.:why stubbornness can be an asset:.

My most recent photography fetish as of late is finding spectacularly creative ways to photograph wedding bands. As I was pondering the "why" to this question, I decided that it all has to do with my inherent stubbornness. Since as far back as I can remember I've always been that girl who was... well... stubborn. I always had to do something different. Perhaps go the extra mile, but stand out for sure. Not to prove to other people that I was better but to challenge myself.

For example, when my Intro to Art teacher told us to to do an organic shapes design that had balance both in its color and placement of shapes I, of course, chose to do human shapes in a completely symmetrical fashion and balance the color by using the rainbow color scale rather than choosing fruit or leaves, arranging them in a balanced scene and then using a complimentary or split complimentary color scheme to fill in the objects.



When I was in High School in Art 1 we were told to do a pencil drawing of a car using drawing pencils. But of course I couldn't just draw a car. I had to ask special permission to draw my family's home (which took me months longer!) and used mechanical pencils just to prove I could do it. (Which I realized years later was ridiculous but... then again, it worked, right?)



In Watercolor 1 at Mizzou when we were supposed to do a simple, quick watercolor rendition of an artist's painting I instead chose the ridiculously time-consuming Winslow Homer painting, Adirondack Guide. (As a side note, you can tell this is my painting and not the actual as you can see my reflection holding a point and shoot camera in the glass!)


When I was a P.A. (think R.A. for those of you non-Mizzou people) in the residence halls I couldn't do a normal bulletin board with basic information, I had to create pictures with the paper and die-cutters and fill the space in an artistic fashion. Bulletin boards that should have taken me 10 minutes to prepare instead took me three or four hours. Why? I guess I just wanted to do it.

Finally, take the example of one of my plays I costume designed. When a friend asked me to costume design a community theater rendition of Godspell for no pay I decided that, rather than taking the easy way out and costuming the actors traditionally, I had to come up with different, balanced costumes with different textures, patterns in monochromatic scheme to match with his Piet Mondrian concept.


I believe my mother would call the quality I describe as "stubbornness" and I'm not so sure she's been so keen on this fantastic character attribute I possess. However unconstructive my attitude could be at home, I'd like to think it has had its good qualities in other areas, like my photography! Which brings me back to my first point--wedding bands!

I think my stubbornness is what drives my new ring arranging obsession. My recent refusal to photograph bands in the obligatory (albeit beautiful!) fashion stuffed in a rose somewhere in the bride's bouquet has led me to work ridiculously hard at finding a unique, creative way to display the rings every time that somehow has a piece of the couple's personality/celebration. Mazvita & Ben's wedding today was no exception.



Talk about sustainable centerpieces! (Although when we left Mazvita was looking for homes for those cute goldfish!) Before I shot the above photo, Brian warned me that the "fishy water" would harm Mazvita & Ben's rings and since I wasn't the one that paid hundreds of dollars for them I should probably avoid putting them in the bowls. That's probably very wise, practical advice that we should all listen to. However, as seems consistent with my attitude throughout life (right, Mom?), I politely and sheepishly told him I was going to shoot the rings in the bowl with the fish anyway. Mazvita approved when she found out. I knew it! So, take that, Brian!

[See, Mom, my stubbornness has a purpose in life and serves well today. Who would have thunk it? And there were times you had no hope!]


Finally, for those of you dying to see photos of Mazvita and Ben from today (especially those friends overseas that Skyped with Mazvita this morning while she was sans makeup and sporting a fashionable do-rag!), here are a few to tide you over until it's not 2:00 in the morning and I'm still up after shooting a gorgeous wedding all day. = )







Happy weekend after Memorial Day/Mazvita & Ben Wedding weekend, everyone!

.:mmm... dessert:.

So Brian and I have the pleasure and honor of shooting a good friend of mine's wedding TOMORROW! Dear Mazvita Matsiga (for those of you not fluent in the native tongue of Zimbabwe, that's pronounced Mah-ZHEE-tah). Brian reminded me tonight at their rehearsal dinner (after they announced Ben's mother had made wonderful oreo dessert for us all) that perhaps the delight of dessert didn't exactly mesh well with my ongoing and progressively more rigorous goal of being healthy and limiting my sugar intake.

Mazvita held her bachelorette party at Encore Wine & Dessert last night and I'm afraid that ever since I viewed the amazing plating of these sugary indulgences, I have had desserts on my mind. Here are a few of the delightful decadences we were able to enjoy last evening. (I was good... err... well... better since I had carrot cake and scraped off all of the icing. That means technically I ate veggies last night and that shows I have a lot of willpower, right?)

Anyway, Encore's desserts last evening looked too amazing not to 1. Photograph (Mazvita told me to NOT bring my camera but I couldn't resist) and 2. Share with all of you out there with a sweet tooth. (The Lord has blessed me with a husband that despises not only chocolate but sweet things in general. Which means if he did enjoy them as much as I do that I would be 20 lbs. heavier than I am now!) So if you're in Columbia and wanting a late night delicious dessert after an evening movie or night out on the downtown scene, head on over to Encore and try something. After all, it isn't everyday you can go out just for dessert. = )









(Oh, and in my defense my justification of bringing my camera to the bachelorette party at which I was supposed to be a guest alone is that I had to have a guinea pig event to try out some new flash work--homemade gels! To prove it, I post the following photo as evidence! Pretty cool, huh?)



Oh, and to be fair, here is a photo of the breathtaking soon-to-be-Mrs-Lewton. Someone (likely one of her amazing matrons of honor, Kate Kromann) came up with the idea that all attendees had to dress in black and white while the bride-to-be would be in some color to add spice and drama and, well, stand out. Stand out she did in this amazing purple dress. Ah, to have purple compliment your skin tone.

.:kisses:.

Pretty much sums up the day. = )

Megan and Ben, you are some pretty cool cats.

.:and for your information:.

And for all those of you have been dying to see some of our normal photography here is a teaser from tonight's engagement session with my dear friend Mazvita and her fiance Ben. Told you we found new spots! (Luckily it appears the shady vines weren't poison ivy because I am not itching yet!) They'll be getting hitched in just a few weeks here. I also have some to post from another couple, Megan and Ben, who will be getting married this weekend and having their reception in what appears to be a mid-Missouri CASTLE but I wanted to save their engagement and wedding photos for all one post.

Happy Wednesday!

.:love language of time:.

So recently Brian and I's time has been pretty... well... scarce. For those of you that know us well you will remember that we talk about The Five Love Languages quite frequently. We are blessed such that my primary love language is Brian's secondary and my secondary is his primary. It works out well.

Anyway, these past few weeks have been hectic, to say the least, and time for the two of us has been at a premium. Yesterday after coming home from running errands Brian and I decided to go driving and scouting for new photography locations. We've done a lot of downtown shoots recently and I'm a photographer that tends to be inspired by new surroundings. With a slew of engagement shoots coming up it's time we found some new places around the area.

Anyway, back to the love languages.

My love language is Quality Time. That means that I feel most loved and my "love tank" is most filled when I am spending time and talking with the one I love. So when Brian and I went to drive around, chat, take photos, and explore needless to say I was a happy camper by the end of the night. We made our way to both Cooper's Landing (which was flooded) and to McBaine (where I'd never been) to check out their legendary tree. Brian took lots of pictures of me for fun and refused to let me take many of him. He claimed his hair was too poofy. (I cut it today so no more excuses next time!)

We did a little hand holding, which fulfilled his love language of touch. One of our best dates ever with no money involved but the gas in our tank. My husband is amazing.

Next adventure? MOVING! We're going to have an impromptu garage sale on Friday & Saturday morning before we head out for a wedding. Anyone need any purses/magazines/home decor/candles?


----

When we arrived to check out Cooper's Landing we noticed something fishy was happening. The road suddenly dipped underwater. Uh oh. Can't drive any more. Whatever shall we do?



Brian, like the trooper and awesome husband he is, suggested we forge ahead on foot. He rolled up his jeans (and looked so hot!) and led the way through the flooded road like a real man. = )



Lucky for me, I had just purchased my first real pair of cowboy boots only hours earlier to use for the wedding season. I learned very quickly that not only are boots cute with skirts, but they are amazingly water proof. (So sorry, parents, for resisting them all my life! I was woefully wrong!)



After a few bends and turns in the road (and more than a little water) we got to the two bridges Brian had been telling me about.



Only problem is that everything was underwater...



...including our only path to the bridge. This is Brian emoting our feelings. (To his benefit, he did offer to drive back to Wal-Mart, find a one-time inflatable raft and return the next day so we could float the 15 feet out to the other, much older bridge that is only feet away.)


So we walked on back to our car waiting on the outskirts of the flooded road. Brian paused long enough to let me take this photograph. That's right, Peter, you're not the only one with faith enough to walk on water.



Brian decided he'd take a stab at portraits for once. I was wearing a dress I found in my grandmother's dress up closet several years ago. It's a legit vintage dress. Not only is it completely the wrong cut for my body type but yellow is ridiculously hard to pull off. My pale skin is not the color to do it justice. Regardless, it was fun to wear on our little date alone.



Golden hour before sunset = beautiful light (He insisted I not only post this one in the blog but that I change my facebook photo to it immediately when we returned last night. Respectful wife that I am, I complied.)


And, finally the infamous McBaine tree Brian has told me so much about. His photo, not mine.


Life is well. = )

.:lindsey & guy:.

I love weddings. I love meeting new people and being thrust behind the scenes of some of the most exciting and intimate days of their lives. I can't really put into words nor explain the connection that normally happens between the bride and I on her wedding day. Often we seem to become instant friends even if that is our first day to meet. She understands me, I understand her. We share knowing looks throughout the day and our smiles are infectious. There's a camaraderie that happens that I wish I could articulate. Lindsey was no exception.

Lindsey and Guy found us when Lindsey saw another of our bride's profile pictures on facebook. You may have seen it before:

Lindsey tracked us down from there. They even decided to move their wedding date back several months when they discovered that we were booked on the day they wanted!

Lindsey met Guy when she was still in High School. He was creative and artsy whereas she was the organizer. He wasn't like the other guys she had dated. Guy was different. He cared. He worked to put her first instead of himself. He was tender. He pushed her to aim high and dream big. Though he was several years her senior she had always acted older than her age and so, naturally, their courtship blossomed quickly. They had already been talking marriage seriously when they were surprised with Layla. Lindsey thought for sure with the addition of Layla to their now growing family she would obviously have to wait for some time until he would be able to propose since, as many of us know, babies are expensive. But she was wrong! Guy saved and worked more hours than Lindsey realized and one beautiful summer day, much to her excitement and surprise, he proposed!

During their engagement period (and with the addition of Layla) Guy and Lindsey started sorting out what was important in their lives. They decided God needed to be their primary driving force and love; that Layla needed to grow up with them in a creative, loving environment; and they decided they wanted all of their family to be around them on their special day. They went through ups and downs in the process. There were tears. There were times of uncontrollable laughter. There was hesitation, but, greatest of all, Guy and Lindsey worked it all out together, hand in hand.

Only a few months before their wedding, Guy and Lindsey found themselves in the lap of God. The two (separately) experienced God and His love like they never had before and knew that they needed to make some changes in their relationship with one another to honor Him in their few months left until marriage. They were both afraid to come to one another but were overjoyed when they learned that God had taught the other the exact same thing at the exact same time. They knew that God needed to be bigger, to be overarching, and they needed to allow Him to take His place as the head of all of their lives.

The day we arrived Guy was working on spraying glitter on the final decorations and getting little Layla fed. Lindsey was driving around bridesmaids, getting to hair appointments, and making sure all things were gathered. The driftwood with photos of them, the seashells in netting, the bubbling fountain, the purple flowers everywhere, Lindsey's bouquet she made herself complete with seashells (that we later discovered were perhaps a little too sharp as Brian accidentally cut himself on one!). Their wedding was absolutely Guy and Lindsey! The men helped set up the chairs outside in front of the gazebo despite the warnings that light showers were expected. Guy and Lindsey had decided long ago that rain or shine they would be getting married outside! As the bridesmaids scattered to walk up the aisle, Lindsey and I were left alone. I looked at her and gently asked if she wanted to pray. Her eyes lit up and we shared a sweet moment of offering to God as we prayed for a few moments before her father came to get her.

Lindsey and Guy bless our socks off. They love one another. Brian and I have talked so many times about how privileged we feel to have met them, known them, and captured the celebration of their wedding.

.:for the love of all that is wonderful:.

There’s a scenario repeated in the Taulbee household at least a dozen times each day. For those of you who haven't spent much time with Brian and I, I will try to describe it in third person for you. It goes something like this:

Mallory is diligently working on something on the computer or elsewhere when she notices Brian staring at her out of the corner of her eye—he has a huge grin on his face. She slowly swivels her chair around and looks at him, working to hide a smile. There is a long pause as the two look at one another, he with a growing grin, she maintaining a half pursed smile. Mallory generally breaks the silence as she stares at Brian who still continues to grin as wide as he can, “Yes?” she asks slowly and purposefully. Brian then responds with something like, “You’re pretty,” or “You’re just so beautiful, I can’t stop staring at you,” or “You’re gorgeous!” Brian then somehow manages to place an even bigger grin on his face, one that notes that he is proud of himself. Mallory then usually shakes her head, rolls her eyes slightly, and smiles. Sometimes she tries to say something deflecting or witty, sometimes she rewards him with a kiss, but often she just smiles and simply turns around to continue working on whatever it was she was working on when Brian interrupted her with his looks of awe.

Today Brian and I were perusing a local hardware store after our Chinese dinner. We haven’t had Chinese nor eaten out for a very long time so it was a treat for both of us. (Thanks, Mom, for giving us this for Easter!) On a side note, Brian is still amused at my womanly need to browse without purchasing anything. I tell him it’s part of my inspiration as an artist. I need to see what’s in the world, the possibilities, and then draw my creativity in part from that. New things spark new ideas.

Back to the Chinese. We’ve had a history of having some of our most profound and deep revelations while sharing good, half-cold Chinese buffet (maybe it’s the MSG overload?). Though tonight’s revelations weren’t profound, they were good.

A man I do not know personally but whose heart and character I deeply admire (some of you are familiar with John Piper) recently decided to take a leave of absence from all public speaking/duties/jobs/books/etc. He’s a rather important man in the life of contemporary evangelicals so the fact that he’s taking a leave of absence has created quite a buzz. The reason, you ask? Adultery? Lust? Alcoholism? Some other dirty scandal in the church? Thankfully, no. It appears that his leave of absence is due in large part to the fact that this important man has decided that he needs to learn to love his wife better. They’ve been married for 41 years but he still won't settle with a mediocre marriage. What a man!

As I was reading some of the blog commentaries and thoughts, I came across a list someone somewhere wrote out. The blogger realized that he himself had become too wrapped up in his work and the "things of God" and needed to learn to love his wife, too. He wrote out a list of questions to ask her that would, hopefully, lead to revelation of deep things and perhaps uncover wounds in his wife's heart he never knew were there. So Brian and I, over our partially cold and dried out Chinese buffet, went through this list of questions. The questions are simple but have potential to bring so much reconciliation and redemption when asked and answered thoughtfully. So much so that I felt it important to share them (or, well, a partially edited version censored for the innocents and unmarrieds) for those of us who realize that there is always room to improve and always a way to love and serve our spouse more:

Questions to get to know her better
1. What are some ways that I can demonstrate my love to you in a meaningful way?
2. When do you feel most appreciated?
3. How do I make you feel emotionally distant?
4. How can I pray for you?
5. How can I help you to know God better?
6. In what ways have I sinned against you?
7. What would help you to be more satisfied emotionally & physically?
8. How could I help us to reconcile our misunderstandings better?
9. In what ways could I help relieve physical stress?
10. What is one way I could tangibly serve you?

So in the middle of this mostly empty Chinese restaurant as Brian and I asked and answered these questions of one another I was struck again at how incredibly blessed I am. Thankfully, these questions didn’t bring up for us a myriad of issues that have been buried or almost forgotten and are painful to the touch, but served instead as reminders of how great it is to walk through life with another and give your life to them. There were parts of previous relationships in which if I had gone through this list of questions it would have undoubtedly provoked a crying/shouting match that could have lasted for days.

Over our cold Chinese I reminisced about all of the young men I have admired and had crushes on over the years. I listed my old dream guy out to Brian and reminded him (and we laughed about it) that he somehow fits little to none of my former criterion of who would make my perfect husband. However, the realization I came to over my dinner tonight though was that the list I had made and agonized over so long ago only focused on deeds and not really on heart. I realized that the “perfect man” I had put together so many years ago would never have loved me the way I wanted him to because he would have been way too busy and stubborn. He would never have treated me the way I needed him to. He would never have appreciated me the way I need to be appreciated.

That’s the beauty and charm of Brian. He loves me in ways I don’t even know yet that I need to be loved in. He is my biggest cheerleader. He is my encourager extraordinaire. He bends over backwards each day to find out what he can do to serve me better. He never yells, never sets out to hurt me, is always gentle, is always kind, always hopes the best of me, forgives my wrongdoings, forgets my faults… and yet still knows exactly who I am and loves every part of me. Despite the fact that my dear, brilliant husband doesn’t have a prominent position at Fortune 500 company, can't teach to save his life (I always wanted to marry a Bible study leader), refuses still to sing in front of an audience (I had my eye on a few worship leaders...), hasn’t written influential books, still forgets that I like surprises, takes four hours instead of 20 minutes to wash dishes by hand, and generally appears rather quiet and aloof when you meet him in a group of people he will likely never have to take a leave of absence from his job to learn how to better love me. He won’t have 41 years of marriage pass him by to realize he hasn’t been listening for my needs because he asks me every day. He has shown me, already, in our almost three years of marriage that no job or task is more important than I am. And if the job is threatening to come between him loving me and serving me in a way that makes me feel special, he decided long ago that it wasn't worth it.

He loves me. He loves this short, bossy, stubborn, sass-mouthed little girl. I still don't get it, but it's an amazing gift of mercy. I am blessed.





If I speak with human eloquence and angelic ecstasy but don’t love, I’m nothing but the creaking of a rusty gate. If I speak God’s Word with power, revealing all his mysteries and making everything plain as day, and if I have faith that says to a mountain, “Jump,” and it jumps, but I don’t love, I’m nothing. If I give everything I own to the poor and even go to the stake to be burned as a martyr, but I don’t love, I’ve gotten nowhere. So, no matter what I say, what I believe, and what I do, I’m bankrupt without love.

Love never gives up. Love cares more for others than for self. Love doesn’t want what it doesn’t have. Love doesn’t strut, doesn’t have a swelled head, doesn’t force itself on others, isn’t always “me first,” doesn’t fly off the handle, doesn’t keep score of the sins of others, doesn’t revel when others grovel, takes pleasure in the flowering of truth, puts up with anything, trusts God always, always looks for the best, never looks back, but keeps going to the end.

Love never dies. 1 Corinthians 13:1-8

If we only knew...

.:un bebe:.

In a conversation with my dear mother today she made it abundantly clear that she was sad that I had not posted for so long. I have folders on my desktop with beautiful photos of amazing people ready to be blogged but I keep getting distracted! So, this blog is for my mother. And, of course for Erica, Pablo, Lucas, and all of their dear friends and family who have been waiting so patiently for Lucas!

Pablo and Erica met many years ago in the mountains of Colorado--a place where both of them were foreigners. The Lord put the two of them together in a way and a time in which neither of them expected and they fell in love. Their whirlwind courtship ended in marriage less than a year after they met. Dear Erica, who was one of the few who wasn't learning Spanish in the group of girls we hung around, was an adament speaker of German. How like the Lord to send her of all persons a Latin man!

Pablo and Erica have now been married for almost two years now. They've left children up to the Lord and so were delighted after a year into their marriage when they found out that Erica was expecting. Baby Lucas Juan will most definitely be an evangelist with a name like his!

Funnily enough, Erica and I had been working on scheduling maternity photos for her for several weeks. After several schedule and weather conflicts we finally settled on last Tuesday afternoon for the photos but lo and behold, I got a message from Erica the morning of our scheduled photoshoot that she was in labor!

So instead of "baby bump" photos we now have Lucas himself at day 7! I had forgotten how precious newborns are. I love the feel of their skin and all of the new imperfections that surface so quickly! The little zits, the peeling skin, the red splotches... everything that makes new parents call their doctors in a panic asking if what they're seeing growing on their baby is indeed normal. I love their little fingernails and their tiny wrinkly toes. The way so many of their faces look like little gnomes with wisdom beyond their years.

It's safe to say that Erica and Pablo are getting used to this new schedule of no sleep. They decided after the first rough trimester with Lucas that they aren't so sure they want another one. (But just between you and me, we all know that they'll have another. Theresa, Erica's mother, promises she'll convince them. Lucas is way too precious not to win their hearts enough to prompt another little one!)

Thank you, Erica y Pablo for welcoming us into your home and letting us take pictures of this little bitty one! Thank you, Lucas, for inspiring me. You'll thank your parents some day when you're old that they let me take pictures of your little bitty body in the buff. And thank you, Lucas, for making me feel special by not peeing on me when your little diaper was removed.

Umbilical cords!

I know this photo is partially blown but there's something so magnificent about Lucas in this photo. I couldn't bring myself to deleting it. It's that stillness and solitude of a baby asleep that makes us believe for a moment that all is well in the world.

I love photographing Erica. She has this beautiful face that is so timeless. I've always thought she looked so classically beatiful but when she was cradling Lucas and fixing his tiny hands and the light was streaming in she looked so much like a photo of Madonna and child.

Proud Papa! Erica y Pablo han decedio que Pablo solo hablar con Lucas en Espanol para que Lucas puede hacer bilingual! (Pablo, como estaba mi espanol?)




We were all admiring how adorable Lucas was when Brian broke our sighs of admiration with, "He sure does look a lot like a rotisserie chicken." Thanks, Brian.

I will end this post with what Pablo may call "behind the scenes" photos. I would call them outtakes. When I told Pablo to kiss Lucas you'll see what he did first and then second. Then you'll see that Lucas takes his cues from his papa, even at seven days. Check out his face in the last one. = )






Don't you just love babies?