Misty Dawn Photography

New Year = New Look!

2009-01-09T00:38:00.002-05:00

Happy New Year!! Wow, 2008 seemed to fly by faster than the speed of light for me. I can't even believe that here I sit, staring at my cute little Chihuahua desk calendar (that hubby got me for Christmas!) as it boldly claims that I am now living in the year 2009. Seriously?

So with a new year, comes a new look. As most of you know, MDP's branding has been undergoing a makeover project for the last several months, of which there are many stages. This project has been on/off hold throughout my busy fall season, but now I'm hopping back on the bandwagon! I previously unveiled my FABULOUS new logo (courtesy of Mr. Enzo) that would lead the charge and now I am so excited to present you all with my brand spankin new blog!

Check it out here:

http://www.mistydawnphoto.com/blog

Ain't it purdy? :) Not only is it visually more appealing, but it comes with fantastic functionality as well! Check this out.....now you can search whatever you want in the search box at the top of the page, or look up older blog posts by category. (So, for example, if you're only interested in seeing Wedding photos, click on the Wedding Category) You can check out the links to follow along with me on Flickr or befriend me on Facebook. Oh and if you just want to see what I'm up to right now, roll over the Twitter button to see my latest tweet. (Oh my, the wonderful world of social networking!) Did I mention the BIG pictures? Oh yes, joyous, humungous images, people! Gotta love it!

But this is only the beginning, folks! Later this month comes the new website! :) hehehe I can't wait to share with you all the amazing things in store for 2009 here at MDP. For now.....have a look around, leave a comment (I heart comments, people!!) and enjoy the view. :) I will no longer be updating this Blogger blog, so please be sure to update your bookmarks and feed readers for the new site!

And get on over to the new blog and check out Debbie & Tom's winter engagement session!! Be sure to also check back tomorrow for some pics from their fabulous {Day After} Christmas Wedding!

Why do wedding photos take so long?

2008-12-09T22:19:00.003-05:00

I'm sure this is a question on the mind of every recently married bride. A well respected photographer that I admire (read: blog stalk), Anne Ruthmann, gave such an eloquent explanation to this question, that I believe really covers what most of us wedding photographers go through. I won't transcribe it here, rather I'd like to send you to her blog to read it. But please do give it a once over, especially brides. It's such an accurate depiction of how a lot of photographers (myself included) struggle with the balance of artistic perfection vs business decision, as it pertains to turn around times.

Cans for Comments! Share the Love!

2008-12-08T22:34:00.002-05:00

'Tis the season for love and sharing. I love sharing my work and my thoughts with the world via this blog. I also love when people reach out and connect with me by leaving a comment every once in a while. So in the spirit of the season (and of the amazing movement started by inspiring photographers Chris + Lynn) I'm jumping on the Cans for Comments bandwagon.

For every comment left on the blog in the next 7 days, I will donate one canned food item to The Food Bank of Delaware. You can leave a comment on this post if you're not sure what to write, or leave it on any post on the blog. I get an email each time somebody posts a comment, so I will collect the emails in a special folder until Monday 12.15.08 and then tally them. On Tuesday 12.16.08 I will take that tally and go to the supermarket to purchase that many cans of food and drop them off to the food bank.

So come on out all of you silent blog stalkers! Sit down with a cup of coffee (or eggnog, or maybe some cookies or pumpkin pie...whatever holiday treat your heart desires) and peruse the blog, check out some cool pix, and most importantly, LEAVE A COMMENT! In return, I'll pay it forward with a canned food item for the needy.

What an easy way to share the love this holiday season! You don't even have to lift a finger (well okay, you have to do some typing but no heavy lifting) in order to help feed a hungry family this holiday season. So go ahead, leave me and my awesome clients some love and give back to the community at the same time. :)

If there are any photographers out there reading this, please feel free to also jump on the bandwagon and steal this idea to share with your circle of friends!

Happy Holidays!!

Suzie & Bill | Downington, PA Wedding

2008-12-08T11:30:00.006-05:00

My husband is loyal and he loves me. Suzie & Bill's wedding is one of the many reasons I'm sure of this. See, Bill works with my husband, Marc and when Marc found out that Bill proposed to Suzie, he urged Bill to contact me. As their wedding planning progressed, apparently Marc repeatedly reminded Bill that he needed a photographer and that photographer was me. I had no idea how much of a natural marketer my hubby had become until Bill actually DID email me and set up a time to meet. Needless to say, they booked and I have Marc to thank for the introduction. :) Thanks babe!

Suzie & Bill are one of the funniest couples I've ever had the pleasure of working with. I had so much fun hanging out with them for their engagement session over the summer. Bill will do just about anything to make his bride smile, which you can imagine includes LOTS of goofy face making! Oh but when he achieves his goal and Suzie's face lights up in laughter, you can almost see the pride spilling from his ears. It's as if his sole purpose in life is to make Suzie laugh and I am certain that he rocks at this job. :)

Without further ado...some photos....

Suzie and her bridesmaids started the day off at Evolution Salon for hair and makeup.

A few details...

I think this is one of my fav ring shots EVER!

Getting a bride into her gown is quite an assembly line sometimes.

Suzie had a corset back gown, which I always love, despite the time consuming lace up. LOL

Some bridal portraits...

This girl has an electrifying smile, doesn't she?!

Blossom Boutique did an extraordinary job on the flowers.

I heart big windows. :) Teehee.

The ceremony was held at St. Joseph's Church in Downingtown.

I love moments like these, when they think nobody's looking. The prime time to capture moments like these during a Catholic ceremony, is while the guests are receiving the Eucharist.

We took the bridal party photos at Springton Manor Farm, which was an awesome spot that happened to be on our way to the reception.

The groomsman all the way on the right of this photo kept asking me if I was SURE that everyone was in the photo. It was so funny, because no matter how I insisted that I was using a really wide angle lens, I finally had to show him the picture for him to believe me!

Oh how I adore this tree.

We could not escape without at least one funny face on the blog. LOL

I heart this photo. :)

OMG I loved this tree too.

Chillaxin'

Bill had an ear-2-ear smile almost the entire day.

ummm....oops! We saw the sign a little too late.

The reception was held at Bill's family farm, in their completely renovated barn, deemed the Posnerosa. :) Bill's family renovated the barn and have been hosting only family events, however the possibility of opening it to the public has been a topic of discussion.
All in favor? I say Aye! :) They've done an amazing job with the place and Bill is so proud of their accomplishment. He told me on more than one occasion how he just couldn't wait for me to see the place. :) I was so pumped to find that it was even more fascinating than he had described.

A few reception details...

The cake was so beautifully simple! Love it!

They really went all out on the fall theme and did an outstanding job on the decor!

The obligatory bling shot.

Suzie & Bill's intro into their reception came with a sensational spin.

The first dance.

See? He lives to make her laugh. :)

OMG the garter and bouquet toss was hysterical!! They blindfolded the guy who caught the garter and without his knowing it, replaced his gorgeous girlfriend with a furry legged fella! Oh the laughter that ensued when he discovered their dirty little trick. GREAT entertainment.

Bill's neice, Taylor, was having a grand time dancing with her uncle.

A fun time was had by all, thanks to the musical mastery of DJ Pam Moore. I suspect she was behind the garter debauchery. ;) She rocked the house!

Thanks so much guys for the laughter, the entertainment and for trusting me with your wedding memories. Special shoutout to Tessie, for tagging along with me on another fun-filled wedding adventure. We are becoming quite the team! Thanks, girl!

Christine & Jason | University & Whist Club Wedding

2008-12-01T23:10:00.015-05:00

One of the hardest parts about being a wedding photographer is when your friends get engaged. Especially when they ask you to be THEIR photographer. Of course you're flattered and honored, but part of you secretly conducts an inner struggle against the part of you that would love to only be a guest. Then of course there's the part of you that doesn't want to give the reins to another photographer, fearful that no matter how great they are....they're just not good enough for your friends. Because of course we want the best for our friends and family, even if it means we have to make a sacrifice.

Within hours of getting engaged, my friend Christine asked me to be her photographer. This brought a whole lot of emotions to the forefront....excitement, doubt, fear, love, joy, etc. I was afraid maybe I wouldn't live up to their standards...I was excited that they thought of me to ask...I was super excited that they were finally tying the knot! I wondered how I would balance being a friend and a professional. I wondered how my husband would feel, being a guest while I was working. I discussed all of these feelings with her, because we're open like that. We came to an awesome compromise...I would work up until the reception, at which point I would become a "guest" and pass the reins to my super amazing assistant, Tessie, who is a terrific photographer in her own right. This seemed to be the perfect solution but proved to be somewhat useless LOL because I don't know how NOT to be a photographer. I couldn't abandon my camera the entire night, but I did manage to get some drinking, er, dancing in. :)

Christine and Jason are dear friends of ours. I've said this before. They are genuinely awesome people and role models for how a relationship should be. They give and take so eloquently. They are somehow able to lead separate lives while still being completely entwined together. (Ahem, case in point...a 9 hour Black Friday shopping trip with yours truly didn't even ruffle Jason's feathers!) Their "fights" are even cute. It's kind of sickening, actually. LOL All kidding aside, we love them and it was truly my pleasure to be the one to not only preserve their memories, but also help create some with them too. :)

A few details...

Christine's dress was beautifully simple, which reflects her day-to-day style.

I'm a sucker for the shoe shots so I posted two cuz I couldn't decide!

I adore black magic roses! They really add dimension to a bouquet of all red roses.

Christine started the day at her parents' house for hair and makeup.

Oh the beautifying process us women endure. Men - be appreciative. :)

Christine and I took a trip to MAC weeks before her wedding, where we both spent entirely too much money and learned how to do our own makeup. She did an awesome job though! (and we've become quite the addicts ever since LOL)

We had to sort of bustle her veil for the trek up to the University & Whist Club.

Finishing touches...

The very excited and anxious bride. I can't believe she even sat still for these photos, as anxious as she was to see Jason!

Gawgeous!

Classic Glamour and Beauty. I heart this photo. :)

J&C opted to meet before the ceremony in order to knock out most of their photos beforehand. I LOVE doing a first look! I don't think they could have waited until the ceremony anyway...they were both so anxious to see each other!

Jason waited at the bottom of the staircase as Christine came down the stairs and threw her arms around him.

Such sweet moments!

A quick portrait on our way outside...

Look how incredibly handsome he is!! I love the all black tux with the red tie. Really pops in photos!

I see how it is, Jason. I'm just the hired hand...go ahead and stick your nose up at me. It's ok. ;) J/k! Tessie grabbed this shot of me adjusting Jason's bout. I think I end up doing this at every wedding LOL.

Again....LOVE the black and red.

Freakin awesome shot of Jason that Tessie got.

A little American Gothic...(that they could barely keep straight faces for!)

All smiles. :)

I suppose a fire escape is not your ordinary spot for wedding photos, but you know me...finding inspiration in strange places! I love how it turned out!

As we were waiting for the ceremony to start, I stopped to chat with some of our friends as they were arriving. Happened to get a nice pic of this pretty lady and her hubby. Some of you may recognize Christy as the other fabulous photographer who shoots with me at some weddings. :) Her and Tessie rock and they are my two main assistant shooters.

The ceremony was BE-A-UTIFUL! Love the arch, and normally I'm not such a fan of arches.

It was so stinkin cute how he was lookin at her during the ceremony.

I cried. I admit it. I'm a sap. Couldn't help it. It just happened. Out of nowhere the eyes started tearing up....dammit! Thank God for hiding behind the camera!

Jason's Uncle Fritz performed the ceremony, making it very personal and unique.

Being that Christine speaks fluent German (and teaches it and translates it for a living) they incorporated some into the ceremony. I guess only they will know what in the world was so funny! I could barely keep from laughing at how hard THEY were laughing!

The New Mr. & Mrs. !!

A couple first dance shots...

Ok ok...YES. I danced. I love dancing. I was very torn between holding a camera and shaking my booty. It was quite the dilemma! Thankfully Tessie rocks and could totally hold her own so I did put the camera down for a bit. (even though I was supposed to abandon it for the rest of the evening!) Here's proof. I even changed into a dress! Happy?

Matt & Derek rocked out.

As did Jason.

And well...Chris & Matt had fun. Let's just put it that way. This is the LEAST incriminating photo of these two....I'll leave it at that. ;) hehe

and for kicks...here's a shot of me and Marc. (aka M&M) and yes...in case you're wondering - cuz I KNOW you are - I had kicked back just a few Amaretto Sours by this point and was quite happy. :)

I can't even believe you guys are finally married! It's so awesome! Thank you so much for entrusting Tessie and I with your memories and for including us in your day. Oh and thanks for playing Sexyback for me at the reception. ;)

Abby & Rob | Mendenhall Inn Wedding

2008-11-25T17:43:00.011-05:00

Abby & Rob were married at the Mendenhall Inn, in Pennsylvania, on an unfortunately wet and rainy day. The rain couldn't stop these two love birds from being completely enamored with each other though. It was a rare occurrence that you would catch either of them NOT smiling. Rain or shine, they were getting married and that's all that mattered to them. No sir, even rain itself could not rain on their parade!

Abby started the day at Sharif Zaki salon, in Greenville, DE, for her hair and makeup.

All finished! Off to the Mendenhall Inn!

Normally I only post one ring shot but I had a wee bit too much fun shooting theirs,
so I couldn't choose which to show!

Abby's dress had gorgeous gold detailing.

Most brides wear long, dangling earrings, but Abby had these simple and beautiful pearl & peridot post earrings, which forced me to be a bit creative. I thought it would be interesting to thread them through the holes on her shoe buckle! I love how it turned out!

I think this is my new fav shoe shot!

Pearls with a modern twist. Pun intended.

Abby's corset back gown had a hidden zipper just to the left of the corset. GENIUS!! Ladies, keep this in mind if you love the look of the corset gown but hate the time involved!

I love capturing wonderful candid portraits of the bride, while they are preoccupied with the various stages (hair, makeup, getting dressed) of preparation on their wedding day.

We made use of the yummy window light for some bridal portraits.

I skipped on over - okay, you got me, I didn't literally skip! - to Rob's room, down the hall, to catch a few candids of him putting on the finishing touches before seeing his bride.

I had to keep reminding Rob NOT to look at my smile every time I pointed the camera his way. LOL He was just so happy and wanted his pictures to show it! He was so calm, collected and excited to marry Abby!

All smiles, All day!

Is this not the most amazing hydrangea you've ever seen?! Such a luscious green color! Oh and they smelled sooooo good. Yukie did an amazing job, as always.

These two are so cute and cuddly, I just wanna pinch their cheeks! Ok, maybe not really...but they ARE cute and cuddly, aren't they?!

We made due under the overhang until the rain slowed to a light drizzle. Abby & Rob were such troopers to go out and shoot in it for a few mins.

Such awesome natural expressions here...

First kiss as Mr. & Mrs.!

Ohhh the cake was so preeeetty!

How freakin' awesome are Mr. & Mrs. Potato Head?!

...complete with a classic newlywed sign!

First dance...

I told ya....allllll smiles. :)

I just love this shot that my assistant, Patience, got during the blessing!

There's always ONE guy at every wedding with the crazy dance moves. LOL

Abby's Dad and Stepmom were a well-oiled dancing machine! They were so graceful on the dance floor. Truth be told, I did take a couple minutes and just WATCH them glide around the dance floor because it was so fascinating.

I was packing up my gear when I saw this guy on the table across the room and couldn't help but to run over and catch this before I left. Interesting ending to the night!

Thanks Abby & Rob for allowing us into your families for a day! Thanks also go to Patience for helping out and assisting me on such short notice! :)

Adrienne & John | University of Delaware Engagement

2008-11-14T11:00:00.007-05:00

I LOVE doing engagement sessions. I think it's my favorite part of the entire process I go through with my wedding clients. I love learning about people and hearing their stories and in doing that, it gives me a glimpse into who they really are, which allows me to take even better photos of them. Engagement sessions give me this amazing opportunity to get to know my clients better and on the reverse side of the coin...gives them a chance to get to know me as well.

So when it came time for Adrienne & John's engagement session, I know it would be fun! These guys have such a quirky sense of humor so I knew laughter would be in abundance. Which is great, because then I don't have to tell any bad jokes to extract smiles for photos. :) We roamed around the University of Delaware, stopping at places meaningful to them while seeking out good spots of light or a scenic destination. We ended at the lab where John has been working, finishing up his PhD.

Without any further ado, here are a handful of favorites. :)

We started off at the Blue & Gold Club.

So sweet, so sweet.

Oh how I love when my clients bring their pooches. :) This is Beans! Oddly enough, I have another client with a Boston Terrier named Bean too! lol (Please note the distinction though- S vs no S at the end.) :)

Awwwww....Beans loves his daddy! (and I thought I was bad for doggie kisses!)

OMG these guys are so natural in front of a camera! Love it!

I loved the light in this spot.

Just a little bit of sun flare here....sun flare and I go way back.

Oh yeah...she was soooo gonna karate chop him to bits....

...IF he hadn't done this first. :) She was being nice and letting him win,
she could totally take him.

Awww....love this moment. and the fisheye. Fisheye is my BFF lens. :)

Not exactly sure what was happening here....maybe leftovers from the karate match?

John did an awesome job on her ring from Blue Nile.

It's kinda mandatory to go for a kiss under the Memorial Hall kissing arches.

Yeah so I suggested maybe they touch their foreheads together and John totally took it to another level. He was sucking info from her brain apparently. Man he's multi-talented!

I just adore this shot! Blue skies, Memorial Hall, UD on the walkway...it should be on the cover of the UD tuition catalog or something. LOL

Adrienne shouted out "Can we hug the poles?!!" Well I'm certainly not going to stop you, my dear. Poles are lonely - they need love too! All the work they do, holding up the building and nobody ever thanks them for it, they're just taken for granted.....ok I'll stop now.

This is in John's lab in the DuPont building. John explained everything in perfect detail to me about what the box is for and......I forget. LOL Sorry John. But it made for a perfect picture of their personalities!

We were on our way out of the building and I had this goofy idea in the stairwell. I find opportunity in the strangest of places, I tell ya. I love it though!

Thanks so much, guys for hanging out with me and brightening my day! It was so much fun and I'm really looking forward to the wedding next July!

PS - Sorry for the different photo sizes in the last several posts...I'm kind of experimenting with a good size to post. If anybody has an opinion on it, feel free to leave it in the comments! Thanks!

Andrea & John | Pottstown Wedding

2008-11-09T12:04:00.002-05:00

When I first met Andrea, we really seemed to click. She had already booked me months earlier before we met, so since the formalities were out the way, we just had fun chatting! From that very first day, I was really looking forward to working with her and John. Their engagement session was an absolute blast and I just knew their wedding would be even more fun! These two are complete jokers...so quirky and funny that you just can't be around them for more than 5 minutes without erupting into a full belly laugh! They are such a true pleasure to be around and a pure joy in front of the camera.

Enjoy some (long awaited!) pictures....

Funny thing....when I asked Andrea what her dress looked like, she said it was the SAME as Dina's! Sure is! (Andrea is such a blog stalker!! LOL)

L-O-V-E her bouquet! So perfect for a fall wedding.

My clients are so different, I've had a rash of unique rings this year, but this one might top the cake. Gorgeous. Obviously, Andrea had her "something blue"!

Andrea doing her own makeup....more power to ya!

A little assembly line of dress fixing on Andrea's sisters.

I just adore the excited look on her youngest sister's face!

Getting into a wedding gown is always interesting, ain't it girls? LOL

Andrea's Man of Honor, Mike, was a hands on presence, even during the prep phase. He's such an awesome friend to her. :)

Beautiful church, eh?

Tears from the groom...(That better not have been a theatrical performance, John! LOL)

We decided to take a few portraits at the church before heading on to the reception.

Of course any B&G within street's view will attract honks from passerby cars and being the good sports they are, A&J waved back!

The reception took place at Andrea's grandfather's house, which was amazing to say the least.

A few reception details...

The mad hatter cake is proof positive of their fun and outgoing personalities.

Did I not say these guys are fun? Peep the rubber ducky cake topper! Freakin awesome!

Some more portraits...

Bee-u-tiful!

I don't remember what was so funny - probably me - but it got some great natural expressions!

Awwww...

Andrea & John - 'nuff said. :)

He's so natural in front of the camera...love this shot.

This is one of my favs cuz this is just so....THEM. The way I see them anyway.

Sweet first dance moment.

WARNING: Dancefloor overload. Lots of dancefloor pix from this one cuz it was a crazy party!

Andrea & her sisters getting their spin on.

I love when people line up like this on the dance floor!

Ok...dude on the ground there...his name is Brian....PARTY ANIMAL. LOL

...and here he is trying to convince me to put down my camera and dance with him!

After about a half hour of him following me, I gave in and danced for like a minute. LOL Figured I would try for some pix at the same time....blurry but seriously funny!

End of the night...can you tell?

I freakin adore this picture. The moment, the lighting. Awesome.

These guys were soooooo much fun! I don't think I've ever had more fun at a wedding! I could have posted soooooo many more pix but I tried to narrow it down a little LOL. Andrea, John and their family and friends were so incredible and they completely made me and Tessie feel like one of their own. Thanks so much for the great time and for being such fun people!!

PS - I'd like to take this opportunity to give a big shout out to the peeps at Drexel HR, who I KNOW have been stalking my blog like there's no tomorrow. :) Lots of love goes out to ya'll and now that Andrea's wedding is posted, I hope you continue to visit! :)

Happy Voting Day!

2008-11-04T19:17:00.003-05:00

I hope you all voted today! If not, than get your butts in line right now! (You still have half an hour here in Delaware!) Marc and I got in line at 7:10am this morning to rock our votes and it was so exciting to see so many people there (even though it was quite a wait)! I can't wait to see the results come in, today is such a historic day. No matter which ticket wins, we are making history today, which is just very exciting. :)

I am working on posting up some wedding photos from Andrea & John's fabulous wedding but until then, I'll leave you with a photo of each of the presidential and vp candidates. :) (YES - I am proud to say I actually had the opportunity to take photos of each of them!!)

Michelle & Paul | Cavalier Country Club Wedding

2008-11-02T14:11:00.001-05:00

Michelle and Paul are seriously awesome together. There is so much passion in their eyes when they look at each other and you can see their love in every passing glance. You can just see how they mean the world to each other. They are such warm and loving people and they made us feel like family at their wedding. It was such an amazing day and I think, between me and Tessie, we took more photos than we've EVER taken at a wedding before!

You might remember these guys from their fab esession at ESP. When I went home that day, I just KNEW their wedding would be stellar and they would be so much fun to work with. Boy, was I right! Michelle brought her usual, amazing game and Paul, who (I'm told) was once camera shy, didn't show an ounce of restraint in front of my camera. They were so amazing to work with and I'm so excited to share some photos from their spectacular day.

I always seem to like to start off with a few details...

I just adore the lace detail on Michelle's gown.

OMG the flowers were so incredibly perfect for a fall wedding.

Michelle has a love affair with rubies which carried over to her wedding ring. Isn't it beautifully unique?! I love unique jewelry.

A little bit of guy detail...simple and modern cufflinks.

A couple of shots getting ready...

Reflecting...

Mom gets a good look at her daughter.

We had some great lighting and a good chunk of time to create some outstanding portraits of Michelle. She was such a pleasure to photograph, indulging my every request without hesitation! Doesn't she have an amazing silhouette in her wedding gown?

As soon as I spotted this red couch, I was determined come back and use it and I did!

I just love this portrait...yummy window light coupled with her natural and fun expression.

Eyelash Extravaganza!

Beautiful bride, beautiful property.

Paul was so relaxed, one of the most relaxed groomsmen I've ever worked with.

Paul cleans up nice! ;) Looking sharp in his suit, all ready to go.

Michelle & Paul arranged for a Mariachi Band to play as guests arrived
for the ceremony. They were awesome!

Is this not the sweetest thing? Love this moment.

I just adore this candid bridal party shot. Just everyone having a good time. :)

Feroche. Seriously.

The guys were all chill and relaxed.

I sent Michelle & Paul off to have a moment by themselves,
while we took photos from a distance.

Instead of waiting for another golf cart to come down and retrieve the bride & groom, they unabashedly hitched a ride on the back of one, enjoying themselves the whole time!

So incredibly passionate.

There is something about this picture that I just LOVE beyond words. Like it could be an ad from a fashion magazine.

Their first dance was beautiful. They were so unaware of the guests or the cameras and took the opportunity to submerse themselves in the moment.

Michelle's mom was overcome with emotion during the couple's first dance.

The reception was jam packed with excitement! I love this photo
that Tessie grabbed of me in action.

This is the photo I was taking when Tessie caught me!

Oh yes.....breakdancing! But that's not all....

...these three guys were doin' backflips in the middle of the dance floor!

Thank you so much, guys for inviting me into your family for a day and being such awesome people in general. :) You rock!

Thanks also go to Tessie for commanding the 2nd shooter role and doing a fabulous job at it,
as always. :)

Happy Halloween!

2008-10-31T19:35:00.003-04:00

(pumpkin carved by my talented brother, Nick)

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

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Christine, one of my October brides, called me out right at the stroke of midnight, before Abby & Rob (also clients) did just a few minutes later, so Christine wins an 8x10 of her choosing from either her engagement session or wedding galleries. You guys are really trying to win these prizes!!

For the record, I did start a blog post on Wednesday and got called away from the computer and forgot to finish it. :( My bad. So I'm going to finish that one and then I also have to post up pix from today's Joe Biden rally! So stay tuned....lots of good stuff coming this weekend. :) Thanks for continuing to check the blog!

FREE DOG looking for good home

2008-10-23T16:39:00.004-04:00

Nooooo....none of mine, guys, sorry. They have a loving home. :)

I reached out to my blog readers earlier this year, looking for help in finding a home for 2 ferrets and was able to find one for them, so I'm looking for your help once again in finding a loving home for another animal who needs one. :)

A friend of mine is looking for a loving home for her family's 3 year old, spayed Husky, Angel. Angel is pure bred, up to date on all shots and she is free to a good home. She's great with small children and gets along okay with other dogs (provided they are introduced properly). She's a beautiful dog too. Long story short.....the family didn't exactly know what they were getting into with getting this breed and have found that it is not a good match for their lifestyle/home, so they are doing what's best for the dog and searching for a better home for her.

Huskies are a very primitive breed, so they are not reliable with cats or other small animals, which is one of the reasons this family is looking for another home for Angel. They are also a very hyper breed. So please, if you have small animals or don't have the time or environment for a hyper dog, than this is not the dog for you. If you're looking for a loving companion and you have the time to spend with her, possibly training as well, than please email me and I'll put you in touch with the family. Please forward this along to anyone you know who may be interested! We are trying hard to find a good home for this dog. :) Thanks!!

*BTW - The dog is located in the vicinity of Dover, Delaware. If you live in another state, than please don't respond unless you are willing to come to Delaware to get her. If you live within driving distance of Delaware (NJ, PA, MD) than we (the family, or myself) can definitely work something out to get her to you. (Meet halfway or something.)

Here are a few pix of Angel (they were sent to me, I didn't take them) for your viewing pleasure:

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Unrelated news:

- I failed to meet my standard of blogging 1x per week and NBP called me out on it! Check your email for your iTunes giftcard! Contest begins again today, so call me out if I don't blog before next Thursday at MIDNIGHT (Eastern Time) and you'll win a $20 iTunes giftcard (or your choice of a free 8x10 if you're already a client)!
- I know you're anxious for more wedding pix. More weddings coming your way soon, but I do want to leave this post up for a little bit to give everyone a chance to see it. Thanks for everyone's patience! :)

Karla & Paul | Charleston, SC Wedding

2008-10-15T15:26:00.020-04:00

Karla is my cousin and one of the few that I actually keep in touch with. Her and Paul lived here in Delaware when she originally asked me to photograph her wedding, but then Paul (active duty air force) was stationed in South Carolina shortly after. Karla still wanted me to be the one to document their wedding and offered to fly us down there! I was flattered and certainly obliged to accept the offer. Our trip lasted 4 days (2 of them travel), in which we were able to witness and preserve a beautiful wedding and also act as tourists for a short period of time. :)

Karla & Paul's wedding was small and quaint, with only their best friends and closest family attending. I love small, intimate weddings. :) It was awesome to meet all of Paul's family and some of their friends too, everyone was just so wonderful and FUN! We had a lot of fun! Anyway...on to the pictures....

A Few Details:

As much as I adore sashes and pick-up skirts, Karla's long and flowing dress was a welcome change from the average princess style bridal gown.

I was determined to find a way to use these Palm Trees in some way! I was so excited to see Palm Trees - we don't have them here in Delaware.

Simplicity in the form of wedding rings. Love it.

Getting Ready:

The girls started the getting ready process at the hair salon.

Karla's Dad was gracious enough to chauffeur the girls around that morning, so he stayed and watched them get their hair done.

The First Look:

Karla & Paul opted to see each other before the ceremony, so I arranged for them to meet in a way that was emotional, while keeping an element of surprise. Paul stood in a secluded area with his back turned to the direction Karla would be coming from. When Karla got close, we told Paul to turn around. :) I love when couples opt for the "First Look".

...Off to do some portraits!

The Portraits:

The Ceremony:

I, personally, hand tied each one of those bows the night before the wedding. I guess my time working in the stationery industry paid off, huh?! :)

Is she not the cutest thing EVER?!

The Reception:

The toasts by the Maid of Honor and Best Man brought lots of laughter.

Paul's brother, Carl, manned the music for the evening. Paul and Carl are both DJ's.

The first dance...

I just love their sweet facial expressions during the first dance.

Ay, Macarena!

....and an ending shot. (With the Palm Trees of course. ;)

Somebody slap my wrist....

2008-10-09T10:57:00.002-04:00

These last few months have been insanely crazy/busy for MDP... I promise I actually have been working, but I've been a bad bad blogger! It has come to my attention that apparently I have quite a number of blog stalkers, which kind of stresses me out a little. LOL I now feel immense pressure to post something.

First - MDP is undergoing a makeover! The new logo has been unveiled and a new website and blog are both coming soon! A lot of time and effort has gone into this project, which probably should have waited until winter but I'm just too impatient and wanted it NOW! LOL (Plus, there was a sale on my website, and how was I supposed to pass up on a sale?!) So a lot of time has been going into the rebranding project, which has occupied my time usually spent blogging. Sorry folks.

Ok, so I'm going to need your help (all my blog stalkers out there!) to keep me on track AND hold me accountable. I'm going to make a list (here in this post) of the posts that I've wanted to post in the last couple months, but haven't yet. If I go more than a week in between posts again, than the first person to "slap my wrist" in the comments will get a $20 iTunes gift card. (or if you're already a client of mine, you can choose a free 8x10 of one of your pictures!) From me to you. :)

Rules:
- You have to leave a comment on the latest blog post to be eligible, sending me an email
doesn't count.
- In your comment you have to make it clear that you're calling me out! Say you're slapping
me on the wrist for not blogging, or you're calling me out, or whatever. But saying how pretty
the photos are is just being nice and doesn't win you an iTunes card. :)
- You must leave your email address or a way for me to contact you for mailing info.
- None of my family are eligible!! (Bwahahahaha!!)
- Contest begins today, and then starts over with each new blog post. You can't
call me out until after midnight of that day! For example, I posted today, so if I don't post
something new by next Thursday, than you can call me out, but not until after midnight
(Eastern time!).
- Same person can't win 2x in a row. So if you called me out last time, you have to let
somebody else do the job this time. :)
- Contest ends once the list below has been completed.

Ok....here's the list. I'll come back to this post and cross them off as I post them up. :)

- Karla & Paul's South Carolina Wedding
- Me & Marc as South Carolina Tourists
- Michelle & Paul's Cavalier Country Club Wedding
- Andrea & John's Family Pottstown Wedding
- Arden of Eden's CD Release Concert
- Abby & Rob's Mendenhall Inn Wedding
- Christine & Jason's University & Whist Wedding
- Adrienne & John's UD Engagement Session
- Suzie & Bill's Family Downingtown Wedding
- Second Shooting

I may post up some other stuff that isn't on this list, and they still count as valid posts, but the contest will continue until I've posted all of the above listed. :) Let the contest begin!

Don't Vote

2008-10-02T14:36:00.002-04:00

Last day to register to vote in Delaware is OCTOBER 11th.

Out with the old...

2008-09-18T14:43:00.008-04:00

I know it's not New Year's Eve, so it may seem strange that I'm talking about ringing in the new, but this is worth it!

Misty Dawn Photography is growing, evolving and so it's time for a new look! You can expect to see some changes around here in the next few weeks or so. First - I have a new logo! Check it out!

Zapfino used to be my favorite font, but its so overused now, especially in the wedding industry! My designer friends all told me not to use it, but I didn't listen. LOL This time around, I hired a pro to freshen up my look. I wanted to keep the butterfly (after all, it is fabulous, isn't it?!) and make it a bigger focal point, while going way more simple on the entire logo. I wanted it to be simple, but also a bit flirty or whimsical. I think Enzo did a great job, doncha think?! :) I'm so excited about the new logo and I can't wait to show you all the updates to the website that will be coming shortly...but you'll have to wait for those!

Over the next few weeks, you may see some discrepancies while I change everything over to the new logo. There may be things you see with the old logo and things with the new, as I update everything. Please be patient with me as I do this, I promise it's worth the wait! :)

Hit me up in the comments and let me know what you think about the new logo! :)

McCain-Palin Rally in Lancaster, Pennsylvania

2008-09-09T20:31:00.007-04:00

As many of you know, I photographed Senator Barack Obama and Senator Hillary Clinton at campaign rallies earlier this year. I've been rather anxious to round out my political photojournalism portfolio with some familiar faces from the Republican party. So earlier today I headed up to Lancaster, PA (about 1.5 hrs away from me, here in Newark, DE) to photograph Presidential hopeful Senator John McCain and his running mate, Governor Sarah Palin, at a rally at F&M College.

I thought I would share some images with you so here goes....

Governor Sarah Palin started off the rally. The crowd of supporters
welcomed her with great applause and standing ovation.

Above a roar of applause and "USA" chants, Governor Palin introduced Senator John McCain.

Senator McCain told the audience that he couldn't wait to
introduce Sarah Palin to Washington, DC.

An estimated 6500-7000 people showed up for the event, too many for the venue to hold. Some supporters were made to wait outside in an overflow area, where McCain and Palin made an appearance after the rally.

Governor Palin's husband, Todd Palin, showed up for the rally as well, applauding both his wife's and Senator McCain's speeches.

Senator McCain customarily shook hands with supporters before leaving the rally.

No matter who becomes president, I've now had to chance to photograph them. What an exciting feeling! :)

Christine & Jason | UD Engagement Session

2008-09-04T16:13:00.011-04:00

Christine and Jason are dear friends of ours and it seemed like we were waiting FOREVER for them to get engaged! (Ok, maybe not that long, but it sure seemed like it!) Christine was positive Jason would propose on their trip to Germany last summer and then when it didn't happen, she was sooo sure it would be on their trip to New Hampshire. Every time I saw her I would feverishly grab her hand, looking for a ring. Even Marc would make the not-so-subtle glance at her finger, in search of a shiny object. She started to give up hope and admitted that as soon as she stopped expecting it, it would happen. The day had finally come on Christmas Eve, when Jason ushered Christine into the living room to see the special gift that "Santa" had brought her. :) I think I received a text message within the hour, informing me that I was their photographer. LOL

I think we all knew, long before they did, that they were meant for each other. I probably shouldn't say this but I don't think I've ever met a couple who was more perfect for each other than these guys. I just love the cute way she calls him "honey" and how he still opens the car door for her. :) They're hardly seen in public without their arms intertwined and their hands are seldom separated. Marc says they're "mushy" but I think they just genuinely enjoy each other. At the top of each of their Myspace interests reads the other's name and I swear within half an hour of having a ring on her finger, her status was changed to "Engaged." :)

Enough Jabber! I know Christine is going out of her mind waiting to see these, so without further ado......

We did their engagement session around the University of Delaware campus. We started off at Kirkbride Hall, where they first met. This very bench is where it all began. :)

You can tell it brought back a lot of memories for them.

Naturally, as any student does, they spent a lot of time at Smith Hall too.

I love how passionate they are! They totally didn't even pay any attention to me being there LOL.

I am very proud of how they did in front of the camera, because normally I have to fight Christine to get a picture of her! She dodges my camera like it's the plague! LOL

Then we headed over to Old College, where they also spent a lot of their time together in the beginning.

Does this ring look familiar to anyone? Anyone? Ahem, it looks awfully familiar to me. Maybe because I'm wearing the exact SAME ONE?! I'll spare Jason the embarrassment by not telling how she ended up with my ring LOL... (Its ok...we both share the same love for Vera Bradley bags and MAC Viva Glam 5 lipstick, and we both got engaged on Christmas...so it was bound to happen. Great minds think alike!)

How sweet is THIS?! I told you they were too damn cute. :)

We headed down Main Street to Margherita's Pizza, their fav food destination on campus.

Fountain soda, yuummm.

I liked these bushes so I made them stop here on our way back LOL.

Of course we had to make a visit to the green before leaving UD. :)

Thanks for hanging out with me, guys! It was so much fun and now you have no excuse to dodge my camera anymore!! :) LOL I'm so excited for the wedding on October 4th!! I can't wait!

Bridget & Michael | 07.12.08 Hotel DuPont Wedding

2008-08-25T22:01:00.015-04:00

Bridget & Michael were married July 12th at St. Agnes Church in West Chester, PA followed by a fabulous reception at the Hotel DuPont, in the du Barry Room. We made a pit stop at Longwood Gardens as well, for some picture time with just the Bride & Groom.

Bridget was just too cute for words! She smiled non-stop the entire day. :) I don't think I've ever seen such an excited/happy/giddy/carefree bride in my life and it was just such a joy to be around her! There was just no way you could be around her and NOT have a smile on your own face. :) Michael tried to retain his stately and dignified appearance, but whenever Bridget wrapped her arms around him, he couldn't hide his boyish grin. She has that effect on him and its just adorable. :)

Anyway...on to the pix!

A Few Details:

A lovely lavender color palette and a sweet and simple diamond ring.

Love the detail on the gown...

Getting Ready:

I love her joyful expressions!

Yes, girls, the dress CAN go over the head without disturbing your hair and makeup.
;) Just need a few helping hands!

You can tell that Bridget was thoroughly enjoying each step in the process.

Off to the church!

The Ceremony:

Michael...moments before seeing his bride for the first time.

All Smiles...All Day. :)

St. Agnes is a pretty dark church but I love the wood ceiling detail.

Christy got a great angle on them during the recessional, from the balcony.

I love this fisheye shot of them just before they exited the church.

The Portraits:

Fun & quirky Bridal Party = Fun & very non-traditional pix!

I simply love this image. Can't pinpoint why but I just love it.

This big round bench was so cool for a wide angle shot.
We spent some time at the Chimes Tower at Longwood Gardens.

I love how this image looks like its from the 50's. Bridget & Michael were totally up for my crazy ideas, like spinning her around with that long train. teehee :)
...and you can see from Christy's shot here, that they had a lot of fun doing it too!

Cathedral veils allow for some really awesome shots like this one.

The Reception:

This lovely lavender monogram appeared many times throughout
the day, on programs, menu cards and favor boxes.

Their first dance was a beautifully choreographed ballroom dance.

Michael gave a touching speech honoring his wife.

A fun time was certainly had by all.

The Chatterband kept the dance floor packed the ENTIRE night! They were
awesome and one of their singers sounded JUST LIKE Frank Sinatra.
This shot is during one of the final songs of the night.

Thank you, Bridget & Michael, for sharing your fabulous day with me. It was beautiful! Thanks also go to Christy for doing an awesome job performing 2nd shooter duties for the day!

Michelle & Paul | Philadelphia Engagement Session

2008-08-12T20:35:00.011-04:00

When I asked Michelle where she and Paul would like to do their engagement session, her answer both excited me and creeped me out at the same time! They wanted to shoot at Eastern State Penitentiary in Philadelphia. I was so excited at the thought of it but then instantly creeped out by the reputation of the place. *For those of you wondering, Michelle & Paul met while they were both counselors working at a prison, so hence the fitting location. :) I decided to overcome my trepidation and make the most of it, and boy, was it worth it! We made some amazing imagery in such a fascinating place. :) I will definitely be revisiting ESP in the near future! After our time at Eastern State, we headed over to Independence Mall for some more pictures.

Big props to my hubby, Marc, for accompanying me as both my assistant AND bodyguard against the paranormal. ;) Just kidding! He did a great job of holding lights and reflectors for me and he's actually getting quite good at it! Thanks honey! :)

On to the pictures!

Eastern State has some really great lighting throughout the whole place.

I was reeeeally tempted to shoot entirely in B&W because of the amazing textures.

Oh yes....they brought handcuffs! I love these guys!

They really played with the theme here with the handcuffs. I love it!

This girl can seriously work the camera! I love how Paul is looking at her in the background.

My fav from the prison. LOVE this, seriously. This is actually in one of the cells.

Sooooo...for those of you who are aware of ESP's very haunted reputation, can any of you explain this?? This weird shape appeared in a handful of images from this cell block, but NOT all of them. AND it appears in different places in the images! People warned me about "orbs" in my images but this sure doesn't look like an orb and it looks a LOT different than any sun flare I've ever seen.

Here it is again showing up in front of Paul. (Normally this image would have been edited out due to the soft focus but I kept it because of the questionable green blob!) Weeeiiirrrddd. If anybody has any possible explanations, I'm so wanting to hear them!

Enough with the spookiness and on to the Independence Mall pix! LOL

These two are so incredibly passionate. I love it!

Michelle has gorgeous eyes and perfect eyebrows! So of course I had to play them up a bit. ;)

Now THAT is sunflare!
I love their expressions here. :)
Whew - those eyes again. WOW.
Rumor has it that only 3 pictures of Paul exist anywhere in the world. For being so camera shy, I have to say he did a GREAT job for me! Let's just say there are a lot more than 3 pictures of him now. hehe

Thanks guys for bringing me to the ever spooky Eastern State - It's really different for me and I loved every minute of it! :) It was a blast hanging out with you both and I can't wait til the wedding!

Out of Town 8.7.08 - 8.10.08

2008-08-06T22:41:00.002-04:00

Just letting everyone know that I will be out of town until Sunday, August 10th, for Karla & Paul's Wedding in Charleston, South Carolina! So if you email me and don't receive a response, please be patient, as I will return all correspondence on Monday, August 11th.

You can expect to see a lot here on the blog when I return! Next week I'll be catching up on blogging, with posts on:
- A sweet baby's baptism
- An adorable brother & sister portrait session
- Bridget & Michael's elegant wedding
- Michelle & Paul's Philly engagement session
- Christine & Jason's UofD engagement session

Have a great weekend everyone! :)

Suzie & Bill | Longwood Gardens E-Session

2008-07-28T12:59:00.010-04:00

I had the recent pleasure of hanging out with Suzie and Bill at Longwood Gardens for their engagement session. We had a lot of fun! I know I say that about all my couples, but I can't help it if my clients just ROCK! LOL It would have been extremely difficult NOT to have fun photographing these two - we could hardly keep a straight face the whole time! Wait until you see all the funny faces!

I was sitting at my desk, eating Wheat Thins and trying to edit these pictures, but I had to stop munchin cuz I was so afraid of choking from the laughter!! Every time I thought I was done laughing, I found another picture to laugh about. We really had a lot of fun!

Bill actually works with my husband - God help him. (j/k honey!) No, but seriously, I have to give a shout-out to my hubby, Marc, for getting on Bill's case to call me about his wedding. He's turning out to be one of my best advocates! (As if he had a choice - Bwwahahahaha! Ok - joking again. :) Once Bill & Suzie came to see me, we just clicked right away! They're a fantastic couple and it is such a pleasure ( I know I sound like a broken record!) to have them as clients. :)

Ok, ok...on to the pictures!

There was this cool waterfall/fountain thingie in one of the atriums.

I think this one might be my fav. Not sure yet, but Suzie just
knew how to work it, girl. Damn.

I love the symmetry here.

A little role reversal, anyone? I told you these two were funny!

If you only knew how many shots it took to get this one...
let's just say it resulted in a lot of funny faces!

She only LOOKS this innocent. Mmmhmm.

Love love love her highlights. Gorgeous.

Awww, they DO play nice! ;)

This is contestant #2 for my favorite. :)

...and here is contestant #3...I can't make up my mind! :)

These guys are too funny!

Feroche.

I told you she only LOOKS innocent!! This girl gets what she wants - watch out!
LOL (Just so you know - all she wanted was a kiss hehe)

A little collage of silliness, just for fun. :)

Thanks for hangin out with me, guys and giving me so many laughs. :) Can't wait for the wedding!

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Coming Soon:

- Bridget & Michael's Elegant Hotel DuPont Wedding
- Michelle & Paul's Engagement Session, featuring the spooky Eastern State Penitentiary
- Jason & Christine's Engagement Session at their old UD stompin' grounds.
- An amazingly adorable brother and sister kid session.

Alicia & Clay | 06.07.08 Maryland Wedding

2008-07-18T16:08:00.003-04:00

Alicia & Clay are awesome people. Can I just say that? Clay is a firefighter for Cecilton Volunteer Fire Company and Alicia is an EMT there as well. So when they came to me to shoot their wedding, I was immediately aware of how special they both were and I felt so honored to be the one to preserve their wedding day in pictures. :)

The wedding was held in the quaint Mt. Olivet Church, in Galena, MD and the reception was held at the Cecilton Volunteer Fire Banquet Hall. Appropriate, no? :) It was a blistering HOT and humid day, but we all made it through! We shot the bridal party pictures down at the same marina where they chose to have their engagement session. I have to say we were all quite tempted to take a dip in the water, with the extreme heat!! LOL

Enough chatter......on to the pictures!

The Details:

Alicia picked out a great color combination for spring - pink and yellow. The colors were so light and airy, it was almost easy to forget how crazy hot it was. Almost. ;)

Getting Ready:

Our sweet little flowergirl was VERY camera shy.

Ain't she a knockout?! Work it girl! :)
The Ceremony:

Alicia's Pop-pop walked her down the aisle.

She was biting her lip not to cry! Too sweet!

The Portraits:
These guys were such troopers to get as many photos as we did in
the horrible heat. The heat was brutal but they really hung in there!

Alicia's dress had a lot of toule so we had to have a little fun with it. :)

My 2nd shooter for the day, Kalen, came up with this idea. Great job, Kalen!

The Reception:

This was Alicia & Clay's Guestbook that we made from their engagement
photos - it was a big hit! People were talking about it all night.
You can view the entire design here.

Remember our shy little flowergirl? I think she
warmed up to me a little by the end of the night. :)

Alicia and her brother, Dominick, shared a very emotional and special dance together.

Truth be told, I usually do a good job at not crying at weddings, but when I saw the mascara running down her face, I lost it! I had to really work hard to regain my composure and keep shooting, but part of me thinks that the photos came out even better because I did get emotional. What do you think?

A little Chicken Dance action? Anybody?
And of course one more fun party shot!

Thanks so much guys for including me in your special day and for being
such troopers during the portraits in the extreme heat!

Featured on Wedding Chicks!

2008-07-18T10:13:00.002-04:00

There is this really awesome wedding planning blog out there, brides, in case you haven't stumbled on it yet and it's called Wedding Chicks! It's headed up by Amy & Jocey, of Amy Squires Photography and Joceybella Invites, respectively. These 2 ladies are the cream of the crop as far as knowing their wedding stuff!

Anyway, they're doing a feature called 50 States, 50 venues and Greenville Country Club was featured for Delaware. What a fabulous venue (and one of my favorite to work!) to represent our small state! I'm proud to say that one of Amy & Casey's wedding images was used to showcase the amazing GCC in their feature. :) Check it out! Be sure to keep watching their blog for the rest of the 50 states and of course amazing wedding details and planning advice as well.

Thanks Amy & Jocey for the feature and the mention! I'm honored that you used one of my images to represent such an awesome venue and our humble little state. :)

Amy & Casey | 05.23.08 Wedding

2008-06-16T15:43:00.014-04:00

Amy & Casey were married on Friday, May 23rd at Saint Elizabeth's and they had their reception at the uber fabulous Greenville Country Club. I love these guys...they are just two of the sweetest people you could ever meet. Everything about them tells you that they are sooo in love. :) You might remember Amy & Casey from their engagement session, not too long ago. Yeeesss....the fountain jumping couple! :) Well, luck would have it that there was a fountain at their reception as well.......and NO, they did not jump in it. Bet you thought they did for a minute there, huh?! ;) hehe Anyway...on to their pix....LOL.

The Details...
Amy's look was Old-Hollywood inspired with lots of vintage accents.

The Dress

European Gallery did an awesome job on the bouquets and bouts.

Oh how I love her ring!!! Isn't it fantastic?!

Getting Ready...

Amy got ready in an upstairs room at the Greenville Country Club. Jenn, from Trilogy Salon, did Amy's hair and makeup onsite at GCC.

Hair & Makeup... (fabulous job, Jenn!!)

I LOVE these two makeup shots!!

Ok, so I just have to say that this is my new fav image of all time!!!

It seems like a LOT of hands, even though its only four! LOL

Off we go to the ceremony!

The Ceremony...

I love this shot of Amy's Dad walking her down the aisle.

Yay! You're married! Boy it seems like they're racing out the door, huh?! LOL

Some Portraits...

I adore this old time looking portrait of Amy. I think it truly fits her Old Hollywood look!
Simply gorgeous bride. Seriously.
I can't pinpoint what it is about this picture but I just love it.

These two are so stinkin cute together! Doesn't it make you
all warm and mushy inside? (Gag, I know....sorry.)

The Reception...

First dance for the Mr. & Mrs.
Casey's mom was grinning ear-to-ear ALL day...she was just so happy. :)
Here she is, happily dancing with her newly married son.This is so cute, with Amy looking back at her parents. :)
Amy dancing with her brother...Look at that dress move!!
Well I suppose Amy has moves too. ;)
See? I told ya she had moves....Partaaaay! :) hehe

Thanks so much guys, for including me in your fabulous day, so filled with fun and love! :)

Dina & Ryan | 05.17.08 Wedding

2008-06-10T13:41:00.013-04:00

Dina & Ryan had an absolutely FABULOUS wedding at the Whispering Horse Farm in Middletown, DE. Ryan's Aunt Dian owns the farm and was gracious enough to host the wedding there. Dina came to me on the recommendation of one of her bridesmaids, Jessica Peace. Jess is a fellow photographer I met 2 years ago in a wedding seminar class. It's always an honor to be referred by fellow photographers! As photographers, we're always more critical of each others work than our clients usually are, so it really means something to get a referral from another photographer. Thanks, Jess!! :)

I love, love, LOVE the colors of this wedding. Browns, Creams and Golds just make for a wonderfully classy event. Ramone's did an awesome job on the flowers and Cannon's made a beautiful (and tasty!) cake, as usual. Vic Enos, of Accent Entertainment was the DJ for the evening and Martin's Video provided videography...both were a true pleasure to work with. :)

Well enough chatter from me....on to the pics!! :)

The Details...

Dina's rings were different from the norm and I absolutely love them!

Gorgeous Gown

Spectacular Shoes!

I don't know what those purplish-brown flowers are but they
really made Dina's bouquet beautiful.

Getting Ready...

Lots of helping hands!

The Bride gets a little emotional as her wedding day suddenly sinks in.

"Macho Macho Man..." Ryan goofing off LOL.

The [Short] Ceremony...

Dina's Dad walks her down the aisle

The Kiss!

Some Portraits....

Dina was sooooo stunning on her wedding day!

All of the girls looked amazing! I LOVE their dresses!!

...and where do you think YOU'RE going???

Dina really wanted to get a shot of them in the Adirondack chairs,
and I thought it was a fabulous idea! It was, wasn't it?! :)

No MDP post is complete without some fisheye action. ;)
This is one of my fav pix from their day!

This is where it pays to have a 2nd shooter, guys! My awesome 2nd, Christy,
grabbed this while I was shooting the pix above.

Simply Gorgeous!!

The Mr. and Mrs.!

Normally I don't post this many portraits from a wedding,
but I just couldn't help it with these guys!

This photo seems so timeless and classy to me, I just love it!

Dina was one smokin' hot bride! Gorgeous, girl!

Sooooo sweet....their daughter Charlie was looking up
at them while they kissed. :)

Off to the reception...

The reception...

An enthusiastic entrance into the reception!

Dina is gonna KILL me for this one, but I had to. hehe

It was one hell of a party! :)

Thanks, Dina & Ryan, for inviting me to share your amazing day and to allow me to document it for you. It was truly a privilege and an honor to capture your memories!

Ferrets needing adoption

2008-06-05T14:25:00.003-04:00

No, no...not MY ferrets! These ferrets:

My friends are looking to find a loving, forever home for their 2 ferrets, Mittze and Snickers. I have already done my share of adopting animals and if I bring one more critter home I think I might be in for a divorce! (just kidding! but maybe not really LOL) If they can't find a home for them soon, than I offered to foster them until they can...So if you would like to see me and my husband stay married!! (haha!) or you just might be willing to bring ferrets into your family, please email me! misty@mistydawnphoto.com

They are only for adoption as a pair. They come with their 5 foot tall cage on wheels, beds, hammocks and toys. The works.

Thank You!!

**The ferrets are located in Wilmington, Delaware, so if you are reading this from somewhere 100's of miles away, please note that they are not willing to ship them cross country! Please only contact me if you are located locally to Delaware.

Ay Chihuahua!

2008-06-04T16:36:00.013-04:00

Marc: "Do you realize we have FIVE animals in this house now?"
Me: "Yep."
Marc: "You do know it's all your fault, right?"
Me: "Yep...so?"
Marc: "Just sayin..."

Hehehe. The fifth four-legged critter to join our family that my dear husband, Marc, is referring to, is our newest doggie addition.....Peanut!

Peanut is a chihuahua (of sorts...he pretty much looks like a chihuahua but he's got some dachshund in there too they think.), contrary to the fact that he looks like a little fox! Peanut came to us by way of my friend, Sarah, who previously worked with Peanut's owner, who wasn't taking care of him. Sarah convinced the owner to release Peanut to her and let her find him a good home.

The whole thing started while I was at Sarah's office, getting ready to take her daughter out for some pictures. The girl had come by with Peanut to ask Sarah what she thought of him, as he wasn't acting right and she thought the cat had scratched him. Ummmm....that's no cat scratch, honey, that would be MANGE. OMG! He was a mess...he was worm infested, covered in mange, losing his hair, very malnourished and just plain miserable and in pain. :( Sarah and I looked at each other and almost started to cry! This poor little puppy (only 4 or 5 mos old) had been through so much and this wasn't even the first time that Sarah had taken care of Peanut for this girl. This was her 2nd chance with Peanut after Sarah took him in for 3 weeks, a month earlier, when he needed shots and de-worming. Well, she obviously wasn't at a capacity to care for animals....she had no money to take him to the vet and just simply wasn't taking care of this dog, so thankfully she agreed to give him up.

These pictures were taken the day that we rescued Peanut from his owner.

Of course, I fell in love with him at first sight and with his cause. It didn't take much convincing for Marc to agree to adopt him, after I told him the story (with tears in my eyes) and showed him the pictures. Sarah fostered Peanut for a couple weeks and took him to the vet on behalf of Spay and Save, who she volunteers with. They graciously covered his vet costs and I was excited when they accepted my application to adopt him. :)

These are pictures that Sarah took of Peanut, from the first time that she cared for him and then again when she was fostering him this time, before we adopted him.

He's doing sooooo much better now!! After the long road of skin scrapings, Ivermectin shots, pain meds, and frequent medicated baths....Check out these before and afters:

When we first adopted him, one month ago, this is what his back and belly looked like - bald with only patches of hair left, that were still waiting to fall out.

These pictures were taken today...lots of new hair growth!! and only a teeny bit of pink skin left to turn purple (turning purple and then dark purple is part of the healing process before the hair starts to grow back in those areas).

Isn't he doing great?! We just love our little Peanut! Oreo and Maddie are adjusting well...they weren't too keen on the idea at first but they're quickly accepting Peanut into the family. When Marc and I watch TV at night, they all 3 curl up with me on the couch. :) Its the cutest thing...one day I'll teach that hubby of mine how to use my camera so he can get a picture of it!! haha

Peanut loves to play fetch....he will fetch a tennis ball (mini sized) all day long if you'll throw it.

He loves to go places with his mommy cuz I take him everywhere I can, to socialize him well so that his previously neglectful upbringing doesn't have long term damage. He has NO concept of his size - he thinks he may as well be a 50lb dog, the way he bosses around Bear - my dad's full grown border collie. Got a pretty big mouth on him too, for bein so pint-sized!

So now that this post is so long-winded (how could I help it with something as cute as Peanut?!).....please give a warm and loving Welcome to Peanut...the newest Pfeil critter family addition. :)

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Stay tuned for these posts to come shortly:

- an updated modeling shoot for an ambitious teenage girl who finally got her braces off :)
- Dina & Ryan's spectacular Middletown wedding!
- Amy & Casey's fabulous Old-Hollywood inspired Greenville Wedding!

Andrea & John | Engagement Session

2008-05-19T10:22:00.004-04:00

Recently I had the pleasure of photographing Andrea & John for an engagement session up in Philly. This is the first time I got to meet John and boy he's a trip! He makes Andrea laugh so much so I can see why they're in love. :)

We started at LOVE Park, and truth be told....I've never been there before and neither had they! (Did you know it's actually JFK Plaza??) We were all a little surprised at the size of the LOVE statue - it seems so small in person! LOL Andrea and I were completely puzzled because we SWORE it must have been bigger. Andrea looked it up later and apparently there is a bigger LOVE statue in NYC. :) Mystery solved.

We roamed around the block a bit and look what Andrea found - SORRY! They had GIANT game pieces in front of this building! Checkers, Sorry, dominos, chess....too cool!

Who ever said storm drains couldn't be fun?? LOL

One final shot with the hustle and bustle of the city behind them. :)

I had a blast, guys and I can't wait for the wedding! Thanks for such a fun time in Philly and now we all know where LOVE Park is. ;)
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Stay tuned for some these upcoming blog posts very soon:

- an updated modeling shoot for a fabulous teenage girl who finally got her braces off :)
- Dina & Ryan's spectacular Middletown wedding!
- The Pfeil family critter count has increased to 5! I'll be introducing our newest four-legged addition. :)

Amy & Casey | Engagement Session

2008-04-22T10:46:00.007-04:00

I had the pleasure of photographing an AWESOME couple this weekend....Amy & Casey. These guys were sooooo much fun to hang out with on Saturday! They were game for all my crazy ideas and we just had a blast chatting while we worked! It felt like I was hanging out with old friends, rather than doing my "job." :) Without further ado.....on to the images....

We started off at Kid Shelleen's, in Wilmington, where Amy & Casey first met. We didn't spend a lot of time here but it was good to get a few shots at a place that is meaningful to them.

Then we headed over to Rockford Park. Rockford Park has this awesome stone tower that lends fantastic texture to B&W photos.

I love the way they interact with each other! You can see their fun loving
and passionate nature perfectly here.

They make such a gorgeous couple. :)

Ya know...I think some things are just better square! What do you think? :)

These guys are ALL smiles! I love people in love! :)

After Rockford Park, we headed over to Brandywine Park - one of my favorite spots! (I guess it should be since I got married there! haha) There's a lot of variety in this park...you have the fountain (we had fun with this...ahem...), the riverside, the rose garden (not this time of year but later in the summer/fall), and the zoo, of course.

These guys are so natural in front of the camera, I just love it! They're not afraid to be lovey-dovey and all that mushiness. ;) hehe

Amy & Casey actually live near the park so it was perfect for Amy's friend to walk their dog, Knuckles, down to meet us for a few pix! Knuckles is so friendly and just wanted to kiss everyone! Amy kept apologizing for his slobber on me, but I assured her I didn't mind. :) Lord knows I am no stranger to doggie drool! haha

A little bit of fisheye fun! We all know how I love that fisheye....ahem....

I think this is one of my favorites....not sure why yet, but there's just something about it. I think my favorites always end up being the B&W ones!

Ok so Amy is a self proclaimed shoe fanatic, so when she kicked off her fabulous green heels (a $9 find, mind you!! I love this girl!) I stole them for a shot. ;)

So you remember I mentioned them being game for my crazy ideas? hehehehe I casually mentioned in an email to Amy that "wouldn't it be cool if it were warm and you guys could jump in the fountain?!"

Wellllll.......they did!

The water was apparently FREEZING, but these guys were such troopers! After a bit of splashing each other and making sure they were completely WET, they kissed and made up. :)

Thanks so much, guys, for such a fun afternoon!!! It was such a blast and I can't wait for your wedding next month! :)

Slacker!!!

2008-04-22T09:27:00.002-04:00

I've been seriously slacking on the blog homefront. Sorry guys! Been super crazy busy, but I have some awesome stuff to report so keep an eye out soon for some cool news and fun photos! Stay tuned for pics from Amy & Casey's AWESOME and fun engagement session later today. :)

Hillary Clinton Rally in Philadelphia, PA

2008-03-12T10:23:00.004-04:00

WOW. I have now had the pleasure of photographing BOTH of the Democratic Presidential Candidates! I was so excited when I received an email yesterday morning that Hillary would be in Philly that night. I decided immediately that I must go and take advantage of this opportunity, not only to be able to say that I now have wonderful photos of both her and Obama, but to actually see her in person and hear her speak.

When my brother and I - he was nice enough to accompany me! :) - first arrived at McGonigle Hall at Temple University, the line to get in wrapped around the building for 3 blocks! I was terrified that we wouldn't be able to get in! Thankfully the line moved pretty fast but by the time we made it to the front of the building, the line behind us still stretched 3 blocks behind us!

The more I am exposed to her, via television or internet, or now in person, I am more and more amazed and impressed by her. She is such an amazing woman! I could go on all day but anyway....on to the pictures!

Look at all those people!

Governor Rendell started off the rally.

Two thumbs up for Hillary!!

She is so expressive and passionate. :)

I LOVE this picture....doesn't she just look so presidential?!

One thing that really impressed me is that she stopped to listen to people's stories and talk with them after the rally. She signed books, and posters and everything else people reached out with and one of her assistants would even take pictures of Hillary with voters with their cameras! She really cares about the American people, I'm tellin ya.

Featured Again!

2008-03-02T09:29:00.001-05:00

Microstock Diaries is a great blog for photographers who are into selling microstock photography. In their recent article about the happenings of the world of microstock in the month of February, they featured one of my Barack Obama images from the editorial section of Dreamstime.com. Thanks, guys!! :)

On top of that, I discovered another one of my images in use the other day. Another one of my Barack Obama images was used on NJBiz.com, in an article on their blog, The Hard Question.

It's pretty cool to see some of my images used on different sites! :)

Happy Leap Day!

2008-02-29T13:32:00.007-05:00

Today seems special because its Leap Day, and definitely a bonus cuz its friday! I think Leap Day should be a holiday or something, dont you? :)

In honor of leap day I thought I would post one of my favorite froggie pics. Get it?! Frogs leap?! Yes...I'm a dork. hahaha

Featured!

2008-02-20T13:37:00.008-05:00

Hey, I'm featured! :) Many thanks to Ellen Boughn for featuring one of my Barack Obama images in her latest Stock Photography Blog article!

Dreamstime.com is a popular stock agency who, just recently, started accepting images with an editorial license. When I found this out, I immediately submitted my images from the Barack Obama rally in Wilmington. Of course, when I found out about this blog, that features awesome tips on Stock Photography, I added it to my Google Reader. Imagine my surprise and excitement to see my image in their latest article, today, when I was checking up on the latest in the blogosphere! What fun!! :) Thanks Ellen!!!

Modeling Comp Cards

2008-02-19T13:15:00.005-05:00

I thought I would share with you guys the comp card (or Zed card) I did for the modeling session I previously posted. This is a simple design that I did for this card but the creative options are endless! :)

**The names/info have been changed to protect the innocent...or maybe not so innocent, but either way.... ;)

Here's the front:

and the back:

Thoughts? Post 'em in the comments. :)

Modeling Portfolio Session

2008-02-17T22:02:00.014-05:00

A couple weeks ago, I had the pleasure of assisting a beautiful and talented young lady in starting her modeling portfolio for a ProScout Interview. For a young girl, she has sooo much talent and I know she'll go far! Already at such a young age, she has aspirations of becoming an actress and her parents are very supportive, which I think is awesome! :)

We did a variety of poses, both indoors and outdoors, with studio and natural lighting...full lengths and closeups and in-between. We wanted to achieve as many different looks as we could in one session to start off her portfolio. Here are some of the pics from her model comp shoot:

This was the first pic from the session! I took it real quick as a test shot to test my settings and it ended up being one of her mom's favorites. :)

Another close-up, with all natural light and a reflector. (Her mom caught on pretty quick when I showed her how to hold the reflector...I might have to enlist her as an assistant! haha)

A few more natural light portraits. We used the reflector again, to direct this beautiful window light.

This one is one of my favs!

Looooove the fur hood on her coat. Her mom and I taught her to "smile with her eyes"...I think she's doing quite well! She picked it up quick!

We just HAD to include her ADORABLE puppy in one! Isn't he the cutest?! :) (More on him later hehe)

We braved the cold outside to get a few full length shots. I love the architecture of the Grand Opera House...

Across the street for another look....

We like hats. :)

To avoid the "rosy cheek syndrome" from being out in the cold, we headed back inside to play with some studio lighting, for the remainder of the shoot. We were shooting in her mom's empty office building (on the weekend) and I found this room with most amazing blue walls! Yay! **Let this be a lesson to the rest of my clients to think creatively when choosing a location for your sessions! :)

I am so torn on this particular setup....I LOVE them in color because of the vibrant blues, but the B&W's are so rich and beautiful! I love them both!

Her hair looks pretty cool in this sloppy bun-thing that she does...

We went into a local clothing shop down the street and bought this denim jacket....worked out well!

On to another spot with a little bit different lighting....

I like this angle...very flattering on her.

Another semi-full length...

I have to add a few of this amazingly adorable little puppy! He's a pekingese and chihuahua mix.....check out his hoodie! How awesome is that?! LOL

His name is Flounder and I think I'm in L-O-V-E. :)

I can't help by smile when I look at him! He's just so precious!

Hehe....too cute. :)

**SPECIAL REPORT: Out of about 1000 entrants at ProScout yesterday, only 87 were asked to return today....Guess who was one of them?! Yep! 5 Agencies showed interest in her at today's interview. Exciting! When the day comes and you see her on TV, just remember you saw her here first! ;) haha

She is now brace-free so we'll be doing another shoot shortly....stay tuned!

Puppies!!!

2008-02-13T09:02:00.014-05:00

I LOVE puppies!! I mean....who doesn't?? They're cute, cuddly, affectionate and down right irresistable! So imagine my excitement when my Dad called me on Monday to say he got a puppy! :) Yay! He hadn't named it yet, so he said he'd bring it over that night so we can help him name him. My dad's friend, Ted, went with him to look at the puppies and there were two left....well Ted couldn't resist the other puppy so they brought them both home. :)

Meet Princess & Bear!

Awwwwww!! Look at the puppy kisses!!

Princess is Ted's family's dog and Bear is my Dad's. They're both pure-bred Border Collie pups and hopelessly adorable, don't you think?! We named him Bear for a couple reasons that may not come as a shock to you.....He looks like a Panda Bear and well.....Dad is the biggest Chicago Bears fan ever LOL. Fitting, I think. :)

Bear is quite a bit bigger than Princess, which is standard for the breed. I think he's gonna be enormous....look at those paws!

Here's a few more pix for you to AWWW at. ;)

Here's Princess...she was playing hard to get. ;)

Of course, with Bear by her side, she was plenty playful. LOL

Look at Bear...poor thing was soooo tired from all the excitement!

Just look at those paws...he's gonna be huge...I swear it.

Dad is just completely smitten with Bear...can you tell?

Look at that ear to ear grin...how cute! :)

Awwww....they're gonna be best buddies. :)

Although these puppies are larger than my 2 full grown dogs, they're cute all the same! :) I want another puppy! :(

Chelsea Clinton at the University of Delaware

2008-02-04T19:23:00.001-05:00

Wow....with Super Tuesday right around the corner, our tiny little state is attracting a lot of political events lately! Today, we welcomed Chelsea Clinton to the Trabant Center, at the University of Delaware, to speak to young voters and rally them to vote for her mom, Hillary. I guess after yesterday I just couldn't resist attending another political event with hopes of capturing some cool pics. :)

When Chelsea entered the Trabant Center at UD, she seemed to blend in with the students, looking as if she belonged there.

A lot of young people showed up and engaged in Q&A with Chelsea about her mother's campaign. Many of them students at the college, but some as young as 10 yrs old, like this young girl here, holding a "Hillary for President" sign.

Chelsea spoke passionately about this year being the biggest presidential election in our generation. I was impressed with her passion and courage to stand up for what she believes in, and to help with her mom's campaign in front of all those people, at only 27 yrs old. That's only a year older than me!

Chelsea listened carefully and patiently to each student's questions and concerns and did her best to answer each as thoroughly as she could, while encouraging everyone to make sure to vote on Tuesday.

Chelsea gave her autograph to many who came forward with "Hillary for President" signs and posed for pictures with many of the students.

Jennifer Corbett, from the News Journal, was kind enough to take a picture of me with Chelsea. I'm forever grateful!! Thanks Jennifer!! :) Normally I wouldn't bother to insert myself in the action, but I was so moved by Chelsea's passion that I wanted to tell her in person how amazing I think she and her mom are. :)

MAKE SURE TO GO OUT AND VOTE TOMORROW!!!

Obama Rally in Wilmington, Delaware

2008-02-03T17:49:00.000-05:00

When I heard that Barack Obama would be speaking in the middle of Rodney Square, the photojournalist in my heart assured me that this was an event not to miss! Barack Obama made an appearance in Rodney Square, in Wilmington, Delaware, today to rally voters in anticipation of the big Super Tuesday vote in just 2 days. I'm not sure of the exact number but I can tell you that there were thousands upon thousands of people there. It was pretty crazy, I have to say, to see so many people in one place and it not be a professional sports game or concert. WOW. I think I witnessed something pretty big today. (Pretty big for our small state anyway!)

Here are some images from the rally:

Thousands of would be voters showed up at the rally. People of many different races and ages but all of them to hear Obama speak in person.

Kaylee Olney, from Wilmington, Delaware, waits to see Barack Obama.

Obama, after he entered the platform and started his speech.

Obama, as he spoke to the crowd of thousands.

Obama envoked many cheers from the crowd with his words.

Obama claps along with the crowd, and waves after he's finished his speech.

Obama takes time to shake hands with people in the crowd, before leaving Rodney Square.

I wonder how the rally will affect the decisions of many voters, come Tuesday. One thing is for sure though....whatever your beliefs or whoever your candidate......make sure you GO OUT AND VOTE!! :)

Hey, Delaware Brides!

2008-01-17T09:15:00.000-05:00

Ever pick up a Delaware Bride magazine? Sure you have. Well, did you know they have a BLOG?! Well they do and you should check it out! I stumbled upon it recently and it has some really nifty tips for brides. Kaytie Dowling, the editor of the magazine, is the voice behind First State Fetes and she has a knack for finding interesting and useful stuff to post about, like links to cool sites that let you map out all your wedding destinations or help you with your seating arrangements. She also posts about local wedding vendors that you may not see on the popular wedding planning sites. So if you have some time to kill (or even if you don't), go on over and check it out. :) Happy Friday-eve!

Self Portraits

2008-01-15T07:25:00.000-05:00

Ok....if any of you have seen my myspace, you know it's chock full of self portraits. It may seem like I'm conceited or something, but I SWEAR I'm not! In actuality, I'm one of the most self conscious people ever!! The REAL reason that I have so many self portraits of myself is usually because I want to play around with some new technique or lighting setup and I don't have many guinea pigs at my disposal! So I become my own model. LOL Not to mention it's easier for me to "model" for myself than it is to model for an actual person behind the camera (ya know...self conscious and all)!! LOL

So here's the scoop for all you techies out there... I read here about how you could make your own "beauty dish" and I decided with such a little investment, how could I NOT try it?! (For those of you not-in-the-know, a Beauty dish is a way cool light modifier that produces really awesome light, of which the quality of light makes people look "beautiful" and so hence the name.) So once I had assembled it, I did manage to get Marc to sit in front of it for a whole 10 seconds, which wasn't long enough for me to really play....so I changed my clothes, threw some makeup on and decided I hadn't taken any new self portraits in a while, so why not...check em out and let me know what you think in the comments!

So, now I'm out to find more DIY Photography projects to embark on, since it's so easy and fun! I've seen a few variations of the DIY Beauty Dish, so I might try another one. I want to either make a new one or paint this one flat white on the inside to make it even more awesome. :) I'll let you guys know how I make out on each adventure and I'll be sure to post the results. :)

Amber & John | 1.5.07

2008-01-12T18:45:00.000-05:00

My cousin, Jonathan was married last saturday. I wasn't "the" photographer this time, which was nice for a change. Sometimes you just like to sit back and enjoy family and friend weddings, and not have to worry about the pressure of being the photographer. But, of course, I wouldn't be me if I didn't pack a camera everywhere I go! haha So I thought I would post some pics that I took...

Here's Jonathan and his guys coming out to the alter, as the ceremony was beginning.

Amber's dad walked her down the aisle and also married them! This is the second wedding that I've seen where the Father of the Bride was also the minister.

Amber is very expressive! She gleemed with joy after she declared "I Do!" (rather loudly actually LOL) and then became very emotional while reciting her vows.

I liked the lace detail on the bodice of her gown...

A little out of the ordinary for wedding images that I normally would post, but I thought I would post some family pics, since its my family. :)

My mom HATES pics of herself, but I think she'll actually like this one! It was a good opportunity to get a great shot of her from above.

Me and my Mommy :)

From left to Right, here's My Great-Aunt Georgianna, My Mom, My Cousin Michelle (John's sis) and myself.

John & Amber were coming down the stairs, getting ready to be introduced into the reception, so I stopped them for a couple pics...

The first dance...I love how he looks at her with such adoration. :)

A toast pic....

Here's a pic of Gary, a long time friend of Amber's family, who was the main photographer at the wedding. He and I got to chatting at the end of the reception...super nice guy. :) I'm sure we'll be shooting together in the future!

John & Amber, I hope you guys had a BLAST in Disney World!

The Best of 2007

2008-01-06T20:57:00.000-05:00

Each time the calendar rolls over to a new year, its common for most of us to reflect on the year that just passed. In following a tradition I started last year, I like to create a slideshow of my best photography from the previous year. It's a way of looking back and seeing how far I've come, but it also serves as a reminder to myself of what I've accomplished. It also helps to push me to be even better. I hope every year that I can top the previous year and that my photography never becomes stagnant, so I constantly strive to learn more and to push the envelope.

I decided to do this year a bit different from last year. Last year I created one slideshow to showcase all of my various types of photographs that I took in 2006. This year, I shot predominantly weddings and portraits, so I'd like to show you one slideshow of weddings and a second slideshow of portrait images. Let me know which you thought worked better so I can keep that in mind for next year!

I had the distinct privilege of shooting with 7 different photographers this year, in addition to my own weddings and portrait sessions. You'll see some work in here that I've shot for The Photo Design Group, Heather Fowler, Joy Moody, Sofia Negron (also her associate Photographer, Aaron), Elizabeth Crook and Joe Pulcinella. It was an amazing journey to be able to work with so many talented photographers in one year! I learned alot, while still teaching a bit as well, and had a fantastic time throughout! I regretfully didn't get a chance to blog every wedding and session last year, so a lot of these images will be new to you. (I'm gonna try a lot harder this year, I promise!!)

So without further adieu......I give you my Best of 2007 slideshows.... (click on each picture to see the slideshow)

I hope you all enjoyed this journey down memory lane with me! I think I've come a long way in one year and I hope I learn just as much, if not more this year! I'm very excited for 2008, there are some really awesome couples getting married this year that I can't wait to photograph and I can't wait to share with all of you!

I wish everyone Peace, Love and Happiness in this New Year! Have a GR8 '08! :)

PS - Stay tuned for Part Deux of The Best of 2007, featuring some Fine Art stuff I've done, along with some other favorite images.

Allison & Andrew | 12.29.07

2008-01-04T18:38:00.000-05:00

Last wedding of the 2007 Season! I shot this wedding as part of the Photo Design Group. Here are a few of my favs...

So I arrived at Andrew's mom's house to photograph the guys "getting ready", only to find that they were already READY and playing Guitar Hero!! I had to laugh because I know, first hand that GH3 is all the craze right now, because Marc just got it for Christmas and he is completely obsessed!

The ceremony was at Christ Church, and for anyone who's been there, you know how strict their policies are on photography. Let's just say I had be VERY discreet to get this shot of the kiss...

These two are sooo cute together! It was a winter wedding, obviously, so it was just a tad cold out, which made for lots of snugglin'! Allison slid her arms under Andrew's tux jacket (with him still in it!) to keep warm...very sweet moment. :)

They indulged me long enough to climb down these stairs for me to get this shot. I don't know about you, but I think it was worth it to brave the cold for this shot! :)

There was this BEAUTIFUL Christmas tree up in the ballroom at the Wilmington Country Club, where they had the reception, and it was a terrific backdrop for moments like these!

Of course, a few details for you!! You know how I LOVE detail shots! :)

Allison's bouquet was so simple and elegant....love it!!

Exquisite lace detail on the bodice of her gown...

There's that tree again in my background! Again, simple elegance here in the cake. This girl has class!

Last but not least....the rings. I nestled them safely in the branches of that gorgeous snowy Christmas tree. :) I like the way the lights reflect off of them.

Congratulations, Allison & Andrew!! It was such an elegant winter wedding. :)

Stay tuned, everyone, for my Best of 2007 slideshows, that I'll be posting up very soon! (Think...this weekend!) 2007 was an amazing year for Misty Dawn Photography and I can't wait for '08!!

Happy New Year!

2008-01-01T10:01:00.001-05:00

Wow, I don't know where the year went...It just flew by! 2007 was an amazing/crazy/busy/kick-ass/FAST/fun year for me and 2008 I hope will only be better! So many things happened in '07....lets see....here's some highs and lows.....

HIGHS:

I finished the Professional Photography Program at Cecil College in the spring. I wanted to go back to school so bad for many years and I finally did! It was an amazing experience and one that will be with me for many years to come. Each and every instructor there influenced me but I have to give special shout-outs to Kristi Eisenberg, the VCP director there, who still checks up on me from time to time, Kay Muldoon, who's PJ class still holds dear to my heart and to Floyd Dean, who made me work 3 semesters to finally get my A, sent me out on a freelance assignment and who still sends me emails about wedding photography contests to continue to push me forward. :)
Two baby boys were born into our circle of friends this year. One to my best friend, April, in January and one to our friends, Craig & Mel, in September.

I surprised Marc with an HDTV, as an early birthday present on Labor Day weekend (just in time for football!). His brothers and a couple of our friends helped me tear down the old setup and put up the new entertainment center, all before Marc got home from work! He was so surprised!
In September, my Grandparents (who have an amazing Martial Arts Studio!) came and visited us from Texas.

Marc, myself and our friend, Christy went apple picking in October - something I haven't done since I was a child!

MDP's website had a face lift in October! So did the blog!
I had my hair highlighted (two-tone highlights) in October....the first time I've had color in my hair in several years!

Our friends, Jason & Christine, were engaged on Christmas Eve!! Congrats, guys! We are very much looking forward to their wedding in 2008. :)

I've had the opportunity and ultimate pleasure of shooting with 7 (!) different photographers this year! I've learned so much and I was even able to teach some of them some things as well. So, THANKS go to Jo, Heather, Joy, Sofia, Beth, Joe and Aaron for enriching my photography career and for becoming good friends. :)

LOWS:

We lost one of our furry babies, our ferret, Eli, back in May. :( It was terribly sad for us as he was such a sweet animal and we loved him dearly. This was the first time Marc or I have ever experienced the death of a pet. Our other ferret, Tiki, took it very hard as well.
I was in a car accident in October, that sent me to Physical Therapy for my back. :(

I'm not one for "resolutions" per-say, but I do believe in setting S.M.A.R.T. Goals for myself. There are so many things I want to do in life, but rather than list them ALL, here's a short list of things I want to accomplish - both personal and business/photography related - in 2008.

In no particular order....

Launch my FineArt Website
Lose 50 lbs (I know, I know - how cliche!)
Shoot for FUN, for ME at least once per month (but hopefully more!) which includes...

Buy a Nikon film camera and shoot more 35mm B&W film (Old School! lol)
Get more use out of my Holga plastic toy camera :)
Lego Pinhole Camera - here I come!

Create a list of 101 things I want to do in the next 1001 days
Get back to doing Yoga on a regular basis, like I used to
Attend at least one Photography Seminar
Blog More!

Blog every single session and wedding this year (I missed a bunch in '07)
Blog more fun stuff that's goin on

Ok....that's all I can come up with for now. But stay-tuned for my Best of 2007 Slideshow, (coming soon!) featuring my fav pics from this year. For now, you can check out my Best of 2006 Slideshow.....later you can tell me how far you think I've come in one year. :)

We are Soooooo Ready.....

2007-12-20T23:44:00.000-05:00

...for Christmas!!! :) We've been elfed!! Haha! Click on the picture for a good little laugh!!

The Other Side...

2007-12-10T00:50:00.000-05:00

No.....not the dark side. :) I mean the other side of the camera, silly! ;)

It's not often that I appear in front of a camera, as I'm always the one behind it, but this weekend, my good friend, (and extremely talented photographer!!) Heather, took some pics of us for our Christmas cards. We took the dogs up to Philly and did a little photo shoot around the Art Museum area. It was so awesome of Heather to do this for us, cuz it totally beats running back and forth to a tripod!! (Which is how we've done it in previous years) We had so much fun! Heather got a ton of good pics of us and we're so grateful! It was soooo hard to pick the final three for our card. Can you guess which ones we picked? ;) There were so many awesome ones so I tried to narrow it down for this post....but.....well....haha...Check them out below...

We had great light at the end of the day....

I think the best one of us all looking at the camera!

I think this one is my fav. :) Love the backlighting...

Just Us. :)

OMG, how adorable are my babies in their coordinating sweaters?! :)

Marc's favorite (ironic, considering he says he hates Philly LOL)

I asked Heather to take a few new shots of me, so I'd
have something more recent....LOVE these!

Thanks sooooooooo much, Heather!!!! You rock and we love ya!!! :) Everybody be on the lookout for your Christmas cards from us real soon! :)

Fun for the Holidays :)

2007-12-02T15:18:00.001-05:00

In honor of the month of December and the quickly approaching holiday season, I am re-hashing my Christmas video from last year. There's a few screw-ups and the dubbing is off in parts but, hey....it was all in good fun. :) So sit back and enjoy me rockin out to my favorite Christmas tune. :) Those of you who have had the pleasure of seeing this last year.....well......enjoy it some more!! LOL

Alicia & Clay: E-Session

2007-11-29T20:50:00.000-05:00

Last weekend I had a blast shooting Alicia & Clay's Engagement Session, out in Maryland. Alicia & Clay are both active members of the Cecilton Fire Dept. so we started there for some pictures of them, how they are in their everyday life. Then, after a clothing change, we headed down to the Marina and played around on the docks for a little bit. Here are some of my favs:

At the firehouse...

I just love the way she looks at him :)

Down at the Marina...

These guys are so cute together!

It was a wee bit chilly out that day, so a little snuggling was in order. :)

Couldn't resist this shot....there's just something about it....

Again, did I mention how cute they are? :)

I'm looking forward to your wedding next year, guys!! :)

Holiday Cards are HERE!!

2007-11-27T01:18:00.000-05:00

Ask, and you shall receive! I've had several requests for holiday cards so here are some designs that I hope you all like. There is still time to order...you have until December 12th, if you want to get them in the mail before Christmas. They can be ordered on traditional photo paper or on heavy cardstock and can come as a flat or folded 5x7 card. Perfect for sending out your family portraits, engagement session or wedding pictures for the holidays. :)

Contact me for more details on these fun cards!

The Wiles Family

2007-11-20T19:51:00.001-05:00

On Saturday, I got together with my friends, Stephanie & Brandon and their delightful son, Maverick, to shoot some holiday pictures of their family. Some of you might recognize them from other photos on my website, from their wedding that I shot as well, and we've become friends ever since then! We had a blast out in Fair Hill, MD... there was still some fall color to play around with, thankfully. It was a wee bit chilly out but it wasn't too bad - we just tried to work fast! I was excited that they brought their dogs, Shelley and D.O.G. (pronounced dee-OH-gee) - or Deoji- along for some pictures too! (Isn't that a clever name?!) I LOVE when people include their four-legged family members in their sessions! :)

We got some really nice family shots that day, the kids
(all three of them!) were very well behaved. :) Mad props to my husband, Marc
for doing an amazing job at helping out with the dogs! (He was squeaking a
toy football behind my head to make the dogs look at me lol)

Maverick was having a BLAST in the leaves! Only to be a kid again.... :)

A nice portrait of Steph :)

Deoji was just a shiverin' so Steph stuffed her in her
jacket, to keep her warm. Too cute!

Steph & Brandon were swinging Mav while they walked
through the covered bridge...I LOVE this shot!

Thanks for hanging out with me, guys! We had a blast and thanks for dinner too! :)

Logan's Baptism 11.10.07

2007-11-18T15:59:00.000-05:00

You might remember Logan from this post about his first birthday, back in the summer. Well his adorable presence has graced my camera lens again! This time, for a very special occasion....his baptism. The poor thing was feeling a bit under the weather, but he made it through :)

Here he is with his pop-pop - my uncle John - Logan is my 2nd cousin :).
I LOVE this picture! My uncle has the most sincere smile on his face here. :)

Logan was very interested in all the things around him, more than
he was interested in the minister LOL.

Playing Peek-a-Boo with his God-mother, sitting behind him. :)

The Baptism

Looking very confused as to what just happened!

He wasn't very interested in having his picture taken, until we jingled some
keys at him...which of course he HAD to have after that! LOL

...and then we stuck him in the tree outside the church....too cute! :)

...and of course, one with Mommy & Daddy. (His mommy, Michelle is my cousin) :)

Check out the slideshow here. Congratulations on your baptism, Logan!!

Majesta Valentine - Olympic Gymnast Hopeful

2007-11-18T12:13:00.000-05:00

So if you haven't noticed recently, I have some nifty little links in the column on the right side of my blog....one of those links is to the website of a young girl, named Majesta. Majesta is a young gymnast with hopes of a future in the Olympics. She's quite a talented young lady! I had the pleasure of photographing some of her athletic abilities last weekend at her first competition (meet) of the year, the KMC Fall Frenzy. Check out her wicked moves below:

A wide angle of the gym at full speed in the middle of the meet:

Majesta on the Balance Beam. She received her highest
score (of the meet) on this event, at 9.40. :)

Yep, she sure did land on that beam after this move!

Majesta performing her Floor routine:

Ummm.....Yeah. She's doing a full split in mid-air...pretty crazy.

2nd place All Round for her first time competing as a Level 8! Congrats, Majesta! :)

Majesta Valentine trains at KMC Gymnastics, in Kennett Square. Go check out Majesta's Website and Majesta's Blog to see some cool videos (and pictures!) of her competing from this and other events! Leave her some love on her blog and join me in wishing her the best as she continues her journey to the Olympics. :)

Also, if you're in the giving mood (as the holidays ARE right around the corner!) than feel free to donate to Majesta's training fund, as I have, through the link on her website. Competitive Gymnastics training is very VERY expensive, so her family would be ever so grateful for your generosity! :)

Fall Family Portraits

2007-11-09T13:43:00.000-05:00

I had the pleasure of photographing a wonderful family recently, at one of my favorite places, Brandywine Park. Donna & Trey were actually married at Brandywine Park 5 years ago, so it was a perfect way to commemorate the occasion by having a Sweet Beginnings Session there. Their family has grown by two feet this year, so it was also a great way to celebrate that as well! Of course as soon as Donna said she wanted to do it at Brandywine Park, I was thrilled! Not only is it a beautiful spot for portraits, but Marc and I were married there as well, so it was fun to realize that we have that in common!

**As always, you can click on each image to view it larger. :) **

What a BEAUTIFUL Family!

Baby Julian...looking ever so adorable in his stylin' aviator coat!

Mommy & Baby :)

Daddy & Baby havin' a good ole time!

We couldn't leave out Scooby! He's part of the family too! :)

Baby Julian's Best Friend :)

Thanks guys for hanging out with me in our mutually favorite park! I had a great time!

I'm from Delaware

2007-10-23T20:37:00.001-04:00

National Apple Month

2007-10-11T11:47:00.001-04:00

Did you know that October is National Apple Month? So this past weekend, Marc and I decided to go apple picking at Milburn Orchards. We invited our friend Christy to come with us and we all had a lot of fun! We picked Red & Golden Delicious varieties and I picked up a little Apple Cookbook to teach me how to make some goodies with all these apples! LOL We enjoyed some amazing Apple Cider Doughnuts from Milburn as well...if you're in the Elkton, MD area (and even if you're not!) you should get your butt right on over to Milburn Orchards and try them. They're soooo good and simply amazing when they're hot!

We're also celebrating National Apple Month at work this week. With all this talk about apples, I picked up some cool apple facts that I thought I would share:

- If you place an apple in with your potatoes it will help keep them from
sprouting.
- If you can't brush your teeth after a meal, than eat an apple. Eating
an apple gets rid of 95% of the harmful bacteria in your mouth. (WHOA!)
- 25 percent of an apple's volume is air. That is why they float.
- Apples are a member of the rose family. (didn't know that!)

Well, of course, you know I brought my camera along to go apple picking. I know, I know...I'm such a dork. What can I say? :) Here's some pics from our trip:

Marc ate one of the Golden Delicious apples right off the tree! LOL

Lots of colors of fall!

Lots of strange looking gourds LOL...

New Blog DESIGN

2007-10-06T10:26:00.000-04:00

Well I've finally done it....I've "pimped my blog"! The color palette coincides with my new website (Yay!) and I've added a nifty Banner across the top. I've also increased the width of the page to allow me to post larger images, since, well.....that's what I do! :)

So if you're reading this through a feed reader (such as Google Reader), than click through and check it out! Let me know what you think!

Enjoy the rest of your weekend!

Yay!! :)

2007-10-05T06:58:00.000-04:00

It's a wonderful day! First...It's FRIDAY! TGIF! :) Second.....My new website is live and well! Go check it out! Let me know what you think! I'm very excited to have all kinds of new functionality and its much easier for me to update now. I'll still be adding some things here and there but I wanted to get it up and running for everyone to see!

If you loyal fan and you happened to notice that this site is only Weddings and Portraits, don't worry! Very soon I'll be putting up another site for my Fine Art and Nature stuff. :) It will be back, I promise!

Have a wonderful weekend everyone!! :)

Site Down :(

2007-09-22T11:57:00.001-04:00

Hey guys....yeah, you read that right. My site is down temporarily. I'm working on a new site and things went a little wacky and my old site went down. :( Sorry, everybody. Hopefully tech support can figure it out on Monday. Try to sit tight until then! It will be worth it when my new site goes live. :) I'll have an update on Monday, hopefully. Well, I'm off to another wedding, but....

Have a FANTASTIC weekend everybody!

Marc's Surprise :)

2007-09-06T20:35:00.000-04:00

So today is opening night for the NFL Season. Marc has been waiting all year for football to start again! But this year he has an extra special reason. :) So here's the story....

Two months ago I decided that I was going to surprise Marc with an HD TV for his birthday. Well, his birthday is in November, so I figured I have 4 months to save up and it would be plenty of time. With all of the photography work I've had lately (wow, weddings every weekend all summer, working with 6 different area photographers!) I was saving much faster than I thought I could! So I decided that he would be so much more excited and surprised to have it before football season! Well all of the plans were in place for last friday....with the help and hard work of our good friend Chris and another friend, Ron, along with both of Marc's brothers...we pulled it off! I got out of work early for the holiday weekend and so did Chris, so we all got the old entertainment center torn down and a new one put up along with the TV installed....ALL before Marc was home from work! We even finished early and sat patiently waiting for his arrival home.

When Marc got home from work, Chris, Brett, Jon and I were downstairs waiting for him. He came downstairs and realized that his brothers were here - which seemed odd - and then he saw it - a brand new 42" LCD HDTV sitting on a brand new entertainment center, where his old TV used to sit. (Bonus - we had one of his Xbox 360 games playing on it for him to see the awesome picture quality!)

"What the [insert explicitive here LOL] is THAT?! Where did it come from?!! WHO's is it?!! OMG! "

ROFL! Who's is it? Well, dear, to be honest we borrowed it and it has to go back tomorrow...hahaha. (Kidding of course!) He was completely shocked and very excited! So opening night football is extra special - in Hi Def - in our house tonight. :) It was a lot of work and a collective effort but it was sooo worth it. After seeing me be able to finally buy all of the photography equipment I've wanted (and needed!) I felt like it was time to get something for Marc that he's always wanted. All he's been sayin all week is "I can't believe you guys went through so much trouble for ME!"

Who loves ya, babe? :) That's right. LOL Now you can play all your Xbox 360 games in Hi Def, and watch football too. :) (Oh boy....what was I thinking?! Kidding! haha)

Below are a couple of pics of the new system. :) (Hello?! Can't have a post without pics, can we? ;)

BTW - Thanks Chris, Ron, Jon & Brett for all your help!!!! Couldn't have done it without you!!

Logan's Very 1st Birthday

2007-07-12T23:46:00.000-04:00

I know I need to blog some other stuff and I'm a little behind but this was sooo doggone cute that it flipped the trump card. :)

My cousin, Michelle's, son Logan celebrated his very first birthday on Sunday and well....we had a party! and boy did Logan party hardy too! Check out this too funny picture of him after having cake for the first time:

Did he enjoy that or what?! LOL Click here for the slideshow. :)

Through Their Eyes Africa

2007-07-09T13:35:00.000-04:00

You may have heard about this awesome project or you may not have but if you're not familiar with it...than GO CHECK IT OUT! I check a bunch of photography blogs every day and a lot of them mentioned this project recently so I wanted to repost about it here, as well.

A group of world-renowned photographers will be going to a remote area of Africa and teaching photography to young adults, so that, through photographs, they will be able to show us their world, through their eyes. Check out their site for more information on the project...its a really cool project! :)

Beach Weekend!

2007-07-05T13:51:00.001-04:00

The weekend before the 4th of July, Marc and I stayed down at his parents beach house. It was a busy weekend! I had a wedding with Beth on Saturday, followed by a Sunset Cruise that evening (to see the lighthouses) and on Sunday I had a lovely beach portrait session for an adorable family. Look for images from all of that coming soon!!

Erin & Gabe 6.23.07

2007-07-05T13:26:00.000-04:00

I tagged along with Heather again, this time mostly to assist her and make her life easier. :) I did shoot some during the ceremony and portraits though....below are a few of my favs. Erin was such a gorgeous bride and it was evident that she put a lot of work into very detail of her wedding day. Simple beautiful. :) Check out Heather's blog for more images.

FISHEYE!!!! :)

2007-07-03T13:24:00.000-04:00

Soooo....a lot of you know how much I have wanted a fisheye lens ever since I went digital 2.5 years ago. But it was more of a creative want versus a need so I always bought other equipment first. Well....fate would have it that it just came back in stock last week just as I had the money for it! So I FINALLY got it! Yay! So here are some of the first pictures that I've taken with it....all of the family! :)

I love this pic of Oreo! :)

Some of Marc's notorious funny faces...

Even the ferrets like the fisheye! :)

Look for more images coming soon!

Minnie & Adam 6.16.07

2007-06-30T07:30:00.000-04:00

These guys were soooo much fun! They actually planned a couple of hours in between the ceremony and reception for pictures, which of course we LOVED! (And they're going to LOVE just as much when they get their proofs! ;) Here are some of my favs...

I LOVE this picture of Minnie's dad with her in the background.

Adam's groomsmen keeping him from running away! :)

Cute little flowergirl!

Minnie was showing her off her bling to everyone! So I told her to show it to me :)

Adam is actually Jo's nephew....Minnie poses with her new Aunt Jo.

Lauren & Keith 6.9.07

2007-06-12T00:16:00.000-04:00

This weekend I had the great joy of shooting with...well, Joy. :) Joy Moody is a blast to shoot with and her enthusiasm is highly contagious, which is awesome. It was a privelege to shoot with her and I definitely hope to do it again!

Lauren was sooo excited to get married! Upon entering the ceremony aisle, she proclaimed with a giant smile on her face "HI Everybody!!" All of their guests burst into laughter and set the tone for the rest of the event. :) It was the funniest and most refreshing thing I think I have ever witnessed at a wedding! Here are some of my fav pics from their wedding.

I just love corset back gowns and Lauren's was one of the most beautiful that I've seen.

Lauren was so giddy and happy the entire day! Between her and Joy, it was impossible NOT to smile all day!

Keith was just as comical with funny faces all day.

The Ceremony

First dance as husband and wife

Those of you who know me well know how fond I am of fisheye photos...well Joy was kind enough to let me experiment with her fisheye....needless to say I am even more in love! I feel a purchase coming on soon.... ;)

A couple of the details...

Congrats Lauren & Keith!! Hope you're having fun on your honeymoon! :)

Stacy & Harry 6.2.07

2007-06-10T23:10:00.001-04:00

Stacy happens to be Shawn's sister. Shawn just happens to be Heather's boyfriend. Heather just happens to have been my wedding photographer! :)

Heather and I have stayed in touch since my wedding 2 years ago and she asked me if I could do her a favor and come along to shoot Stacy & Harry's wedding so that she could enjoy herself as a guest. (It's not often that we, as wedding photographers, get to actually be a guest at a wedding because we're always shooting them!) I was happy to be able to help her out! It turns out that their whole family is extremely laid back and the wedding was super casual and fun....it had such a wonderful family feel. :) I know I normally show about half of my blog images in black and white but this time I just felt like this wedding would be better expressed mostly in color. :) Let me know what you think.

A ring shot to start things off:

Stacy and Harry were so much fun and happily indulged mine and Heather's many requests for photo opportunities! ;)

Stacy & Harry have a young daughter, named Riley, and she is beyond cute! They are just the most adorable family. :)

Of course we had to make sure we got a shot of Heather and Shawn together too!

When it was all said and done, Stacy & Harry were such good sports that they jumped in the pool together! (still in their wedding attire!) :)