Posts Tagged: Wilkesboro Event photography

Event Photography

If you are new to our blog, welcome! Look around and make yourself at home. One thing you’ll notice fairly quickly if you visit the commercial page of our blog, is that we have been Official Photographers at Merlefest every year since 2015. And we love it. We love ALL OF IT.

We love the dynamism, the energy, the chaos, the crowds and fans, and BOY do we love the music. As photographers, we are all over the place during that weekend of bands, vendors and community celebrations. Our task is to capture all of it – not just the various stages where some of the best performances you’ll ever see are taking place. We roam on a schedule and freely and it’s all amazing.

Pixels on Paper photography Merlefest 2016 Steep Canyon Rangers photo

Event photography in the form of weddings is a completely different animal and when we were grabbed hold of by music event photography, it grabbed us hard!

Pixels On Paper official photographers MerleFest 2015 music festival photo

Not all events we shoot are days long and with multiple performers. Grievous Angels is a North Carolina band that Ryan and I love and we’re pals with the members. When they asked for photos of them playing, it was a no brainer. Like Merlefest, we were able to capture the energy and the musicians while enjoying the music. They play at smaller venues like coffee houses and they play to tried and true fans as well as newcomers who find themselves drawn in.

Pixels on paper photography charlotte band music photo

Pixels also covers non-musical events be they community or family. Last year in June, Ryan and I took Finley to Touch-a-Track, an event and fundraiser where we volunteered and captured photos.

Pixels On Paper North Wilkesboro NC Touch-A-Truck 2019 Event Photo

If you have an event, musical or otherwise of the non-wedding variety, please contact us. We would love to hear more about it and help you capture and promote it with professional images and good vibes.


We love graphic design and commercial photography whether logo design, brochure design, head shot photos, architectural photography or product shots. At Pixels On Paper we pride ourselves in listening to a broad range of clients and customizing our photography and graphic design services to meet each individual request. Our skills, styles, and visions come together to be a permanent record that either reflects an identity or delivers a message that speaks to thousands. We would be honored to meet with you, learn about you and your business needs. Email us at mail@pixelsonpaper.net or call 336.990.0080 to learn more, receive a quote or to let us know how we can put our skills to work for you.

88x31 lucy & glens valle crucis wedding photography | pixels on paper boone wedding photographers

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 United States License

All photos are ©2019 Pixels On Paper. Do not copy, crop, or remove watermark.

music, memories, & the magic of merlefest ……..

We joined the Merlefest brigade of official photographers in 2015 and as our 4th year approaches and we prepare for our badges to arrive and the admin stuff to cross our desks, we’re getting jazzed. I just wrote about dreaming of spring and the orchard we love. This feels the same to me. There’s heat and sweat – the layers come off as the spring air evaporates the dew, lawn chairs are set in rows, the stages are literally set and the throngs arrive to listen to the very best in blue grass and Americana. We love Merlefest.

The Stray Birds Merlefest 2017

Avett Brothers Band Merlefest 2017

James Taylor with Transatlantic Sessions Merlefest 2017

Pixels on Paper photography Merlefest 2016 Steep Canyon Rangers photo

Pixels on Paper Photography Merlefest 2016 Lindsay Lou & Flatbellys photo

Our first year credentials and we loved every single second of it. Cannot wait for 2018. The line-up is still  evolving and the dates are April 26 – April 29. Get your tickets now and we’ll see you there!pixels on paper merlefest 2015 music festival photographers photo

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, engagements and weddingsbrides, and 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.

88x31 lucy & glens valle crucis wedding photography | pixels on paper boone wedding photographers

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 United States License

All photos are ©2017 Pixels On Paper. Do not copy, crop, or remove watermark.

Merlefest 2017 | 30 Years of Exhilarating Music | music festival photos by Pixels On Paper

Another Merlefest is in the books, you guys and it was epic. Hot as one of the circles of Dante’s Inferno, if you’ll permit me to put too fine a point on it <smiling>. It was epic. So much to see and so much to share. This was the 30th anniversary and our 3rd year as official photographers. We covered 26 bands, plus the 12 who performed in the annual Chris Austin Songwriter’s Competition and we each walked 15 miles over the 4 days we were there. Frankly, we loved every second of it.As previously mentioned, the temperatures were not springy. It was always a minimum of 80+ with two of the four days posting at just below 90 degrees, because Mother Nature has an audacious sense of humor. We usually layer clothing and then put items back on in the evenings. Nope. This year, a couple of morning showers added to the humidity and we wore just what we needed. The weather wasn’t going to stop us and it did not stop 80,000 other visitors from coming to enjoy the festival atmosphere we were all basking in. God Bless water and sunscreen. The crowd size for this celebration of 3 decades of music and merriment was comprised of every age from infants to 80 years olds and the age range of the performers was expansive too. The youngest performer was 8 and of course there were veterans of Merlefest who’ve played every year since 1987, like Sam Bush and Peter Rowan. Highlights for Ryan were seeing James Taylor (who drew one of the biggest crowds) and the Avett Brothers (who also attracted the hoards) and he relished the Bass Workshop with Bob Crawford, since he’s fascinated by all things bass. (Their combined set with the Avett Brothers blew the place up.) Finally, the crowd noise as they announced that Linda Jean Stokley was the winner of the Chris Austin songwriter’s competition was a thrill. Linda Jean – of The Local Honeys – played her winning song for grateful fans. Cigarette Trees is about the destruction of coal mining and is positively beautiful.For me, the top moments were watching and listening to Sam Bush, who’s not only an incredible musician, but loves to surprise the audience with guests he brings on stage. And Sarah Jarosz is another performer that I looked forward to seeing for months. I’d listened to her streaming online, so I was jazzed to see her perform and she did not disappoint!
We both always enjoy seeing Chatham County Line, the Avett Brothers, Mandolin Orange and Scythian. This year we discovered Sierra Hull, Mountain Heart, Mipso, and The Steel Wheels. We hope to see them again next year.

Every year, we try to store up our energy and prepare to throw ourselves into Merlefest. We are fans. We were fans before becoming official photographers in 2015 and have enjoyed the experience more than we can say. It’s hot, it’s busy (we’re working from when the first eye opens until we crash late at night), it’s exhausting and it’s a blast. We come home spent but grateful and with songs, notes, riffs and phrasing in our heads to remind us. It’s one of the coolest gigs we work all year. Till 2018, Merlefest fans!

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What I Love Thinking About

I know a lady who likes to say, “these are the things I’m thinking about instead what’s bothering me.” She’s not burying her head in the sand or failing to solve problems or face challenges; she practicing what she says the Buddhists call “good thinking.” It takes practice – like most things worth getting good at – but it can change your mood when the world feels all wrong or the people around appear to be on hiatus from being kind.
So here’s what I’m thinking about instead of what worries me about our world.
Pixels on Paper Photography Summer 2016 GardenSpring is here and summer is coming. There’s a great thought. Cooking and eating the food I grow in my garden, cutting flowers, relaxing on my front porch. Yes to that.

And I’m thinking about family. I love mine and we love to photograph families of all sizes. Each one contains a library of stories, memories, legacies and shared laughter, pain and joy. Family is always a happy thought for me.

Babies. Think about a baby you know or one you’ve raised and your mood will shift immediately. I love thinking of babies. Babies in tutus. Babies wearing hats. Babies in overalls. [Digression: babies in overalls is a HILARIOUS concept to me. They are 20-ish inches tall! “They ain’t driving no tractor!!!” “They ain’t bailing no hay!!” But, there they are… in their denim and buckles and it’s just the funniest, sweetest thing. The only way they are being helpful is that you’re belly laughing at the cuteness. Just saying…] Pick your favorite baby image and ponder. You’re happier, right?

pixels on paper photography, portrait photography, family portrait photography, photo studio, outdoor portrait photography, photoPixels Family Spring outdoor portrait photography photoTwinkling lights at night and summer evenings spent by a fire pit, on a porch swing, in a tent or hammock or playing cards by lantern at an old picnic table. I love that kind of light at night.Amanda Walling and Bonnie Hostetler On The Windfall outdoor Wedding West Jefferson NC photo

Mountains. Dance with the one who brung ya, right? I love our mountains and if you’re a hiker, hike. If you have a view, sit back and take it in. I love living in a state replete with mountains and mountain views.

Pixels On Paper wedding photographers. Biltmore Estate engagement portrait Asheville NC photo

Love that lasts. Who doesn’t want to remember that? Give brain power and care and thought to that; you’ll thank yourself. I love thinking about lasting love: some of it is as new as a baby but will last a lifetime and some already as old as a steadfast marriage. It’s all good.
Arnold family outdoor spring peach orchard photos by Pixels On Paper Portrait Photographers photoPixels, on, paper, wood, family, portraits, outdoor, family, portraits, studio, family, portraits, outdoor, family, photos, family, photography, family, photographer, blowing, rock, photography, wilkesboro, photography, wilkesboro, photographer, portrait, photography, portrait, studio, boone, photography, charlotte, portrait, photographers, photoGoing away. I love thinking about travel – allowing myself to escape to my favorite memories and then get excited about the possibilities of travel in the future. Ryan and I have done and seen a lot in our marriage and thinking about that journey makes me smile, regardless of locale.
Home. I think about home and am more full than I could ever describe to you guys. We host you there when you come to our indoor studio or out in the garden, but it’s the center of our world. It’s comfort, it’s creativity, it’s food, it’s gatherings …. our “workin’ week and Sunday rest,” as Auden put it. God blessed us big time with our over-a-century-old home.
Whatever is potentially weighing on you, … take the time – make the room for “good thinking.” List your happy places, people, pets, memories, foods and let that happy into every artery you have inside of you.

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