The Barnes Family

I got the pleasure of making a trip to Ohio over St. Patrick's day. 

The first thing I hear when I tell people that is "What on earth is in Ohio?"

Well let me tell you. 

Josiah and I have dear friends in Ohio, Ryan and Martha You might remember seeing their wedding photos back in November of 2009. Anyways, this lovely lady is Martha's sister, Margret. And the other happy faces in these photos are her husband, Dan, and their adorable munchkin, Lila. When Margret heard that we were headed back that way for a visit, she was quick to book a family portrait session :)

So we got to spend an overcast afternoon roaming through the Chardon square - playing on playgrounds and exploring back alleys. Even though Lila wasn't exactly the cheeseball-child I'm used to shooting, we managed to squeeze a few smiles out of her. 

Enjoy!

 Lila is in love with Martha's dog, Oscar... so he got to guest star in a few photos :)

It started to rain at the very end of our session...

... so dancing in the rain was definitely in order.

Lila expressed her love for the word "No" for the majority of the session... which ended in quite a number of photos looking like this one. I'm sure she'll be so grateful when she's older :)

Ryan + Martha [Chardon, OH]

It's been almost 3 years since I first met Martha in musty common room at the YWAM base in Closkelt, Northern Ireland. She brought her prospective "boyfriend" to my wedding in the Summer of last year... and he immediately fell right into place with our group of misfits. It wasn't long before they were engaged... and planning their wedding on my 21st birthday.

The list of things that made this one of the best weddings ever is neverending... but I'll try to give you just a little glimpse of the glory:

* i got to be an honorary bridesmaid / photographer.

* Chucks

* it WASN'T raining, despite the weather report

* dance party most definitely made top 3

* 21st birthay on the 21st with lots of my favorite people

* etcetera, etcetera, etcetera....