this was one of the best experiences of my life…

i had the privilege of traveling to the country of Panama with 18 students from our youth group as well as my close friends Stuart and Paige
we spent 10 days serving people, sharing a message of radical/life-changing love, and experiencing life with an indigenous village

didn’t take a ton of pics, but here are a few
just had my mark II with a 50mm lens and my trusty vivitar 285…sometimes it’s nice to keep it simple

one highlight was that i did manage to trade away my Teva’s to the chief of the village (he’s the big dude in the final image) in exchange for a small hand-carved canoe and a pair of earrings for Jenica…you don’t do that everyday
if you want to know more about the trip, feel free to ask

this past weekend I had the pleasure of hanging out with this incredible family all weekend on Hilton Head Island

I love it when a couple and their families become more than a client and we can become friends…this is the 3rd wedding I have shot for this extended family with the 4th coming up in October

Since I was around all weekend, Javi and I just got to hang with the families a lot and pretty much cover the weekend for them.
We took some casual engagement type shots of Kathyrn and Jimmy, their family party full of Uno, Catchphrase, and Rock Band, as well as a meal that the family shared together which is a Chinese tradition where the parents would share gifts with the bride and groom…it was really cool seeing the mix of cultural customs throughout the weekend and during the ceremony

Kathyrn and Jimmy shared a small, intimate ceremony on the beach together with around 25 of their closest friends and family…plus a few spectators that decided to hang out before going in for dinner
the joy that Kathyrn and Jimmy share with each other is incredibly infectious…you can’t help but smile when you see them interact with one another

i’m excited for their shared life ahead out in California and thankful I was able to participate with them in their big day

congrats to you both!

a lot of times when editing through a wedding, it’s pretty easy to just quickly delete any shots that have an odd composition, are a little blurry, or are out of focus

however, sometimes it means giving an image a second look before quickly reaching for delete . I took this shot just as a test shot to make sure my exposure was set before the bride was paying attention….not a shot i would take on purpose, but i loved it

funny how sometimes the shots that get our attention are the ones that we never planned

so as some encouragement, don’t be so quick to throw away what could be a happy mistake

despite the crazy humidity early on a saturday morning, Javi and I had a great time hanging with Tanya and Joe and hearing their story

Tanya moved here from Russia when she was 6 with her family…she met Joe a few years back while doing research in Jerusalem. So, 2 years ago they got married, Joe moved to the states, and now they both are in the line of doing cancer research…Joe also shared some pics of himself from just over a year ago when he had something blow up in the lab and had part of his face, side, and arm melted…crazy! That would have been my signal to peace out…ha However, I am pretty sure that he was straight out of one of the Jason Bourne movies and is one of the guys you call up when you have someone to take care of…so a little explosion was no big deal

since Tanya and Joe never had any formal pics taken at their wedding 2 years ago, they decided to have them done now, especially since Joe’s body was done healing…so we headed out to Lullwater Park in downtown ATL
these guys are so much fun and i hope to hang out with them again sometime soon – maybe over korean bbq?

thanks again Tanya and Joe! great meeting you two

i have been blessed to call rob and katelyn friends for a little while now…
it’s been cool getting to see them grow closer to one another, and i am so excited for what’s in store for them as they do life together

i love katelyn’s sense of humor and heart for teenagers – i look up to Rob’s leadership and the way he deeply cares for those around him
although i am a little bummed that life is taking them away from us as they head to New York in the near future, i know that big things are in store and now i have even more reason to visit NYC
congrats to you two! joy was all over your day as we celebrated with friends and family…thank you for inviting me in to that

love you both