Timothy Mahon and Katie Speights are not typical and we adore them for it. Their love for each other casts shade over what others would consider “the grand scheme” and it’s hard to be more grand than Asheville’s Biltmore House…. at least in North Carolina. It’s still our country’s largest privately owned home, but more importantly to our story, it’s where both Timothy and Katie met while working at the Inn on the Estate. You’ll notice that neither the house itself nor the iconic set pieces that everyone recognizes are in any of these photos. What is? Timothy and Katie… and their sweetheart of a dog, Saluda. If you know where Saluda is (hint: a little spot just outside of Asheville where you can rent a kayak and grab some barbecue), you know this pair loves the mountains.
We cannot begin to explain how much we loved hanging out with these two. We knew immediately they were a perfect fit for our style as were we to theirs. When we met them at the entrance gate and had a quick discussion about their preferred backdrops for the day, Tim began by saying “what do you think of bamboo?” Their photos were less about traditional portraits and more about the entire scene, … nature, textures, and their interactions in all of it.
“We’d been dating for a year and a half and decided we wanted to do something different, something new. Since we had to keep our relationship on the ‘down low’ because we worked together, we both were excited to sell all of our things, pack up the car and dog and drive out west. We didn’t know exactly where we were going, but the fact that we were doing it together made it an adventure. We’ve known since then that we wanted to do things like that for the rest of our lives with each other!”
Their body English demonstrated how extremely cool they are, in love they are and happy to be taking this next step. Ryan and I spent hours with them afterwards, chatting, having brunch and cracking up. We love this pair!
“Our commitment to each other is grounded in living life to the fullest and enjoying every moment of it.”
Their wedding will be brilliant and these two deserve nothing but that fullness and happiness they’re planning.
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 babies and kids, 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.
These guys use only the good notes.
If it’s your cup of tea (or whiskey) to go to a live local show, then you need to see the Grievous Angels Band. We ADORE them and were honored to photograph a performance of theirs. They’ve got some fab photos from fans and friends, but wanted a few more for promotional use and we threw our equipment in the car and sped their way. Do you like American music, vocals that range from gravelly to crazy smooth, guitars, guitars, guitars with texture, folk, rock and a confluence of talent, grace, mischief, energy and a pure force that brings you back to earth? These guys are for you, … and when we say guys, we mean guys (precisely 5) and one gal – Alicia – nicknamed “the Pistol.” Any woman who can elbow her way into that mix is a mighty thing and Alicia is mighty.The photos for this session were taken in February of this year at Summit Coffee in Davidson where they perform regularly. As with all truly good live music, the vibe was raw and fun and we loved focusing on each band member. The Grievous Angels, by the way, are Joe Ciarlante, Tim Farney, Richard McDevitt, Reid Cathcart, Jim Gamble and Alicia Akima R Driver.
Pixels loves photographing musicians, as you know, and would love to do so for your band, group, ensemble, trio or musical tribe. We’re looking forward to Merlefest in a mere 4 weeks.
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 babies and kids, 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.
…. and we. can’t. wait. Wanna go? Get your tickets! April 28 – May 1 of this year. But you can also get a sense of the fun, the musicians, the tunes and the scene from us. Below is a quick look back at the gallery of shots we captured from Merlefest 2015, including the Avett Brothers, Sam Bush, The Honeydew Drops, Front Country, Trampled by Turtles, and the venue.
The line-up for Merlefest this year looks amazing. Join us or maybe we’ll capture you in one of our shots. If you are a music festival host and in need of photographers for the event, contact us.
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 babies and kids, 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.
Do you ever look at a photo and think about the zillion captions that could be written? There are contests out there and most are about funny photos or cartoons, but this shot below evokes so many thoughts.
What would her groom write? “Hurry to me!!”
Or her father? “There goes my girl….”
What would her big sister say? “Wait up!” or “I miss her already.”
Or her great-great grandmother if she could see this photo? “How romantic.”But she’s off and this image of Elizabeth (Eli) Rickard walking down the steps has become one of my favorite bridal portraits to date. It’s another image that I conceived once I saw this stairway in the Green Park Inn. I described my thoughts to Ryan and along with Eli’s sister Kari, we made my vision come true. I like it because it’s different from many other bridal portraits we’ve taken. For me it portrays movement, anticipation, and represents the marriage journey that Eli was embarking on. It’s always deeply rewarding to try something creative when you have a bride so deeply ensconced and in love with her favorite things – in this case, books, fantasy, romance and Kyle.
Elizabeth is a classic romantic, a dreamer, a lover of fantasy, has a super hero spirit and a smile that’s as big as her heart. She just married her beloved Kyle Bishop on March 5th (portraits and blog to come), but these bridals were taken indoors due to rainy and cold January weather. Elizabeth loves to read (this will be this week’s understatement), so the historic Green Park Inn’s library made a perfect setting. To note: Eli’s favorite book is Black Beauty and the horse portrait fit brilliantly. Her sister Kari used pages from Black Beauty to create Elizabeth’s bouquet.
Books were incorporated throughout the wedding details (and we STRONGLY encourage you to check out their engagement photos to fill in more of the story).
I always encourage brides to include friends and family in the portrait session and day. It’s fun to witness the relationships, and time with each other on these days is often the most time they’ll get since the wedding day itself can be whirlwind. For Eli, this session included her mother, sister and niece, all of whom came in from out of town. It was a girl’s day to play dress up and they were, to the person, emotional and giddy throughout the portrait session.
Our caption for this photo above would be “She’s ready.” We promise when the wedding photos have been processed and we can share bouquets of books and the stories that made their day the fairytale that it was – you’ll be the second to see them.
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 babies and kids, 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.
Environmentalist and philosopher, John Muir once said, “the mountains are calling and I must go.” WELLLLLLLLL gang, the orchards are blooming and we are booking sessions for Thursday March 31, Friday April 1st and Saturday April 2nd. Sessions and the peak orchard bloom times are fleeting and limited. These photos are not only great as Easter portraits or for proms, bridals and engagments, they make wonderful gifts for Mother’s Day or to hang in your home. Click here to RESERVE TODAY and please make sure that you select your preferred date and session time.
COUPLE OF QUICK NOTES:
+ These sessions will last one hour.
+ We will provide you with unlimited images photographed.
+ Your pre-paid $135 fee reserves your session and is NOT refundable.
+ No digital files or prints are included in this session. All finished images will be available for viewing during your PreView Order session. You can purchase prints or digital files of your choice. Prints start at $12.
+ All orchard sessions are in Wilkes County.
+ For additional details email Misty at mail@pixelsonpaper.net or call 336-990-0080
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 babies and kids, 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.