Hey, everyone! I'm so excited to post these images, I really love how they turned out! Last weekend I had the honor of second shooting for the fabulous Abby Liga at Vanessa and Gabe's wedding over in Orlando. It was held at the GORGEOUS Ballroom at Church Street. I'd never been there before, but it's easy to see why this tasteful couple would choose it as their ceremony and reception site. It's unbelieveable! Everywhere you turn makes for a beautiful photo opportunity. And that makes me happy! :)

(All of the images are below in a smaller size, but you can view them larger HERE!)


The outside of the Ballroom at Church Street.


Vanessa's stunning dress.










Gabe knew how to work that bench!


I just love this one! We called it the "Ocean's Seven" shot, hehe.

Only moments before the ceremony...


The atrium inside the Ballroom at Church Street. Stunning!










Checkin' out the new rings!








The guys, trying to "act natural," as they put it, in front of the camera. Might need to work on that a bit!






Cake paparazzi!




This is one of my favorites of Abby in action! Love it!








It looks just as cool at night!


The couple made a spectacular, sparkler exit.


For this shot I wanted to have the groomsman draw a heart in the air with his sparkler, but it didn't quite make it all the way around, then the sparkler went out before we could try again. Next time I'll get it!

Hope you enjoy these images! Big thanks to Abby for asking me along on another beautiful event. Soon I'll be posting Yancy and Kim's wedding...stay tuned!

About a month before Melissa and Barry's wedding, we took Melissa out for a bridal session. The heat and humidity were brutal to fight against, but with Christie there as hair and makeup support and Scott as my assistant, everything went smoothly! Melissa was wonderful to work with, and looked gorgeous from the time we started until the very end...about three hot hours later. The firetruck images at the end were difficult to get; the lighting was terrible inside the station and it was dark outside...but I love that these photos were a special surprise for Barry, who is a firefighter! I'm pretty sure he got a kick out of 'em. :) Hope you enjoy the slideshow!

A beautiful couple, and a beautiful wedding! Congratulations and happiness always to both of you!

Wow, I can't believe it's here already! After looking forward to it for months, tomorrow morning (actually, in about 2 1/2 hours) I'm leaving to head up to North Carolina to go backpacking on the Appalachian Trail for 5 days. My sister and good friend Linda will be joining me, and we're all very excited! We'll be kicking off our trip with some whitewater rafting on Sunday, then hitting the trail on Monday to start our 60 mile journey. If all goes according to plan and we don't meet up with any disgruntled bear families, we'll be finishing up on Friday and heading back home on Saturday (July 26th). Have a great week, everyone, and I'll see ya when I get back! :)

I can't say enough good things about the McGee family. I actually feel as if I'm part of their family in a way! I used to work with Mark, and I always felt that he was my "work dad." He shares my dad's same first AND middle name, sang me silly songs just the way my dad does, and is an incredible man of faith and strong morals. It's not surprising that his family is so loving, respectful, fun and engaging to be around! I had a blast just hanging out with them for a bit one afternoon as they held a reunion of sons, daughters and grandchildren as they came together to celebrate Mark's birthday. Happy birthday, Mark, and thank you for being such a wonderful part of my life! God bless you and your family! Hope you enjoy the slideshow. :)

Whew! I'm finally catching up on some projects after having an awesome time with my family up in Tennessee last weekend!

Mike and Katy were married on June 7th in the cutest, most picturesque chapel you've ever seen! Tucked away in Boca Grande, the Armory Chapel on Gasparilla Island State Park, Florida, was the perfect place to witness the marriage of these two wonderful people.

Things were running a bit behind on the wedding day (nothing unusual there!) but things took an interesting turn when Mike received a call that the guitar player had been in a car accident and would be unable to make it to the ceremony!! (Thankfully, he was okay, just had to deal with the police, etc.) Katy had no idea this had happened, and was dealing with her own wedding day jitters not far from the chapel. Keeping his cool through everything, Mike spoke the sweetest words of love and assurance over the phone to Katy...it was so apparent that the only thing that mattered to him was seeing the love of his life walk down that aisle to join and marry him. Katy later told me how much those words he spoke to her meant. What a beautiful relationship these two already have!

All of the wedding guests came together to brainstorm for music ideas: Borrow someone's laptop? Find someone out on the beach with an iPod? Did anyone play an instrument? Yes! Someone stepped up to play the chapel's organ, and several family members and friends arranged an impromptu rehearsal, planning to sing as the bride made her entrance. In the end, everything worked out, and in my mind the sweetness of family and friends joining together to show so much love to the bride and groom made everything that much more special.

I hope you enjoy the slideshow from Mike and Katy's wedding! (You'd never guess from the photos how HOT it was outside on the beach! It was burning, blinding heat, I tell ya!)

Congratulations, Mike and Katy! I'm so happy I was able to be a part of your wedding...what a perfect, special day! God bless you always!

Tomorrow I leave for Tennessee to meet my dad's side of the family for our Parsons' Family Reunion! I'm pretty excited...I haven't been up to visit my family in TN in over 3 years I think. I should have internet access, but it's not likely I'll be getting back to any e-mails until I return on Monday the 30th. So if you try to get a hold of me and I don't reply right away, don't worry...I'll be back next week! Have a great weekend, everyone! :)

~Shem

So I've been working feverishly on some materials to promote my new high school senior photography endeavors, and my second favorite UPS man (I don't know what happened to my favorite dude!) delivered the fruits of my labor this afternoon! I saw that big brown truck roll up and squealed with delight like a little girl...then ran outside and practically clapped my hands as I saw the big, lovely "WHCC" lettering on the sides of the boxes. I opened each box one by one, carefully laying out the goods across the living room coffee table. It's just so satisfying to see what was once a concept fully realized as printed materials right in front of me. Happy sigh.

I'M. SO. EXCITED!! My beautiful, fun and energetic cousin, Janet, modeled for my promo materials...and she did a spectacular job! The pictures came out amazing, and I'm so pumped to get more high school senior business in the door! I just think shooting seniors is so much fun...they're young, coming into their own as adults, fashion forward, and ready to try just about anything. The perfect recipe for fun, hot, amazing photos!

I'll post some samples soon (running on 3 hours of sleep, a giant Red Bull and remnants of UPS adrenaline right now) but if you're interested check out the new MySpace I'm working on for my senior work...www.myspace.com/trueblueseniors. Which leads me into saying that yes, my senior division will be called "True Blue." I really like taking the idea of loyalty and applying it to one's self...staying true to one's ideals, goals, vision for life and true personality. Plus it conveniently ties back into "Blue Lane." :) So, I'm thinking for a tagline something like "Be true to yourself" or just "Stay true." Any thoughts on those ideas? I welcome feedback!! This is all new to me, but I'm soooo excited and can't wait to get started and meet all of you class of '09ers!

Cheers!

Datha and I met just a few weeks ago, only two days after she received her diploma from the University of Tampa...what an accomplishment! She wanted to take pictures to celebrate her achievement (and to satisfy her mom's desire for such photos!), so we met up at UT for a few shots before heading over to Ybor to finish up the day. I think Datha was a little reserved at first (but who isn't when a huge, black lens is staring you in the face!) but she quickly opened up, and we had an amazing time!! This girl was up for anything, I mean ANYTHING! No matter what she was wearing for the shoot, she didn't hesitate to climb, hang, jump, twirl, or sit on anything. Her energy and fantastic attitude are something that truly make a successful shoot, and in turn, amazing photos. Congratulations on your graduation, Datha!! I can't wait for your mom to see these pix! :D

Cheers! ~Zekeshem

Finally, I'm happy to be posting Holly and Jay's wedding slideshow! This awesome couple got married at Shephard's Beach Resort in Clearwater, FL. It was a hot, muggy, sunny day...typical Florida! (The air conditioner in the bridal suite even ended up freezing over trying to keep up with the heat!) The ceremony was small and sweet, and the party afterwards was rockin'. Shephard's has live and DJ'd music at their Sunset Lounge out on a party deck, so this lucky couple didn't even need to hire a DJ! Both families were super sweet and fun to be around...this really was such a fun wedding to shoot! Holly and Jay, thank you so much for allowing me to be a part of your wedding day, and congratulations!! I know your future is a bright one. Cheers!

~Zekeshem :)

April 19th: It was an absolutely gorgeous day to be getting married...the sky was blue, the sun was shining, and hearts were happy. Jen and James held their ceremony at the lovely Lake Receptions wedding facility in Mt. Dora. (If you've never been to Mt. Dora, it's worth a visit! Very small, quaint, full of bed-and-breakfasts, antique shops and lots of charm.) I was especially honored to be a part of their day because I've known Jen since high school! We actually sang together in our school's ladies ensemble my senior year. Oh, those were the days... :) And now she's married! Congratulations, Jen and James! I wish you all the best in love and life, always. Cheers!

What can I say about Jeff and Jess? They are just an amazing couple! Both are creative, talented, artistic, fun, a little sassy, sweet, anad full of energy and life! The last time I was down at Ft DeSoto it was cloudy, stormy, WINDY and about to rain buckets. (And we just happened to pull off an amazing shoot that time, too!) This trip was the complete opposite. It was a gorgeous afternoon with a bright blue sky and not a cloud in sight. There was a slight breeze to take away the heat, and the sunset was spectacular to say the least. My assistant, Scott, made lots of these shots possible...it's amazing what you can do when someone's there to hold a flash or reflector! So, thank you, Scott!! :) And to Jeff and Jess, I had such a great time with you guys. Thank you for the honor of helping to create and preserve memories of this time in your life! I'm looking forward to more sessions with you in the future. Yay! :)

Click here to view the slideshow!

This just might be my favorite image of this wonderful couple from their wedding day.