This shoot was a bit different. The day after Hillary and Wes' wedding, while we were still in Tennessee, I met up with Blake and his clan for a bit of a combo shoot. On the agenda was family group shots, images of two month old Josie and senior pictures for the twins - Travis & Dakota. We rolled the three shoots into one and had a great time. Travis and Dakota were perfect; good looking guys who were up for trying anything.
Just when you thought HIllary and Wes couldn't get any more fabulous - they get married! The fantabulous all went down in Shady Valley Tennessee, at Wes' parent's farm. When you mix perfect weather, donkeys and carriages, and a bunch of friends - it makes for a pretty memorable occasion!
Wow! It doesn't seem like 13 years - it seems like forever! But in a good way :) I don't even remember what my life was like before I had Jolene in it. And that's probably because it's not worth remembering. My life found it's worth when I found Jolene. It's been a wonderful, amazing, sweet, sometimes very hard, but always worthwhile journey. This last year has been a mixture of both. This has been the first full year for "zac thomas photographer" and I'm both excited and humbled by the feedback so many have shared with me. That so many people love what I do has made it easier to endure and visualize a time in the future when the financial burden of starting a new business won't be as acute. This was only multiplied when, in January, one of our water pipes took an early retirement and flooded our entire house. After two and a half months in a hotel and construction that still continues by your's truly; we're reconsidering the benefits of renting. In the midst of daily life, Jolene and I are filled with Joy as we watch our little Men - Gryphyn and Vahn - continue to grow and develop. We were as excited as any parent as we observed Vahn learning to walk this summer, and then we were heartbroken when he wondered onto the asphalt and burned and blistered his feet to the point he couldn't walk for weeks. Many of you poured out your sympathies and we're very grateful; no one is happier than we are to know that Vahn's feet have healed completely. Jolene and I didn't have our boys until we had been married for 10 years but, for that whole time, we had our cats - Tigger and Cheyenne. For 12 years they were our family. Putting them to sleep was one of the hardest decisions I've ever made. Their loss was still too fresh when Jolene's dad, Bill, passed away a week later. October was a hard month. November was progressing nicely until last week. That's when we found out Jolene had breast cancer. Didn't see that one coming.
My dad has always told me, "Life is what happens when you're busy making other plans." Can I get an Amen!
So, this has been one of the best years and one of the worst years for Jolene and I. But, it's one year out of many. And when we compare our marriage to that of my grandparents who were married over 60 years - our story is still very much in the character development stages. You could miss this much and still enjoy the movie. We're looking forward to the rest of the story...
If it comes as a surprise to you that I'm into photography than you're probably on my blog by accident. So head back over to Google and try again - nice talking to you. For the rest of you I'm also into all things Apple. Perhaps not a big surprise either. Anyway, in my online journeys I occasionally come across some funny stuff - so I thought I'd share.
Crystal and Bradford had a simply awesome wedding in Hot Springs, North Carolina. This is despite the fact that I had to roll my old bones out of bed to make the drive and start shooting at 8am. Morning people... honestly. By the time I had arrived Bradford had already gone running and, to everyone's relief, it was a round trip :) After breakfast, things got rolling and we came away with some really sweet images! Crystal and Bradford, both wanting great pictures, even set aside some time in the itinerary for me. You gotta love 'em! We managed to work in a baby shoot in between all the wedding action as well.
She was a guest - not a catalyst. Just in case you're wondering. I was digging this funky old mirror made from polished metal. Try doing your makeup in that one!
Well, solo isn't exactly accurate unless you don't count Stacy's daughter Kiersten, her sister and my whole family :) I was back in Tennessee for a wedding a week or so after Michelle and Stacy's farewell shoot and Stacy and I decided to get together for some supplemental shooting. We even made it an instructional shoot and Stacy was gracious enough to smile and nod as I spewed out camera nerd jargon. Stacy wasn't feeling 100% during our previous shoot but, it would be a hard argument to suggest she looks anything other than radiant in these images! With Stacy's genes it's only a matter of time before Kiersten will be breaking hearts!
This post is bitter sweet. I got to head up to Tennessee and shoot some beautiful women. We shot for fabulous in the alleys and we shot for fun at the roller rink. Sweet. But for Michelle and Stacy this was a last hoorah before Michelle moved back to Alaska. bitter. With emotions on high and Stacy feeling ill we still managed to come away with some awesome images! It's hard to hide "amazing" when it's in your DNA.
There are a lot of things to do for a fun farewell. I tried to make me tagging along with all my cameras one of them. I'm honored to be invited to be part of Michelle and Stacy's friendship.
It was a year ago that I met Avian. We met down at Lake Julian to capture her at just a year and a half old. So here we are, back down at the lake, for her two and a half year pictures. Her brother and sister, Kealey and Yasmine, even got in a few this time around!
