I love the fall. The crisp breeze, the beautiful colors, and pretty much anything that has apples in it. So going out to pick apples at Stribling Orchards with Hilary and Sarah was a great way to spend an absolutely gorgeous fall Saturday. We picked our fair share of apples - 25+ pounds... which, just two weeks later, are all but gone - and I took advantage of the beautiful location and company to take a few shots. Take a look, I hope you like the results as much as I do! Click the image below to see the full gallery.  

A few weeks ago I had the pleasure of photographing a sixtieth birthday party for a group of friends who first met in Kindergarten, along with their closest friends and family. This was my first event as the official photographer, rather than "guest first, photographer second," and it was quite an experience. In addition to sharing some of my favorite images from the night, I'd like to reflect on what I learned - and thank the guests of honor for allowing me to take part in their festivities.     The first, and possibly most important, lesson that I learned was that the more comfortable you are behind the camera, the more relaxed the guests become, leading to better pictures. I was quite "stiff" at first; I was afraid of interfering with everyone's night, of getting in the way, of disrupting the very moments that I was there to capture. And, to be fair,