A little FYI for brides to be.... :+)

    I recommend reading this article!!! 

http://shine.yahoo.com/beauty/bridal-beauty-advice-real-brides-210700685.html

      I agree with most of what this article says except the professional make up part.... I do advise using a professional make up artist for your make up... a trial run before your wedding day is GREAT way to insure you are happy with the way you look and that it suits your personal style. 
    Also, one thing you may not know.... you always want your eyes to "pop" a little more than your usual everyday look. It makes a HUGE difference in your photographs. 

Another GREAT accolade!! The Knot Best of Weddings!!

Yay!!!!      This is some good news!!   Waiting for the "official" badge... if you will to display on my blog and website.   I am delighted to inform you that you've been selected as a recipient of The Knot Best of Weddings 2012! Congratulations on being voted #1 in your market!   :+)

Jet Ski Wedding Photo Shoot!!

Really looking forward to today's shoot!!   Chris and Lori were married last week in Minnesota, eh!   ;-)       And are spending their honeymoon down here in Panama City Beach and want to take some FUN wedding photos in their wedding attire at St. Andrews State Park, so....... what are we gonna do for part of the shoot???  Why, put them on a jet ski of course!!   I've been wanting to incorporate a jet ski into a wedding related shoot for a loooooong time now. Finally!!    :+)

To Ali and Austin!!

  I'm trying to get this format figured out so you can see your blog post larger.... please forgive the inconvenience of the small image size.... after I contact the company tomorrow I will re-format and and write your proper blog post.... but wanted to go ahead and send this on over to you!!

 

What Made ME.... feel like a Rock Star!

  I hear a lot of times from portrait photographer's shooting and partying like a "Rock Star"....
   well, coming from a photojournalism background and shooting hard news and actually
photographing real rock stars... I can't quite relate to the idea of becoming some Rock Star portrait photographer.... however, I did feel like a real Rock Star the other day when I took my little niece on her school field trip, which also happened to be the same day as her 6th birthday.
     She was so happy to have me there and introduced me to all her little classmates as "This is my Auntie!"  as she squeezed my arm and held me close.  I let her carry my (lighter than usual) camera bag for a few minutes and while I stepped away to grab the grown ups lunch, when I came back to the kids lunch table and one of her friends had picked up my bag, a little jealousy peeked out from behind my nieces spirit and she didn't want to share anything of her auntie's with any of her friends.  She told me over and over all day how much she loved me... and to her, I am her butterfly.
    This is my first attempt at trying a new blog layout format and I already know I have messed it up a bit as I tried to compose this blog post, but the next one "hopefully" will be correct.
    Here's for all the real Rock Stars!!!

 

Reflections of life...

Yesterday's engagement session was postponed due to the weather.. but it freed up my afternoon to
hang out in Seaside and enjoy the area, something which I need to do more often!!
   While sitting on the beach, I grabbed this picture with my phone.. and as I watched the waves come and go along the shore line, I thought... the beach, the water, the gulf... is a metaphor for life's ever changing nature.
       Sometimes the water... like life... is calm, smooth, flat and tranquil, other days it's turbulent, tumbling and even dangerous, some days the water is clear and your visibility is good... you can see confidently far ahead.
    Other days the water can be murky and full of seaweed and obstacles and you can barely see 2 feet in front of you.
   The beach.. the land.... represents ourselves, our bodies... and the water is life's circumstances pressing against us constantly, unrelentingly... representing life's ups and downs.    Sometimes the water, like life is calm and relaxed and we can see far ahead and our vision is clear and perhaps we may consider our lives a little dull and uneventful... while other times it/life is exciting and rough,  even scary because our sight and our vision is limited..
    Our lives, like the gulf.. the ocean.. the sea...  is ever changing, we must whether it's ups and downs and know that nothing stays the same,  that we should not attach ourselves to the calm and peaceful even boring days, just as we cannot attach or hold onto the turbulent, difficult days as well... for they will be gone just as soon as we get used to them.   
I should have taken a picture of the water and the various reflections of color I saw as I was sitting there with my feet in the sand... but I did shoot this picture.   :-)

Lauren and Sam Wed!!

Lauren and Sam decided to have a simple yet elegant relaxed wedding in Seaside, Florida with their closest family and friends.  The fall is the BEST time for weddings in the gulf coast area with the cooler weather and great sunsets and with a nice breeze coming in on the balcony where Lauren and Sam exchanged their vows. Here are a few images from their special day.  Thank you to Heather Archdeacon Williams from Seaside Weddings for her attention to detail and wonderful coordination.

 

 

 

Megan and Ryan's Music Slide Show!

What a great, relaxed and fun wedding with a GREAT couple!  Megan and Ryan are made for each other and will have a life time filled with happiness and sports.  Lol
   They were married at Bay Point in Panama City Beach on Alligator Point with the reception at Boat Yard just down the road... they danced the night away with Mr. Chuck Lawson providing great music and the children showed the adults how to bust a move.   Take a moment to view the images from their wedding day and feel as if you were there celebrating with them!

Tropical Storm Lee

  I hadn't intended to photograph Tropical Storm Lee... but after taking my nieces onto the pier to look at the Gulf of Mexico during the storm... I decided I needed to come back and shoot a bit.
    So they headed back home and I hauled butt to my house to get my gear and ran back onto the pier..
after about 30 minutes of shooting... there was hardly any light left and I was done.
  Here are a few of my favorite shots from that day.    

 

A Day in the Life of a Wedding Photographer -- Bridal Session

 From the moment Miss Jordan Swindle and I talked on the phone I knew she and I were a good match and thank goodness we were because her bridal session proved to be one adventurous afternoon... to say the least!

   With her wedding right around the corner there wasn't much time to waste and we needed to go ahead and shoot her bridal session despite the August heat.  We decided on Eden Garden State Park in Walton County for the backdrop.  Jordan, her sister Sarah who is 8 months pregnant, her 3 year old niece Harper and Jordan's mother Eileen  and I met at Eden Garden on a late afternoon to begin the bridal session.  The heat of late August is oppressive but we had to do what we had to do. The session started out well but as we continued the heat was getting to everyone.. especially poor Jordan in her beautiful but rather heavy wedding gown.  Jordan's mom Eileen had recently had surgery on her foot and had a wheel chair in the back of her car that was due to be returned... initially they brought it out for little Miss Harper to sit in and relax while we took the pictures but Jordan became overheated during the session so she sat in the chair while her mother pushed her down the path to the next location for the next picture.  Luckily with a little rest and water Jordan was ready and able to continue.. and as I wiped the sweat from my brow we were able to create some GREAT photos! 

   Now... as some of you may know most of our parks down here close at sunset.. and normally a park ranger will chase anyone out of the park who stays past closing time. Well, as my luck would have it, a belt had broken on my car just as I had pulled into the park that afternoon, but I did not discover that until I was trying to leave after we had finished the session.  As the sun was going down and I contemplated my options, Eileen and Jordan asked me if everything was okay.  I explained to them that it looked like my serpentine belt  had broke and I was going to have to call a tow truck.  However the park was closing and no ranger or emergency after hours phone number were to be found... ANYWHERE! 

   I called a friend to pick me up and told Jordan and Eileen I would come and get my Jeep in the morning. It occurred to me that there might be a gate at the park entrance and if I waited inside the park, my friend would not be able to get to me..  I'm sure I looked pretty helpless at the moment too and Eileen said we will drive you to the entrance and wait with you until your friend arrives.  So, the 5 of us set out in two cars and headed towards the entrance to the park.... only to find.... WE WERE LOCKED INSIDE THE PARK!!! 

   It was getting dark outside but not quite nightfall yet.. but there we were locked inside Eden Garden behind a decorative metal gate that would not open.. no matter how many times we tried. 

  Now, I already knew there was no emergency number or after hours number or park ranger that could be found because I had already looked for those when I realized my car would not start. So the only thing to do was call the police.  They told us to approach the gate from the opposite lane and that should trigger it to open... try... no go... we tried walking around it from both sides... no go... we tried pulling it open with our hands... no go... just as two Walton County Sherriff  Department officers pulled up, a park ranger magically appeared behind our trapped vehicles inside the park.  He had the code and the gate swung open and we we're free!  Soon after my friends arrived to my rescue and we were all able to go back to our homes. 

   Now the car is in the shop and I'm ready to post some images from Jordan's bridal session. I have to say with the heat, the physical strain of the session on all of us, the difficulty with my car at the end and then getting locked inside the park not one of us panicked or became frustrated.. we laughed about the situation and joked the whole time. Of course I'm sure we all wanted to get home but it's a story to remember and the pictures... I think... were worth all of it!

 

 Jordan with her niece and future flower girl... Miss Harper.

Jordan had this special bouquet made from her grandmother's antique brooches.

 

Jessica and Myles' Wedding Slide Show

 Jessica and Myles are one of the sweetest couples I have had the pleasure of photographing. From the day we met over coffee at Amivida Cofee shop in Rosemary Beach, I knew they were a couple that loved and truly respected eachother. As I photographed their engagement session it became even more apparent to me the kindness and care they had for one another.
      Their wedding was beautiful and took place at Vue on 30a in Santa Rosa Beach. Being we live at the beach you never know what to expect with regards to the weather and the Gulf of Mexico itself. There was a greater than usual amount of seaweed that was spread everywhere on the sand. Myles knew this would distract from the beauty and elegance of the wedding Jessica wanted.. so what did he do?

       Early that morning he came to the beach where their ceremony was held, and gathered up all the dried seaweed that was near their ceremony site and wrote 'I LOVE YOU' in the sand. It was a perfect expression of his love and devotion to his lovely bride.  Take a look at their music slide show to see how their wedding day unfolded and their new life together.. began.

Fine Art Boudoir Photography Debut

It has been a long time coming and is still in it's infancy, but I am now offering fine art boudoir photography to the list of photography I have decided to focus on.  The long term goal for this work is a big bodacious project that will evolve over time and be spectacular!  If anyone is interested in having their own session please feel free to email me or call.  In order to access the gallery you will need to enter my site here: http://www.sonjarevellsphotography.com/index2.php?v=v1 under the galleries section.
    And enjoy this sneak peek of some of my favorites!

Wedding Wire Rated!!

Yay!!  I have just been notified that I am officially Wedding Wire Rated!

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Puerto, Puerto Rico!!

 Just had to share some of my favorite few pics from a trip I took with Miss Kitty to Puerto Rico in March.
  I hadn't planned on putting personal photographs on here... until, well, just now.

  Hope you LOVE them... as I do.