Gaston-Stuart Wedding

I do not know words to express how much it means to me when a former student comes back into my life through photography. I am very aware that I keep my feelings well hidden, so few of my students realize how much I have really loved them and have been blessed by knowing/teaching them. So, when sweet Meredith sent me an email (from China, no less) and asked if I could photograph her wedding I was SO honored and happy. YES, YES, YES I could photograph her wedding!!!




Meredith and Rush both attended Auburn, but didn't meet there. They actually met on the mission field in China! Their sweet Chinese friends gave them an umbrella and a fan that are important parts of a traditional Chinese wedding. The phoenix represents the lady and the dragon represents the man. The color red symbolizes blessings and harmony. The fan says, "The lady is like a flower; the gentleman should marry her." The man carries the umbrella for the lady and the lady carries the fan.




The beautiful celebration of their marriage took place at First Baptist Church in Montgomery - one of my favorite locations for weddings!





After a short trolley ride they arrived at the Alley Station Ballroom which turned out to be a BEAUTIFUL place for a reception!





Thank you, thank you, Rush & Meredith for allowing me to capture these special memories for you. Your gallery is uploading tonight.

I will have to give credit to all the wonderful vendors who participated in making this such a beautiful occasion in a later post. Our family is celebrating Thanksgiving this weekend. I will be back to editing and updating on Monday.

Many, many thanks to Diana Bunch and Jeri Gulsby for second shooting & assisting. I could not have done this without their help!

Christmas 2010 Part 1

I love this time of year when I get to see my clients for a reserved Christmas portrait session. This is a sample from the first gallery going online today.






It will be a day or two before the remainder of the galleries are edited and uploaded. I've got to take time out for the Iron Bowl and our Thanksgiving meal on Sunday. But I promise to have them all online early next week in time for Christmas gifts and cards!

Enjoy Christmas

Christmas Sessions are finally here! Just a few from today:


f/1.2; 1/125s; ISO 100; Canon EF 85mm f/1.2L USM lens



f/1.2; 1/125s; ISO 100; Canon EF 85mm f/1.2L USM lens



f/1.4; 1/125s; ISO 100; Canon EF 50mm f/1.4 USM lens



f/1.2; 1/125s; ISO 200; Canon EF 85mm f/1.2L USM lens



f/1.2; 1/125s; ISO 200; Canon EF 85mm f/1.2L USM lens

(I don't usually take the time to post exif data, but several of us are renting lenses this week trying to decide on our next investment.)

Looking forward to many more sweet pictures to post this week!

Enjoy Pirates

Elijah was a pirate for Halloween. His other grandmother always comes up with the cutest costumes. My job is to photograph them :)





These were taken with the Canon 5D Mark II and a lens I'm trying out from BorrowLenses.com: the Canon 85mm 1.2.

Enjoy Daughters

Okay, the perfectionist in me must point out that I did not take this photograph (mine would definitely have been better) and it was scanned from newsprint (which degrades the quality even more). But the mama in me is so proud of my daughter! She is a graphic designer for the Southern Poverty Law Center. This photograph appeared in the Fall 2010 SPLC Report (vol 40, number 3).



YAY! That's my girl :D

Enjoy Second Birthdays

I'm taking a little break today to try to catch up on some family photos.

My youngest grandson celebrated his second birthday last Saturday -- the day of the Auburn-Georgia game which explains the birthday attire.

EJ is obsessed with Monster Trucks so his sweet mom made an appropriate cake. He enjoyed having the birthday song directed to him, but was a little shy about blowing out the candles so needed some help from Dad.



I could not resist the little butt shot while he was playing on the floor with his monster truck.

Happy 2nd Birthday, EJ!

Enjoy Family

I will always remember the November 11, 2010 Buena Vista Enjoy Moments Sessions as some of my favorites. I had wonderful clients, who all arrived on time and were all cheerful. The weather was perfect. Everything was just perfect.

And here's a perfect example of the results.



I have known this wonderful family for a long time, but this was my first time to photograph them.

I loved their relaxed and happy spirits.



I loved the way the girls interacted with each other.



I loved the way they were dressed.



And I loved what we captured.



Thank you, Beth and Mark, for this wonderful opportunity to capture these memories for your family! Your full gallery is uploading now and will be ready to view soon.

Christmas Portraits

Without revealing too much, here's a little peek at the Christmas backdrop for 2010 so clients who have scheduled appointments for next week will know how to dress.



Colors that would work well: red, burgundy, brown, gold, off-white, black, tan, khaki. I would recommend avoiding greens and blues (unless blue jeans).





Christmas Portraits are reserved for clients from November 2009-October 2010. If you were a client of Photography by DiAnna Paulk during that time period and did not receive your email with information, please let me know. No new clients are accepted during this special week.

Enjoy Buena Vista

Many of you will recognize this beautiful lady as the official hostess of Buena Vista Mansion in Prattville, AL. She is surrounded here by one of her sons and her daughter.



Kate has seen me at my worst ... stressing over rain, heat, snow (yes, snow! twice!! in Alabama!!), and brides ... and yet she has always been more than courteous. I don't know why she answers my calls to schedule more sessions. I don't know how she remains so calm in the midst of all that goes on around her. But she does. So, I was thrilled when she allowed me to include her in the recent Buena Vista Enjoy Moments sessions.



I really had a great time with these two young people. Kate has taught them to be courteous and respectful while keeping that little twinkle of whimsy which made them so fun to work with.





And when I look at this family portrait it makes me want one so badly. I've been trying for over 2 years to get a family portrait and we haven't made it yet. But, if I ever get them all together, I want it to look like this:



Thank you, Kate, for this privilege. Your gallery is online and ready to view. Enjoy!

Enjoy Autumn

Over 4 years ago - when I'd just started in photography - I got a phone call from an on-the-verge-of-frantic young lady. She'd made an on-location portrait appointment for the following day and (for reasons unknown) the photographer could no longer keep it. I agreed to come, and thus began a wonderful relationship with a precious, talented lady and her fiance.

Now they have a beautiful daughter (who has both of them wrapped around her little finger). It was such a pleasure to see them at the recent Buena Vista Enjoy Moments sessions.



Isn't this little dress just perfect!!



A friend of mine calls this "the friend who won't come out to play." I've loved that descriptive phrase since I first heard it and thought about it the whole time I was preparing these images.




Many, many thanks to this wonderful family! Your gallery is ready to view! Enjoy!

Enjoy New Friends

One of the things I have come to love about photography is getting to meet new people. That probably sounds strange to those who have known me a long time. I have always rather enjoyed being a recluse. But God has used photography to change my heart about many things.

I met these two cuties at Buena Vista last week and instantly loved them!





Thank you to this sweet family for participating in the Fall Buena Vista Enjoy Moments!

Enjoy Siblings

These wonderful children were photographed at the recent Buena Vista Enjoy Moments Sessions. What a privilege to work with such cooperative and intelligent young people. The day was beautiful, matched only by their smiles and twinkling eyes!







It was a hard decision as to whether to show you the color or b&w version of this image. I like them equally!



Their gallery is uploading tonight and another family from the Buena Vista sessions will be uploaded tomorrow evening.

Danielle ♥ Josh

Danielle and Josh had an earlier "save the date" session, so when she knew I had three engagement sessions in the same week-end she offered to let me put her session last in the editing queue. I would never have asked her to do that ... but it just shows what a sweet and loving person she is. Josh is a lucky man!

We started at Southern Homes and Gardens in Wetumpka ... a wonderful River Region business that not only allows, but encourages photographers to use their site. The morning light was just perfect!




Danielle and I had been planning this segment since the first day we met! And we've both been looking forward to it! Her dad is the owner of Hog Roc Bar-B-Q and will be catering the reception... complete with cokes in bottles. So, we just couldn't help ourselves! We had to do this:




And we ended the day in Auburn where Josh and Danielle met. That was the location of another engagement session that afternoon, so it worked in perfectly to my plans. I love the photos we got there ....




... well, I really love them all! And they're uploading today along with many others into the online gallery so that Danielle and Josh, along with family and friends, can enjoy them.

Danielle and Josh, thank you for a fun day! Enjoy the sneak peek while you're waiting on your gallery to upload and be released. It won't be much longer!