Posts in Category: Personal
Best of Summer … Part 1
They say context is everything, and it’s certainly important, but I’m feeling like a random summer playlist in photos is overdue. No order. No context. No BIG message to convey, besides, “ain’t summer grand?” The same way you hit random with your songs, here goes with some favorite summer shots.
What images make you think of summer? Share yours with us on Facebook or share and tag us on Instagram.
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.
Barn Building in Ferguson
I love so many things about my family and some days, when making mental lists and observations, I can get a good cry going just with gratitude. But I don’t have time for tears these days. We are building a barn, and that leads me to the thing I love about my family right now: none of us is afraid of hard work.
A few months ago, we all put in a hard three days getting a start on this pole barn on my parents’ property. They breed and raise Charolais cattle and after building a new fence around this space on their acreage, it was time to put in a barn for storing vehicles and hay for the cattle. We worked another 3 long days recently to complete the next stages and it was a family affair. We shared some photos of our initial ground breaking work in a previous post here.
Finley J. Farm
This bit of the property is named after their grandchild – our son – Finley. Crazily enough it was almost exactly this time last year that we built the fence. My parents, plus my brother in-law Stephen, Ryan, Finley and I, have all thrown our weight into this project, just as we did with the fence. WHY we cannot find a cooler time to do this work should be the subject of a blog! We have been sweating, you guys, but it’s worth it. Not only is this an important project for the farm, but the memories we’ve been making are priceless.
My job was to learn to use – and then fully operate – the telehandler. Not only did I do it, with the help of my favorite sidekick, I got pretty good. Finley was having an absolute ball and was so proud of his mama. I too had a blast helping us move things along. The place is named after him, after all and he’ll always know that we each did our part to see it come to life.
Because there are so many moving parts and there is an order of operations to building a barn that will last, it took every hand we had. My father spent time up a ladder; my mom and I had Ryan and Stephen lifted up for the high work. We just moved through each step and saw progress.
Mini Down Time
I say, “mini” because we took only a few breaks, being weekend warriors and all. And mini, of course because of Finley. Watching him interact with farm life gives ME new life. I love seeing the world – and remembering things I’d forgotten – through his eyes.
This little McGoo is living his best life; I don’t care what he’s saying down at the barber shop. Stay tuned! More to come on this project.
A Mid-Summer Dream
It’s not so much a dream, as several waking dreams fulfilled now that we are back out in the world and able to see friends and family. We are cautious, but roaming about the cabin if you will. I thought it high time to share some notes from my personal journal with you all. Isn’t that what strengthens community? A sense of sharing?
I’ll start with a couple of birthday photos (mine! I’m happily still 32) and then images from my niece’s wedding. She was married in Asheville and we were the photographers and our son, Finley was the ring or ringlet bearer.
Finley enjoyed another year of swim lessons and we three, itching to get out, had some fun local adventures. It was just so good to be silly outside and less stressed than this time last year.
We took a vacation break and went to Wilmington. It was Finley’s first beach trip and the weather was perfect. Great sunsets and wonderful time with family. You forget how much you love the salty air and feel of sand (everywhere!!) until you’re back there. We are true lovers of both the mountains and the sea. And now, so is our kid.
We also had a ball visiting Savannah as a family. Putt putt RULES, and is Finley-Approved.
Back at our beloved home base, we have occupations that I never think of as chores. One of those is gardening. Squash with their gorgeous blossoms, garlic, herbs and beans all end up picked, washed and in my kitchen. I love the air and the mindfulness of gardening and we love eating what we grow. I hope my son feels this too. Right now, the play time and horticulture Q&A between he and I is plenty.
We’ve also been busy with building a pole barn on the family farm. This is decidedly NOT gardening and zen like. This requires measuring, focus and moving under your own steam even when you’re tired. It feels good to see progress and know that we also had time together working toward a common goal.
It’s only mid-July, you guys. We’re hip-deep in summer, and I love it. I’m reminded that a summer day has the same number of seconds as a day in late November. The question is – how am I to use each second?
Right now, I’m feeling lightening bugs. I’m going to go outside and look at the lightening bugs. How bout ya’ll?
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.