Loveliness at Lone Summit

What an exciting wedding and an amazing couple!


We were at Lone Summit Ranch this weekend to celebrate with the couple in love, Rachel and Dave.  Everything, top to bottom, made the day perfect!  The food was phenomenal and Amber, who keeps the Ranch running, was completely on the ball as usual.  I can't say that I've ever had such succulent meat - pork and prime rib - before. Oh, and the rolls?!  We could smell them baking from the time we arrived at 11 to set up for pictures. YUM!


Rachel and Dave were fabulous.  A completely straight shooting couple who were just genuine and not afraid to tell you like it is.  Rachel had the most gorgeous hairdo (thanks Clint!) and was all around stunning!  I'm positive Dave would agree.

They asked so little from us specifically as photographers. We had our checklist in hand and followed it, but there was little need for actual direction with these two.  They were at such ease with each other, just completely comfortable and a natural fit.  We joked that they were already acting married, like an old married couple honestly.  They are so in love!  When I asked them, as I often do with couples, to talk amongst themselves when shooting their first private intimate pictures, we overheard one asking the other if they had bought dog food.  It was priceless!  The shots just created themselves.

As for the ceremony, we couldn't have asked for a more picturesque day. The enormous fluffy clouds really looked like they popped straight out of a painting.  The gathering was intimate, by no means a crowd, which made the entire event a little extra cozy.  Sometimes I like the smaller groups the best - just invite the immediate family and friends and you have all your closest people present to share the special day.  And believe me, the day was special in every detail!

I cherish the weddings that keep me grinning for days after!

I wanted to share some of my favorite shots that I printed to put in the album Rachel and Dave took with them.

You can also visit this link to their full slideshow.

 

A Moment Between Moments

You have to appreciate the wonderful, innocent lessons that children teach us daily.  I have five faces and personalities that get to impact me every day.

This summer in Vacation Bible School the kiddos learned and discussed "God-sightings."  The small, crazy, random things in life that make us pause and remember that there is a God who is bigger than all of us and who works in wonderfully magnificent ways.  We have to be open to receiving the blessings of these sightings; they can so quickly pass by sometimes.

Every once in a while I'll experience such a spotting in a picture I've taken or in the middle of a shoot.  Kind of an amazing, special moment in between all the other moments.  I'll pause and smile and send up a quick prayer of gratitude that God allows me to do this job.

There are a hundred of "God-sightings" in life.  For my kids, it may be a fluffy cotton cloud shaped like a dinosaur.  Or for me sometimes it comes in other unique things, such as when I realize I'm speeding a smidge and then see someone stopped by a police officer - it makes me grateful for the reminder and doubly thankful that I am not the one who was stopped!

I remember getting so annoyed with my mom when I was younger.  She'd constantly remind me to see the glass as half-full and not half-empty and to remember that every cloud has a silver lining.  I realize that we probably have all heard these cliches, but the reality of it is that there is truth within them.  Those minor attitude tweaks really can help us to see the positive.  And not only the positive, but the beauty and joy in life all around us.

I thank the Lord for the little "God-sightings," even in the silliest things of life.  Such as when I was taking a shower the other night and noted that all of my family's bath sponges lined up almost created a rainbow.  How neat it was to be reminded of why we have rainbows in the world and to simply be grateful to have running water and the ability to take a warm shower after a long day.

Take the time to pause every now and then and savor the little moments between the big moments.  The tiniest things in life may have some large lessons to offer.  Have you had a "God-sighting" lately? I'd love to hear about it!

Claya & Patrick - A Rainy Engagement

I love getting to know the couples that walk into our studio.

But it is also an amazing joy when I get to know a person over time and watch the journeys down which life takes them.

I met Claya a few years ago when one of my assistants introduced her to me as yet another great person to help out spontaneously.  Now, I've had the awesome opportunity to chronicle Claya's engagement and then her wedding to Patrick next month.  The engagement shoots went wonderfully and I am looking forward to more camera time with this gorgeous couple when they wed in late September!

We had already met once before for an engagement shoot, but for lengthier engagements it is fun to capture more than one season before the wedding arrives.  This also provides an opportunity to learn a couple's make-up and get to know them better from a camera perspective.  So, after one great session, we decided to go for more.

We were set to meet at Unity Village Sunday evening.  Claya and I had been communicating throughout the day and were a little nervous about how foreboding the sky had looked all afternoon.  No raindrops had appeared yet, and we decided to just go for it.  The minute our cars were pulled up side by side in the parking lot the sky finally let loose.  Fat, wet raindrops started splattering the ground all around us.  But, we were determined to stick to the plan!

Here is just a sampling of what the drizzly day brought forth.
This picture is one of my favorites of the bunch!

We grabbed some lights, an umbrella, and the camera and headed into the storm.  We shot some quick pictures beneath overhangs, the umbrella, and wherever we found a dry spot.  At the end, we ventured straight into the rain.  We were all so delighted with the results!  We were able to capture some incredible effects and really portray the rain and the beautiful colors of our setting as well as Claya and Patrick themselves.  If you want to catch a fuller array of the results of this engagement shoot check out the full slideshow.

One never knows what a day will bring, but one rainy day definitely brought us a spectacular engagement shoot and plenty of fun!  Can't wait for their wedding next month!

First Glass Act - With Jordan

Wednesday night was a blast!

I had the wonderful honor to capture the stunning personality of one of our 2013 Seniors.  Jordan is a sweet girl who loves the outdoors and wasn't afraid to get her feet wet - literally - for the sake of some great pictures.  Since she loves Pleasant Hill Lake and spends much of her time there, we decided that would be the best place for the shoot.

There was even a snapping turtle to greet us as we searched for the ideal setting.  Our biggest obstacle of the night was the muddy bottom of the lake.  We wanted to snap some unique, rustic pictures - something a little less glamorous - to show off Jordan's love of the lake.  So, we attempted to roll up our pants and wade in, but we kept sinking into the muckiness of the lake floor.  Of course, with any beautiful body of water there comes an obnoxious army of gnats and Wednesday night was no exception.  There were swarms of them, but thankfully, they had the courtesy to stay out of the pictures!

Jordan was such a great sport about the evening.  She had a great attitude and went with the flow of anything and everything we wanted to accomplish.  Her mom, Becky, was fabulous too.  She even sacrificed her flip flops for a moment so that Jordan didn't have to walk barefoot through a plethora of broken beer bottle glass at one section of the beach.  However, the shattered glass provided a great backdrop for one final shot at the end of the night.  Jordan laid down amidst the reflective shards in front of the lake with a stunning sunset as the best finishing touch for the shot - BREATHTAKING.

It never gets boring to find fabulous, unique ways to capture the incredible personalities of the people I get to meet!

Same Camera, Less Chaos

Whew.  It's been awhile since I've shuffled through these pages.  But, after a couple years, I've decided it is time to dust the cobwebs from the corners of this blog and dig back in.  Hopefully, with a tad more consistency this time.

Life moves at such a rapid pace, which only serves to remind me why I do what I do.  Without the images and memories captured in time, we often forget to savor or look back and reminisce over those special moments.

To be certain, the past couple years have been full of wonderful moments.  Raising five fabulous kids and continuing to build the best business I can keeps me running, but I wouldn't change a thing.  I now have two kiddos in high school and have taken on the challenge of homeschooling both - one of them is even driving now!  Another of mine has entered middle school and my youngest two are soaring their way through elementary.

We're still here and we're still the same Abundant Moments Photography.  We've been blessed with multiple assistants in and out of our studio, helping us and lightening our load.  Every turn in life is another adventure but I'm excited to see that things are constantly coming together in a more beautiful design than I could picture myself.

So, we're back to our blog!  Though we never truly went away.  We're constantly available and updating on Facebook, so if you haven't had the chance to stop by our Facebook page and like us, please swing by and visit! But here's to hopes of future blogging consistency, a little less chaos, and lots more great moments.