Bye bye Blogger

Our new blog is up, and you can now visit us here -- thanks for checking in!

Open House next Thursday 3/27

Come one, come all! Please drop by our open house next Thursday 3/27 from 5pm-7pm and check out our new space. Yes, we've been here for a few months, but finally feel moved in. Click on the image below to see the complete invitation, including a link to directions if you need them. Hope to see you next week!

new blog coming soon

I am very excited about launching our new blog in the next week or so -- it is being designed by Flosites. Check out the sample pages that Ross the designer just sent me:

The Canvases Are Up!

We have been eagerly awaiting the arrival of our gallery wrap prints, and they did not disappoint. The only downside is that our ceilings are SO high that we have plenty more prints to add to the gallery in order to really fill the wall. The quality of the prints is spectacular, so everyone who is scheduled for a portrait session in the coming weeks, please drop by the studio to see them in person. You'll want to pre-order your 20x30s!

Ruby Kathleen, 11 days old

As promised, here is the lovely Ruby Kathleen, daughter of Melissa and Dan, whose wedding I shot in 2005. Ruby is named after her great-grandmother, whose ring is pictured here. It was so wonderful to see Melissa again, and she looks amazing!

I can't wait to watch Miss Ruby and her brother Elias grown up.








with big brother Elias:

Taylor

I have been photographing this amazing child since he was barely two years old, and what a privilege it is to watch him grow up. He is an intense, creative, intuitive person, and was kind enough to sit in the middle of the woods and play his cello for me. He has always had that wild blonde hair. I look forward to continuing to watch his creativity flower.

Check back in a day or two, because I photographed beautiful baby Ruby Kathleen this morning, who has only arrived in our world 10 days ago. What a blessing she is!

Meanwhile, here's Taylor:

Why I'm a Slack Blogger Sometimes

Because these two amazing creatures keep us laughing and scrambling all day (and night) long. Here's sweet Joaquin and quizzical Lila Mae during breakfast the other day. We have a lovely sunroom in the back of our house and the morning light there is irresistible. This morning Joaquin found a roll of wrapping paper in the closet and had it trailing behind him -- somehow Lila Mae caught up to him, sat down on the end of the paper, and he pulled her around the house like Linus dragging his blanket behind him.

I promise to write more soon -- we have so many great photos from 2007 to showcase, and are gearing up for Spring 2008 already!







Yes, she finally smiled for a photo!

From the Archives: People of Faith

I've been going through much of my editorial work in order to spruce up that site, which I hope to re-launch soon. In the process, I found my "People of Faith" images, as well as the interview with Frank Stasio on NPR. For those who aren't familiar with this project, I set out a few years ago to take portraits of members of different faith traditions, and the journey took me all around the South. I met the most fascinating people, and heard their sometimes heart-wrenching stories of soul-searching and faith. I recorded their stories to accompany the images. The clip below is from "The State of Things," a radio talk show on our local NPR affiliate in Chapel Hill. There are some wonderful voices of the people I interviewed -- you can hear them via the link below. Oddly enough, I received a card in the mail this morning from Mahara Dasi, the Hare Krishna woman whose voice and photo appears here. It was so wonderful to hear from her -- she just wrote to say hello.

Man, I love what I do. I get to meet the most incredible people.

Audio Clip from NPR's "The State of Things" about "People of Faith":
boomp3.com

Matthew Published in Fretboard Journal

Matthew continues to gain notoriety in the music industry, and he was recently sent on assignment to photograph Roger McGuinn of The Byrds (yes, THE Byrds). Here is a cool clip of Roger back in the day with Bob Dylan And here are the spreads from Matthew's article:

LanChi + Duc

Wendy and I had the privilege of photographing LanChi's and Duc's wedding in December. Duc is a dentist in Chapel Hill and LanChi is in her medical residency at UNC-CH. They held the wedding in Winston-Salem, where LanChi's parents live, because the traditional Vietnamese ceremony always takes place at the home of the bride and her family. They then followed with a traditional Christian service at a church that evening. You can read a little more about the Vietnamese ceremony and its traditions here.

This sign on the porch indicates that this the bride's family home, where the ceremony will be taking place.




The groom's beautiful and regal grandmother....



....and the daughter of a friend, who served as a flower girl in the church service that evening.

The bride's family waits on the porch in a specific order as the groom's family arrives, bringing gifts in red lacquer boxes...

I particularly like this shot of Wendy's showing the color and detail of the gift table...


Soon everyone was gathered to wait for LanChi to come downstairs in her traditional red dress...

She joined Duc at the front of the room to face their families, his on the left of the table, hers on the right...

Part of the ceremony involves the bestowing of gifts on the bride and groom, and LanChi's mother is putting a pair of earrings on her daughter...

After the ceremony, it's time to open the lacquer boxes, which are filled with sweet things of all kinds.

Alongside the traditional, there is also evidence of the modern and fresh...

The couple exits the house to a waiting Rolls Royce which will take them to the church for the Christian service in a few hours.

There's something very Mondrian-ish about this shot of Wendy's as LanChi gets into the car -- I love the composition, the striking red hat, and the smudge of fingerprints on the window.

LanChi later changes into a stunning Vera Wang gown and takes a few minutes by herself before walking down the aisle with her father.

The evening ended with a wonderful party and reception at a hotel ballroom in downtown Winston. It was a great day!