I had the pleasure of visiting the Gulf state of Oman this past February. It's an extremely beautiful and hospitable country...I hope to make it back again some day.
It's not very often that one of your favorite people in the whole entire world asks you to shoot her wedding. When this happens, you say yes. Hands down, one hundred percent, yes...despite being nervous and scared and intimidated. Mariwyn and Jonathan got married in Lancaster, PA...a beautiful town in Eastern Pennsylvania, smack dab in the middle of Amish country. The ceremony was held in the gorgeous Westminster Presbyterian Church, where her dad is also a Pastor and the pastor; the reception was a barn venue at the ubberly-charming Landis Valley Village and Farm. I have to admit that I haven't been to a ton of weddings (in general, and this is the second I've photographed), but this wedding was so incredible. Mariwyn and Jonathan have the most amazing and supportive and fun group of family and friends and let me tell you...they were a blast to photograph:) Many thanks to my handsome hubby who second shot for me during the ceremony and to Mariwyn and Jonathan, who entrusted me with this very special privilege on one of the most important days of their lives...
I had the opportunity to travel up to DC for a couple days a few weeks ago; it was the same week the Pope was visiting so there was a hustle and bustle to the city that is unique even to a city (district) that is used to visits from important people. I was there the day before he did his tour in the pope-mobile (how awesome would that have been?!), but i did get to see and photograph his motorcade ...the cops said it was him, so therefore it was him :-) Because of the visit, there were tons of helicopters overhead so naturally, there are a few random helicopter pictures. These are a bit different than the photos i take of my daughters, but i do enjoy a bit of street / travel photography also! They are a mix iPhone and Ricoh GR pix...
So there I was one hot day in July, getting into my car after having just finished up a family shoot at a local beach, when a beautiful woman approached me asking if I shoot weddings. I said that I'd never done one before, but here's my website...if you're interested, I might be interested. I didn't expect to hear back from her, but she contacted me later that day and said she wanted me to do it. And that was it, that was how it came to be; that's how I snagged my first wedding. Let me be really honest and tell you that it was really hard. People don't give wedding photogs enough credit. You have to be able to switch from a documentary mindset to a posing one in a flash, you have to be able to keep people who, [understandably] want to get on to the reception, happy and calm and compliant for formals. You have to be able to work around all the personal electronic devices and selfie sticks that get in the frame, and let me just tell you that all of that can be quite tricky. Also, you have to be able to use a flash;-) But, this bride, (Amy is her name) and her groom, Anthony, were just so much fun to shoot, and in the end, I was glad I did it. They got married on the beach in St. Petersburg, and though it had been raining a lot over the past few weeks, and my husband swears it poured at our place just about an hour east, it was a beautiful (but HOT) day for a wedding.
Quite a few of my photog friends had already done one (or several in some cases)...so I figured it was about time that I do one also; a Day in the Life, that is, Carrender style. Not only am I asking potential clients to allow me into their homes for the same thing, but I also just wanted a record of what our days looked like during the summer of 2015. This was, after all, a different summer for us. Not only was it the first time I've been been home with the girls (home, as in, not working), but this was also our first summer in this home...the first home we've ever owned. This particular day, the 12th of August, was slightly different than our normal days, because this was the day I officially got my business license ;-) On this day, Elle woke up before Mimi and I so she could mend her mermaid tail. We ate breakfast, Mimi then constructed a pillow bed for the dogs in our bedroom. We went to the tax collectors office to get my business license, and then to the mall to return a pair of pants that were too big for Elle. At three, we dropped Elle off tutoring; returned home briefly and then went back to pick up Elle. While we were home for those 30 minutes, we had a good Florida summer rain. After we picked up Elle we went straight to the pet store to get crickets for Sandy, Elle's bearded dragon. When we got home, we went for a swim and then made dinner. Joe got home from work; we ate dinner. After that, we just kind of relaxed for the rest of the night. Well, Mimi decided to put make up on a huge stuffed bear that Cici, our fat Beagle, kept trying to take outside through the doggy door. Mimi got a bath, Elle chatted with friends, and then we went to bed :-)
