Kate & Otis celebrate 50 years together
So a couple of things stuck with me after this recent photo session (read: party). One, I love it when people understand the true value of a printed photo. It’s not because it’s my profession to take pictures, it’s because I feel like I’ve met a landsman… someone from “my homeland or country” who appreciates what I appreciate. I value printed images. I love seeing framed photos at people’s homes when I’m there. I love thinking of them deciding that that particular image was so wonderful, they printed it, framed it and put it on a mantel, office desk or bedside table. They thought, “I want to see this as often as possible and to be reminded.”
Two, it stuck with me that lovers of printed photos know that images are not only daily pieces of joy, they can last longer than a life.
When Ryan photographed the celebration of 50 years of marriage for Kate and Otis McNeil, Kate said “Not to be morbid, but truly a complement to your work: These are the photos we are proud to have displayed at our funeral whenever that day comes.” And she wasn’t morbid, or sad or even wistful. She meant it and that means the world to us.
Kate & Otis McNeil celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary on December 8th of 2018 (their actual anniversary is December 22, 1968) with a massive party at The Event Center at Summit Square in Winston Salem, NC. So much thought, effort, preparation, coordination and love went into making this a special evening.
Family and friends came from all of the US to reunite and celebrate.
In speaking with Kate during the months leading up to the event to coordinate the photos it was obvious what a momentous occasion this was for her and Otis. We loved that it was not lost on them how important marriage is and what a triumph of love, commitment and fortitude 50 years is.
Kate wanted to make sure that we captured the party atmosphere, but she was especially keen that Ryan took plenty of posed and candid images of all their family that would be in attendance. So we coordinated family members photos prior to the event start time, much like a wedding.
After the event, Kate and Otis ordered images of their kids, grandkids and themselves and many members of their extended families have also ordered photos of themselves with their children’s families. It fills me up thinking of all those family members, spread out all over the country, seeing the same images from that day hanging somewhere in their homes.
If you take the time to celebrate a life, a marriage, a graduation, a birth – and you plan a gathering or party around it with guests and family, really make it an event – we encourage you to hire a photographer to capture those images that you’ll want to see on your desk and look at daily and those you’ll want people to remember you by later.
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 weddings, brides, 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.
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.
NC Commercial Photographers
Professional photographers often fall into specific style buckets, but Ryan and I have been blessed with the opportunity to work in multiple categories, and develop our skills in each. We’ve been at this for a while, gang. Pixels On Paper photographs not only families and babies, weddings and engagements and all the valuable, personal milestones, but we cover events like Merlefest, capture documentary sessions that are more “slice of life” and finally, something we may do more of than you think, commercial photography.
Businesses need images, and stock photography – while valuable – can never give you what custom, proprietary images can: authenticity and identity.
Ryan’s background in graphic design and branding, and our shared knowledge of what businesses often want to convey, but cannot through generic photos, have made it possible for us to understand and meet the needs of commercial enterprises with sharp, beautiful composed and targeted images.
Pixels works with architects and builders, real estate agents and firms, big popular events like the organizers of Merlefest, non-profits, entrepreneurs, small and large businesses and nearly everything in between. Headshots, exterior and interiors, group shots, product images and more.
We bring the same honed skills, years of experience, time and respect for the clients needs to our commercial work that we commit when doing more personal photography.
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.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 United States License
All photos are ©2018 Pixels On Paper. Do not copy, crop, or remove watermark.
Newborn Rylie
The Life of Reilly or Riley – or in this case Rylie – is a good one if you can manage to be dealt that hand. For the uninitiated (and as the story goes), Riley declared that if he ever became President of the U.S. that New Yorkers would swim in wine. The phrase later came to mean, living a life of leisure……. lazing around without a care in the world.
So have a look at Rylie below. How’s he doin’ so far? Exactly.
Taking a little snooze in a long stocking cap? Why yes, please!! Don’t mind if I do!
Newborn baby boy Rylie came to the Pixels On Paper photography studio at just 12 days old for his newborn portrait session, with one of his Daddies and Grandma in tow. This little doll was born a few weeks early much to everyone’s surprise. Rylie is loved more than life itself by his two fathers and his huge extended family. They all want to cuddle him all the time and honestly so did I. He already has a Disney character collection and a fashionable wardrobe with matching shoes larger than most grown children’s. His gramma set up the session and I can only imagine how she’s going to have to keep elbowing Rylie fans out of the way in the years to come.
Only the carefree are looked after by their stuffed animals. I mean … what harm could possible come to such a sweet and tranquil little man? Answer: none! He’s surrounded by Goofy, Minnie, Mickey, Donald and an enormous elephant.
This delicious little creature slept comfortably through our entire photoshoot and did not cry one time. Remarkable. There were multiple wardrobe changes, set changes, props were moved around and he could not have been more chill.
I had the most precious photos in record time, and honestly dear readers, I could have gone all day, if I didn’t know that that would just make choosing finals even harder. This kid is a prince and I cannot wait to take some shots of him when he’s awake and expressive ……… and able to tell me what he and Goofy chat about in the wee hours.
I love, love newborn baby portraits, in the studio, with or without parents. These little ones give me new life and whether there is a theme or the most spare set possible, these early days – once gone – cannot be found again. So glad to have been a part of this particular photo session.
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 weddings, brides, 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.
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.
NC Real Estate Photography | interior and exterior photos
We are hired to capture images of real estate or property for any number of reasons – and we love this work so much. Whether it’s a real estate firm, home builder, interior designer or an individual homeowner wanting quality images to sale their home, we know how to feature the elements that make a space unique and capture images that italicize and showoff architectural details, craftsmanship and the perfect execution of materials.
The first home we photographed was for MBI Builders in 2014 and it is located in the Blue Ridge Mountain Club, in Blowing Rock NC. The home includes loads of custom, high-end finishes throughout – including a custom built island and cabinetry, ceiling details, rock and tile work, and an amazing combination of refined elegance and mountain home feel. The client used these photos for their marketing materials for listing the home and to demonstrate MBI’s capabilities as a company. It is still one of our favorite commercial photo shoots to date.
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.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 United States License
All photos are ©2018 Pixels On Paper. Do not copy, crop, or remove watermark.
Eldridge & Wood Family Portraits
We could also call this blog: In the land of men, because there are seven of them in this blended family of eight. Seven men, and one of them is now in the U.S. Navy. This particular photo session was special. We’ve known the Eldridge side for a lonnnnnng while. Stacy Eldridge – mom of FIVE – has been contacting us for portrait sessions since 2010. It seems like a lifetime ago since we photographed her boys leaning against a rusted out pickup truck in their matching white polos.
Now Stacy’s land of men has grown by two more. Her partner Michael Wood and his son Rusty have joined the family. Rusty was set to leave to begin his service in the U.S. Navy so we had to do everything it took to make this photo shoot happen. It was our pleasure of course. We love supporting our service members in any way possible and wanted to get to know him and his dad, Michael a bit better.
The Eldridges are already all over the place with five young men running in different directions and Stacy routinely has a house full of other kids, friends of her boys, neighbors, etc. I frankly don’t know how this full time nurse and mom manages it all. Having everyone in one spot, even for just part of a day, was a big deal.
For this shoot – we ordered up a sunny day – but were dealt a rainy and cold hand. Many thanks to Winding Creek Wedding Venue and Farm – a place we love – for allowing us to meet up for this session. Ultimately, it was the perfect spot for these rugged men, in various stages of growing up, finding themselves, discovering their styles and attitudes for group and individual shots. No two are alike, you know? And isn’t that what makes each family unique? The mix of everyone.
Eldridge Family Photo 2014 
Eldridge Family Photo 2010
See more of the Eldridge boys from 2010 and 2014, where you can not only see the growth and change, but see why parents hire us for milestones and every couple of years to mark the lives of their kids and family.
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 weddings, brides, 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.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 United States License
All photos are ©2018 Pixels On Paper. Do not copy, crop, or remove watermark.