Posts Tagged: NC Outdoor photographers
a bridal portrait session in the greens of mother nature
Truly, we live with mysteries too marvelous
to be understood.
How grass can be nourishing in the
mouths of the lambs.
How rivers and stones are forever
in allegiance with gravity
while we ourselves dream of rising.
How two hands touch and the bonds will
never be broken….*
Bride-to-be, Kendall Shephard, reminds of us a swan a little bit. Dressed in white, gorgeous but not overdone, long, lean, elegant. She stands out, but just so, in all that green. Her fiancé, now husband Nathan Williams, works for the North Carolina Wildlife Commission and the couple spend an enviably high percentage of their time outdoors hiking, playing and exploring. We chose the Blue Ridge Parkway near Blowing Rock, NC for her bridal portrait session and it made perfect sense. She was happy and completely in her element, even in a wedding gown.
Kendall shined, surrounded by shades of summer green, rippling water, moss, stone, rocks and branches. She was this perfect column of light. A classic beauty in the middle of natural beauty.
These portraits were taken in June of this year and the couple were married in August. She was just as, if not more, beautiful on that day with Nathan by her side and surrounded by her nearest and dearest, so stay tuned for the blog about the Shepherd-Williams wedding. But this day was Kendall’s and she could not have been more clear and pure and alive wandering in the woods and musing with us about her upcoming wedding.
*Let me keep my distance, always, from those
who think they have the answers.
Let me keep company always with those who say
“Look!” and laugh in astonishment,
and bow their heads.
– Mary Oliver, nature poet
piccard fall family portraits – goodbye summer, helloooooooo autumn
Some of us mourn when it starts creeping toward us.
“Wait, what? We just got settled in and then it was the 4th of July and now you’re telling me to change out my closet and garage?!?!” “I barely used that new floaty, those new grill tongs, that umbrella for the deck, that swimsuit and visor I got for Christmas!” “We were going to go to the beach twice!” “We were going to cook out more with the neighbors.”
Others of us crave it … we anticipate it, rubbing our hands together like we’re practicing for that first bonfire.
But like it or not, summer is rounding the corner y’all; it’s time for Autumn – capital A Autumn. Since we’re making yet another trip around the sun, and summer will return, let’s focus on the good of this coming season – the gorgeous leaves, brisk mornings, fire wood, scarves, heated car seats, football, soups and stews and snuggling with those we love.
And seriously – NO ONE wants to snuggle someone in a sweaty tank top. And if you do, no judgement, but we don’t want to hear about it.
The Piccards were ALL about the snuggling in October of 2014 when we met up and photographed them along the Blue Ridge Parkway. It started raining when we arrived, but the delay gave us time to grab lunch and bond and when the weather cleared, we were able to grab shots of this family of 4 with wet leaves beneath them and mountain fog surrounding them.
We’ve got spirit, yes we do, and boots and blue nails, HOW ‘BOUT YOU?
We’ve know mom, Brandii McCoy for many years, since we’ve worked with many Charlotte, NC sports teams and Brandii is the dance and cheer coach for the Charlotte Checkers, the former NBA Bobcats, and now the Charlotte Hornets. She’s used to being in front of the camera, so we knew we’d get great shots of her and her lovely family looking pulled together. We also wanted photos of them just being themselves, relaxed and silly and goofing. During conversations, we learned that Brandii and her husband had never had formal portraits of themselves taken, so this session and our lunch with them made for a lot of fun for all of us.
The girls, Karsen and Adler, knew how to work it, by the way. Check out the crossed legs and ankles, the subtle head tilting and, of course, there was the unscripted cuteness. 
We look forward to many Autumn shoots in 2015 and now is the time to book your fall portrait session. Pixels has openings, but they fill up quickly, especially the weekends. We’ll want to capture the best pics of you (and yours) during the height of the season. Call us at 704.641.1131 or 336.990.0080 and let’s make a plan!!
conner tevepaugh – a summer peach turns 6 months and works the orchard with zeal
SUMMER, SUMMER, SUMMER, SUMMER!
While it’s almost officially the end of summer (like it or love it), we took Conner Tevepaugh’s 6 month portraits in July of this year at his family’s orchard. [For those who follow this blog closely, and we hope you all are!!], Conner’s newborn pictures were captured at our outdoor studio in Wilkesboro, NC. This time, since it was in the height of the picking season, we went to them at Tevepaugh Orchards. All of the Tevepaugh kids and grandkids have been photographed as babies and toddlers in those wooden gathering crates along with apples or peaches and their photos hang in the family’s orchard house. The basin Conner’s in just below was one used by his great-grandmother to hold fruit that were being peeled for canning or cooking. Family members vividly remember her using it frequently. Pretty sure she would love to know that her family is still using this heirloom in photos of the next generation. Connor certainly cutes it up!
On the left: possible peach thief. On the right: busted for stealing. “It’s ok…. I’ll just sit here and look cute.”
As with all newborn to 6 month, or 6 month to 1 year sessions with babies, the change in them is subtle but still recognizable. Connor, our little “backdraft baby” was tucked into his father’s fireman’s helmet and gear as a newborn (and in a basket of apples just below). This time around, he was hitched to his grand-dad, Armit.
Because this session took place in their orchard, Armit was keen to participate and had lots of ideas and props and energy. Everything was perfectly ripe and sweet (the color of those peaches was not enhanced, by the way, and the smell of ripe fruit was heavenly). Conner was game to be placed in baskets and all over the orchard.
That July harvest time kept everyone in the family busy working day after day on a multitude of tasks and while Connor isn’t walking, much less “pulling his weight” just yet – he was interested in sampling the goods and being a part of the mix. Just as the photos of the kids in the Tevepauch orchard house are treasures for their parents and grandparents, these photos will be priceless for Connor and his family someday. And he can show the basin and the crates, maybe even walk the land with his own kids and talk about how fun it was to be a kid among all of that beauty and deliciousness.
“I just want to go on record to say that this finger is not nearly as tasty as that peach I was slurping on earlier.”
Brushy Mountain Dental ~ home, family, molars….
We found the most amazing house and put in an offer. Then we remembered that we already have an amazing house. Then we remembered that these are clients of ours who’ve we photographed for years. Check out Brushy Mountain Dental in Wilkesboro, NC.
Can you imagine working here? Well we have for various shoots and it’s a fantastic location. Brushy Mountain Dental provides a service we all take for granted (and need and may be putting off – – just saying) in one of the coolest offices we’ve ever seen. They’ve built a business with people they trust for people they care about – their clients – and they’ve been at it for nearly 15 years.
Pixels started photographing their office and staff several years ago and created a gallery for their website, social media and office.
Dr. Christopher Roberts and Timberli Roberts
All dressed in white. Like your teeth should be…….! Learn more about the commercial and graphic design work from Pixels.
man’s man & his sweet lady hit the Little Sugar Creek Greenway in Charlotte ~ Sharae & David’s engagement portraits
“You only need one man to love you. But him to love you free like a wildfire, crazy like the moon, always like tomorrow, sudden like an inhale and overcoming like the tides.
Only one man and all of this.” – C. Joybell C.
So when Sherae Jones met David Johnson, we feel confident that she didn’t require him to read the above quote printed out and then sign it in front of a notary. Well, we’re pretty sure … she is a rather organized woman. But we feel equally confident that if she’d asked him, he would have. The guy clearly loves this girl.
Here’s how we know: Sherae booked Pixels well over a year before their wedding to capture their engagement photos. We told you she was organized. David, who is a high school teacher and head football coach, had recently been to a friend’s wedding and found the aggressive wedding photographer to be ……….. a bit much. Suffice it to say, when it was time to meet us on a hot, humid day in June of 2014, he didn’t leap from the car (cue the symphonic romantic music) and run in slow-motion toward us with his arms thrown open. It meant a lot to Sherae though, so of course, he did what real men do – he showed up.
Some of our clients are incredibly effusive and physical. Sherae and David were more contained, but their love for each other was apparent.
By the end of the shoot, David was looking around the greenway location for other possible spots and making specific requests. Sherae was excited that David ended up having fun and being engaged in the process and WE were thrilled that they were happy with the results from the shoot. We grabbed some nice pics of them in the shade, where we would stop to cool off and confab about other locations. Working with Sherae, we used some of the photos to design their Save the Date bookmarks.
These two get married in June of 2015 and we wish them only love, and that it be free like a wildfire, crazy like the moon, always like tomorrow, sudden like an inhale and overcoming like the tides for many, many years.
