Beautiful, fun, full of life and friends of the bride and groom from around the country coming to celebrate a stunning wedding. This wedding was one that everyone who went will remember for years to come. The ceremony was full of laughs, tears and love. The dance floor was literally full the whole night! Mark and Cindy I wish you the best and hope these photos will help you to remember the goodness and beauty this day and the joy that the two of you share. Blessings to you!
So many of my friends are having babies right now and it is beautiful to see them step into parenthood. Joel and Kateland are expecting a baby boy, Lewis. Who arrived a week after we took these photos. It was a fun day going around Asheboro and into the woods. I took the woods photos in record time because the mosquitos were trying to eat us alive, and as you will see we were victorious! I also enjoy Kateland's appreciation for a good hat, she looks so good in them.
I love when I get to photograph the Phillips. I have been photographing them for years as their family continues to grow. The day we scheduled it was supposed to rain and the clouds were rolling past looking broody, but we decided to give it a shot and I'm so glad that we did! The lighting was perfect! This family session is right before Elden Wilder joined in.
Asheboro, NC
What a joy it was to photograph this wedding. Finding out that Liz works for Young Lives and Young Life is how I was introduced to Jesus in high school, it was like we became instant friends. This was a beautiful wedding on Allen's parents land, it was full of peace, joy and love all day. I love the ways that I get to meet people through this job and excited for this friendship that has formed. All the best Allen and Liz!
What a special friendship that has formed from this day, Nena contacted me to photograph the celebration of their adoption in combination with Lucy Mae's first birthday. They waited a whole year for the adoption to finalize and on her first birthday they were able to celebrate Lucy officially becoming part of the family! What an honor it was to capture this beautiful day, and to begin a beautiful friendship with this family. We love you Lucy Mae!
Bradley & Kassie
Concord, NC
What a beautiful wedding! Even through the rain, this wedding was full of so much laughter and love. I'm so excited for Bradley and Kassie! Blessings in all your years to come, the story that you are writing together is a beautiful one.
For the girl who loves the outdoors and a pretty dress! Hannah came up to the farm and we took her senior photos. It was a day full of adventure and fun. Hannah is one of the sweetest poeple I know and I am sure that you can feels that sweetness coming though these photos. Congratulations on graduating Hannah!
I am so excited to be photographing Kassie and Bradley later this year! After shooting their engagement I know we are going to have a good time. We took the gator around the farm, and they were full of laughter and joy. I am so excited for Kassie and Bradley and what is to come.
Sarah & Wes
Asheboro, NC
Sarah and Wes the joy that surrounds you and the love you have for one another is evident. Your wedding was surround in family and full of so much kindness. It was an honor to photograph your wedding, what a stunning couple you are. Blessings in all the years to come!
Lindsay & Zac
Statesville, NC
What a joy it was to photograph the Vance's wedding. Two of the sweetest and kindhearted people you will ever meet. Loved soaked into every detail of this wedding. Thank you Vance's for letting JD & I capture your wedding day, we loved every moment of it!
I have had the privilege of photographing Cove since she was itty bitty. One of the greatest gifts is seeing families and children as they grow. Cove's journey is an incredible one. Cove is getting stronger by the day and is filled with more and more joy. This was a simple afternoon shoot but easily one of my favorites. Cove was in the best mood and it helped when some of her best friends showed up and made her smile real big!
It is one of my greatest joys when I get to photograph my friends that I work with and I love a good reason to take some beautiful photos of them. Some of you may know that Molly Kate Skaggs is in the process of recording her first solo album! We dreamt into a photo shoot for her and loved taking photos of my wonderful friend Molly. If you want to hear music from my friends you can visit here or here listen all day long. :)
One of my favorite parts of the movie The Secret Life of Walter Mitty is when the photographer has been waiting to capture an image for hours, maybe even days, and when the times comes to take the photo this is the conversation Walter and Sean have:
Walter Mitty: When are you going to take it?
Sean O'Connell: Sometimes I don't. If I like a moment, for me, personally, I don't like to have the distraction of the camera. I just want to stay in it.
Walter Mitty: Stay in it?
Sean O'Connell: Yeah. Right there. Right here.
This weekend I was in Boone, NC driving the Blue Ridge Parkway and hiking with my friend, Rachel. We were recommended a lookout spot to visit. On the way up and once we arrived I was taking photos, normal. Beautiful shots everywhere. Once I felt I had captured enough I walked up next to Rachel who had just laid down on the rock face. She said, "Lay down Syd, it feels so good!" In my mind I was more like, "Okay, I have experienced this lookout lets go to the next." As I continued to stand and she responded laughing, "Just lay down." So I laid down. "Isn't it warm?" Last time I laid in nature was in a tent and there was snow on the ground, but to my surprise the rock was warm. Quickly my mind it felt like I was laying on the beach on a warm day. At least that until the next wind gust came and I was glad I wasn't in a swimsuit on this mountain.
I LOVE laying in the sun, but it's not normal for me to lay in the sun on a mountainside. Instead of prematurely leaving, we laid on this mountainside and talked for hours, looked out over the Blue Ridge and watched small clouds form and disappear right in front of us. Simple and memorable. The invitation to slow down had welcomed me and I was taking it in deep. We could drive for hours looking at all the lookouts, taking hundreds of photos, and getting the feeling of "experiencing it all." I think in the slowing down we were truly able experience this mountain view. Letting creation effect me not just by seeing something beautiful, it was marking me because I gave into fully seeing it. I love photos and the way the tell stories and the way they capture beauty, but I also think it is easy to be distracted by a camera or a phone that post photos. I also think there is honor to be given to creation that is in front of us and letting God speak in the moment.
There was an invitation to slow down and fully take in the moment. I chose to give in to this one and I'm glad I did. Do you ever feel the invitation to slow down in moments? This weekend I looked into the expanse of the Blue Ridge Mountains like I would if I was at an ocean front and it changed me. What moments are you allowing to mark you? I always thought I was an ocean front girl but now I will never see mountains the same after today.
I am not one for writing blogs but I have been highly encouraged to begin writing a blog a week, and I feel up for the challenge. I’m great with a blog full of photos that I have taken and letting the photos speak for themselves, but writing out a blog a week is something that feels very stretching for me. I can’t say there are many times when I think I want to sit down and write with the choice of sharing it with others. I can see many benefits that I have found when I give time to writing but it is not my first instinct to write about something that has happened. My first instinct is to take a photo to remember what happened. In writing my weeks out I am exited to allow the moments to sink in deeper. I want to receive the fullness. There are photographs that I have taken over the years that hold significant meaning because they symbolize a specific season I was in.
Like these shown below, one from when I traveled for 11 month to 11 different countries and this photo captures what happened in my heart through this time. It is one that has marked me and I look back to frequently. Then my beloved Grandpa, who I have many photos with, but this one is special to me and signifies a specific season I spent with him. Each of these photos hold a more meaning than I could explain but in different seasons I have found a different thousand words to describe each of these photos. If I had not written my thoughts for the season I was in I would know a change happened but I wouldn’t be able to recall how deep the moment truly effected me. I can pair my photos with my writings and remember the whole story of that time and the difference I see in them now. I can clearly see the difficult, the grand moments, the emotional the simple, and cherish them all deeply.
This is a space for me to express what is happening and keep a dialogue with all who are interested in knowing what is happening in my life here in the woods of Sophia, NC. I am excited for this journey of giving time to writing again. I feel so much joy because I don’t know what will come in my week to week but I know that they can only benefit me to write more of it out.
I feel we all experience areas where something could be beneficial but don’t want to take action because it is not appealing or the first choice. I hope that over time or even today this would be something that encourages you to step out of the box and try something new and stretch yourself. I am not doing this on my own but have friends who are supporting me and we are accountable to each other. I hope to hear the ways that you have stepped out and challenged yourself in something new. It is really refreshing if you give the time to it and value your choice.
- Sydnee Rae
A family of nine with a beautifully full home. This is a place where there is always activity happening and everyone in their family is seen, loved and thriving. I am encouraged every time I visit this family. I am so thankful for this weekend that I got to spend with them, and to be able to take their family portraits.
This was a fun quick family photo shoot with JD, Erin, and Quill. These are some of my dearest friends and I love when I get to take photos of them. They are full of so much life and love. I hope these photos bless you day and make you smile. :)
Matt and Alyssa
Salt Lake City, Utah
I am filled with joy when friends ask me to photograph their wedding. I knew Alyssa from years past, we met right after we traveled the world on The World Race, we lived together in an apartment with some other friends for a few months. When Alyssa and Matt asked me to photograph their winter wonderland wedding in the beautiful mountains in Salt Lake City, I was so excited! This was a wedding unlike any other wedding I have been to. They planned the whole wedding weekend to make it their own style. I was honored to be invited in and loved every part of this wedding.
One of my greatest joy has been learning everyday more about cooking and baking. Martha is a fabulous at both of these and loves to share her love for the kitchen and creating. I had the joy of taking photos of her teaching Haven how to bake in baking class, and for National Chocolate Cake day they made a delicious chocolate cake.
We are full of joy and embracing the first snow in Kansas City! And now my new favorite is photographing families in the snow! I am so excited about all these photos and i love having time with my family!
I was asked to photograph a surprise party for Eric. This was a fun event to capture because surprises are one of the greatest things! The joy of being surprised and surprising someone...everyone wins. This was a wonderful party and one that Eric will not forget.
