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Expecting Baby Tibbett – Maternity Photos
Lovely redhead Brooke Tibbett is expecting her first baby. There’s something about new life and spring in an orchard that reminds me that the world keeps spinning, flowers will bloom and new members to the world are being added all the time. In our little corner, we celebrated Brooke.
Ryan and I photographed Brooke and Joey’s engagement portraits at Moses Cone Manor in Blowing Rock, and later their beautiful wedding at the Gambill Estate. We loved getting to know them. We haven’t seen these two since their wedding day. Brooke chose the most gorgeous dress for the setting and the shoot. She looked like one of the blooms.
Brooke’s husband Joey, and the father-to-be, was hovering on this shoot with us. The peach orchards were exploding with blooms and he wanted his wife to be the star. Even with Joey hanging out in the background, you could feel the excitement of these two. Did I mention that it was awesome seeing these two again?
I cannot wait to meet the new Tibbett, and to watch this family grow. Congratulations Brooke and Joey! It won’t be long now.
We love family portraits whether they are set in the studio, the great outdoors, a specific location like the mountains or high country, or on our property in our outdoor portrait garden. Pixels on Paper photographs newborns and families, special events and portraits of all kinds in our Wilkesboro, NC studio. We would be honored to meet with you, learn about you and your family and be a part of taking special portraits that will become, we hope, family heirlooms.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 United States License All photos are ©2021 Pixels On Paper. Do not copy, crop, or remove watermark.
Holbrook Family – Spring portrait photos
This outdoor portrait session at the peach orchards was an absolute treat. Mom Rebecca and I have been in the same women’s Bible study for years. Eldest daughter Maycee and Finley are just a month apart, and I have fond memories of those two rolling on the floor as our group unpacked scripture together and supported each other through all the joys and trials of early motherhood.
When discussing getting together for these portraits, Rebecca mentioned that the family had not had a portrait taken of all of them since son Preston was around a year old. Time flies, to say the least and they are now a family of five. Their third and youngest child Everley was born during the pandemic, so this was our first chance to spend time with her as well.
You’ve never met parents more fun or chill than Rebecca and Brian, and with the warm weather and perfect scenery, we struck out to remedy the “no family portraits” situation. I loved every single second of it. I adore this bunch and was thrilled to spend time with them, camera in hand and heart open.
It was a beautiful day with this beautiful family and while the trees will lose their blooms, this family is a reminder that, with portraits, the memories will last.
We love family portraits whether they are set in the studio, the great outdoors, a specific location like the mountains or high country, or on our property in our outdoor portrait garden. Pixels on Paper photographs newborns and families, special events and portraits of all kinds in our Wilkesboro, NC studio. We would be honored to meet with you, learn about you and your family and be a part of taking special portraits that will become, we hope, family heirlooms.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 United States License All photos are ©2021 Pixels On Paper. Do not copy, crop, or remove watermark.
Dreaming
When I am feeling tired, and I have been lately, I think about the newborns I’ve photographed. They are not lying underneath a hefty burden of 21st century cares yet. They aren’t worried about making ends meet, people pleasing, child rearing, personal growth or daily discipline. They don’t even know how to speak or count. They lay their perfect little heads down to sleep and, I hope, dream the loveliest little butterflies of dreams. I am not world-worry when I see their faces, but renewed. I look at each one and pray for safe-keeping and love throughout their lives. Here are a mere few favorites.
“No day is so bad it can’t be fixed with a nap.” — Carrie Snow
“My mother told me to follow my dreams, so I took a nap.” — Unknown
“I love to sleep. Do you? Isn’t it great? It really is the best of both worlds. You get to be alive and unconscious.” — Rita Rudner
“In dreams, we enter a world that’s entirely our own.” – Steven Kloves
“When we are asleep in this world, we are awake in another.” –Salvador Dali
“A dream is a wish your heart makes, when you’re fast asleep.” – Walt Disney
We love family portraits whether they are set in the studio, the great outdoors, a specific location like the mountains or high country, or on our property in our outdoor portrait garden. Pixels on Paper photographs newborns and families, special events and portraits of all kinds in our Wilkesboro, NC studio. We would be honored to meet with you, learn about you and your family and be a part of taking special portraits that will become, we hope, family heirlooms.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 United States License All photos are ©2021 Pixels On Paper. Do not copy, crop, or remove watermark.
Giving Trees
I suspect when Shel Silverstein wrote The Giving Tree, he felt about trees the way I do, the way I always have. His was a story of a little boy so loved by a tree that it provided for him from childhood through old age. I am a 40-something little girl who is living her version of this story. For me, trees are friends. I’ve been mesmerized by them my whole life, love how their stories are told along side ours. I love to plant them, climb them, smell them and rest underneath them. When Ryan and I bought this house 13 years ago, the trees were as big a selling point as the house for me. I could see stories in and around all of them. They have become like family and over the last few years, we’ve lost some members.
This property was blessed with ash trees, not a tree usually found in this area. We knew many of them were old and some were dying, but as we worked on the house, even before moving in, we had favorites. We also had limbs falling around us. I can still hear that cracking sound and mobilize like a ninja to get out of the way. So after damage to our roof, our kitchen and because of general safety, we brought in an arborist to help us make decisions.
In January of 2020, we had three trees removed and I cried. I did. I knew they wouldn’t live forever, but having them go on my tenure in this house was upsetting. We’d made memories with them and they were markers of both difficult and beautiful times in our family’s life. In January of 2021, we had two more cut down. This time, we lined up someone to salvage the lumber to be milled for us. Six ginormous logs were taken to the sawmill, while we made a list of wants from the reclaimed wood.
Both of our families have history with lumber. Ryan’s grandfather bought lumber for furniture makers. Like him, Ryan has become skilled not just with carpentry, but design as well. My dad and granddad worked in logging and my great-grandfather established one of the first hydraulic sawmill businesses in the area. My first job was working in the equipment office as a teen. I’m so accustomed to the sound of planers and saws and the smell of wood. My favorite type of lumber (for those of you who want to buy me a birthday present) is walnut and I am always looking for character grade walnut for projects. When it was time to redo the hardwoods upstairs in our house (the previous update was during the 1920s), instead of oak like the downstairs, we chose walnut that was filled with character.
Our giving trees have truly given. From the salvaged wood, we’re making live edge tables from the 9′ slabs and several round live edge tables and mantles for Finley that he can one day place in a house of his own. Ryan hopes to create a desk and bedroom furniture for Finley as well, so he can remember that the trees he played on, in and around are now in his room. Heirlooms.
Finley was involved in the whole process and I explained my sadness and tears as trees fell and were hauled off. But he also got to go to the sawmill to see the next steps and he’s in on our plans for the wood, now resting and air drying for the next year. Their story is not yet over and that makes me so happy. New trees are already being planted with Finley and his shovel digging the holes by our sides. Maple, red buds, cherry, river birch, and sassafras trees all have a new home on our property. Fellow tree-huggers: enjoy this season. Hike among them, sit under them, climb them, eat their fruit and if you are able to use the wood once the tree has fallen, I hope you will.
We love family portraits whether they are set in the studio, the great outdoors, a specific location like the mountains or high country, or on our property in our outdoor portrait garden. Pixels on Paper photographs newborns and families, special events and portraits of all kinds in our Wilkesboro, NC studio. We would be honored to meet with you, learn about you and your family and be a part of taking special portraits that will become, we hope, family heirlooms.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 United States License All photos are ©2021 Pixels On Paper. Do not copy, crop, or remove watermark.
What we’re doing – lifestyle photography
We love Day in the Life portrait sessions and when we are asked to do them, we cannot wait to show the clients what we captured. The natural light, the “true” facial expressions that family members make vs. posed and calcified smiles, and the sense of relaxation, all of these shine through. Throughout the year, we take pictures of our own lives so that we can create memories and gifts. Our own families are given a book for Christmas every year. A few weekends ago I decided to do a little day in the life for us as we handled yard work and play. I thought black and white was ideal for these and am so happy that I suspended what I was doing to capture these moments.
Finley has become deft in the yard, as many of you have noted. He has his own smaller versions of his dad’s tools and loves to help. Ryan will explain the project and goal and this kid digs in! He’s also pretty handy in the kitchen, asking to help us or hanging out and coloring, reading, drawing and making up stories.
With the house and exterior taken care of and some new seeds planted, he was free to race around trying to outrun his shadow. He never succeeded. I love being behind the camera capturing moments instead of providing direction, as I might at a client session.
Interested in a documentary lifestyle photography session this spring or summer? Maybe your family is going to tackle a project outside, play in a local park, or meet other family members outside for a picnic, we’d love to be the documentarians.
Happy Spring, everyone!
We love family portraits whether they are set in the studio, the great outdoors, a specific location like the mountains or high country, or on our property in our outdoor portrait garden. Pixels on Paper photographs, engagements and weddings, brides, and special events and portraits of all kinds in our Wilkesboro, NC studio. We would be honored to meet with you, learn about you and your family and be a part of taking special portraits that will become, we hope, family heirlooms.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 United States License All photos are ©2021 Pixels On Paper. Do not copy, crop, or remove watermark.