city kids

The first time I photographed Mychal in 2007, she was about 6 months old, and her parents drove to Raleigh from Wilmington for her session. When she turned one, I drove to their home in Wilmington and photographed her first birthday party.

And then her family moved away:-( Far, far away to (gasp!) NYC! (Actually, they may be over the river and technically in New Jersey now, but to this NC girl, that's just splitting hairs: it's all the Big Apple.)

So imagine how tickled I was to hear from Mychal's mom this fall and she wanted me to photograph Mychal and her new little brother while they were visiting relatives in NC. I had to laugh when they pulled baby Noah out of the car and he was the boy version of his big sister at the same age. I mean, the kids are like TWINS. They even have the same expressions!

Here are a few from our session. Could the little raincoat/umbrella/Mary Jane boot combo be any cuter? And Noah's little dragon hat. Sigh.

the Julie mini-sessions

See those beautiful girls up there? They belong to my friend Julie.

On the morning of December 26th, Julie's younger daughter (who is also my son Gray's classmate) found her mom unresponsive with no pulse.

My vibrant 30-something, yoga-loving, vegetarian, volunteering, beautiful friend was in cardiac arrest. To put it bluntly: she died.

It took 45 minutes for the paramedics to bring her back, and at first no one, including the medical staff, thought she'd make it. I mean, how do you bounce back from something like that?

And yet, she did. Only Julie could pull off such a feat. I am convinced that the love and prayers of her friends and family (and many strangers) combined with Julie's amazing spirit and will are the only reasons she is still here.

Here is where this post comes in. In an effort to help Julie's family (she won't be working for awhile, and much to her dismay, she's not allowed to drive for 4 months) with their medical bills, a site has been set up for donations. Not so luckily for Julie, her hospital stay at Duke spanned two calendar years which means that she has to meet her deductible for each year before her insurance kicks in.

For anyone donating $50 or more to Julie, I am donating a mini-session to YOU. These mini's will take place outside at my studio (downtown Durham, NC) between January and May 2010. (Instead of doing everything in one day, I will set these up like regular sessions so you aren't pigeonholed into one date that may or may not work for you.) If 4 or more friends donate together, I will come to you (anywhere in the Triangle) and do back-to-back mini sessions at a location of your choice. Mini sessions are about 15-20 minutes long, and you will see 10-15 proofs in an online web gallery. They are best suited for children and babies who are able to sit unassisted, and parents are always welcome to hop into a few pictures. Due to time limitations, mini's are not suitable for extended-family sessions. Prints are purchased separately. (Oh, and if you don't have kids, but would like pictures of you with your significant other, or a portrait of your pet - that is great, too!)

You can donate here. Once you've donated, please email me (gwmathison at gmail.com) with a copy of the receipt you get back from Paypal and we can set up your session.

http://www.relief4julie.webs.com/

From the bottom of my heart, I thank anyone who can donate (no matter how small) to Julie. I truly would not be where I am in my business without her being my biggest cheerleader back in 2003.

xoxo,
gretchen

so many cuties...

... so little time to blog! I'm working 12-hours+ a day, 7 days a week right now, but wanted to take just a few minutes to post some of my recent subjects:-)

it was a little bit like a fairy tale...

Oh, Charleston. I do so love you.

Last weekend I had the total pleasure of photographing what was one of the most fun weddings I've ever attended. I've known the bride since our freshman year at Carolina, and I promise you, that is a long time. (And I dare say, neither of us looks a day older! Fancy that!;-)

It was a two-day event: the actual wedding took place in Eileen's aunt and uncle's 1750's house on Meeting Street in downtown Charleston. Words cannot express how beautiful this home is, so I'm not even going to try. Suffice it to say - it was gorgeous and could not have been more perfect. The second day was a party out at their farm on the sound. Martha Stewart would have envied the gorgeous setting and decorations. Every moment was happy and relaxed... exactly how a wedding should be (but so rarely is.) Just an amazing weekend all the way around.

Thanks, Eileen and Rod, for letting me capture such your awesome, perfect, pretty-much-a-fairy tale wedding. I know you have many happy years ahead of you!!

xoxo,
gretchen



The shoes had hearts on the soles. Did you just say "awww!" out loud? I did.


Rod getting an iPhone shot of the reception:

a table from the party on the farm the next day... love it!!!

beware of flying objects

She flew so high, she lost a boot.

His stayed on.

Oh, to have your dad throw you in the air so high that if even just for a few seconds, you actually feel like you're flying. I've been doing this job for six years now, and I have to say - I've never seen a dad get his kids quite THIS high before. (I mean, he's NOT EVEN IN THE SHOT! These images are the original crops directly from the camera.) He must have eaten his Wheaties that morning.

I was totally impressed. And perhaps just for a minute, wishing I could be two again.

morning mini with baby harlan

This little Mr. Cute is the kind of baby who makes you want about 10 more kids. He came in for a mini session and I don't think there was a single moment this baby was not smiling. I loved it!

Here he is at Brightleaf Square in Durham. Mini sessions are always fun because I get to hit up all of my favorite neighborhood spots in about 20 minutes (and share the goodness that is Durham with my clients who may not live here.)

Happy Monday, everyone!

giggles

Oh how I love these two girls! Every year I check in on Haley and Ellie, and we have an hour of fun. (Their mom and dad are pretty darn great, too.)

See you again in 2010, girls!!

make-you-smile monday!

So in an effort to be a better blogger, I'm going to try to at least update on Mondays with a picture (or pictures) that brings a smile to my face, and hopefully will to yours, too.

All the way from Brooklyn, NY is cutie pie August. The first time I photographed him, he was only 7 months, and here he is at 4 years old. It's been so fun to capture him each year on his family's trips to NC. Here he is, peeking at me in the mirror of his aunt's Mini. (It was raining and we had to get creative with August and his baby sister!)

big kids!

Okay, so the more appropriate title to this post should be "holy cow, these girls are gorgeous!"

High school senior photography is not super big in this area of the country, but oh how I wish it were. What fun it is!

First up is Katie. Katie happens to be the daughter of my super extra fabulous assistant, Sharon. Katie will be going off to college next fall, and I'm already planning on stocking Sharon's desk with plenty of Kleenex. I loved how Katie's session turned out... in the picture of her and the truck, I think she looks like she could be on a country music CD cover:-)







And beautiful Morgan. These pictures were taken on my grandmother's Iowa farm on the day Grandma passed away. Morgan is the daughter of my cousin, and what a treat to photograph her! The weather was so gross (rainy and COLD!) on the day of her session, and as we got closer and closer to Grandma's farm, the skies cleared to a beautiful, midwestern blue. I'd like to think Grandma had a hand in that.




Here's adorable Sarah, who's off to her first year at UNCW. Not only was she as cute as a button, she was so sweet and mature. And, she let me drag her to crazy alleys in downtown Durham. That's my kind of girl.




And last but not least, these gorgeous sisters from Roxboro, NC. Carlie, Carson and Caroline were definitely among the most polite, sweet, and beautiful siblings I've ever photographed. I was so glad to be able to get their session done (immediately following a huge thunderstorm) just days before Caroline headed off to school at NC State.

So thanks to all of my patient clients and blog readers for hanging with me while I was on a blog hiatus. (And to Leigh Ann - thanks for kicking my rear into gear this morning when you saw me getting coffee and kindly prodded me for a new blog update!)

rollercoaster

So, suffice it to say, updating my blog is not my strong suit. I always think about it - want to do it - but then life has a way of saying "pick me!! pick me!!" and that blog post that I'd formulated in my head... well, something else has taken its place.

Spring rolled into summer with a rollercoaster of emotions this year. May marked the end of school for my kids... my youngest (who was just a baby, like, yesterday) will be starting his last year of preschool in September. My middle one will be heading into first grade, and my oldest (insert panic) will be in his very last year of elementary school. I look at them and wonder just how did time get away from me?

I started June with a trip to Iowa for my cousin Abby's wedding. Sadly, but most fortuitously, the trip was perfectly timed to coincide with my beloved grandma's last days of life. She held on like the spunky, life-loving woman that she always was, and passed away the morning after the wedding. The trip was a whirlwind of emotions - so glad to see my unbelievably amazing family, to watch my beautiful cousin get married, to visit my other set of grandparents (still so spry in their 80's), and then to say good-bye to the grandmother who loved to bake us monster cookies and who loved to let us drive her golf cart every summer when she and my grandpa would go golfing (and buy us RC colas afterwards!)

After being home a little over a week, we were off again to Fripp Island, SC. Words cannot express the Mathison family's love affair with this tiny little island where deer eat right out of your hand and where fresh-off-the-boat shrimp is nightly fare. It is one of those places that makes you feel a little healed every time you leave from your week of R&R.

And in the midst of it all has been work. Oh, how I love my job. This spring has brought some amazing clients, some beautiful babies, some kids who've grown so much since I saw them last. I had the privilege of documenting a family who was losing a family member to cancer. (She passed away 13 days after our session, just a day before my grandmother.) Not a day goes by that I am not grateful for having a job I love so much, even on the days when I'm at my studio until 7:30 or 8:00 at night and feel so exhausted I just want to fall into bed.

This ended up being sappier than I'd intended, but I wanted to explain my long blog absence. Pictures to follow. Shortly. And yes, I promise.

elizabeth + steve

So I know what you're thinking: Hey, Gretchen isn't a wedding photographer.

And usually, I'm not. But I do make the occasional exception. For Elizabeth and Steve, I'm sure glad I did. It was a tiny wedding, which is why I agreed to do it. (That, and the fact that Steve sounded pretty darn nice from his email.)

It was such a sweet ceremony, and I have to admit it was tough not to cry as they choked back the tears on the altar.

I love documenting love. Some days, my job just couldn't get any cooler:-)





Elizabeth's kids, David and Hannah. David was 4 and his antics while they were saying their vows had me (silently) chuckling to myself.

Isn't she lovely? :-)

Hannah's special bunny who was wearing the EXACT same dress as she was. How cute is that?

My future competition (or assistant!)

a fond farewell...

Two pregnancies + two new babies = four sessions in the last 13 months for this awesome family.

And now they're moving away. Sniff, sniff! (Although as luck would have it, they're moving not too terribly far from my sister-in-law, so hopefully we'll be able to plan more sessions in the future:-)

The newest beautiful boy for this family is sweet, tiny Landon. He and his big brother Maddox both have February birthdays... just one year apart! They couldn't be any cuter if they tried.

I'll miss my trips to Wilmington to visit your family, Michelle and Bruce. I wish you well in your new home!



Totally unplanned... she thought I was just taking pictures of daddy and baby.


Is she not just so super cute while pregnant?! Here are a few from their fall session in Raleigh.


Big brother Maddox. DOLL. BABY.