Engagement | Allana & Joel

This engagement session was such a special event! I had the pleasure of photographing Allana & Joel's wedding in 2007. It was such a beautiful ceremony on such a beautiful day. It took place at the Sycamore Hills Golf Club in Paris Illinois and what made it so beautiful was not the surroundings (which were gorgeous!), but it was the emotion that was behind everything that happened that day.







Allana & Joel only had a short amount of time after the ceremony to spend together before Joel had to leave his new wife to fulfill his military responsibilities. Not only did they have a short amount of time to spend together afterward, Allana and Joel hardly got to see each other before the wedding for the same reason. Joel arrived in town only a day or two before the wedding and it was questionable if he was to arrive on time because of the unpredictable military schedule. Thankfully everything worked out as planned and the wedding and reception festivities went on with great success and so much emotion...I have to say it was one of my FAVORITE weddings of 2007 because they were not just "going through the motions" of having a wedding...They were getting married!

This post does not contain images from their wedding, but you can view their Wedding Slide Show that is to the song of their first dance.

This post contains images from their "engagement" session! Which in reality is actually a portrait session of a happy married couple...we had a very special and unexpected opportunity to get together again to photograph this session...Please take a look at Allana & Joel's portrait Session Slide Show ~








Allana & Joel, I'm so happy that I have met you and had the honor of photographing such a special and truly emotional event. You are such a wonderful example of what love is and I wish you all the best~

Bob Emser | Spirit of Space

At the beginning of 2008 I set a few goals for myself...one of which, is to donate my services and help document the florishing art community in Terre Haute. My first projects was to photograph the dedication of the piece that has been placed in front of the Swope Art Museum located on 7th street in downtown Terre Haute.



Bob Emser is the artist responsible for creating the stucture that stands proud in front of the Swope Art Museum and the title of the piece is "Spirit of Space". Bob has a very extensive portfolio of work that stretches world-wide and it is such an honor to have his work become an icon in the Terre Haute community. Check out his website to get to know him a bit better! www.bobemser.com





I have to admit that I'm very intimidated by artists...I always feel like I'm out of the loop or won't understand the lingo if I find myself in a conversation that soars way above my head....BUT when I met Bob and asked him if I could get a few shots of him with his art he was so nice! He was up for whatever I wanted and was very focused on what I was asking of him, even though there were so many people who were competing for his attention....It was an honor to photograph and spend time with an artist that has done so much in the art community (not only local, but international!)...what a great experience!




While you are online, check out some of these great local art venues and organizations:

Art Spaces
Swope Art Museum
Arts Illiana



I couldn't resist this shot of the cakes that were custom made by the bakery at Baesler's Market! (Another wonderful LOCAL business!)

The Evidence!

For those of you who may not have been able to make it out...here are some images from the event...please enjoy (and excuse my goofball behavior)!













Thanks so much to my good friend Sam for being my buddy for the day and helping me prepare (isn't she the cutest in her blue tights!) and to Anne for taking photos at the Bridal Expo...I love you guys!

Happy...

Today was such a great day! The Bridal Expo was such a blast...I really had so much fun and it was better than I ever expected!





Top 10 reasons to be happy about the Bridal Expo

10 Smooth set-up of my display at 7am (I was worried it would be too BIG!)

09 I received great encouragement from family and friends that visited me today!

08 Discovering connections with new inquiries and past clients! I love how we are all connected in some way...It's kind of like the "Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon"...I love it!

07 I was able to see many of my current clients as they did some remaining "shopping" around for other vendors...It was great to see them again!

06 I was able to really project my personality and my vision through my display...I had such an overwhelming response! Thank you to everyone who gave Kudos...it was VERY encouraging!)

05 I was able to relax and spend time with my family and friends over dinner afterwards and fill them in on all of the excitement~

04 I successfully introduced my business to the "public"...up until now I have been very fortunate to have a steady flow of work by "word of mouth" (which is wonderful in itself!)

03 Meeting all of the amazing local vendors and discovering new friends in the local wedding industry

02 Meeting so many wonderful and creative brides and grooms and talking about their weddings!

01 I now have a wonderful starting point for my PROJECT


Thanks to everyone that stopped by to talk to me and check out my work! I really enjoyed meeting everyone and I hope that we will cross paths again very soon :)

Bridal Expo Display~

Tomorrow is the day everyone! I look forward to seeing you there...

Here is a preview of what to expect!

Come and see me~
Hulman Center | Terre Haute, IN
Noon - 5PM



I would love to see you there!
♥ Samantha

UPDATE::
Check out some action shots at the bridal fair on My Flickr Page :)

Lifestyle | Madeleine (Christmas)

I found out recently that Madeleine is feeling a little under the weather :( It is definately that time of year...I know that I've had a bug the past few days too...Hopefully being able to re-live some family Christmas moments will bring everyone some smiles...I am not the best blogger...I admit....BUT I will try harder to stay current with my postings :)



Julie, Tom and Madeleine invited me to photograph them for some Christmas photos this past year! I had a blast visiting with them~ Julie is the coordinator for The Ohio Building in Terre Haute and we were able to utilize this (amazingly decorated) space as a background for our adventures!



There is just a snipit of MY favorite images here on the blog...You can view more on their slideshow...



There are a lot of exciting things to explore at The Ohio Building...like this wonderful built-in aquarium...



And what little one can pass up a chance to play with a remote? I think it's so funny that children find them so facinating! (I know our remote is one of Lincoln's favorite play things!)





The next two photos are my favorite! In the first one, we are making our best attempt at a "nice" family portrait! No smiles for Madeleine~ So Tom and Julie said...just go with it! Let's do a photo of ALL of us frowning...



I love how Madeleine is not even looking at the camera! She already has a great sense of humor! (I laugh every time I look at this!)




Well I hope that Madeleine gets to feeling better! Have a great weekend and try to stay warm~



Good Night!

Sprout Session | Harper Grace (Newborn)

Harper Grace is here!

Harper is the daughter of Jessica Medley (I shot some fun photos of Jessie when she was bursting at the seams!) I was so excited to take these photos for them because I hadn't even seen her since she was born...I believe Harper is about 1 month old in these photos...Correct me if I'm wrong Jessie :)





I love love tiny baby details! They really make you appreciate how beautiful and precious life truly is...









I love the "questioning" look on her face! She has no idea what to think of me and my camera~








I promise there was no pinching provoking the next photo! I think Harper was telling us she was done and it was time for a nap!



Thanks to Jessie, Harper and the rest of the family for inviting me into their lives...I have the pleasure of photographing Jessie's sister's wedding this summer and I can't wait to see everyone again...I bet Harper will be so BIG!