happy new year!

here's to a happy new year, fulfilled resolutions, health, and new challenges.
cheers.

old film gems.

I found these two images my Mom made when her and my Dad just married. That same camera she used was the first camera I ever used and continued using for years. 

I don't know what else to say other than these just make me happy.

the gift of giving.

hello. so, it's been a while (BLOGGER FAIL). I promise to work on that.

this time of year I get all nostalgic. It's a funny thing, "giving", it's both selfless and selfish. Either way it's fun.

I recently met and photographed 7 families that may have had a hit of bad luck but surely didn't show any sight of strain. the kids, the parents, they all showed so much love towards each other and to me. It's quite refreshing. You know that cliche statement "what doesn't kill you, makes you stronger"...well many times in life, both in my own and others, it's proven true. I find people so interesting and sometimes inspiring. I love what I do!

My gifts to the lovely families. once upon a time I did a bit of graphic design work and one of my favorite things was to create cards, invitations, silly suess-like rhymes so it was fun to bust out a tiny piece of the card stuff again.

meet zachary.

a loving family. great friends. a new big sister.

honey harvest!

oh yes. I love this time of year, bees buzzing, floors get a little sticky to the step, porch transformations and the end product...raw, fresh, unheated, untreated honey. there's nothing sweeter.

The other week my Dad (aka the bee man) gathered all his tools and began the extraction process and of course I had to shoot a few photos to share! My Dad is quite the resourceful worker. As you will see, the knife used to cut the thin wax cappings off each frame is nothing but the kitchen bread knife (used daily I might add) and to heat that knife he uses nothing other than his camping stove and french press. quite simple and smart I think. He doesn't do this commercially (anymore) he does this for himself, the environment and for his incredibly pushy daughter that would never let him hear the end of it if he quit. Therefore, he can convert the porch into a sticky, sweet, honey house once a year with out too much hassle from my Mom.

After all the frames have been spun and filtered into the bucket he put them out for the bees to finish it off, meaning, free lunch for the bees!

One last portrait of my Dad, The Bee Man. xo

courtney+ryan

Here is a wedding I shot with Kristi Odom. This was a super fun couple and a beautiful venue. To see the more from the day check out Kristi's blog. Thanks guys for having me!

Making it official!

This was my first Jewish wedding and I'm a bit behind when it comes to Jewish traditions. All Kristi told me was "to get ready" and "run to the middle...NOW!". So, being the newbie, I did what she said and there I was sitting on the floor in the middle of the circle doing my best to shoot the madness. It was great! Am I aloud to incorporate this into my wedding day even though I'm not Jewish?

crab feast

I can't think of a better way to end the summer than with a classic Eastern Shore afternoon surrounded by awesome people, crabs and enough Old Bay to feed a village.

The perfect sized Coke.

Our lovely host Jane. Thank you!

love this family!

kristen+bill

Earlier this summer I had the pleasure of shooting with Jaime, The Blonde Photographer. If you haven't seen her work yet, do.

This was a beautiful wedding. Super sweet couple, Virginia inspired (whoohoo) and lots of love! Thanks guys for letting me hang with you. Here are a few from the day.