Jessica and Justin

Earlier this week, I drove over the to UNC campus to photograph Jessica and Justin's engagement portraits.  We had a great day, and we got some great shots of the two of them.  Of course, it's not difficult to make this couple look good.  Here are a few of my favorite images from the day.

The Big 3-0

Last weekend, my parents came out to North Carolina to celebrate my birthday with my husband and me.  We drove to Beaufort, where we ate at one of my favorite restaurants, The Spouter Inn.  We spent the next day traveling up the Outer Banks, where we stopped to see a few of the lighthouses.  Since we were on vacation, we only brought our little point-and-shoot camera, but I think it did a great job. Here we are with my parents in Cape Hatteras.  

We spent the following few days in Kitty Hawk, where we did nothing but eat seafood and relax.  We stayed at the loveliest bed and breakfast, the Cypress Moon Inn, which is located on the sound side, and offers peace and quiet all day long.  Greg and Linda are the owners, and we really enjoyed getting to know them during our stay. 

On our last day on the Outer Banks, I fulfilled one of my life-long dreams of hang gliding.  A little biplane pulled myself and my knowledgeable instructor, Johnny, a mile into the air before releasing us into the wind.  Here we are getting strapped into the glider.

And here's the plane that took us up.  

My husband was nice enough to take a few photos from the ground while I was in the air.

There was also a camera attached to the wing of the glider, so that I could have a few pics by which to remember my adventure.  Here we are a mile above the ground, and I'm steering!  Johnny told me I did an excellent job.    

One last photo before Johnny lands us safely on the ground.  

It was the perfect birthday, spent with the people who mean the most to me.  Thank you to my mom, dad, and husband for making my birthday so wonderful!

More of Malorie's Photos

I had so much fun photographing Malorie, and she's such an amazing model, that I just had to post more photos from our session together.  Here are three more of my favorites.  

The CW Channel's Newest Star

Over the weekend, I had the opportunity to photograph the CW channel's newest addition, Malorie Holloway. She is gorgeous, both inside and out, and they are lucky to have her. Here are a few of my favorites.  More to be posted tomorrow.  Congratulations on the new job, Malorie!

Little Heartbreaker

Last April, I went to Oregon to visit my sister and brother-in-law, and to meet my new niece, Amelia Wren.  I may be slightly biased, but that little girl is THE sweetest baby who ever existed.  Now, those of you who know me well know that I am not a baby person.  But she broke my heart every time she sighed, which is often, because she's an incredibly vocal four-month old.   Here she is with my beautiful sister, Stacey.   

What a sweet little face!

Every night, I would sit on the couch while little Amelia Wren slept on my chest.  It was my favorite part of the day.  I've never felt so content in all of my life as I did during those evenings.  What a wonderful gift.  My mom took this picture of the two of us.

One last shot of the gorgeous Oregon coastline before returning to North Carolina. 

Arts on Sunday

This Sunday, I went to downtown Winston Salem to see the arts fair.  There was live music, and even belly dancers, to entertain the crowd.  The band was Aura3, and they can be found at www.Aura3.net.  They are a female acoustic trio, and they were fantastic.  The belly dancers were from Three Graces Entertainment, and can be found at www.ThreeGracesEntertainment.com. Thank you ladies, for allowing me to photograph your amazing performances.

Free Ice Cream!

Today was Ben and Jerry's annual free ice cream cone day, which benefits Habitat for Humanity.  Of course, I went to Friendly Center with a friend to try one of their new flavors.  We weren't the only ones with this idea.  In fact, there were bands and at least two children's groups there to entertain the hundreds of people who came out today.   It was a beautiful day and everyone seemed to be having a wonderful time.

This is one of the children's groups, the Jazzy Jumpers.  They jumped rope to music, and performed quite a few tricks for the audience.  We were all very impressed with how talented they were.

A Relaxing Evening at Home

My husband and I love a good campfire, especially when we have a good bottle of wine with which to enjoy it.  In fact, when we first bought our house, we bought a patio set with a fire pit in the middle of the table so that we could sit in front of the fire together whenever we liked.  We took advantage of the break in the rain over the weekend to sit outside and savor a quiet night at home.  

Jayhawks are national champions!

For those of you who don't know this about me, I am a Jayhawk.  That's right, I went to the University of Kansas, where basketball is a religion.  And last night, for the first time in twenty years, we won the national championship.  I was watching the game downtown with a group of friends, and that last three-pointer that put us into overtime was a beautiful sight.  I'm sure Lawrence was an amazing place to be last night, and I'm sorry I missed it.  But not to worry, we celebrated as best we could here in Greensboro, North Carolina.

I'd just like to say to Jayhawks everywhere, ROCK CHALK JAYHAWK, KU!

Blue Ridge Hiking

A friend of mine and I went hiking along the Blue Ridge Parkway yesterday to get some fresh air and have a little fun with our cameras.  Here are a few of my favorite shots from the day.

And one final shot of the sun beginning to set as we started home.