Parrish's Pacific Northwest Adventure

My daughter, Parrish just returned from a trip to the Pacific Northwest to visit her boyfriend, Hunter and his family. This was her second trip to the area, but her first was confined to Seattle and Gig Harbor. This time, she was in Bellingham, Vancouver, Victoria, and Friday Harbor. She absolutely loved it, even thought she wasn't prepared for the drastically cooler temperatures. Spending her school year in Honolulu, and her vacations in Nashville did not prepare her for 60-something temperatures in July! Here at home, temps were well into the 90's, with suffocating humidity. She spend most of her time in Washington wearing her Ugg boots and shivering. So much for all those cute little sun dresses she packed even though I warned her she would be cold...

Now personally, I would totally dig those summer temps in the PNW! So NOT a fan of our heat and humidity here in the south...

Two of the many things Parrish and Hunter enjoy together are the zoo and the aquarium. Hunter is majoring in Zoology and Marine Biology at the University of Hawaii. Parrish had considered Marine Biology briefly, then switched to sports medicine. But while they were in Vancouver, they really enjoyed the Aquarium there. Parrish especially loves jelly fish...

Since my girl is conked out recovering from having four impacted Wisdom teeth removed this morning, I thought I would share some of her photos from her trip with all of you...

Sydney

This is Sydney. I met Sydney through the Littlest Heroes Project. Sydney is 15, and has Rett Syndrome. Rett Syndrome is on the Autism Spectrum, and is often initially diagnosed as autism. But autism is unusual in girls. Rett on the other hand, is rarely found in boys. In addition to typical autism symptoms, like lack of eye contact and loss of verbal communication, Rett usually affects the motor skills more severely than autism. Girls with Rett constantly wring their hands and clap. They usually lose the ability walk, if they ever learned in the first place. Sydney is one of the rare ones that never lost her ability to walk.

When I met Sydney yesterday, she was very excited about the session. She ran up to me and leaned against me with her forehead. Apparently, this is her version of a hug. I was touched, as her mom says she usually has to get to know someone before she does this. Her mom had laid out numerous outfits, and I helped her choose a few for the session. We started the session near a lake and some flower gardens, and wrapped it up at the pool. Sydney loves the pool! And to make it even better, there was a band playing at the pool last night, and she LOVES music.

Sydney's playful personality came out, and it was like a game to her...how long would I wait with the camera poised, for her to look at me? I would wait, and wait. And then, just as I would lower the camera, she would flash a grin my way and laugh!

I won't lie and say this was an easy session--it wasn't. Sydney's condition means she can't just follow instructions to sit and smile for the camera. Getting her to look my direction was very difficult. Getting her to smile simultaneously was nearly impossible. But oh man, when she did--it was amazing! And so worth the effort.

To find out more about Rett Syndrome, and what you can do to help girls like Sydney and their families, visit this website: Rett Syndrome

Jessica + Joseph

Jessica + Joseph are an amazing couple. They are truly meant for each other. I had the honor of photographing their wedding yesterday. Jessica, who is beautiful on any given day, looked radiant on Saturday. She maintained an amazingly calm demeanor, which I can only guess comes from knowing deep in your heart, without a doubt, that he's the one.

I was thrilled to have Debbi Gerdt drive in from Chattanooga to assist me. Thanks so much, Deb--I couldn't have done it without you.

The ceremony was very touching, as Joseph played guitar and his father sang, while a slide show of the couple played. Jessica's father, Neil, walked her down the isle, lifted her veil, and gave her to Joseph.

After the ceremony, we finished up the photographs of the family and the couple, and headed over to the reception. Cheryl, Jessica's mom, worked wonders turning the Fellowship Hall into a beautiful reception, where the couple enjoyed the well wishes of all their friends and family.

Congratulations, Jessica and Joseph! May you be blessed in all things!

A Different Kind of Session

Yesterday afternoon, I had a session in downtown Nashville. This was a little different from my usual session...Parrish is a student at the University of Hawaii, with a double major in Dance and Sports Medicine. She plans to go to graduate school to be a trainer and physical therapist for professional dancers.

A Downtown Wedding

I had the pleasure of working with Amanda Hagler of Shutterbelle Photography this evening. We photographed Amanda and Jarred's wedding, and had fun photographing the wedding party on the pedestrian bridge over the Cumberland River. This was the most important part of the photography for the bride, and we had to work fast. Not only did we need to get them to their reception, but it was getting dark, and it was about to storm! We finished up and got everyone to the reception right before the downpour hit.