Monthly Archives: September 2007

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No shortage of love

September 25, 2007 – 3:05 pm

This is Brittain and she is 14 months old. Her mom and dad, Valerie and Dan, are head over heels in love with her and so is everyone else. How could you not be?


I love that face!
Pink John Deere. Ya gotta love that.
Dan, Valerie and Brittain

Flying in Daddy’s arms

This is Brittain’s Great Aunt Susan, and the famous yellow bird that has a motion sensor tweeter. It’s a hit with Brittain and I believe he kept a watch on us the entire shoot, with an occasional serenade.


One of many mother- daughter moments.
Aunt Cecilia was a June bride of mine and I have been blessed with extended photo shoots within her circle of family and friends.
This is Brittain’s Mimi. There are never adequate words to tell about Mimi’s. There is a common denomonator between grandparents and grandchildren and they become instant allies.
I was really happy that Brittain liked me so much. Valerie said that she is normally very reserved around strangers but we had a thing going on that day. Maybe she knew I was Zoe’s mom. I was getting some shots while she was on the bed and she kept crawling down to me for close up’s. I just held the camera to the side and shot this one. What a sweetie!

All three of these women have voices like angels. I’m not kidding. Brittain was taking a sippy cup break while they sang ( or should I say harmonized perfectly! ) songs to her. She just looked up at them with big eyes and I couldn’t help but think about how loved she must feel. How beautiful it sounded. My favorite song lately is one by Bethany Dillon. It’s called “My love hasn’t grown cold” and in it God says ” When you are in your bed, I sing over you the sweetest things because oh, my love, it does not tire.” It saw a picture of that song right before my eyes and it was all I could do to not start crying. Seriously. It was a gift to me. Thank you Brittain.
Here is your slideshow

By Shawna | Posted in baby love | Comments (7)

TV

September 19, 2007 – 12:00 am

I’m not a big TV watcher, the only show that I am faithful to is Extreme Home Makeover. Sunday nights at 8pm, I’m there. It wasn’t until last night that it really became clear to me why I like it so much. There are a few things that are obviously appealing.
1. The major transformation of something that is in great need, to something that is totally restored, above and beyond what could be hoped for or imagined, and
2. watching the reaction of the family when they see their newly restored home. Ya gotta just love that part. They always freak out, cry, jump, scream, hug their loved ones….it’s just so fun to watch them as they walk through the door, mouth dropped, eyes bulging, heart pounding.
This last episode was so good. It was about an L.A. cop who had been shot in the line of duty and had become a parapalegic. Her husband is also a cop, and they have a 1& 1/2 yr.old daughter. Her mom had come to live with them to help care for her daughter and they had tried to make their home accomodating to a wheelchair. Life had been turned upside down.

So in comes the crew, sends the family off to Cabo for a vacation while they turn this depressing house into a mansion that restores hope. You could tell that the woman was struggling with being really angry about her circumstances in the beginning. She didn’t have a lot of emotion. The crew had just about every obstacle imaginable come against them during the week of building. It seemed as if they were not going to come through on schedule but so many peoploe in the community ( California! YAY!!) offered their time and talent and they pulled it off. The crew spoke with her Dr.’s about a Recovery Plan and they built her a room with all of the equiptment that she would need to strengthen her muscles, they put in a track system throughout the house so that she could harness herself in and travel from room to room by remote…it was just really cool. They also showcased all of her medals, accomplishments and awards from the Police Academy in this room to encourage her. They really made an effort to restore her hope, her honor and her identity.

Well, she was so overwhelmed when she came home and saw a TON of police officers, firemen, friends, family, neighbors,..people who wanted to make a difference in her life. I don’t know who was crying more, me or her. In her interview, she said that she was just so overwhelmed by all the love.
And then it hit me.
The reason that I love this show so much, is that it’s a little picture of our Big God. I mean, she was so undone by the love that she felt from these strangers that had given a week of their time in order to make her life here on earth better. She was simply overwhelmed by love.
That’s how God is. What He gives to you and me, is immesurably more than a week’s worth of His time, and the effect is not just for our benefit here on earth. It’s for Eternity. He is Hope where there is only despair, He restores and reconciles what has been lost and broken. The knowledge of His love is overwhelming.
It’s almost a guarantee at the end of the show when the family is walking through their new home, that (even the kids ) say, over and over…really slow…”Oh My God!” and a sharp ping hits my heart as I think to myself.
“Yes, Exactly”

By Shawna | Posted in inspiration | Comments (1)

Mr. + Mrs. John Snow

September 14, 2007 – 10:05 pm

Last weekend we had the pleasure of going to Murphy, North Carolina and that was the town’s slogan. There is something about small hometowns. They just have a vibe that makes you feel like calling your grandma. People are so nice and it was no exception at the wedding of Rachel West and John Snow III. They were married at the church right in the center of town. Literally. This is a photo of the church almost 2 hours before the ceremony. People were already lining up to get a good seat and at 30 minutes before show time, the line just kept getting longer! I’ve never seen anything like it. People were lined up down the street and they began setting up chairs in the basement to handle the overflow. I don’t know how they did it, but everyone was able to see the ceremony. It was standing room only.


I love this shot of the bridal party waiting in the stairwell. It’s about 60 seconds and counting and the bride and her sister share one last moment.
The Reception was held at McGuire’s Millrace Farm. The weather was absolutely perfect, and the flowers were stunning. Stacey Brown from the Bloom Room did a beautiful job with the arrangements. She pays incerdible attention to detail. I love the wreath on this old building at the entrance to the farm.

I stood down in the bottom of an empty pond and had an instant heavenly background.
I have been really blessed the past 18 months to have an amazing photographer and friend shoot with me. MeWha is an incredible asset to every wedding. We work really well together and there is nothing like having a second perspective. Here are a few examples of the two of us shooting the same thing but with totally different views.

I love shooting in open doorways. The lights from the inside of the barn adds a little something while the natural sunlight is perfect for portraits.

MeWha was standing inside and shot the same thing. I love this one!

Opposite views.



Rachel and John had Snow cookies and Snow Flakes for favors. It was a perfect gift to match their last name. I don’t think that idea would have had the same effect at my wedding.

Congratulations Mr. & Mrs. Snow. Thank you for allowing me to be a part of your beautiful wedding.

CLICK HERE FOR THEIR FABULOUS SLIDESHOW!

By Shawna | Posted in travel, wedding | Comments (4)

Meet the Zook’s

September 12, 2007 – 11:44 pm

This is Missy & Philip. They have lived on their property for 18 years and soon may be leaving due to a retail park that’s going in next door. So we thought it would be the perfect place for a shoot, while it’s still here.

They have 4 dogs that wanted in on the action. This one is obviously the alpha dog. Or at least he wants to be.

I think that it’s just fun to say their name. “Zook”. Mrs. Zook taught at my daughter’s school last year, she was our favorite and this year she is at another school and we miss her a LOT. She has a daughter the same age as mine and they were best friends last year. We miss you Ashlen
Zachary is a sophmore this year and he’s a future rock star as well.


What I loved most about this shoot was that the kids were always moving. There was a lot of action going on at all times, so the photos really represent their lifestyle.




The youngest are always the most curious. Natalie only stopped moving, or should I say running, for short periods at a time.
I love the action in the back. Hannah is picking grass, Zach is playing guitar, Ashlen is doing some up-side-down excercise and Natalie is trying to immitate, all while Philip and Missy enjoy a moment of stillness.
Enjoy your slideshow!

God bless your family.

By Shawna | Posted in family portraits | Comments (1)

Ever wonder what a Million $ Wedding looks like?

September 10, 2007 – 9:17 am


I am working with a wonderful wedding planner next month and was just surfing her blog and saw this video that made my jaw drop the whole time. The amount of money that can be spent on a wedding is sometimes mind boggeling. Check out her BLOG and click on the video on the top right. Gail also has fantastic ideas for planning a wedding.
ENJOY!

By Shawna | Posted in wedding | Comments (0)