Aloha and Aloha :: Photography

Aloha from Hawaii! {Ironically, after typing that - and saying it aloud in an annoyingly chipper voice, I had flashbacks of the Hawaiian Island weeks on Wheel of Fortune back when Pat Sajak's toupee didn't look quite so incriminating.}

After one of the busiest, most eventful weeks of our life and roughly a hundred hours of traveling, I have finally made it to the {absolutely fabulously} incredible island of Maui. The sun is heavenly - as in God definitely put it here himself, and the breeze is actually infused {again, most likely by God} with aromas of Banana Boat coconut oil. Tomorrow is the start of the Making Things Happen intensive and I am overwhelmed with everything I'm feeling about what these next few days holds. I am absolutely thrilled to have the opportunity to learn from Lara Casey, Fred Egan, and Jory Cordy as well as the handful of workshop attendees who are all extremely talented and successful individuals. But I'm nervous. It's like I'm going to summer camp only instead of sharing a cabin with the other awkward, Keds wearing, jumper sporting twelve year olds, I'm rooming with all the cool camp counselors who have awesome wilderness names like Rabbit's Claw .

Ugh. My stomach just dropped thinking about it.

I'll keep you posted as to how it goes. I'm hoping for the best, nervous about who I'll sit by, and wondering if I'm going to cry midway through the day because I missed the stuffed animal on my bed at home. But success or failure, I promise I'll tell you how it goes.

Here's a peek of the session I did today at the Fairmont Wailea with the ever adorable Emily Scott.

Happy Monday and Aloha! {See, 'cuz Aloha means bye, too, in Hawaiian - the language I am quickly becoming fluent in.}

Michelle

The Bracewells :: Virginia Family Portraits

I'll be honest, family portrait sessions mortify me. They scare me so much I'd rather lock myself in a shoeless closet and live without rations for months on end before voluntarily placing myself in a situation where I'm asked to take one picture of twelve people smiling. Including the baby. It's because of this that I know I need to shoot more family sessions. While I technically am a wedding photographer, it is a fact of life that weddings happen to have a fairly solid portion of the afternoon devoted to capturing Uncle Bob and Aunt Kitty smiling in the same picture as little Sally and baby brother Timmy. And instead of being stressed out on the wedding day, I would much rather have the occasional family portrait session to keep my time management and baby cooing skills sharp.

When Laurie said she was in search of someone to take her family's holiday portraits, I admit that my first inclination was to hide. In the closet. Without food or water or even my pillow with the new flannel Christmas pillowcase. But after thinking it over I realized that part of being good at a trade is continually practicing my skill. I agreed to shoot the Bracewell's family session and was immediately happy with my decision. Not only were Laurie and her family an absolutely wonderful group of fun loving people to photograph, but shooting their portraits helped teach me how to be a better photographer on the wedding day.

So I guess that means I owe the Bracewell's a round of applause. For letting me into their worlds for an afternoon. For allowing me see the beauty in capturing family portraits. And for helping me become a better photographer. ...I suppose I really just owe them the world!

It can be ridiculously intimidating to photograph other photographers. And while I'd be remiss to not say that I was shakingintheknees nervous to shoot Laurie, I quickly found out that she is an amazing model and a dream to shoot. And her husband, Chris? Well, he's quite the model himself!

And I'll finish this post with one last picture of the Bracewell family as a whole. If you ask me, they are a pretty beautiful looking group of people!

Happy Friday!

Michelle

A Veteran's Day Honor :: Featured

Happy Veteran's Day, Friends! Today I'm thankful for the incredible men and women who have sacrificed so much to give us this beautiful nation we call home. I am blessed to be able to call some of these individuals friends and I am genuinely in awe of their selfless desire to fight for our country. We are protected by a truly wonderful collection of military personnel.

For this reason it is such an overwhelming honor to have been featured today on two different wedding blogs recognizing our courageous veterans. A few images from Adam and Karin's day after session can be found on the new {and ohmygosh so fabulous} Washington DC wedding blog, United with Love. I am so bummed we are moving away from the area just as United with Love is launching. I know this blog is going to do great things!

And I cannot express just how humbling it is to say that the second feature of the day is on the Southern Weddings Blog. Less than a year ago I was the bride planning my own wedding and checking Southern Weddings on a twice daily basis. To be featured on this site on any day of the year would, simply put, be an absurd excitement. But to be featured on a day that is so dear to both my heart and our home truly means the world. In a word, Joe and Jill's engagement was surreal and I use all sincerity when saying that I was the lucky one to be part of such a day.

Tonight I'm cyber-hugging all of you amazing people who have so selflessly served our country. Thankyouthankyouthankyou. It is because of you that I sleep so safely at night.

Michelle