Due to my mystery health issue, I stepped out of weddings and out of business with my Kelsey. In doing so, we closed down the Studio K2 blog site and pointed that domain to Kelsey, who IS still doing weddings. That change means the Currins’ wedding blog post disappeared, so I decided last summer’s weddings needed to be shown again. Here is my side of the story (my view) from July 7, 2012. {Psssst: Here’s my view of their Rock the Dress session, too!}

In their own words -

How we met: (Prepare yourself for a not-so-romantic story) We met at a drinking establishment (I know, I know, but how often do those truly work out?!). I caught a glimpse of him from across the bar. His friend saw me looking at Jonathan and pointed me out to him, and we kept making eye contact. At the time, I was hanging out with a bunch of friends, many of them guys, so was certain he would not come over to my area to talk to me. So, I decided to order my next beverage near the area that he was standing. Sure enough, he came over and introduced himself to me (my diabolical plan worked!). We hit it off immediately, he got my number, and have not gone a day without talking since!

How he proposed: We planned a Eastern European Cruise with some friends last May. One of our ports was at the private island, Half Moon Cay. This was the most picturesque, idealistic island scenery you could imagine. White sands, bright turquoise water, and not a cloud in the sky. We got a cabana on the beach, relaxed, and swam in the ocean. Jonathan and his friend Josh disappeared for awhile, then appeared indicating that there was this beautiful trail that we had to walk down and take pictures of the beautiful scenery. We talked down the trail taking pictures along the way, when we came to this secluded lagoon with a deck protruding out into the water. The friend suggested that Jonathan and I walk to the end and they would get our picture. As I was admiring the scenery, he got done on his knees, and once I turned around he proposed! We were both tearing up with joy and embracing the entire day. This, was the first best day of my life (second only to the actual wedding day).

One piece of advice for couples: Kiss, hug, and say “I love you” every single day. I mean every single day! Since we reached that stage, we have not gone 1 day without saying and doing so, and never plan on it!

Vendors:
Flowers – Ambience Floral
Cake – Creative Cakes by Carol
DJ – Sensational Sounds
Make-up – Heidi Dial Esthetics
Hair – Sophia Alberico (family friend)
Rings – Samuel Jewelers
Dress – Danelle’s Bridal
Officiant – Merle Clowe (Jonathan’s co-worker)
Ceremony site – Fountain Valley School Chapel
Reception site – Springs Orleans
Wedding Coordinator – Brian & Brittnay Kohl
Transportation – A Ride in Luxury
Wedding Night Accommodations – The Broadmoor Hotel
AMAZING PHOTOGRAPHERS – Angela & Kelsey

I was really happy with all my vendors! I honestly do not think I have any complaints. They were all truly wonderful. I would have to say, and not just because I am writing you, but I think it would be you wonderful ladies who went above and beyond my expectations. I am most thankful for you! If I were to give another shout out, I would like to thank Shelby Pywell at Springs Orleans for making our reception spectacular and always available to address any questions or concerns.

I just love you two and am so thankful to have met you!

“A daughter is a day brightener and a heart warmer.” -Author Unknown

And this little guy? He’s just full of the adorable!

“Childhood is the most beautiful of all life’s seasons.” -Author Unknown

I’ve wavered back and forth on sharing this, and if so, how. Privately? Publicly? Ultimately, I’ve realized I just need to be upfront and myself, which means being human.

Since last October, I’ve been dealing with an unnamed/undiagnosed medical issue that has severely hampered my ability to BE a photographer. That is, I haven’t truly worked since October, when the Friday before my busiest week all year, my right hand simply went numb. Nothing I did can account for what happened, and I really thought it was some fluke “hey, you’re tired” kind of thing. As I worked my way through the following busy week with families and seniors, I quickly realized not only was my hand and arm going numb, but I was in pain. A lot of pain.

With a little grinning and bearing it, I pushed on, but ultimately, I wasn’t happy with the quality of my work, so I decided I needed to rest so whatever was happening would go away. (In case you’re worried, the Monday after it started, I saw a doctor, who quickly ruled out a stroke and other scary things.)

It did not go away and, in fact, it got worse, traveling throughout my body, with its main focus in my right arm and leg and in my back and shoulders. I saw a beautiful, wonderful chiropractor (who is also my friend), but though she brought me some relief in some ways, the pain and issue persisted. At times, my right hand would spontaneously drop whatever I was holding. Needless to say, I stopped holding babies for a while.

I’ve had good days, and I’ve had bad days. I have more bad days than good, unfortunately. But I’ve tried very hard to keep my chin up, to not give into despair, but the waiting for answers is hard. It took a long time to get an MRI, which revealed nothing, and for the last 3 months, I’ve been waiting for an opening at the neurology office, based on a referral from my medical coverage. This morning, after waking up in extreme pain and after suffering quite a bit for 15 minutes’ worth of picture-taking on Saturday, I called to check on my appointment (since it was supposed to be this month) and was told the waiting list had now been pushed back another 6 months.

GASP!

I’ve been working toward re-launching my business actively in May, assured that I’d have some relief in April. At this point, that doesn’t seem to be the case. I’m still in pain, I can’t take pictures longer than a couple of minutes before I begin shaking badly (not exactly conducive to good pictures), and I have no relief in sight. So, it is with a heavy heart that I announce that until further notice, I won’t be accepting sessions.

I am not giving up my business or photography as a whole, as I will not let go of hope. But I have spent a lot of time answering emails privately, fielding questions, trying to pretend I’m merely on a break. It’s been more stressful than it needs to be trying to hold on when there is currently no light at the end of the tunnel. So, dear friends, I felt it time to finally open up and share where I am.

I don’t know how long I will be closed to people photography. All I know is, I am not giving up hope that I will find healing and recovery. I know there will be a day when I look back on these days and am thankful for the lessons that came out of them. Until then, I will try to rest my body. And I will continue my pursuit of the arts in writing and in the pictures I can take in just a couple of minutes. But forgive me when they mostly come from my phone.

Thank you so much for being with me on this journey, and thank you for your prayers and support. I hope you’ll stay with me, but if you need pictures right away, please let me recommend some of my closest local TALENTED friends.

All my best,
Angela

(I will continue with art like this, much of which will be available for sale soon.)

To fill your heart with the happy, go watch little ones dance. They don’t care about perfection or what others are thinking about them. They only care about the joy. If only we could all remember to live like that.

Yes, Reason Girls, that just happened.

When you have worked with and become great friends with certain clients, you can arrive at a photo shoot and ask, “Which one of you thought 11:00 on a snowy day was a great idea?”

We’re talking BRIGHT sun reflecting the BRIGHT snow, and heaven help us, where is the open shade?

But the best part about a shoot in less-than-ideal lighting with women you adore is this: There will be laughing. Lots and lots of laughing. And someone might fall in the snow. Sure, I have pictures to prove who it was, but I’m still holding out for One.Million.Dollars. (Psssst…that deadline is coming up fast.)

As with the previous mother/daughter photo shoot, wherein the daughter was in town from college, the same was the case here. The youngest was in and this was the open time available for them all to be together. As always, we made it work!

Did I mention how we laughed?

Oh, and there was some laughing.

Little bit of sit-up-and-look-serious…

Followed by more laughing.

Honestly, I’m always torn between posed shots and the ones filled with laughter. There’s a quiet beauty, the mystery that is a woman, wrapped up in the smile and pose of each unique daughter and mother.

But I do love when women can totally let their guard down and have fun. So let’s just end with a little making-of-the-picture series.

Sisters…whatcha gonna do!?

Big thanks to my helper Cindy, without whom these girls might be blind. Because it was 11:00. In the winter. On a snowy day. And bright. In case I didn’t mention that already.

I love all three of you! You are the reason I wake up every day and sleep through the night…

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You see, almost every time we’re together, the weather does something to challenge us. Either it rains or the wind is a little overbearing or, as was the case this time, it was capital-F Freezing AND windy! I’m not talking, “Oh my, it’s a wee bit nippy out here.” No, it was miserable, and it was worse than that because the sun was shining and when the sun shines, we are DECEIVED by its shiny glory! If the sun is out, how can it possibly be SO COLD???

Anyway, this mother/daughter session with Jan and Aleta goes down in the record books as shortest session (of mine) ever, I’m sure of it.

I have always been and will always be a fan of the moments in between the posed shots. The little silly looks, the natural happiness.

Me: Hey, let’s pretend we’re not freezing!

Me: Hey, let’s pretend BETTER than that! (Notice Aleta’s balled fist. In a normal session, I’d notice and encourage her to relax. On this day? I was just hoping to get pictures in focus since I was shivering so much!)

Ah, such beautiful women…

Finally, who knows what brought out this kind of behavior in Jan. Where does it come from?

Oh. That’s right. Never mind.

Like mother, like daughter.

By the way, we ARE doing a Part Two very soon. We have all agreed that freezing temps mean a canceled session. Period.

During my time away, I’ve been reflecting on business and refocusing business and changing my business. Other than a slight logo change, you might not have noticed much else since I haven’t updated since the last post of that gorgeous baby boy. But much is changing and has changed already. Let’s bullet-point it:

• During my many years in business, photographing everything from military homecomings to weddings, I’ve had the honor of being part of many joyous and beautiful moments, which has also given me the chance to try on my creative hat in a variety of settings. In my time of “silence,” I was reminded that I can’t be all things to all people. I would rather be amazing and give more time and attention and quality to fewer areas than be good (but not amazing) in all areas. Focus focus focus (pun intended!).
• Announcing: I will now be specializing in children and families. When I got down to the most honest of questions with myself, I realized I am most in love with photography when I’m working with families. Whether I’m photographing a newborn, a live birth (oh yes, I will be offering those types of sessions in the future, though limited), chasing a toddler, focusing on the beauty of a senior daughter or on a handsome senior son (hey, I have one of those RIGHT NOW!), or in general making a fool of myself to get a whole family to look at me at the same time (not easy, not easy…the looking part, I mean. I’m very good at making a fool of myself.), I love every minute.
• Which leads to this: no more weddings. (Well, ONE more wedding, but they are family, so it doesn’t count. I mean, it counts, but…ok, never mind.) And that means what you might think it means — I’m no longer in business with the amazing, beautiful Kelsey Ann. I did not come to this decision easily. Much sleep was lost over the decision, but ultimately, I had to do what I had to do. Likewise, I no longer share studio space with her. Studio K2 is no more (or perhaps is no more as it originally was). Again, this decision was not an easy one, but it was one I made based on what I needed to do for me and mine. And though the decision was not easy, I’ve been at peace with it, and I’ve been able to sleep and move on. If you are in the market for a wedding photographer, then, please contact me and I will direct you accordingly.
• Because of the changes, I reorganized this blog to include only those posts that fit the area I’m now specializing in. All other posts — engagement, weddings, rock the dress, etc. — have been moved to a special archived section of this site. They can now be found at: http://archived.klockephotography.com Never mind. It’s all back here on this blog now, as previous clients were having a hard time finding their sessions. It’s all good, though, because I love all my work and all my clients!
• Starting April 5, I will be sending out a weekly update newsletter (short!) with what’s new and going on with Klocke Photography, my personal blog, and The Tiara Project. Each issue will also feature bonuses/gifts/whatever, only available to subscribers. You can join up here: http://eepurl.com/wjOhr (MailChimp link) If you’re not an email list kind of person but want to stay updated, here’s the RSS feed link: http://klockephotography.com/feed/
• In case you aren’t a follower of the Klocke Photography Facebook page, I invite you to join today. It is there that I post all first sneak peeks, random updates, and my current 365 Days of Beauty project (one image post a day, finding the beauty in each day). Come on over and join up!
• New portfolio site coming this week!

One final note:

• Collections and new session fee pricing is coming April 5, this Friday. If you are subscribed to the update list, a special bonus will be included, but it is ONLY available to subscribers.