Wow what a crazy weekend that was! I did Missy and Andy's wedding on Friday night, came home and loaded pictures, then went to bed. Got up around 6 on Saturday morning, packed, met Lacey and Alex or Florida Tribal Dance and headed over to St. Petersburg for Tribal Burn and didn't get back until late last night. Lacey had workshops during the day on Saturday so Alex and I hung out with Adeela of Cntronart Productions and we all took naps to catch up on some much needed and well deserved sleep at Kimberly's house (one of the girls from "Loud Zoo" www.loudzoo.net). Then we all freshened up and went to dinner at a Thai/Japanese restaurant and had the best pork fried rice I have ever tasted! Then we headed over to the boat dock and headed out to Gulf Island on a small boat where there was a bonfire waiting for us as we got soaked walking through the water to get to the shore. This was sooooobeyond relaxing, I could have stayed there a very long time. Everyone was just chillin' on the beach singing, dancing, and drumming. The performers from "Loud Zoo" were there with the drums, the "dig" (digeradoo), the flutes, and the fire! There was fire fans, fire poi, fire swords, fire palms, fire belts, fire EVERYTHING! All of the people who took the fire performance and safety workshop earlier in the day got to try the tools out for size. I must say it was one of the most difficult things I have EVER shot! If there are three things I would say to an aspiring photographer from a professional that are the hardest to shoot it would be: pitch black dark, motion, and fire.........Tribal Burn was ALL 3! The absolute ONLY light source that I had was fire. No ambient light, not even moonlight! We were on a secluded island! However, I did get some shots that I was very happy with and can not wait to share them with you! Everyone was so relaxed and so helpful with the "beginners". I have never seen such a relaxed family atmosphere with dancers before. Usually we are all stressed trying to get ready for the show, this was not at all stressful. It was so nice to see Lacey and Alex curled up in the sand without a care in the world! That is until Lacey decided to get up and do fire! The look of shear shock and amazement on her face when those flames lit up was priceless! We were all so proud of her! After the party started to die down, after the birthday cake for Karen and friends, after laughing until it hurts, after the body impressions in the sand, after tripping over non-existant objects, and after the rain subsided we headed back onto the boat for the docks. We were all soaking wet, uncomfortable, and covered in sand and salt but still happy as tribal buddies can be. We headed back to Kimberly's for much needed showers and rest. We lazilly got p on Sunday and had homemade french toast and fresh fruit and got ready for Alex to work on Kim's tattoo. I was soooooo very excited because I have never seen it done in person before and I really really want to get one. Alex is one AMAZING artist! I got to see it from start to finish. But what amazed me the most was how calm Kim was through the entire thing! She talked the whole way through and when I asked her how she felt she said it was "manageable pain". Now I REALLY want mine done! We all hung out for while then went out to dinner again and headed back to our neck of the woods. WHAT A WEEKEND! We spent the whole car trip home talking about how much fun we had and can't wait to do it again! Thanks Hip Expressions and Loud Zoo for such a FANTABULOUS weekend! We can't wait to do it again and bring the whole gang! A VERY special thanks to Kimberly for being such an awesome host and putting up with the three of us for the weekend! I love your french toast! And another thank you to Lacey and Alex! I didn't have to drive.....and I didn't have to cook!!!! Yay! You know I love you guys and it was so nice to get to know eachother more and more! Alex.....I am having Shane draw up that tattoo!!!!! Love Kristen

Missy and Andy's wedding on Friday night was so much fun! First I met them at their hotel at the Contemporary resort and we took the monorail over to the Grand Floridian to do some pictures before the ceremony. Although it was unbearably HOT, we got some great shots out of it! The band on the balcony even played a song for them and let us take pictures with them....they were so cute! We went outside of the hotel and got some pictures in the old carriage too. Then we headed out to the Orlando Sportsman's Club for the ceremony. They only ha about 20 guests so it was very quaint and informal, which was really nice for a change. I recommended an officiant to them named Donald who did my husband and I's wedding and it was so nice to see him again! He did a great job and kept it short and sweet. We will be referring eachother in the future so it will be a good business relationship. His website is www.allaboutyourweddingday.com. My good friend Dawn of idofloral.com did the flowers and centerpieces and they were absolutely beautiful! Missy and Andy were so cute together and even though it rained, we still got some great pictures. Their kids were having so much fun playing on the playground and making scrapbook pages at the activity table. But my favorite thing of all was when I was leaving and I had my tripod on my shoulder and my camera bag in hand and Missy's son came up to me and said thank you and kissed me on the cheek. He was such a sweet boy and as he said earlier in the evening he was trying to be his "goodest" for his mommy, and he was =) I received this email today from MIssy when I inquired how Andy liked the images so far and here was the response!: "Oh my gosh - he is so happy! He loves how your style is so different than the typical wedding photographer, that you are capturing the spirit of the day and the kids more just than documenting the event. He is also impressed with the creative editing with the colors, filters, etc. Not being a creative person - the ability to do that just blows him away. He actually thanked me last night for having suggested using you for the wedding, he said he was so glad that we had access to such talent. Shall I go on????"

Boy is this weekend going to be crazy! First I have Missy and Andy's wedding on Friday, and then Saturday I am off to Tampa for "Tribal Burn" (www.hipexpressions.com) and stay through Sunday! Yikes! It is going to be a lot of fun though....I get to hang out with all of my Tribal girls including Lacey of course! And my good friends Adeela and Bill of Cintronart Productions are going to be in town as well! I am very excited to see them! We always have a great time. Wel, wish me luck...there is a lot going on in the KHphotographics world, especially now that I am not sick!!! I will be having several art shows coming up, lots more shoots....and the dates for The Big Bellydance Photo Shoot 4 will be coming VERY soon!!!! So keep checking back and see what's going on!!!!! -Kristen

Today was so much fun! Morgan, who is an AWESOME hoopdancer requested a shoot for promotion and her website and she really liked my style so we set up a shoot. We were supposed to go to New Smryna Beach, but with the weather being so unpredictable we decided to do it closer and went to Lake Eola Park in downtown Orlando instead. We had a great time with her friends that were there for video and makeup. They even did some video of me shooting! That will be posted very soon =) I thought I knew of a lot of different types of dance and performers, especially being in the bellydance arena....but I had never seen hoopdance before! It was quiet unique and entertaining to say the least! You can check out www.hoopgirl.com for more info. This is the teacher that Morgan is certified through. Pictures to come soon!!!!

Today I had the opportunity to photograph Missy and Andy before their wedding on July 25th....in two weeks! We went to the Orlando Sportsman's Club and what a beautiful place it is! It is tucked back where no one can find it off of Apopka-Vineland Rd. The scenery was absolutely beautiful and it will be gorgeous at sunset for their wedding day! I can't wait! Here are a few pictures that I hope you all enjoy! -Kristen

So Stephen was so excited about his pictures yesterday that he asked his friend Dustin to come over and do some shots as well. This time we set up the lights and did some inside and then went out to the backyard as well. We had so much fun! I don't have very many guy models in my portfolio since I work with a lot of dancers who are female so it was a nice change of pace. It took a little bit to get Dustin comfortable in front of the camera since he had nothing professional done before (other than his senior pictures but that doesn't really count). But he is going to have to get used to it since he is going to be playing professional arena football in New Orleans! He did great and so did Stephen (obviously, he is a natural). We took our little boxer girl, Dizzi, along with us on the trip and she could not stay away from the camera, she just had to sneak in there with Dustin! She is such a ham! I am posting some shots from today...so enjoy! -Kristen

So today we went to Ponchatula and had a great time. We took Shane's brother Stephen along so we could do some model shots for his portfolio (he is an aspiring actor and model). Got some great GREAT shots even though it was scorching outside! Stephen was such a trooper changing outfits and posing in the sweltering heat! But we cooled off with some strawberry daqauri's afterwards so it was all good. Apparently Ponchatula is known for their strawberries like Plant City, Florida is! Yummy! We went around to some of the shops and stores but didn't find much...but we made up for it in images so I was happy. We went and saw "Hancock" this evening and I must say that i really enjoyed it. It was not my favorite movie by any means, but it was really fun. But I really like Will Smith and Charleze Theron, so that didn't hurt. I reccomend seeing it at the theater, it was a lot of fun. Tomorrow we are going to the mall and photograph more of Stephen....I know...rough trip huh? I am posting some shots that we took of Stephen and some generic ones of Ponchatula from today. Enjoy! -Kristen

So we are in Louisiana finally! Yay! We needed a get-away severely bad. Although I am disappointed because we won't be going into the quarter because of the Essence Festival, we are still having a good time. I love July 4th! Good food, family, and fun...what more could you ask for? Everyone came over to Shane's parents house today which was nice since we haven't seen anybody in about a year. We are going to Ponchatula tomorow. For those of you that live in Florida it is an area a lot like Mt. Dora, except much older. Antique shops etc. I will post again tomorrow. Until then, here are a few pictures I took today of Bailey and everyone having a good time on the 4th! -Kristen