I love the Tippets!  :)  I recently helped them with selling their Lexington home and buying their new place in Richmond (my other job is in real estate).  They’re fans of my photography, so as a closing gift, I told them that I would treat them to a family portrait session.  It means alot to me when I get to photograph people I know.  You photographers out there know what I’m talking about, right?  It’s really a way to give of yourself and produce something that really lasts—a collection of memories.

Thank you Jared, Niki, Tyler, Clark, and Benson.  Let’s get together soon! 

For the slideshow, click HERE or on the play button below.  All of the proofs will be available really soon HERE.  Thanks for stopping by, and please don’t forget to comment if you have a sec.  Bye!  -SR

Waiting for me when we got home from our trip was a box from Pictage, my professional print company.  I was so pleased to see how great this new product looks.  It’s going to be a BIG hit with my clients, especially my brides.  With any premium flushmount or coffeetable book order, sets of the Companion Book can be ordered.  They’re 4×4 softback replicas of the larger premium albums, so they’re perfect for giving to relatives, friends, the wedding party, etc.  Sets of 10 are $250, and sets of 25 and 50 are also available.  Watcha think?

Confession time.  I’ve been home from vacation for 5 days and still haven’t written this post.  Vacations are awesome, but returning from them is hard.  I’ve been racing around catching back up since we pulled back into the driveway.  I’m ready for another vacation! 

Our last day in Florida was pretty laid back.  Roger and Anita (the vacation home owners) took me out on their pontoon, and then afterward, Bill and Kelly had us over for dinner one more time.  As a thank-you to them, I treated them to a photoshoot at Hudson Beach.  Here are a few shots from our day.  Thanks again, Bill and Kelly! 

Roger and Anita.  They have a home right around the corner from the place we rented for the week.  They were so sweet to take me out and show me the gulf.

Thumbs up.  Peace out, Ben.

We’re HUGE fans of going to the zoo and aquarium any chance we get.  Tampa is home to the Florida Aquarium, which Parent magazine ranks as the #5 best aquarium for kids.  We’d have to agree!

Gorgeous entrance, right?

The quote below is from Loren Eisley.  I actually read the book The Immense Journey  back during my college days.  It’s not for everyone, but it certainly resonated with me.

Carson loves horses.  He calls seahorses baby horses, or actually, baby nay.

This might just be my favorite. Shot.  Ever. 

I’m in the middle of packing up equipment for tomorrow’s wedding, and I realized that I need to catch up my blog with the last few images from our vacation. Here are some fun shots from our evening out at Honeymoon Island.

Carson’s first time at the water’s edge.

Katie has a great eye, eh?

One of my favorites!

I love how Carson’s hair curls up like Katie’s.  So sweet.

Bert and Ernie had a blast, too. 

Helloooooo!  I just put the finishing touches on the highlights slideshow from Jennifer’s and Nick’s wedding last weekend.  This is usually the part of the blog where I talk about their big day, but it’s 12:30AM, and I’m just chomping at the bit to get their slideshow live for them to see.  I’ll come back and add in details tomorrow.

I’ve been working feverishly on it while vacationing in Florida, and I’m so anxious for the Jennifer and Nick to see it.  Here’s a shot of me today at Clearwater Beach.  Thanks for documenting this moment, Katie! 

Ready to see the slideshow?  :)  Click HERE or on the play button below.  It might take a few seconds for everything to load, but it’s totally worth it.  Don’t forget to turn up your volume!  Also, if you’re looking for the rest of the images, there will be a TON on my proofing site here in a few weeks.  You’ll be able to see them by clicking HERE, but for now only the Coopers’ engagement images are on there.  Keep checking back, though.  Thanks so much for stopping by, and please take some time to leave a comment!  Take care!  -SR

Here are some fun shots from our second day down here on the Gulf Coast.  We had a pretty lazy day today.  Just chilled here at the house, took long naps, and visited again with my buddy Bill and his fam.

Here’s the view from the backyard of the house we rented.  Not too shabby!  This canal moves around the bend and out to the gulf, but, seeing as how I’m not exactly well-versed on boating, I think we’ll just enjoy the view.

It’s a cute little place, right?  Sure, it’s not a condo on the beach, but I’m quickly falling for this adorable little town.  Just minutes away from Tampa, St. Petersburg, and Clearwater, I think Hudson is a great out-of-the-way place to hang out.  Katie and I have been joking about keeping our eyes open for a possible investment property out in this area.  Who knows? 

Ah….what a relaxing spot.

Bill played a couple ditties on the guitar while we were visiting for dinner again.  We used to play a TON of music together back in the day.  Bill has the heart for music like I do for photography. 

This is his heart now… 

Molly is so sweet.  Carson loved playing ball with her.  At one point, he offered her his Poppy (pacifier).

Hudson Beach has a pretty incredible ice cream parlor.

I love Katie’s laugh.  She’s so good with Carson!

Carson decided that it would be funny for me to put Ernie up in a palm tree.  He was right.  It WAS really funny! 

Winding down for bathtime, here we are reading for a bit.

Thanks again for stopping by.  I’ll have more pics tomorrow when we get back from Honeymoon Island.  Time for bed!  :)  -SR

Yay! We’re finally in sunny Florida! I’m not going to be doing a ton of writing this week, but I will be hopping on here to share some images. Here are some shots from our first day:

Carson’s first experience with sand!

Sand is cool, of course, but slides are always better.  Right, Bert?

Carson LOVES crocodiles.  Earlier in the year when we were trying to teach him to say the word bubble, we used his crocodile hand-puppet to say the word.  Now, when he sees a crocodile or alligator, he calls it a bubble.  Yesterday he saw his first Florida lizard (the green anole) and named it Baby Bubble.  How cute!

One of the biggest reasons we chose Pasco County for our vacation is because one of my dearest friends Bill, his wife Kelly, and their new 6-week-old son Ben live nearby.  They had us over for some tasty dinner last night.  Thanks, you all! 

Ben’s adorable, eh?

Bill and Kelly are great parents already.  Ben is a lucky boy!

Thanks for stopping by!  I’ll post some more pics tomorrow!  -SR

I recently had the privilege of meeting u71308p with Kim Colley for a portrait session.  Kim and I know each other from our UK days, but have since been a bit out-of-touch.  Out of the blue recently, she contacted me about shooting her headshots for the Actors Guild of Lexington website.  It’s there that she works as the Stage Production Manager, overseeing all of the behind-the-scenes work.  Kim just wrapped up working on The Merry Wives of Winsor, which was part of this year’s Shakespeare at Equus Run series.

Another nice surprise was when I received, just a couple days after our shoot, a sweet thank-you note and a gift card to Panera—my favorite place to chill.  Thank you so much, Kim! 

Here’s my favorite shot from our session, and for the rest of the images, feel free to click HERE.  They’ll be up within the next day.  Thanks for stopping by!  -SR

Isn’t this sweet?  Thanks, Kim! 

It’s 3AM and I’m finally home, unpacked, and ready for bed after having shot a GREAT wedding today.  Jennifer and Nick are heading out for their honeymoon tomorrow, so I’ll have their slideshow up by next Sunday.  Please check back, but in the meantime, here’s a little teaser.  Can you believe the vertical on this guy?  :)