A journey worth a thousand photographs

 

The journey begins...

 

 

As I set out on this journey- from Dallas to Raleigh, from success to ground zero- I find that I’m completely excited about what lies ahead. Everywhere I look is an opportunity. At every turn is a path to explore. Creativity has always filled my heart, and I have the rare opportunity to discover a path for my life and my passion that will not only pay the bills, but will help others, and bring joy to everyone around me. I have big plans. I just don’t know what they are yet.

 

The one thing I do know – I’ll learn all I can, and get some amazing images along the way.

www.ChristaDavidson.com

Amy and AJ

I know I’ve neglected the blog again… I promise I’m still here, and crazy busy. I have so much I’d like to share, and I’ll start with Amy and AJ. They are an amazing couple – so fun, and really beautiful. I tried to narrow down the favorites, but it was so hard! We had so much fun shooting, and you will definitely see some of these at the bridal show in January. Check it out…

Impromptu photos

Who says you can’t salvage a rainy day? When it rained all last week, and we couldn’t do outside photos, I turned my office into a great studio. I love the wall so much, you’ll probably see it again. I love the texture and the sparkle!

I love these cousins! Aren’t they sweet?

Christa Davidson Photography

Decisions to make

Ok, so there’s always this question about what’s too personal to put on a blog. Being professional is always important to me, but I get so close to my clients that I really want to be able to share some of the personal things going on in my life. So is there such a thing as too personal? Should I keep the blog only about the business (which, at 15 weddings a year, means not that many posts) or should I open it up to the things of my life, complete with antecdotes about my kids? Feel free to give your input, and in the meantime, I’ll leave you with this:

So, my son (who is 4)  has food allergies, and I’ve always tried to teach him what is safe and what is not, and that if he doesn’t know, he needs to ask before he tries it. So today, I bought a new treat for them – these mini peach pies, and my daughter (7) asked for one for dessert after dinner. This is the conversation that followed:

Drew: What is that?

Carlyn: Peach pie

Drew: Is it safe for me?

Carlyn: I don’t know.

Drew: I’ll go ask mommy.

Needless to say, I was so proud of him, that when he came in to ask me, I said “Yes, they’re safe, and of course you can have one.” It was a great day.

Lessons to be learned

I learn from just about everyone around me, or try to. There are lessons to be learned everywhere. Today, I saw an article about Annie Leibovitz, If you don’t know who she is, (where have you been?) she is one of the most sought after portrait photographers known. She is known for outrageous and lavish sets, off the wall props, and unique, high-profile imagery. One estimate I saw of her life’s work was $50 million.

The article talked about a $24 million loan that she took out in 2008 from a high-end lender (or loanshark, in my opinion) that is due September 8. If she does not pay it, she will lose her life’s work, plus her two NY homes. With all the creative talent, enormous reputation and prestige that we posess, it’s important to find someone that you trust to help you with the things that you can’t do. I really hope that if I ever try to make a deal that will jeopardize my entire life’s work, there will be someone there to tell me what a bad idea that is.

Not that I’m in any way like Annie Leibovitz, but I do love her work, and it saddens me to think that everything she has may soon belong to someone else. I can’t help but to put myself in her shoes. If I were in that situation, I would be profoundly sad, but I would also know that my family would stand by me, that my friends would comfort me, and most importantly, my God would see me through. Praise God for the things that this world can’t take away…

Christa Davidson Photography

Exciting news for food allergies

In his sweet four-year-old voice, my son asks “Is that safe for me, mommy?” It’s a common occurrence these days as he learns what he can and cannot eat due to his severe allergies to peanuts, tree nuts, and eggs. That question has changed the way we live; forever, I thought. But, I’ve been given hope by the prospect of a treatment for his allergies.  It has been elusive for such a long time, since there is no consistency to food allergies. No two people have the same reactions or the same sensitivity. There is no rhyme or reason to food allergies. But, the immunotherapy trial that Duke began almost three years ago has gone so well that our allergist, Dr. Scott Nash, who worked on the trials at Duke, will be offering the experimental treatment this fall. If you are unfamiliar with what they’ve been doing, or want more information, check these out.

 

Beating Peanut Allergies: Oral Immunotherapy May Desensitize Allergic Children; Skin Test May Predict Who Will Outgrow (CBS News)

Food Allergies: Treatment or Cure? Oral Immunotherapy Offers Hope for a Cure

Food Allergy: Staying safe and looking ahead, presented at the AAAAI Annual Meeting in San Diego, CA

Eating A Peck Of Dirt…

 

 

Christa Davidson Photography

Fashion shoot in Raleigh

I had the privilege of shooting one of my favorite models in downtown Raleigh recently. We had a great time shooting on the railroad tracks, under this great bridge, and even on the roof of Solas, this amazing restaurant that you really should try if you get the chance. Here are a few of my favorites, and believe me, it was hard to pick.

 

Flashes of Hope

Here are a few photos from the April session of Flashes of Hope. These kids are so amazing. They are a symbol of hope, strength and resilience. Each one of these kids is fighting a life-threatening illness, and you would never know by the smiles on their faces. They are all such beautiful people, inside and out, and I was honored to be able to capture that beautiful spirit for a fleeting moment.

 

Christa Davidson Photography

Wedding Show in January

Ok, so here’s the deal: Being new here, it’s taking a while to get to know everyone. And, while I’m having a great time, I need to be talking to more brides. The solution? The big January wedding show. On January 2&3, 2010, I’ll have a booth at the Wedding show at the NC State Fairgrounds. I hear it’s just huge, and there will be a ton of people. So, now the fun stuff begins. I’m designing a booth! If you have any suggestions, I’m all ears!

Pray for me – I’m sure that I don’t know what I’m getting myself into…

Real beauty, this time on Elle

Dove makes a definite effort to portray “real” beauty. In this age of photoshop, have we lost the sense of real beauty to the point that it’s unrecognizable? It’s no secret in the fashion world that photoshop is not only common, but expected. In fact, I’ve even heard of celebrities who got very upset because they were not retouched enough. So, in the constant effort to sell magazines, French Elle decides to put 8 stars on the covers without makeup or photoshop. It’s a good move, as more and more people are embracing “real” beauty, and it’s a great chance to show everyone that beautiful people don’t need makeup and photoshop to be beautiful.  The photography is very well done, the lighting is amazing, and let’s not forget these are exquisitely beautiful women. These are beautiful covers, and I applaud French Elle for putting this out there. I hope they sell a ton of magazines, and do it again.

DC cherry blossoms

We had a quick, but amazing trip to DC for the peak of the tidal basin cherry blossoms. Sunday was my “big” day, and I made it to the basin for sunrise and spent the rest of the day walking and shooting. My favorite time was at lunch when we spread out a blanket with a picnic lunch under the blossoms. I really enjoyed that time with my loving husband and sweet, sweet kids. It’s that precious moment that you can’t catch in a photograph, but will live for a very long time in my heart. I still don’t know what images I ended up with, but at my initial skim through the images, these stood out as definite faves. 

This is one of the less common cherry varieties, but I thought it was beautiful.

This was the view from our picnic blanket on Sunday.

A beautiful sunrise shot on the basin.

This is probably my favorite so far. Early morning sunrise on the basin behind a strange and beautiful cherry tree.

Christa Davidson Photography