Stacey Bode Photography

Tiffany and I concocted a fine excuse to hang out in the yard all day, listen to music, and eat/drink ourselves into near comas. Well, one more real-er reason was to make a little money for a road trip and new bicycles. So, we filled up my backyard with all of our what-were-we-thinkings, and attempted to sell them to willing strangers.

If we had stuck to our plan of charging people a dime for us to stop signing for 1 minute, we might have made enough for a trip to New Zealand. Instead, we sang our way to at least some gas money to go to the beach in a few weeks. YAY!

Both Lauren and Colin are just as beautiful on the inside as they are on the outside! From our first meeting, I was struck by the kindness, smiles, and addictive giggles they share with those around them.

Throughout their wedding day, we all witnessed how Lauren and Colin love deeply and laugh deeply. In fact, they broke a record. I often talk about how I get moved to tears at all weddings. Well, this time, I choked up THREE times! Just before the ceremony, Colin hugged his dad with such emotion, I couldn’t hold back a few tears. Then, during the ceremony, Colin surprised everyone (including Lauren) by singing a gorgeous ballad that he WROTE. He has the voice of an angel, by the way. Finally, I cried a bit again during the toast given by Lauren’s father. These families are so full of support for one another, and it was pretty incredible to be around.

Thanks so much for making me feel like a part of your caring family, and I’m lucky to have been there on your special day!

I have to give a shout-out to my second shooter, the wonderful Stacy Ventresca! She’s so great to work with, and it was fun being the Stac(e)y duo!

I had a great lunch with my friend Melanie yesterday in East Atlanta. After stuffing ourselves with chicken and brie sandwiches at Kasan Red, we walked through the village to look at girlie goodies. We stepped into a small consignment shop with incredible vintage hats and purses. There among the pretty garments was the book “50 Dates Worse Than Yours” by Justin Racz. I said to Melanie, “this is gonna sound weird, but I think there’s a photo I took in there”. Sure enough, on page 48, there it was.

A couple years ago, my friend Dan Berman in NY said he knew a guy (Justin) who makes these “50 Worse” books. He and Justin asked me to photograph a scenario where a guy and girl are on a date and the guy runs out of gas. Not the kind where he runs out of gas and puts the moves on her or turns into a zombie and dances around in front of John Landis, but the kind where the guy effs up and the girl is livid.

My hubby Matt and my friend Jen Caldwell were the willing modeling victims. The evening we decided to shoot, it was POURING rain. The three of us also got into some ridiculous argument on the way to the location. In retrospect, this worked well, because the angry faces in the image are for realz.

I never saw the finished product, and wasn’t sure if my photo made it in. So when I saw it, I was like “sweeeeet”. I’m all published n’ stuff.

“A good marriage is that in which each appoints the other guardian of his solitude.”

~ Rainer Maria Rilke

Ever since I’ve known both Jill and Joel, I felt that they were people with very gentle souls. This may sound corny to some, but when I see them together, I get such a strong sense that they will be good to one another throughout their marriage. There is a certain sweetness to their connection that is really touching to witness.

There is always some moment that chokes me up during a wedding day. I’m never sure of when it will be, I’m just sure that it will happen. It must be the connection between Joel and Jill that I described above that made my “crying moment” their first dance. They looked so adorable, and I do love a good Lionel Richie song!

The whole day was lovely, and I couldn’t be more excited for these two wonderful people. All my best to you in your new life together!

A HUGE perk of my photo biz is that I form some great connections with the folks who come my way. I’m not sure this would be the case if I were, say, a tax collector. Sorry tax collectors, but you’re killin’ me. Are they even called “tax collectors” any more? IRS Agents sound cooler I guess. I am SO that angry tax payer right now who will complain to anyone within ear shot. Someone please talk me down from the ledge.

Anyways….I need to talk about Rachel! I met her last year when we shot some fun portraits. She has a very lively spirit, that one. I was thrilled to hear that she has a “left the corporate world to pursue her dream” story. She was doing marketing for a high-tech company and now she is designing jewelry instead. Woo hoo! The right side of the brain wins again! Actually, Rachel is the kinda gal who I know will succeed because she has the creativity of the right side and the organization of the left. Very important when you’re an artistically-based company!

Rachel and I met up for coffee and I asked her to bring some of her designs along for show and tell. Everyone who knows me knows I’m the WORST liar ever. Not as in “I lie all the time” but as in “I will never win a game of poker”. So when I gushed over Rachel’s work, it was most certainly sincere. She’s very talented and I would proudly wear any of her work.

Her company is Uniquity Designs, and she makes one-of-a-kind pieces using vintage fabrics and other little treasures. It’s all hand-made and extremely eye-catching. She’s going to be working on a bridal/bridesmaid collection that I’m really excited about.

If anyone reading this is interested in her work, please leave me a comment and I’ll be sure to pass you her contact info. Hopefully, she’ll have a website up soon. I have a feeling she’s going to go really far with this.

I got to see fabulous newlyweds Josh and Stephanie for their “day after” session (though it was technically a “two week after” session). They had some fun hangin’ in Bermuda for a bit, and now it was time to take some photos again. Hooray!

I tell couples that they can use the portrait session in their package for just about anything. I will take a still-life of your dog playing x-box if you so choose. Stephanie and Josh had something much better to shoot. When we met, they said there would be “fake” rings at the wedding because they would later be having the “real” ones tattooed on. Looking back, I may have actually begged them to use their portrait session for the tattoos. Thankfully, we all agreed.

Debi at Illustrator Tattoo was really cool, and does beautiful work. We even got to listen to some Bob Dylan while the magic was happening.

So here are some of the shots of the rings being “put” on. Note: I think Stephanie deserves an extra nod for being a superhero. She has very tiny, thin fingers, so that tattoo had to have hurt a tad. I’ll be one of those people who goes in to get a battleship across my chest and walks out with a dot and a kleenex.

I don’t need a fancy bike. I don’t need a fast bike. If the seat is comfy, I don’t care that it’s held on by wishful taping. However, I do need a bike that “works”. My bike is so broke-down right now, it’s nearly turned into a very cumbersome paperweight. The weather is nicer and I’d like to ride on the Silver Comet Trail with Matt, since I don’t ride around the city too much. Riding in Atlanta to me is like covering your leg in ground chuck and dangling it in front of a hungry shark. Do I really NEED to tempt fate? Also, most sharks are smarter than the average Atlanta driver.

So this bike either needs an extreme cycle makeover, or I need a new one. I’d rather spend money on photo stuff, but I may have no choice.

I have some big photo shoots coming up this weekend: photos for “Expecting Isabel” at 7 Stages Theater, Stephanie & Josh’s portrait session of their wedding ring tattoos, and Joel & Jill’s wedding!). Until then, I shall infiltrate the bloggosphere with any random gobbledeygook I choose.

The other day, Matt and I went to the local Value Village thrift store to look for crazy art to hang in his man dungeon. We didn’t find any hangable art, but we did find him a little statue of a three-headed wolf emerging from a tree stump. Don’t fall in love….she’s a beauty.

The treasures I purchased weren’t nearly as magical or unsettling, but here’s what I left with…

Ahhh, more books! If anyone has read any of these, let me know your verdict. I also bought some Little Golden Books for when our friends bring all their munchkins over. If your munchkins can’t read, then I have a lovely staple gun they can play with.

John Lennon had Yoko, Andy Warhol had Edie Sedgewick, Lewis Carroll had Alice Liddell, F. Scott had Zelda, and then there’s the movie “Xanadu”. Since lots of artists are inspired by their muses, mine would have to be Linnea. She’s not only a great friend, but also a wickedly good photographer. So, she totally “gets” it. I know that I can throw her into any crazy scenario and she’ll dive in head-first and help me transfer images from my head into my camera.

First up, it’s headshots of Matt Myers! Woo hoo! One fine fella. He’s been a good friend for years now. Ooh, you should check out his website of comics. It’s called
Mr Pixel and the Pixel Family. He’s one of those dangerous people who’s smart AND has a sense of humor. Ya gotta keep an eye on those. I’m still obsessed about something he mentioned during his photo session. In clothing sizes, there is no EXTRA Medium (XM). I’m going to find any clothes that I have that are medium, and write an X in front of the M just to see if the world melts.

Now we move on to Part II of our combo post. There was a party to celebrate Anna-Claire’s graduation from nursing school. Anna-Claire is the wife of Mr. Myers and is one of my best friends in this world. Her soul is so beautiful, I wish I could pull it out, give it a smooch, and gently put it back. I adore her. AND she wears glitter. In fact, at the party, I was given the special duty of making sure that as she ages, if she is ever unable to apply the glitter herself, I will be there to make sure she sparkles at all times.

She was on an accelerated program in nursing school, which was so difficult that the average person would probably rather french kiss a grizzly bear than attempt this type of process. I am so proud of her.