I have always loved the magic of Disney. There is just unmatchable magic and happiness associated with anything having to do with a pair of Mickey ears. When Julie extended the invitation to some sail with her on the Disney Dream and sneak in a once-in-a-lifetime photoshoot on the boat, my photographer dreams became reality.
Some of the famous ‘media shoot’ locations on board are next to the red funnels!
A princess overlooking her kingdom!
Life through a porthole
Officer life is the best life!
Officer Julie and Captain Donald!
Castaway Cay, Disney’s private island, is a photographer’s paradise. Shooting beside the turquoise waters and the white beaches is a postcard perfect background!
#islandlife
Rose gold Ears, blue waters and white sandy beaches
Disney Dream
Before we sailed, I found the picture on the left, and said it was the one picture that I wanted to recreate. It was everything I wanted it to be!
Disney is the only cruise line to celebrate every cruise with fireworks at sea
After a cruise at sea with my new friends, I keep asking myself “when can we do this again?!”
I love taking time every January to look back at the year before, go back through the thousands of pictures the last 12 months have produced, re-live memories I may have forgotten about, think about all the clients that meant so much to me, all the amazing opportunities I had to capture memories here in Branson, Arkansas, Kansas City, South Beach, Peru…it was a year of LOTS of miles under car miles and airplane wings! Let’s take a trip back through 2019…
January
January was a month 60 degree weather, sunsets…and 1 snow storm. I got to shoot at the lake at sunset the 2nd week of January and didn’t freeze my butt off. We shot downtown with B-Town Threads for the launch of their spring line and were only slightly chilly in t-shirts. 96 Miles and I had a great time shooting inside Fritz’s Adventure, their love AND talent are two things I’m super envious of! Cat and I spent 15 minutes in the ONE snow storm of the winter and thought we were going to freeze to death. The Blackwood kids and I braved the cold AND the rain to shoot some promo pics for their grandparents to use as marketing material. Moral of the story, you never know what weather January in Branson will send you…so you work with it! January also always gets me excited about the rest of the year and gives me chance to try new techniques and ideas!
March was the month of weddings (from the photographer who doesn’t do weddings!) It also marked the start of Senior Season with my shoot with Grace that I LOVED! There’s never a bad night at the Branson Ferris Wheel (hollow foggy nights!), more shoots with B-Town Threads, a trip to Miami, Oklahoma with the Massengale family and opening shows on the Showboat Branson Belle! Hello, full swing of the 2019 season!
April
Alllllllll the spring sessions happen in April!! Princess sessions with Everlee, birthday sessions with the Edmonson family, B-Town shoots with Emily and Cat, Bark for Life with Diskey the Wonder Dog, Chiefs sessions with Melody and Billy, Dogwood Canyon during peak dogwood season and the spring musical Peter and the Star Catcher at Parkview High School!
May
May saw maternity sessions, proposals, engagements and Silver Dollar City back in full swing! Sweet Ryker made his entrance into the world just a week or two after we got to do his mama’s maternity session (so glad he waited!) Brandon proposed to Kelsie on the showboat (total surprise) and we got to do their engagement session that same week before he went back to South Africa. I got to sing along with 50s music at Hot Rods and High Heels and my favorite 90s Country tunes with Diamond Rio at Silver Dollar City Country Nights.
June
Sunset flights with Chopper Charter, family sessions in Kansas City AND Branson, Lady Gaga at Legends in Concert, Snow White and The Little Mermaid came out to play at the lake, yoga sessions in Arkansas and crepes at the Ferris Wheel. Summer is in full swing!!
July
Extended family sessions at golden hour, maternity sessions in a field behind a bank (hey, don’t judge locations until you’ve shot there!), family sessions and engagements at Table Rock Lake (they looked at me funny when I asked if they wanted to jump in the lake, but they were all for it!), Kansas City trips for family sessions with some of my long-time forever clients, and SUP yoga sessions at sunset. All the summer feels!
August
Dogwood Canyon sessions with families AND the animals (check out the buffalo and the long horns!!!), Mom and Me shoots at Expresso with two of my favorite models, SIX show and celebrating another year with Terry Wayne’s variety show. I got to meet Doug the Irish Terrier (who loves Expresso as much as I do!), and love and kisses under the lights at wedding receptions.
September
September was a month of never slowing down, barely breathing and soaking in every single moment. I made some of my biggest photography dreams come true getting to shoot at Wonders of Wildlife ( THE PENGUINS!). I got to celebrate with some of my favorite Branson families and help announce a little sister coming in 2020. I got to shoot at a Dierks Bently concert and capture the magic of the #1 Hits of the 60s Show as well as Pumpkin Nights at Silver Dollar City. I capped the month with a mission trip to Peru and got to capture pictures in places I never imagined!
October
October…the month for photographers that’s comparable to April for tax accountants. So much love, so many smiles, so many memories, so many sessions! Kansas City, Big Cedar, Branson…a wedding; newborns; seniors; All. The. Dogs.; families and hayrides. I love EVERYTHING about this season!
More families and senior sessions, sunsets, shooting for Shoji Tabuchi, the Oak Ridge Boys, and getting to celebrate a new coffee shop (Finley Farms is definitely a new favorite!).
Remembering October wouldn’t be complete without remembering the epic proposal I got to help with at Gaston’s Resort. Faking a stolen plane, a proposal on the runway and a helicopter flight home…Michael pulled out all the stops…and I am SO excited for this couple to celebrate forever together!
November
Hello Christmas card season! I LOVE this time of year getting to capture magic for everyone’s Christmas cards!! I got to help celebrate engagements, newborns, Christmas shows, fall theater productions and of course one of my favorite trips of the whole year to It Factor Live. I got to offer lifestyle sessions to all the VIP mastermind attendees at the conference as well as update Brad and Casey’s portfolio as well!
December
I was so thankful this December to purposefully get to take some time and enjoy the Christmas season and all the magic that goes with it this year. Magical nights at Silver Dollar City and Christmas parties with some of my favorite medical staff. I also got to help welcome in the new K9 officer to the Branson PD. And my favorite way to celebrate the end of the decade and the beginning of a new decade, ringing in the New Year with my friends and the crew at the Clay Cooper Theater with the biggest balloon drop in town! Here’s to 2020!
And that’s the year in a VERY short and abbreviated way! Every year I ask myself…could the upcoming year be as full of as many adventures, opportunities and excitement? And every year…the answer has been yes. I can’t wait to celebrate 2020, capture events, memories and all the excitement this year has in store!
All the catching-up happening over here! And re-visiting some of the awesome shoots and opportunities I’ve had this spring! This trip to Miami, OK was one of my favorites! Getting to shoot for one of the most talented families I know, in one of the coolest theaters I’ve gotten to shoot in!
The Coleman Theater opened in 1929 and with a full house, seats 1,600 people. It is the home to the “Mighty Wurlitzer” pipe organ, and one of the most popular events at the theater is the showing of silent movies with soundtrack and sound effects played on the Mighty Wurlitzer!
Melody Hart is one of the most talented fiddle players in the Ozarks. She’s not only talented on stage, but fun, outgoing and kind off stage! She stars in multiple stage shows in Branson, MO as well as Branson Country USA which is seen is million of homes every week. She also tours with her talented husband Wayne, her talented boys Dillon and Garret and her talented band!
Getting to travel to new towns, new theaters, and new locations, especially towns and venues with historical stories behind them are one of my favorite parts of photography! Miami, OK and Route 66 are filled with historical treasures and stories to tell!
TGC Photography 