Click HERE for the slideshow.

My day started with the guys at Mimi’s Salon for pedicures. Bill surprised the men with the pedicures… they all admitted that it felt great and they might actually do it again sometime :) Then it was off to my favorite salon… Hair a go go. Then to Pot Point. Thanks for having me part of your day guys!

Vendors:
Dress: Monica’s
Cake and Catering: 212 Market
Flowers: Avery Patten
Music: Joe Decosimo and friends
Venues: Hair a go*go, Pot Point Cabin

Click HERE for the slideshow.

Erin’s Mom came to help for the first week… Thank God she did too. I am not sure we would have made it without her. We continued to lay him in the sun to help with the jaundice. We took him to the pediatrician and he had a great report. Then near the end of the first week he started throwing up… sometimes with a very concerning hue to it. So we took him to the emergency room where they mis-weighed him and cause quite the stir (they thought he had lost a whole pound in a couple days). So they took x-rays to be sure he was not obstructed and we spent the better part of the evening in the ER. His doctor suggested we get and Upper GI for him to be sure of the problem and to rule out any of the really bad stuff. We got it and found out he has a pretty active reflux condition. Very common but not that fun nonetheless.

Then a few weeks passed fairly uneventful. We got him in the stroller and took walks up and down the street. We made a couple quick trips to the store here and there. We chased roosters around the yard. You know all the normal stuff you do with a newborn. In early October, my friend Alison from Nashville came down to help me shoot a wedding and she took some beautiful pictures of us here at the house. Then Erin’s sister Sarah paid a visit.

Not too much happened out of the ordinary since then. Take out meals. Lots of diaper changing. Cat naps through the night. I am sure I am missing some big points… It is rather late and I have been up a long time. So I am going to end with this thought I had just earlier today.

Willem was born just 6 short weeks ago and he has been an incredible joy that words cannot express. He has made us truly understand unconditional love in a way that I never thought possible before. I was telling someone that even in the middle of the night when I would much rather be sleeping… while changing his VERY dirty diaper that ended up creating quite a mess… with him screaming, bright red faced because he is so mad… I just looked at him and could do nothing but smile and think how much I love him. In the middle of all that somehow I really think I understand a small part of what it means when the Bible says we are created in God’s image. The love for his children is greater than ours I am sure and I really cant image loving Willem any more than I do.

I want to stop and make a couple thank yous before I get to the pics. I want to thank our friends and family who prayed for us and for Willem through out Erin’s pregnancy and beyond. You mean more to us than you will ever know. Our dear friends Kristen and Paul who threw us one of the best showers I can imagine. They also wrote a song especially for Willem that is just amazing. It is the music for the slideshow :) I want to thank Rhon Logan for sending us such beautiful flowers. The doctors that were responsible for Erin and Willem’s care… None of this would have been possible without you. The staff at Women’s East for helping us with everything… you all were amazing. The ladies of our church’s mom’s group who brought us warm home cooked meals! Alison for some incredible family pictures (some of which are in the slideshow). Everyone who sent cards, wishes, gifts and much more. We love you all and thank you! Most of all we just stand in awe of God for this great blessing and we pray that he will continue to give us wisdom and grace to raise this child in his way.

THIS SLIDESHOW is pics from his first 6 weeks from birth through tonight. There are a bunch of pictures we wanted to put in that just couldn’t fit so if you want to see more please go to my flickr.com page www.flickr.com/photos/mdunmore and mark me as a contact so you can see the pictures.

Click HERE for the slideshow.

Canine Creativity Class

When I found my dog, she’d been badly abused. I was walking on a gravel road, and she was watching me from a mound of dirt in an old churchyard where she’d been dumped.

She started to follow me.

Each time I turned around, she’d stop dead in her tracks.

When I tried to walk towards her, she’d tuck her tail under her butt and slink away from me.

But when I just continued along my way, she followed me. She eventually got closer and closer. Ultimately she followed me home.

This is how I experience Creativity.

If I try to turn around and catch it, it turns away. Living Creative is not about willing it or grabbing it. In fact, Creativity rarely takes to announcements like, “Today I’m gonna be Creative! I’m gonna write a novel!”

It’s a process. It’s a way of being. And though it can’t be forced, it can be cultivated and allowed. It thrives when you’re already open, and your mind is receptive and quiet. There’s almost a joyful laziness to it.

I really like the last two paragraphs. I never really thought about it but while I am doing my job as a photographer Creativity is something I cant think about or it doesn’t happen. I will start trying to copy things I have seen other do or purposely incorporate things I have done in the past that worked. Ultimately it kills my creativity and the images suffer. It is the times when I am very calm and flowing, thinking about but not analyzing everything, in my shooting that I get the best images. Anyway I thought it was worth sharing. Have a great week!

(more…)

Click HERE for the slideshow.

Caleb and Laura had their celebration at The English Rose in downtown Chattanooga. It was perfect for their small family wedding. I want to say there was about 30 people there and all of them seemed to be family :) Thank you guys for letting me be part of your day. I wish you all the best!

Click HERE for the slideshow.

Click HERE for the slideshow.

I know I am a little delayed, but I think these two are getting home from their honeymoon in Italy soon so I knew I had to get this slideshow up :) Click HERE to see it.

Alison Bynum drove down from Nashville to help me with this one. Funny story on that one… I was afraid I was not going to be able to shoot it since my son’s due date was October 7 and you just never know about those sorts of things. As it turns out Willem came early and it all worked out… well then Alison had the incredible once in a lifetime opportunity to adopt her second child and that opportunity was fulfilled on Tuesday with a 4 day old baby girl! So the tables were totally turned and she came anyway! Cant thank you enough Alison!

But back to the wedding. It really was an amazing day. We started with Taryn at my favorite local salon, Hair A Go Go. The ceremony and reception were both outdoors at the Lookout Lake Bed and Breakfast just a stone throw from my home here in Lookout Valley. Perfect weather, great venue, and a wonderful bunch of people.

Vendors:
Dress: Monica’s
Cake: Ryan’s mom and Sister
Flowers: Making arrangements
DJ: Eddie Cousins
Venues: Hair a go*go, Lookout Lake Bed and Breakfast

Click HERE for the slideshow. Check out all the favorites below!!! I couldnt pick any less and had to leave out some that I wanted to blog for times sake.