Holritz Photography

New Blog!!!

2007-11-18T19:55:00.000-05:00

Hey everybody! Come visit us at our new blog/website at www.holritzphotography.com! See you soon!

Rockstar Workshop: Baby Hank!

2007-11-08T23:14:00.000-05:00

On day 5 of the Rockstar workshop, I had the opportunity to present to the attendees my philosophies and strategies surrounding my favorite topic: Lifestyle Baby Photography.

Corey took some awesome images of me shooting and speaking, and he also set up some fun shots of the whole group, but sadly I don't have those images yet. I'll add them as soon as I can.

What I do have to show are images of my absolutely wonderful model child, Baby Hank. I cannot describe to you just how wonderful this family was. Chuck and Cendi are completely in love with their adorable child, and it is obvious in the way that they interact with him. I actually had to wipe tears out of my eyes at one point, as they were singing "The Wheels on the Bus Go Round and Round." They got to the last verse, and suddenly they were singing "Mommy and Daddy love Hank alot...." It was sooooo cute. I don't think I was the only person who got a little teary over it!

So without further ado, meet Baby Hank!

Their super fun dog, Trout, was also around for the session. He was incredibly well behaved, and a piece of cake to photograph.

Thanks so much, Chuck and Cendi, for allowing us all to come into your home and hang out with your family. You guys were absolutely wonderful, adn I hope we get the opportunity to hang out again soon.

I will add fun images of the rest of the day later!

Robbie & Rachel.... Fire Engines and Helicopters!

2007-11-06T16:31:00.001-05:00

Wow! What an experience! Robbie, a fire captain in Georgia and helicopter crew chief for Erlanger Medical Center's LifeForce in Chattanooga, and Rachel, a medic who also has quite the background with LifeForce, took me on a wild ride through their amazing careers as we photographed their engagement session on Saturday!

We started at the fire department in Georgia with some quick images around the ladder truck. The crew at this station were so friendly and accommodating! I already had respect for the profession, but even more so after experiencing the quality of people involved!

We then headed downtown to grab some images at the helicopter pad on top of Erlanger Hospital! It was such a privilege again to be hosted by an incredible crew, and we had a great time getting some fun images around the helicopters!

As we were finishing up, Rachel asked me if I would grab some images of their main helicopter as it was taking off so the crew would have some really great pictures to keep! Those of you who are photographers know how close I actually am as I took the following images with a fisheye lens: I was almost blown over by the incredible down-force of the blades as the helicopter took off! It was one of the coolest experiences I've ever had!

Congratulations to Robbie and Rachel on their engagement and soon-upcoming wedding, and great thanks to them for devoting their lives to careers in which they risk their lives to keep us safe! You guys are awesome!

Rockstar Workshop: Day 4

2007-11-03T22:41:00.001-05:00

Day 4 dawned much too early... :) The previous nights party had us all a little tired, but after arriving at the studio and getting started for the day, I again was reminded of how blessed I am to be hanging out at the workshop! Corey had so much to share about Delivery and Workflow, and although I have picked his brain a million times over the last few months, I still learned so much from what he had to share!

A few quick images from the day... Corey drove the Landy in to the studio, and that was a fun new experience for me.

Later in the afternoon, Corey had us go out and shoot headshots of one another. My buddy Tom and I split off to do a little shooting. I grabbed a couple of him, and he got some fun stuff of me!

Tom by me:

Me by Tom:

A few more images of the antics going on during that time frame:

Corey with Aaron:

Tom and Aaron:

Corey with the Landy:

After the day's session, we went out to celebrate the workshop's success at dinner. Dinner was held at Fiddlin' Pigs and was hosted by our very own Photographer's Solutions. Sadly, I think all of the images that were taken were on Jeremy's camera, so I'll have to maybe add some of those later. We had an awesome time!

The final day was the day for Rockin' Baby Shoots... and Corey took loads of cool pictures for me. I'll have something fun to share soon!

Rockstar Workshop: Day 3! Happy Halloween!

2007-11-03T19:25:00.000-05:00

Wednesday was crazy busy, packed full of information and more fun shoots and parties! I am quickly running out of time, so I am just going to give you a few images to show you how much fun we had!

We did a shoot downtown, all dressed in Halloween garb. I didn't even take my camera, I wanted to be available to help, and also function as a "voice activated light stand for Corey"... It turned into loads of fun. Check out Corey's blog for more fun images from the night session!

As a "voice activated light stand", I had fun pointing the flash at myself and at Corey while one of Corey's awesome attendees (and my new friend) John Sanderson, took some fun pictures of us. Thanks for sharing these John!

Then we went back to Corey's for a Halloween party. We had a fog machine and everything!

Stole all of these from Jeremy, because I was way to busy enjoying myself to take any pictures!

Good times!

More soon!

Rockstar Workshop: Day 2!

2007-10-31T13:37:00.000-05:00

And the fun continues! While Nathan is at home taking stunning photographs of Emily and Bryan, I am having a blast here in Asheville hanging out with some super cool photographers at the Rockstar Wedding Workshop.

Tuesday, Corey spoke about Sales in the morning, and then my good buddy, Adam Linke shared with us a bit about Pictage. After the morning lessons, we headed out to the most delicious barbecue joint in town, 12 Bones, sponsored by the aforementioned Pictage. Thanks to Adam for making the trek up here and picking the dinner tab!

After lunch, we went back for a bit of Shooting discussion, and then we headed off to the beautiful Biltmore Estate to put what Corey had just talked about into practice.

How fun was it to get our passes, and they look like this?!

Tom and I were VERY excited about them!

Again, it was much fun to watch some of the other photographers at work. Check out this homemade contraption by John Sanderson. Fun stuff!

Jill was playing ninja, all laid out for a shot. I joined her down there, but I got kicked in the head, so I didn't really go ninja any more after that :) Thanks Zac.

Corey imparting brilliance upon my buddy Ty.

The infamous Adam, having loads of fun.

Me and Adam... Adam, this image is only barely blogsharp ;) But I'm usin' it anyway!

My one shot of our beautiful models, Hadley and Kevin.

Headed back to the car...

One last look.

After our shoot, we went out and grabbed some dinner, and then went to to see Corey's buddy Byron play. The band was absolutely brilliant. I thoroughly enjoyed them! While waiting on Byron to come out from backstage, we took a few self portraits.

Thanks Ty for sending me these pictures!

This is Corey, Jeremy, Ty, Tom, and Sophia.

And then one last shot from dinner... Ty grabbed this image of me shooting Corey, self-portraiting himself and Byron. Perfect point and shoot capture! Love it!

Happy Halloween guys! I'll be back with today's update later!

Emily & Brian

2007-10-31T10:55:00.001-05:00

Last night we were finally able to make a portrait session happen for Emily & Brian Goodwin! Emily owns Boutique Couture here in Chattanooga, and we have been talking about doing a session for her and her husband for months now! The weather and our schedules finally came together last night and we got some great images! Emily and Brian are total naturals in front of the camera, and they're totally into each other - it was so great!

Early on, I encourage them to move around a little bit, to not stay in the same pose, and this was what they gave me! How fun!

We were also able to take advantage of a little bit of color!

We had to keep chasing the light, but we managed to find a really cool spot where we hung out for a little while!

We finished up on a simple set up steps...

Rockstar Wedding Workshop... Day Two!

2007-10-30T00:55:00.000-05:00

Well, sadly, it's 2:00 am, and I am still awake. I think I might've dozed off at my laptop earlier in the night, but I knew I wouldn't really be able to sleep until I posted a few images from today at the workshop.

Most of the morning and early afternoon today was spent getting to know the other attendees, and listening to Corey's words of wisdom regarding marketing. Corey is a marketing genius, so it was awesome to hear him articulate that for us.

I will post more specifics later, maybe, but for now I'll just leave you with a few images from the model shoot we did this evening!

Photographers doing their thing...

(Check out that lens... *drool*)

And a few shots of our beautiful models, John and Anna.

Fun stuff guys! Can't wait til tomorrow...

Well, actually, it's already tomorrow. Goodness, I should get some sleep!

I wanted to add just a few images from last nights dinner... the group decided to go to Carrabba's for dinner. It was great to just hang out and socialize a bit over some good food.

My dear friend Adam Linke sent over a few images from the night, since we were too busy chatting to take any of our own!

I want to give a huge shout out to my new friend Larry Crandall from White Glove Books, as he picked up dinner for most of the group! So awesome! And then my own personal thanks to the McNabbs who were so gracious in picking up the rest.

Rockstar Wedding Workshop has begun!

2007-10-29T10:28:00.000-05:00

I am here at Corey McNabb's studio, and Corey is currently instilling brilliant advice on sales and marketing to the students at the Rockstar Wedding Workshop. I'm going to try to get this blog post up quickly, so I can go back to focusing on all that's going on here. We're having so much fun that I have to share just a bit with you!

Friday, Corey and I shot a fun wedding at the Biltmore Estate (actually, Corey shot a wedding, and I had fun tagging along and shooting a million pictures of him shooting, plus a couple bonus shots of the wedding ;) I might share a couple of those later.)

Yesterday, we met in the early afternoon to go do a bit of color-seeking. The fall color here in Asheville is extraordinary (I love LOVE Asheville in the fall!).

Corey and I got a chance to spend the afternoon with Zac Thomas and Thomas Flint as we enjoyed a bit of the crisp mountain air!

I love this group portrait that Corey got of us in the hood of his Lexus. How fun!

After the leaf watching, we headed back to change and prettify ourselves for the opening party. It was loads of fun... check out the incredible set-up provided by the brilliant Tara, from Weddings with Tara.

(Ice sculpture! Insane!)

The beautiful Tara.

Fun gifts:

The hostess with the mostess, Jill McNabb.

Rockstar sighting...It's Corey McNabb and Parker J!

Me and my new buddy Tom.

Regina and Sophia, being VERY excited to be here!

Tom, Sophia, and Ty:

I love this picture of me with Parker! Thanks Corey :)

It's looking to be an awesome week. I'll keep you guys posted as the week goes along, but for now, I'm going go learn more super secret stuff!

Thanks again to Corey, for letting me come and spend the week! I'm having a blast!

Congratulations to Rich & Heather!

2007-10-26T23:37:00.000-05:00

Congratulations to Rich and Heather on baby Alana, due to be born in just a few weeks! It was an awesome privilege to be able to photograph their maternity session this evening. The weather has been so crazy and unpredictable, but it turned out great!

I took a little bit different approach to the session with a little more posing than I normally do; it was fun to get creative and play with light!

Here are a few favorites from the shoot!

Tracy and Zack: A Perfect Day.

2007-10-22T23:35:00.000-05:00

Saturday morning started off just a little crazy for me. I drug myself out of bed in New Haven, CT before 4:00 am, and headed for the airport... I arrived in Nashville at 9:00, and made our wedding start time by just before 10:00! Very hectic! But when we pulled up in front of Tracy's home, I knew that the day was going to be amazing. What an amazing location!

Then we went inside, and began scouring the house to get a feel for our options. I can't even begin to describe to you how beautiful this home was! We could've shot in there for a week, and still not exhausted the possibilities!

A few preparation details:

The stunning Vera Wang gown, and equally stunning Manolo Blahnik shoes...

The light in the brides room was so much fun. We had lots of depth to play with, and floods of natural light in addition. It was a photographer's dream room!

The bride looking stunning during the prep time:

Fun with mirrors:

The bridal portraits were so much fun. Tracy is an absolute natural in front of the camera!

And the groom was wonderfully handsome. I love this casual image of him that Nathan captured.

Just before the ceremony started, the girls were sequestered upstairs while the guests poured through the downstairs. The mother of the bride and the mother of the groom were watching the guests arriving and discussing their children's future... I love how the sun just peeked through the window completely the magic of the moment for me.

Zach and Tracy were both very emotional as the ceremony began...

The new couple!

A couple of stolen moments on the window's walk:

The venue at twilight:

And finally, a few images from the first dance. I loved the reception lighting, it added so much dimension to the event!

Tracy and Zach, I hope you guys enjoyed your fabulous honeymoon! Nathan and I thoroughly enjoyed spending time with both of you. Here is your slideshow!

I wanted to leave this post with a quote from The Velveteen Rabbit that Zach's sister read during their ceremony. I am not certain that I have ever considered this book in the context of a wedding, but I will admit that hearing it read in the presence of such obvious love brought out the tears ;)

"Real isn't how you are made," said the Skin Horse. "It's a thing that happens to you. When a child loves you for a long, long time, not just to play with, but REALLY loves you, then you become Real." "Does it hurt?" asked the Rabbit. "Sometimes," said the Skin Horse, for he was always truthful. "When you are Real you don't mind being hurt." "Does it happen all at once, like being wound up," he asked, "or bit by bit?" "It doesn't happen all at once," said the Skin Horse. "You become. It takes a long time. That's why it doesn't happen often to people who break easily, or have sharp edges, or who have to be carefully kept. Generally, by the time you are Real, most of your hair has been loved off, and your eyes drop out and you get loose in your joints and very shabby. But these things don't matter at all, because once you are Real you can't be ugly, except to people who don't understand."

Amber's Excellent Adventure!

2007-10-21T22:57:00.000-05:00

Wednesday morning, I hopped on a plane from Nashville, TN to New York City for PhotoPlus Expo . I had spent about 4 hours in the city previously, and that was with my family entourage in tow. This time, I went alone, and was planning to stay til Friday afternoon.

My dear friend Shyla flew in from LA, and we bummed a room at our new friend Eric's place!

I need to throw a little praise at my new buddy Eric... :e: is one of the coolest people I have ever had the privilege of meeting. He's considerate and giving, ridiculously talented, and quite un-ugly! And ladies... he's single, feel free to pop over to his blog and leave him some love!

So without further ado, here are a few images from my point and shoot!

The sign that greeted us at the :e: pad...

We got a little dressed up, and headed for a fun pre-expo party. Eric said we should try our serious yet sexy faces, and Shyla just couldn't hold hers! Love it!

Jason Groupp hosted a fun party at his super cool studio. It was so exciting to finally meet him, somehow we've always missed each other in the past!

I swiped this fun image from his blog! I have no idea who about half of these people are :) It was great to see Luke Walker for just a bit, I've missed him greatly!

I, of course, took no pictures of the cool studio or crazy crowd.. but I do have a couple self portraits of the fun people I hung out in the hallway with ;)

The amazing Joy Moody and the wonderful Sophia.

Andrew and Rachel, half of the amazing Lacour quartet... Mark left before we took this photo, and sadly, Erin didn't make it to New York at all.

We stopped at a fun little burger joint for much needed sustenance after the party was over.

The next morning, we woke up bright and early and headed in to the trade show. Eric grabbed this shot of Shyla and I on the subway. It was such an odd experience. I know many people love the rush rush feeling of the city, but for a small-town girl like myself, I think I felt my blood pressure rise every time I descended into the heart of the city!

At the Javits Center , I loved the ceiling there.

Had a fun breakfast with Rita Weibner. We had a great time talking about our upcoming schedules and our ever challenging lives as photographer moms. I always love getting to chat with Rita, and am glad we managed to carve out a bit of time for ourselves!

The rest of the day was spent hanging out at the trade show, and then going out to dinner with the amazing, newly married, Marantz's. Sadly, I took no pictures... but let me tell you that we had a blast. Thanks to Pictage for dinner!

After dinner, I met back up with Shyla and Eric, and we traversed the city to see Times Square at night! What an insane sight!

This makes me laugh so hard... Eric though we should pretend like we were blinded by the lights...

Friday morning, after oversleeping slightly, we hiked and trained back into the city through the misty rain. Shyla and Eric were going to be working the Shootsac booth so they had fun shirts made for themselves.

Because they are super cool people, they also had a shirt made for me... I sported it all day. On the back, it says, "now buy me something cool". I don't know that I have ever had so many strangers speak to me... the shirt was a great conversation piece.

After speaking at the Pictage booth for a bit in the morning, I had the opportunity to go grab lunch with my dear friend David Jay. While we were eating, we were joined by my friends Lauren and Amy ! I was so excited to see these girls. We only got a minute together, as they were working hard at the crazily packed Fong Booth.

Me and Sara France.

Nikon's amaaaaaaazing new camera. Must. Buy. Soon.

My friend Carey and my new friend Roxanne. Roxanne is the owner of Pixel2Canvas . I'm going to be using her for an amazing print I've got coming up... I can't wait to show it to you guys!

The spectacular J of Livebooks.

My flight out of JFK was canceled, and I had a wedding to get back to on Saturday. AFter much scrambling, the brilliant Justin Marantz found me a flight out of Hartford, CT the following morning. I cannot express enough thanks to Justin and Mary. They not only opened their home to me (and entertained me with great stories!), but Justin drug himself out of bed before 4:00 am to drive me to the airport an hour away! All of this while they are still on their honeymoon! I love you guys so much, thank you, thank you, thank you!

Goodness, this blog post was almost as exhausting as the trip itself! Wait til you see the wedding images!

Jason and Amanda... and Light!

2007-10-16T14:05:00.001-05:00

If clients ever have a question about why I'm rescheduling an engagement session because of cloudy weather and bad light, I'm just going to have send them to look at this engagement session!

We had amazing light for Jason and Amanda's session on Friday night, and the light coupled with Jason and Amanda's really fun personalities and good looks made this session amazing!

Gotta love the Battlefield close to sunset! (And for you photographers out there, yes, that is 100% genuine sun flare!)

Congratulations Jason and Amanda! You all are awesome!

Heather and Donnie: Beautiful Patten Wedding!

2007-10-15T22:44:00.000-05:00

This past Saturday, we had the pleasure of hanging out with Heather and Donnie for their wedding day!

We had a blast hanging out, and I don't know if we've ever seen a couple so in love! I think that about our couples every week, but Heather and Donnie may just top them all!

Their pre-ceremony meeting was one of the best I've ever witnessed. The look on Donnie's face when he saw his bride-to-be in her wedding beauty was nothing short of amazing!

Heather waiting...

Donnie's first glance...

A few sweet moments...

We had fun photographing these two! They were a blast to be with, and they made our job so easy!

A couple of the "formals"...

And check out these ADORABLE kiddos from this past weekend. I loved this little girl, she was perfectly shy. This image that Nathan grabbed of her seems to really capture her sweet spirit.

And I love this one of the ringbearer. He was a total ham!

And I'm including this one just because I love it.

Heather and her dad waiting for Patten Chapel's doors to open...

Heather and Donnie, we had a wonderful time with you and your families! You've got exactly one year to call us with news of a baby :) I can't wait to hang out again!

Enjoy your slideshow!

Fun Sunday...

2007-10-15T21:11:00.000-05:00

Another Fun Sunday with the kiddos... I'm getting ready to be gone for much too long in the next few weeks, so I was very excited to just spend a bit of time with my family!

We started off the morning with church, and then had some lunch at my favorite pizza place, Lupi's! If you haven't eaten pizza at Lupi's, you haven't eaten real pizza! I love it there. The atmosphere is so fun, and the pepperoni and feta pizza is just amazing.

Of course, we played around with the camera a bit while waiting for our pizza.

Austen looked good behind my D200:

Here are a few of the fun pictures he took...

I love these two that Nathan grabbed of Addy and I.

And these of Nathan and Austen...

The pizza arrived, and then there were no more pictures... we were much too busy!

After lunch, we went Halloween costume shopping. Austen will be celebrating as Spiderman this year, and Addy will be a "Pretty Princess". They are sooo cute... No pictures yet, but I can assure you, there will be some :)

Nathan had done a engagement session at the Battlefield a few days earlier, and had been amazed by the mass amounts of deer roaming around. We thought we'd take the kids over there to see that!

A quick headshot of Austen in some sweet light...

The kids had a blast rolling down the hill. I can remember having fun with that as a kid, and it was awesome to watch my kids enjoy such a small pleasure.

And then, completely at random, we ran into our dear friends Joel, Holly, and Baby Natalie. Nathan hadn't yet seen Natalie, so it was fun getting all caught up!

More fun stuff next Sunday, I'm sure!

Spidey-Boy

2007-10-13T00:13:00.000-05:00

Tonight, our dear friend Laura (Baby Adaley's mom) took Austen to the Shriner's circus. It started pretty late, so Addy and I came on home..

When Austen came back home... here's what I saw :)

He obviously had a blast :) And yes, I let him sleep like that :)

Thanks Laura (and Kathy!) for taking him! I promise we will all go next time! We love you!

Alison and Ardy, the Sequel.

2007-10-11T23:11:00.000-05:00

I spent an absolutely gorgeous afternoon with my dear friends Alison and Ardy tonight!

We roamed around the Southside enjoying all of the amazing texture and colors! Don't be alarmed, I did manage to find a few black and white appropriate images ;)

Ardy broke the ice for us by giving us a little preview of his breakdancing skillz. Let me tell ya, I was well impressed.

This wall was so fun. I could've shot there all night!

I had seen this sign downtown the other night, and just knew I had to bring Al back down here. It was perfect.

I never knew this weird wall was downtown... What in the world?!

Found a bit of sweet light...

Even more color!

This is my favorite image from the day, I think. I just love the mood.

And I had to throw this one in, so you could check out the brilliant shoes Alison picked up for the session. Too cute :)

I love the motion in this one.

And one last shot! One of my favorites, for sure.... So much to play with at this location, I am definitly going back!

Love you guys!

Baby Maddie!

2007-10-11T21:13:00.000-05:00

Today I had the opportunity to hang out with Baby Maddie and her gorgeous mom, Meredith, at Meredith's parent's beautiful home. Meredith (who works with the amazing Tamara at Sophies) and I worked a wedding together this past weekend, and we finally managed to get our schedules to coordinate for a session! I am so excited that we did!

Baby Maddie is almost 9 months old, and has an absolutely amazing little face.

I loved watching her expressions...

This is the age where they just can't keep their little hands off my camera... Moms always freak out, but I love it :)

I really enjoy seeing mom's and babies interact. It's such a special relationship...

We did a quick bathtime before I left.

I had a blast with you guys! Let's get the next one on the schedule very soon. We need to let Dad join in on the next one, Meredith! Tell him we missed him!

Enjoy your slideshow!

Baby Bolton, Round Two!

2007-10-10T19:57:00.000-05:00

I love hanging out with the Born's. I feel like part of the family. I started taking pictures of Barrett almost two years ago now, and it's just been so amazing seeing him grow up! When I showed up at his house this morning, and saw how big he had gotten, I was just amazed.

Here's Barrett from one of our first sessions...

And here's how big he is now!

I haven't seen Bolton since a few days after he was born... and he's grown like mad, as well!

Last time...

Today...

Just love his little face!

A few fun family pictures...

I love this series... Barrett was eating a sucker, and he decided to give Bolton a little taste. At 4 months old, it was probably his first candy :) He was very excited about it!

Brandon and Cam, thanks so much for having me over! Can't wait to see you in December.

Enjoy your slideshow!

Congratulations Marianne and Ryan!

2007-10-09T08:49:00.000-05:00

Saturday was beautiful in Chattanooga. Scorching hot for an October day, but the skies were perfectly blue and clear.

When Nathan and I arrived at La Bella Salon, I hadn't yet met our bride, Marianne. The moment she arrived, I knew that we were going to have a wonderful day! I just loved her!

The day was filled was awesome moments... starting at the salon! Normally, Nathan and I are able to get really cool getting preparation shots during the hair and makeup time, but this time the hours at the salon were filled with emotional moments!

Nathan and Mary, the Maid of Honor, switched cameras for a few minutes. I think Mary was hooked :)

The gals got beautified, and then we headed over to Baylor to finish getting ready.

Here's a fun shot of our beautiful bride with me and some of the awesome vendors of the day! Emily from Boutique Couture, and Taylor from Soirees are just two of the amazing people who helped make the day so perfect!

Marianne and Ryan decided to see each other before the ceremony, so that we could spend a little time taking pictures of the two of them, and I am so excited that they did!

The first look...

A few quick portraits...

Marianne tried to tell me that she always freezes up in front of the camera, but based on this image, I'd beg to differ!

I love this shot of Nathan shooting the formals...

This flower girl had the most amazing eyes.

As did her adorable brother.

A quick shot from the ceremony...

After the ceremony, we headed over to the Hunter Art Museum for the reception!

A quick first dance shot...

I love this shot of the women who made the whole day happen. Stephanie, Taylor, and Morgan from Soirees and Tinley, Taylor's sister, from the Hunter:

Ryan and Marianne, congratulations. You guys were wonderful to hang out with, and we hope you enjoy your Napa Valley honeymoon! Check out your slideshow!

Last Post for the Day :) Fun with Erin and Mark!

2007-10-04T11:24:00.001-05:00

On Tuesday night, we met up with the wonderful Erin and Mark Adams of LaCour Photography. We decided to drive to a midpoint, and eat there. Mark sent us a link to a cute little restaurant in Acworth, GA called The Old Mill.

Food was good, company was even better. Excited that we actually managed to get together on this side of the world!

Good times! Mark and Erin, let's do it again soon! Rachel and Andrew can even tag along ;)

Date Day!

2007-10-04T11:20:00.001-05:00

Nathan and I have deemed Monday's as Date Day, since we moved family day to Fun Sunday. This past Monday was our first opportunity it really spend time together...

We went out for a ridiculously yummy (and gigantic) breakfast, followed up by hours of shopping. My husband is such a trooper ;)

Didn't take many pictures, but did want to share this super hot one of Nathan...

And of course, the self-portrait.

Can't wait for more Date Days, babe!

Fun Sunday, Part Two... Grown Up Time!

2007-10-04T10:33:00.000-05:00

After we hung out at the fair (see below), we took the kids to wonderful Kathy's house, and we went to hang out with a few couples for Rich and Heather's baby shower! Baby Alana is due in mid-November, and we've been so busy that we've barely had time to see Rich and Heather. It was so great to spend a little time with them!

Heather and I before dinner.

Jason and Kellie were our gracious hosts. They made some completely delicious calzones, which we all ate voraciously. We were also joined by Clark and Maureen. It was great to hang out with new people!

After dinner, during dessert, we decided to play with Rich's new point and shoot, which claimed to be waterproof. We were all excited to put it in some water, and see if it would hold up!

First attempt was through a drinking glass.

Didn't work out so well :) So Kelly went and got a big glass vase...

Love this!

After dinner, we opened a few presents...

Played some games...

And took a few obligatory pictures ;) (The foot one is really Rich's. I'm too lazy to redo it without the frame!)

Thanks Rich for sharing your pictures with me! And thanks to Jason and Kellie for your awesome hospitality!

Let's do it again soon!

Fun Sunday at the Fair!

2007-10-04T08:56:00.000-05:00

Fun Sunday's with the kids are so much fun. This past weekend we piled onto a big yellow school bus (a first for Addy) with Jason and Theresa, and went to the county fair. It was so good to spend some time with our family, and with Nathan's brother and sister-in-law.

Addison and I goofing off on the bus.

Jason being himself. His shirt says "Stop looking at my shirt"... it was brilliant to watch people try to not look at it, all day long!

I think the kids enjoy the goat petting the most. It was so funny to watch them try to avoid the prying mouths of goats. This one little guy wouldn't leave Austen alone! He wanted to feed other goats, but couldn't get away from this one!

Theresa and Addison waiting in line for the pony rides.

Austen and I, same line.

Cotton Candy is apparently very exciting. Random Fact: I despise cotton candy. It is comparable to fingernails on the chalkboard for me. Yuck.

Finally, the Ponies!

Austen was very excited about the giant slide and jumping castle... I just love this reaction out of him :)

A few shots from the bus ride home.

Thanks Jay and Theresa for hanging out with us! We had lots of fun. Love you!

Photographer's Office Beta Version 0.9.9

2007-10-02T10:43:00.001-05:00

Hello to all Photographer's Office users! There is an updated version ready for download at www.photographersoffice.com! Let me know if you have any questions!

Alison and Ardy... Part One!

2007-09-29T21:57:00.000-05:00

My best friend, Al, is coming up on her first anniversary with her uber cute boyfriend Ardy. I was so excited when she wanted me to come over and take some fun images of them! We decided to do a two part session... Part one was just hanging out at the house... doing what they always do, cooking and watching movies. It was the perfect setting for some fun images!

Here's just a taste:

Ardy is a brilliant cook.

They took a lot of breaks ;)

The floor in Alison's apartment is a hysterical color of green. We had to document that, so they never forget it.

We ate some lunch, and then I moved them into the doorway to take advantage of some fun light.

How cute are they?

Then we moved into the other room to watch some movies. The movie de jour was a 80's flick about breakdancing... and as funny as it was, I don't believe it was originally a comedy!

A little Mac love...

I love these expressions!

Thanks for having me over Al :) And for the yummy shells and cheese!

Ardy, you rocked... I can't wait to do this again in a couple weeks. Good stuff!

Love you!

Happy 5th Birthday, Levi!

2007-09-28T21:49:00.000-05:00

Tonight was Austen's friend Levi's 5th birthday! We went out to the park to have a little cookout, and then Austen and Nathan camped out for the night! We gals had to head home, but I thought I post a few pictures for those who weren't able to make it to the party!

The party was a surprise. I just love Levi's face here as he realizes what was happening!

We did a little playing on the playground...

So many cute kids!

The birthday boy...Levi!

My adorable kiddos.

Cousins...

Levi enjoying a gigantic bite of his birthday dinner.

The sun set quickly, and by the time Levi was to blow out his candles, we had very little available light. I was so excited to see how the light from the candles lit up the area. It was so pretty! Check out those kids faces!

And then Nathan grabbed this one while Levi was opening his presents. The only light was a flashlight one of the little girls had on her head. Again, I love the mood!

Happy Birthday Levi! We love you!

2 in four months! We love the Kirk Family :)

2007-09-25T16:53:00.000-05:00

Back in May, we shot a wedding for the wonderful Emily and Jaye. This past Saturday, a mere four months later, we photographed the wedding of Emily's beautiful sister Betsey and her hysterical husband Stephen...

Prepare yourself for a long post!

I love how Betsey and Emily mirror one another in their body language. Nathan and I noticed it during Emily's prep time, and I noticed it again this go 'round...

I love this shot of Betsey's bridesmaids getting her ready... check out the slideshow to see a few more images showing off just how many people it took to get Betsey dressed!

I have no idea what these guys are laughing at, but it must have been brilliant!

The meeting. Betsey and Stephen chose to see each other before their ceremony... They met in the sanctuary where they would be married a couple hours later.

Mr. Kirk and Betsey, with Mrs. Kirk and Emily watching in the background...

The first look.

We then snuck the couple outside for a few quick portraits. Betsey and Stephen were total troopers, and I adore their sense of humor. Check out the laughter in these images!

I grabbed this shot of Betsey in that quiet time between portraits and ceremony. I love the classic feel of it.

The ceremony... So much emotion!

The new couple!

Nathan and I both made use of the balcony at the Tivoli for some awesome shots. It was such a nice vantage point.

Nathan's shot from the first dance...

And my shot of Nathan working the cake cutting.. don't worry, there are a few sans photographer as well, but this one is my favorite!

I love these girls! We have completely enjoyed spending time with this family, and I was urging both Betsey and Emily to hurry and have kids, so we can hang out more! (Actually, I believe we have a couple of other tricks up our sleeves for future get-togethers... I'm not going to let you guys forget about it, either!)

Thank you so much Mr. and Mrs. Kirk for allowing us the opportunity to be a part of both of your daughters lives! We love you guys!

We ended the night by going to Betsey and Stephen's new house, and grabbing a quick shot as Stephen carried his bride across the threshold. So fun!

Betsey and Stephen, congratulations. You guys are wonderful together! I hope you enjoy your slideshow!

iWhat!?

2007-09-24T21:38:00.000-05:00

Oh yes, I am now the proud owner of the coolest phone on the planet....

Woohoo!

Fun Sunday!

2007-09-24T21:28:00.001-05:00

This is the next to last post for the night! I got crazy behind on the fun stuff, so it has taken me a little while to get it all together!

Sunday we spent some much needed time with friends. Our dear dear friends, Bryan and Leah are moving soon, so we were excited to get to hang out and eat lunch with them and our buddies the Gormans. Lunch was at Chef Lin's, where Nathan was able to eat a little all-you-can-eat Sushi :)

We then drove up to Nashville to see David and Sarah. We did some walking, and talking, and eating... but sadly, the one image that I took of us, didn't read to my point and shoot :( Good times, though!

(One more post to go!)

Sushi Kids...

2007-09-24T21:06:00.000-05:00

Nathan loves Sushi. I think we have concluded that it is his very favorite food. Well, this past Friday we decided that the kids should try some sushi as well. Austen already likes shrimp sushi, so it was just seeing if he liked other kinds! Addison hadn't tried it yet, but we were pretty sure she'd love it!

We were right. They loved it. We've deemed Friday nights as Sushi Nights! (And I will happily eat macaroni and cheese instead ;) )

OSP Lunch...

2007-09-24T20:49:00.000-05:00

This post is well overdue! Last week, we met up with a load of local photographers for what is becoming a monthly get-together. We're excited to spend time with so many different people, all brought together by OpenSourcePhoto.

We didn't remember to take a group photo before people started leaving, but I did grab a few images here and there!

Me and Becca!

Nathan with super cute Melody Hood and the wonderful Rich Smith.

The stragglers :) The Nudds, Melody, Spencer, Kandice, and us!

Thanks so much for coming guys! We'll see you next month!

Holritz Life- By Nathan

2007-09-24T20:24:00.000-05:00

Lately, Nathan has enjoyed picking up the camera for just one random shot each day... It's been fun to see what he has ended up with. I love these images that show the essence of life around here!

And check out these gorgeous portraits he grabbed of Addison one day... Isn't she beautiful?!

8 Things You Didn't Know About Me - Nathan

2007-09-21T11:40:00.000-05:00

We've been "tagged" multiple times to post the 8 things about us that you might now know, so I'm going to start first and then maybe Amber will join with a little peer pressure!

1. I speak Japanese pretty fluently and with their accent (I grew up in Japan).

2. I started playing soccer when I was in 5th grade and and played into my college years. I wanted to go pro, but after a year of college ball I had to quit because of knee problems. 4 knee surgeries and a missing acl later, I'm still not able to play much, but I have a kind of secret goal to get my knees fixed and play semi-pro ball by the time I'm 30. Check out a rather amusing picture from college here.

3. I play three instruments, though clarinet is the primary. I started playing in 5th grade and was going to minor in it in college, but figured I didn't need to take classical clarinet (ignorantly) if I wanted to play a different style of music, so I dropped the minor. I once placed third at a national competition in the largest Christian high school competition in the country.

4. Growing up, my family and I owned or took care of three dogs, two cats, three birds, a turtle, multiple lizards, a gazillion gold fish, and a ferret, all at various times.

5. I was born in Kokomo, Indiana, grew up in Japan, and have lived in Washington state, Georgia, and now Tennessee. Needless to say, my accents mix together.

6. I once broke my hand/wrist so bad playing soccer that I ended up wearing a cast for over a year! Because it was on my right hand (and I'm right-handed), I had to learn to write with my cast, and I even had them set the cast so that I could still reach on octave on the piano!

7. I have at least driven/ridden through every state except for Alaska and Hawaii.

8. My major in college was Bible/Youth Ministry. I never did finish my degree, though I'm only short about 20 hours.

Alright Amber.... Tag, you're it!!!

RC Planes and Growing Up

2007-09-21T09:48:00.000-05:00

In an effort to find something to do besides business and photography, I've recently become interested in the idea of pursuing remote control airplanes as a hobby. In light of that fact, I had to show off what is ultimately a pretty funny series of pictures of me and my brothers and father when we lived in Japan, doing the RC plane thing! My dad used to do this as a hobby as well.

You gotta love the short shorts!!

Baby Reese- Session 9!

2007-09-20T08:10:00.000-05:00

I think every time I see Baby Reese I love her more! She's just the cutest child ever!

Look at this amazingly sweet face!

I was so excited to show up at the house and find Roger and Libby there! Libby is such an awesome big sister, and really, Reese didn't want to be with anyone but her!

Tea parties...

Hanging out in the hammock...

Spending some time with the whole family.

Reese is going to be a cute kitty for Halloween. I adore her little black tutu! This is her "meow" face... She came out the door and started meowing immediately! So cute!

I'm out of time for now, so you'll have to check out the slideshow for the rest!

Missy, I adore you. I love Reese and Roger and Libby, too. You guys are wonderful, and I cherish every session with you guys! Can't wait til the next one!

(Reese wanted to hang out with me a lot, so we took a couple of self portraits. I love the last one, because you can see Missy in it!)

How Ironic!

2007-09-19T09:04:00.001-05:00

Long live the Mac!

LA, final recap!

2007-09-17T20:53:00.000-05:00

Whew... what a wirlwind week! I'm so glad that we posted as we went, so I have very little left to share with you guys!

The conference was wonderful fun... Nathan already posted the images of us speaking... so I'll just post the fun self portraits from the point and shoot!

I don't really have any images from the first day of the conference... I was to busy being a nervous wreck. One of these days, we'll kick the nervousness out, and I'll just enjoy hearing all of my amazing friends speak! (I was privileged to hear many amazing speakers including Corey McNabb, Chris Humphreys, Kevin Swan, Mike Colon, Bob Davis, David Jay, Adam Linke, Robert Evans, and Davina Fear! Goodness, I am blessed to be able to call all of these amazing people my friends!)

Here are Nathan and I, just before we spoke... (joined by uber-cute Mike Colon ;) and our very cute poster, which I sadly think we forgot at the conference!)

What a relief to finally have that over with! I was so excited to get out and spend some time with my friends at the KISS and Show-it Party! It was fun to get a little dressed up and just kick back!

Prepare for the onslaught of self-portraits... as always, I hijacked the point and shoot, so Nathan has no pictures from this trip :(

Me and the hysterical Kevin Myers.. Man I adore this guy! Kevin, come to Asheville in October! I wanna hang out again soon!

The brilliant Davide...

My buddy and most brilliant chauffeur (we adore you!!!!), Regina!

Half of the most amazing quartet on the planet... Mark and Erin... (Ladies, let me tell ya, that Mark can dance ;) )

My dear friend, Rockstar Wedding Photographer, Corey McNabb...

Two of my VERY favorite people. I am still angry with Pictage for having them speak at the same time as us... I absolutely adore Justin and Mary... I better be seeing them down here in December!

The stunningly beautiful Shyla. I love Shyla.

And finally, the world's most amazing blogger, Jasmine Star!

Well, all of those were taken while waiting on the limos to take us off to the party... Sadly, I never really took another image the rest of the trip!

We do have a couple of SUPER fun shots from the Foto Cabina...

Nathan and I with the other half of the world's most amazing quartet... Rachel and Andrew!

Corey and I with the hysterical and adorable Crystal Goss!

And the illustrious Shaun Austin, of KISS wedding book fame hanging out in the booth with that same super fun poster :)

Fun times! There were so many people that I was blessed to spend time with, but of course took no pictures with :( I cannot wait til Vegas, so I can spend time with you all again!

Partner Con LA!!!

2007-09-15T06:08:00.000-05:00

(A special thanks to Loren Scott for all of his work in getting these photographs!)

I'm sitting in the Dallas Fort Worth airport waiting for my gate time. It's been a crazy three weeks! Canada, then a quick trip home, and then LA for a week! I'm so ready to get home to my kids and do the family thing... and get some sleep!

Amber and I once again had the incredible opportunity to share with fellow Pictage users at one of the two annual Pictage Partner Conferences! Pictage is so good to us and our clients, and it's so great to be able to be involved in an event that they host! We had the opportunity to share on a topic that has become more and more important to us.... relationships and business!

A fun series of images from the meeting!

It's so hard to know what to do with your body or face when you know that people are watching you or a camera is pointed in your direction! Hahahaha! I guess I took the serious route... I really do love speaking!

Thanks so much to all of you that came to hear us, and always let us know if we can do anything to help you and your business!

We love the McNabbs!

2007-09-11T13:47:00.000-05:00

Monday was McNabb Day in LA! I was so excited to get to spend some time with my favorite people, in a city that is so important to their lives!

We stopped by Butterfields auction house, to meet Corey's cute mom Barbara... While we were there, we saw a very exciting piece of my history... Kit from Knight Rider!

So cool!

After that stop, we went to feed our bellies. We stopped at Yuca's and had the best tacos and burritos ever!

We then went on to the shopping extravaganza portion of the tour! Corey managed to find some AMAZING deals, Jill bought the best two pairs of shoes EVER (that I believe I may steal on a regular basis), and I found a fun hat and even more fun skirt (now to find shoes and a top to match, eek!)

We spent A LOT of time watching Corey model for us...

After shopping was over, we went to P.F. Changs, where we met up with Corey's family and Corey and Jill's wonderful friend Eva for a yummy dinner.

Then we went extended the night a little longer, enjoying each others company on the last calm night before the storm! Fun times!

My camera battery died, so we grabbed a fun shot of the four of us from Corey's iPhone. Had to have some documentation of ourselves on our fun LA day!

We love you guys loads! Thanks for hanging out!

Hangin' with the Gordons...

2007-09-10T08:40:00.000-05:00

So we drove down from Santa Barbara yesterday to LA to hang out with our friend Shaun and his family, and we've had an incredible time together!

We found that our families are very similar in a variety of ways, including our kids who aren't very far apart in age and personalities. Noah and Haley are absolutely adorable kids, and it made us miss ours back home!

The fam:

Us and the fam:

And you can't have a visit to a photographer's home without some Mac time!

Shaun, Jamie, Amber, and myself all went out for dinner at a great local Italian place, and then later enjoyed a few rounds of The Newlywed Game - one of our favorites!

Thanks to Shaun and Jamie for being incredible hosts, and we look forward to a friendship for a long time to come!

Thanks to a great friend!

2007-09-09T13:01:00.000-05:00

Thanks again to our wonderful friend David Jay for allowing us to stay at his new party pad in the hills of Santa Barbara! This is the view that we "had" to wake up to this morning! This image is stitched together from 8 photographs. The view is amazing!!! (Click here to see a larger version of the image.)

Alright... A little presentation prep, and then off to visit with Shaun Austin and his family in LA!

Woohoo! We're in Santa Barbara!

2007-09-09T01:18:00.000-05:00

After a crazy day of traveling started at 3:30 am, we finally arrived in Los Angeles. We grabbed our rental car, and headed to David Jay's amazing house in Santa Barbara. Sadly, I didn't snap any images of the house (will try to grab some of at least the view in the morning) but I do have some fun people pictures to share :)

:)

We went out for sushi with Amy, Janey, and David. We had loads of sushi, and a little chicken for those of us who prefer our food cooked :) Then, we swung by and picked up Bob Davis who just happened to be in town, and Janey's uber cute boyfriend and went for some ice cream... YUM! Check out this brilliant self portrait! (My favorite part are the floating heads in the background ;) )

What happens when professional photographers take pictures. My husband is the owner of the first and last image... world renowned David Jay took the middle one...

After a nice dip in the hot tub, and an amazing sleep in the best bed EVER, we woke up refreshed, and met the Halbergs for breakfast. Fun!

Beautiful Shyla met us for lunch, and then we gals went and did a little shopping while Nathan and Mark went down to the beach.

Our shopping complete, we headed back to David's for some relaxing (poor David is out of town, and yes, we crashed his place :) ).

Fun Times! and it's merely just begun!

Baby Sadie, just turned one!

2007-09-06T17:39:00.000-05:00

First thing this morning, I headed up the mountain to spend a few moments hanging out with Baby Sadie and Kerri. Baby Sadie just turned one, and Kerri wanted a few images to commemorate this new year!

Baby Sadie has grown up so much in the last few months, but she is certainly still absolutely adorable.

I love these images of Baby Sadie and her mom so much. I just love capturing relationships.

Sadie has just started walking, but seems to still prefer this humorous version of the crab walk. Check out the speed at which she's moving!

We did a quick costume change, and went back outside for a few more shots. This is my favorite tutu I have ever seen, and Sadie wore it well :)

At the end of the session, Sadie kept reaching for me. I put my hands out to her in return, and she wrapped me in a big hug. That's my favorite part of the job!

Thanks so much Kerri for having me back! Let's do it again soon!

Baby Evan!

2007-09-06T17:24:00.000-05:00

Yesterday evening, I went over to Baby Evan's house and spent a little time enjoying their evening rituals!

I hadn't seen Baby Evan since he was a newborn, so it was amazing to see how much he has grown! He has the most amazing features... check out how perfect his face is!

Random fact: Frogs are one of my favorite things! I love them, in all forms. So I was very excited to see Baby Evan shares my affinity for frogs!

One of the things that Baby Evan loves, is flying. I have never laughed so hard at a session in my life! It was hysterical to see him fly through the air, land in a giggling mess on the bed, and then immediately start signing for more!

The preparation...

The flight...

The aftermath!

A few captured moments of the family just hanging out...

Brian and Shelly, thanks so much for having me back! I hope you enjoy your slideshow!

Congratulations Joel and Holly! Natalie is beautiful!

2007-09-06T01:57:00.000-05:00

My dear friend Holly had a baby while I was away in Asheville last week. I was so sad to miss the birth, but very excited to get together with her as soon as I could this week, for a fun newborn session.

I couldn't have asked for a better baby to photograph! She was so calm and well-behaved... and of course, beautiful!

Check out this nursery. It's beautiful. And I can say with certainty that I have NEVER seen such an amazing closet for a newborn. It's perfectly organized and incredibly beautiful.

Joel and Holly, I barely had time to scratch the surface of these images. There are loads more to come! I hope you enjoy your slideshow!

(Two more baby sessions will be posted tomorrow, and then Nathan and I are off for LA! Fun times!)

Baby Madison... Second Session.

2007-09-05T21:37:00.000-05:00

Yesterday, I had the opportunity to go back and hang out with Ashley and Baby Madison! It was so awesome to see how much she had grown.

Mark stopped home from work to hang out for a bit, and it was great to see him. He's completely in love with his daughter, and it shows!

I have several blogs to put up tonight, so I'm going to refrain from commentary, and just give you a few images.

Mark and Ashley, enjoy the slideshow!

2007-09-02T23:07:00.000-05:00

Last night I got to photograph a bridal session at Betsey's parent's home outside of Chattanooga! We photographed the majority of the session indoors - not a normal thing for my portrait sessions - but I had an absolute blast!

We had some beautiful window light to work with and the results were subtle, yet stunning! Betsey is a beautiful bride!

In a window....

Leading into the back yard...

And in the window light of a sitting room...

Heather & Donnie

2007-09-01T12:37:00.000-05:00

What a refreshing engagement session to photograph! After returning from a nice vacation in Canada, and being inspired from hanging around some of the top photographers in the country, I was really hoping for a great couple that would be fun to photograph!

And along came Donnie and Heather!

Their engagement session has been a long time in the making, but was totally worth the wait! We had incredible light to work with, and Heather and Donnie were amazing to photograph! I tell my clients this over and over, and it still remains true: If you act like you like each other, the pictures are so much better!

The cool thing was, Heather and Donnie didn't have to "act" - they are absolutely in love with each other and it showed in the images!

I love this series of three images! The emotions are amazing!

We went to this next location and got some great images including these below. On our way out, a police detective drove by and let us know that the area we were photographing in was rampant with wanna-be thieves and gang members.... Oops! Well, fortunately we didn't run into any trouble!

Congratulations to Donnie and Heather on their engagement and upcoming wedding!

Congratulations Missy and Gary!

2007-09-01T09:16:00.000-05:00

What a privilege it was to be a part of this incredible day with Missy and Gary! We love you guys!

(more pictures to come!)

Weddings, Friends, and Technology!

2007-08-29T20:05:00.000-05:00

While I am here in Asheville, hanging out with my wonderful family, and equally wonderful friends... Nathan is up in Kelowna, Canada, celebrating Gary and Missy's wedding!

I was hanging out with my buddy Corey at his studio working on his upcoming workshop, and I received a video chat invitation from Nathan. He put the computer up on a railing above the ceremony site, and Corey and I were able to watch the whole thing! It was almost like being there! So cool!

Of course, we couldn't let the opportunity to photograph this event pass us by, so here are a few shots that Corey grabbed of us watching the ceremony.

Gary and Missy (and all my other friends!), I am so sad that I wasn't able to be there with you guys... but I am so excited that I was at least able to join you virtually. I love you all, and miss you very very much. Can't wait to see as many of you as possible in a couple of weeks!

My Sister is a Senior! Congrats Khris, I love you!

2007-08-27T23:55:00.000-05:00

I am in Asheville, doing a lot of fun hanging out... I've been here for a week now, and I've actually been too busy to blog! It's been crazy fun! I'll be posting some wedding images from Saturday sometime soon, but for now, I wanted to show off my family just a bit!

While I was here, I thought I should probably take a few pictures of my sister as she celebrates her final year in school! She wanted to bring along two of her best friends, Priscilla and Jen.

I wish I had images like this with my best friends from high school...

Beautiful girls...

My wonderful sister, Khrista.

Priscilla.

And Jen.

A few more fun friend pictures... I just loved the attitude I got out of them in these!

And my Favorite shot of the day... The girls just hanging out, and the sun in the most perfect spot. I just loved it!

Congratulations girls! Thanks for loving my sister, and for being there for her. I can tell that you guys were meant for each other :)

Y'all were a blast!

Khris, I love you, and I'm proud of you! Good luck this last year... enjoy yourself!

Congratulations Christine and Gavin!

2007-08-19T23:08:00.000-05:00

This evening, I had the pleasure of hanging out for a while with Christine and Gavin. Christine is expecting a baby girl at the end of October, and we'll be hanging out all next year, photographing all of her firsts!

We started off just chillin' on the couch. I think Christine and Gavin are both stunning, so I can't wait to see their baby girl!

After a little couch time, we moved upstairs to work on the immense pile of pink stuff!
Mom and Dad got to work doing some much needed folding, and I got to inspect a million pink outfits! So fun!

After a quick clothing change, we moved into the bedroom, and lounged a bit more.

Grabbed a few images of Christine by herself...

Then went downstairs for some ice cream. Apparently, ColdStone has become a staple around this household of late... and sadly, Christine hasn't been very interested in sharing. I think Gavin managed to get a spoonful or two, but as you can see, Christine is definitely in charge of this stuff ;)

As we were wrapping up the session, I realized that I hadn't asked what the baby's name was going to be. When I asked, Gavin looked sheepish, and Christine looked amused. She said, we haven't decided... apparently Gavin is very methodical in his approach to choosing the name. So cute! So we ran back upstairs to grab a shot with the *three* baby name books, and the list! Can't wait to see what name they end up with!

Christine and Gavin, you guys were awesome! I can't wait to see you again! I'll be in touch soon with the rest of the images!

Baby Ellie... all grown up!

2007-08-17T23:44:00.000-05:00

This morning, I had the opportunity to go back to visit Baby Ellie for a follow-up portrait session! I hadn't seen her in over a year, so it was amazing to see how much she had grown!

We had so much fun, and even braved the scorching heat for a few images out in the backyard...

Then we moved inside to do a few of my favorite kind of portraits. I am always amazed by how many fun images we can squeeze out of 5 minutes of quiet time! Ellie wasn't very interested in relaxing on the couch, but Allison pulled out her proof book from the last session, and suddenly Ellie was very excited!

She's certainly a busy baby, but we managed to catch her in between moments as well as her busy ones!

Look at that smile! (And I think Allison is beautiful!)

Last time I shot with Ellie, we hung out with her pony, Romeo... today we rode toy horses instead! Ellie is a natural!

Spent a little time coloring...

And even a bit of snuggling!

Pops came over to hang out for a couple of images. It was wonderful to meet him!

Howard and Allison, thanks for inviting me back... Let's not let another year go by before we do this again!

Enjoy your slideshow!

What I come home to...

2007-08-17T14:32:00.000-05:00

Today, I left just before Addison woke up, took Austen to school, and went off for a early baby session...

It was noon by the time I ran an errand or two, and arrived home...

This is the sight that greeted me.

Addison had gotten herself ready to "go to beach." She's the cutest thing I've ever seen!

I grabbed that picture, and made her some lunch. She was incredibly animated all through-out, and I am so glad that I had my camera out and could capture her!

I just can't get over the fact that she was running around in her bikini... so funny!

I'll post images from my session later, but thought you'd like a quick taste of Holritz life! Have a great day!

OSP Chattanooga #2

2007-08-14T20:46:00.000-05:00

Thanks to Torey Self, a local photographer and friend, OSP Chattanooga started last month as a means of local photographers from the OpenSource photographer's forum to get together. We were able to continue the meetings today with a get-together at Sushi Nabe, and we had a blast!

Our friends and fellow photographer Rich Smith and his wife Heather (and little baby Alana)!

If you're a part of OSP, live in the Chattanooga vicinity, and weren't at the meeting today, make sure you drop us an email and come out to the next meeting in September!

- Nathan

Austen's Big Day!

2007-08-13T16:34:00.000-05:00

Well, babydom is officially over for my firstborn. And I am proud to announce that there were very little tears out of the Holritz family. Addison was a wee bit sad, but the grown-ups managed to make it just fine!

Started off the morning with a breakfast of champions, Spiderman Trix and some Sunny Delight :) Austen was not exactly certain how to feel.

Addison was all over the place... one second she was ecstatic, the next she was in tears.

There was a little videoing going on, so stay tuned for that...

First day preparation...

Ready to go, and headed out!

A couple schoolday portraits! He looks so grown-up! (Okay, getting teary-eyed now :) )

A quick family shot...

Walking into school...

A few more shots while we were waiting to get into the classroom...

Austen, getting some last minute advice from his Dad...

Austen is in Pre-First... I'll be a bragging mom, and tell you it's because he's so brilliant :)

I love this look he gave me just before they closed the door...

We're so excited to get to hang out with our old friends Matt and Kristen (and their daughters Alli and Kaitlyn this year)!

The day passed quickly, and soon it was 2:00 and time to pick Austen back up!

I am sure Nathan will post the video recap soon, but thanks for hanging out with me through this long photoblog!

We survived! Thanks for all the love!

Baby Adaley... for the 5th time this year!

2007-08-12T02:28:00.000-05:00

I spent the afternoon hanging out with Baby Adaley! She was a joy, as always, and I've pulled a couple of my favorites from the session to share with you!

I love these images of Baby Adaley with her mom and dad. They're just little slices of life, but I love the interaction and expression!

The whole family hanging out...

How cute is this little face? She's SO adorable!

We had a yummy dinner of spaghetti... which was a royal mess :) See the slideshow for more fun and messy dinner pictures...

And then, of course, we had to clean up! Jackie just remodeled this bathroom... you may remember it from our last session... well, it looks completely different now! I love it!

Laura and Jackie, thanks so much for letting me hang out! I love you guys!

As always, I hope you enjoy your slideshow!

A quick Saturday post...

2007-08-11T20:42:00.001-05:00

It's been quite the laid back Saturday! It's so nice to be in a position where we aren't photographing weddings every weekend so that we have the freedom to do things that we enjoy! The flip side of that is that we get to work with a great group of select wedding clientele which makes photographing the weddings we do take all the better!

So anyway, the day kind of started with Austen taking my photo for my new passport with our Panasonic FX30. It's weird, because they say you're actually suppose to have a "neutral" expression on your face for the image! Great job to Austen!

We later dropped the kids off at our friend Laura Martin's home while we went to coffee with our former clients and now photographers Keith and Nema Heptinstall. It was a great time of business talk and good ol' Starbucks!

We then headed back to Laura's to pick up the kids. I took the kids to go hang out (following images from a quick dinner out)....

... and Amber stayed at Laura's to photograph a session for Baby Adaley and to have her hair done by Laura!

Check out Laura's amazing skills and my incredibly BEAUTIFUL wife!!!

Austen's Growing Up!

2007-08-09T21:17:00.000-05:00

It seems like Austen was just barely older than a baby at 5:00 this evening... 6:00 rolled around, and we walked into his new school for orientation, and suddenly, I am looking at a mini-grown-up. The elementary principal cautioned all the mothers to fortify themselves with tissues for the official first drop-off on Monday morning, and as my eyes watered just a little bit, my mini-grown-up boy reached his hand over, patted my knee, and said "it's okay to cry sometimes, Mommy."

There's a lot to be said by this one image... in the lower left hand corner, you can barely see Addison entertaining herself with her Dad's PDA... Austen looks bored (already!), and for those of you who've never seen it, that's my, I'm smiling so I won't cry face :) Next to me, is Austen's future wife, Alli... daughter of our dear friends from waaaaay back, Matt and Kristen! We haven't seen them in ages, so it was a relief to walk into a room full of strangers and find familiar and loved faces!

I'll be posting on Monday sometime after school starts... we'll fully document the process! Here's hoping Addison and I survive the upcoming seperation anxiety!

A session with friends...

2007-08-09T16:23:00.000-05:00

Yesterday evening, I picked up friends and former wedding clients, Ricky and Esta, and headed downtown for a portrait session!

We photographed their wedding about four years ago in New York, and I'm totally going to have share some their images later on! (Those were the pre-blog days.)

Ricky and Esta were totally into each other, and quite easy to photograph! We started in a cool alley-way, and then moved around the downtown area, including some new spots for me!

I love this shot! It's totally them!

Beautiful light!

Thanks so much to you both for hanging out for an evening!

Upcoming Workshop! So excited!

2007-08-07T12:10:00.000-05:00

I am so excited to share this with you guys! I have recently been given the opportunity to be a guest speaker at my buddy Corey's upcoming workshop! I am really thrilled about the workshop itself and all of the learning opportunities (and fun times!) involved, and then, to be invited to share about my Lifestyle Baby Photography, well, that's just an awesome honor! Here's the blurb about my day from the Rockstar Wedding Photography Workshop website...

The whole thing looks to be loads of fun! Lots of education (other guest speakers include Parker Pfister and super cool Asheville wedding planner, Tara Jordan) , shoots, and fun parties... and even a pass to the beautiful Biltmore Estate! It'll be a huge time of learning and relationship building... I am really hoping to get to spend time with a lot of my buddies there! Come and join us!

Check out www.rockstarweddingphotographer.com for more information. There's an early bird special that ends August 8th, so be sure to get registered soon!

Kyle & Katie... for Real Simple Magazine!

2007-08-05T03:42:00.000-05:00

Our good friend and fellow photographer John Bamber was incredibly kind in calling yesterday to refer a great opportunity our way - an opportunity to photograph a wedding for Real Simple Magazine!

Real Simple is doing a feature story for their special wedding edition about weddings planned at the last minute. They needed a photographer to cover the story, so I drove up to Knoxville today to photograph Katie and Kyle's wedding and reception!

Katie is absolutely beautiful!

I love this unusual perspective of the bride and her mother conversing!

How adorable is this! The bride's daughter was also the flower girl, and needless to say, she was a little apprehensive about going down the aisle!

This moment is priceless! Katie and Kyel were exchanging vows that they had written themselves. Katie got emotional in the process and her daughter is trying to figure out why exactly mommy is crying as Kyle reads his vows to Katie!

After the ceremony and some formals by the contract photographer, I got to photograph the couple near their reception site. We got to photograph in a couple of old train cars that made for incredible images!

The train manager then gave all three of us a ride back to the reception location on a golf cart! I jumped on the back with my equipment and Katie and Kyle squeezed into the passenger seat for a fun ride!

We then photographed for a little while on the train tracks themselves, and the bride and groom were a delight to photograph!
I love the simple emotion in these images!

One of the coolest things about the evening was watching Kyle's parents interact! They're crazy about each other! And this after being married for over 20 years! Kyle's dad told Kyle's mother on the first date that he was going to marry her! How incredible!

One image that I worked incredibly hard to get during the evening was a photograph from above the dance floor of Katie and Kyle together. I think this shot is so great because you can see them, highlighted by my Nikon SB800 Speedlight, but also get a feel for the incredible surroundings! It was a beautiful evening!

Congratulations to you two, and thanks to Real Simple Magazine for a great opportunity!

Baby Norah... She's hot 'cause she's fly! (Just for you, Alison!)

2007-08-05T02:37:00.000-05:00

My dear dear friend and fellow photographer Alison Bynum and her wonderful husband Brad recently adopted the most beautiful baby... 10 week old Baby Norah is incredible! Prepare yourself for a slightly longer than normal blog post :)

I cannot get over how precious her little face is... She's so Beautiful!

My favorite thing about the session was seeing Brad Bynum with Baby Norah. I have never seen a more doting father in my life, and Norah is completely smitten by him, as well!

It was amazing to see Alison in mom mode as well. Watching her interact with her new baby made me just a little teary eyed! Look at this amazing tenderness...

Of course, it can't always be tenderness... sometimes Moms just have to get some work done!

There were a couple other family members who joined us during the session...

Katy.... who obviously adores Baby Norah....

And Misty... who had a slight attitude of disdain about the entire scenario (check out the slideshow to see an image of Baby Norah and Misty side by side.... guess who's bigger :) )

A few family moments...

And of course, we had to take a couple of cute naked sleeping baby pictures... (lots more in the slideshow!)

And of course, although she tried, Alison was not quite able to refrain from taking a few pictures herself...

She also took a few fun pictures of me shooting! (Thanks so much for these Alison!)

I had such an awesome time hanging out with Baby Norah, Brad, and Alison! They are wonderful, and an absolutely perfect little family! I am crazy about them, and cannot wait to hang out again. Let's make it soon guys!

Enjoy your slideshow! We love you!

Baby Nolan... Round 2!

2007-08-04T22:03:00.001-05:00

I had the opportunity to hang out with Nolan again on Friday. It was so much fun to see how much he had grown! He's 10 weeks old now, and has just gotten so big!

I love his chubby little cheeks! Just want to squeeze them...

He's just hit the stage where toys are starting to be cool... So fun to see him play!

I think this is my favorite family image of the day! I just love the smile on wee Nolan's face! He's so happy!

This family is so wonderful to photograph. They have such natural interactions!

I love these images of Nolan asleep... we couldn't get him to sleep in his crib, but he was certainly happy to sleep in Whitney's arms!

Dads don't always get alot of airtime on my blog, so I thought I'd post a couple of images of Jonathan and Nolan. I love how mad he is in this first picture....

Jonathan and Whitney, thanks so much for having me back again! I can't wait until next time! Enjoy your slideshow!

Cute Baby Mac

2007-08-02T23:44:00.001-05:00

Yesterday, I had the opportunity to spend the evening with Baby Mac. He came all the way from North Carolina to see his family, and thought he'd have a little photo session while he was here!

Check out this sweet face!

Julie and Steve are wonderful to watch. I loved the way they interacted with Baby Mac. You can tell he is the center of their lives!

I love everything about this image..

A couple of quiet moments...

Thanks so much to Julia's sister, who allowed us to crash her house for the session! It was also great to meet Julia's mother. I love this image of the three women with the child that they obviously dote upon!

I hope you guys enjoy your slideshow!

Holritz's in Action

2007-08-02T05:54:00.000-05:00

I was working on Carolyn Rose and Andrew's wedding last night, and I came across these images that my buddy Matt grabbed of us while we were working... I love seeing stuff like this!

Working as a team...

In case anyone wondered if I was able to hang onto my sense of humor while I'm shooting... Matt grabbed this gem... (eek!)

And check out this fun image of Nathan... I love when I get little surprises like this :) Apparently, my husband made a few friends at this wedding!

Fun stuff :)

My Beautiful Wife

2007-07-31T13:19:00.000-05:00

I had to post this image of my incredible, beautiful wife! I grabbed this shot at the Swans when I saw her laying with her arms across her face...

Isn't she gorgeous?

Our Vacation Wrap-up

2007-07-29T12:31:00.000-05:00

We are in the car, headed home from our gloriously relaxing vacation. We spent last night and this morning hanging out at the Swan's house. It was a great ending to an equally great vacation.

I finally got my hands on my "real" camera, which had laid lonely at Kevin's house while we were on vacation... It was fun to capture a few images of the kids, just hanging out.

Popsicles are fun!

Addy and Sol have bonded... It's definitely a love hate relationship... love wins out most of the time, unless they're supposed to be sharing, and that's when the hate comes out :)

Addison was hugging and kissing him... cute right?

Then she moved in for the kill! Crazy kid. I have no idea where she gets this stuff :)

Sol has the biggest eyes! So cute!

I love this image of Shel and Sol... So sweet and quiet.

Austen and Sol found an interesting way to entertain themselves outside on the tractor... Too funny!

Of course, we did have to get back on our computers, and do a little group Mac-ing... It was hysterical to watch the guys just chill out while the kids tore down the house around them!

And this, is typical Kevin. So intense.

Thanks Kevin and Shel for spending the week with us. We love you guys! Can't wait to see you in LA!

Just a little obsessed...

2007-07-28T02:04:00.000-05:00

I know, I know... We've already posted once about soccer during our vacation, but I had to post a few more images showing both the process of getting the photographs, as well as some more of the results!

Here's a fun video to start things off, showing Kevin Swan, Zeb (Kevin's son), and myself all in some mid-air action!

Some "behind-the-scenes" shots by Amber of Kevin hard at work...

Some of the results!

Tonight we were able to grab a few more shots, this time at sunset! Kevin's incredible photography as he grabbed a shot of me throwing up some sand!

A shot I was able to get of Zeb:

Another Day in Paradise :)

2007-07-25T21:35:00.000-05:00

We're still up in Indiana... Hanging with our Swan friends, and our new friends, Ian and Jaclyn and their wee one, Gabby.

A few fun shots of the kiddos...

One of my favorite things in the world... running across this at the supermarket made me incredibly happy!

Some of the antics performed by the male members of the household last night...

Arm wrestling...

And Ping Pong... this has gotten crazy. I believe the fellas played Ping Pong for about 5 hours last night. Nathan came away as the victor, and today they went out and invested in some "serious" paddles, and the competition has begun again!

Funtimes thus far... Today, it was a little rainy out, so we lazed the day away... It was wonderful!

True Football!

2007-07-24T18:57:00.000-05:00

One of the coolest things about hanging out with the Swans is that both Kevin and Zeb, Kevin's son, play soccer. Soccer was a HUGE part of my life for so many years - club ball, high school, a little college - so it's so cool to get a chance to kick the ball around every once and a while.

Today, we did a little experimenting with our Panasonic FX30 and some bicycle kicks at the beach, and got some killer stuff!

Pictures of me, courtesy of Kevin Swan:

Kevin Swan in beautiful form!

Kevin's son, Zeb, who will easily play college ball at this rate! Check out this awesome shot Kevin got!

Wedding in Indy!

2007-07-22T11:27:00.000-05:00

I'm technically on vacation now, so I'm going to make this quick!

Got to photograph a wedding with Kevin Swan up here in Indiana yesterday, and we had the awesome privilege to go photograph the wedding party in the Indiana University (former home of Coach Bobby Knight) gymnasium! Kevin got some really fun, unique images as a result that I'm sure he'll be posting on his blog!

This image is one that I got of the couple way up toward the top of the bleachers (yes, the bride was kind enough to climb all the way up there in her heels!) underneath a great spotlight! While Kevin was photographing them, I quickly made my way down the bleachers, across the gym floor, and up the other side to photograph the bride and groom in their seats!

Family Vacation!

2007-07-21T21:47:00.000-05:00

I am posting this from our INCREDIBLE lakehouse in the Indiana Dunes... We have the opportunity to hang out with Kevin Swan and his wonderful family this week... just relaxing and enjoying the beach, and each other! We're so thrilled for the opportunity to kick back a bit! Kevin and Nathan are still back home (Indianapolis area) shooting a wedding, so I thought I'd throw up a couple of teasers for them! Hurry up guys! (And bring me my real camera :) )

Austen and Addison have attached themselves to Kevin's teenagers, Zeb and Clara. It's so fun to watch them interact...

And the view I was greeted with as I walked out onto the beach... My battery died immediately after this, but man I'm glad I memorialized this moment. Sunsets into a body of water is one of my very favorite things... I think it should be accompanied by angels singing, every time! So incredible.

xoxoxoxox!

Beautiful Asheville Wedding

2007-07-20T06:28:00.000-05:00

About a month ago, I shot a beautiful wedding in Asheville with my buddy, Corey McNabb... I was just recently editing through those images, and I realized that I never posted any of them!

So I grabbed the first few images I saw that I loved, and I'm going to share those with you!

Of course, here's a few of Corey and I at work...

Fun times as always, Corey! Thanks for letting me hang out... it's your turn to come to Chattanooga soon!

Baby Kaeley!

2007-07-19T01:56:00.000-05:00

I had the opportunity to hang out with the awesome Amanda, with Divine Designs, and her wonderful family today. Baby Kaeley is about 5 months old, and just as adorable as she can be! I love her expressive little face, and check out these eyes!

Kaeley looked so cute first thing this morning when I arrived... Amanda put her in her Bumbo seat and fed her breakfast.. I just loved the way she held on to her feet! SO cute!

After breakfast, we did some bath time...

Here's the lengths I often go to in order to get some of these shots! Thankfully, my moms are very gracious and trusting... even when I climb into the tub with their babies!

And then it was time to just play! I love this part of my job... I lay down on the floor and play with adorable babies. So great!

Kaeley quickly tired, and after a quick bottle, was sound asleep. I have so much fun photographing sleeping babies. They are so still and quiet, and it makes for very close family imagery.

We put Baby Kaeley in her uber cute bed, grabbed a few shots of her sleeping, and she popped back awake again! Check out the slideshow for more images from Kaeley's short rest time :)

I love this image of Amanda and her wee one. She said that she never gets great images of her with her baby, so I was excited to capture this one for her!

Of course, we couldn't leave James out :)

To end the session, we headed outside to take a few pictures with the worlds biggest puppy! Amanda warned me that Rio was a big dog, but I was still not prepared for just how big she was going to be. Don't let her gigantic appearance fool you though, she's a big sweetheart!

Thanks Amanda and James, for spending your morning with me! I had a blast! Enjoy your slideshow!

Business Meeting... Holritz Photography Style!

2007-07-17T10:56:00.000-05:00

A while back, Amber and I had one of our business meetings - something we do from time to time to go over the things that we need to do to keep our business moving on to the next level! We had dinner, and then went to sit on one of the brick "sculptures" downtown Chattanooga to continue our conversation. Our friend and fellow photographer Greg Beasley happened to drive by and snap these pictures of us.

Notice the surprise on our faces, and then the realization of what was going on! Hilarious!

- Nathan

Black and White Birthday Bash

2007-07-15T23:25:00.000-05:00

Let me start off by giving a HUGE Happy Birthday to the amazing Corey McNabb! We had the distinct honor of spending the evening with Corey and his stunning wife Jill, as we celebrated Corey's birthday! We are so blessed to call them friends!

The party called for a Black and White dress code. The Birthday Boy was seriously stylin' in all white... even down to his sweet white flip-flops! And Jill was beautiful, and gracious, as always... the perfect hostess!

The night wore one, we laughed and talked and had a spectacular time... Corey busted out a deck of cards and did a few magic tricks for us... There are very few things that Corey can't do! I'm blown away by this stuff every time he does it! Next time you see him, ask him to perform an ESP test on you... It's good stuff!

The amazing Regina Holder had a cake sent over for Corey's birthday... so we, of course, had to document the cutting of the birthday cake!

As Corey was cutting the cake, Regina and I were trying to take the obligatory self-portrait... but Corey was determined to be a pest, and was waving his knife at us... Actually a wee bit frightening!

The gorgeous Dana, of Orange Cat Photography and her equally gorgeous husband Martin.

Corey apparently gets around... Here he is with Martin...

Jeremy (of Corey McNabb Photography)

And Parker (my new best buddy!)

He is also looking pretty hot with his hottie wife! Check out this end of the party chemistry...

Regina grabbed this fun shot of Nathan and I with my camera... Thanks Regina :)

The party was loads of fun... I haven't laughed so hard and so long, for ages. We were already planning the party for next year :) It'll be a blast!

Corey and Jill, as always, you were perfect to hang out with... We love you, and can't wait to see you again! Thanks for being such amazing friends! Let's make it happen again soon!

Another TINY baby! Meet Baby Maddison!

2007-07-13T00:31:00.000-05:00

I had the privilege of hanging out with Ashley again this morning! She had her baby a few weeks early, and I must say that Baby Maddison is absolutely incredible. She is a mere 5 days old, and only weighs 5 pounds. She is absolutely amazing!

Look how tiny!

Sadly, Mark couldn't join us today (We missed you, Mark!)... so we made it a girls day! "Mimi" (Ashley's mom) joined us, as well as "Aunt Rachel". We had a blast just chatting and hanging out! I believe Baby Maddison has funtimes ahead of her with these girls!

I loved all of the faces that Maddison gave us during the session... Here are just a couple of those.

I must have bored her, because I caught her yawning several times!

And then I made her really mad! I love little babies with attitude!

I love seeing Ashley with her newborn. We've been with since she gotengaged and now she has a beautiful baby! It's a fun process to watch these families grow!

Love this shot of Baby Maddison in her crib... Yes, her initials are BMW :)

Mark's mother handmade this amazing blanket for Baby Maddison. It's all cross-stiched!

I had packed up my camera, and then Ashley put Maddison to sleep in the swing. I couldn't refrain from digging my camera back out for this shot. She just looked so sweet!

Thanks Ashley and Susan for letting me hang out! I look forward to seeing you guys again in a couple of weeks! We'll get some great stuff of Mark then, too!

Enjoy your slideshow!

I Do

2007-07-12T10:17:00.000-05:00

The new I DO for Brides (TN) has just come out and features a two-page spread from a session that I photographed a while back. Our model was absolutely beautiful and a dream to work with. David Smith was there to help me with a reflector and we managed to make middle-of-the-day light work well!

Below are a few more images from the shoot as well!

Make sure that you pick up a copy of I DO! It's really the best local wedding magazine that I've seen around!

- Nathan

Congratulations Sarah and Chris!

2007-07-10T10:51:00.001-05:00

We spend 07/07/07 with a super laid back couple, Sarah and Chris.

Nathan actually started his day with his first experience with "mudding". Apparently, it has been a little too dry lately for a lot of mud, but the guys had a good time going out and getting dusty anyway!

Once everyone was ready, Sarah and Chris had their special meeting. I love this image that Nathan captured of that moment.

A few fun portraits...

Beautiful bride.

Handsome groom.

The new couple, completely in love! The were certainly excited about each other! It was awesome to see.

The floral details were done my Amanda at Divine Designs. I loved these bouquets.

A few emotional moments just before the ceremony started...

The women having prayer.

Sarah and her dad just before they walked down the aisle.

Sarah and Chris, thanks so much for letting us hang out on your day! We had a great time with you guys... Keep in touch! I think Nathan wants to go four-wheeling again :)

Enjoy your slideshow!

Tiny Baby Anna Catherine!

2007-07-06T23:18:00.000-05:00

This morning, I had the privilege of hanging out with one of our FAVORITE couples... John and Theresa. The amazingly beautiful Theresa had a sweet baby about three weeks ago...

Baby Anna Catherine was a mere 5 pounds at birth, and MIGHT be up to 6 pounds by now... but even though she is teeny tiny, she has a fiesty personality! I wanted to keep her!

I had so much fun with Theresa. It seemed like everything that we photographed had a story! We took a few images of Anna Catherine in her christening gown... This christening gown has been worn for 4 generations on Theresa's side! It was beautiful!

John's mother is wonderfully talented... she painted this furniture for Anna Catherine's nursery. I just loved everything about this room!

Even the bassinet has a story! This bassinet has been used for 4 generations on John's side! Check out the slideshow for a few more images of Anna Catherine in this amazing piece of family history!

I absolutely love Theresa's smile. It's infectious, don't you think?

And check out that crazy baby hair!

A few fun images of the new family...

Thank you, John and Theresa, for having me in your home! I absolutely adore sweet Anna Catherine, and I can't wait to see you guys again!

I hope you enjoy your slideshow!

What a fun week!

2007-07-06T08:11:00.000-05:00

This has been a great week! My sister, Khrista has been in from out of town, spending some time with us, and being an amazing help with the kids... Monday was her birthday, and although I had a root canal that morning, and spent most of the day sleeping that off, we did manage to go out to dinner at yummy Provino's to celebrate!

Nathan and I attempted to take a self-portrait of ourselves... but for the first time in history, we were completely unsuccessful. This is the best we could do :)

Tuesday we drove up to Nashville for a meeting with a wedding planner up there, and as logistics would have it, Tuesday was the day that our dear friend David Jay flew in from Santa Barbara... another one of our friends from Chicago, Sarah Barlow was also in town to help David shoot his wedding this weekend... so we were able to hook up with them and hang out! It was awesome funtimes!

We started out downtown Nashville, the sushi restaurant where we were planning on getting dinner was not yet open, so we shopped around a bit before dinner.

This picture makes me smile...

Sushi dinner was super fun...

Ladies, he's available!

Ice cream at Coldstone followed...

Check out Davids blog for a crazy video of the ending of our night, driving back to Chattanooga... A real Tennessee party!

The next morning, we got up and headed out for a big breakfast at Cracker Barrel.

We had the privilege of dining with Garrett and Joy Nudd and wee Graycen and Chris and Katie Torres. David Jay made an appearance as well!

Austen is addicted to technology already... even without the iphone!

The gals.

Baby G

The whole crew!

Then, we drove straight over to my friend Kathy's house, and had a wonderful Fourth of July lunch! We love spending time with our Chattanooga family!

After lunch, we headed over to Sarah's aunt's house... Janet graciously allowed us to crash the party, and we had a blast hanging out at her beautiful house on the lake!

Nathan and Austen out on the jetski.

Addison and I, hanging out by the pool...

David... obsessed with technology as well.

And a nap, at the end of a long hard day.

I love ALL of you! I am SO excited that I got to spend the holiday with so many people that I love! I am incredibly blessed.

Carolyn Rose and Andrew!

2007-07-05T05:52:00.000-05:00

Congratulations to Carolyn Rose and Andrew! We had a blast hanging out with them on Saturday! Carolyn Rose and Andrew had a perfect day... we were rained on early on in the day, and then it cleared up and was absolutely beautiful for the rest of the evening!

I love the the feeling these preparation images invoke.

And this detail of Carolyn Rose's dress...

Carolyn Rose was absolutely stunning in her couture wedding gown.

Andrew was quite dashing, as well!

The ceremony was held at Signal Mountain Presbyterian. It was our first wedding at this church, and I thought the church was beautiful! Check out the slideshow for more ceremony images!

First sight...

I love the light and subtle emotion in this moment that Nathan captured as the bride and groom left the sanctuary...

A few portraits...

On Saturday, we had the privilege of working with the lovely and talented Taylor Monen, of Soirees. Taylor is an amazing event designer, and is always so helpful throughout the wedding day... We just LOVE working with Taylor!

Congratulations Carolyn Rose and Andrew! I can't wait to work on your wedding album!

Enjoy your slideshow!

Anniversary Fun!

2007-06-29T13:52:00.000-05:00

My wonderful husband planned a surprise anniversary getaway for our 7th... He didn't give me any clues at all, other than "Pack a swimsuit!"

Car rides make me do all kinds of things to amuse myself... lots and lots of pictures of pretty much nothing :)

We first drove to Asheville, where we went to a quickie get together with a few photographer friends... It was Michael Juliano's birthday, so we went out to celebrate with him a bit. Our dear friends Corey and Regina were there... Fun times!

Apparently, when Regina is around, we all lose our ability to take good self-portraits... this has happened two other times now! It took us about a million tries to get a decent shot! (I will claim credit for the last one though... I win :) )

Then on Saturday, I shot a wonderful wedding at the Biltmore Estate with Corey, a post on that is forthcoming...

We spent Sunday with my family, and then we left Sunday evening to start towards our destination. It was a decent drive, so we broke it up and grabbed a hotel for the night midway there...

Preparing to leave the next morning...

Arriving at the Outer Banks, we drove straight to our awesome bed and breakfast... the White Doe Inn.

We settled in, and then headed out to the Dunes. We bought a stunt kite, and had a blast playing with that!

A couple random scenery shots...

The second day of our vacation we went out on a jetski tour! It was one of the most exhilarating experiences of my life! We didn't take our camera out there :) but I'll just tell you that it was absolutely beautiful, as well as intense, and fun, and a million other adjectives :)

We then went home and washed up, and headed out for a delicious dinner.

The next day, we got up, and traveled back to Asheville. Our dear friends Corey and Jill invited us over for a delicious dinner, and a hysterical movie. It was like a big slumber party... Absolutely perfect ending to a brilliant trip.

We arrived at the McNabb's, and Corey pulled out his RC sailboat... we took it down to the lake, and the boys sailed it a bit. I think Nathan enjoyed himself :)

I love this shot of Carat.

Me and Jill...

As the evening went on, Corey pulled out some RC airplanes. Now that's some quality entertainment. We were having so much fun with them, that even when it got dark, we pulled the car around and used the headlights for light! So fun!

We finally did stop playing and enjoyed the amazing meal that Jill had prepared for us.

The next morning, we got up and ran to the store for more planes :) I think we might've been just a little out of control with our newfound obsession, but so so fun!

Thanks so much Corey and Jill for your awesome hospitality! See you very very soon! We love you!

Nathan and I ran over to pick up the kids and my sister from my parents house, and we rushed straight home, just in time to grab dinner with Joy and Garrett Nudd! It was so great to spend time with them, and was a perfect transition into coming home... Just a few more minutes of grownup time. So awesome!

Austen grabbed these pictures for us :) Garrett was NOT amused by the pop-up flash brightness :)

Nathan, thank you so much for planning such an amazing vacation. I had a blast. I love you!

Happy Anniversary!

2007-06-24T01:18:00.000-05:00

Happy 7th Anniversary to my amazing wife!

Amber has helped me learn to better LIVE, LAUGH, and LOVE!

Love you babe!

Brand new Baby Bolton...

2007-06-22T07:42:00.000-05:00

I'm sure you remember Baby Barrett... well, as of last week, he's a big brother! I went over to Cam and Brandon's house yesterday morning, and grabbed a few images of the new addition to the family! It seems like this is the month for newborns! Baby Bolton was a mere 8 days old at the session, and was as sweet and quiet as could be!

He started off the day pretty alert...

So we did some fun family stuff first... knowing that both Bolton AND Barrett were probably going to tire fast.

I love these images of the two brothers. You can tell Barrett just doesn't quite know what to do with Bolton yet, but he's certainly excited about him!

Cam got Bolton to sleep, and we were able to get some amazingly beautiful sleeping baby images. I love how relaxed he is in these...

This image of Cam and Bolton is one of my favorites from the day! It's such a quiet moment.

A few baby details...

And a shot for scale... Baby Bolton is itty bitty... this chair is his nursery just dwarfed him!

Cam and Brandon, thanks for inviting me back this year! I love you guys and am excited to watch Barrett continue to grow... and to get to know new Baby Bolton!

I hope you enjoy your slideshow!

Welcome to the World, Baby Adali!

2007-06-21T13:39:00.000-05:00

Yesterday morning, I headed over to Erlanger Hospital to hang out with Patsy and Matt to await the arrive of Baby Adali! It seems like it was just recently that I was coming home from a quickie hospital session with Adali's brother Evan! You can see images from their last family session here!

It was a crazy day! We waited for quite some time for things to progress... Patsy was a serious trooper, always in amazing spirits.

I love the images that are made during the waiting phase... That is a time of such a great range of emotion, and I enjoy those moments very much.

Patsy being attended to by her wonderful nurse friend, Brandy (who stayed up for greater than 24 hours waiting on the birth of this child).

The kids came by once things had progressed. One of my favorite images of the day is this image of Levi with his daddy.

Kaylee, waiting ever so patiently...

And Evan, as the center of attention. He wasn't quite sure what all the fuss was about!

We found out that Patsy was dilated to 9.5 cm, and we pulled the curtain so the kids could stay in room and wait for Adali's arrival... I stuck my camera under the curtain to grab a couple shots of their reaction to finding out that the baby was really coming!

Patsy's delivery was super smooth, and almost too fast. I think Dr. Barker almost missed it! Check out the slideshow for delivery images!

The hustle and bustle just after a baby is born is pretty crazy.

A few Adali details...

Dr. Barker had a quick prayer with the new family.

I love these images of Matt holding Baby Adali while Patsy looks on!

The whole family!

A few final images of Baby Adali... I can't wait to see her again!

(one of my favs from the day!)

Matt, Patsy and kiddos... we love you much! Congratulations on the amazing new addition!

Enjoy your slideshow!

Oh, and I did grab a fun shot of my new ShootSac. I am so completely in love with this camera bag!

Fun Asheville Wedding

2007-06-20T15:29:00.000-05:00

Donna and Chris had an amazingly beautiful wedding at the Grove Park Inn in Asheville, NC this past weekend. I had the awesome opportunity of second shooting with my buddy Corey McNabb, and it was an absolute blast! We're shooting together again this weekend, and I'm definitely looking forward to it!

Here are a few images of Corey at work...

One of my favorite self portraits ever:

A few of my images from the day...

The girls getting ready.

I love this image of the flower girls looking out at the ceremony site...

Donna in the last few moments before the ceremony begins. I think this first image is my favorite of the day. Donna took a deep breath as she opened the door to walk out to get married...

Donna's dad waiting for her to join him...

Walking down together...

A few ceremony shots.

A few details...

And finally, one of my favorite reception series in a while... I love the look on Donna's face as she throws this bouquet!

Congratulations to Donna and Chris... and thanks so much to Corey for letting me come and play! It was a blast!!!!! Looking forward to this weekend!

Oh! And a HUGE thank you to Corey's wife Jill for her amazing hospitality! You were wonderful!

Stephen & Betsey

2007-06-19T17:04:00.000-05:00

We feel incredibly privileged to photograph two brides from one family, and such is the case with Betsey! We photographed Betsey's sister's wedding just recently, and now we have the incredible opportunity to also work with Betsey and Stephen on their engagement session and upcoming wedding!

We photographed their engagement session on Saturday in the downtown area, and even went over the courthouse to photograph, something I had only done once before!

I really loved this angle with the incredible light!

Once again, the light came through in a fun location!

I always love emotional shots, and I think this is so great of Betsey and Stephen laughing! I'm sure that Stephen said something hilarious to get Betsey cracking up!

- Nathan

Sweet Baby Nolan

2007-06-14T16:27:00.000-05:00

I had the awesome privilege of spending the afternoon with three week old Baby Nolan and his amazing parents today. Jonathan and Whitney have a completely beautiful home, flooded with perfect (and interesting!) light, and are totally in love with each other and their new little one!

I love photographing newborns... It always amazes me just how little bitty they start out! It's fun to use pieces of loved furniture in the family home in order to provide a sense of scale...

I love getting details of their little bitty-ness.

Nolan had a seriously cool nursery. Maybe my favorite little boy nursery EVER! No pastel blue for this little man! (Check out the slideshow for more nursery shots.)

I love these two images of Baby Nolan with his mom... he is barely three weeks old, and already mugging for the camera!

My favorite part of the session, was when I was photographing the whole new family together. The dynamic between new families is always interesting, and these guys were just so beautiful together!

I think that Whitney is stunningly beautiful, and obviously, so does Jonathon... he couldn't keep his eyes off of her! It made a little emotional watching him watch her!

Jonathan and Whitney, thanks SO much for letting me crash your house today! I had a blast, and am looking forward to that 6-8 week session:)

Enjoy your slideshow!

Baby Reese... Second Year, Session One!

2007-06-13T20:38:00.001-05:00

I adore this child! I say that every time I have a session with her, but this time, Baby Reese was just amazing! By the end of the session, I was wanting to keep her :) And I think she would've gone home with me!

She was a little shy when I first arrived...

But we went outside to play for a bit, and she livened up quick! She loves to spin around in her tutu... and I think she's so adorable!

I love to watch Missy with Reese... they have such a great connection, and Missy can ALWAYS make Reese laugh!

This is one of my favorite images from the session... I just can't decide if I like it better in color or black and white... What do you guys think?

We got a little warm outside, so we had an ice-cream treat to cool off... Reese definitely enjoyed herself :)

We went back inside, and played a little while longer before heading off for the day. Like I said before, I just love to watch the interaction between Mom and daughter... Reese and Missy are so close, and it makes me feel a little warm and fuzzy just being around them!

I love this image of Reese, she's so intent on working with her marker, she has no idea I am even in the room!

Missy and Reese, I love you guys! Roger, we missed you! Can't wait 'til August to see you again :) I hope you enjoy your slideshow!

I love my Kids!

2007-06-13T19:32:00.000-05:00

Tonight, Nathan went to the local CPPG meeting, and the kids and I stayed home (as I wasn't quite able to find a babysitter for tonight!)...

I love my kids. We went outside to play in the backyard for a few minutes, and they just are so fun!

Austen wasn't exactly in the mood to have his picture taken...

But Addison was in total ham mode! She was cracking me up with her crazy antics!

She calmed down after we'd been out for a while... she wanted to snuggle with Austen, and draw pictures. She's become obsessed with "writing" in her little journal lately... it's so cute!

Our neighbor, Raven, came by with her uber cute dog Khaki... The kids were immediately in love!

My kids ROCK!

Blog for Photographers!!!

2007-06-13T07:08:00.000-05:00

Just wanted to leave a quick note for all photographers who read our blog! We do have another resource for you at www.photographersoffice.net that has lots of helpful information about managing your office workflow!

Check it out and let us know if you have any suggestions for topics to be covered!

Have a great day!

New Wedding Coverage Options!

2007-06-13T07:01:00.000-05:00

I wanted to let all of our current and potential clients know about a new option that we are offering for wedding coverage!

Until now, our weddings were photographed almost exclusively by two photographers, Amber and myself. And while we are going to continue to focus on photographing most of our weddings together, Amber and I will be offering individual wedding coverage to those of you who are looking for a little bit different price point for your wedding photography.

So jump over to our website at www.holritzphotography.com for information about our prices in the "investment" section of the site, and let us know if you have any further questions!

Photographer's Office

2007-06-12T10:44:00.000-05:00

For those photographers who are in need of a really powerful tool to help you manage your office workflow, read on!

We've shifted gears from the web version of Photographer's Office which we will be phasing out, and have moved on to a new and exciting version for the Mac!

Photographer's Office will allow you to stop relying on "lose-able" sticky notes and your overflowing brain to keep up with all that you have to do in your daily workflow! Photographer's Office will help you manage everything from client workflow (wedding and portrait packages) to daily tasks (paperwork, errands, phone calls, etc.), and even help you manage your personal life!

The application is built to run with the Mac OS, which means that it syncs with iCal, .Mac, and your PDA! It will also allow you to sync Photographer's Office across multiple computers for those of you who have employees!

Even cooler, the app is currently FREEEEEEE! Just download it, watch the tutorial videos, and see how you can best incorporate Photographer's Office into your workflow!

Chattanooga PUG!!!

2007-06-12T09:23:00.000-05:00

Thanks so much to Corey McNabb for coming down from Asheville, NC to present to the PUG (Pictage User Group)!

A Maternity Session!

2007-06-12T08:18:00.000-05:00

On Saturday, Amber and I had the privilege of once again working with our friends and former wedding clients, Mark and Ashley!

Ashley is expecting soon, and so we wanted to get the maternity session before it was too late! Mark and Ashley both did a great job, seasoned pros from the engagement session and wedding! Ashley was beautiful, and Mark was incredibly patient!

Here are a few of the images from the session!

Love this shot Amber got of Ashley by herself!

Love the light in this shot, and Mark and Ashley look awesome!

Mark and Ashley... There are so many more images to come!
Thanks so much for letting us continue to work with you as your lives together continue!

Rockstars and Family...

2007-06-09T23:18:00.000-05:00

What a crazy fun week! Our buddy, Corey McNabb came into town on Wednesday to hang out with us for a bit, and to speak at our PUG on Thursday night... We had a great time hanging out, and I've got about 3 million images to share!

Wednesday we just hung out, ate some dinner, ran to the mall, and stayed up 'til about 4:00am just hanging out! I love when friends come into town, I never get any sleep, but my conversation tank certainly gets filled!

Thursday, we decided to show Corey some fun.. so we pretended like it was a Monday, and headed off to the Aquarium! Seriously funtimes!

I think Corey would have happily stayed in the Butterfly Garden forever! Check out the McBlog later for some of his super fun shots from the day!

A few of mine...

The penguins are pretty fun, too :)

Corey in the cave...

A little shooting tutorial over snacks :) Austen is a brilliant photographer...

(Austen's shot from Corey's cam)

After hanging out for the morning at the Aquarium, we headed over to the Blue Plate for some lunch.

Nathan and Addison thumb wrestling...

Corey telling Austen a very funny joke... about Pirates. Austen loved it!

Corey grabbed this shot of Austen under the table... the kids obviously took a liking to him :)

Then, we dropped the kiddos off, and headed home for the PUG! We had 27 photographers in attendance, which was an AWESOME turnout!

Corey gave a presentation about Rockstar Wedding Photography and shooting to the Extremes. It was super informative and loads of fun... I can't wait to hear him speak again!

After the PUG, we went off to Sushi Nabe for some yummy dinner and fellowship...

Indulged in some Ramune'... one of my FAVORITE drinks, and randomly, also one of Corey's!

Me and Diana... Thanks again to Corey for the first shot (which I love!)

Me and Erin...

Two of my FAVORITE guys in the whole world!

Photographer's socializing...

On the way to pick up the kids, the guys were talking about some techy thing, and I was a wee bit bored in the backseat... What do photographers do when they get bored? Take random pictures of themselves!

Friay, Corey headed home... we went out to Big River Grill for lunch before he left, and we grabbed this fun self-portrait! I love it!

Corey, thanks so much for coming up! We love you, and we appreciate you investing in our family, our friendships, and the local photography community! You ARE a rockstar, for sure!

(Remember to check out Corey's blog for more fun images! )

First Kiss

2007-06-09T00:11:00.001-05:00

We had an incredible time with our friend Corey McNabb this past weekend as he came into Chattanooga to speak to our local Pictage User's Group!

While he was here and we were sight-seeing downtown, Corey got some of footage of use talking about our First Kiss! It's a story that we have told to some of you, but now you get to hear it live and on location!