Photo Friday: Eat

It is such a gorgeous Friday right now. If you haven't been outside yet, I suggest you go now. Go on, I'll wait. **twiddles thumbs** **checks Pinterest** See?! Nice, isn't it. If only it were sticking around for the weekend. It would have been a great chance to finally go for a picnic. Oh well...North Carolina weather is a fickle thing.

The Photo Friday challenge word for this week was "Eat" and I have the perfect photo. You see, a couple of weeks ago we celebrated our dogs 6th birthday (Rhea and Gunnar's in January and Masi's in February) by baking them a birthday "cake". Which was really just a loaf made from carrots, flower, egg and peanut butter. The look on their faces when they realized the loafs were for them was priceless. Gunnar picked every tiny carrot piece out before gobbling the whole thing. Masi tried to eat hers in one gulp but before she did, I managed to snap this photo:

Maybe she thought the camera wanted to eat her birthday loaf and that's why she gulped it soon after this photo. 

Yes, we spoil our dogs. I'm OK with that. They work for what they get. They keep the neighborhood murder of crows in line and I swear, one of these days Masi will catch a squirrel  and we'll have squirrel stew.   

I hope you all get out of work early today and enjoy your Friday before the rain and cold(er) air gets here. Thanks for reading!

Liz DiNatale
www.oakcityphotographync.com

Photo Friday: Husband and Asheville: 5D style

Ha! I never thought that getting married would help me with a blog post. I knew I did it for a reason!! 

Welcome back to Photo Friday! Where I attempt to remember to post a photo by the contest deadline and forget to just about every week. Today is no exception. Now, if I had been on my toes and remembered to post a photo in time, this is the one I would have submitted. 

Now, this might not seem to be a very flattering photo of my beloved but it does illustrate one of the reasons I love him: He's a goof. Which expertly compliments the fact that I'm a goof. This was taken on a bitterly cold day in Asheville as we were on our way to a park for some doggy exercise. We didn't last long; the wind was hallowing and pelting us with snow/ice. 

Another reason I love this photo is...it was taken with my new toy! My new (to me) Canon 5D. Oooooh I'm in love (with the camera...and my husband...of course). I never knew what I was missing with my cropped frame Rebel camera. Don't get me wrong, it was a powerful camera and exactly the right camera to have when starting out. It would have been ridiculous to drop the money for a full frame at that point. I'll always cherish my little Rebel. Not only because it got me started in this fantastic hobby/profession but it was also one of the awesomest gifts Steven ever gave me...besides my engagement ring. 

But back to ooing and aahing. 

I must have looked like a tourist as we walked our dogs around my new favorite Asheville neighborhood (Sunset Mountain is amazing). I was snapping pictures of just about everything just to see what I could do! For instance:

I've never seen tiny pine cones look so cute. I could never get this DOF with my Rebel. Le-swoon. For the most part I did restrain myself from taking photos of every house we saw. They were all amazing but I didn't want to end up with a bunch of photos of random houses that, once back in Cary and on my computer, would have 0 meaning. I couldn't' resist this though:

I have no idea who the Edwinn family is but their house was cool and their little concrete sign on their little rock wall was cooler. Oh that's the other thing, this neighborhood was covered in English Ivy. It's like they all got together and decided to plant one plant and it's gone wild since then! What really wowed me about this neighborhood were the views! This mountain is perfectly positioned to the north east of Asheville. The neighborhood is built on the west slope of the mountain and most of the houses face west. Therefore, the houses have a pristine view of downtown Asheville with the mountain range framing it in the background. So you're within walking distance of downtown yet far enough way to get a gorgeous mountain view and to feel secluded. Yes, please. 

I am looking forward to spending another week in Asheville in March. I'll be attending the 2nd level of Dave Rosgen's Stream Restoration classes. Thanks, SEPI Engineering & Construction! 

In the mean time, I'm going to go play with my camera! Hope you all have a great Friday and thanks for reading!!

Liz DiNatale
www.oakcityphotographync.com

Anne and Allan in Raleigh

Two weeks ago Chrissy and I had the pleasure of witnessing and capturing the momentous occasion of Anne and Allan becoming the Paul's. These guys have been together since high school, meeting over a shared interest of swimming, and have grown up together to be two awesome people. Since we've been working with them I've really enjoyed getting to know Anne. She's the most organized, easy going a and thoughtful bride I've had the pleasure of working with. Then on the other side, Allan is the funnest, most quippy (is that a word?), easy going groom I've worked with! I really couldn't ask for a better pair. To top it all off... the guys were wearing KILTS! Epic. 

And they were all so fun about it. Sometime into the reception I dragged them all outside to get some funny groomsmen-only photos in the street. Everything was going well and then the wind started blowing. I've never seen the expressions on the faces of 5 men change so drastically so quickly. 

Anne and Allan were serenaded by bagpipes as they made their way to the pulpit at their church. Anne's dress was absolutely beautiful and everyone looked so nice. Even the bagpiper brought his fancy pipes. 

Oh also, Anne had some killer red heels peeking out from her chapel train dress.

It was a lovely ceremony that I enjoyed from my vantage point at the rear of the sanctuary. 

After the ceremony we all headed straight to 230 Stockroom in downtown Raleigh, NC. Anne and Allan shared a sweet first dance. 

  

Followed by a game where everyone who was married went to the dance floor and years of marriage were called out (as in "everyone who's been married less than 10 years, sit down"). I've seen those games before and usually the dance floor clears out after about 10 years. But in this case, there were several couples going strong well into the 40 year cut! Apparently this family has staying power. 

I'm so glad to have met Anne and Allan. I think I might have to keep them. 

Thank you to the newly wedded Paul's for letting us capture your incredibly evening! 

Such a cute couple. 

As always, thanks for reading!

Liz DiNatale

www.oakcityphotographync.com

3 Generations of Butlers

About a year ago Chrissy and I had the pleasure of taking Adam and Marianne's maternity photography before they welcomed Baby B. You might remember this photo:

Well, Baby B (now Max) has been giggling his way into all our hearts for months now and thought it would be a great idea to get his parents and his grandparents together for a 3 generation photo shoot. We all agreed, how can you not agree with a baby, and took a stroll around the Court of the Carolina's on NC State campus. 

Adam and Marianne have become great parents and I think Karla and Dick are naturals at the grandparents gig. 

Max is surrounded by a lot of love. 

And he gives it right back. 

Sometimes with a head to the face...as happened shortly after this photo.

"Wasn't me, I've been sitting here, minding my own business, playing with Grandma's necklace the whole time..."

Wow look at those eyes. 

He's such a cutie-pie. He has such a great disposition too. All giggles almost the entire time. Though he did take his camera time seriously. Maybe he'll be an actor...

"I'm ready for my close up" 

Makes my heart all warm and melty. 

We had a great time walking around the Court of the Carolina's with the Butlers. Thank you for allowing us the opportunity to capture your family's warmth and love! 

Before I end this I'd like to share the "after" photo of the first photo in this entry. During this photo shoot I noticed that Adam and Marianne were wearing the same exact shoes that they had been wearing during their maternity session! Unfortunately, Max has long grown out of his itty bitty shoes. But anywho, it's still cute.

Thanks for reading! We're racking up the family portrait sessions so stay tuned for more smiles and giggles and general merriment. 

Have a great weekend! 

-Liz DiNatale
www.oakcityphotographync.com

We took a stroll with Sara and Joe

Last week, at the wee hours of Sunday morning (you know, 9am), while there was still a nip in the air we met our newest clients, Sara and Joe.

Sara found us through one of our previous clients (thanks, Toya!) and asked us to follow her and her fiance around Raleigh for what we like to call an urban photoshoot. These guys were champs because while it was still cold in the morning and Chrissy and I were bundled up, they were in thin sweaters, no gloves and no hat, smiling away at our cameras. Bravo. They don't look cold to me...

Or maybe the cold was making them giddy?

Or I had just cracked a joke. We have tendency of making our clients laugh during photoshoots. 

In any case, they were so friggin good together. I almost melted on several occasions. 

For this photoshoot we started at the industrial area near The Pit in downtown Raleigh. You would be amazed what you find just around the corner. First, this awesomely decrepit brick wall which worked wonders for a gorgeous ring/rough surrounding juxtaposition. 

*High five*, Joe. Nicely done. 

Then around the corner from the brick wall were the perfect set of railroad tracks. Minus the black residue that ended up on our rumps. Whoops. Again, they were good sports. I really love the light and body language in this photo. It's almost as if they're walking along the tracks towards the sun when it randomly strikes them to lean in for a smooch. 

After a wardrobe change, we rounded the corner and headed towards the Performing Arts Center. They have a line of trees that are lovely autumn shades right now. We couldn't get great light in one direction but we did happen to notice that the building created the perfect reflection!

We have several more photos from this area and I love every single one of them. The building, the trees, the adorable couple...swoon.

This next photo was a bit tricky. We had perfect lighting. Not a cloud in the sky. That's usually wonderful. But to get water to stream through a photo, you need to lengthen the time your camera takes to gather enough light to expose the image. Such a beautiful day with perfect lighting makes for incredibly over exposed pictures when trying to do this. But I think we rose to the occasion... Also, gratuitous capital building photo. Haha I had to keep yelling at them (they couldn't hear us over the fountain) to "keep kissing". Eventually we had to tell them to stop...

Chrissy and I had such a great time getting to know Sara and Joe. They are such great people, with great laughs, great smiles, great eyes and beautiful relationship. They're going to be very happy.

One last photo before I go. Around the corner from The Pit are gorgeous red doors that I've been stalking for a while now. They were a must. This photo makes my heart go pitter patter. Love the emotion.

Thank you Sara and Joe for letting us capture your love for each other! You two make excellent photo subjects and we hope to work with you again!

Thanks for reading! Hope you enjoyed it. 

-Liz DiNatale

www.oakcityphotographync.com

Li & Henry at Lake Johnson

What a beautiful weekend we've had. 

It has been the perfect weekend for a bike ride, the perfect weekend for a picnic, the perfect weekend for a bonfire and the perfect weekend for a fall wedding. 

My weekend was made very special when I was fortunate enough to photograph Li and Henry's nuptials at Lake Johnson in Raleigh. I only met Li and Henry shortly before their wedding but I knew immediately that they would have a lovely, heartfelt ceremony. Their love is built on so many years of experience with each other; I knew that there would be an exorbitant amount of emotion in the air. 

It was so lovely to see how everyone, friends and family, got together to make their day joyous and special. And special it was...from the fall colored garland, to the basket of apples to the mishap of the unbroken glass (gotta stomp extra hard on red wine glasses, apparently)...everything was uniquely them and perfect because of that. 

Enough of my yammering, on with the teaser photos. 

A special moment between father and daughter only moments before Li became a wife. 

After the ceremony, we took a romp through the woods. Li has such an amazing laugh and an amazing smile when she's laughing. But most of all, I love the look of complete adoration I captured on Henry's face. 

Together finally, as husband and wife. I have no doubt in my mind that they will live happily ever after. 

I'd wish them luck...but I don't think they'll need it. 

Congratulations Li and Henry. Thank you for letting me be a part of your day! I wish you a long and fun life with lots of laughs. 

Thanks for reading!

-Liz DiNatale
www.oakcityphotographync.com

Photo Friday: Animal

Rawr...

That's my impression of this Photo Friday challenge word. 

Good Friday morning to everyone! It's going to be a gorgeous day and even if it isn't...it's still Friday...YAY! For this challenge I had to dig deep in my collections to find a photo of some animal that isn't a canine, feline or lizard. 

What seems like forever ago, Chrissy and I attended a sheep dog training weekend with our pups. It was a cold February (it even started snowing) but it was a lot of fun to see Border Collie's doing what they were bred to do. Chase bit fluffy things. These things...

I can't remember what kind of sheep they were called. But they were cute. I mean look at em. Big, fluffy, smelly things. The training day was hosted by the lady who owned these sheep and was held by a well known herding instructor, Mr. Knox.

I wish I had participated. It looked like so much fun. They started the new dogs off in a pen with the sheep. Mostly to get them used to the animals and used to still listening when faced with them. Then the more experienced dogs got to herd the sheep in the open field (which is where this picture was taken). All the spectators (Chrissy, myself, our 5 dogs and a couple other people) watched as several dogs drove the sheep back and forth and back and forth. It looked to me like they were supposed to be doing that but apparently they were just having fun and not listening to their handlers. haha. Doggy shenanigans. Eventually it was the owner of the sheep's turn and she brought out her herding pup. Within a couple minutes he had these sheep rounded up and in their pen. It was pretty amazing.

I wonder if Rhea, Gunnar and Masi could do that? Maybe someday I'll give them a shot at it. It's got to be Border Collie nirvana. 

In other news, almost a week until Li and Henry's wedding on Lake Johnson! It's going to be a gorgeous intimate ceremony. I'm very much looking forward to capturing their special day for them! 

The leaves are starting to change...that means it's time for family portraits! Take advantage of our inexpensive family sessions. 1 hour with full print rights to at least 50 images for only $75! Pick you favorite location and give us a call today! 

Everyone have a great weekend and thanks for reading!

-Liz DiNatale
www.oakcityphotographync.com