It’s been a couple of weeks since we got back, but Jerusalem is the sort of place that seeps under your skin and doesn’t leave. We had dinner with our friend Jeff the other night,… More
Talya!
Talya is, without a doubt, one of the most colorful people I know. I say this with some authority as we met working as art teachers together! Her style and her ease are contagious.
We took a gallivant about town, and I got to say: Talya seriously inspired me to up my pink game in fashion. Those sunglasses!
Her pink heart sunglasses are just too perfect not to share on this Valentine’s Day.
Want new headshots? Let’s get in touch!
A Washington Duke Inn Wedding!
My friend Anna called me on Monday; she wanted to know if I was available for a last-minute booking for a definitely long-coming wedding. The answer, of course, was yes!
Amy and Ian had been together for years, using tourist visas to see one another – but they had decided it was time to tie the knot! With just some local family in attendance, they exchanged their vows, promising each other patience and kindness. It was a lovely ceremony to behold!
Thank you, Amy and Ian, for letting me be a small part of your big day! Best wishes!
Kochin’ for 3!
I definitely cried when Jen texted me asking if I’d take their pregnancy announcement photos. I’ve known these ladies as teachers, and then as friends, and in every stage of our friendship I have been genuinely moved by their love for each other.
These are two of the kindest, warmest, most courageous humans I know, and I am so excited they are going to be parents!! Here are a few snaps from our session in their front yard.
(They called the babe their “little dragon”!!)
They used a sign from their wedding for the announcing – because their last name is pronounced “cook” it sounds out like “cooking for two” – except now it will be three! And featured in these photos are their darling dogs, who are about to be big siblings.
Pastor Lads!
Graduation is just a few weeks away for these handsome fellas! I met all these guys around the time I started in Divinity School – Garrett in my spiritual formation group, Ross in a Spirituality Class where we’d become fast queer theology buds, and Brian first at my husband’s field education placement. I am so excited to see what ministry they will be doing – especially because all of them have such clear, compassionate ways of caring for their friends.
We were so thankful to the Church of the Advocate in Chapel Hill for allowing us to take a few headshots for these guys before they have their own parishes to run!
Best part of the shoot? The church cat stopping by to say hello!
A Family Reunion!
Y’all remember Ashley and Josh’s sweet elopement in Duke Gardens? Well meet the rest of the family! Ashley asked if I’d be around Easter weekend (I was) because her whole family would be in town. Her mom’s dream, she said, was to take some portraits bearing t-shirts from their favorite restaurant.
Little did I know it would be the Salty Dog from Hilton Head, SC! (You may remember my mom is from Bluffton, SC, just over the bridge.) What a beautiful, interconnected world.
It was so tender to see four generations together!
To this beautiful family: thanks for letting me witness your love for each other and be a part of your family weekend!
Minoka’s Graduation Portraits!
It’s hard to believe it, but graduation is less than 100 days away for most university students! Minoka, one of the kindest and most genuine people I know, is getting ready to get her diploma from Duke Divinity School. To celebrate, we took a few pictures around campus!
She was SUCH a trooper meeting me, not only at sunrise, but even sported her beautiful smile in the pouring rain that swiftly ensued in the early morning!
If you’re interested in your own senior or graduation portraits, contact me for details! (Discount for graduate students!)
South Carolina
We went down to Bluffton for a funeral. It had been a decade since I’d seen Spanish Moss clinging to live oaks. The bluff on the river was the same, really; there were more houses across the water but the sun still caught in those grey tendrils on the branches, just like I remembered.
It was good, good to say goodbye like this with the water and the palm trees rustling.
Sarah + Gabe + Snow
I’ve known these two beauties for a long time – like, since the middle school blue-eyeshadow-to-my-eyebrows-phase long time. Thankfully, they’ve stuck around! We all met through a combination of school and youth group, and our lives have been these beautiful intersecting collisions ever since, not least of which was Sarah and I being classmates in seminary together.
Over the weekend, central North Carolina had our semi-annual snowpocalypse; despite it being a balmy 60 degrees on Christmas, temperatures plummeted into the teens and below, and the roads were slick with ice. Our road still hasn’t melted.
Four inches is hardly enough to compare with my first winter in Massachusetts; I remember the first significant snow fall being something close to four or five feet. And admittedly, it’s taken three winters away from New England for me to love the stuff again. But this time around, I couldn’t wait to strap on the dusty ski pants and venture out. Bonus: Sarah and Gabe wanted to do the same!
Thanks for playing in the snow with me, y’all! And for sticking around for so long.
Snowday
I’d say it was a successful one.
2016
I don’t know about you, but my social media has been clogged with people lamenting how horrible 2016 has been. And, I feel those feelings too;Â there has been a lot of global-wide fear and harm done. Celebrating the good does not diminish the impact of the wrong, but I want to take a moment and choose to look back at some of my cherished memories from this year. My most favorite moments were largely not photographed by me, or photographed at all. But for the ones I have, I cherish.
So, 2016, in closure:
Wishing you all a safe and rejuvenating New Year’s, and let’s get ready to spread more love in 2017!
