A First Dance in Southern France

Mollie and Eduardo

Welcome to Colorful Colorado

Last year, my brother-in-law, Chris moved to Colorado for his first year of Residency after Medical School. Being that it was his "intern year" and he was working over 120 hours a week, he wasn't able to come back to Nashville and celebrate with his family. So, the day after Christmas we all packed up and headed West for a glimpse into his life among the mountains.

Sarah & Ben

Ben gave me a call last week to tell me that he and Sarah are pregnant with their first child! I could tell by the excitement in his voice that he couldn't be more happy and ready to take on this new adventure with his wife.

I thought about a few pictures that I took of them together after my shoot for Ben's new EP and wanted to share.

 Ben, your going to be an incredible dad... Congrats to you and Sarah! 

Blackberry Farm

If you have never heard of Blackberry Farm, it's because this small luxury resort is, by far, the best kept secret in the South. In 1939, Mrs. Florida Lasier of Chicago snagged her silk stockings on a wild blackberry bramble while exploring the idyllic Smoky Mountain foothills, and the name Blackberry Farm was born. It started as one family's home, but began welcoming guests as a six-room country inn in 1976. Today, it is regarded by Travel + Leisure as the #1 resort in North America, two years running. 

Within 8 months time, I had the incredible opportunity of visiting this heavenly place three different times and staying on property twice. My first experience at Blackberry Farm will always be special; not only because it was my first visit, but because I helped shoot the wedding of Jennifer Nettles, from the band "Sugarland", which was shot by A Bryan Photo. To follow that, Tec Petaja asked me to second shoot for his first Blackberry Wedding this past May, and finally, in June, I assisted A Bryan Photo again for a wedding planned by the very talented event designer Calder Clark. All to say, I was lucky to be surrounded by, and learning from, such a talented group of people.

During my visits, I walked the property with my Rolleiflex and captured these images.  

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Robert's Western World - Nashville, TN

c. 1949

Ben Bannister, "This Letter" EP

This is Ben. He just released his first EP titled, "This Letter" and I am honestly so impressed with what he has created. Ben is an incredible writer with a such unique and recognizable sound. I have no doubt that Ben will be successful as he comes from a family that is extremely gifted. His sister is Ellie Holcomb from Drew Holcomb and the Neighbors who is featured on my favorite song on the EP, "Here for You, Gone for You". Adding to the talent is Ben's dad, Brown Bannister. Brown is a renowned producer in the Contemporary Christian Music industry with numerous Dove and Grammy awards under his belt. He and Ben worked together for the first time to produce "This Letter". 

I am honored that Ben would ask me to shoot for his first album and I can't wait to see where he goes from here. Please check it out on iTunes or Spotify, you will not be disappointed!!

"A Lovely Love Story"

I'm very excited to share these images from the day I spent with Ashley and Chris. I told them that I wanted the day to feel more like we were all just hanging out together rather than taking pictures, so that's what we did. They took me to all of their favorite places in Nashville. Each place we visited holds significance in their relationship and is where they have spent hours listening to each other's story.

Spend just a little time with them and you will notice that there is something different about their relationship. Their passion for life, their true interest in others, the evident love that they have for each other… it's unique. They celebrate life in everything that they do and everyone that they meet. I'm happy that I can call them both friends and if you can too... then you know exactly what i'm talking about.

They got married just a month or so after this day and I cannot wait to share soon!

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