Emily & Scott are getting married this September in the Cranberry area, and if the couple of hours I spent with them are anything to go by, it’s going to be a fantastic time.  Many thanks to them for fitting me into their busy return home & I am definitely looking forward to September.

Breanne & Will are going to get married next month at Armstrong Farms. The venue is gorgeous, and even from our phone conversations, I knew we’d get along. I was already looking forward to the wedding. Now that I’ve had a chance to actually meet them, I am even more excited. They’re gorgeous, and laid back, and so much fun. We had a really great time running around Oakland- the Cathedral of Learning, wandering through Schenley Park, riding the carousel, and posing with nearly every dinosaur we found. We did skip the tight-rope walking though, maybe next time.

In the meantime, I wanted to share some of my favorites from the afternoon.

John and Crystal found me through OpLove. John is in the Marines and has since been deployed, but Crystal contacted me early to schedule a shoot.  We managed to squeeze it during the week before his deployment- they drove up a few hours on a Thursday night, and we spent the evening hanging out in the park. Or more like… John and Crystal spent the evening climbing trees and doing cartwheels while I waded through creeks and perched on stumps for the perfect shot and tried to keep up with them. In other words, we had a great time. :)  Here are a few of my favorites:

We’ll start with Alana, the youngest:

Eyes to die for, seriously.   Isn’t she a beauty? They’ll all grow up to be heartbreakers, though, and if you think I’m exaggerating-

Next, Colby, who always had the biggest grins for me, and Logan, so serious.  Or trying to be! He showed me his room and read me a book.

And then you can’t forget about the furry children:

Thanks, Holly and Eric! You have such a beautiful family.  : )

This past weekend I attended Zafira Dance’s Vaudeville Carnivale 3.  It’s really a beloved event for my friends and I- we volunteered for the first two,  and it’s such a quality show. Amazing every time. Anyhow, this time I went not as a volunteer, not as the event photographer, just as the audience- I couldn’t help snapping a few shots, though.

I’ve been really drawn to black and white lately.  That is unusual for me- vivid colours are such a strong part of my style that I’m hesitant to discard them entirely.  But I’ll admit. I’m a sucker for old grainy b&w photography, for classic movies with fedoras and birdcage veils, and for music with the scratchy sound of the records. I’m a sucker for vintage.  So sometimes, even though I love colour more than anything, I just can’t resist the pull of black and white.  And then it becomes another style entirely- one of the things that I love about the picture above (besides the Mezmer Society’s fabulousness) is the light.

So this little set is a study of lights & darks & stage lights & the beautiful cabaret. Click on the bottom image to see the rest. :)