Posts Tagged: NC Outdoor photographers

Thanksgiving Blessings to All

Sometimes we need a reminder of the “why” behind Thanksgiving and I’m pointing a finger at myself here too. I dug into my files, category “Uplift Me, Please!” and thought I’d share a few with you as we approach the big day of food and revelry.

There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle.

Albert Einstein
Sawyer Sherill Newborn Photography by Pixels On Paper Portrait Photography photo

In the end, though, maybe we must all give up trying to pay back the people in this world who sustain our lives. In the end, maybe it’s wiser to surrender before the miraculous scope of human generosity and to just keep saying thank you, forever and sincerely, for as long as we have voices.

Elizabeth Gilbert
Pixels On Paper Photographers Howards Family Farm Fall Pumpkin Patch Photo

To speak gratitude is courteous and pleasant, to enact gratitude is generous and noble, but to live gratitude is to touch Heaven.

Johannes A. Gaertner

We should certainly count our blessings, but we should also make our blessings count.

Neal A. Maxwell
Graybeal family outdoor fall portrait NC mountains photo

Not what we say about our blessings, but how we use them, is the true measure of our Thanksgiving.

W.T. Purkiser

As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them.

John F. Kennedy

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.

Astrid turns One

This little maiden is Astrid and she’s currently a perfectly delightful little one year old. I can personally attest to this. We captured her parents, Macy and Jesse, for the maternity shoot and they were so excited, so beautiful, and my time with them showed me, especially during the height of Covid, how much hope was still in the world. I love it when my job reminds me of that.

We photographed Astrid’s newborn session in the studio, met up with the three of them for the 6 month session in the same location as their maternity photos and finally again for her one year session in our outdoor portrait garden. I love the lighting and the setting we chose. Babies in the outdoors just please me.

As with Astrid’s six month photo session, I pulled Mom and Dad away for a couple of shots just of them. It’s important to see yourselves as a couple too and not just parents. I’m so excited to see this little nugget grow into the girl she’s going to be.


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.

Vermeal Family photos

This lovely – and big – family contacted us prior to planning a vacation and birthday celebration for the matriarch Liz. Three generations gathered in Boomer, NC, at a gorgeous rented mountain home. Boomer is a perfect halfway point (pretty much) for this clan that is scattered up North in NY/NJ and all over the South.

Funnily enough, the Reid family from NJ rented this house around this same time last year for a large reunion and we captured those images as well. It’s a beautiful spot with amazing views, most of the time! The Vermeal’s kindly placed Pixels’ contact info in the guest book for others who might want portraits taken. They are a thoughtful bunch!

To that point, we think turn-about is fair play, so we were happy to play concierge and help Liz and her daughter Jessica. The family secretly planned a surprise celebration. We suggested caterers, florists and other services in area in addition to helping them coordinate color schemes for the photos that would look good in this setting.

Even though it was a foggy morning the day of the shoot, everyone looked wonderful, and there was a lot of laughter and levity. We know that not all families or individuals love to have their photos taken, but Ryan makes it so relaxed and fun. He created groups, and clusters of the family members, since there were multiple generations. The grandchildren range in age from 6 months to 16 years and Liz wanted to make sure she had a photo of just them.

I love the way these images turned out and know that the families are keen to have these as keepsakes. The icing was this wonderful note we received from Liz afterwards: “Ryan, thank you so much for all your patience and humor dealing with our family during the photo shoot. We thoroughly enjoyed the process and the photos look great. We are so lucky to have found you both!”

We loved being found, Liz! Thank you for letting us be a part of your special birthday gathering!


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.

Need a hug?

Anyone? If you’re in need of a little boost today, I’ve put one together for us all: some images of our clients showing adoration and affection for each other and for life. It’s not a chimp eating strawberries, but we do have some babies smooching. Chin up! It’s still summer. Let’s be present for each other. Let’s give hugs to those who need one. What do you say?

Triplett Family Six Month Baby outdoor peach orchard portrait photo
Matthews family outdoor fall portrait Pixels On Paper Wilkesboro NC photographers photo

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.

An Ode to Setting

We photograph people mostly – family portraits, maternity and newborn, baby and children’s photography, big milestones and day in the life images, and of course some commercial photography. For us, the setting means showcasing the subject, but we are particularly blessed with gorgeous settings for our portrait sessions. I’m amazed when I look back through the years and see how many beautiful places we’ve dragged our clients – LOL. But seriously.

Want to see a few favorites?

Triplett family Lenoir NC outdoor maternity portrait photo

Mountain vistas, panoramas, waterfalls, dappled forests, ….. we somehow manage to photograph in the most magical spots.


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.