Melanie + Zach | e-session

I flew to Iowa for this engagement session with Melanie & Zach.  Melanie and I went to college together at Florida State and I was very honored when she asked me to photograph her wedding in May 2010.  She’s having a Spring wedding and really wanted to have her engagement photos taken during the Fall – so I was happy to oblige and leave the Florida heat for some cooler weather.  Even though a lot of the leaves had already fallen by the time I got there, we still managed to capture some of that great fall color.

Melanie & Zach, I hope the two of you love these photos as much as I do!  Thank you for everything and I’ll see you again real soon!!!

 

It’s that time again…

…for the Rumisek family portrait!  I’ve taken a family portrait every year for the past five years and usually design a christmas card too.  Which is the next thing I’ll be working on.  This is one of my favorite families in the whole world and I can’t wait until I have another portrait session with the kids in a month.  You guys are awesome!

Fox Wedding | Manasota Key, Florida

Kim & Jason were married Saturday, September 19, 2009 on Manasota Key, in Englewood, Florida.  It was another gorgeous, hot, Florida day but luckily, the wind was blowing on the beach.  I took a few moments to photograph the rings first out on the beach.

And then it was a few quick shots of the guys!

And a great one of Jason and his soon-to-be-stepson, Matty aka Spidey

Then it was time to try to get the bride into her dress.  It didn’t look like a difficult task but….

…it took three of them!  And it still wasn’t hooked so Dad came in to give it a try…

Success!  Way to go Dad!!!  After all of that, it was time to cross the street to the beach for the ceremony.

Close-up of the decorations provided by Seaside Bride – Valerie Davis

And the kiss!

Kim & Jason had special words to say to each other’s parents as new members of each family.  Kim gives her new mother-in-law, Julie, a hug.

And Jason gives his new father-in-law, Ron, a hug too… plus a little extra lovin’ from Ron!

And then there were some very special words to Kim’s son Matthew…

There was one last prayer before the conclusion of the ceremony.

Jason shares a hug with his mom….

This little guy was full of faces the whole time I was there!

This group just looooved to pose!

One last quick moment for Kim and her mom, Denise…

And then it was time for some very fast portraits of the bride & groom!

Kim & Jason, thank you for having me be a part of your special day!  I hope these warm memories of your wedding carry the both of you through many winters in Missouri!!

And Smitty, Chris, Steve, Matty, Paul, Emily, Nicole, Hannah, Ron, Denise, Julie & Brian, thank you all for being so kind and gracious.  Safe travels everyone!

Too Cool…

You might have noticed that Florida weather completely fascinates me at times.  Tonight, there was a show going on behind the house and I took a few (51!) photos.  Not too shabby for a 1 second exposure that was hand-held!

Sunflower Garden

As summer comes to a close, I thought I’d do a little post about my sunflower garden that I grew this year…..

The decision to grow a sunflower garden was made late in the year – sometime near the end of June, if I remember correctly.  So I went to the store and checked out the selection of seeds offered.  I purchased several different varieties, almost one of each kind offered and when I got home, I opened every packet into a sandwich bag and shook them up.

I didn’t want to know what I was getting.

I didn’t do much to prepare the soil, other than hoe the entire bed and pull some weeds.  After making my 1″ deep holes, I randomly dropped in about 20 or more seeds and started the watering process.  After nearly a week, about half were sprouting.  And a week later, I made more holes and dropped in more seeds and started again.  In the end, I had nearly 20 plants growing.  Some were taken out early on for various reasons and the final total ended up being eleven plants.

Florida gardens attract a variety of bugs, including this little guy, who was building a nest on the backside of one of the leaves.

Entire view of garden.  A bunch of seeds never took, so I did three plantings in all just to get these guys.  The tall ones were over 6 feet in height by the time they were finished growing!

While I was away in early August, they grew a foot in less than two weeks!  And this one little sunflower suddenly became king of the garden.  These photos don’t do it justice – it’s head, from petal to petal was 10″ across and the stalk is as thick as a half dollar.  This sunflower meant business!

I think this one sunflower has enough seeds for an entire bag!  It’s just that big and so heavy that within days of taking this photo, it dropped it’s head due to the weight.

Enjoy the rest of your summer!

Ethan’s Portrait Session

If you don’t already know, an eight week old baby is squirmy – to say the least!  Still a little cranky after his shots the day before, I’m very, very happy with what I was able to capture of him.  I love these photos and hope you do too!  As always, comments are appreciated.

Ethan’s First Immunization Shots

Ethan had his first immunization shots and checkup on Monday – the day we were going to do his portraits.  Understandably, he wasn’t feeling too good after all of the morning’s activities.  I still snapped a few photos that day and here they are.

Poor little guy.. he did really well though!

Meet Ethan!

Before we started the family portraits, I decided to take a few shots of just Bethany & Efrain by themselves.  I love this photo!

Introducing Bethany, Efrain & Ethan!  The newest member of the Serrano clan!

Mommy & Ethan

Daddy & Ethan

We were at this really cool park in Richmond that just offered up sooo  many possibilities for photos.  It looked like it was going to rain, so I tried to hurry as fast as I could.  Luckily, it only stayed cloudy!

Miss Chloe & Mr. Jackson

I had an eventful portrait session yesterday.  Just as I pulled out the equipment and was setting everything up, it started to rain!  I scrambled to put everything away and waited while a nice, light shower preceded to fall.  I stood underneath these gorgeous coconut palms and watched the rain…. as the sun shined no less.

I’m really glad that we waited for it to stop and didn’t do indoor, studio portraits instead.  There aren’t as many photos of Jackson, he just wouldn’t sit still.  We’ll try again at a later date with these two and the rest of the family and I can’t wait!

Molly & Maya

I have no children of my own so my two cocker spaniels are very special to me.  They’re quite spoiled and verrrry camera shy.  As soon as a lens is pointed at them, they usually look away.  Maya is a bit more used to it and a lot older, so she doesn’t care as much.  Molly, on the other hand, barely sits still and is the worst at having her photo taken.  In nearly a year of ownership, this photo is a rarity.

Molly… notice the crooked bottom teeth?!  Oh, and the cataract!  But don’t feel sorry, she’s the best lizard chaser I’ve ever seen.

This is Maya with her duck.  Actually, it was my duck but I threw it at her and she picked it up and walked off with it in her mouth, thus claiming it as her own.  She moved that duck three times – I have no idea why.  She was laying on the floor with her head down but when I tried sneaking up on her, she raised her head and looked at me, and looked at me, and looked at me.  Stubborn enough to not put her head down again, I snapped this.

Then, one morning while sitting at my desk I happen to look down to my left and I chuckled.  This is what I saw:

Paws.  Just paws from behind the curtain.  If you guessed that it’s Maya you are correct!  Ahhh… the joys of dog ownership.

Hope I gave ya a smile!!

pfya9xk6zg