! I’ve even been in the sun, and only I’ve only used SPF 15 so far this year (as opposed to the usual 30+ I’m accustomed too!)
I like to take photos of the fireworks out of focus on purpose.
Wedding Preview: Michelle&Justin & I got to ATTEND a wedding too….
On Saturday morning I had the pleasure of photographing a beautiful wedding out in the country. A beautiful couple with adorable smiles, Michelle and Justin were a great couple to photograph. Michelle’s dress was GORGEOUS and Justin wore Chucks & I was happy.
One of my favorite moments was when one of the grandparents wanted a photo with them and saw Justin’s sneakers and asked if they should just take a photo from the waist up, then, realized he was wearing them for the ceremony! Great. I love grandparents.
More to come of course…
…and Sunday evening I had the joy of attending a wedding where I didn’t have to lug a heavy camera and lens bag around. I wore heels, a fancy dress, and got to sit during the ceremony…. although, come to think of it, I ended up taking a LOT of photos…but, I mean, they were with disposable cameras, so, it doesn’t really count, right? My table at the reception sort of borrowed a lot of the cameras (in our defense, the other guests just weren’t putting them to use!) and did a few impromptu photoshoots with them. Allison & Andres… you will have LOTS of memories…of our particular table.
But seriously, Allison’s dress was, again, GORGEOUS… it was a weekend of beautiful dresses. They were adorable during the ceremony, giggling and so happy.
And when the photographers came around to all the tables to photograph couples, I posed with my purse- I mean, since I didn’t have a date….that’s how I roll.
Heels! (um…and the bottom of my feet are totally bruised today. I don’t think I’m cut out for fancy shoes?)
Andres’ face when Allison came down the aisle. Priceless. Its one of my most favorite moments of wedding ceremonies- watching the groom.
Sunset….
Sisters! (Kari went with me to the photobooth so I wouldn’t have to take photos by myself- that’s a true friend)
What then ensued can only be labeled ’silliness’ and ‘fun-with-as-many-disposable-cameras-as-we-could-get-our-hands-on’… I snapped a few with my digital camera so I would have the memories as well….
Pretty, pretty Allison following the bouquet toss- she looks like a movie star…gorgeous!
Robin&Philip- Wedding Preview
My good friend Robin got married yesterday…!! I was honored and excited to share in the festivities. It was a beautiful day… and I can’t believe she’s married! Crazy! The day consisted of a girl dance party in the dressing area, photos in the park, Dumb&Dumber references during the ceremony, and my favorite part of photographing the day… the just married Mr.&Mrs. snuck outside with me directly after the ceremony and shot some “newlywed” photos in the setting sun…
That one is straight out of the camera. When you have a beautiful couple and amazing sunlight, you don’t need processing!
…and, I must confess, I was pretty excited about all the cupcakes. They were amazing. Me & Kate both thought so.
Weekend in Photos Pt III
Saturday, a bunch of good friends graced my home with their presence… we had good food, watched….amusing online videos, talked and just hung out. I love having people over. I need to do it more often.
Sunday I invited my family over for brunch so my mom wouldn’t have to do anything… our dining room table isn’t very large, so I set up the coffee table as a makeshift dining area….
My sis-in-law made this GORGEOUS(and delicious) fruit salad.
I had made this for my party… but I completely forgot to serve it! So the family got to enjoy it. Strawberries, yellow cake, white chocolate pudding and cool whip…. so good. Layers of strawberry shortcake yumminess.
I Heart Lists-I’m a Nerd. Its Cool.
“I’m intentionally ADD today- I feel like I have a million things I want/need to do… so I’m going to do them all at once.” - my latest tweet.
(Tangent- I kind of hate that word. ‘Tweet’. It feels like I should be starring in ‘Bambi’ and talking about being twitterpated. I hope whoever invented Twitter gets a good laugh every time a sane, grown-up uses those words- end of tangent.)
On my to-do list today:
-start cleaning/fixing up the apartment for next Saturday night (party!)
-Run to Goodwill to find some vases/glass-ware for my book shelf display
-Get sidetracked by the dress wrack at Goodwill and end up in the dressing room with 5 dresses. (I only purchased 2)
-Purchase a tray with GOSH-AWFUL cherubs on it to at a later date recover with decorative paper (something else to do!)
-Dishes
-Make Mac ‘n Cheese for a cook out tonight (its gonna be boxed, but its from Trader Joe’s, so, that’s healthy, right?)
-Driving home from Goodwill (in the full 3.5 minutes it takes me) I came up with a topic to blog about so I had to sit down immediately before the idea floated away and get some words down. I have written three(!) essay/posts this week… I haven’t posted any of them, but they’re there, waiting to be edited and posted. In the past few months, God has re-awakened the desire in me to write. I find myself putting pen to paper quite often, and you’ve probably noticed the blog containing more WORDS as of late, (partly due to the fact that photos+winter=blah) but I am so excited. I hope you all don’t mind me posting more ‘personal’ posts mixed in with the photos?
-Watch the ‘Anne of Green Gables’ movies with my sis-in-law and a friend
-My roomie is GRADUATING from CEDARVILLE Saturday!!!! (Go Evonne! You’re done!! YAY) and I have to figure out a super awesome grad gift for her… because she’s amazing and made it like Christmas the other day when she blessed me with an incredible random gift of encouragement.
-Finish my momma’s M-Day gift. Seriously. I told my friend to keep me accountable on finishing it (I’m kind of a ’start-a-project-then-go-on-to-something-else-without-finishing’ kind of gal… ) but I HAVE to finish this. She actually asks me, and… I kind of want to give my mom something next Sunday… because she’s pretty amazing and wonderful and super, and beautiful and one of the reasons I have my many artistic and musical talents.
So… here I am blogging when I have a million things to do…. yup. Sounds about right.
And because this IS a photography blog…here’s one from one of the first Spring days we had a month or two ago… straight outta the camera… my beautiful sister:
The Night Sky
My last twitter/tweet/whatever:
“the moon is GORGEOUS tonight & I’m on a mission to sit on a blanket in the field across the street and capture it.“
And the results…
My soundtrack? The Civil Wars. (perfect.)
More on the Flickr
p.s.- flickr pixelated them when it uploaded them… bleh… but they’re basically SOOC except for some white balance adjusting.
Adventures in the Kitchen
As I said in a previous post- I’m working on cooking more at home, eating GOOD food (non-processed, non-fast-food) on a more regular basis. Plus, I’m finding out that I love to cook. I love chopping and stirring and the presentation. I love all the colors…. so I’m going to do my best to document my adventures here on the blog- food photography is fun.
Friday night I finally got around to making some nachos…
They were so pretty- I almost hated to eat them. (almost)
I fried the chicken up with some lime… yum. Then I topped blue tortilla chips with the chicken, black beans, sharp cheddar, lettuce, tomato, sour cream, green onions and a little salsa. Mmmm.
Then this morning before I headed off to work, I finally got around to making the French Toast I’d been craving for a couple weeks now. (But I didn’t have any eggs till yesterday)
Topped the French Toast with fresh strawberries and powdered sugar (AND real Maple syrup) So good.
P.S. For those of you who enjoy my ‘outift’ posts, I’ve started a Tumblr account/blog/thing just for that…. so check it out! There’s a new outfit up! Its a Peacock Feather Day
Music to Fit the Mood
So if I had to describe my mood tonight with music… these two songs by Tegan & Sara come to mind…
Call it Off & Where Does the Good Go . Both these songs have been played over and over again on itunes, on mix CDs, in the car, on the ipod…
The wind in all its glory…
The sunshine in all its golden warmth…
The flowers formed in delicate beauty, & the majestic clouds skirting high above…
Nothing compares to the glorious wonder of a God who sent His son,
To save a wretch like me;
An imperfect, flawed and tragic being.
The grace and mercy of the cross can never compare to anything else on earth.
He makes beautiful things out a vast expanse of nothingness. Writers block never plagued Him, He never had a lack of inspiration… He is truly the Great and Magnificent Creator.
Day in the Life…
Wedding: Cali&Peter Pt. II
Part two of Cali&Peter’s Cleveland wedding:
We snuck away while everyone was eating to grab a few shots of Cali&Peter upstairs in the quiet:
I love shots likes these…. by all standards, it was a mistake, over-exposed, unfocused…. but I find it striking.
…everyone then proceeded to dance the night away… (literally!)
There was even a giant-room-sized conga-line….
We said farewell with sparklers and cheers as Peter&Cali drove off into the night.
Wedding: Cali & Peter Pt. I
I met Cali & Peter through my friends Megan & Anton (who’s wedding I shot last May) and was extremely excited to meet and talk with them. They were married January 23, 2010 in at the Old Courthouse in Cleveland, OH. Cali & Peter were a sweet couple to photograph and spend the day with. They both possessed contagious smiles and a happy energy that instantly put me at ease while shooting. The bridal party was a gang full of personality and true friends who’s toasts attested to the character of both Peter and Cali. I was touched by the speeches given, as well as by Peter and Cali incorporating a foot washing into their ceremony. Peter and Cali- I wish you both the best and I know God has great plans for you!
The girls got ready out at Cali’s parents beautiful home:
I then headed back to the hotel to shoot the guys preparing for the ceremony:
Pt. II to come!
Road Trip 2010.
First wedding of 2010 is tomorrow. First road trip of 2010 starts this afternoon. Excited. I’m happy to shoot again, winter blahs have set in and I need to be creative again.
Attention Future 2010 Wedding Clients
Future 2010 Wedding Clients,
It is with lots of prayer and thought that I have decided that in 2010 I will only be accepting, at the most, one wedding per month. As it is, I currently work full-time in a non-photography related field and as much as I would love for photography to be my main source of income, this is not currently possible. I am only one person and I only have so many hours/weekends that I can give, while still maintaining a healthy life on the side.
Photography is something I do because I love it, and I don’t ever plan on giving it up, but I struggle with the business aspect and find that I don’t have the time to invest in it that I should, working full-time.
With limiting the amount of weddings I take on, I plan on investing extra attention and creativity to produce work that both I, and future brides, grooms and families will love for a very long time.
If you are interested in booking me for weddings in 2010, please get in touch with me as soon as possible to request a date, as 2010 wedding season booking has begun. Also, remember that I am always available for engagement sessions, Anniversaries, and Just Because times.
Thanks,
Emily O.
Wedding: Amy&Kent Pt. I
I had a hard time narrowing down the images from Amy & Kent’s wedding, lot’s of gorgeous people and scenery…enjoy. (part 1)
