Archive for the ‘foto Friday’ Category

The classic jumping bridal party shot.  It’s not something I typically suggest on a wedding day because I’m constantly seeking something new and different.  However, it’s pretty typical that someone in the bridal party will suggest it and well, it is a lot of fun!  At Jen and Evan’s wedding at Glenmore Country Club, I certainly couldn’t say no because this bridal party was braving dropping temperatures as the sun disappeared below the trees!  They wanted to jump so they were going to jump.  And despite the large wedding party and fading light, we still managed to get a shot of everyone off the ground (including Jen in her wedding dress and crazy high heels)!

PS – the trick is to pick your knees up to make it look like you’re getting some serious air.  I know this trick mostly because I can’t jump.

PPS – only 2 weeks to shop for a Christmas present for your favorite wedding photographer.  I like pretty much anything black with the word “Nikon” on it and shiny silver and black things with a small apple on it.  Coffee, wine, or chocolate chip cookies will suffice as well.

I miss the gorgeous October light already.  I wish I could bottle it up and use it all year round!  This has to be the best swing in all of Charlottesville!  It is attached to a tree limb way in the air and Avery loves it.  Swinging is by far her favorite activity and we can now enjoy it even more because she can pump herself.  It’s funny how the little things in life as a parent bring so much joy and satisfaction!  Have a great weekend everyone.

This week’s foto Friday entry is actually being posted on Friday!  Hooray!  After two busy wedding weekends this month, we’re looking forward to a quiet weekend around the house with the kids and perhaps a visit to the pumpkin patch.  Our front porch is in serious need of some jack-o-lanterns!

Thanks to Wendy Ward who captured this image of me at Anna and Matt’s wedding.  Is it egotistical to post a picture of me for a foto Friday entry?  Perhaps, but at least she captured my best side!   PS – I hope you enjoy your weekend.  Since the kids are all sleeping, I’m headed downstairs to catch up on the Office and Modern Family with my wife and a glass of red wine!

What’s that you say?  It’s Saturday?  Pay no attention to that.  It’s foto Friday time!

We headed down to the Charlottesville Farmer’s Market this morning and stocked up on fresh fruit and veggies.  It was such a gorgeous morning!  On the way home, we decided to swing by our old house and say hi to our neighbors Byron and Kate.  We love our new house , but we certainly miss quite a lot about our old place.  I believe the part that the girls miss the most is picking flowers in Byron and Kate’s gorgeous yard.

Kate and Byron were always so gracious to let the girls pick flowers and our house was always so nicely decorated!  Today was just like old times and Kyla came home with quite a collection.  Zach also came home with a handmade quilt that Kate made for him!  When we got home, Kyla quickly went to work dividing them out into vases and even put some in her flower press.  I believe we will have to get a serious flower garden going in the fall to keep the girls from going through withdrawal!

Have a great weekend, everyone!

PS – We’ve always enjoyed the farmer’s market, but after watching Food, Inc., we feel like it’s more a necessity that we shop there!

Our oldest daughter started the first grade this week at the Charlottesville Waldorf School!  We are so excited to have the opportunity to send her there this year and as you can tell from the photograph below, she is equally thrilled!  This was her first day – I love the wooden desks, chairs, and floors in her classroom and wish I could join her everyday!

It’s been way too long since I posted a foto Friday.  Hats off to those photographers who can keep up with a photo of the day series for longer than a week!  At any rate, I took the girls over to UVA this morning (a tough thing to admit for a Hokie).  I wouldn’t make that a normal outing, but we’re shooting our first UVA Chapel wedding tomorrow and it’s been around 8 years since I’ve been over there!  I wanted to scope it out and find some great locations for portraits.  Having only been in Charlottesville for a year now, I’ve noticed that a lot of photography happens around the chapel and the Lawn at UVA and I wanted to see if I could take a bit of a different approach to it.  We’ll see if that happens!

At any rate, the light was beautiful, I had my camera, and I had two gorgeous models.  Sometimes it all just falls into place!

I shared this image a few weeks ago on my personal facebook page, but I haven’t had a chance to share it here on the blog.  This week’s foto Friday entry is inspired by E.T. (in my mind, she looks like she’s taking off) and it one of my favorites of Avery.  One of her favorite activities is taking her bike down to the neighborhood park to ride on the basketball courts.  Doesn’t she look like a pro?  Happy Friday everyone, have a great weekend!  This is our last down weekend before wedding season kicks into high gear for us.  This year should be fun since Davis baby #3 is due smack dab in the middle of it all!

Ok, so this is really a foto Saturday…not Friday.  Forgive me!

I was telling Sarah today that I’ve decided I’m not a huge fan of maternity photos.  Don’t get me wrong.  I think that the way babies grow inside of the mother is amazing and there are few things more beautiful in life than a pregnant mother.  I’ve just rarely seen maternity portraits done amazingly well.  Typically, the mother is staring contemplatively at her belly while her husband awkwardly wraps his arms around her and forms a misshapen “V” on her belly with his hands.  It’s just not that thrilling for me which is one reason why I’ve never done much of it.  I’ve been thinking, though, that maternity portraits could be a lot more fun.  They need spunk and liveliness in my opinion.  That’s why, when I saw Sarah chomping on a huge pickle while we were out this afternoon, I made her pose for some portraits.  She was a great sport because she was certainly attracting several on-lookers in a nearby restaurant who were laughing at the spectacle of a pregnant woman posing while eating a pickle.  This is especially great, because I think this is the only time she’s actually eaten a pickle her whole pregnancy – and I just happened to have my camera handy!  This is my kind of maternity portraits!