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!