Miccosukee Greenway: Sara and Brian Engaged!

They met online.  He read her profile and took the chance that she might be interested in getting to know him.  Little did they know they would be a perfect fit.  He had always dreamed of being a doctor one day too, and she loves a man in uniform.

Just a short year ago, as a Captain in the Air Force Brian was preserving our freedom and safety from terrorists in the middle east while Sara, a small animal vet, was saving the lives of some of our furry fellow Americans back home.  Little did they know that in less than a month the Veterinarian and the decorated war Veteran would meet and soon fall head over heels for each other.

I have prayed for my sister’s future husband for years, and God has truly answered that prayer by bringing Brian into her life.  She is a better person and a stronger Christian because she is with him.  He encourages her and challenges her.

Two weeks ago, I had the great pleasure of shooting their engagement photos at the Miccosukee Greenway in Tallahassee, Florida.  We planned to start an hour and a half before sunset, and when we arrived the sky was a gorgeous shade of baby blue with just a few clouds sprinkled around, the perfect canvas for a romantic engagement shoot.  I had never been to the Greenway before, but I was instantly in love!  I wish I could clone the gravel paths, rail fences, and wide-open fields bordered in live oaks and pines and transport them up to South Carolina.

Growing up as best friends, Sara and I have always had a special bond and rapport with each other, and Brian has been such a natural addition to our family that it’s like he’s always been a part. So they easily relaxed in front of my camera and even goofed off for me.   I can’t wait to be in their wedding and watch as they start their new lives together and begin their family.  God is good!

Ginny and Devon Engagement Sneak Peak

I had the great joy of shooting engagement photos for my sister-in-love and her fiancé this afternoon.  I promised them a quick sneak peek to tide everyone over until I finish editing.  Of course, I had trouble choosing, so here are several of my favorites so far.  Thank you, Ginny and Devon for a fun afternoon!

Ally 

2013 Rewind: A beautiful evening with the M. Family

In the fall of 2012, I had the great privilege of shooting a maternity shoot for the Jenny and Aresh as they prepared for the birth of their first child.  It was a beautiful shoot on a perfect fall afternoon.   One gorgeous day the following spring I was blessed with the opportunity to get a few shots of their new family and now 5 month old daughter.  You can’t help but smile when you are around this precious family.  They are so amazing to work with! They are easy going, fun, funny, so sweet and open to anything I want to try.  They truly make shooting fun!

Can’t wait to meet baby #2- on the way this fall!  I’m sure there will be many more photos of this beautiful family to come in the future!

Happy Friday!

Ally

Where does the time go?

Wow!  My baby girl is almost 2.  And every day I love her more.  I love her fearless spirit (well… most of the time… except when she scares the life out of me!) and her energy.  I cherish those moments that I catch her roaring at her big brother (apparently that’s how those two dinosaurs say “I love you”) and blowing kisses at her daddy.  I love those little moments when she stops me from whatever I’m doing just to give me a kiss, a hug or ask to go “wah” (rock) in my chair.

She is the embodiment of everything I dreamed of having in a daughter and more.  I am blessed indeed! Hope you’ll take a moment today to give someone you love a squeeze.

Have a fabulous Friday!

Ally

 

Having fun with my BFF

You know that friend that you can share anything with… that friend that you can be away from for a year and when you’re back together it’s like you never left… that friend who knows you inside and out and isn’t afraid to tell you when you’re wrong?  I hope you have one of those special friends. They are unlike any other.  I met mine by God’s unique design nearly 10 years ago on a summer internship in Nicaragua, Central America where she and her family were serving as missionaries, and we’ve never looked back since.  In the years that followed, we got married started families, and moved several times (including other countries), but God always brings us back together again some way, some how.

For the past 2 years we’ve enjoyed living in the same country (actually in neighboring states!), but the time has come that God is calling her family back to Nicaragua, but in his sweet grace, he provided us with the opportunity to spend the weekend together before they leave.  This past weekend was full of laughter, stories, reliving old memories and making new ones.  We enjoyed a Nicaraguan feast together and shared our children (and our growing bellies) with each other.  Saturday, it was time for her to go home, but before she left, we ran out for a quick photo shoot with her 1-year old son and my 21 month old daughter.

We had so much fun corralling two little ones while attempting to take”individual” photos of each.  Hope you enjoy the following photos of her little Cobie as much as I enjoyed taking them! (Photos of my girlie coming soon!)

~ Ally

Jenny and Aresh… anticipating their little miracle…

A few months ago on a warm September evening kissed in golden sunlight, I had the sweet pleasure of shooting a maternity session for the sister of one of my former Spanish students (both of whom have become sweet friends over the past few years).

Jenny first contacted me for help finding an affordable photographer in Atlanta to shoot “just a few shots in out in nature” with her husband, Aresh.  Jenny has such a precious personality and is gorgeous (and very photogenic) as well.  Knowing this would be a great opportunity to add to my portfolio, I offered to do her photos for her if she could get up here to me.  I was thrilled when she accepted.  After driving around to SEVERAL different areas, I selected a few special spots near my house that we could shoot.  This was the first time I had met Aresh, but it didn’t take me long to realize that this wasn’t his first rodeo.  Having been a model in India years ago, he was very comfortable in front of the camera, which was a treat for me because usually the “daddy-to-be” tends to be a bit stiff when we start.

I can’t say enough about this shoot.  Jenny and Aresh are absolutely precious together… constantly making each other laugh or saying sweet things to bring a smile to the other’s face.  I love how genuinely this dynamic came out in the photos.  My goal is always for my subjects to almost forget I’m there and just “be” who they are for my camera, but often it takes at least 20 minutes for them to chill and forget me.  Not this couple.  Not this shoot.  It was simply perfect… from the first shot to the last.

Beautiful couple + gorgeous evening light + true chemistry = a photographer’s dream shoot!

I almost feel like I should have paid THEM for their photos!  What a great addition to my portfolio! Thank you Jenny and Aresh for giving me the chance to document this special step in your lives.

And without further ado… hope you all enjoy!

Ally

 

Baby G is here!!

She’s here! My darling baby girl arrived on June 19 at 1:38PM! For the past 7 weeks we have been enjoying our new addition and settling into life as a family of four. What a sweet blessing God has given us!

We’ve definitely had our ups and downs.  However, I have been surprised that handling two kiddos hasn’t been as overwhelming as I had expected overall. Most of the time my little man loves his sister and is very sweet to her. I will never forget the first time he told me, “Mommy, need take [baby] too” as he and I were heading upstairs. So precious! Of course there are also those times when he randomly smacks her head with a toy car…. just because. I definitely do not claim to understand the inner workings of a two year old mind. Despite those crazy moments, I am elated to be a mommy of two precious little blessings!

The following are a few of the shots from her newborn session. Can’t wait to take her 2 months shots and hopefully get back in the saddle with portrait sessions in the next month too.

Look for more baby photos soon!

Ally

WordPress revisited…

Well… it’s been WAY too long since my last post, but part of that was due to the fact that blogger has now limited the total photo storage you have in each blog.  And well… I had reached my limit on my old one.  Since I know in a year or so I am hoping to update to a new fully customized blog, I didn’t want to be stuck paying blogger $$ every year just so I could keep up my old posts.

So I’ve gone back to my uncustomized WordPress blog for now, but you can link back to the old blog at the top of this one.

Hopefully this will be the first of many posts on my new blog!  I have sooo much catching up to do on posting photos of my kiddos (including my new addition!).  Hopefully I will have some new Senior images to share soon as well.

I will gradually be adding new posts and new categories to this blog.  Don’t give up on me yet!

Have a Fabulous Friday!

Ally

Giggling with the Greers

Have you ever laughed so hard that you nearly fell over?  That’s what it’s like hanging out with my husband’s family.  They keep you in stitches most of the time.  Last Sunday, I had the privilege of taking his aunt and uncle’s family out for family pictures at Stone Mountain Park.  We were getting some cute shots by a big oak tree when suddenly Jim’s uncle announced that he was going to put a line in his will that he wanted to be cremated and have Jim commission a special box of bullets made with a “little piece” of him in each one so he could go hunting one last time.   We laughed ’til we almost cried.  That gives you an idea of how much fun we had the rest of the afternoon.  Enjoy these shots and look for more baby shots coming soon!

Autumn fun!

I’m waaaaaaaaay behind on my blog, but honestly, I haven’t had any photos to post for a while.  These are some sweet photos of my little guy.  The first collage is our apple picking trip, and the other two are the pumpkin patch pictures that I’ve been dying to get!  Enjoy!