Last year I decided to create my own Christmas tradition by taking a self portrait wherever I am on Christmas Eve. This year I was able to spend Christmas eve with my family at home on the farm.
Read MoreHayden and Madison
I don't think I can tell you when I became friends with Madison, we sort have always been friends. That's the kind of person she is: a friend to anyone and everyone. She has a rare gift to make you feel wanted and comfortable right away. So when I heard that she was dating a guy named Hayden I was immediately apprehensive. But I thought to myself, if Madison thinks this guy is someone special, then he must be.
Read MoreWeston and Peyton
I had never done an engagement session out at Camp Tahkodah until this one with Weston and Peyton. Now that I think about it, that's sort of odd because Camp is such a special place for me. It's where I went for a two-week summer camp session right after I got my first point-and-shoot camera, after all.
Read MoreThe Ozarks
I think a lot of people assume they know everything about Arkansas based on the one hundred mile span of rice fields between Memphis and the central region of the state. I myself have even been guilty of calling it "flyover country" and ugly. But though it may not be the most interesting of terrain, I do think it has a certain beauty within it. There is beauty in everything, after all. But I'm not writing about rice patties, let's save that for a rainy day.
Last weekend I took a trip up to the northwest corner of Arkansas to visit some friends (and get out of Searcy). We decided to drive to Whitaker Point inside the Hawkbill Crag. I've always wanted to go, it's the most photographed location in the state. After driving up practically a sheer cliff and hiking for forty minutes, we finally made it.
It was exactly what I was expecting while at the same time being completely opposite. I knew what it was going to look like because of the countless pictures I've seen of it but I was still surprised. Most bluffs and cliffs have vantage points that can see for miles and miles. Whitaker Point was different. The cliff jutted its rocky arm out from the mountain so far into the valley it's as if you could reach out and touch the other side. Standing at the edge, I was completely surrounded by mountains, suspended within a bowl blanketed with green. The Buffalo River rushed through the valley below.
Standing on that cliff looking over the valley, I was in the middle what makes Arkansas so amazing. Rugged nature unmoved by man is at the heart of The Natural State. And it's what makes Arkansas so unique.
I recently started reading Travels with Charley In Search of America by John Steinbeck. In it, Steinbeck sets out of a grand journey across the entire contiguous United States from Maine to Southern California. He begins this journey to rediscover the country he spent his entire life writing about. He wanted to relearn the heart of America.
In the same way I think this trip out into the woodlands of Arkansas is my own mini version of what Steinbeck did. Though I didn't cross an entire continent, I did rediscover the place I call home.
Here are a few pictures from our little adventure.
“We find after years of struggle that we do not take a trip; a trip takes us.”
Ciao for now,
Trey and Kaleigh
It was no surprise when Trey and Kaleigh asked me to take their engagement pictures. I mean, Trey has been telling me I would for I think as long as I've known him. Since freshman year of college these two have been a constant source of encouragement and love to not only myself but to so many others. In fact, I'm not sure I've ever met two more joyful people.
Regardless of what sort of day they've had personally, it is always their mission to make yours better. Trey is not satisfied with your current state unless you're laughing and Kaleigh has an ability to sense when something is truly troubling you then does not rest until it is remedied. Both have a genuine heart filled with so much love they can't help but share it.
I am thankful every day that they are a part of my story and it is a true honor to be a part of theirs.
Below are few of my favorites from our time spent together.
