Kylee and I got together late in the day for her senior photos at the Thomas Center.  The light was low and warm and Kylee did a fantastic job.  She is incredibly driven and focused.  She knows where she wants to go in life and is willing to work hard to get there.  I thought I worked hard in high school, and she far exceeds what I did. Help me congratulate her and the class of 2015 as they graduate!

Interested in a session for yourself? Check out Courtney's session!

Watch for the next intro to SLR photography class on Saturday, July 18th!

  Spread the love! Share this on Facebook                                                                                           Who has two thumbs and some inbox love for you? THIS GIRL.

Ah, Pia and Tine.  I love them.  We met online during Business as an Artform in April as we all made some big breakthroughs and realizations for our businesses.  During the workshop, they invited me to visit them in Slovenia and do a Beloved session with them.  I warned them that they shouldn't invite me unless they really mean it, because I'll totally show up on their doorstep.  They said they meant it, so that is exactly what I did and in June (I brought along my brother and his girlfriend as well).  

When we arrived, we knew IMMEDIATELY that they were special people.  They were so warm and open... we instantly felt comfortable and as if we had known them forever.  

Pia and Tine are also photographers following the Beloved path, so they knew what they were getting into for this session, but they were still a little nervous going into the session (perhaps because they knew too well what they were in for!).  The session ended up being incredible - it was a celebration of their six-year wedding anniversary on the very spot that they were married.  The sky was bright and the leaves were glowing green for them.  

You can read about each of their perspectives on the Beloved session on their blog here and here.

It was truly an honor and such a deep pleasure to share a few days with these two open, kind, and generous people.  If you live in Europe, definitely give them a call to book a session or visit their website at www.beloveart.com.

Lastly, learn more about their personal project - Project Hope - here. The project focuses on bringing attention to infertility by celebrating the couples who have worked through it and now have a little one of their own.  Pia and Tine would like to photograph 50 couples from around the world within the next two years.  Please visit their site to learn more.

More love? Check out Kate & Dan's Beloved Session

Wanna see more from Europalooza 2012: Slovenia? I've gotcha covered!

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Wow.  It's been a long time since I've posted... I'm sorry guys!  

The last few weeks have been a bit unbalanced, but it seems that things are starting to fall back into place now.  We moved (and just finally got interenet connected yesterday, after 22 days, three tech visits to the house, and two different companies), I helped to throw a baby shower, I attended a funeral out of state, I changed phone service, I made some adjustments to the business, and still managed to put in 40 hours a week.  I still don't know where everything is here at the new place, but we like it.  We'll get it sorted out sooner or later!

My new phone number is 352-256-6842, so please be aware that the 585 number will be out of service shortly.

So!  Day Six - Slovenia.

I just love Slovenia.  Czech Repulic is always going to have the #1 spot in my heart, but Slovenia is running a close second.  The country is fairly small but has such a wide range of geographic variation, it's surprising.  Of course, Pia and Tine are pretty spectacular people, so that also helped!  We felt instantly welcomed and like we had been friends forever.  Ah!  So wonderful. :)

So we had spent the night of Day Five at Tine's Parents' house.  His mother is an architect and had designed their home.  We got up fairly early on the morning of Day Six and headed out the door.  Mike and Sam took the Panda to downtown Ljubljana and Tine and I picked up Pia from the salon - she had her makeup done that morning because we had a Beloved session planned!  I have a separate post planned that goes into detail about their session, but for now I'll include just one photograph.

After the session, we met back up with Mike and Sam.  I can't recall what they had planned for the morning, but whatever it was didn't really work out.  It might have been something related to retrieving Sam's bank card that was eaten at an ATM in Cerknice...  Anyway, we met up and headed over to a fantastic Spanish restaurant for lunch. It. Was. Amazing.  I had a seafood paella (complete with tiny octopii and other sea things) and we all ate waaaay to much.  I'm having vague recollections of sangria as well...

We went back to Pia's mother's house for a little rest (read: we were too full to move) and then decided to head up to the castle.  Pia wisely decided on a nap... we had worn her out, and it was 100F+ degrees.  Veeeery toasty, though not too unlike Florida.

We spent the afternoon at Ljubljana castle.  One of the rooms was being used for an art exhibition, so we spent a little time there.  We also wandered around a bit, visited the lovely little chapel, and went up the tower were Tine pointed out the landmarks of the city and different regions of the country.

We headed back to Cerknice to spend the night at Pia and Tine's house.  When we got there, we picked up Amos (their dog) and went to the 'disappearing lake'.  The lake is actually a section of a river that runs through the extensive underground cave system nearby.  As the water level of the river changes, the level of this lake changes.  It changes seasonally and also daily, it's really quite interesting.  Amos was happy to get out and run around, and did manage to spend a little time in the water.  By the time we got back for the night we were all exhausted from our two days, but I wouldn't trade it for anything.  It was such a pleasure to meet Pia and Tine in person and to visit their wonderful little country.  I highly recommend it if anyone is thinking of a trip.

Wanna check out Pia & Tine's Beloved Session?  It's right here.

More Europe?  I've got a drive through Palmanova, Italy up to Vienna lined up for you, or more from Slovenia.

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Sorry for the delay in the posting - there is a lot going on here between sessions, moving house, and a few other things going on.  I will probalby be posting sporadically for the next couple weeks as things start to settle into place. :)

So, Slovenia.  Slovenia is pretty incredible.  It is a small country that has an Eastern European influence in terms of architecture and language, but it definitely has some influence from two of its neighboring countries, Austria and Italy.  Part of the Alps run through the country, it has a little coastline on the Adriatic Sea, it has a lovely capital city, it has rolling countryside hills, and it has a karstic cave system.  I highly recommend visiting if you have the opportunity!

We ended up in Slovenia because I had met two photographers that are also part of the Beloved Collective during an intense, life-changing workshop online.  I mentioned to them that I'd be traveling to Europe this summer and they insisted that I visit them and have a shoot with them.  I couldn't possibly say no. :)  So our first day in Slovenia was a pretty intense 'tourist' day.  We visited a cave system at a UNESCO protected site, which was amazing.  It was seriously like the Mines of Moiria.  I have been in some cave systems here in Florida, but we just don't have the altitude variation that exists in other places to make it into a really dramatic experience.  At one point we were walking on a narrow bridge in the cave about 45m above the river with easily 100m of space above us up to the ceiling of the cave.  Really inredible.  

We weren't allowed to take pictures inside the caves, so I only have a few from outside.

After the cave, we stopped for lunch at a great little pub.  I had a dish that was part ravioli with a truffle-cream sauce (YUM) and part gnocchi with a creamy nettle sauce (also YUM).  From there we decided to take a drive down to Piran, a little historic town on the coast.  We strolled around there, went up to the castle, dipped our feet in the water, and had some gelato.  We drove into Ljubljana and spent the night at Tine's parents' house.

More Europe? See our first gelato in Italy or more from lovely Slovenia!

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