Patricia & Jon's Love Story

Once again I've had the pleasure of photographing the wedding of one of the kids that I taught in the preschool department at Sheridan Hills Baptist Church. I can hardly believe the maturity these students have achieved in years that seem like yesterday to me. My sense of pride in them is overwhelming and my expectations for their future is wrapped up in one emotional high.

I've known Jonathan Simu and his family for many years and was delighted when they phoned me and asked if I would be their wedding photographer. So, I flew into Florida and we hit the beach for a quick session one day before the wedding. As soon as I saw Patricia for the first time I knew the three of us were going to have a great time taking pictures. Without a doubt the two of them could hit the modeling scene and make a career out of it.

Although Patricia was favoring shooting the entire session on the beach, I couldn't resist capturing images of them in the parking lot and on the boardwalk. Because of Patricia's animated personality I was so ready to get started. You will see that some of those photographs are among my favorites. I want to extend my congratulations to Patricia and Jon and tell them what an exciting moment in their lives these images will represent. I'll see you for round two at the wedding.
Enjoy!

Willie

[Double-click images to enlarge for better viewing]

Whenever I start a session and get these kinds of
images within a few seconds, I know it's gonna be a good day.

Model material if I ever saw it.

Patricia's idea of jumping into Jon's arms (he didn't drop her).

Nice rock there, Jon!

Patricia is a natural in front of the camera.

Oh, yeah! Jon was pumped for this shot.

To view a slideshow of this session click on this link: Show

Location: Hollywood Beach
Camera: Canon 30D w/17-55mm IS lens
Post-production: Adobe Lightroom & Adobe CS3
Slideshow: Producer 4
Doug Box softbox

42nd Wedding Anniversary

This is a special blog for me because it's about my 42nd Anniversary which we celebrated on the 18th of July. Gosh, the time seems to be flying by for me and Eddie Mae as we dive deeper into our golden years. (I don't know why they're called golden years 'cause my hair is getting grayer by the day!) Anyway, we decided to drive down to Savannah and spend a few days there since we've heard so much about it.

To make a long story short, I had a great time. The hotel was nice, staying up til 3am in the morning watching movies was neat, touring the Savannah Historic District by trolley for 3 hours was perfect, climbing to the top of Tybee Light Station was (well, exhausting!!!), and filling my belly with crab and shrimp deliciously topped off our 4 day adventure. I can't wait until our 43rd anniversary. Maybe we'll go skydiving or something...I don't think so.

Now the fun part about this trip is that my youngest daughter Christy sternly instructed me to take lots of pictures with Eddie Mae's brand new point-and-shoot camera (which I tried). Honestly, I have no skills at pointing a camera at myself and snapping the shutter, especially with a camera so small that I nearly dropped it every time I picked it up. So, the pictures below are my first attempt at being a tourist with a non-professional camera.

Enjoy!
Willie

[Double-click images to enlarge viewing]

Okay, Eddie Mae, smile.

Meet Ashley who booked our trolley tour.
Fun, crazy lady with a great personality.

I caught Eddie Mae chummy up to this
physically challenged dude, and...

...so I gave him one to the chops.

Ashley & Eddie Mae escorting this annoying guy outside.
River Street.
The Savannah River.
The street florist who made Eddie Mae's bouquet.

Eddie Mae with her anniversary bouquet.
Another attempt at taking my own portrait.

Thanks to a generous tourist we got a better picture.

A Purple Heart monument on River Street.

Eddie Mae was caught off guard with my self-portrait technique.

Tybee Island Light Station.

178 steps to the top of the lighthouse was a calorie burner

and those little windows provided instant CPR.

View from the top of the lighthouse.

Inside the Fresnel lens of Tybee Light Station.

Light Keeper? Nope. Just another happy soul who made it to
the top of the lighthouse without passing out. Meet Amanda.

I miss eating seafood in Florida at the Rustic Inn, so this

seafood anniversary meal was HIGH on the list of things to do.

[Click this link to see a slideshow of Tybee Island Light Station]

or go to: Tybeelighthouse