Oh what a crazy year this has been! But an excellent one indeed.
This month in particular is hectic (and wonderful). Some of you might not know that I’ve been a doctoral candidate in Art Education with specializations in Arts Administration and Art Museum Education. At the end of the month I’m defending my dissertation research. I’m tremendously excited and ask that you send positive thoughts, prayers, and well wishes my way!
Right now, I’m traveling in Oregon and Washington. I’m visiting friend & fellow photographer Dorothy (hi, Dorothy!) and I present at the Association of Arts Administration Educators conference next week. Dorothy has been taking me all over the 2 states.
First we went climbing over river rocks in Washington.
Thanks for taking this shot of me, Dorothy!
Can you see where the two rivers become one right here?
Does anyone know the name of this little white flower? They dotted the riverside.
The next day we went to Astoria, Oregon. You might have heard of this town if you’re into the movie The Goonies. There’s a very old shipwreck on the beach at Fort Stevens. We stayed until after sunset for stargazing. The sky is so very clear here! We photographed constellations and planets too!
We also traveled to see Panther Creek Falls. Stunning! A 500 foot walk down a trail to see a beautiful 130 foot waterfall. An all around lovely way to spend the afternoon.
Look at this face! A quick cell phone selfie because I was using my camera to take the next shots!
Quick quiz for my photo students, why does the water look so milky?
Once I’m back from Portland I will drive up to Atlanta to present at the Association of Academic Museums & Galleries conference and then attend the American Alliance of Museums conference. A very busy but wonderful month. Then it’s right back down to Tallahassee to defend my dissertation. Hooray!
And if you’re in the Vancouver, Washington/Portland, Oregon area and in need of a photographer, check our my friend Dorothy at DISPhoto!
Life works in crazy ways. I’ve known Ben for ages through my best friend (and his big brother) Will. And I feel like I’ve heard truly wonderful things about this mystery lady Donna for ages too. She wasn’t really a mystery, I just hadn’t met her yet. They’re going to have a lovely wedding in Savannah soon and I couldn’t wait to spend some time with these love birds. We headed down to Maclay Gardens for some late afternoon sun and were oh-so-thankful that the breeze and shade from the trees made it feel 15+ degrees cooler than the rest of Tallahassee.
See the lovely quilt below? Ben’s grandmother handmade that quilt for his parents to celebrate their marriage. So very sweet that they wanted to incorporate this detail and family heirloom into their portraits!
Can’t wait to see you two in Savannah! Be on the lookout for a sneak peek of their wedding photos this summer!
After many many edits, I’m very excited to reveal my new baby, the Ansley Studio 2015 Wedding Guide.
The inside features my photography as well as slews of information on me and answers to frequently asked questions. Want to know how I got started in photography? It’s in there! Want to know my wedding photography approach and what do expect on your wedding day? Flip through this booklet. Have questions about my wedding collections? I’ve got you covered!
Click here to download the 2015 Wedding Guide & Pricing pdf. Want to read a physical copy? They’ll be available in two weeks!
A special shout out to all my friends who helped with this project including Jen, Laura, James, Emily, Jim, Audrey, and Clint. Thanks for letting me use your peepers and editing skills!
Violet & Ceilia are just a few weeks old. And they’re the sweetest string beans I’ve met in quite some time! First up is Violet – she is calm, reserved, and very content to snuggle.
Meet Ceilia! She loves to stretch out and take up as much room as she possibly can. I suspect she was the one doing kicks while she was inside her mama. Not that mama minded.
These two are pros when it comes to sleeping. And snuggling.
Even though it’s fall, it was still warm enough outside for some portraits of the whole family.
It’s extra special when the grandparents can lend a helping hand. Can you believe these are grandbabies 6 & 7 for them?
Little babies means little hands and little feet. Teeny tiny!
Their mama is a printmaker and the running joke with her friends is that these girls are her edition of 2! It’s awfully sweet I think. We were able to take a family portrait in her studio that her husband built. These girls have some amazing (and amazingly talented) parents to look up to as they grow!
I think the girls like to cozy up with mom and dad best of all.
This is my favorite. With a name like Violet I figured mom might just like the color purple. Maybe a little. I was thrilled when I saw this beautiful quilt she made, with another one in the works.
It was absolutely lovely getting to spend time with this wonderful family! Plus, I got to snuggle these wee lasses and walked away with double the baby smell. And that would put a smile on anyone’s face.
Boy howdy, folks, have I been busy lately! Between the end of the semester, defending my prospectus, and then traveling up North? Phew, I’m exhausted!
Before I left for Rhode Island, a conference at Yale, and then a quick visit to NYC, I photographed TJ & Ashley’s beautiful wedding.
And right when I got back, there was Jessica & Jeff’s stunning and sweet beach wedding.
Keep your eyes peeled for both of those weddings coming up over the next month.
Lately I’ve been doing some headshots. On the left we have Deb who wanted an updated headshot for her international job search. On the right we have Alea who needed a headshot for her SGA presidency at Bainbridge State College.
Next up is Nikki. Once upon this past fall, she was one of my photography students (and her son just finished my photo class this spring too). Things changed drastically this spring when her husband passed unexpectedly. It was especially difficult as she also worked to finish the semester. There were days and weeks when she had her doubts (though I never did), but she succeeded and graduated from Florida State University this May! I am tremendously proud of my friend’s accomplishments and her resilience! In one of these photos you’ll see her holding a framed image of her and her husband – it was important to her to have him by her side for this event since he had supported her through her education and over half her life.
Last up for today we have Jana! She just turned 22 and had a Kate Spade themed birthday dinner (lucky gal!). We couldn’t resist taking a fun portrait and headshot of the lass to celebrate the event!
So forgive me for being tremendously busy, my dear friends. I hope these photos make up for it a little. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to hop back to the dissertation process and work on putting together my summer art appreciation courses. 😀