Well, we finally gave in and started (or, well, revamped) our own Facebook page.  Join us over there; you can “like” us, see our latest session previews before they hit the blog, read reviews, or just hang out and waste time when you’re at work!  We can’t wait to see you there.

www.facebook.com/jessicaamesphotography

I’m working hard to post a recent wedding, but first, I had to share this.  I love this photograph of Lucas, dirty from an lawn work last weekend.  I regret not taking this on film, but c’est la vie!  I’m dying to get this printed as a lovely black and white giclée to hang in my office.

Isn’t there something magical about this photograph?  I can’t quite put my fingers on it… But I adore it.

This past Saturday was seemingly filled with so much hope and prosperity; Lucas and I started the morning meeting with an absolutely wonderful couple to plan engagement photographs.  After, we toured an old building in the hopes of buying it for a studio space.  We finished the afternoon with an intense, but satisfying workout.  The day was like any other Saturday, I suppose.

Until we heard the news.  Jamie Houseknecht, a friend for years, had died in a car accident.  I’m still nervous and unsure writing this, but I want everyone reading this to stop and remember how fleeting life is.  See,  Jamie was an amazing, incredible person.  I have never met anyone who had such an infectious laugh and smile, who could light up a room so completely.  If you ever needed anything, he was someone who would be there.  The definition of a true, great person.  I just don’t think our lives will be the same without him.  I think a lot of lives won’t be the same without him in it.

These photographs we take, that we overlook, are so important.  Last year, Jamie had asked me to take some photographs of him and their dogs, as a gift to his girlfriend, Allison.  At the funeral, I saw one of those photographs in his casket, and it shook me to my core.  I never expected that a single photograph would later mean so much.  A slideshow played at the viewing, detailing the fish he caught, the bar our friends helped put together, him and Allison drinking margaritas.  Just… the small moments that make up a life.  Those moments you completely overlook.  Some of these photographs are merely snapshots from a football tailgate.  So, please keep your finger on that shutter, capture everything, take it with you everywhere.  Document everything big, and everything small.  Find some truth and take that photograph.  It may not matter tomorrow, or next year, or in ten years.  But it will.

I’ve been listening to Simon & Garfunkel’s ‘Bookends’ all evening:  ”I have a photograph.  Preserve your memories.  They’re all that’s left you.”

I’m not an in-between person.  I either think a film is brilliant, or it isn’t.  That a record is either the best I’ve ever heard, or just mediocre.  So, this winter has been a bit of a letdown for me.  No good, major snowstorms – Just overcast, cold days with the occasional flurry.  Last night that all changed, and I woke up this morning to snow everywhere!  The trees look like they shrank in height, everything was covered in that amazing white sparkle snow, and the branches sagged under the weight of it all.  I had to take a photograph today of the snow resting on these small, tiny azalea branches.

I hope you’re all staying safe and warm this weekend, if you’re snowed in like a lot of us are on the East Coast!

It’s been over a year now since Jessica Ames Photography has officially launched. In that short year, my life has been turned upside down. But in the best way possible. In ways that I would have never imagined or hoped for. I’ve met clients that have become some of the most important people in my life. I’ve seen pregnant bellies turn into newborn babies. I’ve cried during some of the most sentimental wedding unions I’ve ever witnessed. I’ve laughed and shared jokes with newly engaged couples who are absolutely glowing with happiness.

The photographs, the clients, this business… It’s a labor of love for us. And that’s why we’ve spent the last four months obsessing over every single detail of launching our new look; the colors, the paper, the typography. We’ve spent so many afternoons with endless cups of tea, talking about how to create what you see now. A heartfelt thanks goes out to the most patient and friendly Ashley, over at the extraordinary Luxecetera, who somehow made all our crazy ideas come to life.

We hope that you love this new look as much as we do. Exciting things are on the horizon for 2010, and we can’t wait to share it all with you!