So let me start off by saying that I might just be THE most uncoordinated person you’ll ever meet.  I was never good at sports, hence the drive toward the arts.  I did have a pretty fun opportunity last week, however, to try my hand at sports photography.  Not just any sports…T-ball.  My friend Kyle asked me to drop by his kiddos’ game, so I brought my gear and captured in my own unique way some really fun images that I’m happy to share with you all.  Have a great day!

“Welcome home.”  That’s what Mallory’s mom said as she greeted me at their house where the wedding was set to happen the following day.  I cannot even tell you how great that felt to hear that.  I lived there, where much of my dad’s family still lives, until I was three years old.

Here’s a shot of me on my birthday at our old house on Cane Run Road.  That’s my brother over my right shoulder.  Nice looking bunch of kiddos, eh?

I continued to spend many weekends there during my elementary years visiting with my grandparents, Bruce and Lurlene Ring.  They’ve been gone for nearly 20 years now, and though I rarely get back to visit with extended family, I’ve got some fond memories of my time in Carlisle with my grandparents.

I remember sailing through the air in that swing hanging from the maple in their front yard. 

I remember sitting on the front porch with my grandfather (Papaw is what I called him), waving at the traffic passing by on Morefield Road.  Papaw was quite the carpenter, so he would let me practice driving nails into scrap wood while we sat there.  We both loved math.  I was a pretty quick learner, so he went ahead and showed me how to do long division and larger multiplication well ahead of time. I can still recall the way that pencil looked—hand sharpened with a pocket knife, and no eraser.  No mistakes! 

Mamaw and I were close.  My mom tells me even now that I remind her a lot of Mamaw.  Isn’t it funny how that happens?  Is it genetic, I wonder, or did I soak up that gentle temperament during my early years?  I would read poems to her from her devotional book in the evenings before we went to sleep.  She’d let me crawl up into bed and sleep there resting on her arm.

I set out for Carlisle early on the day of Mallory’s and Kyle’s rehearsal.  I drove around to some of the spots I remembered visiting as a child and then wound up pulling into the driveway of what used to be my grandparents’ house.  The current owner was kind enough to let me walk around, retrace my steps, and photograph a few of the spots that still stand out in my mind.

Here’s that same tree I was swinging from in the previous pic. 

The fence I used to climb over.

I flew my first kite in the expanse of tall grasses in the field behind their house.  I had that kite so high in the air that I could scarcely make out its shape any longer.  I was out in the wind long enough that day that I developed a pretty painful earache.  Mamaw stayed up with me through the night because the pain was keeping me awake and in tears.

20 years later.  No kite. 

On Sunday mornings, we’d head down into Morefield to that iconic white country church. Papaw would ask me if I was going to be preaching that morning after seeing me all dressed up in my short-sleeve buttondown and clip-on tie.  I was looking sharp!

Here I am on my birthday in April of 1989 visiting with Mamaw in the hospital.  This is the last photograph I have of us together.  She passed away later that year.  Papaw joined her in early 1991.  I remember shortly before his death, answering a late night phone call from him in which he seemed disoriented.  Before I handed the phone to my dad, I heard him asking if we knew where Lurlene was.  Dang.  That pains my heart even now.  Must have been missing her terribly.  I can’t imagine.

Thanks again to everyone at the wedding who welcomed me right in.  It’s a reminder to me of the wonderful roots I have in Carlisle and that I need not wait so long to go back and visit again.

From the moment Rayna at Always Planned told me that Mallory and Kyle were getting married on a family farm in Carlisle, I knew I wanted to be their photographer.  Why?  You’ll have to check back.  There’s a lot I want to say, but I want to give this slideshow the attention it needs first.  Please come back to my blog later today.  I’m going to post a follow-up, pics included.  I found an old photo album with childhood photographs and scanned some in. 

Mallory works with Rayna, who owns and heads up an impressive wedding and event planning company here in Lexington.  I knew going into this wedding that it would be gorgeous—and it WAS!  Really.  I grew up in Mt. Sterling with Rayna, so getting to work with her in the wedding industry that we both love so much is exciting for me.

Mallory, too, is an asset to the Always Planned.  It was fun to see how that dynamic played out on the day of the wedding.  I’ve gotta say, I think she did a great job of balancing those feelings of wanting to jump in a help out with the need to just sit back and enjoy the day.  She was smiles all day, and I mean real smiles. 

That’s just the way she and Kyle are.  They’re friendly and genuinely nice people.  Not only are they high school sweethearts, but as luck would have it, they were sweethearts in second grade, too.  They adore each other.  There are times that they lock in on each other and I swear, it feels like time stops.  There’s one particular shot on the slideshow where this happens, right after the ceremony, when they’re inside the house sitting on the couch together.  Look for it!  It’s crazy how in love these two are.

To Kyle and Mallory…Let me get personal here for a bit.

For you to choose me as your photographer, for you to trust me to tell your story with images, it means everything to me.  Each photographer sees the world differently.  You chose my view of life, which I have a feeling is your same view.  One with trust, optimism and honest affection for people.  I feel lucky when I get to work with people like you.  This is why I am a wedding photographer! 

Below, you’ll find the slideshow.  If you enjoy it, please leave me some comment love in the box.    I always appreciate it!  All of my facebook, twitter and blogreader info is at the top of the page, so I hope that each of you will hook up with me and stay in touch.

To see the rest of the images here in a couple weeks (there are a ton!), please go HERE and preregister.  You’ll get a $5 gift certificate toward prints when you do, then you’ll be notified once everything is ready.

Thank you so much for stopping by!  -shaun