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Awards: WPPI 8×10 Print Competition winner times 3!

The past week has been a crazy one in the Chanterelle Photography world, full of ups and downs – it was a roller coaster to say the least! One of the highlights was that I found out I won 3 awards in the WPPI (Wedding & Portrait Photographers International) 8×10 Print Competition, including a 2nd place overall in one category! Here’s a look at the winning images:

“Old Soul” – 2nd place overall, Portrait Division – Animals/Pets wppi8x10blog3 “In Hot Water” – Accolade of Excellence, Wedding Division – Bride & Groom Together wppi8x10blog2 “The Riff” – Accolade of Excellence, Commercial Division – Illustrative/Editorial wppi8x10blog1

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Portrait: Mandy – Portland, Oregon

Earlier this year, I went to Portland, Oregon to help out with a photography workshop – part of my job was to demonstrate what I do when shooting in natural light (my favorite!). I had the awesome Mandy as my model, who stepped out of the box a bit to do something a touch more “fashion-y”, since she usually does pinup work. She did change outfits for us and we did more of a bombshell look, but more on that later! mandyblog2

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Happy 4th and Happy Birthday Missy!

On the 4th of July, instead of fireworks and a BBQ, my holiday usually involves a trip to Petsmart and some fried chicken – all for my dog Missy’s birthday. She is officially 11 years old now, she even had to go to her first “geriatric” checkup this week. Having a dog can teach you a lot – recently, I read a little tidbit somewhere called “Dog Lessons for People”. Some of them were spot on, but there were a few more that I thought could have been added, so here’s my version, along with a few birthday pics of my favorite furry kid:

“Dog Lessons for People”

*Enjoy the simple pleasures of a walk.
*When something goes into the garbage, it should stay there.
*Be quick to forgive.
*Keep digging until you find what you want.
*It’s hard to stay mad at something cute.
*If someone is upset, you should see if they’re okay.
*When you gotta go, you gotta go.
*When you’re happy, it’s perfectly okay to dance around and wag your whole body.
*Don’t bite when a growl will do.
*When you love someone, you should show them every day.
*Naps are essential.
*Sometimes it’s best to just sit close and listen.
*Love unconditionally, no matter how many times you are scolded.

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Wedding: Karoline & Chris – The Oaks Plantation – Pike Road, Alabama

Here’s a quick disclaimer: I love all my brides and grooms. Honestly. I am super lucky that I have the most awesome clients ever. But I REALLY love Karoline and Chris and their families. Like I almost wish there was one more Murphy brother for me so we could all be related, haha! See, I’ve known Chris’ mom Martha since before I started this little venture called a photography business. She was one of my very first clients, and I’ve been shooting with their family ever since. I was even hiding behind a column like some nutso paparazzi the night Karoline and Chris got engaged, just to get a few pictures of him popping the question. Needless to say, I was excited about shooting their wedding.

When I was editing these pictures, I kept thinking that if you look at the expressions on everyone’s faces, you’d never know that we were fighting off and on rain showers the entire day. Everyone was so great about just rolling with the punches that it made my job a lot easier. If we needed to run inside because it started raining, there was no complaining. If the girls shoes were sinking in the grass, they just kept going. Everyone was just so relaxed and HAPPY. It was like they had been looking forward to the day for so long, that nothing was going to kill the mood.Shut. Up. Seriously. Is it legal to look this good???Me thinks Chris is giving Karoline a run for her money – hellooooooooo handsome!One of my favorite pictures of the day. Pictures like this just make me happy.So does this one. 🙂When she was getting ready to walk down the aisle, Karoline saw me and waved – I love the look on her face!But I think the sweetest moment of the day was when Chris got a little choked up during the ceremony.Love the looks on their faces as they went to do their first dance. Love their faces even more when a piece of cake goes AWOL and falls inside the front of Karoline’s dress!Chris and the guys showed everyone how it’s done on the dance floor.And they sparkled on their way out.Chris’ mom gave each of the bridesmaids a cross ornament to remember the day – and gave me one too! I told you my clients were awesome.To Karoline and Chris – thanks for trusting me with capturing some of the most important moments of your lives. To Karoline’s mom Valerie – thanks for being a faithful blog reader and “getting it” enough to cry over the pictures. To Chris’ mom Martha – thanks for being a loyal client and friend, and for giving me a chance when I was just a crazy girl with a camera and an idea. Big hugs to all of you!

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Portrait: Isabella – Montgomery, Alabama

Not many babies can rock a hot pink and black tutu.Rocking out a baby faux-hawk is even harder. It gets tiring!Isabella was just 10 days old when we shot her session. She was asleep when I arrived, and didn’t mind where we put her. Once she was awake, she was so alert that there was no going back to sleep – so she treated us to her sweet eyes and funny faces.

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