I met Charity the day of her portraiture session, and I’m pretty sure the first thing I said to her was “You are beautiful!” Not a “Hi” or “Hello, nice to meet you” but “You are beautiful.” Although it’s apparent that she is a gorgeous girl, could I have been any more awkward? Anyways….Charity is an intelligent young woman who is easy to talk to and has great depth to her being. My time with Charity felt like play. I zoned in on playing with light and how it would bathe the outline of her face. Charity knew how to portray herself in front of the camera, which made my job easy. She is graduating high school this year and I was blessed to document her during this important time of life.
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Lindsay. Dragon’s Tooth. & the Necessity of Nature.
This post is dedicated to Lindsay, my best friend, who lives in Roanoke Virginia. Lindsay is a loyal friend, she gives me life, challenges me, and in all of that reminds me of the truth of Jesus. This past weekend was her birthday, so I flew to VA and surprised her! Her husband, Jeremy, and I had been scheming this surprise for MONTHS. To make a long story short, I popped out of the word-work on Friday evening at the restaurant they had reservations to. Their server said she had a trainee (i.e. me) for the evening, so I brought out their waters and BAM it was me, not a trainee. The look on Lindsay’s face was priceless; I will never forget her jaw dropping then jumping up and clobbering me with the biggest hug. It was incredible. Lindsay and I have a history of partaking in outdoor adventures. Which let me just pause and say, Dang, I am so thankful for female friends who love the outdoors. Anyways, our outdoor excursion for the weekend was a few hikes and a “haunted” night zip-line at a Wilderness Adventure camp, which let me tell you was not very haunted.
Nature is a necessity for my soul. Like Lindsay’s friendship it makes me feel alive & gives me the gracious ability to see Jesus and feel Him more. Dragon’s tooth is a bit deceiving at first. The trail is labeled as “difficult” but the first quarter of the trail is fairly easy and allows you to admire the wooded splendor, but later becomes more of a rock climbing adventure than a leisurely hike. Lindsay laughed at me because not even a few feet on the trail and with the sound of cars from the main road I lifted my hands and excitedly said “This is beautiful!” I was taken aback by all the beauty I didn’t even notice the cars. Lindsay made a great point, although we were experiencing beauty, even with the noise of cars close by, I had no idea of the beauty that was soon to come. Doesn’t the Lord send us on that journey often? We slip into the shallow end of a good experience, then don’t go much further. We sit down and settle while God is saying “There is so much more. Keep going.” The weather was cool, quiet (away from the road), and we were a part of a vast and beautiful landscape. We were a part of something greater than us. And it was beautiful.
Film photos will come later, but for now you get Dragon’s Tooth via the point & shoot camera.
If you look closely you will find a bat. We may or may not have stepped on it. We heard hissing as we walked by and finally found this little guy, I assume, dying on the ground.
See? From this point it was a climbing trail, not a hiking trail.
And this, this is was you soak up for many moments. There was ice all over the trees atop the mountain. Truly, breathtaking.
More climbing to get to the top of the “tooth.”
Hello Virginia!
This will be Heaven.
Lindsay coming down from the very top of the rock. This picture does not convey the height/slenderness of the rock and the wind scraping our skin.
It’s a scotch blurry, but this is obviously Lindsay and yours truly.
Beauty from all angles.
Cold Colorado
120mm Film, Buena Vista Colorado
I am cold. My hands are freezing, typing. I would like to withdraw my hands into the holes of my fleece sleeves. I would rather be cold in Colorado.
Rachel
Meet Rachel. Rachel is awesome. I had not met her until the day of our session, which did not affect her confidence or vivacious spirit whatsoever. She kept saying “You have to tell me what to do, I don’t know what I should be doing.” Truth be told I did not have to tell her to do a thing; she is a complete natural in front of the camera and is incredibly photogenic. Rachel is currently a senior. I love taking portraits of young women because, most often, there is a combined twist of child-like nature meets womanhood. Yeah, that sounds a little cheesy, but it’s so true. This is why I believe senior portraiture is so important–to document the stage between adolescence and adulthood. Although senior portraits seem like a formality at times, it’s a very good trend to have someone document who you are and what you look like at that specific time in life. Documentation is important.
Rachel, you are: beautiful, kind, filled with fun energy, and I know you will start post-highschool life off well. Thank you for letting me document this moment of your life.
Kate + Nate
Meet Kate & Nate. These two are so kind and sweet. I met Kate through her older sister, Hannah, when I first moved to Kansas City. The things I remember most about Kate & Hannah is how funny and free they are. When I say free I mean how uninhibited and confident they are in their own skin. That sounds cliche and quite vague, but that’s simply how I see the Nusz sisters. And although I do not know Nate as well I can tell his spirit is as kind and fitting as Kate. These two are highschool sweethearts and are due for the covenant of marriage. Although I’m sure they feel ready to seal the deal they are waiting to get married until next summer when Nate’s dad gets back from his military obligations in the Middle East. Both Kate and Nate are in school at KU, so I went to Lawrence and we had a fun day at the Lawrence pumpkin patch and a little bit around campus. . . Thanks you two for a fun morning of pictures. You two are awesome.
Obelisk-Creatures
I am sitting under a sycamore tree: I am soft-shell and peeled to the least puff of wind or smack of grit. The present of our life looks different under trees. Trees have dominion. . . Trees do not accumulate life, bud deadwood, like a thickening coat of mail. Their odds actually improve as they age. Some trees, like giant sequoias, are, practically speaking, immortal, vulnerable only to another ice age. They are not even susceptible to fire. Sequoia wood barely burns, and the bark is “nearly as fireproof as asbestos. The top of one sequoia, struck by lightning a few years ago during a July thunderstorm, smoldered quietly, without apparently damaging the tree, until it was put out by a snowstorm in October.” Some trees sink taproots to rock; some spread wide mats of roots clutching at acres. They will not be blown. We run around under these obelisk-creatures, teetering on our soft, small feet. We are out on a jaunt, picnicking, fattening like puppies for our deaths. Shall I carve a name on this trunk? What if I fell in a forest: Would a tree hear?
-Pilgrim at Tinker Creek by Annie Dillard
35mm Film, St. Louis
Susannah + Skylar
I am always so honored to photograph weddings of people I know well. Around The Gathering Network, my church community, a lot of folks have been getting married, and having kids, and it’s the best to be the one to document such beautiful moments for my friends. Knowing Susannah & Skylar is a joy. They are two people who are serious about what the covenant of marriage means. I can probably speak for a lot of us in our church community and say, it’s exciting to see more of us create new families, which I believe makes a community more strong and robust for our desire make a difference in our city. I also love when wedding days reflect who people are opposed to reflecting what people think “should” be done at a wedding. It was no surprise to watch both Sus and Skylar be more anxious about being with one another than anything else. The details of the day simply did not matter. There is a question often brought up by my dear friend Tom, who married Greg and I, and that is “What does love require of you?” Once you are married the question of compatibility is out the window, but what love requires of you is not. I know Sus and Skylar will be a couple committed to that question for the purpose of serving one another well and ultimately for the glory of God.
Thanks you two for asking G & I to document your day! We love you. . . Also, friends and family who would like to watch the full slideshow of their day go HERE.
A little stress relief.
Greg’s photos of the guys.
One of Susannah’s brothers is in the military fighting in the Middle East. Since he unfortunately could not come back for the wedding he watched the entire day via Skype. He was even Skyped in later at the reception to watch all the dancing.
Greg’s Photo. Greg told me that while in this little dark chamber before Susannah came down the aisle her dad counted slowly 40 seconds. The song she walked down to was Bittersweet Symphony and the perfect crescendo in the song was 40 seconds in. It’s little moments like that I wish we had audio.
I’ve never seen this many people watch the cake cutting.
Meet Allison
Aside from being my brother-in-law’s girlfriend (which is awesome in itself) Allison encompasses many things. She is faithful, steadfast, beautiful, funny, appreciates art, is a fashion guru, and much more.
It is hard to reflect in a portrait the characteristics that define who a person is. Although art & fashion certainly tell a story about Allison, they do not define her. If I could tell you the deeper story of Allison it would convey her steadfast faith. That is, at least, what I see most in her. There have been many times in conversation with her I find myself highly encouraged by the life she lives. I am amazed by how she loves people, particularly those who flounder around wondering if they are even loved. See what I mean? We can’t just photograph the “heart” of people and post it on a blog. Perhaps that means we’re meant to know people and be known, person to person, face to face, get the picture?. . . I’ve meandered into a whole other conversation for another time, so let’s get back to Allison, shall we. ; ) Like I said, Allison encompasses so many beautiful characteristics, but today I will show you a few of her passions: Art & Fashion.
The Douville home contains so many beautiful pieces of art–I love it. Allison is also a fashion major at K-State, so below you will see a few ways we incorporated both forms of art through portraiture. Enjoy!
Allison & her dad 
Here we are in Allison's closet, where one would find lots of unique designer dresses and apparel along with clothes Allison has even designed herself. Behind Allison is a skyscraper of bright pink Betsy Johnson boxes. Betsy Johnson is one of Allison's favorite designers so every year for Christmas she puts Brady's (my bro-in-law) gift in a bright pink Betsy Johnson bag. . . every guys dream. : )
This is Allison’s favorite designer dress, which she bought in Boston.
Some Film For Ya
When it comes to getting film developed G and I take our sweet time. I almost like taking a long time getting film developed because then I get excited about images I forgot I shot, which is the complete opposite of having the instant gratification of digital images. So, here are just a few fun 35mm film photographs for you from Tom and Blakely’s wedding back in April.
Laura. Oh La, that’s what I call her, she’s one of my favorites.
The Extraordinary. . . Nobrega Family
You can kiss your family and friends goodbye & put miles between you, but at the same time you carry them with you in your heart, your mind, your stomach, because you do not just live in a world but a world lives in you. -Frederick Buechner . . . This was the quote placed on the the table at Jon’s going away party.
The Nobrega family is beyond ordinary. They have each lived extraordinary lives filled with incredible courage, joy, and passion. I met the Nobrega family through Jon. Jon has been a very dear friend of mine, and many from our church for many years. Last Saturday Jon moved to Bahrain. Yep, that island way off in the Persian Gulf. Crazy, I know, but honestly his faithfulness in moving to such an obscure location is no surprise based upon his obedience and faithfulness to his call(s) in life. These past few years I have learned more about obedience and discipline from watching the way Jon lives more than anybody. When others’ are inspired to live a life like you do by pure observation you know you’re living a full and meaningful life. When God calls Jon to step into even the hardest of situations he goes. He steps in faith and I, among many, am a witness to the fruit produced by his obedience.
I could say a million of the best things about Jon. Truly, no one is like him. He brings out the most fun and playful characteristics in everyone. And if you know him and are reading this you know exactly what I’m talking about. I can’t think of a time when Jon and I haven’t sang random impromptu songs together. He’s also the most competitive person I know. So if you play any sport or game with Jon expect a run for your money. Some of my most favorite memories with Jon were either intense card games lasting hours into the night at Winter Retreat or playing the alphabet game in the car on the way to Tan-Tar-A for OFA (Ozark Family Adventure). Although he is incredibly playful and one of the most fun people I know, he is equally as deep and meaningful of a person. He is the best when it comes to kids, and is one heck of a teacher.
Our community will be different without Jon. He is irreplaceable. So, Bahrain, you better be good to our Jonny!
This polaroid was taken shortly before Jon moved. A small group of us used to get together regularly for dinner and some scrumptious reading of C.S.Lewis. So, this was our one last hurrah. It’s probably pretty obvious that Jon is the front man. 
The Nobrega’s have lived in this home for over 30 years! I would say it’s well worn in.
I love all the little details in and around their house.
