Here’s a peek at the fantabulous wedding of Jennifer and Claude. What a lovely couple! Not only is Jennifer absolutely beautiful, but her taste is divine. I can’t wait to put up all the images of the beautiful ceremony and brunch reception.

This is a shot of Jennifer and Claude enjoying a kiss during the brunch. Everything from Jennifer’s preparations to their last goodbye was held in the lovely and magical backyard of this historic home in Ocala. Come back again soon…I’ll be posting more images from their special day and hopefully a bit of history on the house!

Tags: teasers by Astrid
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Yes, it’s true and we had no idea either! We were totally taken aback at just how lovely, how quaint, how Southern and how unique Ocala really is! I can’t believe that I’ve lived here in Florida almost my whole life and I never made the drive to visit such a hidden Florida jewel.

Our wedding was set for Saturday morning so after our meeting with our bride Friday evening, we set out to explore before heading to our hotel for the night. Enamored with the venue for our wedding, we walked around the historic district whose perfectly manicured lawns adorned beautifully restored historic homes with character, personality and colorful history.

Naples is relatively new and the historic district in Naples certainly has a different look and feel than the historic district in Ocala. I found that the beauty of Ocala is the kiss of Southern style abundant everywhere. Beautiful old and sinewy Oak trees, covered in Spanish moss elegantly sway in the cool air here. They are so romantic and really transform the scene tremendously. I’ve seen some of these trees around Naples as well. A good friend of mine has a backyard full of them, right here in Naples.

Back to Ocala, the roads follow rolling hills. A quick drive out and you are in pastureland. The greenest velvety grass covers the hills that roll, one after the other. Beautiful horses, of all colors and shapes dot the landscape. It’s a horse lover’s paradise. And after a bit of time in Ocala, you can see that the city revolves around horses. We came to find out that Ocala is considered a serious center for thoroughbreds that began in the 1940’s, calling itself the horse capital of the world! Several Kentucky Derby winners have come out of Ocala and the penchant for anything horse here is strong!

Unfortunately, and as it is with the rest of the world, the future of the industry there is in question. Urban sprawl is threatening to take away the rolling pastures, which the horses require. Apparently, Marion County is becoming very popular, land prices are going up, and developers are flocking in. The city has offered no incentives for farmers to hold on to their land and continue to raise horses. So, what’s to keep farmers in the area when a developer offers them a lot of money? It’s sad really but just another example of what’s wrong with this world.

On a lighter note, since Ali has fallen in love with riding, Ocala took on a new significance to us. We will be visiting Ocala much more now and keeping an eye out for horses. She’s already mentioned (more than once I might add) that she wishes she had her own horse. If she’s serious about, we would certainly do our best to accommodate her wishes and Ocala seems like a great place to learn all about the sport and the animals.

So, if you are looking for a wonderful place to visit, see some different scenery and look at some magnificent horses, definitely check out Ocala!

And a very special thank you to Karla Fountain, of Karla Fountain Photography in Orlando. She referred us to Jennifer and Claude, the bride and groom we photographed in Ocala (teasers very soon)! Thanks for getting us up to Ocala!

And what blogtrip post wouldn’t be complete without eye candy? Here they are!

Here are a few of our favorite shots of the magnificent trees we encountered while on our journey.

 

What would a blogpost be without a little flare love?

 

This was the most incredible tree I have ever seen! It sat directly next to the house and must have been 10 feet wide at the base! What an incredible tree. It’s about 75 years old!

 

These are some of the trees that grace the front yard.

 

Working our way to downtown square, we couldn’t resist grabbing some detail shots along the way.

 

Grabbed this shot of a tiny toddler folding chair in this entrance way.

 

There are some totally cool and unique stores here. These are just a couple of the windows that caught our eyes.

 

 

A bit of architectural detail.

 

I absolutely love this shot. Perfect backdrop for a portrait, too!

 

This is the fabulous little gem of a theatre, called the Marion Theatre. This beautiful art deco structure was built September 11, 1941. It closed in the mid-1970’s as a movie theatre and stood empty for 13 years. The exterior is in its original state and looks absolutely fantastic. The interior has been restored to a nostalgic 1940’s style and feel. Visit the Marion’s history page here if you’d like to learn more about the theatre.

If you’d like to take a look at how the Marion theater looked like during its grand opening in 1941, take a look at this link! The Marion Theatre opened on September 11th, 1941, with a seating capacity of 800. “Aloma of the South Seas”, starring Dorothy Lamour was the feature!

 

Four of the loveliest hand-painted horses adorn the downtown square. This one was our favorite because of the butterfly on his face. We immediately thought of Ali, who loves butterflies and horses. If you’d like to see a whole bunch of images of painted horses all throughout Ocala, make sure to visit this link!

 

Last but certainly not least, this little gem caught our eyes the moment we passed it. It’s Ocala’s own, Rockiversity, The Music School! I love the Jimi Hendrix mural on the wall. We definitely wanted to stop in and visit, but it wasn’t open during our trip. Check their site out here! They have a great mission to teach music to all ages in a fun and creative way!

Tags: flares, ramblings... by Astrid
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~ Happy Earth Day! ~

And so you might be thinking, thanks, but so what? Well, I used to be like that, too. It wasn’t until I took an environmental studies class in college, did I start to open my eyes to all the little things I could do to make a small difference. And if we all do just a tiny bit, we may be able to leave a better planet to the next set of little people. And that’s a good goal, right?

I’ve been doing a lot of research on just what are some of the best things I can do to make a good effort in helping improve our environment. There are the basic things that we are all pretty familiar with and well, let’s be honest, don’t take up a whole heck of a lot of time and are simple to do! Here’s a list to get you started. If you aren’t doing any of these, now is a great time to start! If you have questions or suggestions, make sure to leave a comment!

~ Recycle, reuse and shop and live smarter!! ~

1. Recycle! I know, so simple. But millions of people still don’t recycle! If your community does not offer recycling, talk to your city officials and ask them to get with the program! Talk to your neighbors and start a recycling drive program for your street. Have a revolving collection point for your street and take the recyclables to a local recycling center every week.

2. Instead of buying paper plates for that camping trip, invest in some good melamine camping supplies so that you don’t generate more waste.

3. Instead of buying those plastic containers to store your food, use the glass jars that you buy spaghettis sauce, jam, peanut butter etc. in! Not only is glass MUCH better to store food in, but you won’t be using harmful plastics that are not only bad for the environment, but bad for YOU, too!

4. Don’t use plastic bags from the grocery store! You can find inexpensive reusable/recyclable bags anywhere these days. And if your grocery store still uses plastics, write a letter and let them know that they should consider NOT using plastic bags anymore!

5. If you must use plastic bags from the store, don’t buy trash bags! Use the plastic bags from grocery stores instead for trash bags for small cans.

6. Use brown paper bags to cover school books (don’t you know that anything vintage is back in?) or to wrap up your eBay goodies that you’re selling!

7. Save paper towel and toilet paper rolls for craft projects. Don’t need them? Donate them to schools…they sure can use them!

8. Use newspapers for cleaning mirrors and windows. They work great!

9. Write your shopping lists on junk return envelopes and carry your coupons in there, too!

10. Buy a lunch bag or box instead of using brown paper bags!

11. Instead of using a take out box from the restaurant, bring your own!

12. Use towels instead of paper towels.

13. STOP buying water in a plastic bottle! Buy a stainless steel water container and then buy a Britta or other water filtering system and fill that container up everyday! Not only are those MILLIONS and MILLIONS of plastic water bottles cramming our Earth up, but they are not good for you if you keep reusing them over and over. Plastic deteriorates and releases chemicals into your body….buy stainless steel for ANY container that holds liquid or food!

14. Use rechargeable batteries!

15. Reduce unnecessary travel. Less gas = less money and less pollution

16. Use old holiday cards as gift tags by cutting out the design on the card.

17. Buy recycled paper products! Always look at how your paper products are produced. Invest in companies that are making an effort to reduce waste and use recycled materials to create their products.

18. Eat organic whenever possible! It’s such a shame that eating healthy is so expensive on this side of the country, but do your best to replace a few products here and there at first. Dairy and produce are the best if purchased as organics. But even if you replace just a few things, you will be making a difference! Not only is it great for the environment, but it’s healthy for you!

19. Feed your animal friends organic! Don’t forget that your four and two-legged friends need to eat healthy. After all the recalls on dog/cat food, buying natural or organic for your furry friends is one thing less you have to worry about. We have been feeding our canines Solid Gold now for 7 years. It’s GREAT and we can’t recommend it enough. http://www.solidgoldhealth.com/

20. Got junk? Yeah, we all do! We seem to have it everywhere! And it’s hard to say no to it, right? We’ve been trying to make a strong effort to stop buying junk and stuff for us and the girls. The girls have so many toys that they don’t even play with them. So we are now packing up a box and donating it to others who have a lot less stuff than we do. If you buy something for your kids, encourage your kids to pick out an old toy in exchange for that new toy and donate the old one! It’s good for your heart and the environment!

21. Celebrate nature where you live! Being out in nature can deepen our appreciation of our environments, helping us to become better stewards of Earth.

22. Replace old bulbs with new energy-efficient compact fluorescents! But just remember to NOT throw them in the trash! They do contain mercury. Take them to your local Home Depot for recycling! Click on ‘CFL Recycling’ in the Home Depot link here for more information!

 

~ Resources and Links ~

And here are some fabulous links that we want to share with all of you. And if you have some tips and hints, let us know what you are doing to help the environment. Remember, it’s not just for the environment, it’s for your kids, your brother or sister’s kids, your best friend’s kids and all the kids in the world. They are the ones that are going to have to clean up this mess….so let’s start helping them clean it up!

Green Living 101: How to Reuse Old Toilet Paper Tubes
http://tinyurl.com/c4yq9f

10 Ways to Go Green and Save Green
http://tinyurl.com/5szh3g

Reuse and Recycling Tips
Tips for Sustainable Living
http://reusetips.org/

The Green Guide - For Everday Living
http://www.thegreenguide.com/

Publix Supermarkets - Get into a Green Routine
http://tinyurl.com/ca4yw8

40 Ways to Go Greener at Home (Besides Just Recycling)
http://simplemom.net/tips-to-go-green-at-home/

29 Tips to Go Green - Green Living on Squidoo
http://www.squidoo.com/agreenlife

How to Go Green
In-depth articles to get off your duff and go Green!
http://www.treehugger.com/gogreen.php

Tips to Reduce / Reuse / Recycle
http://www.epa.gov/earthday/tips-reduce.htm

10 Tips to Shaving 20 Percent Off Your Grocery Bill
http://tinyurl.com/dbjeax

Simple Tips for Reusing Materials Everyday
http://www.cawrecycles.org/living_green/reuse_tips

8 Smart Ways to Reduce and Reuse
http://tinyurl.com/d5bupf

Looking for green and Earth-friendly jewelry? Try Brilliant Earth
http://www.brilliantearth.com/

10 Organic Beauty Tips for Under $5
http://tinyurl.com/ddr54q

5 Tips for Adopting Shelter Animals: Win a Pet Spa Pack
http://tinyurl.com/dck4eb

Top Produce to Buy Organic
http://tinyurl.com/g75e2

 

~ Photographers and artists go Green, too! ~

Ode to the Earth
The Wiebners
http://www.thewiebners.com/blog.cfm

Greener Photography
http://greenerphotography.org/

Anne Ruthman’s Green blog section
http://anneruthmann.blogspot.com/search/label/green

8 Ways to Green Your Photography
http://tinyurl.com/dlolmu

Thirteen Ways to be a Greener Photographer
http://tinyurl.com/dzxnkp

The Green Photographer
A guide for photographers who want to be greener
http://thegreenphotographer.net/

How to Choose an Eco-Friendly Photographer for Your Green Wedding
http://tinyurl.com/da6daf

Thank you for caring!
~ Astrid and Rene ~

Tags: Green Living by Astrid
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I finally put aside some time to create the canvasses I wanted of my girls from a series of portraits I shot of them late last year. I just love this series and I had them as small 5 x 7’s in a vertical frame hanging on a wall.

I felt that in this series, I was able to really capture the spirit and essence of my girls and I was itching to hang something different in my living room. So what better than portraits of the loves of my life?

I made the time and had these 20 x 30 black and white archival canvasses made. I wanted to share these with all of you. This is the kind of portraiture I love to make of kids…..especially my angels and this embodies the kind of fine art portrait work I create for my clients. Enjoy!

Astrid

Tags: fine art children's portraiture, fine art family portraiture by Astrid
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Rene and I had the honor to photograph Liz and Sean this last weekend at Miromar Lakes Beach and Golf club. Aside from the awesomeness of shooting at such a wonderfully designed country club, it was just so easy to take fantastic pictures of Sean and Liz because they are just so much in love. When two people are so in love, it shows in the images you capture and well, it’s just easy to make great pictures! I stopped by last week to talk to Liz before the wedding and we both started tearing up…I told her that there was nothing better than finding that one person that you knew you were going to die with. I know, it sounds cheezy but she totally understood me.

Here’s a couple of teasers….Liz and Sean…we miss you guys already and we hope you have a fantastic honeymoon!

Astrid and Rene

Tags: teasers by Astrid
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Next to weddings, portraiture is one of my very favorite types of photography. It’s kind of funny though because I’m pretty shy with people, so you would think that this kind of work would send me running. But I embrace and love every minute of it.

For us, capturing families together is really more about being a historian for our clients. We are freezing time and let’s face it, time goes by fast and we all change dramatically. It’s wonderful to go back and see what your children looked like and what your family looked like in the past and feel that tug in your heart. So for us, it’s about capturing that history and bringing it to future generations.

The Byerly’s are a fantastic Naples family that we met at a birthday party. Both Lynn and I take our girls to the same preschool so it was great to get to see a bit of this family in their natural element. Lynn wanted to capture some family memories as well as create a beautiful portrait and triptych of Claire, who turned 1. Both of Lynn’s little girls are absolutely beautiful. Having two little girls of the same age really helped because we knew what to do to keep them entertained and we knew when enough was enough. Take a look and enjoy! And don’t forget to look us up for fantastic family portraits in sunny Naples, Florida!

Beautiful Claire!

 

My favorite from the session. I just love how intense her little face is here!

 

Here’s the triptych that we created for Lynn’s wall art. These were done as modular canvasses and look absolutely incredible on her wall. I have a similar triptych of my girls and it’s really beautiful to look at every day!

 

My second favorite from the day. Little Claire, as any typical one-year old, is always on the go. Love the colors here!

 

The Byerly family in front of their home.

 

Claire’s official one-year portrait!

 

Sisters, nothing better!

 

The girl’s baby cousin!

 

The lovely Byerly ladies!

 

Claire looking intense with her special bucket!

 

Big sister!

 

Sisters, too!

 

Grandmas are the best!

 

A special thanks goes out to the entire Byerly family. Thanks for inviting us in and letting us capture a bit of you!

~ Astrid and Rene ~

Tags: fine art family portraiture by Astrid
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