http://abigailseymour.com/ Abigail Seymour Photography Blog en-us http://abigailseymour.com/index.cfm?postID=319 http://abigailseymour.com/index.cfm?postID=319 Fri, 12 Mar 2010 14:59:00 GMT
Anyway, the wedding itself was a pure delight, and I'll be posting more images in a few days. In the meantime, just wanted to share a few faves that I just got back from the lab:

]]> http://abigailseymour.com/index.cfm?postID=318 http://abigailseymour.com/index.cfm?postID=318 Sat, 06 Mar 2010 08:44:00 GMT
They also cheered me because the yellow is a harbinger of our new color palette and "look" that we will be unveiling hopefully in early April. Anyone who follows my occasional Facebook posts might remember that my new logo was designed by a young designer in Italy named Gianni Poli. I am chomping at the bit to re-do everything, but for now I am only able to share a glimpse.

Thank you, Taryn, for the lovely flowers!!

]]> http://abigailseymour.com/index.cfm?postID=317 http://abigailseymour.com/index.cfm?postID=317 Fri, 05 Mar 2010 10:36:00 GMT Rhiannon, Michael and Aoife, and be part of their early days as a family. I am also a complete starry-eyed fan of her band, The Carolina Chocolate Drops, who were just interviewed by Terry Gross on NPR's "Fresh Air."

There are so many great tracks on the CD, but here's one of my favorites:




Click on the image below (by Julie Roberts), to check out their website and order their CD. They are awesome!



]]> http://abigailseymour.com/index.cfm?postID=316 http://abigailseymour.com/index.cfm?postID=316 Mon, 01 Mar 2010 09:59:00 GMT
So it gives me great pleasure to have found a date for our Spring Mini-Sessions. I will be announcing it in the next few days along with a sign-up calendar for reserving your spot. Newsletter subscribers will be the first to know, and then I will announce it here. I will be shooting them at a very special and extra-fun location. Stay tuned for more info, and if you want to be among the first to know the when and where, be sure to sign up for the newsletter HERE.

Leave a comment below stating your favorite things about Spring and a random winner will receive a FREE mini-session! My favorite things? Merlefest, fresh-cut flowers, new garden tools, wedding season, three birthdays in April (Paul's, Lila's and mine), longer days, and pedicures, to name a few....:)

A few favorites from the Fall Sessions:

]]> http://abigailseymour.com/index.cfm?postID=314 http://abigailseymour.com/index.cfm?postID=314 Wed, 24 Feb 2010 10:01:00 GMT

Click on the image below to visit the original post:



]]> http://abigailseymour.com/index.cfm?postID=315 http://abigailseymour.com/index.cfm?postID=315 Mon, 22 Feb 2010 09:23:00 GMT SHUTTERBABES workshop, where 22 aspiring photographers came to improve their skills behind the lens. We were hosted at the gorgeous HODGIN VALLEY FARM, which provided a perfect backdrop for shooting. Many thanks to Wendy Weeks, Taryn Cowart and Diana Interlandi for pulling it all together and for taking these shots!

I will be teaching it again on Saturday, March 20th. Visit the website to sign up.

After some technical talk, we stepped outside to do some shooting -- two-year-old Nori (short for Eleanor) was the most delightful model!

Even with a pack of eager shooters aiming at her, Nori never crumpled or lost that gorgeous smile. If she looks familiar, here's why: Kristi and John

Steele Dailey, Weezie Black, Janet Barr, and Rebecca Holland hard at work:

Shannon Sowell and Jennifer Wouters:

One of our two Shutterdudes, Paul Chamberln:

Diana Interlandi, our new studio assistant:

I got these last two shots on the porch of the barn just as we were finishing up. I was demonstrating the intense yumminess of the Canon 50mm 1.2 lens (kindly lent to us by Paul Friedman of LENSPROTOGO), and this is Nori's 2-month old brother, Banner:

Sweet Nori, deservedly tired after a long morning of shooting:

Thank you to everyone for participating and making it such a success -- I can't wait to see your new photos!!

]]> http://abigailseymour.com/index.cfm?postID=312 http://abigailseymour.com/index.cfm?postID=312 Fri, 19 Feb 2010 06:50:00 GMT Believers series, photographs and interviews of people talking about faith.

I met Brian a few years ago through my sister Liz, who has done a lot of work in the activist community in and around North Carolina. I thought it would be interesting to hear what he had to say on the subject of faith, and indeed it is. Enjoy:

"I call myself an anarchist, and there are some misunderstandings that anarchism means not believing in anything - on the contrary -- it means believing in everything. It's not that I don't hold things sacred. I think that everything is sacred.

Being an anarchist means not wanting to draw distinctions of hierarchy between different people. I think being able to see beauty is being able to learn the private language of meaning in which each individual's life is written.

It's intensely important for me to figure out what works. What works to have people be able to live together, to be able to cooperate together in a way that is good for everybody. I don't think that we need to do that at the end of a gun. I think it's worth doing just for its own sake.

Questions of morality and ethics are very important to me. I don't necessarily think that there is a tablet of rules carved in the sky that we have to abide by. I think that we are all individually responsible for coming up with the values that we live by and believe in. Even if you claim that those values are proceeding from a supreme being you're still responsible yourself for the decision to abide by them. And I think people have to take responsibility for what they believe and for making that work with other people. I'm not a big fan of the kind of spirituality that makes people able to absolve themselves of responsibility for what happens between them and other people.

I take the question of what is sacred, what is holy, very seriously. Being able to be in the world in a way that connects you to what is beautiful is really important to me. I'm a musician, among other things, and playing music is a way for me to focus on what is in the world. It is a kind of prayer for me, a way to be connected to what is sacred and beautiful.

I try to pay attention to everything, because everything is meaningful. Whatever it takes to get connected to that is good."

-Brian Dee
Greensboro, NC

]]> http://abigailseymour.com/index.cfm?postID=311 http://abigailseymour.com/index.cfm?postID=311 Wed, 17 Feb 2010 08:23:00 GMT Sargent's Daughters: A Biography of a Painting, which tells the backstory of a particular painting done by John Singer Sargent that hangs in the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. It goes deeply into the lives of the people portrayed and what became of them. I do love a gossipy read.

And John Singer Sargent is one of my main dishes, so to speak, when I think of my visual diet. What we visual artists "eat" with our eyes is just as important as what aspiring writers read, or musicians listen to. (I first learned of this concept thanks to William Safire, who coined the acronym, "GWIGWO" -- "Good Writing In, Good Writing Out.")

I must, however, cop to the fact that I "eat" a ton of visual junk food, too, lest you think I sit around listening to Mozart and staring at paintings. Sometime soon I will share about my deep and abiding love for US Weekly, STAR and People magazines. But I digress...

Below are a few of my favorite recent bridal portraits interspersed with images that I didn't consciously know were in my brain's database. I find that I am attracted to rich colors, afternoon light, and strong women sitting in chairs covered with velvet. I guess I've been kind of pigging out on 19th-century paintings, Sargent in particular.

What are some favorite visual inspirations that you guys have? Share some links in the comments below!

]]> http://abigailseymour.com/index.cfm?postID=310 http://abigailseymour.com/index.cfm?postID=310 Mon, 15 Feb 2010 08:06:00 GMT SHUTTERBABES workshop, I recently shot some images during a portrait session using our "family camera," a Canon Rebel and wanted to share the essence of what we are going to be talking about. (If you are interested in learning more about this, I have added a second date, March 20th.)

Take a guess as to what I changed on my camera in the second shot, share your answer in the comment section below, and I'll draw a random name to win for a FREE ticket to the March 20th workshop.

]]> http://abigailseymour.com/index.cfm?postID=309 http://abigailseymour.com/index.cfm?postID=309 Sat, 13 Feb 2010 09:00:00 GMT
This little feature is becoming one of my favorite things to share here, and this story is particularly moving because Ryan is currently deployed in Iraq. He was able to come home briefly to witness the birth of his son. He and Elizabeth have a beautiful marriage and her update letter is so full of wisdom. Elizabeth writes:

"Ryan and I had our first child, Luke Ryan, in October. Thankfully, Ryan was able to be home from Iraq for two weeks to support me and watch his baby boy come into the world. Our lives are quite disheveled right now as I am living with my parents while Ryan is away. We (my two dogs and I) moved from Washington state back to NC to be close to family and friends while Ryan was deployed.

Ryan and I struggle daily with the loneliness of being apart and the difficulty of living a life that is separate as husband and wife. And now with our precious boy in our life, it makes Ryan's distance even more difficult. However, God has been good to strengthen our bond and marriage despite the miles apart. All the hours of time talking on the phone have enriched our relationship and given us the time to talk about things that in the normal busy-ness of life we would most likely neglect. This has made us grow in our understanding of each other and love for each other. God also has sustained us and given us lots of grace and peace to endure this hard time.

Our 4th wedding anniversary was spent apart. What I wouldn't have given for just one kiss from my man! I do what I can and kiss little Luke...knowing that in a small way I'm kissing his daddy, too.

I truly believe that being parents has made us love each other more. What a gift we have been given...and given to each other in the life of our child! Just being able to see our love embodied in our son has enriched our marriage and brought a new dimension to it. Seeing Ryan love his child has made me fall in love with him as a father...and I believe he feels the same way about watching me become a mother. I love my husband for who he is in all of his roles - as a husband, friend, lover, son, brother, soldier...and now as a father to my child. As parents, not only do Ryan and I get to enjoy our son...but we get to enjoy each other in the ways Luke has changed us.

To couples just starting out I would say this: Talk, talk, talk...and really talk. Don't hold back, and be open and honest with each other about everything. If you can truly be vulnerable with your spouse and still have them love you back, there is nothing better. Because then you know they love the REAL you. Give your spouse permission to be his or her "worst self" with you and give them security that you will love them and strive to understand them no matter what they reveal. This builds trust. The journey is so much easier after that.

Finally, look to God for help to truly love. True love is not selfish and thinks of the other person first. It takes a lot of grace to love your spouse this way, but the relationship you develop as a result is worth all of the hard work."

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