Right around 2009 is also when I noticed what seemed to be a new trend in photography, (at least I think it was new)… a movement of young artists who solely for the sake of fun and expression were creating an entirely original look of what I would call surrealist photography. Much of it focused on self-portraiture.

Artists such as Brooke Shaden and Joel Robinson  weren’t just capturing the world around them, they were creating new worlds with their photography.

Even though my photography journey took me down another path, I still love admiring the worlds these artists create.

I was absolutely thrilled to learn that one of those artists lives right here in Yorktown, less than 5 minutes away!

Carol of Carol Persons Photography has  a passion for for what she does.

She creates art with photography.

Her photography is influenced by both surrealism and fashion photography, but she is always thinking up new and interesting ways to be original.

She arrived at a beach on the York River at 6:30 in the morning to meet me.

As a personal exercise on an overcast day, I decided to shoot mainly film.

Shooting slower with film allowed for her to practice her passion.

She set up her camera on a tripod and using a remote shutter release and a timer took self-portrait after self-portrait.

I couldn’t help but admire that…

There I sat, next to my Pelican case filled with gear, two cameras in hand…

And watched her with one camera, one lens, one tripod, and one remote trigger, creating art.

That was really inspirational.

She inspired me to get back even more to the basics of what it is I love about photography, which can even be translated into wedding photography…

And that’s not snapping away… but looking for that one special image…

One that really captures your imagination.

Here’s one of Carol’s self-portraits taken in Yorktown, mixed with a little bit of Photoshop wizardry..

Thanks for inviting me to capture these portraits of you, Carol!

film: fuji400h // contax 645 // developed by Richard Photo Lab

Are we ready for this?

Are we worth this?

We’d done a few smaller mentoring sessions, sure…

But Brittany was ready for a full-on, half-day, hands-on mentoring session.

And she didn’t want anyone else.

And after some nervous thinking, we thought…

Brittany believes in us.

She sees something in us that we don’t see ourselves.

And there – before her mentoring session had even taken place, Brittany had already taught US something.

Brittany has a dream… and a passion. Just like we did, and just like we still do.

All she needed from us was that same boost of self-confidence that she gave us, with a few tips here and there to send her in the right direction.

That’s why we’re excited to be offering mentoring sessions (2-on-1) in the future, answering any and all questions, giving advice, reviewing your portfolio, taking you out to lunch and/or dinner, working on your niche, and to help you find not just any clients, but YOUR clients, starting at $600.
We’ll include a portrait session for your website and a session with a model couple to boot!

Brittany, from start to finish, really amazed us.

Not only with her talent, but with her energy for what she does!

This is Part II of our mentoring session with Brittany.

Throughout the day, Carina shot mainly digital, I (Mike) shot mainly film.

These are all film, fuji400h, developed and scanned by Richard Photo LabRichard Photo Lab.

Thank you for working with us, Brittany, and teaching us something about ourselves in the process!

Tucked away in Seaford, near Yorktown, Virginia, Bay Tree Manor was the perfect location for this couple who grew up on the waters of Virginia’s coastline.

Their dream wedding: simple, with lots of family, and with peacock feathers and a bagpiper.

She’s a firefighter and EMT. He helps to build ships in Hampton Roads.

Now they’ve purchased their first home together in lovely Gloucester County, Virginia and are looking forward to making it their own.

James and Mary Lynn, thanks so much for inviting us to document your big day!!

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Megan and Matt have been together for a year, and it was love at first sight.

He’s a paramedic and a fireman – she’s a nurse.

When he proposed, he made the day “all about her.” Matt also had his best friend make these wood signs for them to announce their big day!

We met in Williamsburg for their engagement session and even though the infamous Hampton Roads bridge-tunnel delayed them, it worked out perfectly as the light got even better..

They’re getting married outdoors at the Lynnhaven House in Virginia Beach this October!  

Megan & Matt, we’re so honored to be documenting your love story! See you soon!

a mix of film and digital / film developed by Richard Photo Lab

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This falls into the category of something we don’t often do, except on the rare occassion…

And Alicia and Josh are very special to us for booking with us back when most people thought we were crazy for moving to the US and going full-time photographers at the same time.

Monica is an absolutely beautiful young lady who’s full of big ambitions.

She loves video games (something we have in common), especially The Sims. She doesn’t just like to play them, she finds them inspirational as a creative outlet…

She wants to design them and develop them, too.

Her big dream is to work in California at a video game company.

She was perfect in front of the camera and Alicia did a fantastic job on her makeup, too!

Monica, hope you enjoy your all-film senior session and Alicia and Josh… see you soon at your wedding!

These were photographed on Fuji400h film and developed by Richard Photo Lab.

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Finally I could introduce my “little” brother to our new home here in Virginia.

He stayed with us for almost 4 weeks so that gave us plenty of time to do and see a lot of different things… pretty much almost everything we could find to do!

We went to Colonial Williamsburg, Yorktown beach, the Jamestown settlement, spent days laying on the beach… the major thing was FOOD.

From donut breakfasts to steak brunches, been there, done that

At the end of his trip when we asked what his favorite part was, the answer was, without hesitation, “The FOOD!”

That might seem curious coming from a European to some Americans, but my brother is quite the carnivore and immediately fell in love with staples like burgers and barbecue (beef is extremely expensive in Germany, so it’s rarely eaten!).

He also loved the idea of being able to go shopping at 3am on a Sunday if so inspired. And we were inspired to do so, several times (see below).  

We made the most out of every day. Because even though Jonas stayed with us for a while, I never forgot how much I missed him all last year and how much I will miss him next year.

That might sound funny coming from a big sister, but Jonas has always been one of my closest friends and being an ocean apart is not easy. That’s why documenting our time together was so important to me. We had our cameras with us everywhere.

We shot both digital and old-school film (which as you know  Mike and I are head over heels in love with) – let’s see if you can tell which of the images where taken on which

He loved the American way of life, the BBQ-ing, the car-riding, the friendliness, the 24/7 opening times and all the adventure America offers.

I was really curious to see what Jonas’ thoughts on America are; how a “European” looked at our new home in the New World.

So we handed him our Contax film camera and asked him to take some shots of who he saw as being “typically American.”

You can see some of his images below.

First of all, I was really impressed with my brother’s photographic talent.

I also had to smile a bit when considering his subject choices: a guy with an American football, a fisherman, a Walmart worker/Vietnam veteran, a motorcycle enthusiast, an American flag…

I think he described his impression of the United States so well without saying anything. There is diversity and adventure, pride and individuality. If he could pick a word to accompany his American holiday, it would be “stark”. That is German for “strong”/”awesome”.

We also took Jonas’ senior portraits! Isn’t he a handsome young man? I can hardly believe that he will be graduating from the German grammar school next summer!  These were all on Fuji400h film, developed by Richard Photo Lab.

To wrap  up our epic time together, we watched The Lord of The Rings, the most epic movie ever - extended addition on Blu-ray Blue Ray! A must!

About to go on one of the early morning shopping sprees in the land of possibilities…

Jonas became really attached to our Maine Coon kitty, Jefferson…

He came here excited and he left excited about what he experienced. And after saying good-bye and sending him through the check-in for the first time, we had another unexpected adventure together. His flight was cancelled. We of course found out about this right as we pulled up into our driveway in Yorktown…

So we of course immediately left and we went back up to D.C. (arrived at about 4:30 AM) and got to spend an extra fun day together! So thankful to have a wonderful hubby who drove us safely through the night!!

Kudos to August for being the best ninja-doggie ever! Totally snuck him into this hotel!

 ——

Goodbyes aren’t easy and despite all the years in a long-distance relationship with Michael I never got used to them. But we have spent the most exciting “American summer” together, we have made memories that will last a lifetime, we have finally had time to catch up and make up for all the days spent apart.

We laughed our hearts out and probably gained about 5 pounds each

These photographs mean more to me than “just a blog post”, these pictures are memories that will carry me through the next years, thinking of my little brother.

I am so thankful for the wonderful time we could spend together. I am so thankful to have this wonderful little family.

And I can’t wait to have him back here with us next year!

<3 Carina

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The time spent with Jonas just went by too fast… but it was all well spent…

He arrived back in Munich today, so we thought we’d put this up now as a surprise!

One of neatest things we got to do with him was spend the afternoon hanging out with one of our favorite photographers, Tara Liebeck.

She’s a Chesapeake-based hybrid shooter like us! That is, she shoots a mix of film and digital like us.

For this shoot though, she photographed all film…

We adore her style of shooting. It’s laidback, easygoing and natural…  just what we aspire to be, and she makes it seem so effortless! 

She’s a real inspiration, and she was kind enough to give us permission to publish these on our blog!

Thank you so much, Tara Liebeck Photography! <3

And THANK YOU for the extra mini couple session you threw in, too! The pics are amazing!!!!

These were all shot on fuji400h and developed at Indie Film Lab / Richard Photo Lab.

Tara’s Website: http://www.taraliebeckphoto.com

Tara’s Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Tara-Liebeck-Photography/