Heartbeat

Here’s a smattering of images from the last couple years, posted for no other reason than to show you that I’m not dead - I’ve just been prioritizing creating over sharing.

Zach & Carolyn

I had the pleasure of covering this Rocky Mountain wedding along side my talented friend Micah Sedmak. We hung out the night before and talked about what a weird profession photography is. As much as it is a technical skill and an artistic skill, it's also an interpersonal skill. Some people (probably most people) aren't comfortable or natural on camera and require a lot of help to get out of their shells.

But sometimes you get lucky with couple like Zach and Cara, and all you have to do is get out of their way. Their love and affection for one another is as natural and real as the Rockies themselves. At that point, the job becomes incredibly easy: you just stick 'em in the good light and watch the sparks fly. 

Best of 2016

Here are a handful (or maybe an armful) of my favorite moments from the past year. At the beginning of 2016 I resolved to spend more time with Family; both mine and yours. Last year I allowed myself to get over booked and had to turn away a lot of families who wanted pictures, and that felt awful. So this year I opened things up, set aside more time for families, and I was rewarded with some of my most favorite sessions ever (confetti festival portraits are going to be a new tradition!)

I also got to spend more time adjusting to life with two kids. Eloise has been a lot of extra work, but she’s added so many more smiles to my days. I can’t even imagine life without her now. Living in my parent’s house and working from a small desk in the dining room for most of the year was far from inspiring, but building my dream home was more than worth the wait.

I want to thank everyone who worked with me this year for your patience with my slower-than-usual responses and extra scheduling restrictions, even if you didn't really notice them. You showed me some incredible new wedding venues in Indiana, Florida, Colorado and in your own backyards. You cried for me, froze for me, climbed mountains for me, and danced in the pouring rain for me. I got to watch your babies grow up and new babies be born. I'm blessed to have experienced all of it with you.

I also want to thank Micah Sedmak, my protégé-turned-colleague, for pushing me to be a better photographer all year. We learned and grew a ton and I can’t wait to put it all together in 2017!

Dennis & Jenny

Dennis and Jenny are lifelong friends who met at church camp at the awkward age of 9. Nearly 20 years later Dennis finally made his move and the two fell in love fast and hard. It was during this time that Jenny learned her mother was diagnosed with a rare, incurable form of cancer and had only weeks to live. On their 3rd date, Jenny’s mom pulled Dennis aside to preemptively give her blessing on their future marriage, and made him promise to take care of her daughter when she no longer could. Dennis was definitely up to the task. Jenny wanted her mother’s warm and comforting spirit to be felt in the images and in the details of her wedding day. She even wore her mother’s wedding gown. I feel overwhelmingly honored and blessed for the opportunity to capture this magical day.

Allie & Brent

Here are some highlights from Allie & Brent’s wedding-in-the-woods in Sunman, Indiana. What I loved most about this wedding were all the interactions and special moments between Allie, Brent and their daughter Aubrey. One of the best things about having children is that you get to share in their joy and they get to share in yours. I know that experiencing this day as a family increased the joy exponentially for the Grimm’s – and you can see it on their faces. The future looks bright for this trio, soon to be a quartet!

Cortnie & Zach

The perfect evening sun plus a beautiful laid back couple and a fantastically diverse location is everything I want in an engagement session ever. If I could do projects like this all day every day I’d never work a day in my life! Thank you Cortnie & Zach for being my Subject Soul Mates™.

Annie & Jeff

I’m so pumped to share this winter engagement session! Annie & Jeff really wanted to shoot in the snow so we waited for that perfect mix of tolerable temperature and recent snowfall (not an easy combo to come by in Ohio!) I had no idea that the waterfall at Charleston Falls would be frozen over and was I practically jumping up and down with excitement when I saw it! It’s hard to believe that in all my years living in Tipp I never went to Charleston Falls in the winter, but now that I’ve seen how cool the frozen waterfall is I’m going to make it a point to check it out annually.

Best of 2015

What a wild year it’s been. There was a particularly “exciting” span of about 30 days where I shot six weddings, sold my house, packed up everything and moved, and then had a baby. If I didn’t have the photo evidence to prove it I’d be inclined to believe that entire stretch of time was just a dream. But here I am in 2016, still alive and looking back at year’s worth of images. The best part of going back through everything is finding those candid gems – those real moments of pure joy and happiness – and reliving them again. It’s amazing how an old photo can bring on a fresh smile. Creating this renewable resource of joy and nostalgia is such a rewarding experience. Thank you, every one of you, for letting me in and letting me make these memories with you.