Peace + Joy - Happy Holidays from Elizabeth Larson Photography!

Peace + Joy = Love

Happy Holidays from Elizabeth and Terry at Elizabeth Larson Photography!

We are truly grateful for each and every one of you!

image © elizabeth larson photography - 2017

mother - daughter session {amy + olivia} - virginia lifestyles portraits

amy and i have known each other since 7th grade and we've stayed friends for over 30 years now!  unfortunately we don't get to see much of each other as we live about 5 hours apart. however each time we get together, we pick up where we left off & its just like old times!

last summer i took a road trip making my way up the shenandoah valley to visit amy and her now 11 year old daughter, olivia. the afternoon i arrived, olivia was heading out to a birthday party & sleepover and before she left i was able to capture a few mother-daughter portraits in their yard, what fun!  i've so enjoyed photographing amy & her sweet little family throughout the years. the b+w at the very bottom is amy holding olivia at just 5-days old.

if we'd had more time we would've included the dogs "zeke" & "honey" and/or made a quick trip up to the mountains for those amazing views they have in that area of virginia. i am hopeful amy will take a raincheck for another session in the near future - perhaps that will get them down to visit us next time!

 during my last visit there, amy & i had such an enjoyable time catching up over the weekend - we went out to dinner at this sweet little place called christina's cafe in nearby strasburg, a town my mother lived in as a little girl. though our visit was short, it was certainly sweet. 

all images © elizabeth larson photography 2013

the importance of a family session

family is truly special. all the more reasons why getting together for a family portrait session is so important.  it not only brings you closer together for an afternoon of fun, but the photos themselves will be a reminder of who you are as a family, creating special memories in years to come. when someone you are close to is physically gone from your life, you will have the fond memories of time spent together. but with photos you'll have also have a visual reminder of those times spent together.  this very thing is coming very close to home for us right now.

please do yourself a favor, schedule a session with a professional photographer. do it now before its too late. make an afternoon or morning of it.  when commissioning us for your session, we make it a special occasion for all involved; its rather enjoyable come to think of it! we always have a really good time. some great ideas for a family session are--- pack a picnic, take the canoe out on the pond, go horseback riding if thats something you enjoy doing together, toss the ball in the back yard. or just hang out on your front porch in the warm afternoon sunlight.  we will come along and capture you having fun with your family!

today i'm sharing a few of yours truly pictured with my sweet dad and his wonderful wife, bernice, whom i adore!  these were taken last winter just about a year ago, a yearly session would be so nice & hope to make that happen. you should too!

 thanks to my wonderful partner, terry, for capturing the pics of me with pops and b! and thanks to pops for the ones of me and terry together!  we will all cherish these special family images forever ♥

have yourself a merry little christmas!

happy holidays to our friends, family, fans, clients, and colleagues!  

love, peace, and joy!

elizabeth, terry, and our seven fur babies 

{calico kitten, daisy, is our newest addition}

© elizabeth larson photography 2012

new addition to our family!

introducing little miss daisy. miss crazy daisy, the cutest silliest goofiest calico kitten ever. my partner terry and i simply adore her!  she really loves terry especially, he is the cat-whisperer after all!  daisy has been growing like a weed, since bringing her home in april.  

adopted from a loving chapel hill home {a colleague actually},  she began her life in a house full of children, two adult humans, mamma cat, 3 siblings, another cat, and a dog...and moved in to a house with 3 more adult cats, who i might add are not amused!  even after that much exposure as a youngster, daisy seems to have a shy streak in her. she'll have to come out of her shell soon, when my sister and one of my doggie nephews arrive on friday for a week-long visit!  

and the funniest thing about her... she has a thing for flowers!  i can't put out any floral arrangements in the house {unless up high, such as the fireplace mantel} as she knocks over the vase, spills the water, and scatters flowers all over the house.  do you suppose its because i named her daisy, after a flower? her name really does suit her.

we love her to pieces. she's brought so much joy to us, not to mention non-stop entertainment!

all images © elizabeth larson photography

pictured below {image 1-10} at 10 weeks and at 16 weeks {image 11 -17}. 

happy holidays!

to all my clients, colleagues, friends, family, and fans of elizabeth larson photography thank you so much for a wonderful year!  by the time the new year arrives, this season i'll have 20 weddings documented {3 of them as a second shooter, which has been a fantastic experience}, numerous portrait sessions, as well as a couple of editorial assignments AND a band promo. i've also found some time to get out my camera at several music festivals and that has been an absolute blast!  i even bought a waterproof point & shoot camera this season which has been great for taking out in our new kayaks on paddling trips this year. 

in addition, i had the wonderful experience of teaching a photography workshop this fall at the john c campbell folk school located in the beautiful north carolina mountains in a small town called brasstown. the class was called "photo essays" and my father, chiles larson, was originally going to teach it and i would've been his assistant. sadly my father can't travel anymore due to major back surgery earlier this year, and it would've been a 9 hour drive for him. it was 5 hours for me!  north carolina is spread out!

though i had a small class, we had tons of fun. i took my students on several field trips including to the nantahala gorge, joyce kilmer memorial forest, the quirky town of murphy, and of course around the folk school's campus. we were able to visit and photograph many of the classes in session including wood turning, pottery, enameling, tin smithing, blacksmithing, and many others. it was so much fun to get back from our daily assignments only to see what amazing photos they'd created... they were great! 

 terry, my partner joined me on my trip out there and so glad he did! we made some new friends while there, not to mention the kitchen staff fed us three fabulous meals a day served family style. i loved the entire experience! in the evenings they had all kinds of interesting things going on for students & staff to enjoy and one of them was contra dancing, which was so much fun!! if it weren't for terry, i would've never gone out on that dance floor. he has a way of persuading me at times!

as many will notice i will be jumping around a bit on my blog.  over the past couple of weeks, i've posted more recent work from this fall and then i'll be moving back to august to post many weddings we've covered since then. next up will be wendy and kenny's wedding, so please stay tuned!

thanks again to all and wishing everyone a very happy holiday!  from our home in the country to yours!

tobacco barn • north east guilford county, north carolina

{snow scene about a mile from my house © 2009} 

winter road trip: jekyll island

last week en route to florida, my friend pam and i stopped to walk her sweet pup "springer" on the beach at jekyll island. it sure beats stopping at a rest stop and it breaks up the trip. it felt so good to take our shoes off and feel the sand on our toes!!!











many more photos from our florida trip to follow. pam and i both have family in florida and not living too far apart so it was fun to take a road trip down together! not to mention escaping the cold in carolina. my sister, nieces, and i did some salt water kayaking on the indian river, ate blue crabs at jb's fish camp in new smyrna beach, went to the gold coast terrier trials in ocala (and i fell in love with a handful of jack russell pups!), and rented a canoe and paddled alexander springs amongst the gators, turtles, birds, fish and otters. though chilly at times, the weather was super nice!

a merry and bright christmas

a few highlights from our wonderful christmas day full of peace, joy, and good cheer.




detail of our emptied stockings... my aunt kay handmade my stocking (on right) when i was a baby and i've cherished it for years. "baby" stocking is for the critters...



rose patiently awaits under the tree for her gift



keiko simply couldn't wait to open her gift, so she climbed into the bag...



oreo really enjoying his cat-nip treat... soon after it was a bit chaotic around here.... just one tree ornament broken this go around :-0!!



the table set for mid-day brunch. linens courtesy of my super-talented friend amy (last year's christmas gift...can't wait to show off photos of this-year's gift)



after a large brunch, we decided to take an afternoon walk through the vineyards at nearby grove winery, then on down to the haw river. our friend pam, who works at the winery, will be joining us for christmas dinner this evening...



anthony taking a walk in the vineyards in his brightly colored "christmas" shirt..

horses enjoying their christmas dinner...i'm amazed they looked up as we know how much horses LOVE to eat :-)



merry christmas to all and all a good night!