Back from the Beach

Well, I'm back. Vacation is over, but man was it glorious! We spent 8 days in Atlantic Beach, NC. We've been going for four years straight, and this was our best trip yet. We always go for a long weekend with a few other couples from college (Boiler Up!) All are my husband's fraternity brothers, but we wives are just a close. This year we decided to tack on the remaining week and rented a beach house with my husband's family. It was a killer house just off the water, and everyone had a great time. I think we'll be renting the same house again next year.

Must-Do/See when at the Crystal Coast:
1. Go antiquing! There are so many great antique stores in Morehead City and Beaufort. My favorite find was five decades-old nautical maps of the Carolina Coasts for only $1 each. I'm going to get them custom framed and hang on my wall. Someday they'll go in my (someday) beach house!
2. Visit downtown Beaufort: it's like being in Portland, Maine, but you're right here in Carolina.
3. Go on a sunset catamaran cruise in Beaufort. We've done this several times on Carribbean/Hawaiian vacations, but never with our family. It was just as fun!
4. Visit the NC Aquarium at Pine Knoll Shores. Our kids had a blast! It's just slightly smaller than Riverbanks Zoo in Columbia, SC, so it's very easy to get in and out in 90-120 minutes.
5. Go to the movies: my husband and I went to see Eclipse {Team Edward} and had a great date complete with popcorn/pop for under $20.
6. Fly kites at sunset. The tide is really low but the winds are high. So fun!
7. Take the Jeep (if you have one.) I give my hubby lots of grief over his tricked out Sahara Wrangler, but it was so much fun for all!

Here are a few family pics:

Us aboard the catamaran cruise

Sails on the sunset cruise

Audrey tossing sand before our annual family photos at the beach (go figure)

Ava flying a kite after dinner

Ava enjoying the surf while Daddy hangs onto her kite above

Chillin on our top porch at the house

My nephew Nick, Ava, Audrey, and my neice Kayla at the NC Aquarium

Summer Sessions - Charlotte Child and Family Photographer

I'm horrible about blogging! Please forgive. The good news is that I have an excellent excuse... I'm busy with photography! The last month has brought about two more portrait sessions and one engagement. I've got a few of my faves to post below.

First off is a family whose little girl I photographed when she was just six months old. Today she's a happy toddler (2.5) and has a baby brother who's six months old. It had been two years since they last took any pictures of any kind, so they decided it was time again. We went to Francis Beatty Park in Weddington (one of my favorite places to shoot) over Memorial Day weekend. We had a great time, and just beat the huge thunderstorm that rolled through right as we were finishing up. Phew!

Second is my first product from this summer's Mini Sessions. This is sweet, five year old Keira. Don't you just love her hair and beaming smile? We went with a "tea party" theme right here in my neighborhood. I live in a very unique, charming neighborhood in Ballantyne with over 9 acres of parks, so we had plenty of locations to choose from. My eldest daughter, Ava, also enjoyed "playing" with Keira at the tea party. They were both smiling the whole time, so my mission was accomplished!

Babies Ryan & Ellana - Charlotte Baby Photographer

I've been in newborn heaven lately. Five good friends all had babies within five weeks. All but one are in North Carolina, so I've gotten to see four of them. I officially took pictures of two of them (see below).

First up is Baby Ryan. His parents are very good friends of ours from college, and I've been photographing his older brother Drew for almost three years now! We took some similar poses as we did with Drew for comparison's sake. It's really fun to look back and see how much they look alike (or don't) from the same perspective. Ryan did quite well during this session and I was super pleased with the results!

Second up is yet another Boilermaker Baby, Ellana Madeline! Her parents are actually our girls' godparents. They too are very good friends from college. We are lucky that they live just "up the road" in Durham as they attend Duke and UNC respectively. We went to visit Ellana when she was only a week old. I took my camera along for the fun of it. She is so flipping cute! I can't wait to see her again this summer.

Summer Mini Sessions Are Here!

Hey everyone! It's that time of year again... mini sessions are here! Has it been way too long since your kids had professional pictures taken? If so, this might be the answer for you. Mini sessions are great because they don't take much time, and the date, time, and location are set in advance. The results, however, are the same: great images!

So here's the DL:
When: Friday, June 11th
Where: Lion & Bear Park in Ardrey Neighborhood {Ballantyne}
Time: 30 minute slots from 9:00am - 7:00pm
Cost: $60 per session (this is a 40% discount from a regular, full-length session)
BONUS: 25% of all proceeds from session fee and orders goes to the Lift Up Ellie fund. {Ellie is an 8 year old Ardrey resident battling a rare form of cancer.}

What's included:

• Private, online gallery of proofs
• Less than two week turnaround
• Two 5x7s and one 8x10 of your choice
• Props will be on site, but feel free to bring your own "toys" too!

Check out the below postcards I've posted on Facebook for more details. Click on either to enlarge. Call or email today to claim your spot! Reservations are required, and the day will book up quickly!

Hannah & Chris - Tybee Island, Georgia Wedding Photography

This past weekend I got the opportunity to take a mini vacation to Savannah, GA to photograph Chris and Hannah's wedding on Tybee Island. I've been in the Carolinas for four years now and still haven't made it to Savannah, so this was the perfect excuse to make a weekend of it!

My husband and I loaded up the Jeep, took the top down, dropped our girls off at their grandparents, and hit the road mid-Friday. It was a beautiful day, and the drive down couldn't be more fun. We arrived in Savannah around 5pm and were in Tybee not long after.

Like most Charlotteans, we do the "beach thing" every summer. Thus far, we've been sticking to Emerald Isle, NC. I have been on the hunt though for a beach home (let me clarify, a place to call "home" that our girls can grow up having great memories of, not an actual house...LOL). Let me tell you... Tybee is in the running! What a quaint, quiet, yet historical little gem this is. Tybee is totally walkable, and is very bicycle friendly. We enjoyed living the Margaritaville lifestyle Friday night at Fannie's on the Beach before calling it a night.

Saturday came, and so did the rain. We were tourists in Savannah the first half of the day. We drove around a lot, and I recognized sites from one of my favorite shows, "Ruby", (on the Style network) before settling down on River Street. Loved, loved, loved walking around down there and around Bay St. upstairs. The whole time I kept wishing I lived there because there are so many cool, old backdrops that would be great for photos.

So on to the wedding. WOW. Some people just have the "it" factor, and Hannah is one of them. The girl just knows what's classy, modern, and simple all at the same time. She and Chris' family rented an amazing estate directly on the beach which would  be the location of both the wedding and reception. An intimate affair, only 26 guests were present (all but two of whom were family.) I was so honored to be chosen to capture their special day. I was literally the only vendor there, as they did everything else themselves (decor, food, music... you name it.) Everything was so beautiful; I've had a really hard time narrowing down my favorites, so this will be a lengthy blog post.

Minus the whole "rain" thing (which forced the beach wedding to relocate to the back porch of the home) the ceremony couldn't have gone better. We did have a major accident afterwards involving a collapsed deck (that wasn't a typo..a collapsed deck). Luckily, no one was seriously injured, and after the shock wore off and nerves settled back down, a wonderful evening was enjoyed by all.

Jim (my husband and default hired assistant for the night) and I were so humbled to be a part of Chris and Hannah's special day. I've been in this business for almost six years now, and hands down, this was one of my most favorite weddings yet. Congratulations, Hannah & Chris!

Jessica & Philip - Charlotte Wedding Photography

Jessica and Philip were married during the "blizzard of 2010". This is also known as the 1/2 inch snow and ice storm that Charlotte experienced the weekend of January 29th. Now, while everyone else was cleaning out Harris Teeter of Diet Coke, bread, and DiGiorno pizzas (priorities, people) I was busy thinking "hmm, how will this wedding happen?"

Well, the answer to that was "without a hitch!" I live way down south and this wedding was way up north. Luckily, my husband believes in always owning at least one four-wheel-drive vehicle (we are midwesterners) so my travels were pretty easy. I left a little early, but ultimately made it there with only a few skids here and there :) The roads were empty, which was pretty cool. Even cooler, on the way home I got the chance to shoot the skyline in complete emptiness. The city was dead, and it couldn't have been more beautiful (see below.)

Here are some of my faves from Jessica and Philip's wedding. No dampered spirits here! They had a great time, redirected their mountain honeymoon to an uptown swanky hotel, and had a ball! Congrats to you both!

New Site Launched!

I'm so excited that my new site has finally launched! There are tons of new images on the site, and they are bigger than before. You can see every little detail! Let me know what you think. I hope you love it as much as I do! {Mary}

http://www.cloud9photography.com/