Last September I had the pleasure of assisting Jenna of JHenderson Studios photograph JoEllen & Kevin’s wedding at Legacy Farms. I was the third photographer. Wait what? Third? Yep. It sounds crazy until you realize that Jenna was photographing JoEllen’s wedding while pregnant. And as maid of honor/best friend. She’s awesome! You probably noticed the pregnant bridesmaid. That’s Jenna!

I was super stoked for this wedding for a few reasons. I’ve been a fan of Jenna’s work for a while, so getting to work with her was a blast. I’ve also been dying to photograph a wedding at Legacy Farms in Lebanon. It’s just a quick drive from my house in Murfreesboro & I’m photographing Gabby & Cory’s wedding there next October. LOVE that venue. It’s super gorgeous. Thanks Jenna for the opportunity! Congrats to JoEllen & Kevin!

This might be the creepiest photo I’ve ever taken, but I absolutely love it.

I was in Hotan, West China exploring one of the city’s awesome weekly markets. Hotan citizens are mainly Uyghur, a Muslim ethnicity that you would never think lives in China. When I passed the butcher, I saw these two camel heads. Such an odd thing to see on the ground. I set up my composition & right before I took the photo, that man turned around & looked at me. Perfect. He completes the photo, in my opinion. I don’t remember him looking as mean in person as he does in this photo.

I haven’t written much about my time with the Uyghurs, but probably one day. My trip to Xinjiang rocked me a bit. I love that province & hope to return someday.

Last week my dad dragged my family to go see Joe Bonamassa in concert.

Joe Bonamassa. Have you heard of him? I hadn’t. But I was still excited because I had a photo pass to photograph the first three songs. I have a little bit of concert photography experience from my photojournalism days, but it’s been a while. It was so fun to give it a go again.

Half way through the concert, Joe took a break & started talking. He said, “I’ve made 11 full length solo albums & I’ve written over 100 songs, but I’ve never had a hit song.” He laughed. He wasn’t asking for sympathy, just pointing out the ridiculousness of the situation. He works in an industry where success is judged by number of hit song. Joe Bonamassa has never had a hit, yet his concerts are selling out all over the country. He’s doing what he loves for a living. I call that sucess.

He’s the tortoise. The opposite of a firecracker.

I’m finally at an age where there are lots of people younger than me are doing crazy awesome things. I’m also at an age where success isn’t easily quantified. No more standardized tests & grades to tell me. It’s a weird feeling, but I just keep reminding myself of the tortoise. Alan Rickman had his first real acting break well into his 40’s. Joseph Conrad didn’t speak a lick of english until he was 21. Wassily Kandinsky gave up teaching & applied to an art school at the age of 30. He didn’t even get accepted.

So fellow tortoises, just remember:

(Source: Demetri Martin)

Now onto the photos.

Curious about Joe Bonamassa’s work? Check out Sloe Gin on Youtube.

Jess & Tyler held their wedding at Whitestone Country Inn in Kingston, TN. Wow, what a GORGEOUS venue. It’s right on Watts Bar Lake too.

What an amazing day. After the ceremony was over and we were exploring the property for Jess & Tyler’s portraits, I witnessed such a sweet moment. Jess asked Tyler, “What was the first thing you thought when you saw me coming out of the church?” He replied, “Oh my goodness, I hope I don’t cry.”

That’s the type of couple they are. Jess & Tyler glow around each other & I’m so so happy to have had the opportunity to document their wedding. I also really enjoyed spending the day with their families.

As the reception was winding down & I was packing up, Tyler asked everyone to give me a round of applause. Me? What? Why? I’ll be honest, I teared up a bit. I freaking love my job & my clients. Thank you Tyler & Jess.

Venue: Whitestone Inn
Coordinator: Denise Lane at Whitestone
Cake: Brittany Harmon
Videography: Whitestone
Florist: Mellisa Timm at Whitestone
Makeup: Deb Dougan
Hair: Laura Floyd

Hi everyone!

Wow, a week went by super fast! Last Wednesday I started a weekly blog post where I’ll look back & talk about old photos. And BAM, it’s Wednesday & time for another post. I almost made an excuse & didn’t do it, but come on, that would just be pathetic. So I’m going to post despite my pile of work to be finished. That’s the point of a weekly column, right?

Last year, my parents adopted a crazy hyper hound dog. Let’s just say that Chester made it kind of difficult to have a calm, relaxed Thanksgiving in 2010 :P

I’ll post a few of those shots from last year & then a few from this year’s Thanksgiving. Enjoy Chester’s craziness :D

Now for Thanksgiving 2011. Still crazy, but he’s bringing it down a notch.