hello there...

I can hardly believe how many beautiful new babies I have been meeting lately. Meet the precious Jonah and his fabulous big sister, Grace. Click here for their slideshow.

hope

Winter is always hard but there is no question that this one has been harder than any other for several people that we love. In the midst of dark days such as these, I was comforted by the sighting of these daffodils out my kitchen window this week. I thought that it might be appropriate to share them here.

welcome, baby sam!

When Corey and I first met over ten years ago (crazy!), one of the first people I heard about was his best friend and next door neighbor, Stokes. In some ways, the two of them could not be more different but in others, they are EXACTLY the same. Connie and Stokes started dating soon after we did and married just a couple of months before us. Their journey to parenthood started a little earlier than ours and for this, we have been so grateful. We have so much to learn and their wisdom is priceless to us. An added blessing for us (and them) is that their newest son, Sam, is just months younger than Grayben. We are so excited about having boys close to the same age! I was so excited that they let me come over to take some pictures of sweet baby Sam.

checking in...

Hi there, long lost blog readers. Remember when I used to post to this blog? It was sometimes once or twice a week and sometimes more. I have to admit that I think it's really sort of disappointing when you go to a blog and all they have is a message such as this. But here is mine anyway. The last week has been mostly a blur and we have been pretty inaccessible for most of it. We have been walking with some precious friends during incredibly hard days. We would not have been anywhere else and have no regrets of our absence. I do want to thank you all for your faithfulness to our blog and let you know that things will be back up and running on a much more regular time frame very soon. There is much to do, much to post, and maybe a few things to say! We are so thankful for you all!

tis the season for bridal shows

I love meeting with newly engaged brides-to-be. I love the excitement, the anticipation, the joy. It goes without saying that planning a wedding is also filled with a lot of details and work as well. It seems that you can't plan a wedding these days without attending a bridal show and there is a big one coming up this weekend here in town. Corey was asked to shoot the cover for a Bridal Guide that is being distributed at the show. We did the shoot at American Village which is a really great and popular venue for weddings and receptions.

We did most of the outdoor pictures on the porch of what they call Washington's house. Kathryn is an amazing model and I have got to tell you that she is also enormously brave. The day of our shoot was seriously freezing with an absolutely vicious wind. She did not complain at all. The dress she is wearing came from the always amazing Bella Couture and she could not have looked more gorgeous in it.  So, with an amazing dress, model, and location, the rest was left up to us.  As we have learned with publications, only a select few make it to print so we thought we'd share some of our favorites from the day.

a quick post...

Happy New Year, friends! I have been thinking a lot about my absence from the blog and how the longer that I go, the harder that it seems to jump back in. The truth is that I have so much to say and so much to post that it continues to feel a little overwhelming. I think it is safe to say that we made it through the busiest season of the year! It feels good to be in a quieter season and be able to take some time to enjoy our precious boy as he is quickly changing before our very eyes. We had a wonderful time celebrating this season of love and grace with our families and had the privilege of understanding the birth of Jesus with new eyes this year. I have so much that I want to post of Grayben from the last few months not to mention so many wonderful weddings and portrait sessions. We're hoping for some mega-posts soon to try to catch up on the fabulous year that was 2008. We are truly overwhelmed with God's goodness to us.

I took these pictures back in the summer but loved everything about this shoot. This family holds a special place in our hearts and I am so glad it worked out to do some family pictures for them!

merry christmas

ode to my 30d

I've had 3 cameras in my lifetime as of yesterday. A Minolta film, a digital Rebel (the very first model), and a 30d. Three years ago I started taking pictures for people who weren't just my friends... 2 years and 7 months ago is when I got my 30d. It has been with me through every wedding, every portrait session, and every shoot in between. Canon says the shutter cycle life of the camera is around 100,000 clicks. We figured I was currently somewhere in the ballpark of 350,000. To say this has been a great camera would be an understatement. It has basically been the foundation on which we've built our business.

Earlier this year we decided we needed to make the investment into newer cameras. The problem was that rumors of a replacement for the camera we wanted started surfacing. So we waited and we waited. Finally in September Canon made one of its most anticipated announcements ever when it unveiled this new model. We immediately ordered them online only to find out that they were already on back order! So, once again, we waited and we waited. Yesterday--three months later--the UPS man finally showed up at our door... he's actually at our door most days but this day he had something for us. So in keeping with the theme of business changes here on the blog, we are proud to announce our new upgrade in equipment. More than that though we are using this as an honorarium to our newly retired 30d. We won't forget you.



Sorry for the lack of session posts. We've been trying to get through the Christmas rush. We'll post lots soon and hopefully unveil our new sites in the coming weeks!

at long, long, long last...

Last January, Corey and I sat down to have a business meeting. It was really official. We wore business suits and sat at a long, fancy table. Not really. Really we sat at Panera and drank hot chocolate. One thing we did do was talk a lot about our vision for the future of Nolen Photography. Our biggest "to do" on our list was to update our brand. Our goal was to come up with something that was more us, something that demonstrated who we are and what we're about. The truth is that this process wasn't easy, wasn't quick, and didn't exactly stick to that original to-do list. We wanted our new website and logo to be original and customized. We wanted our site to truly represent who we are. We wanted to give our current clients and our prospective clients a clear picture of where we've been and what they can expect with us. We hope you'll find all of those things here. So far we only have the wedding website up and running. Please check back soon for the portrait and commercial sites.

And so, after months and months of planning, designing, customizing, emailing, consulting, and who knows what else, we are so excited to show you our new logo and website. Let us us know what you think!


nolenphotography.com

down on the farm...

Dawn had been telling me for months now that she wanted to do a shoot with all of their family on the farm where her mother grew up. We finally scheduled a date and headed out early one morning for the trip to the farm. I was armed with camera equipment and absolutely no knowledge of what to expect. From the moment I drove down the long driveway, I knew that this was an amazing place. A place full of history and memories and experiences. The house itself is truly incredible with its wrap-around porch and tall windows and doors. And the land just seems to stretch on forever. The best thing about this shoot though truly was watching this family enjoy it all together. They explored the old barns, took turns on the 4-wheelers, climbed on the hay bales. A day in the country that I know they will not forget.

Can't you see how pretty this home is?
The kids were all truly interested in exploring the farm. It is easy to see what a cool place this would be to come with your family.
Scott loves pictures.
The view from the house...
All the kiddos. (Jake had had enough of pictures. Also, there were no guard dogs.)
I was told that a picture of this (former) post office hangs in the Smithsonian Museum. How cool is that?

You cannot take a picture of the Harrisons without getting this shot. They just won't let it happen.
The always adorable Fischer.
I love the vintage-y feel of this one.

Jeremy & Katie:engaged!

I had SO much fun taking these engagement pictures of Jeremy and Katie. They are a beautiful couple and it was a beautiful afternoon with the most perfect light that fall can offer. One of my favorite things was just getting to hear their story and see the way that they have been prepared for a lifetime together. It is crazy to think that it took them a while to finally start dating because it is so obvious that they are the perfect match! We are looking so forward to their wedding in January. Here is their slideshow.

fall leaves...

You never know what to expect in a session with a set of barely two-year-old twins and their three-year-old brother. I made it my goal on the way there to just get one shot where they were all looking at me. I have to honestly say though that the Armstrong kiddos were just awesome. It may have been the prettiest day of the whole fall on the day of our shoot and they were so willing (with only the occasional two-year-old no!) to play in the leaves and explore their backyard with me. I could have taken their pictures all day long! Here is the link to their slideshow!