2009's Brady Bunch

As Susan walked with her mom down the sandy aisle, Steve was beaming from ear to ear. No musical accompaniment was necessary as Susan and Steve have their own little band....6 kids! As they hummed the melody of "Here Comes The Bride" I couldn't help but smile. Here are two people, each bringing their own life to the table and its embraced and accepted by everyone. In fact when shooting the family it was hard to decipher which children belonged to whom. Susan, Steve, and company I wish you the best of luck in your family.Keep that love that is so apparent going forever. Thanks for letting me capture your special day.

New CD Cases

I'm very excited to announce we have new cases for our high resolution CD's. The wonderful Ms. Lindsey Luxa with Dragon Fly Custom Design was the brains behind the creation. I couldn't be happier with how they turned out. Plus, they are made with faux silk and natural raffia tie meaning they are pretty eco-friendly. As you can see there are two slots. One slot is to hold the CD, and the other holds my favorite a 5 x 7 of the couple. Featured above in the pictures are Christina and Wes Kercher married on May 24th, 2009. So far the reviews  have been great. Thanks Lindsey for all your hard work. I love the style and vibe they give off. Truly me :)

Lowren and David 5.29.09

I love shooting intimate size weddings. I feel that I have a little more time to experiment with pictures at different angles and new locations. This bride and groom were more than willing to let me experiment, such brave souls:) Lowren and David did not want to see each other before the wedding. They were okay with not seeing each other but being almost next to one another, hence my first idea of holding hands with a wall in between them. They were also okay with my second experiment of photographing the video recorder which was shooting them. Out of all my requests they only had one. To do an O-H-I-O posed picture for their friends and family back home. Lowren and David, congratulations on your wedding and thank you so much for allowing me to photograph your wedding as well as be a little experimental with my shots. 

Favorite Outfit Award

The guests of Christina and Wes were bold, beautiful and bright with their attire, and I loved it. The favorite outfit award goes to.....(drumroll please) Ruth (Christina's sister) and her handsome husband !!! It's no surprise that this beautiful couple hail from Miami. They brought style and life to the wedding along with their three beautiful children. Acutually its funny, because in this image, both their eyes were closed. I wasn't sure what else to do so I decided to crop it and focus solely on their attire. 

Christina and Wes Continued

So as I had said earlier, Christina was calm and happy the entire day as she entered bridal bliss. Her soon to be husband, Wes, was a totally different story. The yang to her ying. He was happy alright, I just had a little trouble finding him at first. Turns out he was just on what's known as "Wes time". Once found, we were able to get some great and some goofy shots of Wes and his groomsmen. Their energy was great and created such a light and carefree vibe. Infact it allowed the whole wedding to be a blast. Congratulations Christina and Wes. I hope you keep that carefree and blissful state with you through your many years together.

Christina and Wes Sunday, May 24th 2009

It was a gorgeous day for a wedding over  the Memorial Day weekend. The weather had finally cleared leaving a bright sun with a nice breeze. Nothing could stir Christina. She had planned for months and her day had finally arrived. She was blissfully happy as she went through hair and makeup.  Infact, as I recall, she never stopped smiling from the moment I arrived until the moment I left.  But why wouldn't she? She was surrounded by her family and friends both local and from afar (some all the way from Argentina). She was marrying the man of her dreams, and the weather was perfect. 

Top Three From Jillian and Shad

I always strive to find a new way to photograph my subject. It becomes a personal challenge each time I shoot. These are my top three favorite images with a twist.

Jillian and Shad 5.22.09

I am a very last minute person. I procrastinate, I wait until the very last moment until I have to wake up, eat breakfast, and especially do my accounting. That being said, I was completely at a loss for words when I read an email from a bride that was looking for a photographer, Friday afternoon.....It was Tuesday morning when I got the email. Sounds a little last minute but everything worked out. Jillian and Shad were married on Friday, May 22nd at the Double Tree Beach Resort in Redington. The weather even smiled down on this couple as it had been rainy all week. Infact I held my breath as I looked outside Jillian's suite to torrential downpour. However, the sky opened up and it was a beautiful ceremony and reception. Congratulations Jillian and Shad!

Pick Of The Week

This is one of my favorite ring shots of all times. As a photographer I am always looking for a new spot to place the rings in order to capture the essence, the sparkle, and the shine of them. While escorting the couple back to their room we passed a vintage wall piece.  A light bulb went off and I startled the couple as I gasped and begged them to to remove their wedding rings. Hesitant at first, they handed them over. I always get a kick out of asking a couple for their rings. It's like saying " Hey, I know you are committed for life with the symbolism of this ring but can you remove the very band that binds you and hand it over to me for a few minutes...I promise I will return them". The rings were returned and the couple was pretty excited about the shot. 

Thank You Note

I love receiving feedback from my shoots. There is no better feeling than when you as a photographer like the pictures and then the reassurance of the client equally loving the images soon follows. This is one example. Cinco De Mayo not only marked a great day in which numerous amounts of Corona and Mexican food should be consumed but it also became the day in which Dan and Maureen Anderson declared their love and faithfulness to one another. I had talked to Maureen earlier and she was telling me how excited she was to have these pictures taken as she had never had professional pictures taken of her family before (Dan and Maureen have two beautiful boys Samuel and Jackson). I don't really look at myself as professional, perhaps that's because I can't believe how much fun  I have every day with my job, but I reassured her we were going to have a great time and get some awesome shots. About a day after I emailed Maureen, letting her know her images were up online I received an email back. This one simple paragraph meant so much to me. 

Hi Stephanie,
I was just going to sit down and write you an email and I see you sent one first.   Hope you are doing well.   Wow, the photos are unbelieveable . . . We were so pleased and excited to see that these pictures turn out above and beyond our expectations!   I have to say, I am quite critical of myself (I'm not photogenic at all), yet I was able to find several where I looked pretty good.     The photos of our family are stunning!  I have so say, one of my favorite photos was the one of just the boys on those pillows with blue stripes.   Stephanie,  your creativity and your eye for capturing the moment is a gift.   We were blessed to have found you.    The photos of just the flowers on the piano or of us just holding hands were unbelievable.  Who captures something like that?   Amazing!
Thanks again, you made the time you spent with us even more memorable and fun.   
 Take care,
Maureen and Dan

The Waves Of Life

Let's face it, we all have good days and bad days. There are times in your life where invincibility is all that surrounds you, then within a blink of an eye the reality of humanism comes back to humble you. Love, laughter, sorrow, and suffering is all part of the cycle of life. I try to take each lesson life deals me with a grain of salt. If I can walk away from the situation a better stronger person or have been able to learn something which helps my future than I consider it a success. This morning, I came across this wonderfully written paper on life. Its very suiting that it should come to me today.I hope that it will in turn also encourage you in your life's journey.

 

How to free yourself from the grip of storms? This is the only basic problem in this universe. The first thing is to become aware of it and stop regretting it. Like waves come and go, storms in your life too will subside. No one storm can be there for ever. One storm comes and subsides, another comes and subsides and it goes on. As the storm subsides, you experience that inner cool, soft, delicate aspect of yourself. In that space of calm, all the anxiety, fear, feverishness lose their grip on you and you become yourself again. Love dawns. 

When you stop resisting the storms of life and start accepting them with open arms, they will subside on their own. That is the purpose of all spiritual practices, or sadhana,  and meditation. When you realise that somebody really cares for you, you feel at rest and all fears and insecurities drop off. 

You keep running away from small things -- your feelings, sensations, desires -- and this leads to more feverishness. Realize that like the ocean cannot be there without the waves, storms are inevitable in your life. Every storm touches you somewhere and makes you grow stronger. A storm pulls you out of your likes and dislikes and purifies you. So accept all that comes with both arms open. Even when the storms come, you are still the same ocean, as deep as ever. 

This realization is the culmination of knowledge. When this knowledge dawns, you rise above events; you grow out of them. Everybody in the world goes through crises, insecurities, confusions. It's like drowning in the ocean of life. But the person with the life jacket can survive even the worst turmoil. So keep your life jacket of knowledge handy. 

 Do not be in a hurry to get rid of the storms, be with them. Looking for perfection creates imperfection inside you. If you are peaceful, everything around you becomes peaceful. You are the center of this universe. Wherever you go, you carry your own mind, and wherever you go, you will create your own storms. It may appear to be calm and quiet for sometime but the storm will surface sooner or later. Unless you realize this, nothing will hold. There is no other permanent solution. Don't resist the storms, instead see them as an amazing play of your personality. 
--Sri Sri Ravishankar

Lauren and Steve...One More Post :)

Lauren and Steve 4.26.09

I had an amazing afternoon with Lauren and Steve on Sunday, April 26th at the Don CeSar. Lauren looked absolutely amazing in her 40's style attire. And Steve was beaming from ear to ear the entire day. The ceremony took place out on the beach, with the reception taking place on the Spa roof top. What a lovely location to have a sunset reception. A breeze, music, a sunset gulf view, and delicious food. Here are some of my favorite shots captured from that evening.

Patty and Scott Take 2

 Here are a few more pictures that I just couldn't let go without posting.