Erin’s Maternity Session – East Atlanta Village | Atlanta Maternity Photographer

3 CommentsCouples, Families, Maternity, ,

Erin and I worked together several years ago, and we’ve kept in touch since then. When I found out she was pregnant, I asked if she and her husband would be up for a portfolio-building maternity session. They graciously agreed, and we decided to shoot at their house as well as down the street in East Atlanta Village, where there is some really cool street art. The nursery is so cute — it’s outfitted with a sweet castle mural (painted by super talented Dad himself), and baby boy will certainly have plenty of fun dragons to play with as he grows older. Given the nursery theme, it was only fitting that we do some photos in front of this GIANT metal dragon sculpture in EAV. I had a blast working with these adorable parents-to-be, and I can’t wait to meet baby boy Dreiling when he arrives next month!

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LaBanca Family Session – Dunwoody | Atlanta Family Photographer

Children, Families

Meet the LaBanca family! I met Rebecca a few years ago while doing a Stella & Dot trunk show for her sister. We’ve kept in touch, and I was honored when she contacted me to photograph their new family for some spring photos last week. Baby Sloan is four months old and was such a wonderful little model — she loved looking at the camera! Their dog Coleman is the absolute sweetest big ball of fur I’ve ever seen — and although he wasn’t quite as big of a fan of the camera, he was a trooper nonetheless. We had a great time romping around their front yard and back deck for some photos in the lovely early evening light. Enjoy!

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travel:: Grand Canyon

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From Sedona, we drove up to the Grand Canyon National Park, which has been a longtime item on my bucket list. The 2.5 hour drive up to the park was really pretty, with a good bit of the first half being through the mountains. I don’t know what I expected, but I certainly didn’t think we’d be taking a drive through the forest in Arizona.

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We aren’t incredibly outdoorsy people, so instead of staying several days to hike down to the bottom of the canyon and camp (and then hike back out!), we opted for a night at the historic El Tovar Hotel, positioned at the South Rim. You couldn’t get much closer to the rim unless you slept on the sidewalk. There are several lodges and cabins located in that area of the South Rim, but I really liked staying at El Tovar for our first time there. From the moment you step onto the large, rocking chair-filled front porch and enter through the wooden double doors into the lobby, you can feel the rustic, turn-of-the-century charm. The hotel was built in 1905, and I would bet that a lot of aspects haven’t changed since then. The rooms are somewhat small, but they’re well-equipped with modern amenities — and I loved the tile work in the bathroom.

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Bright and early the next morning, we started our hike down the Bright Angel Trail, which was only about a quarter mile down from the hotel. Like I said… we’re not hikers. So going about 1.5 miles down into the canyon and 1.5 miles back out was PLENTY for us. We must have looked tired, because there were several people who passed us and asked if we’d gone all the way to the bottom — HA!

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The trail itself, though, was quite peaceful. It was neat to just stop every so often and take in the grand view and how far we’d made it down.It was so incredibly impressive — photos we’d seen just did no justice to how magnificent the sheer size is.  We decided afterward that we liked the hiking in Sedona better, but I’m so glad we did the GC.

travel:: Sedona, AZ

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My husband Craig and I took a trip out to Arizona last week in celebration of our 5-year wedding anniversary. We got married in June, but while researching our trip, I found that it would be well into the 100s by then, so we chose to go a couple months early. We flew into Phoenix and rented a car so we could road trip it to Sedona, the Grand Canyon, and Scottsdale for 6 days. I took way too many photos (surprise!), so I’ve broken the trip up into 3 posts.

We absolutely loved Arizona. The landscape must have changed a dozen times along our various drives, and I just couldn’t get over all those giant cacti! We met so many friendly people, hiked the most gorgeous trails, ate too many yummy things, sang along to approximately 1,000 songs on our drives through the desert and mountains, and I got to check not one, but two, items off my bucket list! It was the perfect way to ring in 5 years with my one and only. I also got to test out my new Canon 70D camera, which I am loving! I hope you enjoy some photos from our road trip through Arizona!

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Pink Jeep Tours:: One of our favorite things we did! This was recommended by almost everyone we talked to who has been to Sedona, and they were right. It was the perfect way to get an up-close view of the Red Rocks without having to huff it through the mountains on foot. Our tour guide was awesome — just enough interesting info and funny jokes — and he was a very experienced driver, which is important when driving up and down 45-degree inclines and HUGE rocks. I would  have had that jeep upside down in no time.

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We were up bright and early the next morning to hike Devil’s Bridge. Our neighbors recommended that trail, and it was another of our favorite activities. The views were unmatched, and the trail was really fun to hike. The drive into the trailhead, however, was not for the faint of heart. I was wishing we had that pink jeep from the day before…. and I’m surprised we didn’t completely break our rental suv in the process. Those “roads” are no joke!
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The town of Sedona is so cute. It was a sort of random addition to the trip itinerary, but I’m so, so glad we visited. Nice people, lots of restaurants, great hiking, and unparalleled views of the Red Rocks. It ended up being the surprise favorite for both of us!

Nora’s Newborn Session – Johns Creek | Atlanta Newborn Photographer

2 CommentsChildren, Families, , ,

Last weekend, I got to spend the morning photographing little newborn Nora, who was 15 days young. Her mom Chelsey is a friend of a friend who I hadn’t seen in years, so it was really fun to catch up and meet her so sweet husband Chaz — and of course  “ooh and ahh” that precious baby girl. It was a very rainy and dreary day when we did their session, but this little lady’s nursery was  full of warmth and joy. I just love that banner over her crib — one of Chelsey’s friends made it for her, which makes it even sweeter. And oh, that tiny tutu — it’s just too much. Enjoy!

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