damn yankees

I have been taking pictures for the Anderson family for many years – since Spencer was nine. So when Spencer won the lead in Jacksonville High School’s production of the Tony award winning musical comedy Damn Yankees, Melissa contacted me to shoot some pictures at the dress rehearsal. When people would ask me who I was there to photograph, we kidded that I was Spencer’s personal photographer. And I took a LOT of pictures of Spencer! But, since I was there and set up, I took lots of pictures of other performers as well.

I have to say that I was somewhat nervous about this endeavor. Taking pictures of a production on stage with spotlights is out of my realm of expertise. But, I was really looking forward to seeing the performance. I started going to the spring musicals at Jacksonville High School in 1986. For fifteen years the play was a highlight of spring for me. But then life got in the way and I stopped going. What a huge mistake! I had forgotten just how much I enjoyed these shows. Last night I was awed by the talent I saw on that stage – and heard from the pit. These kids dedicate months of their lives to the spring musical. They are committed to putting on the best show possible – and they did. Thanks to the hard work of Mr. Howard (pit band) and Mrs. Zawistowski (director/chorus), Jacksonville High School has once again exceeded my expectations of what a group of high school kids can do.

But enough words . . . here are some pictures.

If you are in Jacksonville and you want a real treat, get a ticket for one of next weekend’s performances of Damn Yankees. You’ll be glad you did!

In a couple of weeks, I will be posting a gallery of all of the pictures I took of the dress rehearsal. The gallery will be password protected. If you are a parent and interested in purchasing pictures, contact Melissa Anderson for the username and password.

tyler + elisabeth

Yesterday was a beautiful spring day for a wedding. And what a wedding it was! Tyler and Elisabeth had the day that brides and grooms through the ages have dreamed of.

The day started for the ladies at Shear Magic where they had hair and make-up done. This is always a good chance for the bridesmaids to bond – and have a great time preparing for the big event. This group started their celebration early, but acted responsibly throughout the day. The bridesmaids were very helpful and easy to get along with. And as always, Merry worked some magic with her make-up brushes. She didn’t need much magic when it came to Elisabeth, though. Elisabeth is just naturally beautiful – without a touch of make-up.

Then it was on to St. Anne’s to get ready for pictures. I’m not sure who was more excited about the wedding – Tyler, Elisabeth, or their flower girl, Lily. Lily loved her princess dress and her ballerina shoes. But most of all, Lily liked to dance! She was on the dance floor most of the time she was at the reception.

One of the first things people ask me when they learn that I photograph weddings is if I’ve ever had a bridezilla. I can honestly say that I haven’t – not even close. I must just be lucky, but all the families I’ve worked for have been fabulous. I’m always treated well and enjoy working with the entire process. This is the 2nd wedding I’ve shot for the Reddics. And both were very special. Take a look at this family and you’ll see how they could never be anything but wonderful!

And the wedding party for Tyler and Elisabeth’s wedding was quite easy to work with as well. They didn’t question me often and pretty much did what I asked of them. Well, except that some of them didn’t want to climb the tree . . . but that’s understandable! Saint Anne’s has the most beautiful Live Oak I’ve ever come across and I love to take pictures there. The only problem is that the leaves are several inches thick in front of the tree which caused a bit of problem with the high heeled sandals. But, the girls didn’t complain – they just carried on. And I didn’t ask them to climb the tree.

To me, it’s the details that make a wedding special. And this wedding was full of details. From the exquisite flowers (Forget-Me-Not Flowers) to the Rolls Royce that chauffeured Tyler and Elisabeth to the reception, to the delicious wedding cake (Kathy Canby Cakes), everything was perfect.

Entertainment at the reception is always important, too. The Johnny Dollar Band played for Tyler and Elisabeth’s reception and they were very good. As the night progressed, the dance floor became more and more crowded. But the highlight of the night, for me at least, was Ken Reddic’s rendition of the Blue’s Brothers . . . Shout! He really got the crowd going. Well, all except for Lily who couldn’t quite figure out what her grandfather was doing out there.

At some weddings, the bride and groom don’t show much affection for each other. If I ask them to cuddle up and kiss, they just look at me like I’m crazy. That was NOT the case yesterday. It seemed like every time I turned around, Elisabeth and Tyler were kissing. It makes me happy to shoot a wedding where the couple are so much in love – and Tyler and Elisabeth certainly are.

Now comes the hard part for me. While Tyler and Elisabeth are enjoying their honeymoon, I will be editing hundreds of pictures. But that’s as it should be. Here is the information for viewing Tyler and Elisabeth’s wedding pictures – but keep in mind they won’t be displayed for about 4 weeks.

elisabeth

Elisabeth and Tyler are married!  They had a beautiful wedding full of lots of gorgeous details.  I’ll blog about the wedding tomorrow.  But for now, I’m going to show a few of Elisabeth’s bridal portraits.  I’ve been waiting somewhat impatiently for several weeks to show these portraits.  Though I blog most sessions within 24 hours, I wait to show bridals until after the wedding.  Tonight, I walked in the door from the reception, put my camera bag down, and came straight to the computer.

Here are a few of my favorites from Elisabeth’s bridal session.

Isn’t Elisabeth gorgeous?  Hopefully, my portraits will help her forgive me for calling her Erin (her sister’s name) all day.  My old brain . . . what more can I say?

anna

Boy, have we had a lot of wind this week! I thought March was supposed to be the windy month . . . coming in like a lion and going out like a lamb. Somebody forgot to tell March to take all this wind when it left! I have had to reschedule two shoots this week due to wind, so I decided tonight I was shooting no matter what! And though it was windy, we actually did fine.

Meet Anna!

Anna is a senior who is just getting around to having her senior portraits made. Anna reminds me a bit of my daughter, Megan. They don’t look much alike, but they both have a keen fashion sense. I loved Anna’s selection of chothing for tonight’s shoot. She didn’t bring jeans, which is unheard of around these parts. Anna chose clothes that looked great on her and showed her personality.

Anna had wanted to go to the beach for her session. But, the wind prevented us from doing that. I think in the end everyone was happy with the locations we chose. Although we went to the same locations I’ve used frequently, I do my very best to make each session unique. I try different poses, different expressions, and go with what makes my clients comfortable. What works for one definitely won’t work for all! Here are a few from Anna’s senior session.

Anna’s sister, Mimi, came along today. I let my seniors bring a friend or family member to be in a couple of pictures. I find it makes them more comfortable. I took some pictures of Mimi and Anna together, but I’m not showing them in the blog – this was Anna’s day! But, I will show one portrait I took of Mimi while waiting for Anna to change. I couldn’t see just standing there and waiting, so I had Mimi pose for a few quick shots.

And then Anna came out with the most awesome scarf! I was loving it.

Now tell me, is that not a cool look for Anna? See what I mean about her sense of style?

As usual, I worked until we ran completely out of light. At the very end of the session, I wanted a silhouette of Anna and Mimi. I love black and white silhouette’s on the water at sunset.

I’m really pleased with the images I got tonight, so I hard time choosing just a few to blog. Now, I want to start working on the rest of the session. But, that will have to wait. I have other work to do before I can get back to Anna’s portraits.

kassiane

The last time I saw Kassiane was about two and a half years ago when I shot portraits of her along with her brother and sister. When her mother, Paula, contacted me several weeks ago about doing a shoot for Kassiane, I could hardly believe that she’s now 14. Where has the time gone? And when I saw Kassiane yesterday, I was stunned at how much she has matured since we last met. She has turned into a beautiful, confident young woman. And I was very excited to have the opportunity to capture that. Kassiane had some ideas about where she wanted her pictures taken – and I had some ideas, too. So, I showed her some of my favorite places – which she thought were cool. Whew, it’s nice to know that I can be cool – or at least my locations can be. I thought these locations would be fun since Kassiane was wearing a very special dress. This is the dress that Kassiane is wearing to her 8th grade dance. It’s also the dress her mother wore to her high school prom. Now that’s cool!

After we went to a couple of my favorite spots, Kassiane took me to a place that’s special to her. I had never been there – but I loved it. The view was absolutely spectacular. But, the light was going fast and we had one more place to go, so we didn’t spent much time here.

We wanted a few pictures of Kassiane in her normal attire, so we finished our shoot at the park. The great thing about these locations is that they are all just a few minutes apart – so we can get plenty of variety without having to spend much time traveling.

Shortly after arriving at the park the sun set, so our light was gone. I had a great time with Kassiane – and I hope she had fun, too. I especially hope she’ll like her portraits.

Oops, I just found one more I have to show. Every time I edit a new pose, it becomes my favorite. I really like this one because I think it shows a little of Kassiane’s personality.

Yeah! It’s Spring Break!!

I’m not sure who is more excited about Spring Break – the faculty or the students. I truly think it may be the faculty though. This year our Spring Break is very late – so we’ve waited 14 very long weeks for a break. Before we could go on break, we had to do the Dental Hygiene Class of 2008 pictures. When we come back from break, we only have two weeks until exams – then graduation, so we couldn’t wait any longer.

We always prefer to shoot our class pictures just outside our department. This year the azaleas were blooming so it was the perfect spot. Or, it would have been perfect if we hadn’t had monsoon rains for several days before our pictures were scheduled. I usually like to pose students on the ground, but the ground was still very soggy. I only put a few students on the ground and they didn’t complain at all. They’ll tell you that this is far from the worst thing we’ve ever made them do!

We had to take a formal picture to hang in our clinic. We have a picture from every graduating class back to the early 1970’s adorning the walls of the dental clinic. It’s fun to look at the pictures and see how much the faculty have changed. We have one faculty member who has been around nearly as long as the program has been in existence. I, on the other hand, am a spring chicken. I’ve only been at Coastal Carolina Community College for 27 years.

After taking the formal picture, the students wanted to do something a little more fun. So, I decided to just let them pose themselves. Then I asked them to move in tight and hug. This group really does love each other. They are like sisters, fighting one minute and kissing and making up the next. In this picture, quite a few students got wet butts. Thankfully I had reminded them all to bring dry pants just in case.

I’ll miss the Dental Hygiene Class of 2008. They have been a pleasure to teach and I’m sure they will make a very positive impact on the dental teams they join.

Date Change for Rachael’s Believers Reverse Raffle

Due to a scheduling conflict, the Rachael’s Believers Reverse Raffle has been moved to Friday, April 11. The time and location are the same.

Tickets are still available from Fanci Friends – across from Jacksonville High School – and from friends and family.

Racheal will have surgery at Duke on Thursday, April 3rd.  Please keep Racheal and her family in your prayers.