Jess MIA

I feel like I've been missing in action for the last week.... it's definately been a trying week. Last Tuesday, 3-17 Wes called me from work very upset and asked how quickly I could get a house sitter together, I wasn't sure what was going on but said I would call my sister and see what she could do and I asked him what was going on. He simply said "my grandfather is in the hospital and he's going to die"

Eden pulled through for me yet again on very short notice to stay here at the house and watch the dogs and we packed up and headed out to Augusta, GA where his grandfather was in the hospital.

I won't get into the issues at the hospital and what all happened because well, that's his family's business and personal. But on Friday the 20th we were told that his grandfather was inproving enough to come off of his ventilator. I think everyone wanted to believe it because no one wants to lose a family member but deep down they all knew that it was only the machine making him do better.

Wes and I not knowing what else to do headed back to FL on Saturday the 21st, we had been in town only hours when his cell phone rang and his stepfather telling us his grandfather had meerly hours left. We hadn't even made it back to the house yet, and had told everyone we were heading home, but after hearing the news I decided that it wouldn't make much sence to go home for a night and turn right around in the AM might as well go back to GA right way. So, we did we arrived at the hospital around 11:30 and his grandfather passed at 12:05 on the 22nd

I did my best to keep my family and friends updated via facebook and myspace when I could and when there was something to tell. Everyone left such sweet comments and my family is so sweet to Wes offering support and prayers. Afterall, it wasn't long ago that we lost loved ones in the same way.

Wes' grandfather was 80yrs old and lived a very full life, his memorial service was very sweet. He was retired army so he received the 21gun salute and the whole nine yards which was very hard for my husband as he's military as well. One of the cool things from the service came from one of his cousins he went outside and collected the bullet casings from the salute and gave one to all the children and grandchildren. I believe Wes intends to have it placed on his keychain.

Last year Wes went up to GA alone, my schedule wouldn't allow me a weekend off to travel up there. His grandparents wanted photos since they knew that time was getting close... So Wes took all the old lighting equipment up there (the large pannels and all that crazy stuff.. Tara and Jenny will remember what I'm talking about) and he did some photos of his grandparents... some of them even got used in his memorial slideshow... in fact the slideshow ended with the photos that Wes did... it was really a beautiful memorial service....

I'd like to thank everyone again for all their prayers and support. Wes is doing well, he is sad and misses his grandfather but that is to be expected. It's never easy losing someone you love. Here is the closing photo from the slideshow and unquestinably our favorite of his grandparents together.

Heidi & Justin Sneak Peak | Jacksonville Engagement Photography

Heidi warned me that Justin wasn't going to be super excited about this photoshoot... actually that he wasn't going to be excited about any photoshoot at all what so ever... and well.... she was right :) BUT by the end of the shoot, he was smiling and even gave me a hug! (making this the second hubby to be to give me a hug on a photoshoot!! I'm thinking to make this a new goal!)

Here are a few of my favs from the day, more to come soon!






hahaha! this one is just too funny!!!! I always encourage people to get as goofy as they like on their shoots!!


Wes didn't have his camera the last time... but I'm hoping I can put many photos of the "groom hug" in the near future!!!! :D

Tags: Engagement Photography, Florida Photographer, 5-points Jacksonville

Kasey | Jacksonville Portrait Photography

Kasey responded to a model call I had a while back for some work with the magazine... I ended up using Eden and her friends for the article but Kasey still wanted to get photos done, before she left for the Marine Core... yes, the Marine Core! when I saw USMC on her profile I figured that her boyfriend or family was Marines and she was supporting them... NOPE! Kasey is actually in boot camp right now and will not be able to see these photos for many more weeks, because due to my crazy schedule right now we were only able to do the photos a few days before she left... So I'd like for everyone here to leave Kasey lots of comments about her photos so she has some nice and kind words for when she gets back and can see them!

Kasey, Thank you for your service to our country. You're getting into one of the most hard core branches of the military and I wish you the best of luck, OohRah!

had to throw that in there! :D















This was our "Just Jack" moment.... She did something with her hands up like this and said something funny and then I went Just Jack hoping she would crack up and do it again for the camera.... and she did :D














Tags: Jacksonville Photographer, Portrait Photography, Modeling

Jillian & Matt Are Getting Hitched | Jacksonville Engagement Photography

But these aren't their Engagement photos, LOL!

Anyone that's been reading the blog for a while or has been a friend on myspace for a while will recognize this face... Jillian is another one of my clients that's been with me since I started! She's also recently Engaged!!!! They are planning their wedding for 2010 so Jillian informed me that she intends to put Matt through the whole photo process twice!!! These are just their couples photos, not their engagement photos!

For some reason I kept calling him Zach all day... I MUST have been thinking about Jamie all day that day or something! LOL

Here are my favs from their session with a slideshow at the end. Enjoy!





















My Lovely Husband assisting on the shoot... he's such a trooper! (who am I kidding the boy wants to get paid, I guess it's better to work part time for your wife than for some stranger that'll give fica all your money!)

















Now... During a session I often talk with the couple about things they like to do together, dates they go on stuff like that... at this point I had them sitting on a bench and they both replied well well we like to play thumb wars... Thumb Wars! Heck yes!!!!!!

Tags: Engagement Photography, Jacksonville Parks, Florida Photographer

New Blog Layout!!!!

Finally!!!! Check it out, let me know what you think!

The Photo Galz....

This past Saturday I got together with a couple of other local girl photographers Tara of course, Lyndsay, Stephanie, Ginger, and Adrienne. Now these other girls have managed to post their stuff ahead of me (cause I'm behind on my sessions) so I knew I'd be last... but here are my favs from the day :)



I love that you can totally see her eyes through the glasses....




















Got to love auto focus :( I'm sad that this one is out of focus cause I love this photo!!!


Yeah, this one too... totally out of focus but it was a test shot that I just adore!!!














The ladies didn't manage to really get any of me, thank goodness!!!! I have to psyche myself up for a photo shoot... I love my life behind the camera, I don't like being in front of it very much....

Heather & Mike are Married! | Jacksonville Florida Wedding Photography

I met Heather a little over a year ago when her and Mike came to me about booking their first wedding. That sounds horrible I know, but they were planning a large wedding, then put the breaks on it, and through a series of events ended up getting married Feb 22nd this year... Heather wanted to keep the ceremony very small and intimate and I think she did a wonderful job at it! Her wedding was at the San Marco Preservation Hall which is simply one of the cutest venues in Jacksonville!

Here are a few of my favs from her day and a slideshow at the end... (I really need to get better at this story telling thing for the blog...)

Tags: Jacksonville Florida Wedding Photography, Florida Wedding Photographer, San Marco Preservation Hall

Jennifer & Ashley Are Engaged!! | St. Augustine Engagement Photography

It's rare for people to meet Wes for the first time, and actually like him! Don't get me wrong, he's the sweetest guy in the world and certainly the best hubby I could ever ask for, but he's a bit rough around the edges... He's spend the last 10 years in the navy and has a different sense of humor. He's very sarcastic and loves to pick on everyone in unique ways, it's just the way he breaks the ice.... This hasn't always gone over so well with other people and he usually tries to keep it in check around clients.....

Well...... this session wouldn't have been any fun at all if it weren't for my darling smart ass husband! LOL

He kept these two laughin from the get go.... I almost couldn't get ANY serious photos of them cause once Wes gets on a roll it's hard for him to stop....

Anyway! I'll post more about Jennifer and Ashley's story with their wedding post it's super cute and they are A TON of fun!!!! I can't wait for their wedding later on next month!

In the mean time here are a few of my favs.... :)















Tags: Florida Engagment Photographer, St. Augustine Photography, Engagement Photography

Baby Jack!

I wouldn't say that baby photos are where I do my best work, I hardly get to work with babies. I'm more of a grown up photographer. I don't have kids so I think there is a missing link when it comes to children's photography. I think a photographer that is a Mom or a Dad just has a different grasp on children's photography than people with out kids... of course this is just my opinion and I'm only speaking for myself.

So, when my birthday twin Kimberly talked to me about doing a couple of photos of her 4 month old son Jack, I of course said yes but I had reservations about it cause well... I've never done 4 month old photos of anyone! I have to say at 4 months babies don't do very much, outside of crawl and put things in their mouths :)

Jack was a really good subject! He sat for his photos but was much more interested in his hands or toys than actually looking towards his Mom or the camera, but I think we pulled off some really cute shots!

Dress Trashin In St. Augustine

Still playing catch up on my blogs...

Fawn & Dan had a small ceremony in St. Augustine late last year, and decided they wanted some more photos of them together in their wedding duds a little while after the wedding.

I met up with Fawn and Dan in January (it was actually pretty warm that day, unlike the past could of March days!!) Here are a couple of my favs from their session :)

RAWAA Means Fantastic!

In Arabic the word Rawaa means Fantastic.... and let me tell you RAWAA Boutique in San Marco has some FANTASTIC dresses and accessories! The editor of the San Marco Magazine
contacted me in the middle of Feb about doing a prom themed photo shoot, for RAWAA Boutique, I loved the idea and jumped on the chance!

I had a couple of issues gathering up models for the shoot but my beautiful sister and her friends came to my rescue!!!

Here is the ad for the magazine followed by some of my favorites :)

A Seriously Large Family.... | Jacksonville Portrait Photography

Back in November I was contacted about doing some family portraits in January for a reunion deal they were having in Jacksonville, I quoted her a price and neglected to ask the number of people in the group. At first when she was talking nothing would have lead me to believe that there would be 32 people showing up at Memorial Park that morning. I called her a few days before to confirm and asked her for the final number and she said "about 30 plus a couple of kids"

WOW
is about all I could say!

Let me tell you, this family was HILARIUS and Wes and I had a ton of fun goofing around with them and getting some really cute photos of their family! Believe it or not, they were so organized and were on a mission to get these photos done, this family was easier to deal with than some wedding parties!!

Tags: Riverside, 5-points Jacksonville, Jacksonville Portrait Photographer

Leah & Darren's Wedding | Jacksonville Wedding Photography

So, I'm extremely behind on blogging... (as usual)

I posted a few sneak peaks of Leah and Darren's Wedding back in Jan and never posted their slideshow...

Leah and Darren had a very nice ceremony out at Jacksonville Beach with a reception on Mayport Navy Base. Leah chose the same colors for her wedding as I did mine, Red and Black so there wasn't much that I didn't like at the wedding! She had made all her decorations, invitations and programs. The wedding party as a whole was the most fun!!! They were all crazy and willing to do just about anything... (including walking along the freezing beach!!!)

Sorry for the delay in blogging I'll be doing my best to catch up this week!! :)

The first dance has to be my favorite part of a wedding, you'll notice quite a few photos from Leah and Darren's first dance in the slide show, these two were just too cute!!!!