aaron's blog

Caroline and Chad

noreply@blogger.com (aaron) — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 02:41:00 +0000

I sure do hate to have to go the awesome NC coast and photograph great couples, but someone has to! So A.M. and myself loaded up the Passat and made our way to the Morehead City/Atlantic Beach area for Caroline and Chad's Sept wedding. I had got to know them a bit when we did their e-session in Raleigh and then we had a great time doing Caroline's bridal shots, many of them right in her childhood neighborhood, then at the beach. It is really cool that Caroline spent many years as one of the busiest wedding photographers in Raleigh before moving on to Interior Design. We had a lot of fun with her sporting her red Christian Louboutins. Being a bit of a shoe connoisseur myself, I was very impressed.

The wedding day was a perfect early fall day with clear skies. We were treated to a ride in an old double decker English bus from the ceremony to the Ocean front Dunes Club, where we enjoyed a festive reception with a killer live band, TFC. Caroline came up with an incredible color scheme for the wedding. Perhaps the most impressive display of the colors was at the "candy bar". It looked so perfect I did not want to see it disturbed. It was truly one of a kind.

You can see more of the wedding story by clicking HERE!!! Enjoy!

Midlake coming to Asheville 1/11/10

noreply@blogger.com (aaron) — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 16:18:00 +0000

Just bought my tix for Midlake at the Grey Eagle. They may very well be the best band you have never heard of. The show is open to all ages and should be a great one!!! Hope to see you there!!!

Heather and Nick ROCK the Castle

noreply@blogger.com (aaron) — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 23:17:00 +0000

A. Morrell

Nick and Heather came down from Minnesota to rock Castle Ladyhawke with their October wedding. Aaron Morrell and myself had shot at the Castle Ladyhawke for their website but this was our first wedding. We had a fantastic time. If their is a more elagant bridal room in the area I would like to see it, the Castle is incredible. I normally do not rate one wedding against others but I have to say that this was the most dancing-est wedding I have ever had, and that says allot. Dylan Skidmore was bringing the heat from his DJ post. There were some gals there that are likely still dancing, like the energizer bunny, non stop. It was much fun and we drove through our 1st snow of the season on the way home. You can see more photos from the day HERE.

Aleece and Nathan's anniversary session

noreply@blogger.com (aaron) — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 19:54:00 +0000

Nothing makes us happier than hearing from our couples who are still in love and enjoying life, so Ericka and I were happy that Nathan and Aleece were back in Brevard for a few days and took time for quick and I do mean quick anniversary session, but I thought we did real well and had a great time. Nathan is a Cowboys fan but we still like him. They now reside in Kentucky. If you scroll back far enough you can see some of their shots from the Porter Center here in Brevard Town. Congrats and may you have many, many more!

Tigers and Gamecocks can get along (sometimes)

noreply@blogger.com (aaron) — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 06:08:00 +0000

Looking at my backlog for weddings to blog about, it seems perfect timing to tell you about Jenelle and Michael's USC themed wedding, since USC will host my fav team Clemson in less than 2 weeks. Back in the summer we all put aside our differences and came together for an awesome day on the USC campus in Cola Town SC. Aaron Morrell joined me and as always did a bang up job.

We began the day at their incredible suite on campus and then made our way to the famous Horseshoe area of the Campus for the ceremony. The rock'n reception was actually inside the party box in William Brice Stadium. They had their entertainment handpicked and flown in from England via California. The stadium hold some great memories for me, 1st being when I saw U2 there in '93 ( great show) and then 2 years ago I saw the Tigers overcome a 1st and 35 to squeeze out a narrow victory. And now I have this very unique wedding to add to my WB experience. Best wishes and thanks for having us along!

PS If anyone has tickets to the annual CU/USC game next week let me know!!!

Our Last shots of the Old barn at Claxton Farm ( Oct 24)

noreply@blogger.com (aaron) — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 21:19:00 +0000

As I am editing Cameron and Grant's wedding images I can't help but think about the good ole barn we lost up at Claxton Farm. My very first wedding at Claxton was actually inside in the Barn, and Cameron and Grant had their 1st dance in the barn just a few days before the fire. I wonder who had the actual last shots of the 100 yr old structure? There are so many good memories for so many folks up there.

Maria Adkins from M7 was kind enough to take time to speak with me and she is very upbeat and excited about getting back on track with a new stucture. I told her my main concern would be the pressing need for a photographer's lounge hahahaha. Whatever they do I am sure it will be great like everything else the M7 and Claxton folks do. And I look forward to being there with Holly and Roger in the spring of 2010!

Grand Bohemian Hotel

noreply@blogger.com (aaron) — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 03:15:00 +0000

Many have asked if I have shot at the Grand Bohemian Hotel and now I have! I was honored to be part of Caroline and John's all star line up of photo and video professionals. What a cool hotel right here in Biltmore. Nice!!!!

Kim and Evan

noreply@blogger.com (aaron) — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 04:53:00 +0000

hmmmmm where to begin, when you're so far behind on the blog. I'll start with an awesome June wedding of Kim and Evan. One reason I wanted to post this is because just as soon as Zac and I became a familiar sight at wedding venues across the South, he picks up and moves out west. So allot of folks want to know how jobs are going now that I am Zacless. While I miss him tons, things are great thanks to very talented associates such as my wife, and mainly Aaron Morrell. This was one of our first weddings together and it went great. We met up with Kim a month or two before the wedding and had a super bridal session that included her awesome horse. From the session Kim had a really nice canvas gallery wrap made to display at the reception, which everyone loved!

On the wedding day Aaron M followed Evan and his crazy gang to their local hang outs in Enka including in ( not at but in ) Biltmore Lake. This is one advantage of having a 2nd photographer is gettng the guys wedding day story told too. Of course I was with Kim and the gals and while we did not jump in any lakes we did have fun.

The ceremony and reception were awesome, but as in many wedding days we did not have much time for portraits , which is where session #2 came in handy. Kim and Evan swapped their engagement session for an after the wedding couple/trash the dress session. This was just last week and even though the leaves were pretty much gone, we were blessed with some incredible evening light and then we ended by being in the ( frigid) creek for a few.

Congrats to Kim and Evan and go here to see more www.aaronimaging.com/evan

Also thanks to Aaron M who had my back like Zac in Black. Great job!

behind the scenes in Brooklyn and Charleston

noreply@blogger.com (aaron) — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 06:15:00 +0000

We were shooting our friend Caterina's senior portraits in Charleston when she decided to take a few of me and Ericka. We were'nt expecting to be in photo pictures so we were glad we were dressed so nice. hahaha . The hat is from a middleofnowherefleamarket in Mississippi back in the Aaron and Zac travel the world days.

My friend Mike in NY tagged along for the last half of the E-session described below and he took these shots of us having fun in Prospect Park. Thanks Mike !

October update ( NYC and NC Golf)

noreply@blogger.com (aaron) — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 04:27:00 +0000

Well October has once again proven to be super busy. Of course Aaron M. and myself have had awesome weddings and we still have 1 more October wedding left in Chatanooga TN! Photos and slideshows from these are on the way, but for a quick update, the month started off with me Aaron H. making a super quick trip to NYC where I met up with Michael and Natalie for thier Brooklyn enagement shoot. At first I was a bit skeptical about shooting in NYC with no trip into Manhattan but check out the slideshow to see how we did! http://www.aaronimaging.com/nat/

After getting back into NC among the other shoots, one of the most important was the 1st ever shoot on the completely new golf course at Lake Toxaway. Aaron M and myself worked with a really good art director and some crazy fun models and we had a super time. Look for these photos to be used nationally and internationally to market this world class course.

Stay tuned for more previews and slideshows and also a Catatoga post wedding session!

Megan and Bo

noreply@blogger.com (aaron) — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 09:27:00 +0000

It's hard to believe it was almost 1 year ago when I met up with Megan and Bo for their engagement session on the Swannanoa River. Then in January Zac T. joined me and we had a blast at their wedding with the ceremony at the Basilica then reception at Homewood. We enjoyed a nice crisp, clear day that was fairly warm for Jan. We had a bit of a breeze but we had fun with it in the portraits. I really loved Megan's color scheme of black and gold and the Homewood was just amazing when we walked in. We got some crazy shots of folks with the sunglasses and wigs that grew on the party tree. Jennifer King of Verge Events added her expertise as the planner. It was really cool for Zac and I to run into Megan and Bo in Virginia on July 4th ( see above).

For more wedding day fun with Megan and Bo click here: www.aaronimaging.com/apple

Sarah and Andy

noreply@blogger.com (aaron) — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 20:06:00 +0000

Zac and I met Sarah and Andy at Megan and Bo's wedding. We were thrilled to provide photography for thier July 4th wedding in Virginia. This was my first Virginia wedding and I really fell in love with the Bath Co area. Sarah and Andy tied the knot at their home Church in Covington then we wound our way up the Mts to the famed and celebrated resort "The Homestead". There we enjoyed an elegant evening in the storied Crystal Ballroom followed by a fireworks show on the lawn. One of the highlights for us was getting to know Sara and Summer who will make this new family complete. The Homestead is a truly impressive resort with a rich history. Among other things Zac and I both voted the pool as the number #1 most elegant and impressive pool we have seen. As it turns out this would be the last wedding for me with Zac along as he packed up and moved out West shortly after. To quote James McMurtry " We had us a time" .

Virginia is for lovers and to prove it just look right here: http://www.aaronimaging.com/andy

Aisha and Marcellus

noreply@blogger.com (aaron) — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 17:13:00 +0000

Aisha and Marcellus are a really neat couple who I am very proud to know and to have worked with. They both attended Asheville School and so it was a logical choice for a June ceremony. Aisha and her gals set up camp in the library with its incredible window light streaming in. Zac T followed Marcellus and his guys from the Grove Park Inn to their arrival at Boyd Chapel. After the ceremony we had a brief but fun photo session outside and then zipped over to The Homewood for the festive reception with the band WestSound keeping the dancefloor hopping. Paul and Holly Jackson aka Four Seasons Films provided the moving imagery and I want to thank Zac and Aaron M for assisting me with the still images. Best Wishes Aisha and Marcellus!!

For their slideshow : www.aaronimaging.com/parker

For the 4 Seasons video teaser http://www.fourseasonsfilms.com/aisha&marcellus/

Kate and Pete

noreply@blogger.com (aaron) — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 00:49:00 +0000

Kate and Pete came up from Hotlanta and had a perfect day for a wedding at Claxton Farm. Blossoms at Biltmore Park had incredible floral arrangements to match the mountain farm theme and Fassetta Warren of Verge Events provided the planning and wedding day direction. After some really touching toats, everyone hit the dance floor and cut the rug all night, not even being fazed by a brief T storm. You can see more right here www.aaronimaging.com/kate . Best Wishes!!!!

Kim and Steve

noreply@blogger.com (aaron) — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 21:11:00 +0000

Ericka and I feel very happy to have met up with Kim and Steve from Atlanta. We had an awesome bridal session in Atlanta and the Bear Lake wedding was even better. This was my first time at Bear Lake and it was fantastic! Next to the Lodge, on a grassy knoll, shaded by giant trees, was an intimate group of Kim and Steve's friends and family. The Lake provided the backdrop for the ceremony. After a fun portrait session as the sun set on the lake, we went back to the lodge and the party danced the night away! The slideshow is a must see! www.aaronimaging.com/kim . As always the blog can't hold enough photos to do it justice so go to the slideshow and enjoy!

Looking back at Glacier

noreply@blogger.com (aaron) — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 20:25:00 +0000

Aaron on the summit of Mt. Oberlin

Most of you know I just got back from NYC and have some photos from up there and I am way way way behind on posting some of our recent weddings and portraits, but I just had to take a minute to post about last fall's trip to Montana. I just now got the CD of photos from my hiking buddy in Seattle and it brought back great memories. Oddly enough as much as I love photography and wildlife/nature, I like to backpack without a camera. Maybe it helps me unwind to be without a camera for once. At any rate this is a trip I would have given my right arm for my camera as I had an incredible and rare wildlife sighting. I have seen tons of animals in the wild including hundreds of Grizzlies and Black bears, Moose, Bald Eagles, Mt Goats, etc etc and even a Pine Marten but 2 have eluded me: the cougar and the wolverine. That is until last fall when I watched a wolverine at clode distance for about 30 minutes. I was climbing Mt Oberlin with a friend and there he was on the rocky, icy, slopes of the peak. I only have blurry point and shoot photos that my friend took, but the rangers were amazed to see that it was indeed the rare and seldom seen Wolverine. Also the same trip had us up close with 3 Grizz and another 2 at a distance. Good times indeed! You may enjoy this little slideshow of some of the photos from Glacier and also the Missions with my wife's kin folk. www.aaronimaging.com/bear

The now famous wolverine

Lindsey and Casey

noreply@blogger.com (aaron) — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 06:12:00 +0000

Since posting some of the photos on Facebook and on my website I have gotten rave reviews and tons of questions about the bride in the waterfall. Her name is Lindsey and when I first met with her back in October she told me she wanted to do a Trash the dress before the wedding in a cheaper dress, so I looked forward to it all winter, I love it when people have crazy ideas for shoots! I also almost hate to use Trash the dress to describe what we did, the session was actually quite refreshing and made for some rather elegant images just enjoying a mountain stream and having fun. A few days prior to that we had a cool e-session in Greenville. The wedding was no less awesome as the morning storms gave way to an awesome May Saturday at Lake Lure. Casey's Dad actually married them and promised a big party to follow, which certainly happened at the Rumbling Bald resort. The now famous Aaron Morrell provided his creative eye at both the wedding and TTD session. Best Wishes to Casey and Lindsey who now call the Carolinas home.

see more photo pictures set to music songs here: www.aaronimaging.com/wolf

Best thing since crunchy peanut butter

noreply@blogger.com (aaron) — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 05:29:00 +0000

This post is to introduce you to the new A.I. associate photographer Aaron Morrell. Besides having a cool first name and looking like Moby, he is pretty swift with a camera. I met Aaron back in 92 when he was displaying his visual art nationally. He would photograph scenes and objects then paint them, thus the camera skills. ( see his facebook for some of the artwork) , then last year when I heard he was into video I hired him to do my promo video ( which is ready now, so call me and I'll send you one!) He started doing video and stills at weddings and helping me out a bunch so this is a natural progression. To get the ball rolling and build up a killer portfolio we are offering Aaron for complete wedding coverage + custom album for $1500, so tell all your friends.

Cassidy and Trey

noreply@blogger.com (aaron) — Tue, 26 May 2009 16:23:00 +0000

About a year ago, I was browsing Tigernet ( Clemson Sports Website) and one of the fans posted that they were newly engaged, so after Congrats I said hey if you need a photographer....... And so that's how I got to know Trey and Cassidy. They are an awesome couple who have been sweethearts since they were just kids. Aaron Morrell and myself photographed their ceremony in Piedmont SC and then the Rock'n reception at the Turner House in Greer SC. The Tiger mascot made a surprise appearance and it was a great chance to introduce Aaron M to the excitment of Clemson sports. Best Wishes to them as they head off to Virginia to start a new life together!

To view more photos go to www.aaronimaging.com/trey

Incredible music project

noreply@blogger.com (aaron) — Wed, 06 May 2009 03:52:00 +0000

http://www.playingforchange.com/player/widget.swf?episode=2 " width="460" height="360" allowfullscreen="true" wmode="transparent">

If you haven't seen this yet , you must. What a neat project. It just so happens that one of the musicians is "Grandpa Elliot" who turned up in my little street photo project in New Orleans. Small world!

La' Zendra and Brian's Charleston Wedding

noreply@blogger.com (aaron) — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 02:29:00 +0000

ring shot by Zac n black

The long awaited Charleston Wedding of La'Zendra and Brian was just as spectacular as expected. They tied the knot in a lively ceremony in Northern Charleston, then the wedding party was whisked off in a stretch Hummer to downtown Charleston where a breath-taking ball room awaited for the festive reception. Then they were treated to a horse carriage ride downtown where Zac and I tagged along to create some portraits in the historic district. One thing that sticks out in my mind, is the incredible character of both Brian and La'Zendra and how awesome they were to work with. Our tour guide pointed out an awesome tree that only blooms 1 week per year and it was in bloom and awesome. The only problem was that another wedding party was in the area. Since it was a public square we had every right to create our images there too, but La'Zendra opted to go elsewhere, out of respect for the bride who was already there and may not appreciate seeing other brides. Wow, that's class.

Anyway contributing to the awesomeness was a star studded group of handpicked vendors, many from Asheville. Aaron Imaging ( that's me) captured the stills while being joined by Zac in Black ( aka Zac Thomas). The Enchanted Florist amazed everyone with the crazy awesome florals. The complex ceremony was directed perfectly by the great Lisa McMillan of Exquisite Events and the world class reception was entrusted to the legendary Nicole Rilley of Verge Events. Dylan Skidmore of Blazing Sounds turned in another flawless performance as emcee and DJ of the party despite his basketball injury.

Congrats again to Brian and La'Zendra!

PS Almost forgot see more photos here www.aaronimaging.com/danforth

April 14th

noreply@blogger.com (aaron) — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 18:56:00 +0000

Today is Ericka and I's 13th anniversary. April 14th is also the name of this cool song. Enjoy!

Sarah and Jake

noreply@blogger.com (aaron) — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 02:13:00 +0000

Thanx to Zac in Black Thomas for the fabulous ring shots

As promised below, I wanted to share some photos from Sarah and Jake's Ruston LA wedding. I enjoyed getting to know both Sarah and Jake a little bit as well as thier many friends and family. I also enjoyed seeing former a.i. bride, now wedding planner, Ashley Hall and her husband Ryan who is becoming quite the photographer himself. After a sweet ceremony we enjoyed a lavishly decorated reception with some killer cajun fare. I really dig all the dishes they have with Crawdads and if you know me I cannot get enough shrimp or any shellfish for that matter. After the reception Sarah and Jake were sent off to Mexico with a cool firework display. You can see a slideshow from the big day by clicking right here.

a.i. on da bayou

noreply@blogger.com (aaron) — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 02:09:00 +0000

I was very happy to be part of Sarah and Jakes wedding in Ruston La ( photos coming soon) and I was happy to make my first visit to the Big Easy. New Orleans was as cool as advertised. in fact for a combination of music, art, food, and people watching, it may just have my beloved NYC beat. However it was a sobering trip in many respects, it was obvious that the average person ( such as myself) does not fully appreciate what they went through. I watched the news like everyone else but it wasn't until I talked to the gentleman below that I really started to appreciate what these folks went through. He told us about wading in waist deep water past corpses to fnd shelter at the Superdome, where again he had to avoid dead bodies. He saw women giving birth and he saw people die because they lacked medication. The photo below will inspire me for a long time to remember that night when I finally started to grasp Katrina.

Another image that really I feel strongly about came from the backroads of Mississippi. In a tiny town with one bank and no red lights, we found ourselves the only customers in a mom and pop dinner. We talked with the owner and his wife who are apparently raising their grand daughter. The owner was telling me he used to be a truck driver but wanted to settle down, so he opened up the dinner in what was once a busy little town. Then as he told us about how the town was drying up and times were tough, he started looking out at the empty streets with a look of concern for his family. I didn't ask, I just did what comes naturally, I fired off an exposure , hoping he wouldn't mind. He didn't seem to mind. His grand daughter (?) Seirra not knowing about the recession or the economy or any of sort just jumped around and begged us to play with her and take her photo. I will never forget these images and these people.

To see more of my photo documentary of New Orleans, the happy , sad, and sometimes scary faces of the Big Easy. Click this link www.aaronimaging.com/la then drop by and let me know what you thought.

Castle Ladyhawke

noreply@blogger.com (aaron) — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 17:19:00 +0000

Castle Ladyhawke is the hot new wedding location in the mountains. The Castle sits on a mountainside surrounded by undisturbed forest and pasture, just north of Cashiers. I was fortunate enough to be able to have a photo shoot there a few weeks ago. I was very impressed, to say the least, with the incredible castle and grounds, and the photo possibilities are almost endless. We had Barnabas and Danilelle ( a former a.i. couple) from Cashiers and Nathan ( guitarist with The Great Imponderables) and Hannah from Asheville, as our real life model couples and they did great! Zac helped out and Aaron Morrell of Grae Skye Studios came up to film some video footage. Our awesome flower arrangements were created by the exclusive Blossoms at Biltmore Park. I also want to give a very special thank you to the owners and staff of Castle Ladyhawke for letting us explore this unique venue with our cameras.

The Castle is booking quickly as you can imagine. I can't wait to be a part of some of the weddings that will happen there at the castle.

My slide show from the day can be found here: www.aaronimaging.com/castle

Aaron Morrell's video projects can be found here: http://www.vimeo.com/3520654 and http://www.vimeo.com/3452527