I love the days – when the snow is nearly melted and the sun is shining – that remind you of what summer feels like. Something about warm weather (especially after very cold weather) is so very hopeful. Today was definitely one of those days, so I took a few breaks from my computer and cold office (it’s not east facing so it doesn’t warm up in the morning) to be outside. We ate lunch on the porch, walked the dog, and went for a 21mi bike ride. We are both in terrible cycling shape so if we want any chance to succeed in triathlons this summer we have a lot of work to do. I guess it’s time to sign up for a few races. Anyone have some races planned for the spring + summer? I’d love to hear what you’re training for, I’m not sure what I’ll be doing although my top choice is the Musselman triathlon as it’s always a great event and was actually the first tri I ever did three years ago. Wow I can’t believe that much time has gone by. I just have to add that the highlight of our ride today was when we had to stop because there were three cows loose in the road. We were back on country roads so you can’t turn around and go back very easily… so we just had to wait it out. Thankfully it didn’t take too long for them to corral them back into the right field. Does that happen in other places or just in Virginia?

A week ago I met up with a great group of people for a shoot out. I’m not sure if that’s even the technical term, but that’s what we called it. Lindsay, a friend from college, organized most of it as she wanted to get together photographers and models so we could practice and learn from each other. While there was no set schedule to the event, we started out at Andre’s Wine + Cheese Bar in downtown Doylestown. We shot indoors and practiced off camera lighting, but what was most interesting was seeing what each person did. While I like to travel a little bit lighter I was impressed by Keesha’s umbrella and flash set up… and I was also eyeing Lindsay’s external battery pack for a near instant recycle time on her flash. It’s always good to see what other people are doing – not so you can just copy – but when you’re in an environment that’s open to learn from… you can learn!

Part two of the shoot out took place outside. I decided to try something new and only used the lensbaby I bought at Imaging USA for my lens. If you’re not familiar with lensbabies, they are basically a variation on a tilt shift lens. Instead of a constant plane of focus, you can move around the lens so that there are only specific points of focus. This can do some really cool things, but of course it takes more than just an interesting lens to create a great image. I’m still working on it, and you really have to slow down and take your time since it’s manual focus. While it’s a different look for me, if you’ve seen any of the abstract work I did in college you’ll know it’s right up my alley. I’m looking forward to working it in to some of my shoots – let me know what you think!

For the past few days, I’ve been lucky enough to spend some time in Pennsylvania with one of my best friends from college, Mary Claire. So far I’ve become addicted to Glee and will finish watching the whole first season by the end of my trip. We went to see The Young Victoria and left wanting to watch it one more time. The music from the movie was fabulous too and currently Mary Claire is thinking about having our afternoon run be to the music store so she can buy Schubert’s Swan Song and play it tonight. Yesterday we had a very early and adventurous day as I accompanied her to Philadelphia, where she teaches music each Wednesday. We didn’t do any of the typical philly things (I have before, don’t worry) but had fun catching up with another friend from college, Josh, over lunch. This morning we went out for a treat at La Maison Du Cheese in Doylestown and it was the cutest little shop. In addition to specializing in cheese they bake fresh croissants each day so we went over to enjoy one. Both of us had blueberry and we were lucky to have a taste of the croissant bread pudding – if you’re going to have bread pudding, it might as well be with croissants. Enjoy a few photos from our trip there and I will work on my story telling as I have already spent too long writing this post :)

I have a lot to fill you in on since my last post was almost a week ago. I’ve had a lot of travel in these past few days, as well as excitement with Mike + Kaity’s wedding this past weekend in the Wappingers Falls area. You might have heard about – or lived through – the storm the northeast experienced as well, and the dramatization on the weather channel made me wonder if I would even make it up to the wedding. I sat in front of the tv Thursday night seeing report after report on precipitation, road conditions, and that you should cancel your travel plans if you haven’t already. I was sucked in, I admit it, and while the storm did drop a lot of snow thankfully the highways were perfectly safe to travel on and I arrived as scheduled.

Another wintery wedding. Mike + Kaity’s wedding day was fabulous and what made it so fun is that I know them so well. Both runners (like myself) they also graduated from Houghton and we share stories of meets, long runs, and the time spent together that comes from being a part of a team. It was fun to catch up with some old friends at their wedding and enjoy the reunion that so often comes along with the day. Can’t wait to show you more!

There’s no bigger compliment than having someone refer me. I appreciate so much when a couple – their parents, a friend – takes the time to share their experience and photos and recommend someone work with me. There’s also something about that connection that puts people at ease. It takes away some of the doubt of “who is this person” when you’re able to draw upon first hand experience. This may sound crazy but it works the same way for me. When I am able to work with such amazing clients I can only hope they will send their friends of similar taste to me.

I value the friends you refer to me so much that I’m officially enacting my 2010 referral program. This applies to everyone – you don’t have to be a current client to take part in this so everyone really wins. So before you fall off the edge of your seat, let me tell you how it works:

1. Tell your friends who are engaged to contact me
2. Your friend contacts me, mentions your name, and books their wedding
3. You receive $100 print credit and your friend receives $100 print credit
4. Use your credit within 1 year on a new session

How does that sound- pretty simple, right? I really can’t have credits last forever and ever, which is why they must be used within a year. However, you can totally refer 7 friends (or more) and store up $700 of print credit for your next session if you’d like. Now, it’s a different story if I shot your wedding. If I’m your photographer and you refer a friend, you can use credits up to 1 year after the wedding on your own photos – yes your own photos! So, after the wedding, tell a few friends, and perhaps have enough credit to get that gallery wrapped canvas you’ve been eying. One year after your wedding, you will have to follow the normal rules like everyone else and apply the credit towards a new session… but then you can do an adventure bridal session, some updated family photos, or newborn pictures when your baby is born!? haha I think I just got some stink eye on that last one.

Thank you so much to those people who have sent weddings to me in the past. I appreciate it so much and it really is what allows me to keep doing what I do. I love getting to know my brides + grooms and it is even more fun when I’m able to see them at other weddings as well. I look forward to working with more connections and sending you some prints + products in the process!

Blythe had a gorgeous bouquet for the wedding and I wanted to share an image for the day but I’m going to wait to show you more until the full post. That does bring me to another topic, and actually a question I was asked: “When are the pictures going to be finished?” This is the money question – everyone wants to know, and everyone wants to know why it’s not sooner. So, I thought I’d answer both of those questions for you here.

Question #1: The photos will be done in 3 weeks.

This is actually a big jump in turn around from what I used to do. If I shot your wedding in the past, don’t feel jilted, there’s reasons for the time then too. The main reason my turn around is faster is that I’m better at editing. When you shoot 1200-1800 images per wedding, it can take a lot of time to cut them down, edit each one and make some fine tuned adjustments to the best of the bunch. I’ve refined my workflow and just have more experience with the large number of images.

Question #2: Why aren’t they done sooner?

As I said, when editing 1200-1800 images, it takes time. Let’s start with importing all of the images, all 20-36 GB of them. Once they are all safe and sound, it comes time for editing. If I spend 15 seconds per image, that averages out to 5 – 7.5 hours. Not that bad, but you add in editing to the daily routine – taking care of emails, other clients, traveling for and shooting the next wedding, designing albums, ordering prints, blogging – they don’t always take precedence. Also, I leave some time for the rest of my business and life to happen, and if I’m able to finish them sooner, of course I love to do that. After the images are edited, they are processed into jpgs, re-named by category, burned to a disc, and saved as smaller files to be loaded on to the proofing site. Once they are uploaded to the proofing site, the best 20-30 are chosen for the blog, and the blog post ensues. Whew. There’s a lot of behind the scenes work and I think when you see them you’ll agree they’re worth the wait.

I’m beginning to think that winter is the perfect time for a wedding. It transforms the landscape. You might have to brave frigid temperatures for you photos, but in the end they are so completely worth it. Joe and Molly’s wedding was one such occasion. Temperatures dropped into the single digits and believe me, it was a wedding for the record books. Molly actually said before I left, “you’re going to write about how this was the coldest wedding!” and it’s true, I am going to write that. I’m also going to write about how Joe and Molly’s wedding was fabulous day tucked away in the hills of western New York, and the day started at Molly’s house…

When I arrived the house was buzzing with activity. Bridesmaids were almost ready, Molly was tucked away upstairs, and family were getting all of the last details in order. When Molly came downstairs, she made sure to clean her ring before everything got started.

Molly not only was a bride, she was a gorgeous bride! I love these two portraits we took before heading off to the ceremony.

Off to the ceremony, which was personal and intimate, and even included a duet Molly and Joe sang to each other. What a talented couple!

After the ceremony, we went back to Molly’s house and took some photos on the surrounding property. This was the coldest part of the day. I have to hand it to the bridal party for getting out there, and of course Molly and Joe who braved the most weather. Doesn’t it look gorgeous though?

Like any prepared winter bride, Molly had matching boots and a coat so she could stay warm and look as good outside for pictures as inside. That’s a must if you’re having a winter wedding in my opinion – you always need more accessories.

So lovely, I think the series of Joe carrying Molly through the snow is just perfect!

For the reception we headed to Anastassia Events, which has transformed an old church in a great reception site (below) in Portageville New York. It’s a really unique place and has a bed and breakfast (presumably the old parsonage) attached as well.  It was my first time at the location and I think they did a great job. Before joining everyone in the reception, we finished up with the photos you see above in the b&b.

Some of the other details from their wedding day are below, and one of the most unique things was their choice of cake: ice cream cake! Molly requested Coldstone ice cream cake and if that’s your favorite, I say go for it on your wedding! There were about ten different flavors of cake, which were listed on the back of the menu card, so there was certainly something for everyone.

When Joe and Molly cut the cake, it was a little bit more challenging since they were cutting through ice cream… and once they tucked their napkins in I knew it was going to be serious business!

Having fun on the dance floor, I love this imperfect yet lively photo from the end of the day. I’m sure you’re dying to see more, so head over to my proofing site, create a profile, and then use the couple’s last name as your password to view the gallery. Also, help Joe and Molly win a free 11×14 or 16×20 by leaving your comments below! Congrats again to Joe + Molly – thank you so much for letting me document your wedding and enjoy re-living it through the photos!

In a few weeks I’m going to be heading over to Pennsylvania, after a wedding in New York, to spend some time with my wonderful friend Mary Claire (she’s in the violin picture). While I’m in the area, I’ll be meeting up with a few photographers for a shoot out. Whenever I say shoot out, it makes me think of a duel – country western style, with saloon doors, tumbleweed and the whole shabang. I would love to do a ghost town shoot like that (hmm… how can I make that happen?) I think this is going to be a little more urban chic and I’m looking forward to it. We’ll be getting together to try some new things and learn from each other, and if you are a photographer you’re welcome to join us! Do I have any photographers in the house reading this post? If you want to jump start your modeling career then this is also the place for you since we need some subjects! If it works with your schedule it will be happening Monday March 1, so let me know if you’re interested.

love. it’s wonderful to celebrate. If there’s any holiday to be creative and crafty, I think valentines day would win. It’s all about the time and thought put in to the day which is why I followed the recipe from Design Sponge to create what you see above. It was a little more difficult than advertised, but in the end it came together and I love it. It’s surprising what a simple craft or valentine can do. I hope you had a great day and spent it with people you love.

It’s one thing to have a wedding. It’s quite another to have a wedding when it seems that the forces of nature are working against you. Honestly, when you get two feet of unexpected snow in Fredericksburg Virginia what are you suppose to do? You’re still suppose to get married – and that’s exactly what Kyle and Christie did. The memorable weather made for some even more memorable photos that set the scene for the gorgeous winter wedding that you see here. It presented a few more challenges for the wedding day, and you can read about my story of getting to the wedding in this earlier post. Kyle and Christie have the most amazing support of family and friends that came together for their day, and I know there were many more who weren’t able to make it because of the weather so I’m excited to share these photos with you.

Christie got ready with the help of her bridesmaids and was looking gorgeous. There’s nothing like good friends by your side on your wedding day.

Kyle was upstairs getting the finishing touches to his tux with the help of his dad and best man. This wedding really was all about family and friends which they clearly are blessed with.

After the ceremony there was barely a dry eye in the house. It was memorable and personal and the perfect start for their lives together. After the ceremony Kyle and Christie were up for braving the snow and we took some of my favorite pictures from the night.

After a few minutes in the snow, we ducked in to the reception which was in an awesome location in downtown Fredericksburg. It used to be an art gallery so it had the perfect open floor plan and wooden dance floor which got a lot of use throughout the night!

Paper lanterns decorated the space for a warm feel, and the bridal party made a dramatic entrance which was only more memorable in the photographs

Christie’s best friend and maid of honor, Blythe (who’s wedding I’ll be photographing next weekend!) told the story of how she set up Christie and Kyle, and explained that since she and Christie were basically sisters, Kyle and his family were welcoming her into the family as well! (I don’t think that was a joke either, but correct me if I’m wrong) :)

After the first dances, the real dancing began and didn’t stop! This crowd couldn’t get enough and since I was there for some of it, there are plenty of embarrassing – I mean fun dancing pictures you should check out! To see the full set of photos head over to my proofing site, create a profile, and then use the couple’s last name as your password to view the gallery. Also, help Kyle and Christie win a free 11×14 or 16×20 by leaving your comments below! Thanks again Kyle and Christie for letting me be apart of everything.  I’m so happy for you guys and can’t wait to see you in a week!