Wine... a fortunate turn of events.

I had a date last night, my mom set me up with a very nice older man and he even wore a tux to our date. We drank wine in a barn (called the Dearden House) all night. Let me explain.

Yesterday at lunch, I asked my parents where they were going for the evening. My father informed me of the up scale bennefit wine dinner they were attending for the dermatology department of the Hershey Medical Center. My darling son AJ told me I should go with Pop-Pop so that Grammy could stay with him and play Wii at their house. So that's just what we did.

Mom got me all dressed up in her clothes and jewlery and we were on our way.

Check out the jewels!

I had so much fun and actually knew more people at the benefit than my father!! I had the best time.

Grammy had a great time too. She traded me her husband for her two grandkids and a night of Wii, while I traded my two children for a 60 year old man and a night of wine.

See ya later mom! Have fun with your Fois De Gras!

Sneak Peek of AJ and Maya

I have many posts yet to come, but here is a preview of AJ and Maya's Easter/Spring shoot.

Photoshoot Location Inspiration

I love it. Yes it's sold, and no you're not supposed to trespass, but I have this need to photograph a trash the dress session, or an engagement session, or even senior portraits here. If I were to ever shoot here before the owners tear it down, there will be one rule: absolutely NO falling through the floor!

Isn't it beautiful? Or am I just weird?

First Weekend of Spring

Well , spring is here, and I had a rather eventful photography weekend. I photographed a precious baby, my own precious babies, a location where I would like to do a photoshoot someday, and I photographed my experience on Friday night going to get free ice for the first day of spring at Rita's Italian Ice.

Rita's has always been part of our almost daily routine during the summer and pinching pennies has always been one of my favorite past times, so I'm sure you can image where I went on Friday night. Rita's always gives a small free Italian ice the first day of spring. This year I was there to partake in the festivities.

As promised: This line was long, longer than you can see, but went fast.

Did I mention it was freezing out- so this is a line of nuts :)

First Looks

Wedding season is fast approching, so I thought I'd throw out a few tips for my brides this year...
I know brides around here are pretty traditional for the most part, but I wanted to introduce an idea that is pretty awesome. A First Look. This is where the bride and groom meet before the ceremony and I photograph the groom's expression and the (semi) private moments between the two of them in a beautifully chosen location.
The element that appeals MOST to me about this is it gives you a chance to have an intimate moment alone together. Plus you can get all of the photos done ahead of time so you don't miss your cocktail hour.
On average it takes 45 mins after the ceremony to shoot the formal shots- and I recomend that you don't do take family photos before hand if you're not seeing the groom before the ceremony- otherwise you just end up reshooting EVERYTHING again with him in the shots- and most often the photos with the both of you with your families are what you will pick go in the albums.
It is hard for me to convey the whole idea and the mood of the photos because I've rarely, if ever, had a bride and groom meet up in a romantic setting prior to the wedding. I recently ran into a blog post by Jasmine Star that really illustrates the First Look so well. She is an amazing writer and photographer. Click here to check out what she has to say, and to see her work. She is definately a role model for me and my photography.
And if you don't opt for a first look, maybe you would like to think about booking a day after shoot or a trash the dress session!!

The Etsy Experience

When I get excited about something my pulse quickens and my mind starts going a mile a minute. I realized today that I'm photographing my friend's new baby this weekend. I've been seeing some amazing ideas that are so new and different to me. Instinctively, I wanted to try them myself. Only thing is that these instincts only set in last minute. So I scrambled to buy a knit baby cocoon. And where do you go to buy a baby cocoon- Etsy of course!! I've been hearing and reading so much about Etsy, but never checked it out. Well today I dove right in and loved what I found and actually bought two cacoons and I plan to make more and really run with this new style and look.

Here are some sites that have inspired me to try this idea:

The Boutwells who make the Totally Rad Actions just had their son, Maxfield, photographed in a cacoon of cheese cloth and in a basket. Love it.

I still need to buy a cool basket, serving plate, and cheese cloth to finish my looks. I also need to find the perfect tree branch to hang a baby from. I know, things are sounding a little crazy around here!

Danette Kay Photography has a few cocoons that her friend made for her. Hopefully she will soon be a seller on Etsy.

Also Kylene of Leave it to Me Photography was the one who first flashed a photo to me of a cocoon at the first ever Photog Shootout in Philly on her nifty iPhone. She totally convinced me that I needed both. Now I can check one of the two off my list ;)

Here is what I bought:

And this one:I'm going to try to make some of my own using chunky yarn like in this photo. I'm also loving the half peanut shell looking thing. Leave a comment if you know where to find either of those things. I wouldn't mind having that cute baby either.Maybe one day I too will have an Etsy shop! You know I need SOMETHING to take up all this free time I have!

Bethel A.M.E. Church of Carlisle

Not too long ago I photographed a formal ball for the Bethel AME Church here in Carlisle. When I get a job, I usually do some snooping. I'll check someone out on Facebook, or I'll check out the websites for the locations or for the organizations involved. Little recon missions.
When I checked out Bethel AME's website I noticed that it is a work in progress. I was thrilled when Pastor Troy Carr asked me to take photographs of the church organizations to use on the website. I even noticed they updated their photo gallery with the photos I took from the ball!

I grabbed some quick shots of Troy as well. I loved that her lips matched the doors of the church!

At times things got a little crazy.

Here is the normal shot of everyone involved in the church's organizations- choir, lay assistants, ushers, trustees, pastor...Anyone notice Troy's awesome red shoes?

Bridal Show

Last Sunday I attended a bridal show at the Letort View Community Center. I was excited because it was an opportunity to test out my new 50 mm F1.4 lens. The good things about the lens: lets in a ton of light and at 1.4 it has a very low depth of field. Bad things about the lens: it can be hard to control the focus, that's why I'm practicing :)

This was the LVCC's first ever bridal show. I came to check it out and support my friends who work there and for MWR. They put a lot of work into putting this show together and they did a great job.
Check it out, there was even an ice sculpture :)The bridal show featured many different vendors. Love this display! Spot lights and easels with large prints and tons of albums on the table.

There was a fashion show with a little cat walk action.

My favorite vendors were for the cakes. So much fun to photograph and they had samples!

Here is the low depth of field I'm talking about.

I end with my favorite part of the bridal show, the strawberry and Smores station with lots of different toppings. How fun! If you're getting engaged, you should come out next year to check it out and eat Smores with me!

African American History Month

The other day, Ruth Hodge of Shiloh Baptist Church in Carlisle invited me to take pictures at their celebration of African American History Month. I've done a lot of work for Shiloh and I always love to return. They always have open arms and such a lively spirit to their celebrations. It's a bit different than the church in which I was raised. The speakers are often lead by what they are FEELING, not what's written on a program.

Here Ruth introduces the pastors (seated) of Shiloh to the guest speaker of the day.The Messiah Gospel Choir had the honor of singing for Shilo for the celebration.

The master of ceremonies.

I think the part I love the best about the singing in Shiloh, is that when the perfomers sound good, Shiloh lets them know. They shout out praises and it just makes everyone glow.

The leader of Messiah's choir can REALLY sing- as in rediculously well!

Often times Shiloh features an interpretive dance segment, and everyone really gets into it. There were two younger girls in this group and they stole the show :)

Here she is either interpreting a trumpet or eating a sub, can't remember which one it was...
They had many readers and speakers, ome of which read the declarations declaring February African American History Month.

And finally, the guest speaker.