Pennsylvania Wedding

This June I got to go to the middle of nowhere PA (aka Meyersdale) for a wedding. It's a very beautiful area. I wish we had the whole day to just run around and make pictures.

This isn't Dave and Shelley's first rodeo, so the wedding party is made up of their children and grandchildren. They also made it a point to have a ceremony very personal to them and celebrating those who have passed they wished could be there with them.

 

 

 

Check out these flowers. They're made of wood! This may be old news to you, but I'd never seen wooden bouquets before and I think it's awesome.

 

Shelley made it a point to have the VFW leave the bingo lights on because her mom used to play bingo there a lot.

 

Congratulations you guys!

 

Playing at the Park

While setting up the portrait session with these guys we discussed locations that would be meaningful to them, like I usually like to recommend. Your pictures will mean a lot more when it looks like something you'd be doing anyway. This park is right next to their house and they're fortunate enough to have other family member living right by within walking distance as well so we all did a bit of that walking around.

Haskell Park is a lovely space already. Wide spread areas with grass and trees, gorgeous homes all around, and playground equipment shaped like dinosaurs! They also have a local landmark. The Haskell Playhouse. This beautiful playhouse was built for Lucy Haskell on her 5th birthday back in 1885, who lived on this property back then. Usually when you visit the park the playhouse is locked and you can just enjoy the outside but I came to discover that the girl's great grandma is involved in the preservation of the playhouse and she would be able to open it up for us. They asked if I would like to take some of the girl's pictures there? I grew up in the area and therefore have at one point looked at the playhouse with my own set of little girl eyes and knew how great it would be.

 Mom said they loved to play with the tea set in there and sure enough that's what they went to first. Vera, the oldest, wasn't especially interested in having her picture made. She did not want to look at the camera. But she did want to play and we get along pretty well so I think it all worked out. I got some great shots of the girls being themselves.

The pictures were also for Sophie's 1st birthday. She was a bit less camera shy than her sister.

 

After playing at the park for a little bit we walked up to grandma's house to jump on her trampoline.

The only problem with getting to jump on the trampoline is that you have to get off eventually. After adventuring around the neighborhood the girls were getting tired and it was time for the wagon ride back home. After a cookie or two from grandma of course.

If you want any more info about the Haskell Playhouse you can find it at haskellplayhouse.org

Senior Photos

For some reason some combination of this website and my desktop have been at arms since I've tried to make this post. I suppose I need to troubleshoot but for now it appears that my lap top doesn't have the same conflict so here is a long overdue post about some senior pictures.

We really lucked out. There's usually just one weekend in autumn between nature looking mostly green and mostly dead. Where all those beautiful fall colors are their brightest. That was the weekend Tori & I had scheduled her senior pictures on.

 

It was a great day for it. Just a tiny bit chilly but I don't think we could have asked for better in November. First we went to a field where we could really take advantage of the time of the year. I had kept my eye on this place for a while, speckled with hay bales and flanked with woodsy-ness, I knew it would be perfect.

 

  

Next we went indoors to The Milton Schoolhouse who awesomely allows photographers to rent the unique space for shoots. It was nice to get a break from that chill for a bit. We also went downtown Alton for a few shots before packing it up.

 

 I'm not often approached for senior photos and I think it's probably mainly because I don't have my own studio (Though for the record, I do have lights I can set up places) and the studio is a big part of the traditional look of senior portraits. So thanks Tori, for doing something a little different with me. I'm thrilled with how these came out and I hope that more soon to be seniors will want to do things kind of non-traditional too.

 

 

Julia & Reece

Last month I had the pleasure of photographing Reece and Julia's wedding. The day was gorgeous and all the people I encountered were just wonderful. I couldn't have asked for more on my side of things.

Having been married myself, I know all about what goes into wedding planning, but I can't imagine what it must have been like for these guys because they don't even live here anymore. During most of their engagement they were away at college and before the day, graduated and moved to New Orleans. Their families must have put in a lot of help to make sure everything went off without a hitch, which it did.

Julia in front of her parent's house. I love these old houses in that part of town. Theirs was no exception. Just beautiful. The rosary hanging from the tree is something I hadn't heard of before. The superstition is that if you hang one in a tree the night before your wedding, the weather will be good on the wedding day. Or maybe it was just that rain would stay away. It must have worked. No rain all day, and just a little chill in the air. For October that was pretty good.

 The bridesmaids are driving one of the convertibles to the church. They rented two for the wedding party to travel in style. This was my first time photographing a wedding at St. Mary's church. I went there as a child and knew how beautiful it is so I was really looking forward to it.

 

 

 

 

 

 After the ceremony they did another thing I hadn't seen before. Instead of a receiving line at the church entrance, the bride and groom released each row and talked to their guests then. What a great idea!

 

After leaving the church we drove just a little ways past the reception site to Julia's grandfather's farm. The convertibles parked at the start of an old dirt and rock road and we exchanged cars for a hayride past fields and through woods to the top of a hill with a few old red structures. What a great place. I could have made pictures up there all day long.

 

 



But the sun will move across the sky and a wedding party eventually needs to get to their reception.

 

 

The reception was at Lockhaven, a beautiful spot just off the river. While dinner was inside, the dance floor was set up outside.  

 

I had a wonderful time and I wish the best to the happy couple in their southern adventures.

 



 



Halloween!

I love Halloween. Everything about it. Well, I could stand for the temperature to be a little warmer. Makes a variety of costume options narrower if you'll be outside. But aside from that, yay! Halloween!

If you're looking for something to do to add to your own Halloween adventures I'd like to suggest the Apocalypse haunted house in Alton. I've been to many haunted houses over the years, sometimes even traveling for them and I have to say this one is right up there with the big guys. Quality scenes and actors.

I got to make some photos the other night & I'd like to share a sneak peek with you.

The haunt will be open on the 30th from dark till 9pm, Halloween night after the Alton parade (it's right up the street) until people quit showing up, & Nov. 1st from 7 to 11pm.

https://www.facebook.com/apocalypsehaunt

 

 

 

 

 

 

Rory & Evie

In stark contrast to my niece Evelyn (see previous post), when Rory's photo shoot started we sat him down on the grass and he looked up at me, crossed his little legs, put his hands in his lap & smiled. I couldn't believe it.

Oh my goodness I just love photographing these two. They do so well & we have a good time.
I ended up with so many photos I'm happy with it was hard to pick which ones to share.





After playing in the playground for a little while it was time to get some cake in this boy's face.

 

 

Can't have a birthday without getting at least a little messy. It's only right.



Evie is one year old!

On the one hand it feels like my niece was just born and on the other it seems like so long ago.

We don't live in the same town so I only get to see her once every couple of months. She's very clingy right now with the people she's closest to like her parents and grandma. This combined with her being an early walker made getting some one year pictures a little tricky. When she wasn't attached to my mom she was running around all over the place. But with a little patience I had some success.

We went out to the nature preserve where she got to check out the wild flowers.

I hear a lot of people say kids grow up too fast and even that they wish they'd stay little forever, but I find myself instead enjoying them growing up. I feel like I can't wait to see the girl she'll become.