Posts Tagged: NC Outdoor photographers

Looking back at 2023

We are diving head first into 2024 but not before completing a blog post that recaps the photos of our client’s and friends from 2023. We continue to feel incredibly blessed that so many each and every year trust us to photograph and capture the most important memories of their lives. We met some amazing people, felt like a part of so many of these people’s lives, and more often than not were right there along side of them having just as much fun. We gained numerous friendships last year. 2023 brought senior portraits, family portraits, newborn photography, photos of children, pet pics, and commercial photography both in our studio and out and about on location. We are inpatient when it comes to figuring out what 2024 will bring and excited about the photographs we will capture and designs we will create

The following are a few of our personal favorite images from some of those we photographed in 2023. Enjoy the view!

We love family portraits whether they are set in the studio, the great outdoors, a specific location like the mountains or high country, or on our property in our outdoor portrait garden. Pixels on Paper photographs newborns and families, special events and portraits  of all kinds in our Wilkesboro, NC studio. We would be honored to meet with you, learn about you and your family and be a part of taking special portraits that will become, we hope, family heirlooms.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 United States License All photos are ©2023 Pixels On Paper. Do not copy, crop, or remove watermark.

Barn building complete + the finishing touch

So my mom raises charolais cattle – pretty white cows with pink noses and has for a while now. As if she doesn’t have enough to do. If you can today – call your Mom and tell her that you know how amazing she is.
Now where was I?
A while back our clan built a barn on their property for these cows and it’s completed now. We still had one finishing touch to add and that was something Ryan and I worked on.

There is a beloved member of Mom’s charolais cattle and her name is Shiloh. She is both matriarch and pet (she finds time to be both in her busy schedule) and was the inspiration for a quilt/plaque that Ryan designed, I painted and he built. We knew it would be the keystone of the barn and a signal to my mom’s love of what she does.

After we finished creating the quilt/plaque, we took it to share with Shiloh, …. you know… to get her approval.

I promise that we’re safe. Seeing Ryan atop all of those pallets would make your heart stop if you didn’t know Ryan. He wrapped up the project by hanging the quilt above the barn door exterior.

We love it! Mom loves it, and Shiloh – while seemingly underwhelmed – appears to be a fan too. She celebrates her 12th birthday on March 9th. Happy Birthday, OG (that stands for old gal!!)
To see the beginnings of the barn build, check out this blog!


We love family portraits whether they are set in the studio, the great outdoors, a specific location like the mountains or high country, or on our property in our outdoor portrait garden. Pixels on Paper photographs newborns and families, special events and portraits  of all kinds in our Wilkesboro, NC studio. We would be honored to meet with you, learn about you and your family and be a part of taking special portraits that will become, we hope, family heirlooms.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 United States License All photos are ©2022 Pixels On Paper. Do not copy, crop, or remove watermark.

Wilkes Community Partnership for Children Christmas 2021 Event

At the end of last year, during the holiday season, Pixels on Paper teamed up with the Wilkes Community Partnership for Children to photograph their “Sugar Plum Fairy Christmas Event.”
For years, I have raved about this organization to anyone who will listen. They do so much for children in our community, and our Finley has reaped the rewards for years. 

This event was in held in Wilkesboro and was free and open to all children.

But first, a little bit about the Wilkes County Partnership for Children. This Smart Start program prepares children for school and provides school readiness, child safety, and child development programs to families in our area. This organization also has a diaper pantry, Imagination Library, reading programs, parent support groups and a bevvy of resources that families, teachers and other community members can readily use. I cannot say enough about this org and urge you guys to check them out.

This event brought out the goods! While Finley ran for Mayor (this kid loves to chat up the 2 and 4 legged creatures equally), we captured images of Santa & Mrs. Claus, all of the arts & craft activities, cookie decorating, and time with miniature horses. We forget with all the screens and the speed of info how nice it is to stroll while chatting with neighbors and not feeling in a hurry. This was THAT day, and I loved it.


We love family portraits whether they are set in the studio, the great outdoors, a specific location like the mountains or high country, or on our property in our outdoor portrait garden. Pixels on Paper photographs newborns and families, special events and portraits  of all kinds in our Wilkesboro, NC studio. We would be honored to meet with you, learn about you and your family and be a part of taking special portraits that will become, we hope, family heirlooms.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 United States License All photos are ©2021 Pixels On Paper. Do not copy, crop, or remove watermark.

Thanksgiving Blessings to All

Sometimes we need a reminder of the “why” behind Thanksgiving and I’m pointing a finger at myself here too. I dug into my files, category “Uplift Me, Please!” and thought I’d share a few with you as we approach the big day of food and revelry.

There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle.

Albert Einstein
Sawyer Sherill Newborn Photography by Pixels On Paper Portrait Photography photo

In the end, though, maybe we must all give up trying to pay back the people in this world who sustain our lives. In the end, maybe it’s wiser to surrender before the miraculous scope of human generosity and to just keep saying thank you, forever and sincerely, for as long as we have voices.

Elizabeth Gilbert
Pixels On Paper Photographers Howards Family Farm Fall Pumpkin Patch Photo

To speak gratitude is courteous and pleasant, to enact gratitude is generous and noble, but to live gratitude is to touch Heaven.

Johannes A. Gaertner

We should certainly count our blessings, but we should also make our blessings count.

Neal A. Maxwell
Graybeal family outdoor fall portrait NC mountains photo

Not what we say about our blessings, but how we use them, is the true measure of our Thanksgiving.

W.T. Purkiser

As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them.

John F. Kennedy

We love family portraits whether they are set in the studio, the great outdoors, a specific location like the mountains or high country, or on our property in our outdoor portrait garden. Pixels on Paper photographs newborns and families, special events and portraits  of all kinds in our Wilkesboro, NC studio. We would be honored to meet with you, learn about you and your family and be a part of taking special portraits that will become, we hope, family heirlooms.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 United States License All photos are ©2021 Pixels On Paper. Do not copy, crop, or remove watermark.