One Photograph...

It's funny how one image can capture a moment that represents a lifetime. A moment that can conjure up memories of warm German potato salad and babies crying. Of fishing at the cabin and watching my grandmother sew. Memories of looking at my grandfather's stamp collection and baking Christmas cookies. One photograph, that sums up an entire family's past, present, and future.

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Their wedding ceremony ended, and as they left, rice was thrown, guests cheered, and my grandparents started on an adventure filled with joys, tears, laughter, and trials. On their wedding day, their future was bright, exciting, and unexpected. That moment marked the start of what would become a beautiful life and a huge, loud, and loving family.

50-or-so years later, my grandparents look back at their life's adventure which so far has resulted in nine children, eight children-in-law, sixteen grandchildren, and one grandson-in-law. They witnessed each of their children get married; watched the moment when a new chapter began in their life. They were there to witness their love, their past, and the start of their future together. As each of us in the family gets older, gets married, and has children, it all goes back to this one photograph. The moment where two people fell in love, the moment where a beautiful family began, and the moments that will continue on forever.

Oh, the Carnage!

So my mom was in town visiting a couple weeks ago and she wanted to go to the Atlanta Botanical Gardens. I didn't plan on taking a lot of photos while I was there. Don’t get me wrong…it’s beautiful, and a photographer’s dream, but I’ve been there a handful of times shooting. And really, how many photos do you need of flowers? But I thought I would take a few shots to remember the occasion.

I didn’t want to bring my camera bag to the gardens, so I put all of my gear into a LeSportsac. Whenever I put my gear in that bag, I ALWAYS separate my lenses into separate zippered compartments. Well, I did the usual, and separated the lenses. But then I realized that I wanted to sneak a bottle of water into the gardens. (Don’t hate…it was crazy hot!) So I put the water in my bag as well…right next to my 50mm lens. I started worrying that the combination of the hot weather and cold water bottle would create a lens-killing amount of condensation. So that’s when I made the dreaded decision; I moved my lens into the compartment with my camera.

So we were walking through the gardens, enjoying the day, when I found a water lily that my mom liked. Just like that I grabbed my camera out of my bag. That’s when it happened. (You will have to imagine this all happening at once in slow motion.) As I whipped my camera out of my bag, the camera strap caught on my extra lens and projected the little guy across the garden, smashing on the brick walkway. Meanwhile, I realized what was happening and reached and ran to catch the falling lens, all while yelling, “NOOOOOOO!!!!” in slow motion. But my short little legs didn’t get me there in time and lens carnage is all that remains. SAD TIMES!

Yes, I know that the dead lens is a cheap lens and "gasp!" plastic. It’s nothing that special, but I loved it! It was so wide open and took the most beautiful low light photographs. (It took the photos of little baby Brooklyn in my previous post.) If I had to choose one piece of photo gear to break, it would probably be that lens, but STILL! It’s so sad! He’ll be replaced by a newer, shinier, better version, but I’ll miss my little guy. RIP. Sniff.

Poor little thing.


And the water lily that caused it all...

Brooklyn: Newborn Session

When I first saw Brooklyn, I about squealed out of the cuteness. She is the most precious little baby and she was so good for our photo shoot! For about an hour and a half, she curled up and slept, just as content as could be. She didn't care if we put a hat on her, took blankets on and off, or giggled from her cuteness; she was soooo sleepy (which makes her even cuter!).

I know, I know. The following photos are one after the other of a sleeping baby. But come on, how can you not fall in love with that little face?! In case you don't believe me, I dare you to not say, "AWWW!!!" when you look at sweet Brooklyn.

Those tummy rolls kill me!






Don't you want to pinch that little double chin?!

And my favorite...

5 Years!!!

By typical standards, our wedding day wasn't perfect. The flowers were a disaster, stuffed with ribbons and baby's breath, we had a major bridesmaid dress catastrophe, and our pastor forgot half of his sermon. My bustle broke before the ceremony, our DJ played songs that made us cringe, and I walked down the aisle with my dress covered in champagne as a result from an overzealous toast.

The day didn't go exactly according to plan, but when I think back to our wedding day, it was absolutely perfect and the happiest day of my life. During the wedding, I actually didn't pay attention to those details that were a little off. They didn't bother me one bit. This was pretty much my thought process: "Bridesmaid's dress split down the back? Who cares?! Send her down the aisle in jeans if you have to! Wedding dress covered in champagne? Well, at least it's not red wine! Pastor forgot his sermon? Now we have more time at the reception!" Nothing mattered...I was on cloud nine. All I could think about was that I was the luckiest girl in the world. At the end of the day, all of the wedding details didn't matter, and I was marrying my best friend.

I can't believe it's been five years since our wedding day. It seems like yesterday, but at the same time, it seems like it was forever ago. I feel like I've always been married to Douglas. Maybe that's because he was what was always missing in my life. I am so lucky and blessed to have him as my husband and I'm so thankful that I get to spend every day with him. The past five years have been an adventure and I can't wait to see what the next five years have in store. Like our wedding, life is unpredictable and doesn't always go according to plan, but with Douglas by my side, all I can think about is how lucky I am.

*Photo by Sarah Gibbs Photography

Susie & Brian: Engagement Sneak Peek

Gosh, it's been a while since I posted anything. I guess life just got in the way of blogging! Everyday I thought about posting something new, and every day something came up that kept me from blogging! Well, I'm finally back and I'm so excited to post a few photos from Susie and Brian's engagement shoot. We had a blast taking these photos and I loved the location that they picked! Here's a sneak peek...I'll be posting the whole shoot in the next few weeks.

Hailey: Children's Session

Hailey peered shyly around her mom's legs when they arrived at our house. She wasn't quite sure about the girl with the big camera and wasn't too excited about getting to know her. After a few minutes of playing, and a cup of juice as a peace offering, she came out of her shell and was such a ham for the camera. She especially liked stripping down to just her diaper and slapping her belly. She was all smiles and giggles during our session and it made my day! Here are a few pictures of this beautiful little baby Hailey.

Penelope: 3 Month Session

Little Penelope is growing up so fast! Every time I see her, it's like she is a different baby. She's starting to get quite the personality and she was definitely posing for me! This shoot was especially fun because we accessorized! I think when she gets older she'll have a thing for hats!

Not long after shooting Penelope's 3 month session, Douglas and I got to witness her rolling over for the first time. Even though I'm not her mom, I was so proud! I love that little baby!

Stephanie & Christoph: Wedding Session

Stephanie arrived at work on a Monday morning frazzled. She knew she had a lot of work to get to and Mondays were always her busiest days. As the day went on, rumors swirled through the office about a colleague that was in town from Austria. Stephanie, wrapped up in her work, didn’t think much of this visitor until she was introduced to the infamous Christoph. One thing went through her head when she met him; “Oh crap…I look like crap.” Discovering that their office was going to lunch in honor of Christoph’s visit, Stephanie rushed to the bathroom to freshen up. There she found women gossiping about how handsome Christoph was and how they all wanted to meet him. Well, Stephanie was the envy of the office, as she got to sit next to him during lunch. They started chatting, Stephanie giggling nervously, and later that week Christoph and Stephanie got to know each other through various work events. Their connection was instant and for those two weeks, they were inseparable. Their bond was so evident, even though they had only spent a few weeks together, two different strangers asked if they were married.

While driving home from a work party, Christoph told Stephanie that she was so special, he would leave everything behind in Austria just to be with her. It was inevitable, though, that Christoph's business trip would end, along with their fairy tale romance. They vowed to keep in touch despite the distance. Although they had a lot of odds against them, their relationship developed and six months later, Stephanie moved to Austria to be with the person she loved.

Three years went by and Stephanie and Christoph were married in a very private, intimate Austrian ceremony. Soon after, they decided that they wanted to move back to the States. Although Stephanie is currently in Georgia, and Christoph is in Austria awaiting a job transfer, their bond and love for each other keep their relationship strong and they eagerly wait for when they will be together again.

Over Christmas, we did a wedding photo session to celebrate their recent marriage. Unfortunately, it was FREEZING out and we literally spent about 20 minutes shooting. It was unbearable! Even though the shoot was short, I think it's clear how much these two truly love each other.