Discover something different in the Smokies - Cataloochee Valley! It can be found on the North Carolina side of the Smokies and while the trip to get there may be an adventure, once there a couple in love have a pristine valley as the setting for a marriage proposal!

Here is what I know from my experience as a mother: little boys cannot sit still. And here is also what I know from my experience as a photographer: you don’t want them to. Let me have their moments, let them have their goofs, because it makes them happy and a happy child in a portrait is a wondrous image.

Do you think I just send an image from my camera straight to a printer to create your art? No, I have a lot of work to do before I click on SUBMIT and make you your masterpiece! Getting an image from camera to canvas takes time, skill, and a photographer who cares about the details.

Here are some images from Bennett’s portait session in studio, phootgraphed and edited as a fine art portrait in a vintage style. I prefer simplicity in portraits and to allow the subject to really be seen. I think that is important with children because who they are now quickly changes as they mature.

Have you ever heard of a Pumi? It is a sheep herding dog that hails from Hungary and looks like it could be a stuffed toy! I recently did some formal portraits of litte Evie, a Pumi - while she was a wee bit nervous in unfamiliar surroundings, I think she came through like a champ! And, of course, when all was said and done - treat time!

A wonderful way to start off a new year is with a marriage proposal - and no better place than in the golden light of dawn atop Newfound Gap in the Great Smoky Mountains NP. A cold early January morning saw Connor ask Maddy the all important question. Check out these two Aggies’ love story!

Always have a qweather app handy to see what Nature could be sending you - and be ready to change plans and act fast! Jenn and Alan had a race against a fast approaching storm at their wedding at Norris Dam State Park but they beat it with seconds to spare!

Twin boys and their session with fine art portraiture in studio. It is a classical styling and one that adds a sense of gravitas to the image.

Kids take their sports seriously - so why not have their team pictures show them to be the MVPs that they are? Beats pasted-on smiles while standing in a row!

A photographer may want their work to present a certain aesthetic but that may not square with what you envisioned for the colors in your wedding. Artistic license is valid but know before you book that photographer.

I may be down but I am not out. I am laid up for a bit due to a tibial plateau fracture. My advice? Watch out for charging Labradors - read on!

Cody brought out the big guns to propose to Victoria at Tsali Notch Winery - crackers, cheese, wine, flowers, a picture album . . . but Victoria also brough the magic with her proposal to Cody! Check out this gorgeous couple now!

It’s Santa! I know him! And I know where he vacations in the summer time - after spending so much time at the North Pole, Santa likes to head to the shore and dig his toes into the sand. My friend Tony and I enjoy doing a summer session for Santa - where will he go next year?

There is a first time for everything and I finally got to photograph a marriage proposal at the famed Troll Bridge in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park when Bo asked Elizabeth to join him for life!

The haldi ceremony that is held before a wedding is a time for the couple to relax and have fun as their loved ones bless them by messily and laughingly smearing them with a paste made from tumeric. Leanet and Sayd’s celebration on the beach in Fort Lauderdale is an example of how to do haldi right!

Gracie and Jen had a fun and varied engagement session in Chattanooga, ranging from clowning around on the soccer field to romantic moments as the sun set over the Tennessee River.

Lauren and David, a great couple from Florida, had their engagement session in the beauty of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Cades Cove is a marvelous place for a variety of settings - and bears!

The Great Smoky Mountains National park is a place of beauty year round - and lends itself to making a marriage proposal all the more romantic year round! Austin proposed to his love, Belle, in Cades Cove . . . and she said yes! Look at their pictures and tell me they are not wonderfully in love!

Street photography! Here are some scenes from Fremont Street in Las Vegas taken October 2021. I think Las Vegas is a good spot for black and white photography because it is so very colorful that the neo can be distracting.

I have known this child since his birth and now it is time for him to make his 1st Holy Communion, a significant milestone in the life of a Catholic child. Sebastian came to my studio to have his portrait done to mark this great occasion - have a look!