Vacation

Vacation is so nice. The only bad thing about it is coming back from vacation. This past week my husband and I spent four days in the Bahamas at the Atlantis resort. Wow, is all I can say about Atlantis. The trip was a prize through my husband's work and what a prize. We swam with the dolphins, snorkeled on the reefs and spent the day at the resort's waterpark. It was crazy cool. I even took a waterslide through the shark tank. Crazy, crazy place. Maybe some day we'll go again. I thought I'd show you some fun photos. By the way, check all your gear to see if it is working before you go on vacation. I took an old digital SLR and a underwater point and shoot with me. I tried using the SLR when we got there and it didn't work. Argh!!! I ended up having to use the point shoot the whole time. It worked ok. Just frustrating that the other camera didn't work.



Me walking through the predator tunnel at the resort. Rick took a cool photo.



Rick and I with Echo the dolphin. A lot of their dolphins are rescued from the aquariums destroyed during Hurricane Katrina.



My feet on the beach in the Bahamas. I grew up on the beach in Florida and I love to stand on the beach and let the water lap at my feet. Every time I get near a beach I have to do this.



Me with Echo.



Rick and I snorkeling.

Happy Anniversary!

Yeah! Today is my husband Rick and I's sixth wedding anniversary. I am very happy and thrilled to have married such a wonderful man. So in honor of this day I will share with you some fun photos. Rick and I have a tradition of giving each other the 'traditional' anniversary gifts according to the year. This year is our sixth and the traditional gift is iron or candy. Rick really out did himself this year. He gave a bag of Jelly belly candies, he picked out each flavor just for me, a box of chocolates, and a pair of scissors (for the iron). Some people might think this is lame but to me it is awesome. I LOVE candy! And the scissors are perfect. I have lost all our scissors recently and have been very upset because I couldn't find any when I needed them. So this present made me smile.



We also celebrated by going out to eat at Bin 555. A local wine and tapas place. It was perfect and we had our favorite meal, a bottle of Cab and the kobe beef pizza. It is so so yummy.

On another note. I got nostalgic today and went looking for wedding photos. Since Our wedding was still in the days of film. I had to search for the few I scanned. I found some, not my favorites, but still some really cute ones so I thought I'd share.





Why you should never leave the guys unattended in the choir room with time to spare.





This is the day after at my parents house. Rick rented a mustang convertible to drive us to the airport an hour away where we few to Ireland for the week. It was a surprise for me I didn't know where we were going just that I needed a passport and warm clothes.

Happy anniversary Rick!
I look forward to many, many more.
Wendi

Smile

This is something I shot this week that just makes me smile. I spent the day photographing a family for a local water park and the boy was slightly difficult throughout the day. Then right before they left we got them some roasted corn to get some food shots and he turned into a total ham for the camera. So, my daily lesson was, if you have trouble photographing boys get them food and all will be good. I hope this makes other people smile the way it does for me.



Wendi

Neal and Allison

Wow. That is the first thing that comes to my mind when I think about this couple. They are both truly amazing people and I feel blessed to know them and honored to have photographed their wedding. I knew they were great the first time I met Allison. And then it was confirmed during the rehearsal dinner, when my second shooter Miriam and I found ourselves wiping tears off with everyone else that night. We had such a fun time photographing their wedding that it didn't really feel like work. The ceremony was one of the most intimate I have ever witnessed. Neal got light headed and needed to sit so the entire wedding party sat and the ministers continued the ceremony sitting. It was beautiful. Then the reception was an all out party. Awesome. That said I thought I'd share some of my favorite photos.



Don't you just love iphones. I want one!



Allison watching her brother Andrew as she waits for him to walk her down the aisle.





First dance fun.



Allison's Grandmother really knows how to boogie.



I don't know if you know, but I love photo booths.

Now, the next two photos are from the best second shooter ever, Miriam Craft. I am trying to convince her to move to Texas so we can work together more often and just hangout together more. She is awesome.





I also wanted to share something that made my day, week, and year. This is an excerpt from an email Allison sent me.

"I LOVE THEM!! They are so great!! You guys did such a phenomenal job, you told our story with such amazing detail. I appreciate your being there so much, you made us feel so comfortable and natural, and it was so easy having you there." Allison said.

If that wasn't enough to make me feel great she also attached an e-mail that her brother Andrew sent her. This is what hit me from left field. I was not expecting it and it really touched me.

"THOSE ARE THE BEST WEDDING PICTURES I'VE EVER SEEN!!!! Do you know if Thompson Poole has a time machine so I can have them do my wedding five years ago???" Andrew said.

In response, if I had a time machine your wedding would be my first stop.
I loved this wedding and everyone I met during the couple of days we photographed it. Congratulations Allison and Neal.

To end this long post I thought I'd share this fun random photo from the wedding. It just makes me smile.



Wendi

Beautiful Shoes

There is one thing that is very important to remember when photographing a wedding, wear comfortable shoes. The problem with this is is that it is very hard to find comfortable shoes that aren't tennis shoes. So my search months ago when my old shoes went south began. I needed shoes that looked some what dressy, were black, and would be good after 10 hours or more on my feet. The first pair I found were naturalizer shoes, see below.



Knowing the brand, I thought, 'hey these should be good, right?" I was wrong. After wearing them for two weddings, the second out of necessity, I wanted to rip them off my feet after an hour. My average wedding day is about 12 hours on my feet with about 15 pounds of gear. I needed something better. So the quest began again. The day before the last wedding I shot, June 10, I went to Dillard's desperate. I needed something fast. I found what looked cute and advertised itself as the European comfort shoe. I decided to try on two pairs of the Josef Seibel Shoes. I put them on and I immediately knew why they called themselves that. They felt like my New Balance Tennis shoes with heels. So, I forked over the handsome sum for the shoes and left crossing my fingers that they would still feel as good after 10 hours on my feet. They did! After one 10 hour day followed by a 14 hour day my feet did not ache. My legs were sore and I was tired but when I took my shoes off I felt like I hadn't been on my feet at all. Here they are well worn.





I love these shoes and I couldn't resist showing the two photos I took of them. They just make me smile. I can not begin to describe how much better I felt after this past wedding and these shoes had a big part in that. So, if you ever need dressy comfy shoes, buy these. They come in many different styles and colors. On that note I will leave you. Take care and happy shoe hunting.

Chris and Kelly

I just had to share some of these wonderful photos I took at Chris and Kelly's wedding in Pensacola, Florida. I had so much fun shooting this wedding. They are a great couple and it was a blast to be back in my hometown for a wedding. Kelly and I grew up in church together so I knew a lot of people at and in the wedding. It was like a reunion of sorts. The craziest thing was the fact that at the reception the DJ came up to me and asked if I knew him, because I used to babysit him. I did know him but could barely recognize him. It made me feel a little old. That said the wedding was a joy to shoot and the people made it awesome. I really liked the whole travel wedding thing too. Have camera; will travel!













Congratulations Chris and Kelly! I hope we can hangout next time I'm in P'cola.

My How Time Flies!

I had a great week. We had a very successful business retreat followed by the birth of Parker Allan Isenhower. Parker's parents, Kyle and Christina, might be familiar to some of the viewers.



I photographed their wedding a few years ago and have had the pleasure of becoming close friends with them. So when they had their first baby I made it a point to make an early visit to the hospital. The following are a few photos from Parker's first day.









The last photo is an attempt to show Parker's faux hawk hair style. He the most hair I have seen on a newborn. Way to go Parker.
I feel truly blessed to have photographed such important moments in the Isenhower's lives. I love documenting major events in peoples lives, the emotion and energy of the events just fill me up and I pray that I capture at least a part of that feeling in my images.