Kimberly and Patrick held their wedding at the Daniel Stowe Botanical Gardens in Belmont, NC this past May.  The area is quite beautiful and the staff is very accommodating to the wedding party and family.

Above: Kim and her mom.  I love it when the reflections line up perfectly!

Above: A beautiful setting for a beautiful bride.

Above:  This is one of my favorite guy shots.  It was my homepage image for a while!

Congratulations Kim and Patrick!

This was the first time I paired up with a makeup artist. Ellen Geanes is my neighbor and has been doing makeup for weddings. We collaborated with model Cierra Billingsley some time ago. Ellen’s work really increases the final product. Ellen can be contacted here for you kids with Facebook pages.

Cherie and I held a mini-session in East Rockingham the other day.  It was very cold but we managed to have a good time.

Thanks Cherie!

Actress Shirley Jones and the Hollywood Concert Orchestra conducted by James Hohmeyer performed at the Cole Auditorium February 22nd.  They performed to a nearly sold-out crowd that night.  The show was billed as “A Night at the Oscars”.  The orchestra performed songs from Oscar winning films such as Gone with the Wind and Chicago.  Shirley Jones accompanied the orchestra for a few songs during each act.  Along with Mrs. Jones, Niffer Clarke and John Smitherman helped round out the vocal performances.

Above: Shirley Jones takes the stage.

Above: Niffer Clarke performing selections of “My Fair Lady” with John Smitherman (below).

Above: Shirley Jones, her assistant Trish Mahoney, and conductor James Hohmeyer cut up with orchestra members backstage.

Above: Orchestra members conduct an impromptu performance of “The Devil Went Down to Georgia” backstage between acts.

Above: Moments before the 2nd act begins, Rachel takes a moment to herself.

Above: The troop, seconds before taking a bow.

Above: Shirley Jones signs autographs for Cole patrons before departing on a 13 hour drive to her next performance in Poplar Bluff, Missouri.

Whenever I can, I love to go to the wedding rehearsal and shoot some images.  This way, the bride and groom can compare and contrast the wedding with the rehearsal.  Erin and Trey were married in Freedom Baptist Church on US-1.

Above: I thought six bridesmaids was a lot until this past weekend when we had eight!

Above: The wedding day begins as the programs are just about finished.

Above: One to throw and one to uh….you know.

Above: One of the best parts of being a kid is you get to kick back and let the adults take care of everything!

Above: The Desperate Housewives of Richmond County!

Above: “I’m calling up the homies and I’m askin’ y’all, which park, are ya’ll playin’ basketball?” – Ice Cube

Above: Nom, nom, nom!

Above: Cover me, I’m going in!

Congratulations to you both!  What a great party!

I’m so thankful my web designer fixed my blog.  I can finally get more content on here.  Kathy and Jeff held a super fantastic wedding outside of a GORGEOUS home in Kill Devil Hills in October of last year.  I’ve had quite my share of “event home” weddings but this one took the cake.  We were close enough to the sound for a beautiful sunset, the grounds were large enough for a tent and there was a nice pool area designated for cocktail hour.  Beautiful.

Above: The event home having just been decorated before the guests arrived.  The blue sash was a GREAT touch to hide the parking areas.

Above: Luckily I got my shots before getting shot!

Above: Why are women (especially moms) better at ties than men?

Above: Suites?  Check.  Sunglasses? Check.  Beer?  Check.

Above: Next to green, purple is my favorite color.  My future home will have a purple door.  I need a volunteer to distract my fiance whilst I paint it.

Above: Yes, I have done this image before but I love it so much!  And it doesn’t hurt the fact that Kathy has perfect legs for it!

Above: Spontaneous image of Kathy less than 10 minutes before the ceremony.

Above: The best part about being a kid at a wedding is you can kick back and chill until a grown up hurries you off to some ceremony!

Above: Kathy gets a kiss from both fathers before being given to Jeff.

Above: The sand ceremony.

Above: I’m all about shooting images from a child’s perspective.

Above: Jeff, I respect you for this.  You did what had to be done to get that garter! 

Above: Congratulations Kathy and Jeff!  Thank you for allowing me to be a part of your day.

Had a lot of fun working with Ms. Y. We worked for a few hours as she was quite comfortable in front of the camera. I would have loved a few different locations but we gladly worked with what we had.

Stop Hunger Now conducted a food packaging event in Hamlet at Richmond Community College on August 17th, 2009.  Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack, Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, Congressman Larry Kissell, and former Congresswoman Eva Clayton participated with RCC students to assemble food packages as a way of promoting United We Serve.

Above and Below: Food packages are loaded onto tables awaiting the volunteers.

Above: RCC students don hair nets before work in the assembly lines.
Above: Mickey Horner with Stop Hunger Now gives instructions as how to assemble the packages.
Above: Congressman Larry Kissell greets former Congresswoman Eva Clayton before getting to work.

Above: Congressman Larry Kissell at work with RCC students creating food packages.
Aboce: Former Congresswoman Eva Clayton at work.
Above: Ray Buchanan with Stop Hunger Now escorts Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack, Secretary of Education Arne Duncan to the assembly lines where they will join the students.
Above: Secretary of Education Arne Duncan at work with students.  Here you can see a more overall image of the work being done.
Above: Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack at work with students.
Above: Ray Buchanan with Stop Hunger Now thanks Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack and Secretary of Education Arne Duncan for their participation.
Above: After the food packaging, the Secretaries along with Congressman Kissell were escorted to the Cole Center to hold the Rural Tour town hall meeting created by President Barack Obama. Upwards of 10,000 food packages were assembled during the event.

Originally we were going to do just a few images on the beach then go to downtown Manteo for more pics.  Luckily this was an overcast day.

Congratulations Jill and Robert!

I have to admit, I don’t have much experience shooting in Ellerbe.  I was pleasantly surprised at how picturesque the area is.  I met Melanie, her sister Mari, and their children at the playground first, before finishing on some of their farmland.
Thanks everyone!  I had a great time with you all!  -duane