Stacey is a dear friend with a sweet husband and an adorable daughter, as you can see.

Stacey and I were photographing a wedding in Chapel Hill together.  We took a few minutes while all guests were dining to take advantage of her family being guests at this particular wedding.

Daughters and Dads are so special, and these two are NO exception!

It was a wedding after all, why not celebrate mom and dad’s love….it is amazing how delighted children by genuine love especially when it is shared by their own mom and dad….no better sense of family, right?

Thanks Stacey and Paul for letting me be with you for that few minutes together!

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Here are some of our favorite images from a recent session in one of our favorite locations in Raleigh.

I wish I would have taken more images of my children when they were young, together, hugging each other, because now as they have grown I see more of the wrestling and less affectionate personal expressions with each other. It is a joy for me to get to record images of young children holding each other while they are still young and less competitive.  These two little boys are simply a delight.

and the rest of my favorite images from this family portrait session in Raleigh

Thank you for sharing your family with us!

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Families are so much fun to work with!  Family Photography is one of the most rewarding types of Portrait work for me as a photographer in Raleigh, so close to our Wake Forest families. We get to take a group to a location we know has great light or they get to pick an location they value and hold dear.  Then we get to work together to come up with images which show their love and care for one another in one moment in time.  These images from that moment become treasured heirlooms over time everyone remembers that day or that time in their lives together, which we all know ends way too soon!

We at Sue Rakes Photography are doing something new and exciting with our family photography.  We are finding locations our clients wish to have presented in their wall portraits hanging above their fireplace or anywhere else in their home to celebrate their love with each other!  This lovely group chose our very own Stone Falls location which thrilled me!  We all spent about one and half hours playing near the creek, walking on the trail next to the lake and discovering little creatures along the way.  Fall color and leaves add to the experience for everyone.

We want to make our photography sessions fun!  We really want the kids to remember the experience, not just the picture-taking part.  And we want to see these wonderful little souls again and play with them…..it would kill us to think that they dreaded going to sit in front of the photographer again.  ug.  We get much more natural and memorable expressions this way, out of the studio and back into nature.

Thank yous go out to Jennifer.  Thank you for sharing your beautiful children with us once again!   You guys are the best!

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This Bridge is amazing as it is 2nd highest (in US) and 2nd longest (worldwide). 

Bridge Day celebrates this wonder which spans across the New River Gorge (which originates in NC) . 

 Watching the jumpers was fascinating and kept us watching for hours! 

There were all kinds!  Some jumpers dressed up as Spiderman, wore their diving gear, jumped as a father/son team, and some were first-time BASE jumping. 

PLEASE click here to see slide show of the entire event including the “taste of Fayetteville” the night before. 

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Here is a great picture of most of the crew who rode together

I am so glad I said “yes” and planned months ahead for this event. Here are a few trail pictures

This is a truly beautiful area

what great kids

The Virginia Creeper Trail is located near the borders of Va, NC, and Tn. It is an old railroad run that has been made into a trail and bike and horse path. Here is more info and cool history about it. The trail runs from Damascus to Abingdon and much of what we rode was downhill.

What a blast! I had my youngest in a trailor behind my bike, my 9 year old had NO problem with 16 miles and my 12 year old was minutes ahead of me with his pals the entire day.

 

This is such a gorgeous place as it is so far away from development and gives one the sense of older days (hence the cool looking effect of most images).

The National Park Service and a combination of several other organizations have preserved several of the old train depots. This is one of them.

 

Of course we got a rain-drenching while on the trail. I have never, in all of my life, experienced a Memorial Day without rain. As a child I remember many a parade I was marching in as it poured. What would Memorial Day be without Spring showers. Well, on an old train track path it is a gritty, dirty experience. Boy, did we feel as though we had worked!

And, how nice it is to take a break from the trail of rain and eat with friends under the cover of a roof.

What a great adventure and what great company we had!

We camped the full holiday weekend HERE with new friends and their families. I am a big camper, but usually dread seeing a group descend upon a campground. This time I was one of the “evil-doers”. Not really, as we camped on the ridge overlooking the entire place, disturbing few (as the groups always think, i bet).

Anyway, I will return this Fall with my family and will likely go here, yearly…what a fantastic place!

 

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It is always easy to photograph folks who have fun and enjoy each other!

Shannon and Scott are getting married in a few weeks. Yes, Shannon!

We had an extraordinary time at the Outer Banks in NC, near Nags Head, in Corolla, with an Engagement Session. It is always fun to photograph two wonderful folks who are in love!  It is fun to get to begin to learn more about the couple I am preparing to work with for a full day on their upcoming wedding day.

Shannon loved these images so much that is was too hard for her to pick out one or two. So, I came up with a way to give them all of their favorites. We designed a lovely album for them to have guests sign and personalize with comments.  It is called a Signature Album which the bride and groom can have as a memory of their Engagement Session along with signatures and comments from guests attending their wedding ceremony and reception. This album was presented at the Hudson Manor reception for everyone to enjoy and participate in. It was a big hit! And Scott and Shannon will be able to always remember their special time together celebrating their love for one another. How cool is that?

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What a great guy! This wonderful young man, Master Jeong, is now at our Do Jahn inspiring all students to be their best. His smile is infectious, don’t you think?!

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Everything was staged in front of the Performing Arts Center. The weather has been so pleasant for the last few weeks that it has not felt like the dreaded dog days of August for me….so going downtown this weekend was not out of the question.

I met up with David who then interviewed the organizer who was lovely and full of spirit. I soon discovered why.

We were escorted into the Architects of Air exhibit which was run by Art on the Edge (who had funding from the Arts Council). This huge colorful, soft, womb-like journey into many chambers was out of this planet! I could have enjoyed its calming oddity for hours and spent quite a bit of time doing some people watching too. I bet it would have been neat at night too (I heard it had an entirely different feel at night from within).

After enjoying the exhibit for a bit we headed over to see the Swoon show near the fountain. TONS of people were gathered for the show. Some athletic wonders were atop at least 50 foot poles swaying and moving in a wonderfully choreographed dance-like show with great music. What fun! They were doll-like (resembling puppets) in their presentation.

There was quite a long line wrapped around the area for the exhibit and an amusing man was hired (I believe) to entertain the patient visitors. This man kept me watching for at least 30 minutes and I was not even in line, I was leaving. He had quite a show!

ART is such a great big word for me (nearly indefinable, except to say how I FEEL when I see or experience it in some format)….being a part of something this wonderful (and I only saw a few hours of a full weekend of fun) opens my heart and soul even more to new things and warm experiences. I am so grateful for the wonderful contributors, planners and artists who brought us joy for a few hours downtown this weekend. Thanks!

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