Of all the opening photos I have ever posted, that sequence has to be the cutest.

Lucky Amelia Cate.  For her second birthday her whole family came into town to celebrate with her.  Memere, Pepere, Aunt Allyson and Uncle Darren were already downstairs waiting for her to wake up from her afternoon nap.  I got to catch a quick photo of sleeping beauty just before she woke up, can she be more perfect?

I love that the quilt Aunt Sally Ann made in the background of this photo of Amelia Cate coming out of the land of sleep.  While taking this photo I asked her if there was something special she was going to get to eat today.  She removed the pacifier, smiled a secret smile and whispered,

“Cake.”

Yup, good stuff was ahead for sure.  But first she had to put on her party dress and get her hair done to receive her guests.  These two photos brought back a lot of memories of my own mother chasing me down with a brush and rubber bands…

Amelia Cate is all about giving fish lip kisses right now.  I adore the many fish lips I managed to capture that day, especially of the “adults”.  It was a sea of love.

Soon, Aunt Sally Ann, Uncle Bubba (technically, Uncle Clint… who likes being called Uncle Bubba much to family’s chagrin), Nana and PopPop arrived to join the party.  The family hung out in the backyard while AC checked out her gift from Memere and Pepere: an adirondack chair just her size.  Here the family is practicing relaxing together in the backyard.

The chair made a great spot to get photos of AC hanging out with her nearest and dearest.  Despite the summer heat, it was good times.

While the fam headed inside to cool off, AC and here parents spent some time on the front porch making sure the plants had enough water and singing Itsy Bitsy Spider.

Both sets of grandparents brought some new books to read, which was great for photographs.  Amelia Cate takes her sea creatures very seriously so when PopPop called a seagull in the book a mere bird, she was quick to correct him.  And give him a forgiving seagull (lip?) kiss.

AC’s birthday present from her parents was a big girl tricycle.  She decided that her bear Noah should ride it first to make sure it was safe.  And the family decided Noah should wear her helmut just in case it wasn’t.

Then it was time to take the tricycle outside for its first real test drive on the brick sidewalk.  Amelia Cate might have been more excited about the helmet than the tricycle at first but after a few minutes she was really getting the hang of the pedals and wanting to ride all over the neighborhood.

I just can’t believe how big Amelia Cate is now, running and riding a tricycle and talking about seagulls.  I can still see that baby face beneath the pigtails.  One day at a time…  Here’s a slideshow and if you would like to visit the online gallery click here.  Happy second Birthday, sweet Amelia Cate!!!

Posted by Mel @ 2:00 pm, in Portraits, Wee Ones | 2 Comments | Permalink

I’ve been pretty down on wedding photography in general lately.  I let one of our professional forum memberships lapse last week because I was sick of seeing the same, super slick photographs of brides and grooms looking more like celebrities and supermodels than people in love.  I was over the snarky arguments between photographers over what constitutes “good” photography.  And I certainly couldn’t stomach one more super saturated color photo of a tan, buxom blonde staring down the camera with stylized location lighting like she’s posing for a magazine cover.

Enter Emily and Gabe.  They actually are supermodel beautiful… and as if looks wasn’t enough they met in medical school at UVA.  They’ve got all the right stuff and with a ceremony at Reveille and a reception at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, their photos could have been all about beauty, fashion and grandeur: a photographer’s dream.  Its all there but that’s not where the power of their pictures comes from.  As I scrolled through the capture I felt like I could actually see their love for each other, their excitement, their warmth and their sense of humor.  There were moments where they looked at each other and I suspect the rest of us just melted away.

It was a spectacular event to photograph, the newly renovated VMFA might be our new favorite location for a wedding.  Between the cocktail hour in Evans Court, the reception in the Great Marble Hall and the freedom to stroll through the main exhibits, it makes a great venue for guests to enjoy an evening out.  We had a little bit of time to take couple’s portraits around the museum just before guests were seated for dinner.

As we first entered the museum one of the groomsmen requested a group portrait in the waiting area chairs.  I admit that I wasn’t too enthusiastic because I was feeling pressed for time but I’m really glad we did it…

Here’s a slideshow with our favorites from the day, we only regret that Crazy Love is such a short song because we couldn’t squeeze all of our favorites in!  And if you would like to be notified when their online gallery is available, click here.   Many thanks to Emily and Gabe for inviting us to be part of their wedding.  As for trends in wedding photography, who cares.  When you have real emotion in front of your lens, what do you need extra lights for?

Posted by Mel @ 8:52 pm, in Weddings | No comments | Permalink

On July 7th of this year, Caroline became a big sister when Michael Joseph Boehling joined the world weighing eight pounds, one ounce.  I have been so excited to shoot these two together, Caroline is ridiculously happy about the new arrival.

The love that a 3 year old has for a newborn sibling is a precarious kind of love, one so innocent that you hate ruining it with the constant utterance of “gently” and “softly” but energetic enough to require a few boundaries.  Some kids want nothing to do with their baby sibs but Sweet Caroline was all over him like a like a fly on honey, there are some really sweet moments here.

I’m not sure if this reaction in Michael is shared enthusiasm or primal fear but I love the shot anyway…

Caroline is definitely Momma’s little helper:

Sam and I went a little gung-ho on the creation of Fiver’s nursery, we made sculptures and murals for Pete’s sake, so I worry that when the times comes for #2 that we’ll lack the energy to prepare with the same amount of creative zeal.  Will we even paint the room or will we just shove a crib in a corner and call it a day?  Catherine gave me great hope though, Michael’s nursery is every bit the visual wonderland as his sister’s.  Like their first pregnancy, Catherine and John chose to be surprised by the baby’s sex and choose a theme of circus animals, perfect for a little boy or girl, which organically expanded to include creatures of all types… even garden gnomes!  The pale, citrusy lemon-lime  wall color and bright green accents are perky and inviting.

While I was shooting the nursery Caroline found her vintage Fischer Price camera and we dueled.  I am especially in love with the b/w shot of Caroline, Jr. Photographer:

Auntie Carolyn likes to tell everyone that she is a novice knitter when she is actually a pro, she kind of blew her cover with the myriad of adorable knitted gifts she dropped on our doorstep for Fiver over the past year.  I loved this happy green blankie she made for her nephew over the weeks since he has been born, she finished it just in time for our shoot.  I just love babies snugging up to their handmade gifts…

I’ve often wondered what life would look like with two youngsters in it and this shoot gave me a pretty good taste.  I’m sure that its hectic and in moments very challenging but there’s never a dull moment.  In short, it looked pretty good!

Here’s a slideshow with my favs from the day and if you would like to see the online gallery with all the photos, click here.  Congratulations to the Boehling family, I look forward to watching them grow together.

Posted by Mel @ 4:39 pm, in Newborns, Portraits, Wee Ones | No comments | Permalink

The job hadn’t even begun and we knew it was going to be good.  As we walked back from the tent towards the house to start shooting with the smokey, sweet smell of bbq dancing on our noses, Sam turned to me and whispered:

“This is the wedding I wanted.”

This is the wedding many couples want…. before getting sucked into the planning vortex of obligation, tradition and compromise.  We met Luke and Becca at Stephanie and Jeff’s middle school wedding the very same weekend last summer.  Luke teaches photography so we were both honored and excited to be chosen for the job.  Like Steph and Jeff’s wedding, Becca and Luke were all about keeping it low key, big on family, handmade where possible and all about good, honest food.  No pretense, no fripperies, just a good time summer celebration.  Luke and Becca pitched it as “a BBQ with a wedding ceremony”.

Speaking of BBQ, a single 140 lb pig by the name of Jeffrey provided the meal that cooked slowly all day outside the tent.  The cake was made by two of Becca’s aunts who crafted the most adorable sock monkey cake toppers: a bride and groom whose tails tied behind them in a heart.  The ceremony took place in front of Luke’s parents’ house under the shade of several great trees.  For the reception there was a moon bounce, a horse shoe pit, croquet, lots of bubble stuff for the kids and a canoe full of beer for the adults.  A carefully crafted playlist kept the tunes going strong via iPod and guests danced all night.  And our favorite detail was the bathroom sign for the boys… while female guests were welcome to use the bathrooms in the house, the men were encouraged to keep their business outside.  The grooms’ people posed for a photo to set the example.

Becca’s bouquet was very unique.  Having stood up in several friends’ weddings she wanted to honor each close friendship without having a huge wedding party herself.  So instead of having bridesmaids she asked each girlfriend to bring her a flower on her wedding day, any color or variety.   The flowers were then tied together to make a bouquet, keep her dearest friends near her at the alter.

Later in the afternoon near the beer canoe, colonial costumes began to emerge from a bag.  The day before the wedding, Becca, Luke and their friends randomly decided to reenact the famous portrait of Washington crossing the Delaware at the wedding in a photograph.  Why?  Because the could.  How?  By hitting a costume store first thing Saturday morning.  And here’s one version we took pitted against the real deal:

Here’s a slideshow with more matrimonial, pork-tastic awesomeness.    If you would like to be notified when all the photos are available online, click here.

Congrats, Becca and Luke … Thanks for letting us have so much fun with our cameras, thank you for your hospitality and thanks for keeping it real.  Happy first anniversary to Steph and Jeff too!

Posted by Mel @ 6:15 pm, in Weddings | No comments | Permalink