While most women don't feel beautiful during the last trimester of a pregnancy, they certainly are. There is an aura, an almost glow around soon-to-be mothers that I love to capture. This photograph of Kelli and Hannah is a favorite from their session last week.

Hannah's angelic facial expression belies her strong will and keen sense of self: both good character traits in adults, but taxing to the extreme to moms and dads. (I speak from personal experience. =) Thankfully, Kelli and Ben are well equipped to nurture and train both Hannah and Logan, and the new grandchild we will get soon.

Last evening three wonderful teenagers were in the studio for a Shine For Him session. Reading their testimonies and the Bible verses they want printed on their free wallet photos humbled me. Thank you, Caitlin, Halli, and Maxx. I'll be editing all your photos over the weekend. Your testimonies will be added here soon and your photos and testimonies will be uploaded to shineforhim.com as soon as they are ready.

The Shine For Him project is the brain child of Suzette Allen. Suzette is an accomplished Christian photographer that readily shares her talent and expertise. I have learned much by following her tutorials at smartshooter.com and feel blessed to be able to contribute to the cause. God continues to bless me personally, professionally, and in every other way, and I am grateful for this opportunity to 'give back' and help young people share their faith.

If you are a Christian between the ages of 7 and 21, looking for a great way to share your faith with your friends, contact me for a Shine For Him Session. At this time, there is no cost to participate. Download the application, complete it, (have your parent sign it if you are a minor) and bring it and your testimony with you to your session. You may add this session to other sessions at no additional charge OR you may come for just this session.

Cassie came for her outdoor session last week. Her photo gallery is here. We will do the studio session later.

We visited Ben's family in Summersville recently. Logan's favorite outdoor pastime is picking up sand, dirt, stones, leaves, bark, etc. and throwing it. For hours, he is content to walk around picking up and throwing stuff. These photographs of him capture his enthusiasm and dedication to the task.

Last evening I was blessed with a visit to the studio by my Great Aunt Alice and her two sisters, Marian Andersen and Ann Hart. Alice and Marian came to West Virginia long before I was born, and with Fred and Vera Staples, founded Striker Bible Church. After a few years, Marian went to Peru as a missionary nurse, but Alice stayed in Logan County. She taught in one room schools, on the Crawley Road and on the West Fork of Harts Creek. My older siblings, Gary and Sharon got to experience the one-room school with Miss. Alice, but sadly when my turn came, one room schools were closed. Alice was transferred to a new school, not the one I attended. Later, she was principal at Lake Elementary.

Alice is a one-of-a-kind friend. I owe her more than could ever be paid. Being permitted to photograph these precious women of God has been a highlight of my year! By the way, the baby in the group is two years younger than my mother.

My mom is a shy, self-deprecating woman who totally bought into the 'be seen not heard' philosophy. Actually, she took that a step further and was invisible if at all possible when in large groups. So last evening, when she came in the studio to see what I was doing, I had no real hope that she would sit in the hot seat and let me photograph her; but she did!

Mom hates her wrinkles; I told her I could soften them up so they aren't so prominent, but then I just couldn't bring myself to take them away! They are part of her; they show her character and venerable age. So, with her permission, the wrinkles stay.

Now, looking at them again, I'm reminded of the mad scramble we had, four years ago when Dad died, trying to find an appropriate photograph to frame and place on his coffin. Please don't think I'm morbid, but having these photographs of Mom, showing her just as she in now, gives me some peace. I hope we won't need to use one of them for so long that I'll have to photograph her again, but...

Saturday I got to try out the brand new Canon EF 70-200mm F2.8 lens. It met all my expectations, exceeded a few! The only problem with the lens is it's size and weight! It's one thing to read a number that is small relative to most things we carry... Quite another thing to hold that same sized piece of equipment up to your face for several hours! Couldn't do it! Had to put the camera on a tripod (glad I have a great Bogen), but that wasn't even the best solution. I'm off to shop for a monopod in a few minutes.

The photography session was fun and I got some great shots. To see all the action shots, click the team photo:

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Wedding photography is fun, hard, stressful, exciting, rewarding, time-consuming.... I could go on and on with the adjectives. Every time I swear off them, I get talked back into doing just one more. Karen and Gary's was more fun than stressful, more rewarding than time-consuming.

pbh Art, Inc. is undergoing a complete upgrade, beginning today.