Chris and Jenna were married at the beach north of Corolla, NC, on the Outer Banks. I’ve known Chris for several years. We worked at the NC State student newspaper. He’s an amazing photographer and I was honored to be asked, with Ray, to shoot his wedding.

Last week I flew into Raleigh then drove 4 hours to Corolla, NC for Chris and Jenna’s wedding.

Over Labor Day, Arielle and I went to Las Vegas to meet up with Melih. This was my chance to catch up with him before his wedding. He’s getting married on 10-10-10 in Asheville, NC. One of the down sides of being in the event industry is that I tend to miss out on friends events, since I’m working. I’m glad we got a chance to see Melih before before the wedding. On the way we stopped in Nothing, AZ and the Hoover Dam for some sight seeing.

I haven’t been in my office much around sunset this summer. It’s been a combination of being pretty busy and that it gets very hot in there. A consequence of this is that I don’t see many sunsets. This day, back in June, I noticed the amazing sunset and ran upstairs with my camera.

Last week I got a call from AZ ASMP chapter president, Steve Dreiseszun. He was calling about the last minute need for a photographer for a Flashes of Hope shoot. The ASMP has partnered with Flashes of Hope to provide the highest ethical and professional standards. I was free and jumped at the change to help.

Flashes of Hope is a nonprofit that according to their website, “changes the way children with cancer and other life threatening illnesses see themselves through the gift of photography and raises money for pediatric cancer research.” It is truly an amazing organization and I was honored to be asked to help.

It’s hard to put into words how profound the experience was for me. The kids were great, most were a little shy at first, but there was that moment when they let go and were just kids having fun. Seeing that change was amazing. Thinking back on the day brings tears to my eyes. Everyone was very thankful that I was there and could help at the last minute, but I felt that I should be thanking them for allowing me to be part of such a special experience.