Do you remember Bonnie and Steve? How can you not? Their lovely faces were splattered all over our blog and website for months! Not only did we shoot them 4 times. (Yup, 4) But we shot them out of the normal order, causing much confusion amongst our avid blog readers. (Do we have avid blog readers? Are you there? Chirp. Chirp.) We shot a bridal/day after/trash the dress session with them in St. Augustine. Then we shot an engagement session for them and their pups in Baldwin Park. Then we shot their wedding reception in Celebration (they eloped in St. Lucia all private-like). And lastly, we shot their after party later that night. The other day I received an email from Bonnie asking for our new address because she had something she wanted to send us. What? For us? I've been like a kid waiting for Christmas, checking the mail everyday for the surprise. And finally, we got it...

I squeeled with delight as soon as I saw the buttons of the darling packaging. Nate looked at me in confusion. "Those are Anthropologie buttons!" I squeeled again, "I'd know them anywhere!" (I imagine that I respond to Anthropologie buttons the same way most women respond to the infamous blue Tiffany's box.) An engagement gift?! Bonnie and Steve, you melt my heart with your thoughtfulness!

stock image from anthropologie.com


How absolutely and utterly fantastic are these towels? There are three and they are embroidered with little birds falling in love, getting married, and then having little birdlets. I just love them. Related: Anthropologie revamped their website recently. It looks great. Check it out: Anthro.



Love and presents,
Becka & Nate

As per request, we're cordially inviting you to take a tour of our humble little corner of the world. I love (read: have an unhealthy addiction to) interior design shows and blogs and I always love the photos of the finished rooms. The "afters" if you will. And I love how perfectly livable everything seems to look, how uncluttered it is, and how the entire thing is like one big work of art. So, when we decided (on the spur of the moment) to move into this new place, I was so excited to have a blank canvas to work with. Our old condo, although a wonderful place, was so small with so little storage that it was constantly cluttered. And I'm such a visual person that I have the hardest time focusing in a place that is cluttered. Nate graciously allowed me to make all the decorating decisions when we moved here so I really got to have fun. The bedroom is the only thing that isn't finished because we're searching out the perfect bed to match Nate's antique dresser and chest so you'll have to wait on seeing that until we find the missing piece. On Saturday, right after we finished moving, unpacking, organizing, and decorating, I was able to get a few photos of the our place and some of our favorite details to share with everyone. We are both so excited about how it all turned out. We both keep joking about how grown up we feel now. I hope it inspires you to have fun with your own space! And for all of our out of state family and friends, grab a cup of coffee and pretend you're here with us!

The living room was pretty much designed based on our curtains. You can't see it really but they have a subtle graphic leaf design. It's just an outline and we loved the simplicity of it. We carried it over into the rug, the lampshade, and the throw pillows which all have graphic designs with interesting line patterns. Since drumming is one of Nate's passions we added his red jimbay for a bit of color and a vase filled with old drumsticks.



We both fell in love with a silver lamp that was way out of our budget. I found this little guy at Urban Outfitters on sale for nine dollars and we topped it off with a shade from Target. Voila!! I bought Nate those Scrabble coasters from an artist on Etsy because it is his favorite board game and he's unimaginably good at it. And last but not least, my beloved Anthropologie candle. Best purchase ever!



A bubbly throw blanket from Ikea added the perfect bit of texture to the overall smooth feel of the furniture. Plus, it's ridiculously comfortable. Thank God for Ikea!



Since Nate and I are big movie night fans, we wanted a way to display our collection that wasn't cluttered or an afterthought. We found these Lerberg Shelves at Ikea and decided to turn our DVD collection into a makeshift art installation.



This is a photo that Nate took on our trip to New York City last March. Both of us had such an amazing time that I decided to have this image turned into a canvas as a surprise for him. We decided to hang it right over the TV so that it would be a focal piece in the room and always remind us of the fun we had.



Here is our little dining room. We hardly ever actually eat at the table so its more for show than anything else. (Or to use like a buffet when we entertain.) The faux-brick wall is one of our favorite things about this place. The bricks are actually hand carved into the wall and then hand painted. The painting in the corner is a piece by Emile Bellet called D'or et de Reve and the rug was another score from Urban Outfitters for twenty bucks!



Ikea wine racks decorate the left wall. And no, we aren't huge Yellow Tail fans, they just happened to be on sale at the store the other day.



This plate is a tradition in Nate's family. Every year he would get to eat off of it on his birthday and other special occasions. I got my first turn on the plate last year for my birthday. We found the matching mug this year and added it to the collection. Celebratory ice cream anyone? Yes, I think so.



You already saw the kitchen but I had to add this shot because Nate and I love to cook together! That cookbook on display is the absolute best baking cookbook out there! The writers tested every recipe for every dessert and then picked the best one and wrote about why it's the best. It's insane. And no, we're not vegans, but I do like to bake vegan when I can. Keeps the goodies lower in calories anyway. ;)



A few months ago I found a photo of a purple bathroom online and told Nate that I really wanted a purple bathroom one day. Well that day has arrived!



I think our bathroom is Nate's favorite room in the house. It's the first thing he shows people when they visit. :)



Studio222 Photography headquarters. I love having an actual office to myself! I feel much more productive. And everything is so much more organized now than it's ever been! Excuse our mass of hard drive cords. We have yet to organize them all. If anyone has a great system for that, please share it with us because it's kind of crazy over there right now.



This art piece is on top of the bookshelf. I ordered it about a year ago from My Little Underground. I am still completely in love with it. It's so creative! And it's a happy reminder every day to aspire to greatness on our own accord. Plus, did I mention... we're macs.



This is our little canvas. It's 8x10 and it's the one we bring to our client meetings so clients can see and feel how amazing these things are. If you are a client who hasn't seen one of our canvases in person, you are more than welcome to stop by anytime! The little easel is from ikea. I love ikea.



This little guy sits on the corner of our desk to welcome visitors with some of our business cards. These are our old cards because we just got our new ones in yesterday and I haven't taken any pictures of them yet. I'm a busy woman. ;)



Last but not least is our tiny little pepper garden on our patio. I surprised Nate with a baby habanero plant last year because he has a ridiculous tolerance for spicy food and loves to add habanero peppers to jars of pickles. Just this summer it started to produce little peppers. I'm not what you would call a "green thumb" so this is a huge accomplishment.




I hope you enjoyed the tour! Thanks for all the sweet emails and comments everyone has sent us from the few snapshots we posted during our move. Your kindness keeps me going on days when I'm about to fall over from exhaustion! What's your favorite room in your house, and why? And what's your favorite little design element you've added?

Happy Monday! I hope everyone had a fantastic Independence Day weekend. Yesterday Nate told me that the 4th of July was becoming his favorite holiday. (I still hold on to Christmas as the reining all-time champion of holidays.) But it did get me thinking about the little things that make life more fun so I thought I'd go all Martha Stewart on you this Monday with a list of "Good Things"...

. Sundried Tomato Basil Pasta. Believe me, it's a very good thing! This was soooo easy to make, and so delicious! But don't skimp on the fresh basil. Seriously, it makes the whole recipe. Oh and I added a bit of crushed red pepper to the sauce. That was a good thing too.

. This Young House. I got so much inspiration for our condo from this blog. This (super talented) young couple bought an old house and completely transformed it into something that has gotten them national publicity from magazines and design shows. Check out the House Tour for photos of the finished interior. It's a really good thing!

. Nate suggested Tom Clancy's Hawk. The new XBox 360 fighter pilot game with "ridiculous graphics". So apparently, the graphics are a good thing. ;)

."Maries Cosy Cusions" on Etsy. I just picked up these beauties for our bedroom. Buying handmade, it's a good thing.

. A new favorite of mine is Pacing the Panic Room. It's a blog written by a husband chronicling his wife's 2nd pregnancy. He's a talented photographer so the images are amazing and his writing voice is absolutely hilarious. Reading baby blogs all day? It's a good thing. (Don't judge me- I'll be super prepared when that day comes for us...in the future.)


Nate and I celebrated by finishing up the condo (yes, it's officially done and decorated!) and having a small condo-warming get together with a few friends. We live right on the south side of downtown Orlando which means that we are lucky enough to be within walking distance of Lake Eola. Which is, if you don't live in Orlando and already know, the location of many city festivals including the annual Orlando fireworks display. And being able to walk down there sure beats battling the crowds in a caravan of cars! And, just to let everyone know, my twittered-about pasta salad was a HUGE success!

Hanging by the food ;)




Wonder if there is a 222 Robinson Street? That would be the perfect place to live:


Nate and I love these ones that explode with stuff in the middle:


FAVORITE: Progression of a firework...

If you asked us last Friday, we would have said that moving was the LAST thing on our minds. Our plans for moving were more of a distant future type. We had pretty much decided that we were going to stay where we were until we bought a house because buying a house is the only thing worth moving for. We loved the location of our condo downtown and how we could walk to all the fun nightspots, run around the lake, get coffee in the mornings, enjoy our view of the skyline, and cultivate relationships with the wonderful network of amazing young professionals, artists, and entrepreneurs who we had gotten to know so well over the last year. Other than a house, nothing was going to get us to move.... until Sunday afternoon.

We had been living in a small, one bedroom condo that, if the walls could talk, they'd have probably used phrases like, "Groovy man". As our business grew over the last year, we converted half of our bedroom into my office. The condo was cooled by a wall AC unit and as summer approached, it was starting to become evident that this condo was not a good fit for us anymore. The shower broke, and as our landlord stopped in to give the final okay for the plumber he mentioned in passing a 2/2 that he owned in the same area that was available. He told us it was completely renovated and asked if we wanted to see it. We said yes, to be polite, because we honestly thought "How much nicer can it be?"

When we stepped inside and the cool 73 degree centrally cooled air hit us, we knew we had stepped into heaven. The condo was unrecognizably different than the one we were living in. It was beautiful and had everything that we needed. We shook on it that night and signed a contract a few days later. And today, we moved about 70% of our stuff in.

Here's a quick iphone shot:

That candle is Volusia Baltic Amber from Anthropologie. I went in today and asked the clerk which candle was the store's signature smell and she brought me to this one. Now our condo smells just like Anthropologie. Heaven? I think so.


I'm not going to lie, I'm a little sad about leaving our old place. The year I lived there was one of the most transformative and influential years of my life. It's going to be a bit sad to leave it behind. But, I feel like moving couldn't come at a better time for us, both logistically, and emotionally. New condo, new phase of our relationship, new summer in business, and big things on the horizon. The best is yet to come...

Last March we went up to NYC for a week to visit our friends Rachel & Matt and shoot some updated headshots for them. Rachel and Matt are both ridiculously talented singer/actors and are up in the big apple pursuing their dreams in musical theater and acting. And please don't think that I'm just flattering them because they are our friends. They are both unbelievable singers and actors. Trust us, not only do they randomly break into song all the time, but we also got to hear them belt out some show tunes at a karaoke bar while we were there. (Rachel does a mean Elphaba in Defying Gravity!)

We just got word that Matt got a role in the upcoming showing of Hair ON BROADWAY! Everyone give him a huge congratulations because this is insanely exciting and I've literally been bragging about it to everyone I know. Nate and I are going to try to get up there to see the show so if anyone sees some good deals on flights to New York in the next few months, let me know.

Matt,
You are an amazingly talented guy and we are so excited/thrilled/proud/elated/down-right-happy for you! We know you're going to be a force to be reckoned with and we know that this is just one in a lifetime of amazing accomplishments in store for you! Cheers to dreaming big and seeing big dreams come true!

You can see their websites and hear how amazing they are for yourself here:
Matt DeAngelis
Rachel Potter

This was a quick shot we got of Rachel and Matt on the train


And showing off some dance moves in the street at Time Square...

At one of our recent weddings we were spoiled with tons of time for portraits beforehand. But, since this is Florida, it was about 90 degrees outside with a blazing sun so we took the bride and groom for ice cream right after their "first look". (Yeah, we're a daring bunch here at Studio222 Photography.) Let me set the scene: Nate and I, carrying all of our gear, and a bride and groom dressed to the nines in their perfect ensembles are waiting in Kilwins (Kilwins, like Starbucks, is a frequent guest star at many of our sessions.) amidst random locals murmuring their congratulations. We were standing at the front of the line drooling over ice cream flavors when we heard the groom, Carl, say to the counter attendant, "Can I try the raspberry sorbet? I want to taste it before I commit..."

-silence-

Nate and I immediately burst into rolling laughter. A few seconds later the bride, Lillian, started laughing hysterically as well. At this point everyone in the shop was laughing. It took a moment for Carl to realize the hilarity of his reluctance to commit to an ice cream flavor while standing in his tux beside his bride-to-be. But then he started laughing as well. He did commit, to the raspberry sorbet and to her. And they all lived happily ever after. I just love when real life breaks through the hoop-la and reminds us all that at the end of the day, it isn't about planned out perfection, it's about being able to laugh at and with the one you love most. ;)

It reminds me of a line from the song "The Lark Ascending" sung by David Crowder:
"And I’m trying to make you feel that this is for real, that life is happening, and that it means everything."


I have no idea how I got this shot because I was laughing so hard that I was almost crying...

It's been rainier this week than it has been all year. So it only makes sense that this is the week Nate and I would decide to go motorcycle shopping, buy one, and then stare at it because we can't actually ride it around anywhere.

Nate grew up riding dirtbikes and motorcycles, reading motorcycle magazines and memorizing specs. Back in the early nineties, one of the more popular bikes in the pages of the magazines was the Honda CBR 600 F2. So when he saw one for sale for a steal on Craigslist, he told me we had to jump on it.

After sharing one automobile for the last year, we were both excited by the possibility of both being independently mobile and the price couldn't be beat so we drove across town in the rain to meet the seller. The bike was in great shape for it's age and ran extremely well. Other than a few scratches and quirks it was perfect for us so we transferred the title and bought a tag that afternoon. Nate and I went for a short spin on it during a break in the rain yesterday. It's pretty sweet! Now maybe he can surprise me with things like flowers and candy when he comes home since I won't be in the car with him to ruin it. ;)

There are many defining moments in romantic relationships: the first kiss, meeting the family, the first "I love you", the first time he sees you without makeup on, the first time you cry in front of each other... and the the first time one of you gets sick.

Last week Nate started telling me that he wasn't feeling so well. He was "tired and achy" and his throat "felt strange". We're both pretty healthy people so I figured I'd avoid kissing him for a day or so and we'd both make it out alive. Yesterday, though, he sent me a text from work and informed me that he was most definitely sick. 24 hours later he's still a little feverish and pretty tired, but mostly bored. Apparently, I'm not that fun to hang out with all day at home during "work hours". Luckily this is our only wedding-less weekend this month so we can both rest up and relax. Although I hate to see him not feeling well, his being sick did give me the excuse to pick up some of those breathe right strips for him in hopes that it would keep him from snoring all night from a stuffy nose. He'd never used them before, but I think I've converted him...

iphone shot

SAINT AUGUSTINE | FLORIDA

We spent the weekend with family celebrating the Easter holiday and our nephew's 15th birthday. (Watch out ladies...and drivers!) We were up in St. Augustine for linner (lunch+dinner, it's all the rage for family holidays) on Sunday and I took this picture. My mom told me it was "resurrection fern" so I thought it would be a good thing to take a picture of on Easter Sunday. But it wasn't until I got back home and did a search to learn more that I realized how fitting it was, not just to Easter, but to life in general in the world right now...

The resurrection fern gets its name because it can survive long periods of drought by curling up and appearing dead. When just a little water is present, the fern will uncurl and reopen, appearing to resurrect and restoring itself to a vivid green color. It has been estimated that these plants could go 100 years without water and still revive after a single soaking.

I'll spare you my explanatory metaphor and let you just savor the beauty of this little plant for yourself. I am secretly hoping that the next time I am there it is rainy so that I can get a picture of the leaves all lush and open and alive. I love nature.

Welcome to our 150th post! I can't believe I've had that many things to post about! We will have to do something special for our 222nd post. Any ideas? Speaking of 222, I just LOVE when you all send me little notes letting me know that you're 222 days away from your wedding (Woot Woot Megan!) or that your favorite image we took at your wedding is file number 222 (Hey Lindsey!). Keep 'em coming!

I hope everyone had a wonderful week and is having a blessed Good Friday. With a big family weekend ahead, I thought I'd share some personal pictures of the nephews and brag about them for a post. Nate and I don't have kids, or cats, or even a dog, so you get to hear all about our nephews. They are all on Nate's side of the family and are extremely close to their "Unc". There are 3 of them, and they are all quite amazing but this post is going to be about the oldest two who, at 13 and 14 (almost 15, look out drivers!), are old enough to come hang out with us for a few days in Orlando on their spring break from school.

They are both extremely active guys and are into something called Parkour (or Free Running). If you're scratching your heads and wondering if that has something to do with Twitter don't worry, I'll explain.

Parkour is a discipline that is gaining tons of popularity in the states because of movies like Casino Royale. Parkour is a way of moving through an environment as smoothy and efficiently as possible using primarily the ability of the human body. David Belle, one of the originators of the discipline describes it like this, "The physical aspect of parkour is getting over all the obstacles in your path as you would in an emergency. You want to move in such a way, with any movement, as to help you gain the most ground on someone or something, whether escaping from it or chasing toward it. Thus, when faced with a hostile confrontation with a person, one will be able to speak, fight, or flee. As martial arts are a form of training for the fight, parkour is a form of training for the flight". Even if you have no idea what Parkour is, you've probably seen it in some spectacular movie chase scenes thanks to Hollywood. Here is a very popular scene showcasing Parkour in a recent Bond movie: Casino Royale. Since the practice of Parkour is much bigger in Europe, the states are just catching up, but groups are popping up everywhere as the appeal grows. It really is spectacular to watch. Our two oldest nephews are quite talented at it. They asked us if they could go run around downtown and have us take some more photos of them and of course we said yes.

This is them scaling a wall to get on the roof. It took all of 15 seconds.


We thought we'd get one bad-A portrait for Z


This shot was their idea, and I absolutely love it






I just kept telling him, "If you fall, fall to the right!"


You can see the videos they make of their stunts here.


My favorite. Right after he ran up that brick wall, jumped off, and turned around in mid air...


Check out some of their craziest stunts here. Watch "My Jump" and "Vertical Wall Run" first.

Okay, let me first start with a confession. I tried to not let it get to me but I'm not made of stone and I can't hide it anymore! When I post our client's pictures, we get tons of lovely comments and my heart smiles. When I post personal pictures we get nothing. Crickets chirp, pins drop, the resounding echoes thunder across the blog, and my heart breaks a little. Okay, maybe that's a tad dramatic, but I love sharing more than just our work with you, I love being able to share who we are when we aren't working- the silly, the creative, the romantic, the mundane, the exciting... everything!

So, even if no one leaves comments, I'm going to continue to let you into our personal lives. Because I like to. And hopefully you'll all learn to like it too because if you don't, you're going to be stuck sitting at your computer pouting. And no one likes a pouter. ;)

I don't think I've ever been in a family portrait that I like better than this one. It's perfection.

World, our family. Family, meet the blog world!

I love when we get to spend time with Nate's side of the family. The nephews, other than being ridiculously handsome, are so much fun to be around. Nate and I both wish they lived closer so we could hang out with them more often. They are just the sweetest, funniest, and most talented young men I've ever met. Nate's parents are hilarious and welcoming and have the biggest hearts of any two people you will ever meet. (You may remember the images we took on Father's Day of Nate's dad surfing.) And Nate's sister is like the sister I never had. I feel so blessed to have all of them in my life!

Today, Nate's side of the family came to visit for a Superbowl pre-party/Deep Fry Food Bash/Birthday Celebration. (When we celebrate, we celebrate big!) Nate fried up some hot wings, and I made fried cheesecake and fried oreos. (Yes, they are just as bad for you as they sound, and yes, they are just as delicious as you are imagining!)

The nephews played XBox & Wii, the ladies went on an expedition to Ikea, and the men scoured Circuit City for closeout specials. But more than anything, we all came together to celebrate Nate's birthday. I am so very proud of everything he has accomplished this year! I would list out all of the reasons why I'm proud, but that would bore all of you so I'll just say that I couldn't be happier for him! I feel so blessed to get to share all of it with him and am excited to see what this next year has in store for him and for us.

Happy Superbowl Sunday everyone!

Disclaimer: I cannot be responsible for funny scrunched up faces I make while shooting


Hello sweet friends!

This is the first day since October that I have not had something pressing to do. Don't get me wrong, there's the normal emails and daily to-do's but nothing that has to get done RIGHT NOW. It's so nice! I decided to have some fun with today's post and let you into my world with some letters to this week. Hope you enjoy...

.........................................................................


Dear Biggest Loser,

You were almost too much for my emotions! First I was all "Yay Bob!" for yelling at the slacker. And then I was all "Boo team!" for sending Jerry home. And like always I felt guilty about my own dinner while watching you. It was a VEGGIE BURGER, okay?!

Sincerely,
The woman ready to take Joelle's place in the gym. Seriously Bob, call me.


.........................................................................


Dear Anthropologie,

I am such a loyal patron and yet you like to parade my favorite items around with tags like "On Sale" so that my heart starts to flutter and my hopes begin to rise and I begin to believe that the yellow patterned chaise that I have been lusting after all season might actually be in my budget and then... whammy... you break my heart with a $700 price tag. $700 is not a sale. Just sayin...

Kisses,
Oh so skeptical of your "sales"


.........................................................................


Dear Gurtzberry,

Stop tempting me with your creamy, cool yogurt-y goodness! I don't care if you claim to be lowfat, you still cannot be healthy in the quantities at which I like to consume you. And as much I love you, I do not want to carry you around on my hips all year long. So, stop calling. Stop emailing. I'm just not that into you...


This hurts me more than it hurts you,
A woman with a New Year's Resolution


.........................................................................


Dear Headaches,

You have officially overstayed your welcome. If you stay another day I will kill you with any means necessary. Not. Even. Kidding.

Hugs,
Your not so happy hostess


.........................................................................


Dear Bella Collina,

After getting to meet you last Saturday at the wedding, I have fallen in love with you (don't tell Nate). You are by far the most beautiful wedding venue in Central Florida and I must see you again. Please find a way for us to reunite! I'll be waiting...

Hopelessly in love,
Your favorite photographer


.........................................................................

Dear people getting married,

You are wonderful! You rock my world! Thank you so much for trusting us with your biggest of days. Thank you for creating gorgeous, romantic, lovely days for us to document. Thank you for being vulnerable in front of our cameras. There is not a moment that goes by during which I am not completely thankful for all of you and the amazing impact you have in my life daily.

Thank you all,
Becka Knight

I feel like the week after Christmas is a lot like the week after a wedding. The excitement is over, there's nothing left to plan, the tree is starting to drop it's needless at an alarming rate, it's just a little depressing. I've been refusing to put any of our presents away because I am in denial that Christmas is over.

I did manage to put two things away. Nate and my mom conspired secretly and surprised me with a Wii and Wii Fit! I usually do not enjoy video games but, oh my gosh, it's so fun! It has yoga, and Cranium and all these surprisingly hard balance games to play. Nate received a surround sound system from yours truly and spent the last two days rearranging the furniture in our living room so that the sofa, tv, and speakers would all be at exact perfect distances and angles for optimum listening pleasure. It sounds really good, I'll admit it.

I feel like I haven't posted in forever, even though it's been less than a week. Right now we're putting the finishing touches Bristin's smoking hot maternity session and Steve and Bonnie's wedding, so expect an influx soon!

I hope you are having a wonderful post-Christmas, pre-New Year's week!

Are you ready for an entire post of random sentences?
Here we go...


. We will be starting our week of giveaways NEXT WEEK! Did you hear that? Spread the word!

. This week was the week we got our tree, and also my birthday so it was extra special.

. If you voted for us this past summer, pay attention. We're giving out the iPod we promised to one lucky voter!

. If you know someone who likes photos and free goodies, tell them about our blog. They won't want to miss out next week!

. Do you know a high schooler? Kindly direct them to the discount we offered in our last post. They will love you forever.

. I love sparkly, glittering, twinkly Christmas trees.

. We got this tree for free because Home Depot lost our house key when they were supposed to be making a duplicate.

. Nate and I are both big dorks, the following photo is evidence.

November is very busy for us and as excited as we are, it does add a bit of stress to our otherwise boring life. ;) So what better way to usher in November than being robbed? Right? No? Yeah, we didn't think so either...

About 2 weeks ago we shot a really beautiful wedding in Tampa and got back home to Orlando around midnight. We unloaded all our gear and I backed up all our pictures before going to bed. The next day as we walked to the car to leave for brunch, we saw that it had been broken into. When I first looked inside I noticed that everything was disheveled but no token items were missing. My stereo was still there, as well as a bunch of clothes in the back seat, my speakers and the radar detector. Then I realized that I didn't have my purse and a wave of panic spread over me. (Ladies, you know the feeling I'm talking about.) I had put it in the trunk when we left the wedding and had forgotten to unload it before going to bed. I opened the trunk. Everything was tossed around but there was no purse. It was gone, along with all my cards, ID's, business cards, KEYS, and gift cards.

We started going through the process of calling all of our banks, getting new keys, etc. We've gotten the window fixed, Nate bought me a gorgeous new wallet, and my mom volunteered to replace my favorite lip gloss. I've been busy these last weeks trying to get new versions of everything that was stolen (which was hard since they took every legal form of ID I had. Note to self: keep something legal in the house!) It's just been very frustrating to say the least.

Why am I telling you all this? Because since I was without any ID or way to access any of my bank accounts, I got behind with various projects and mailings to our clients. I apologize if you are waiting for something. I finally have everything straightened out and am getting everything finished and in the mail this week to all of you. Thank you for your patience and understanding. We love all of you guys and are sorry for the delay.

I do have some good news though! Everything is on track for our snazzy new website launch mid-December. And it's quickly becoming so much bigger than just a website launch. We are revealing new products, new images, and a whole new structure as well. We're very excited. You should be excied too! Because today I heard back from some ridiculously talented vendors and artists who are donating some AMAZING gifts for us to give away the week before the big launch. Yup, you heard me right. FREE SWAG! You will not want to miss out on these gifts. I'm secretly jealous that I can't just keep them all for myself. So, make a mental note to keep checking in with us here as the date gets closer and tell your friends, your mom, your girlfriends, your fellow brides-to-be, the cute couple living next door, the pregnant lady at church, and anyone else you happen to bump into between now and then. ;)

Lastly, since I refuse to have a post without a picture, here is one of my favorites from our friend Heather's birthday party "photo booth" last week:

Yesterday was one of my very best friends' birthday. Happy Birthday Heather! She is an amazing woman who is ridiculously talented and oh so sweet. We had a little birthday party at her house last night. I love parties for photographers! She set up a photo booth and I just cannot wait to see what kind of hilarity comes from that, but Nate and I took a few snapshots of our own and thought we'd put them together in a Sweet 16* for her. So Heather, we love you, and we hope that you had a fabulous birthday!

*Sweet 16 Storyboards are available from Studio222 Photography via our online proofing shop. They are created using your favorite images from your session or event and can be printed at any size and even mounted or blown up as a gallery wrap. Contact us if you'd like us to create a Sweet 16 for you.

On Thursday, I was up before the sun. Driving down the interstate, there was a thick fog wrapping 1-4 in it's hazy grasp. I turned a corner and was struck by what I saw. The sun was coming up over the rooftops and piercing through the fog about 200 feet in front of me with a barrage of golden sunbeams. I've never seen golden light like I saw this morning. It bounced around inside the fog until it completely dissolved it and I was driving in crystal clear air. Amazing.

On the way back home, I was diverted by a backed up train (that sat on the tracks for a good 20 minutes! Ugh! I digress...) and was finally forced to drive the long way home as a detour. Lucky for me, the long way involves driving halfway around a lake directly eastbound towards the rising sun. As I circled the lake, I was blinded by the reflection of the sunrise on the surface of the water. The lake was completely still and reflecting the sky perfectly. If you've been following our blog for more than a week, you know that Nate and I LOVE clouds. (And by "LOVE" I mean "have an unhealthy photography obsession with" them.) We get so excited by ominous skies, sunsets, sunrises, and even everyday-Florida fluffy clouds. We joke that one day we'll become the photographers known for having crazy clouds in all their pictures. :) I hope these two images bring a bit of sunshine to wherever you may be. Happy Saturday!

Last week Nate and I were invited to take some pictures for our friends at the Tried and True Tatoo Expo. Nate had been hearing good things about an artist from NYC that had done work on some of his friends from Apple and we decided to see if we could find him amidst the crowds of walking murals. :)

After circling the banquet hall twice we finally found him. Jason June is a talented artist from Tampa who now lives and works in Manhattan. He is amazing with color and very creative. Nate had a concept in mind that he explained to Jason and an hour later, the design was realized perfectly.

Nate is an amazingly talented drummer. That's actually how we met (we were in a band together for a few years). He played snare in drumline in high school and had a piece of drum music from his senior solo that he wanted to transform into a tattoo. Jason came up with a great banner idea.

Getting started...




Nate almost broke my hand. Jason warned him that shoulder/neck tattoos are some of the worst to sit through...




An hour or so later:




Nate: Becka wanted to get something too
Me: Ugh, yeah, well, I was just thinking...
Jason: What do you want?
Me: Um, well, I have this picture, it's small and-
Jason: Cool, wanna do it right now?
Me: Uh, now? Um, I guess -Nate pushes me into the booth- so, yeah.

After Jason almost broke my hand with his superman handshake, I was a little nervous to let him put a needle to my skin. But it was relatively painless. Nate said I didn't even wince. ;)


...Probably because mine took all of 3 minutes



Ta da! Love it!