ANTICIPATION

I've been posting this wedding in bits and pieces. The goodbyes went up first a few weeks ago and this is the next teeny installment. I shot this wedding late last year as a back-up for my wonderful friend Elizabeth. The beauty of being the right-hand-man is the leisure with which I have been able to approach editing this affair. I've been thinking a lot about preparation and the inevitable anticipation that rides in preparation's passenger seat. That may be why these images felt really powerful to me...or it may be because I had the distinct privilege of witnessing Kate during her wedding day preparation. We were standing in a 10 x 10 log-cabin-of-a-room with no heat on a brisk morning that could not have possibly seen 45 degrees. Kate hardly noticed. She came in wearing boots...and left wearing boots about 5 minutes later, except the second time they were hiding under billows of white fabric. Her anticipation was the kind I can relate with. Excited. Nervous. But just ready. She threw her dress over her perfectly pinned blonde hair and then she stood across from herself in the mirror and there were a couple of seconds of plain old anticpation as the room grew quiet and she carefully positioned the veil on her head. There was something about the moment. It was the feeling you get when you know something great is about to happen. Then Kate turned around -- dripping with confidence -- and slipped her boots back on and went outside to get married. It made me so happy. It's still making me happy.

I mentioned in my New Year's post a couple weeks ago that the Red White and Green logo was getting ready to change a bit.

This morning started with me staring at this computer screen wondering if I had it in me to do a little post with some sneak peaks of the inspiration for the new logo and some other excitement-building-types-of-shenanigans. And it turns out I didn't have it in me.

I pulled up a couple images that we had drawn ideas from a few months ago and I was trying to channel the wonderful bloggers that generate so much enthusiasm through their "almost here" posts (not mocking them...I am one of the many readers of those blogs that gets sucked in and loves every minute of it). But then I realized that for me the logo is just a visual representation of the ways Red White and Green has grown and changed. And that, to me, is so much more interesting. So I abandoned the logo-talk and I am about to replace it with some psychology of change. Kidding. I'll spare you.

The desire for a new logo was really born out this observation that Red White and Green had finally begun to develop a little bit of visual signature. I mentioned in a post a while back that I never want to stop creatively evolving. I have loved (and hated) looking back at older work and reognizing the personality that my work has taken on. I hardly think that I have arrived...and I hope someone smacks me if I ever think that. But ruminating on the years past and the anticipation of this next year has prompted me to want to thank my clients for giving my work a voice. The people that I have photographed have without a doubt shaped my ideals and steered my creativity. They have given me courage to discover my artistic signature. And for that I am thankful. 

So when the new logo goes up next week (sans bedlam) that is what I hope it refelcts...a bit of Red White and Green's personality...and a bit of room for anticipation.

And if you endured the entirety of this post, thank you (mom).

A BABY AND HER MOM

Sarah's home was like a safe haven. It felt like you should run in the back door after playing for hours with a cold nose and dirty hands and sit at the kitchen table for a glass of milk and cookies. It was warm and peaceful and you could tell that great things happen between the walls. And just behind one of those walls was a sleeping baby. Sarah woke her up just after I arrived so she would be rested. My favorite. A sleepy baby waking up from a nap.

There was something wonderful about Elizabeth's age...she was 3.5 months old when we took these photos. She had just enough days of life under her belt to have a little bit of personality but she wasn't quite old enough to get around so it just made sense for her to be held. I smiled so much when I started looking back through these images and saw the simple moments captured between a mom and her girl.

KELI

FAREWELLS.

NICOLE AND TRACY AND ALMOST JAX

I feel like a lot of women just have this built-in affinity for pregnancy. They call it beautiful, natural, and miraculous. I call it scary, huge, and uncomfortable. Honestly, I've always known that babies were little bundles of tinyness and wonder...but I wasn't sure the whole process was really that beautiful. The idea of a human growing inside a body just feels really alien to me. But God is patient with idiots and after witnessing close friends walk (stulmble may be more accurate) through this incredible process I've grown increasingly more amazed at God's artistry.

Nicole was a truly beautiful pregnant woman. I say was because she had her little guy six days ago. He came almost a month early...just couldn't wait to see what all the noise was about. Nicole and Tracy were absolutely smitten with Jax before he even arrived. I loved the way they talked about the anticipation of his arrival...so humble. I was really honored to have the opportunity to witness and document Nicole's pregnant belly as she is an incredible photographer herself! She specializes in babies and kids so I'm sure Jax will be starring on the blog in no time. Here's to a happy, healthy baby!

Jax, here is what you looked like a week ago :)