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.

Farewell: Brock and Sheba

We never expected our choice to rescue a dog would take us down the road that it did. Last summer we rescued Sheba after being abandoned. Little did we know she came to us 2 weeks pregnant. 7 weeks later, we had 7 dogs, not 1. It's been 4 months, and we still have Sheba and two of the puppies. Tomorrow Brock will be getting a home with a couple driving 280 miles from New York. For all my photographers out there- these photos were taken on my new 50 mm 1.4 lens.

Sheba will be getting a home soon as well. She needs a bigger yard and more exercise. She's been trying to tell us this in several ways- none of them good.

In some ways I feel like a jerk for having to get rid of our dogs, but I think it takes a bigger person to admit defeat. They deserve more than .1 acre of land and someone who has two full time jobs and not much time to give them walks.
Farewell!

Jessica and Chase- October 4th Wedding

Remember that sneak peek of wedding photos I showed in the fall, but never posted the rest? Well I've been busy!
Jess and Chase held their wedding at the Carriage Hause in Newville on October 4th, 2008. The day was clear and beautiful. I treasure my laid back brides and grooms- and I just adored Jess and Chase.

I start the story with Jess's true personality.A little naughtiness with the cake while waiting. That's right, she's eating the icing.
Adorable.
Waiting with mom for the ceremony to begin.

I often get to witness new twists to traditional and non-traditional ideas. I like this idea to involve the parents.

This one is a bit of an out take- people getting a little crazy in the back.

On to the reception and the toasts.

First dance as husband and wife.

Jess and Chase were so much fun- always keeping it light and joking around constantly- even during the ceremony. Thank you so much for allowing me to capture ALL of your moments on your special day!

High School Indoor PA State Track Meet

I spent this past Saturday taking photos for Don Rich of PennTrackXC. It was a long day. We left for PennState University at 6:30 AM and I got home around 7:30 PM. It's so neat to photograph these top athletes in the state- it also reminds me of how out of shape I am.

Here is a sport of which I can't figure out the physics. High jump. How does someone jump 5 feet 8 inches high? One of my main tasks for the day is photographing the awards stand.

Congratulations to all the althetes- to even make it to states is such an honor.

Click here to check out the PennTrackXC website and the rest of the photos and stories.

Family and Orange Shoes...

Here is a family I took photos of back in January. Seems like such a long time ago now.This one was inspired by mom's idea of dad laying on the ground with everyone around him.

I love these shoes. Really helps to show personality! Sam was so happy to show them off and was excited that mom let her wear them for a few shots.
Orange is my favorite color :)

Happy Valentine's Day!

A few weeks ago I announced that I would be running a special on boudoir photos for Valentine's Day. I had only a handful of ladies sign up, so I have decided to do the special again next year as well, only start advertising in December, rather than mid-January. This should give everyone time to work out and go tanning- not that you're not already TOTALLY beautiful and your men (or women) love you just the way you are! It's also a great idea as an aniversary or Christmas present.

During this shoot we had so much fun. I was even able to get someone to come do professional make-up from Empire Beauty Schools. Joy was awesome to work with and I will be able to help her build her portfolio. Give me a shout if you want Joy's info to have your make-up (she even does hair) done for your wedding day, or for any photoshoot or occation for that matter.

This is Joy on the left.

I started with some bridal shots for Andrea, which she is planning on using later as a groom's gift for their wedding that I'm photographing in May.With this Valentien's special, the girls each got a 10 page (20 sided) 5x7 album that was amazing. The special also came with full retouching of the photos. For any horizontal photo, I split them and made 2 5x7s into a panoramic 7x10. I must say that it was a brilliant idea.

If you think these photos look good, you should see them prined out in the ablums! I'm so happy with the way everything turned out. I hope their guys like them just as much.

Totally Spring

It totally felt like Spring on Wednesday. I adore the spring. But I have a problem. I have a thirst for life that I cannot contain, which exhausts me. Springtime heightens this uncontrolability. There is not enough time to do all the things that I want to do, let alone the things that I HAVE to do. I want winter to stick around a little longer because I'm not ready for Spring. I usually have crazy Spring Fever. This year, not so much.

Here are a few sneak previews for my upcoming Valentine's Day post: