Posts Tagged: wilkesboro
Family portraits ~ 3 generations sustaining each other
When the late poet (and part-time North Carolinian) Maya Angelou said, “I sustain myself with the love of family,” she was speaking for pretty much all of us. There are exceptions of course, but even when you run away like another NC native, Asheville author Thomas Wolfe, you find that your dreams are always tied to home and family. How do we pull together? How do we sustain ourselves? The Johnsons are an example of what that pulling together looks like. They are tied together and holding on to each other through welcoming new lives and encountering new struggles.
Mary Jane Johnson, seated in the center and surrounded by her family.
Recently, we photographed Kristen Andrew’s newborn son Jaxon with his big brother Luke. They were delicious. New brothers. New besties. Then Kristen contacted me with news that her Mom Mary Jane’s cancer had changed. Despite the early radiation treatment in the Spring of this year, Mary Jane was going to need chemotherapy in less than a week.
Their family had literally just grown by two with Jaxon’s birth in July and Kristen’s sister Lindsay’s son arriving soon after. Mary Jane’s chemo would begin on the 28th and I got the call on Thursday the week before giving me the update. We all know that chemo and hair loss are wedded, but I promised Kristen that I’d find a way to get the entire family photographed on the Monday before chemo began.
“Families are the compass that guides us. They are the inspiration to reach great heights, and our comfort when we occasionally falter.” – Brad Henry
Monday arrived and it was pouring rain. Our plans for an outdoor session fell through, but with no time to spare I arranged the indoor studio with a backdrop that would suit what I knew about this fun-loving, country-inspired family of 10 and we made Mary Jane’s wish for family photos come true. She couldn’t have been more in her element surrounded by her husband Steve, daughters Kristen and Lindsey, and their husbands and their sons.
Chemo has been brutal and Mary Jane has already spent days in the hospital recovering from her first cycle of treatment. When the family returned to the studio last week to view all the photos, they were thrilled to have captured these memories. I hope that these images give Mary Jane a renewed energy and strength before she goes into treatment #2. Nothing will make you fight harder than love and she loves her family first.
“The family – that dear octopus from whose tentacles we never quite escape, nor, in our inmost hearts, ever quite wish to.” – Dodie Smith
The Johnsons are strong in their faith and prayer is going to be a big part of them holding together as they move forward. As we love them and pray for them, we hope that ALL of our clients know how completely loved they are. Chemo is tough. It throws everything and the kitchen sink at cancer. We throw everything we’ve got toward making our clients happy. If Ryan and I can be there for you and help you create a memory of a moment, we’ll do it.
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.
Baby, baby, baby photos | Full Year of Portraits
Someone once said that “the days are long, but the years are short” and it’s true. It’s usually repeated by those of us over 40 who still feel 24, but I won’t go there. This blog is about babies. Big, round, gushy, adorable, cooing, cuddly, pooping, burbling bundles of life and hope. Some parents want to document way more than babies first newborn portrait and we love that we offer a way to do this.
But first… here’s Holden. Soak up that deliciousness. I mean seriously – WHAT ON EARTH is he dreaming about to be making a face that awesome?
Little Holden is no longer the teeny-weenie newborn or the 6 month old above, and we know because we photographed him several times as part of the Brand New Baby Collection, a package we offer to families who want to capture the first year of their child’s life and then some. We feel like we not only get to know the family even better, but are able to see and record even minuscule changes in each baby’s growth.
Below are a couple of goodies from Holden’s 1st birthday portraits and cake smash photo session.
The Brand New Baby Collection is something we love to do for parents, because it allows us to start with maternity (if Mama wants those shots) and takes us through the first year of the child’s life: newborn portraits (within the first 10 days of your babies life), 6 months, 1 year/birthday photos and with discounts on cards and a variety of package options including digital files, prints, image selections, etc.
Little Miss Harper Huffman… “I’m ready for my close up Mr. DeMille!”
Harper Huffman, 6 months
Harper, Carson and Ivy are 3 more kiddies whose parents chose from this package and watching them transform was so much fun.
Carson Mathis, One Year and rocking the bow tie.
Carson’s Cake Smash
Harper Huffman’s baby announcement
Harper Huffman and her proud parents
Harper Huffman, 6 months
Ivy Myers, Newborn
Ivy at 6 months
Ivy Myers, 1 year
Contact us with questions about Brand New Baby packages or consider giving this package as a gift to expecting mothers and fathers. We photograph at our studio in Wilkesboro, where we have an outdoor portrait garden and lots of props and set ups or at a location that’s meaningful to 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, 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.
Family Photos from the Porch | Welcome to the Community
The intersection of the Barnes family with the story of another young boy, Drake, who is battling cystic fibrosis can only happen when there is community. Ryan and I care very much about ours and we put our money where are mouths are as often as possible. For the 3rd consecutive year, we’ve donated a family portrait session to a silent auction for Drake, more specifically the Drives for Drake Charity. In 2014, the VanMeter family were the recipients and we shot photos of 3 generations on their horse farm. The Barnes were the winners from last fall’s auction and we took their photos in May of this year. Their young sons, coincidentally, are around the same age as Drake.
Trisa and Brandon, along with their sons Tristan and Tucker, just recently moved to Wilkesboro so both the area and their home were new to them. Trisa told us that her most memorable family portraits were taken on or around the family front porch over the years and their lovely new home had a perfect front porch where we could continue the tradition. The flag colored bunting helps, but between the house, the landscape and the boys’ scrubbed faces, it made for a fairly Rockwellian type of Americana. If you close your eyes, you can almost hear July 4th fireworks.
We wrapped up the session with a view of the sunset on the putting green at Oakwoods Country Club where “Drives Fore Drake” takes place, bringing the day and that sense of community full circle. While the Barneses are still new to Wilkes, we hope that inaugurating this chapter with photos, especially ones earned through charity, will make this place feel more like home for them. Welcome, you guys! We hope to see you around and take photos of your family as the boys grow and you all become more a part of the community.
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.
Portrait of a Young Woman | Quinceanera
In 2015, young actor Lily James lived many girls’ dream by playing Cinderella and donning a gorgeous blue dress and glass slippers. On September 17th, Vanessa celebrated her own enchanted evening surrounded by friends and family: her Quinceanera, or coming of age. We’ll share photos from the event in a blog to come, but for now, let’s just revel in how absolutely lovely she is.
Youth, the promise of the years stretched out ahead of her and that dress all came together that day.
We adore this girl and loved spending time romping around in the fields with her. It gave us an opportunity to explore the juxtaposition of the gauzy fabric with the setting’s natural elements. 
This shoot was a true departure from her Quinceanera announcement photo session, where she seems more of her time in urban settings and street clothes. These images capture a moment in a Vanessa’s life, but they are also timeless.
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.
Ashley & Oscar engagement photos | 2 backgrounds, 1 God
There were years (in the many hundreds) when people married young. Maybe your parents, grandparents or great-grandparents did. No one thought anything about it and I’m not prepared to give a history lesson about why it worked or didn’t. Young brides and grooms, older brides and grooms…. we ALWAYS cheer for a strong marriage that lasts until Al Roker is talking about it on the Today Show.
These 2 below, Violet and Floyd, were married for 67 years. They were married young, were 21 and 22 in this photo, and in 2015, they passed away holding hands with their hospice beds pushed together. 67 years and together right until the last moment.
Who knows why some young marriages work and last, producing thriving families, smartypants kids, and reels and reels of memories? But they do. When we hear, “but they’re SO YOUNG,” as we have in our tenure as wedding photographers, we think, “but what if what they have is the big “IT?” We believe Ashley & Oscar have it. They are young, yes, but they have the depth, gravitas, self-awareness and sense of longevity – and they displayed it during our photo session.
They have “it” and IT is a shared belief in Christ and each other.
Ashley and Oscar met when her church took a trip to Mexico. When Oscar returned to school in the states, they started spending more time together and realized their similar dreams and feelings. Ryan and I have known them for a while. Oscar and Ashley’s brother Daniel were models for us during a prom shoot a few years ago. The Caudill’s have supported Pixels On Paper Photography and we’ve always appreciated their love and care for us. Now we get to return the favor as documentarians and friends.
I’ve never been around a couple, even twice their age, who were more grounded in faith, family and tradition. Ashley will finish the last of both her high school and college courses in December and then they will be married in NC. A honeymoon in Mexico is planned and Ashley will finally be able to meet all of Oscar’s family. We’re excited about the stories to come of how these families will blend into one and write their own new story with Him at the center. We couldn’t be more hopeful or proud or happy for them.
We love family portraits whether they are set in the studio, the great outdoors, a specific location like the mountains or NC 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 as well as the surrounding areas. 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. Contact us to schedule your portrait or wedding photography.