Ray + Jeanne | Married ~ Carson Valley Wedding

Last month I had the honor of shooting Ray & Jeanne's vintage farmhouse wedding. A couple nights before the wedding I had a horrible nightmare, but thankfully my nightmare did not come true and I shot well beyond 5 images and did not pass out during the wedding. ;]

An hour before the Ray and Jeanne’s wedding, the sky over the valley turned gray and I could see scattered rain showers off in the distance. As I drove to the wedding there were sprinkled raindrops on my windshield and all I could do was pray that the rain would stay away for the evening. Thankfully, God is so good and the rain did stay away! The overcast sky kept the weather cool enough to be enjoyable and provided great lighting for all my images!

Jeanne is an interior decorator, and her decorating instincts were clearly visible over every detail of her wedding. Bright bold colors, paired with mix-matched vintage china, and delicate bouquets of flowers adorned the guests’ tables.

The trees, canopies, and gazebos were trimmed with colorful lanterns that swayed as the breeze blew through.

The ceremony was short and sweet with a slightly humorous undertone. Guests stood scattered around the grass, piping up to share their two cents when Jeanne, Ray, or the minister missed a beat, always followed by a round of shared laughter.

I could go on and on about how much I adored their wedding and all the amazing people, but I’ll let you see for yourself! ;]































This was my first wedding shooting on my new camera (Canon 5d markii), and I must say, it was a blast. My original intention was to carry both cameras (the canon and my Nikon D80), but I ended up leaving the Nikon in the camera bag the entire night. { sorry Nikon.. I still love you, just not as much as the Canon }.

Oh and I finally made up some new postcards with the wedding gallery info on the reverse. I didn’t have time to send out for prints, so I printed them out on my own little printer, and I have to say, I was quite please with them {as were many of the guests!}

Credits:
Photography – {harmonyhilderbrand} …photography
Wedding Coordinator – Daisy & Jeanne
Jeanne’s Hair & Makeup Artist – Stacy Stiltz
Decorations – Daisy & Ron from The Entertainer + Jeanne James
Flowers – The Entertainer
Appetizers – Tahoe Ridge Winery
Catering – Prime Cut BBQ
Desserts – Russell’s Mercantile
Bartenders – Daisy and Ron from The Entertainer
Band – Carl & the ClassicsMinister – Pete Nelson, Methodist Minister, Gardnerville, NV

Help! I need to replace my dinosaur...

It seems like these past few days or even weeks have been a blur. I've been running in overdrive, and somehow managing to just barely keep up! Between church, the gym, my office job, and photography, my days are completely full.

I've been shooting more than ever (portrait sessions) and love it. But I'm being bogged down by my dinosaur (also known as my 4 year old laptop computer). Its had a good run, but despite upgrades (added memory) and TLC (deleting old files, etc) it just can't keep up. I'm ready for a new computer.

So I'm stuck in this dilema. Its nothing new... I've been here for a year or two. I really need a new computer. It was slow two years ago, and so it seems even slower now. But I can not make up my mind! I'm indecisive when it comes to green tea... [I know it shouldn't take me 10 minutes to decide which brand to buy.. but it does!] ...and so its no surprize that I'm indecisive on a computer. So since I've finally reached my limit with my dinosaur, I'm asking for all my lovely reader and friend's help in giving me their input (and helping me make up my mine already and get a new computer!)

Here are my options:
(1) Build an epic-fast tower computer w/ Windows 7
Pros:
- Completely customized. My dad is a software engineer so he'd build it for me, all I'd have to do is spec out the parts with him based on what I want, and purchase the parts.
- Way cheaper than the other options (maybe even half as expensive)... (translation: more money left over for lenses!)
- Easy to upgrade in the future
Cons:
- Tower takes up space
- Have to find/buy a really nice monitor
- Not portable

(2) iMac
Pros:
- Amazing screen resolution, big screen
- Great reputation with other photogs/media ppl
- Space saver
Cons:
- Not portable (not completely.. I can move from office to kitchen/living room, but can't really take it with me to Starbucks...)
- Have to get the Mac version of software
- Costs more (translation: less $ for lenses, software)

(3) MacBook Pro
Pros:
- Portable (yay starbucks!)
- Great screen resolution
Cons:
- Small screen,
- Most expensive option (translation: no lens money or software money)
- Not easily upgradable
- Have to get the Mac version of software

Other background info: My dinosaur was a gift from my parents when I graduated High School. It served its purpose in college, but could never keep up with my photography demands. Now that I'm not in college I have no access to the sweet MacPros, and am stuck doing all my editing on the dinosaur.

So what do you think? I've changed my mind many times between the three and so can't settle at the moment. Post your comment and let me know your thoughts!

The Beginning of Something New

Today I'm moving on. I went to the gym at 8am. I had a dentist appointment at 11am. I sat down at Starbucks to start editing images from recent photoshoots at 12:45pm. I'm longing to drive to Reno. To feel the buzz of peers and to smell new books and paper. But I won't. I'm going to sit right here, with my iced green tea, and edit my heart out.

Today will be the first day in 17 years that I will not be going back to school. I miss it already, but with every longing for the classroom, I'm reminding myself that I worked really hard to be where I am - to be done with school and starting my photo career. And I'm trying to remind myself that all I wanted to do when I was in school is exactly what I am doing right now.

I made it to my goal and began the next stage of my life. Now I am forming new goals and I am prepared to put in the time and hard work to reach them.

The Jezeks | Lake Tahoe Family Portrait Session {Sneak Peek}

I met the Jezek Family last September when Jeff (my hubby) and I were invited to join a camping trip with a family from our church and the Jezeks. There was a small hint of recognition, and it turns out that Todd (the dad) had trained with Jeff’s dad, and also did some work for my boss (at my office job). Since that camping trip, Todd and Jeff started training together (martial arts) weekly.

This morning I had the pleasure to shoot some family portraits for them. Crissy and I decided we would meet at Sand Harbor at 9 am. We thought that was early enough to guarantee the beaches would be almost people free. But to our surprise the beaches (and the parking lot) were already packed! Thankfully we were able to maneuver our way around the masses of people. [But it makes me wonder… Who gets up at 7 or 8 am on a Saturday morning to drag their family to the beach? I’d much rather sleep in, and roll up to the beach around midday.]

Here’s a sneak peek from their shoot. ;]

Magaly + Valerie | Carson City Lifestyle Session { Sneak Peek }

I am so excited to share this sneak peek!

Magaly is the client for the Community Pregnancy Center, whose story will be shared nationwide! I had the pleasure to do a photoshoot with Magaly and her beautiful seven-month-old baby girl Friday morning. (If you follow me on Facebook, then you heard a little about how this session came about. If you didn't, then wait for the full blog post or read the posts on facebook. ;] )




More to come!