Christmas in CA = Sunsets and Starfish

Morro Bay, California

Merry Christmas!

I am currently sitting in my parents Big Room (we call it that cause it's the biggest room in the house) writing this blog while listening to Christmas music, watching the rain fall outside and listening to my family talk in the other room. Mom is in the kitchen finishing the Monkey Bread for breakfast. My older sister is still in the room sleeping. It's a typical Collins Family Christmas.

I have been home for Christmas morning every year of my 23 year life. While we've grown older, and the traditions have changed slightly, they are still all the same. Every year on Christmas Eve we go to church where my family plays the Christmas Carols on their various instruments. Then we come home to make the Monkey Bread for breakfast the next morning. This year we changed that. At some point during the Christmas season we always watch White Christmas together. Seeing as last night was the first night we were all together we did that.

On Christmas Eve my dad also always reads the Christmas story from Luke and Matthew. When we were little us girls used to act out the story with the nativity figures, however, we cancelled that particular tradition a few years ago. Last night us 3 girls got to read the story. After reading the story we always open one present - pajamas. We all go change into our new pjs and settled down for the rest of the night, which last night was watching White Christmas.

Christmas morning consists of everyone slowly waking up and drinking their coffee around the fire place. Eventually when everyone's awake, we'll cut into the Monkey Bread and start the present opening. The rest of the day is spent playing new games, listening to new music and just enjoying one another's company.

Most Christmases go on without a hitch, however, there have been years with some "exciting" stories. Like the year my younger sister got a basketball hoop. It was the last present opened so all of us in our pjs went outside to see it. My dad has the camera and about 10 seconds after we're all outside in the 45 degree weather he says "Jim (my uncle) did you shut the door?" Yep. It locks from the inside if you forget to turn the knob. The rest of the video is filled with laughter as we realize that all of our neighbors with keys are out of town and all of our doors are locked. Luckily my sister was small enough to crawl under the garage door to unlock us, but it took some convincing.

What are your Christmas traditions? Any funny anecdotes you can share with us?

Amy & Eric

A few months back I got the opportunity to photograph Amy Wright in my bathtub. A few days later, I got to photograph Amy Wright and Eric Johnson on my porch. And a few months later I got to photograph Mr. and Mrs. Johnson at their wedding reception!! 
Congrats Amy and Eric!!!

Plastic Surgery - Website Style

Tuesday was a fun day. Well, the end result was exciting, but I can't say the day itself was exciting. You see, Dave and myself spent all day Tuesday updating our website. It was a LONG process. Dave has been writing the code for the site for quite a few weeks now and he even stayed up until midnight on Tuesday getting everything ready! After the very very long day of plastic surgery, our website is finally up and running. It wasn't a complete make over, but definitely a little nip and tuck!
Check it out:
www.photo-edge.com

Joys of living in a small town

I've mentioned it before, but I absolutely love living in the small town of Waxhaw, NC. Especially on days when there is a parade! Growing up I never liked parades. Probably because I had to be in them and when you reach a certain age, that's just not cool anymore. Now, however, I look forward to every little parade in Waxhaw. The most recent being the Waxhaw Christmas Parade. There's nothing like the giant vacuum balloon being pulled behind a truck!!
To see pictures check out fellow photographer Rolf Loken.

After the parade, Dave and I got to hang out at the fire station with Santa and all the little kids for "Snacks with Santa".

Why NOT?!?

Sometimes in life a better question than "Why?" is "Why NOT?!?" That's what myself and 2 friends said Friday night at Kami's around 9 pm when the idea to drive to Charleston was brought up. After double checking the calendar, we left my house at 9:45pm with only ourselves, gas in the car, cash in the wallets and adventure on our minds!!! After arriving at 1:30am we spent the night in the "luxurious" Red Roof Inn with the cockroach, woke up the next morning, showered, threw on the same clothes and took a 3 hour tour of Charleston before heading back home. 
There's a lot to be said for spontaneity and taking advantage of the time you have and your season in life!

Christmas is here!!

It's official. Christmas is here at photoEdge! There's Christmas music playing in the office, a Christmas tree in the living room, a wreath on the door and candy canes along the sidewalk. To kick off the Christmas season Santa came a little early for a special visit to our studio. Here's some highlights...

Neely & Daniel

Neely Schmidt and Daniel Rose were married on Saturday, November 22nd. They had a beautiful ceremony at Belk Chapel with an awesome reception at Bentley's on 27th.

Congrats to Mr and Mrs Rose!!

Christmas is coming early this year

Christmas is by far my favorite holiday. Followed closely by Thanksgiving and then Fourth of July. I love everything about Christmas. The smells. The songs. The sounds. The cookies & candy my parents get because they're both elementary school teachers. Shopping for a Christmas tree. Decorating the tree. Hanging up Christmas lights. Everything. It doesn't get much better :o)

And for your enjoyment, we're bringing Christmas out a little early this year at photoEdge too! This Saturday, Santa is making a special visit to our studio just for you! Call soon because spots are limited and you don't want to miss out on this opportunity!

This year we are also offering custom designed holiday cards. Follow this link to see some examples.
Holiday Cards

Santa Claus is coming to town....

That's right - Santa will be personally visiting our studio on Nov 21st and 22nd. If you're tired of waiting in lines at the mall, or if you're just tired of getting a single "snapshot" with Santa, sign up for a session here and you can get 15 minutes with Santa all to yourself! We will take the time to create precious pictures of your child with Santa that you will love.

Due to Santa's busy schedule, spots are limited so sign up today to secure yours. Sessions are $35 and we'll have special packages available for purchase following your session. This season we are also offering custom holiday cards. You will be able to schedule an appointment to review pictures at our studio or view them online. 

Remember - spots are limited and there's only a week left, so call today and book your session!!

Friendly competition...

A few weeks ago I got the opportunity once again to photograph fire fighters in action. Although this time there were no burning buildings involved, but there were a LOT more fire fighters! Union County had it's annual Fire Fighter Competition held at the fire training grounds in Monroe. It was quite an enjoyable day - freezing cold, but enjoyable none the less! Departments from all around the county got teams together and competed in 3 different events:

The Draft Attack - Teams had to put on their gear, charge the lines and then proceed to knock down 4 cones out of 4 windows.



Rescue Me - Teams had to simulate the rescue of a fallen fire fighter. 1 man was trapped, 2 guys with blindfolds had to follow the hose line and replace his air pack, and 2 other guys had to follow the same line and carry him back to the finish line.



The Bucket Brigade - This one's pretty self explanatory - fill the buckets to fill an even bigger bucket.



There was also and individual triathalon event that in my opinion was really a decathalon! Competitors had to put on all their gear, carry and air tank up 2 flights of stairs, hoist a hose attached to a rope up 2 stories, run back down the stairs (hitting every step), pull a charged hose 100 ft (approx) to a window, knock over the cone, go pick up Rescue Randy and drag him 25 feet back to the finish line.



At the end of the day they did a "surprise" event which just so happened to be my favorite :o) I don't know what it's called but basically there are 2 teams with hoses and whoever gets the barrel on the other teams side when the time is up is the winner. I remember watching this when I was a little kid. (It was my favorite then too!)


You can see ALL of the pictures from that day if you go here:Union County Fire and Rescue Competition

Election Day 2008

We voted.... did you?!?!?

Traveling is fun?

Some of you may be aware of my past traveling issues... most of which involve the Charlotte Douglas Airport and my disdain for the place. And Delta airlines. For those that don't know, here's a little background info.

Last summer I barely found parking, barely made it through the crowd - or as they called it... line - barely made it to the gate, only to find that someone had run into the plane last night and there was now a hole in the side of the plane! A 7 hour travel day turned into a 15 hour travel day with missed flights and more. Then on my way home to Charlotte, flights all went smoothly, but getting to my car did not. The shuttle driver did not believe me when I said I was parked in the other lot because she said that lot was not open on the day arrived. She was wrong. But she insisted I MUST be in this lot and therefore I exited the shuttle, accidentally leaving my computer behind. I wandered through the parking lot for about 30 seconds when it was confirmed that I really am NOT in this lot. So then I had to sit outside on the curb by the little kiosk and wait for the nice lady in the pick up truck to come get me and take me to my car. Oh yeah... the whole time is was POURING rain and I was completely soaked to the bone.



Luckily this traveling trip was no where near as bad, but still not perfect. My best friend is getting married in Santa Barbara on January 3rd. This weekend we planned to do not 1, but 2 bridal showers for her. And seeing that she is my best friend and I am the Maid of Honor, I took a whirlwind trip out there. I left Charlotte at 9:30am on Friday. Amazingly enough, it was a breeze! I printed my boarding pass the night before, did curbside check in, and sat and enjoyed the free wireless internet :o) I spent the entire weekend either in a car driving, setting up for a shower, hosting a shower, cleaning up for a shower, or pretending to sleep. It was totally worth the exhaustion and hours of travel because I got to see a lot of familiar faces that I haven't seen since last Christmas. And I went to Downtown Disney for dinner which is as close as I can get to the Happiest Place on Earth without actually going.

But now comes the "fun" part of the trip. My flight back to Charlotte was an overnight flight. I was supposed to arrive at 10:30am. That was not the case because the pilot called in sick and the flight that was supposed to leave LAX at 12:15am, didn't leave until 2:45am! So I spent 4 hours in the airport watching The Office and trying to sleep. Luckily I think I slept the entire 3 hour and 54 minute flight to the Atlanta airport. But now I'm just sitting here waiting for my new connecting flight which leaves in about 2 hours and I feel about as disheveled as can be after being in an almost constant state of travel since Friday morning.

Hopefully, there won't be any issues when I get to Charlotte!!

Crayola box of Brown

Being from California, I have never experienced a true fall. There are about 5 tiny trees lining the K-Mart parking lot by my house in CA that change color. In order to change this sad fact, myself and 3 friends decided to take the day off of work and head up to Grandfather Mountain. The colors started getting more and more beautiful the higher we got. Until of course we actually reached the mountains and started seeing snow on the ground. Yep, snow. Not much, it was more like ice at this point, but snow none the less. At that point the trees started to change (aka have no leaves at all). My friend described the view as a "Crayola box of browns." Plus, Grandfather Mountain was actually closed due to wind.
Side note: This reminds me of being at Disneyland waiting in the giant mob of people in excited anticipation of fireworks only to hear the announcement saying "Fireworks have been cancelled due to high winds about the magic kingdom."
Even though our plans had been spoiled, we still managed to have an amazing day and even found a random trail on the side of the road that led us through the trees, over a bridge, next to a small waterfall and then to our great relief, directly back to our car!

Here are a few pictures for your entertainment.

Tasha & Kyle

This past weekend, Tasha & Kyle got married at the beautiful Coker Ranch in Lancaster, SC. The ceremony took place overlooking a pond at sunset. All morning long we were praying the sun would come out and the rain would stay away. An hour and a half before the ceremony it was answered! Everything turned out beautifully and the bridal party danced the night away under the stars.

WVFD Training Fire

Another Waxhaw Fire Department Training Fire happened on Monday, Oct 13th. Once again... it was incredible :o) It never ceases to amaze me how exciting yet terrifying these fires are! I was sure the barn was going to collapse on the guys inside, but of course they had everything under control :o) Here's a quick little slideshow I put together. If you want to see even more pics go to the following link:

More Pics

Alyssa & Christopher

Goodbye D2622027...

Well, it's official. I no longer have my California drivers license. I tried to wait as long as possible, but the time has come. Technically -well, I guess it's actually legally- I should've gotten my new license 60-90 days after moving here. That would've been April 18, 2007. As you can see, I'm well past that date!! But I just didn't want to give it up... for a few reasons:

1- It's my last official document from the wonderful state of California.
2- The pictures is priceless!! It was taken when I was 15 1/2. Bangs. Glasses. Overalls. Classic.
3- It always provides entertainment when someone is checking my ID. Either they don't believe the picture is actually me. Or they can't find my birth date.
4- This particular card holds great memories of going horseback riding on my 21st birthday, losing the card in the sand at Half Moon Bay, and having to pay for a replacement before celebrating.
5- It glows under black lights which I didn't learn until about 3 weeks ago.

North Carolina has a law that requires you to relinquish your license to the DMV upon getting a new one. I tried to convince the man that he should just poke a bunch of holes - not just one - in the card and let me keep it. But alas, he wouldn't let me. He did however promise to make it last as long as possible tonight during the "Shredding Party".

I finally broke down and got the NC license for a couple reasons. One being I wanted to register to vote in the upcoming election and needed to do so by October 10th. The other reason is that somewhere down the road one of these NC officers of the law, is not going to be so nice and just "let it slide." I've been stopped by the police 4 times since moving here. Just so you know... only one of those times was because I was pulled over and I didn't get a ticket. The other 3 were those fun little road blocks. Anyway... every time I've been stopped, the kind officer proceeds to tell me that I need to have a NC license and should've had one for a LONG time now. But that's all they ever do. One guy even said "I'm not going to write you a ticket though. I'll save that for the next guy." I don't want to meet "the next guy." So, I got a new license.

It was not as quick and easy as I had hoped. I was going to do this Monday morning, but was too exhausted from our busy weekend to wake up. So I opted for Tuesday. Being the night owl that I am, I still did not make it out of the house this morning at 7:30am as planned. It was closer to 9am. After being on the road for about 5 minutes I realized I had forgotten my book. That meant I would have to sit there doing nothing in those wonderful DMV lines. Oh well. I make it to the road and proceed to drive up........ and down. And up............ and down. I can not find this stupid DMV for the life of me! I'm starting to get irritated at this point because I now only have about an hour to complete this process and who knows how long I'll have to wait. Plus, I managed to spill coffee all over my shirt!

I decided at this point that it wasn't worth it and I was just going to go home and try again on Thursday. I turned onto this lovely little road and went around beautiful little curve to be surprised by what?!?? A road block!! This will be the 4th road block with my CA license. I thought to myself - "Great... maybe he's gonna be the "next guy" and write me the ticket. But I bet he knows where the DMV is!!!" I pull up the the state trooper, roll down my window, hand him my license and see that look I've seen before. It's the one that is directly followed by "How long have you lived here? You know you're supposed to have a NC license within 60-90 days of moving?" Instead of letting him get all of this out I stopped him and said "Maybe you can help me. I'm actually looking for the DMV to replace this but I can't find it!!" At this he chuckled and gave me directions. I made my nice little U-turn and headed back for the DMV. I found it this time :o)

But that's not where the story ends. You see, I sat down and after trying to convince the guy to let me keep my card, he said it was time for my "vision/sign" test. I did excellent on that until the very end. The last 4 unmarked signs you have to identify are:



I got the first one right. For the life of me I could not figure out the last 4!! Pathetic, I know. In my defense though, they will NEVER put up one of those signs without the black lines, words or pictures!! The man was nice enough to "look the other way" while I glanced at the cheat sheet!--- 10 points if you can name all four---After that whole incident I felt like a COMPLETE idiot and prayed I wouldn't make any stupid mistakes on the test and have to restart this whole process. Luckily, I aced the test :o)

Now I have a brand new North Carolina drivers license with a rather decent picture of me and a lighthouse in the background. (I chose the light house because he explained my options as "Do you like flying, the beach, the state or _______" - I don't remember the last choice. Obviously I went for the beach!!!)

And now I'm going to take a moment of silence in remembrance of CA D2622027 - the license that is no more.

Amber & Jason

Jennifer & Nick

Jamie & Allen

Senior portraits gone bad?

How many of you had your kid's senior portr​aits done by a big corpo​rate photo​graph​er and are compl​etely​ unsat​isfie​d?​!​ You had to wait forev​er.​ Drove​ far away.​ Got stuck​ with simpl​e borin​g backg​round​s and poses​.​ Got the proof​s back and absolutely​ hate them!​!​

Don'​t worry​!​!​ Just becau​se you are required to get the "​senio​r drape​"​ pictu​re done by them to get in the yearb​ook,​ that doesn​'​t mean you have to buy any of the other​ pictu​res!​

At photo​Edge we are a full servi​ce photo​graph​y studi​o.​ You can choos​e exact​ly when and where​ you want your pictu​res taken​.​ We'​ll even come to you! Do you want to inclu​de your dog in the pictu​re?​ GREAT​!​!​ Let'​s do it! Want to try some fun "​celeb​rity"​ style​ portr​aits in our studi​o?​ GREAT​!​!​ Let'​s do it! Want to take pictu​res at your favor​ite park?​ GREAT​!​!​ Let'​s do it!

We'​ll even refun​d your $50 sessi​on fee from that OTHER​ studi​o!​!​ Call,​ email​ or messa​ge me today​ and we'​ll set up an appoi​ntmen​t :o

Jenny & Jerry

September 11th

A New Day Comes

Tuesday morn the sun crept up
to show its shiny face.
A day begun, a day to be won
by all whose faith is in grace.

A glimmering frost nestled on our flag
perched high atop the towers
to light the world with hopes so high
of unity beyond our powers.

Today a new day of normal routine
to be struck by awful terror.
A flying beast rode through the sky
filled with workers, kids and their prayers.

An awful strike, a blow to the wall
debris floating to the ground.
Screams of fright, cries of terror
to loved ones all around.

“A fatal crash, that’s all it is,”
raced through the minds of people.
Unknown to them the danger they’re in
up high on this burning steeple.

Awfully soon they realized
the end was near to them.
Phone calls home to ones so dear
before now becomes then.

Video’s rolling of this tragedy
as another came flying in.
They realized this was no mistake
as the world began to spin.

Not one or two, but four planes crashed
before the day was done.
Rescuers, policemen, media and more
saw them plummet under the sun.

The whole wide world, struck with awe,
grieved for the dying people.
Tens, hundreds, thousands and more
died in those crumpling steeples.

September eleventh, two thousand one
a day to be remembered
by all of those who lost someone
in those hot burning embers.

Wednesday morn the sun crept up
to show it’s shiny face
a day begun, a day to be won
by all whose faith is in grace.

A glimmering frost nestled on our flag
perched atop our homes for hours.
A new day comes, our hopes still high
of unity beyond our powers.






We will never forget.

Most Recent Weddings...

Here's a peak at our 2 most recent weddings....

A few things about Dave

Christy added 10 things about her so I need to keep up.

1. The most important thing about me is my relationship with Jesus. He is the strength of my life and the motivation for each day.

2. Next, of course, is my wonderful wife, Aileen. This year we are celebrating 22 years of marriage. Each time I photograph a wedding, I am reminded of our wedding day, and my very best friend.

3. Ok, enough of the mooshy stuff. I do need to mention my five kids. While they have given me more than my share of gray hairs, I would not trade a single one of them. The oldest is now away at college and that certainly opens up the windows for the winds of change (poetic isn't it?).

4. I have always had a passion for photography. Doing it as a job is definitely different than having it as a hobby. Many people do not want to make their hobby their job because it is no longer fun for them. I have to disagree on this one. Photographing people is always exciting and every job is different because each person is unique. There is infinite variety and opportunity for creativity.

5. For my geeky side, I do love and hate computers. There is nothing else in life that is so incredibly useful and yet can be so incredibly frustrating as a computer. I have never enjoyed working on cars but I never hesitate to get the screwdriver out when the computer fails. There is something wonderful about writing programs and seeing them come to life in a computer.

6. The geeky part does not end with computers. Since Junior High, I have enjoyed coin collecting. My favorites are very old coins. An old coin will bring history to life and evoke thoughts and images of times past. I once asked a friend why he purchased an old Humvee. He told me that if I had to ask, then I would not understand. Perhaps coins are the same way.

7. While I no longer fit the part, I once was a very avid bicyclist. Perhaps this is one of those things that never leaves. My biggest accomplishment was riding the entire California coast and 3/4 of the Oregon coast in one summer.

8. If you are going to eat food, then why not make it spicy? I have been given a family, in which none of them like spicy food! So, if you ask me where I want to go to lunch, it will either be Mexican or Indian. I do love adventure in food. One of my favorite places is Epcot in Disney world. You can eat your way around the world.

9. Oh yea, I have been to India twice and it is one of my favorite places. You just can't imagine lots of people until you visit someplace like this. The people are wonderful and I now have several friends there.

10. I enjoy geocaching. If you have not heard about it, you can check it out at www.geocaching.com. It's kind of like modern day high-tech treasure hunting. (Back to that computer thing again)

Now you know a few things about me.

bridal portraits in the bathroom?

Check out the most recent bridal portraits we took in the bathroom!!

l

new site...

Hey everyone! Christy updated her personal website. Check it out and see what's new!!
www.christycollinsphoto.com

a little bit about christy...

1 - I spent the first 21 years of my life in California, 3 of which were in Santa Barbara, an therefore am in love with the beach.

2- I drink a large cup of coffee every day.

3- I have an adorable orange cat named Morgan. I used to have 2 orange cats, but Jerry got very very sick.

4- I entered college with the dream of working as the still photographer on a movie set, but realized that I don't actually want to live or work in Hollywood.... ever.

5- I am a certified scuba diver, however I haven't taken advantage of that in about 3 years.

6- I have been inside a burning building.

7 - Peanut Butter Pizza from Players in Atascadero, CA is delicious!!

8- My pinky toes are so small they don't even touch the ground.

9- My two least favorite chores are folding laundry and washing dishes.

10- I love living in the south.

Celebrity Photos

Ok, so maybe you don't recognize him. But, if you were from Ethiopia you would! With wedding photography, every wedding is a new and fun experience. Last month, we photographed an Ethiopian wedding and Yehune Belay provided the music. While waiting for the bride and groom to arrive, I had a chance to chat with him. You can check out his web site at http://www.yehuniebelay.com/.

Portraits in the bathroom?

One of my favorite parts about being a photographer is the funny situations we end up in. Photographers go to great lengths to get "the" shot. Sometimes that means crawling through bushes, laying in the mud, climbing on top of things, etc. Other times it means you get to take executive portraits in the bathroom!! 

Although... you'd never know if I hadn't just told you :o)

When I grow up I want to be a photographer...

This morning I, Christy, got an opportunity of a lifetime. No, I didn't go in any more burning buildings! Instead I went inside a building that holds such precious archives that if it was burning all of the air would be sucked out to kill the fire! Myself, along with 3 other photographers, had the opportunity to visit the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association (http://www.billygraham.org/default.asp) headquarters to meet with Russ Busby, who has been the head photographer for the last 52 years!

Talk about an incredible man! He's living proof of my theory that portrait photographers are (or at least should be) some of the nicest characters on earth! This man has had the opportunity to travel all over the world photographing everyone from the poor farmer in the Middle East to the president of the United States. When I say president I'm talking pretty much every single president since the mid-1950's!! Just recently he traveled overseas to North Korea... or was it South Korea? I don't remember. Anyway, the guy has stories to tell!! Not just stories, but also plenty jokes and tidbits of helpful information. Something that stuck out in my mind he said at the very end. "It's the person who takes the picture, not the camera." 

Originally our meeting was supposed to be only an hour. Two and a half hours later after hearing stories, seeing the archives and learning about how they work, we were saying goodbye. He gave us each a copy of the Billy Graham documentary book full of quotes, articles and photographs of the last 50 years of his ministry. Quoting Russ, "It's not a book of pictures I've taken, or things Billy Graham has said, but rather it is a book of what God has done." 

It was such a blessing to get to spend a few hours with a man of his character. I can only wish that someday when I grow up I can be a photographer like Russ Busby!!

Updated Website

Hey everyone! It's been an exciting 2 weeks for me, Christy :o) I got to fly back to California for a week to photograph fellow Brooks Institute alumni's wedding. The wedding took place on a yacht in the Newport Beach harbor. It was beautiful! I do miss the sunset over the ocean.

Check out our website to see their wedding pictures (Brenna & Michael). We've also updated our wedding gallery section so take a peak!

photoEdge website

4th of July

We hope you all had a wonderful 4th of July week! Here's a look at what we did :o)

Summer's here...

Well, the busy weekends have stopped... for now. Here's a little peak at what we've been up to...

Heather & Steve in Asheville



Nicole & Stephen


Amy & Michael

Fun stuff...

As a professional photographer/artist "they" say it's important to have a creative outlet. In photography school teachers always used to tell me to treat each assignment - whether I liked the assignment or not -  as a way to be creative. It's the "shoot one for the client and one for yourself" philosophy. This is supposed to keep your creative juices flowing and make every job exciting. Most of the time this is pretty easy to do. For example, we take all the "traditional" pictures the clients want and then say "Just for fun, lets try...." Most of the time the clients don't buy it, but we have fun doing it and the photographs make great samples to show off just how creative we can be :o)

Every now and then though, a "job" arises that allows for complete creativity. Many of you may not be aware of this fact, but I, Christy, am actually a member of the Waxhaw Volunteer Fire Department. Impressive right? Not really because I do not run into burning buildings or rescue people. My membership consists of being on the auxiliary team. Technically, our role is to support the fire fighters when they get really big calls, etc. My role so far has been to take pictures :o) I got involved with the department about a year ago when Dave's oldest son invited me to come photograph one of their training fires. From there I photographed another one a few months later and slowly I became the unofficial photographer (or at least that's what I claim!) for the department. Eventually this lead to me actually joining the department in order to be better informed. 

On June 7, I had one of those purely creative opportunities with the department. They were burning down another house - more like mansion - for training purposes. Because the house was so large they invited other departments in the area to come join them. Once again I got the chance to photograph the event. If you've never experienced a fire that large (which for your sake I hope you never get the chance unless it's one of these types of situations!) just imagine a bonfire multiplied by about 100 if not more! The heat that comes off of a burning building is amazing! I remember last year when they first started the fire and it began to pour out the windows. I was actually frightened even though I was surrounded by fire fighters who had not only started the fire but were monitoring it from every angle.

The most recent training fire was once again amazing. I was able to get creative and photograph the event the way I wanted. There was no one telling me what to shoot or how to shoot it. I didn't have to pose anyone. I just got to walk around and take pictures which is what I love. I also experienced probably the most exciting thing I've ever done before: being inside a burning building! Part way through the morning, the chief allowed me to be escorted inside the house to photograph the fire from the inside. Don't worry, I wasn't in any real danger. As smoke poured out of the room to my right I admit I was a little nervous, but it was more of an adrenaline rush nervous rather than an afraid nervous. It was incredible!! 

Hello!!

Well, it's taken awhile, but we finally have a blog!! Yay......... I think. :o)

Let me start out by introducing myself (for those of you that don't already know) and giving you a brief history of photoEdge. My name is Christy Collins and my business partner is Dave Edge. Both Dave and myself migrated from sunny California to humid North Carolina. Dave and his family moved here about 4 years ago. After 3 years of working for another company Dave decided it was time to follow his dream and start a photography business. This happened about the same time I graduated from photography school in CA and after many months of thinking and praying, I moved out here in January 2007. Thus the birth of photoEdge, LLC. Now both Dave and myself work full time photographing weddings, families, children, high school seniors and sometimes even dogs. I say we work full time photographing, but in all reality only about 10% of our work is actually behind the camera! Most of our days our spent in front of a computer desk wishing we were behind the camera :o)

Now for the good stuff! Or at least I think it's the good stuff. This weekend is the penultimate weekend of our busy wedding season. Tomorrow Dave and I get to drive to Asheville at 7:30am and drive back at 11pm so that we can be up and ready for another wedding in Charlotte on Sunday. After the next 2 weekends we will have photographed a total of 11 weddings in 13 weeks! Talk about busy!

Not only have we been busy with weddings, but we've also been keeping ourselves busy with family portraits. Last weekend we go the chance to travel to Myrtle Beach to photograph a family at their beach house. Minus the wind, it was a beautiful day!

That's about it for now. Keep checking back for more updates and don't forget to call and schedule your session!!