This is Sammy on a snowy day in February.

Below is a dear friend of mine, Sammy. She's from Iowa, meaning she's used to snow. Haha I was freeeezzzinnnggg during this shoot and I'm pretty sure she was thinking that I'm a big ole' pansy ha. She asked me to take some photos of her a few weeks back so she could use them in a modeling contest. Click here to go vote for her! She's a beautiful person and talented in more ways than one! Meet Sammy :)

My favorites of 2011

The year 2011 brought many memories that molded me, taught me, changed me. I wanted to share a few photos that depicted these moments. I lived a while in India, I shot a few weddings, I got engaged, shot another wedding, all in all it was a year full and wonderful. I hope you enjoy a few photos that tell the story of 2011 for me.

Durgapur, West Bengal, India

Taj Mahal, India

Pinki & Arun's Wedding, India

Pinki Roy 

Melissa's bridal shower

Jeremy + Melissa's Wedding, Knoxville, TN

Jeremy and Melissa's wedding Knoxville, TN

Farrar Grace's 2nd birthday

Kayla Beth's Homecoming

Melissa's bouquet throw

Alex's senior pictures

Annie

Annie paints.

Blackberry Farms, Maryville, TN

Michelle knits. 

Amy,

The Hamilton family Christmas

The High Family. 

Stacey High

The High Family

I can only hope that 2012 is as wonderful as 2011! 

too much arkansas fun.

So, this past week I got engaged! what?! yep, sure did! you should read the crazy story. it's pretty dang crazy. but awesome at the same time. anyhow, after getting engaged, my fiance (i always like to pronounce it with a french accent emphasizing the "eeeeaawwnncaayyy" part. try it yourself. it sounds so much better, doesn't it?) whisked me off to arkansas (which is naturally the most romantic place on earth, right?) where we pretty much celebrated with each other and his family (which is now my family, too!) and the fish they caught. it really was the most wonderful time ever. i wanted to share this video below because i think it's kind of cool and because i'm trying some new things out. feel free to let me know what you think!

Amy is my guinea pig. [[the yellow chair series]]

I call her "amy girl". She's my best friend. And my guinea pig. Thrice now. First time here. Second time here. she's always up for letting me get really close to her face with my camera and has never complained when i enthusiastically say on a rainy day, "amy!! can i take pictures of you today??" She's a true guinea pig whom I cherish dearly :) If you haven't already met her, ladies and gents, here is Amy B. She's a real gem. 

our little family :)

You might be thinking to yourself, "hey! i think i've seen that awesome yellow chair before!" If you find yourself thinking this, then, you're 100% correct! A little while ago I did a shoot for another friend, miss annie. Today, miss annie had a wonderfully marvelous idea. She called it, "the yellow chair series". So, it became official today. THE yellow chair will now be making more and more appearances in photo shoots. What a beautiful piece of specimen it is. It deserves as much action as it can, right? :) Thanks for the marvelous idea, Annie :)

yours truly giving some lovin' to the yellow chair

This is Hannah. She used to hate dogs and swore she'd never have an animal living in the house.

Hannah is my roommate. We've been through more than any normal friends go through in their entire life. I've known this girl for three months, but it feels like she knows more about me, and I know more about her, than some of my friends who I've known my whole life. You know those people that you are absolutely positive God put in your life to make sure you don't go crazy, those people who have seen you at your worse and they just let you cry because they know that that's the best thing you can do at that moment, and they teach you things you've never known before like the fact that a magic bullet might be the greatest invention on the planet? I'm sure you have a friend/relationship like that. This is Hannah. She's seen me at my worse, I've seen her at her worse, and yet it has been one of the most beautiful and blessing-filled friendships I've ever had. Did I mention that she is beautiful? I'll let you see for yourself. Oh, and one more thing: she LOVES dogs. HAHA :) :) (is there anyway to make sarcasm completely obvious on the internet?) Actually, in all reality, she swore she'd never have a dog, much less a dog in the house, and then she became roommates with yours truly and I slowwwlllyyy converted her into a dog lover...well, sort of :)