Matthew Stephen Allen.

This is Matthew Stephen Allen.

Apparently we met years ago and are now hanging out. Based on a recommendation (thank you Hannah), I'm going to take Heather's head and put it on Matt's body and thus my hybrid official SR model.















Listen to this HILARIOUS story-
Matt& I are driving down the road (down 17th St. toward Georgetown) and we pass this church called "The Church For Little People". and Matt proceeds to spin off on this crazy tale of how all the "little" people (midgets and dwarfs) in Cleveland got together and started a church.
"The doors and windows are even little!"
"They probably wouldn't even let big people in!"
I scoffed at this, thinking there was no way it could be true.
We arrive at our destination (book club) and at the end, he tells the group about the "church for little people"...come to find out... it is a children's church building!
Matt was crushed.

This memory will keep me laughing for, probably, the rest of my life.

April&Alan Engagement Session

Yesterday I went to Chattanooga (for the first time since I moved back) to photograph this lovely engaged couple: April and Alan.
Their wedding is in December and I am excited for a winter wedding!











To those who have come over for the photo booth- thank you!
There are a ton of you, so give me some time to edit.

if you live in the area of Cleveland, TN:

come let me take your photo in my homemade photo booth!
it's fun. and funny. and looks neat.
and you can get your photo taken with August (my boxer pup).

here are some (yes, only some) of the multitude of shots we made today.
i love this.
all the people in these photos are my loved ones.




since it's 2 am, i'm going to beeeeed.
well mainly, since i'm tired, i'm going to beeeeed.

if you want to get in on this project,
email me:
sararenee@sararenee.com

Logan the Computer Helper.

This is my friend Logan...he wears this suit every day while he fixes people's computers.
All of these photos were taken within a few blocks from my apartment.
I love! where I live.











Then there was this man hanging out, who was kind enough to let me photograph him.



To update you on August, he is getting huge! I mean, he is still little, but he is growing and growing. And he is almost completely house trained, and he lets me sleep in now! No complaints here.

Living spaces.

Going into other people's homes fascinates me.
There are always unexpected things...like the neatest and best looking people are usually the biggest and nastiest slobs. It makes no sense to me.

I have converted the second living room of my apartment into my bedroom.

One wall is a big, ever-growing collage.





&then the whole spread.



The words painted on the wall...
I flipped through my favourite John Donne poems and pulled out words and phrases, and re-arranged them into that. It's definitely cheaper than buying art or frames to decorate.

I dig it. Living spaces are super important to me.
I can't work, be happy, or think straight in a messy/dirty/unorganized place.

Meet August Hue Blazer Murray.

The newest (and best?) addition to my Tennessee family is this boy.
August Hue Blazer Murray. Yes, cool enough to constitute two middle names.
He is a 5.5 week old male boxer, who likes to sleep, play, and dance.




He sleeps on his back alot, which is precious.

August is a great companion to editing, because by the time he needs a bathroom break, I need an eyerest from the screen for a few minutes. Viola! We complete each other.

I stand confident in that he will be my hottest model.

Poor Traits.

Yesterday I photographed tough all day and it was stellar! I was able to make some portraits (poor traits, if you will) of my two friends Kelly and Ryan.

Kelly's up first. I had to insist on her letting me photograph her, and I'm grateful for her giving in because she is beautiful.










Later in the day, Ryan, Leon &I went out to this Spokane overlook and shot some rock and roll portraits of Ryan. His face is so pretty! His skin is soft and baby-like and while I was doing some up close face shots (with the 50mm) I was struck by how PRETTY he is! Jeez...
I was switching between the 50mm and the 85mm for this shoot.













My friend Leon, who I have been staying with (and he has been cooking me breakfast and waking me up with the fresh aroma of coffee!), made this because he's going to pray tough for God to move WA &TN closer. It's really not a bad idea...




Tomorrow morning I start my trek back to the dirty, humid, and beautiful state of Tennessee. I'll probably be locked in my office (phoneless and in my pj's) for days, getting my wedding edits done. It will probably be awesome.

Shaddy Wedding.

Today, a few hours ago!, I photographed Rebekah and Ryan's wedding.

Check out how cool this is:
Rebekah and I went to the same youth group in Germany seven years ago.
I dated her brother (I mean, "dated" being you're-16-and-hold-hands kind of thing).
And now she is all grown up! Married! Doing great missionary work making the world more aware of human sex trafficking.

So I flew out to Spokane, WA to be a part of her special day.

After the wedding, the three of us went downtown Spokane and took these photos.
As in, these photographs were created only a few hours ago. Wala!









Today I was floored with how incredible it is that I am able to be a part of the most special day of people's lives! Wild! Wedding photographers are a BIG DEAL.
They make or break your day.
Your cake is going to rot, your flowers will die, your dress isn't exactly every day attire, but the photos are what lasts!

Gah! I am so grateful for my job and that I can give people wedding photos. I love being a part of people's romance. Absolutely love it.