Easter 2021 – “Step Outside”
“March is such a fickle month. It is the seam between winter and spring — though seam suggests an even hem, and March is more like a rough line of stiches sewn by an unsteady hand, swinging wildly between January gusts and June greens. You don’t know what you’ll find until you step outside.” – V. E. Schwab
This is a season of hope, even with its unevenness, even with that “rough line” Schwab evokes. Easter 2020 was not only uneven, it was fraught with questions and fear, confusion and pauses. This year, I am ready to push forward toward the light. Anyone else? Show of hands, please? I did not just want to push beyond the pandemic (which we’re clearly not quite done with), but I wanted to focus on the spring light and, as a believer, the light of the Resurrection.
Finley is old enough to dye eggs now. Ask him and he’d tell you that he’s ready to drive a truck at age 3, but that’s another story. With the encouragement of my dear sweet mother-in-law and mom, this year, we decided to go for it. Yes, it was going to be all crafty. Yes, I was going to be inviting “A Mess” to come inside my home, but you gotta let light in, right, even in the form of a toddler/boy covered in art supply residue. For me, it was simply time to create Easter traditions and hold our heads up toward the sun, in hope. And that’s what we did.
If you think that these images are the result of careful planning, great spirits, can-do attitudes and perfect behavior, you’re only partially correct. We did plan and we were hoping for perfect results, but that can only take you so far. We had some hiccups – the subject is my child afterall – but I’m so happy we took the time to be creative, to allow him to play a bit and for us to all be outdoors together. Everything doesn’t have to be perfect, folks. The eggs turned out to be lovely (and FUN! and MESSY!) and Finley now has a bar by which to set his expectations. We have begun our Easter story as a family. It may change in the years to come, but Finley has the beginnings of another annual tradition and for that I am grateful.
And I am oh-so grateful for what nature gives. As we prepare for worship on Sunday, I do feel lighter. The yard is in bloom and we are able to see God’s handiwork, to smell the smells of spring, to cut blooms to bring indoors and enjoy, and to add our own decorations to what nature has presented.
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.
Welcome, Spring
“If ever there were a spring day so perfect,
so uplifted by a warm intermittent breeze
that it made you want to throw
open all the windows in the house
and unlatch the door to the canary’s cage,
indeed, rip the little door from its jamb,
a day when the cool brick paths
and the garden bursting with peonies
seemed so etched in sunlight
that you felt like taking
a hammer to the glass paperweight
on the living room end table,
releasing the inhabitants
from their snow-covered cottage
so they could walk out,
holding hands and squinting
into this larger dome of blue and white,
well, today is just that kind of day.”
Poet Billy Collins nails it and SPRING is finally here. While we don’t feel like we’ve emerged completely from the woods, the dense, dark and intense forest we’ve all been walking the last year, our family is welcoming the first breezes, bees buzzing, birds chirping and flowers blooming. Let’s keep our heads up, folks. Welcome, Spring!
Spring Orchard Portraits
Don’t believe in fairytales? I highly recommend a portrait session at our favorite orchard. Ryan and I have been exclusive photographers in this amazing spot for more than a decade and just being there will change your mood.
It’s time for scheduling spring portraits at the orchards (generally mid-March to early April but it FLIES BY) and I can smell spring from here. Easter portraits, updated children’s portraits, family sessions, engagements, senior photos, celebrating friendships, all of these are legitimate reasons to book one of our orchard sessions.
Props? Sure. With your best friends? Absolutely. These sessions are perfect for families, but they are really just perfect for anyone. Planning on getting engaged or maybe you didn’t get portraits during lock-down 2020? Let us photograph some images for you … of any kind.
Families LOVE these orchards. They are so dressed up, you don’t have to put on a show yourself.
If you’re itching to get outside where it’s safe to shoot photos, or just because it’s time to celebrate spring with new portraits of your family, now is the time to contact us if you want to get on our schedule. We will be keeping a close watch on the blooms. Can’t wait to see!
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.
Peach Orchard Photo Season
March is here and that means that soon the orchards near us will be in full bloom from the middle of this month for a few weeks after. I will be watching the weather and scheduling photo shoots beginning today, so this is your Heads UP to be in touch.
Need inspiration to grab your calendar? No problem.
Babies, growing families, maternity announcements and even marriage proposals, all of these have taken place in these lovely orchards. Frankly, it is a singular spot and heavenly when in bloom. I don’t think we’ve ever had a bad day there.
If you’re itching to get outside where it’s safe to shoot photos, or just because it’s time to celebrate spring with new portraits of your family, contact us and we’ll get you on our list.
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 LicenseAll photos are ©2020 Pixels On Paper. Do not copy, crop, or remove watermark.
David’s High School Senior Portrait Photos
David Eldridge (and his lifelong friend and sidekick Bryson) let Ryan hang out with them AND grab David’s senior portraits. David is one of five boys in a family that is generous, rugged, and anchored by their superhero mom – Stacy. In the land of men, she is not just the elder, but the Queen and I’ve admired her for years.
Back to David!! He and Bryson are all man, all about the outdoors and all about farm life and being real. Having Bryson around loosened David up, made him less self-conscious and the pair cracked each other up and were able to relax. (Ryan too had a ball.) In fact, Ryan and I commented that in some of these photos the pair reminded him of a country music duo shooting an album cover… think Tyler Childers or Chris Stapleton. There’s no cynicism with these two, just friendship and a sense that simplicity in all things is best.
There was no second choice for this location of this session – it was going to be outside and on the family farm. Senior portraits are an important milestone and we’ve captured older brother Gage’s portraits a couple of years ago.
We’ve shot images of this family for a decade. The most recent took place with members of both the Eldridge and Wood families, but we started years ago, when the boys really were just that – boys.
Congratulations, David and the class of 2021! We are so proud of you!
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 LicenseAll photos are ©2020 Pixels On Paper. Do not copy, crop, or remove watermark.