College Freshmen Shots

I thought I had already posted these, apparently not. Sorry.

We've known him for several years - primarily through debate, of course :). I was supposed to shoot his
high school graduation pictures last year, but life happened and it never worked out.

Fast forward to this year. I was shooting his sister's senior photos and he happened to be home from school -
so here we are!

One pretty squared away young man! I'm sure I will be posting more photos with him soon.

Unshakable

Walk in the Light, as He is in the Light

Twins who have built their lives around the word of God. Out-spoken Christians, what a blessing it was to me to be able to document this big step for them - graduation from high school. As I listened to them talk to each other, and I listened to what they said to me (and what they left unsaid), and I was happy with what it portrayed to me. You don't see that God-likeness in many of our students these days. Kali and I have been blessed to meet some very strong Christian young people in our travels. These twins? They were made for a purpose. A purpose that God calls them to. Love you, girls! Thanks for asking me to document your accomplishments in graduating. Go be awesome, for God!

Seniors and Horses

A couple weeks ago, I posted a sneak peek from this shoot.

The horse's name is Jessie. A beautiful, wonderful horse!

This one is Magic. Both horses were gorgeous! And so well behaved.



I loved Jessie's eyes. Such a cool, ice blue. Thanks for sharing your beautiful horses with me!

I ♥ Faces: Best Face Photo

The i ♥ faces challenge this week is Best Face Photo taken during the month of May. I was blessed to have been able to shoot senior photos for a set of twins - friends of my daughter, and now friends of mine - and I immediately thought of this capture. I lightened it up in photoshop and gave it a gauzy, misty look. I love the expression on her face! So dreamy and thoughtful! To check out other Best Face Photos, head on over to i heart faces here.

Sneak Peek Senior Shoot

What fun! These beautiful ladies asked me, through my daughter, to shoot their senior pictures. Of course, I said yes! We headed out to the flower field, which didn't really yield all that many flowers this year, then we headed to the nearby barns where their horses live. Those were my favorite shots of the day. It's going to take awhile to edit everything and have it ready, but here is an excellent sneak peek of what's to come. Thanks for asking me to help document your senior year! I had a blast!

Senior Prom, 2011

A group of students asked me to come take pictures of them as they prepared to leave for prom. I took 294 pictures of this group of fifteen. I picked out the best ones and edited them in a variety of formats. Then I decided to pick the 5 that I liked best, and post those here. Trying out a new brush with my blog name. I think I like the way it looks. Anyway, here are my 5 top picks.




This last photo is one of my all-time favorite shots. They had no idea I was clicking this shot - so it was a truly natural, unposed shot. I can't believe I trimmed 294 pictures down to this five! And, yes, I did notice that three of the pictures are of the same young lady. What can I say - she's photogenic :). And beautiful!

Shooting at Cedine

This young man lives a little over 800 miles from where I live. Recently, his mom and I were trying to figure out how I could shoot his senior pictures when we live so far apart from each other.

I was looking into traveling to them, when it dawned on us that the Institute For Cultural Communicators' winter retreat might be a convenient time, since we'd all be in one place at the same time!

The retreat was held at Cedine Bible Camp in eastern Tennessee. We got there shortly after a huge snow and ice storm, and the grounds were so beautiful covered in snow. I could have done without all the ice, though.

He was there to work - as a potential intern. They got to do all the behind-the-scenes grunt work of facilitating the retreat. And, he was a blessing to many.

His sense of humor brightened the day for many of us that week!

When I asked him what his favorite scripture was, he assured me he never ran out of scripture, that he had many favorites. A tell-tell sign of what this young man is, of WHO he is.

Of whom he belongs to.

For this young man is a man after God's own heart.

This is evidenced in his actions, in his mannerisms, in his character, in his words, in the way he treats others.

He is a blessing to many. He is an example for the younger students. He is an example for his peers.

He's a caring and loving son. He's one awesome big brother!

He's someone you can depend on, and count on.

A man of God.

A man of God who memorizes and lives by the Word.

He is a man who isn't afraid to take a stand for God, to take a stand for his beliefs, to take a stand for eternity and for making a difference. And right now, he is a Senior! And I got to shoot his senior pictures! Whoot! Whoot! Congratulations! Remember your roots and grounding in your faith, and go out and Be Awesome for God!

Blue Ridge Mountains Senior Photo Shoot

We met this young man a couple years ago through debate. And let me tell you - he is an excellent debater! It's been interesting watching him grow in intellect, logic, and abstractness, and also as a young man of God. Congratulations on your upcoming graduation! And thank you for switching over to Team Policy this year! :)




My daughter and this young lady tell everyone they are twins :). Actually, she is a twin - just not with my daughter. A talented debater, a sweet young lady of God, a good friend, a loving sister, and I expect one pretty terrific daughter! Congratulations on your upcoming graduation!




This is the real twin :). She just returned home from an overseas mission trip. She enjoys spending time with children, loving them, and being God's servant to them. A devoted sister and daughter - she has a real knack for drama and went all the way to national competition last year with her partner (the guy you see in the pictures just below) where they presented their dramatic performance of Finding Nemo. Congratulations on your upcoming graduation!




So, technically he doesn't graduate until next year. We were planning on doing senior pictures for his sister - who graduated last year - and he asked if we could do junior pictures, so that's what we did! Hahaha! He was so much fun! Willing to try anything - including climbing trees - which you can see in my previous post. A super sweet spirit, everyone loves him! Congratulations on being one year closer to graduation - hehehe!




Isn't she gorgeous? She is the only sister to the fellow just above. She graduated last year, so we were just catching up her pictures :). My daughter loves her! We met through speech and debate - of course - we met all our friends that way, pretty much! Congratulations on college - I understand you are doing a great job there!

From my comments I am sure you can tell each of these students participate in speech and debate activities. They are all competitors, as well. And they represent Christ every time they compete. We are members of a Christian speech and debate league. Knowing that God is a huge part of who each of these students are - I asked them to give me their favorite Bible verse. This is what I did with them:




I did not plan the order to post these verses in. I posted them in the order of the photos of the students above. Do this for me: read the verses in the order you see them in. I dare you to tell me that God didn't orchestrate this post and put these together in exactly this order.

Congratulations, Seniors! You rock! I love you! Go be awesome!