Swim Lessons for Riley

Two year old Riley had her second set of swim lessons last week. Lisa took her each night for a week and I tagged along this one fine day. I could not believe my eyes as the instructor pushed my little girl under the water to Lisa. What?

Even when she forgot to close her eyes and hold her breath she cleared the water with a smile. Our goal is to remove the fear of water early in her life. I learned to float at the Navy bootcamp in 5 minutes as the instructor yelled and screamed at me to float or get out. I could swim but I learned that you will tire and drown while treading water if you go overboard in the ocean. Floating is survival and this has helped me to enjoy all watersports since.

Her first lesson came last year at eleven months old and she cried and cried at those lessons. I can understand since the dunking under the water thing seems so unnatural. But this year she got it!

Saying her ABC's helped her to relax while learning to float. They also taught her to swim to the wall and "choo-choo" down the wall until her feet found the shallow steps.

What a spectical I must have been switching from the Nikon with the 80-200mm lens to a video camera. But what a time I had watching her and Lisa and now I can relive the moment through these pictures.

What Lisa and I also noticed was her confidence when we left with her strutting back to the car. She was big stuff now!

Already making plans for her next class, we deemed this a huge success! Thanks to Lisa for the great idea of swim lessons.

Randy

The Smiles of Katie and Michael

It was a Friday wedding last week at St. Joseph's Catholic Church in Marietta, Georgia. Friends traveled from Ohio, New York, Texas, and all across the United States to share in the celebration with Katie and Michael.

From the joking and laughter at the rehearsal, I knew it was going to be a fun wedding to photograph. Michael's three brothers openly welcomed me into celebration. Clear weather on the morning of the wedding allowed us to take some photographs outside. "Could we do our soccer shot?" the brothers asked. Not a problem!

The reception was held at The Marietta Country Club with live music by Papa Sol. The only time the dance floor was empty was when the band was on a break. They really kept the crowd rocking and dancing!





















































































But the one thing that I will not forget is the smiles of Katie and Michael. From our initial consultation meeting to their engagement session, rehearsal, and the whole wedding day, I don't believe I ever saw Katie and Michael without a smile. Let your heartlights shine! Congratulations and God bless!



































Randy

Kidnapped By Pirates!

In Duluth, Georgia there is a very large church -- Duluth First United Methodist Church where we celebrated the marriage of Rachel and Jon last Saturday.

It was a beautiful day and not as hot as the last few weeks have been, which allowed us to photograph the wedding party outside along with the formals inside the church.

The church tradition has the wedding party watch from the altar as the bride parades just outside the sanctuary giving the guests a glancing view through the textured windows. Lisa and I were only allowed to photograph from the rear balcony with a series of lenses/cameras.

The lovely reception followed in the fellowship hall of the church and following the last dance, the crowd gathered to send them off with blowing bubbles. But to Jon and Rachel's surprise, the car had been jacked up on blocks allowing the wheels to spin. And then came the pirates!

Jon's sister, Jennifer, sporting a pirate hat, patch and hook, kidnapped Rachel from the car and drove her away leaving a ransom note for Jon. It seems he had to put on a dress, check into the hotel and get someone to buy him a drink at the bar in order to get his wife back!

Lisa and I made the dash to the hotel for there was no way we were missing this!

Working with Rachel and Jon and the wedding party all day, I did not see this coming. What a surprise and a creative way to end a wonderful wedding celebration. Best wishes Rachel and Jon and AARRRRR YOU MATIES!! We'll be talking about this one for awhile!

Randy

A Working Vacation at the Beach

When Lisa told me that she just booked a multiple family portrait session on Panama City Beach, Florida, I said, "Are you serious? Let's go!" It doesn't take much to get me on the shore. Growing up in the Carolinas, we could always count on Dad taking us to Myrtle Beach for a week every year.

While we are in the midst of wedding season, Lisa found a few days in our schedule that allowed us to head south. Something felt really good about this trip and even though it was the July 4th weekend, the traffic was a breeze. It seemed like everyone was going the opposite way.

After checking into the hotel and grabbing some pizza, we met our clients on the sand dunes. The evening sun filtered through the clouds to grant us some wonderful light. We photographed six families in total, in big groups, small groups, and individual portraits. All were nicely dressed and color coordinated as Lisa worked her magic arranging the groupings. With the sounds of the waves crashing ashore along with the shore birds calling it was hard to call this work!

Riley kept herself busy playing sandcrab around my feet as Lisa and I worked. She's not yet ready for the ocean, but she loves the sandy beach!

Lisa's plans gave us three nights to ourselves to relax on the beach. Good seafood, swimming in the pool, playing in the sand, and taking Riley on her first amusement train ride, what a great vacation we enjoyed! Next year perhaps we can advertise our beach photo visit to Panama City Beach. Do you need a family portrait on the beach?

Randy