There is a moment in the life of every bride-to-be when she worries about how she’ll look in her gown posing 5 feet from a waterfall. If we had a nickel…… So we’re going to start at this point in the Minick story – the moment when Rachel navigated her way through hill and dale for bridal pictures, looking radiant in her wedding gown and Keen’s. You heard us. You gotta do what you gotta do.
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She told us, it was the funniest part of all the shoots we’ve done with Pixels. “Hiking around the location where my bridal portraits were taken was a blast. Wearing Keen’s with my wedding dress and getting strange looks from people fishing at the waterfall was the best!”
Rachel and Ryan met at an Appalachian State football game and so began their relationship. 4 years later we are still photographing them and enjoying not only their company, but watching their family grow and their lives take the various twists and turns it does.
For us, this is not just a business of photography. We’re documenting, watching history unfold, and creating heirlooms that will link generations. The Minick’s, like many of our clients, have become our friends. We “do life” together when there are no cameras around. We feel very strongly that God has given us this gift so that we can become another supportive resource, cheerleaders and advocates for the married couples we’ve met through Pixels. We love seeing them create families and celebrate milestones and feel honored to be a part of the journey. Creating relationships has become as important to us as the photography work.
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Below are just a couple of wedding pictures, but we hope you’ll view more of the Minick’s Big Day (teaser: check out Rachel and her bridesmaids’ shoes – they are not Keen’s, but they rock!)
Not surprisingly, people who love each other as much as these two do were destined to add to their family. So two became three with the arrival of Amelia. We’ve enjoyed capturing her with her parental units in a variety of settings. Always fun!
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Pixels has an expansive and versatile photography studio for certain shoots, and we love photographing newborns, family portraits, prom pictures, weddings, engagement photos and the like. But we also absolutely embrace those moments when we can be creative in mother nature, and are experienced outdoor photographers in NC. We’ve been able to do both with the Minicks.
Rachel: “I want to remember the early days of our marriage and family and look back at the stages of Amelia’s growth. I know that I will delight in these portraits for years to come and love creating future family heirlooms with Misty and Ryan.” WE look forward to it, too. We love you guys.
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A dear friend of ours tells a story about coming home to his very young sons one evening, the oldest of which was around 4 years old. The sitter left a note that was found later saying that she’d prompted the boy about how much he loved bears. She took the time to write down, “he said adamantly, ‘I don’t love bears!!! I love my daddy!”
Our pal still has the note, even though his son is now in his 20s.
What if she hadn’t taken the time to write down that little moment, that little throw away comment? It would be gone.
This life of ours is a continuum, isn’t it? At any given time, bits can be solidified or lost.
We do our part at Pixels On Paper Photography to help with this by being your journalists, and sometimes archivists, of sorts. We capture and catalog your family by establishing a set time, a studio, amazing outdoor settings, imagination, photos and a great amount of care.
The Meade family continuum has been a blessing to us. We first photographed them in 2010, in a field near a family farm in the NC Mountains.
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2 years later, we took pictures of their newborn second child, Alarie – a bundle of sugar that put all of us dangerously close to becoming diabetic.
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Our third session was in the fall of 2013 near the Blue Ridge Parkway and Blowing Rock, and their last session in the summer of 2014, included pictures of Carisa, Bradley, Slater (their eldest and boy-man) and Alarie. Mom, Carisa told us, “it’s a blessing to watch our two children interact, and show their love for one another. This summer session revealed a great example of sibling love, and capturing those moments was priceless!”
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Slater and Alarie are a study in complete opposites. Slater is a 40 year old man stored handily in the body of a 6 year old. He is the only child that age we know who worries more about others more than he worries about himself. He’s an old soul combined with great parenting.
Alarie could not be more different. She is fearless, silly and may have Red Bull running in her veins where there should be blood. We’re waiting to hear back from her pediatrician. She will take on anything at any time. She finds trouble, gets into it and when punishment is doled out, leaves Slater often saying, “well I guess now we’re not going to be allowed to [fill in something fun here].”
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They love each other though. All 4 of them and it shows. Can’t you tell?
We asked Mom, Carisa: What do you want to remember most or tell yourself when you look back at these photos in 5 years?
“To be very thankful we captured these special moments that I can’t ever go back to relive.”
The Meade’s have committed to this concept by having us create a wall in their home of some of these captured moments.
We could not be more proud to be their journalists and archivists.
We’re looking forward to seeing them this summer and for many more to come!
“My father used to play with my brother and me in the yard. Mother would come out and say, ‘You’re tearing up the grass’; ‘We’re not raising grass,’ Dad would reply. ‘We’re raising boys.’”
-Harmon Killebrew
Now imagine being a single mom raising boys. Raising them in the grass and mud, watching over their bruises, scrapes and homework, their after school activities, preparing their meals, sorting out their arguments…. teaching them what they’ll need to become good men. She’s fearless and selfless and clearly understands the day-to-day and the big picture.
Meet Stacy Eldridge and her 5 (YEP – FIVE) boys. They are as interesting, kind, smart, curious, fearless and singular as she is. She’s also a nurse, by the way, and for all we know she secretly has a 4AM paper route. I mean why not? She’s superwoman.
The Eldridges are a tribe of the best kind.
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Stacy allows them to be boys – riding dirt bikes, picking on each other, rolling in the dirt, playing pranks and keeping each other grounded and humble.
We fell in love with this crew and were excited to honor Stacy’s desire to capture them in their element, so we took photos on a family farm near Hamptonville, NC, with their big bikes and even larger personalities. We also focused on each young man, capturing them for Stacy to remember this time …… or use later for bribes.
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For this post, we wanted to include a photo of the boys from 4 years ago for the sake of comparison. We look forward to seeing them grow up and into the men they’ll become.
Time passes quickly. We’d love to take photos of your family and then follow up in a year or two or when you’re ready. Call for an appointment and we’ll noodle with you about the best way to capture your tribe.
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This little cutie had our hearts from the time she began inside her mother’s womb. That’s because we were her parents engagement, bridals, and wedding photographers and have been great friends since. We’ve had the opportunity to capture Amelia’s portrait photography at our Wilkesboro based photo studio, during every momentous occasion of her growth (even though it has only been a year). Already documenting her turning one is hard to believe. My how time does fly! She has also been a model we can call on for children’s photography and when we’re experimenting with a new backdrop in the studio or outside in our portrait garden. Talk about convenient!
That moment when she slept snug on our little baby posing pillow as a newborn has long since been replaced by trying to keep up with a toddler wondering excitedly through the studio.
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Watch the video created by Pixels On Paper Photography to see even more of Amelia’s portrait photography during this session in our photo studio and in our outdoor portrait garden in Wilkesboro, NC.
Interested in scheduling a children’s portrait photography session in our Wilkesboro photo studio or on location near you? Contact us to learn more and see our website at www.pixelsonpaper.net.
We photographed a Bride’s portrait session at the Church family home a year earlier. The Bride’s family and theirs were close family friends. Since they saw how “magical” their woods looked in the Bride’s photos they began planning an outdoor family portrait session of their own with us. We photographed these images back in the Fall when their home and surrounding land was gorgeous with North Carolina Fall foliage (sorry Blogging in a timely fashion for us is so hard). We agree, their woods really do look magical. We enjoyed photographing the Church family and are grateful for the opportunity to create these heirlooms for their entire family.
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View the family’s portrait photography slideshow and even more photos in this video created by Pixels On Paper Photography:
Contact us to learn more and to schedule your own appointment for family portrait photography either at our photo studio, your home, or an outdoor location near you! More details on our website at www.pixelsonpaper.net!