It’s All About the BBQ!

July 4, 2011
by Victoria J

As yet another 4th of July rolls around, I am thankful for my country’s freedom from the rule of England, my freedom of speech, and my freedom to worship wherever I choose. But being a Texas girl, y’all, I am also thankful for an excuse to eat BBQ! Growing up, I remember eating ribs, hamburgers, and hotdogs at ever Memorial Day, July 4th, and Labor Day weekend. I remember eating BBQ during the summer after special church programs, in January for our housewarming, at the park when we had our church services out there, at my friends’ houses, and at family gatherings. My love for BBBQ was so deep that one of my favorite “Senior Lunch” spots was the Bill Millers BBQ, where I’d get a 99 cent chopped BBQ beef brisket sandwhich with pickles, a potato salad and cole slaw all for $3.00. Now, for any folks that are really from TX, I am not calling Bill Millers the best BBQ spot in town by any stretch of imagination, but back then it was good like McDonalds, and now it’s a taste that takes me back down memory lane! Anyway, I wanted to share my love of BBQ with you all today to celebrate this wonderful day! I hope y’all get a chance to chow down on some baked beans that you can scoop up with LAY’S potato chips, some hot dogs and hamburgers! And for those that still get down with the pig, get you some juicy ribs with enough BBQ sauce to make you run through at least 4 napkins! ENJOY! And Happy Fourth of July to you!

Surprisin’ & Seein’ the Fam in Mississippi!

June 22, 2011June 22, 2011
by Victoria J

Last week, my family threw a surprise party for my Dad. It was a real surprise party because his birthday was four months ago… and because he was under the impression that he was planning a get-together for one side of his family. Well, I was delightfully surprised to see that we managed to keep it a surprise up until mom yelled “SURPRISE!” This was largely because he was making a lot of calls to family and running into people that were not doing the best job at keeping the surprise, but thankfully he did not notice all of the comments that were made. But better than seeing his surprised face was the opportunity to see family that I had not seen in years. For many of my family members, I had not seen them since the homegoings of other family members, so it was good to see them for a celebration of LIFE! Needless to say, I ran my mouth more than I clicked away with my camera, but I was still able to capture the highlights of this event, which I have included below.

We not only had family, but we also had friends of the family, who seem more like members of the family than friends! One of which was a very dear friend of mine, who is also my travel budding/road dog! She has gone with me on all of my international trips and she has been present for so many noteworthy events in my life… Anyway, at the event, I took inspiration from a photo I took in Paris in 2008 of her, and I have included this throwback/inspired photograph in the collection below.

Another great moment for me was an exchange with one of my uncles. For as far back as I can remember, I recall that my uncle Stan and my dad had the same Canon SLR camera. Uncle Stan always took so much longer than Dad to capture any moment, but his pictures (as well as Dad’s) were always priceless! So when I saw him at the event, he told me that halfway down from WI, he realized that he left his camera. Well, thank God for preparation! I was able to let him use my backup camera, which I was appreciative of afterwards when I realized that there were some people that I talked to, but did not photograph – Thanks Uncle Stan! Among other shots, one of the things we did was capture each other capturing each other… and those were among my favorite shots!

Y’all, it was just sooo good to be around family, despite the heat and the loooooonnnnggg road trip! I wouldn’t have traded these moments for anything!

Enjoy the photos below, and if you see something you like, don’t hesitate to leave a comment!!!

He was officially surprised!

Family & Friends

You don’t see cuteness like this everyday!!!
TCW Throwback

My Name’s Sake – 5 Months Later

June 16, 2011
by Victoria J

Last weekend, we had a family reunion/surprise party in Mississippi… Yep! I have roots in the country, and I am proud of that fact because those country-roots have made me to be the resourceful person that I am. Anyway, among seeing aunties and uncles and cousins and great aunts and first and second cousins, I saw a young face that I hadn’t see in a little over 5 months… That young face was none other than Victoria Faith Payne, my cousins’ little girl that I met over the Christmas break. You may remember her from my post “My Name’s Sake,” but man, now she’s grown a bit and taken on a new look. She’s looking more and more like her siblings. Y’all she was crawling, standing up, eating real food, and so much more – I wasn’t ready… Ok, I was… And I was there with my cameras. Funny thing was that as I was looking for photos to share on this blog site, I realized that I did not have many. The reason was because on the first day that I saw her and her siblings, I was using the video feature to capture them… but thank God that I was commissioned to be the picnic photographer because I did capture some still photos of her.

Anyway, in seeing her, I am so refreshed… and not just her, but her brother and sister too. You see, the children are growing up. They are becoming thoughtful citizens, caring people, and just little balls of joys. I really believe in that verse that says, “Children are a blessing from the Lord!” Y’all let’s not take the precious moments we have with the children or even the children themselves for granted! The young care-free years only last for so long, so enjoy ’em, love ’em, and play with ’em while you have ’em!

Well Worth the Wait!

June 8, 2011June 8, 2011
by Victoria J

When I sit for hours going through wedding photos, making them pop, refocusing images, and weeding through the ones that “did not make the cut,” I realize that it truly is a pleasure to be invited to capture these intimate moments. Often times, I get to see the bride decked before even her father does. I often get access to places that others cannot go. I say this not to brag, but again, to point to how much of a privilege it is for me. I often see rather intimate moments between the newly married couple, like this one. I am not sure how long she had waited for him or he waited for her, but I remember her talking about the wait as she got ready for the ceremony. Emotions ran high in the room with the women, so much so that two prayers were said! And when all was said and done, it definitely looked like this moment was worth waiting for and hoping for. My favorite photograph is the last one I’ve included. Interestingly enough, this was one of the latter images that I edited, and I thought I was going to have to toss it since it was over-exposed… but the expression was timeless… and thank God for Photoshop! What was in the background did not matter; it was all about the two becoming one! It was well worth the wait! Wait on sisters! Wait on brothers! There is still something even better in your tomorrow!

See select images from this wedding below. As always, if you see something you like, please leave a comment! <<< And, if you know of someone getting married that needs a photographer, send them a link (or send me a message)! I hope to hear from you soon! >>>

Spending Memorial Day with Family

June 6, 2011
by Victoria J

Last week, I spent Memorial Day with my brother and cousin in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. While there, we saw some of the famous landmarks like the Love Park, the Liberty Bell, Constitution Hall, and Reading Terminal. That Monday was a bona fide hot day – if you know me, you know it takes a lot for me to call a day hot. Anyway, it was so hot that we ended with ice cream, and I agreed to use the A/C in my car (again, if you know me, you’ll know I am a little cheap, and air conditioning is a last resort for me). See images from our Philly expedition below!

Jumping the Broom!

June 6, 2011June 6, 2011
by Victoria J

A few weeks ago, I photographed an amazingly beautiful wedding! Perhaps, I was a little biased since the wedding colors were three shades of purple – my favorite color! Nonetheless, the bride had been planning this wedding for over a year, and every detail was planned to the “t.” In addition to all of the typical wedding traditions, they jumped the broom at the end of the ceremony, which is a tradition that dates back to slavery when blacks were not allowed to officially get married. Thank God for freedom! It is so good to keep traditions like these to remind of how blessed we are, and where we came from. Enjoy select images from this wedding below.

I also must make a shout-out here! This was the first wedding that I brought a second photographer to – my brother, Darren Payne! He not only was able to catch the moments that I was not able to capture, but he captured some of my favorite images from this wedding – Thank you Darren!

By the way, if you see something you like, please leave a comment below!

Photographs at a Catholic Cathedral

June 6, 2011June 6, 2011
by Victoria J

A few weeks ago, my brother and I went to a DC Catholic Cathedral to shoot around. I was partially interested in the venture because I wanted to see what he could do with the camera, so that I could possibly hire him on to be a second shooter for me at weddings and events and portrait sessions. Well, it was clear to me, that we definitely have different photographic interests: I prefer people, he prefers scenes! Nonetheless, we were able to capture some nice images with and without people. Here are some of the images from this session. The images of me are compliments of my brother, Darren Payne (thanks bro)!