Ali and Howard
St. Audries Park
West Quantoxhead, Somerset, England
May 24, 2010
This was a particularly special wedding for us. Mike’s lifelong best friend, Howard, got married in England to his lovely bride, Ali. Howard and Mike have been friends since they were three years old, and Howard was the best man in our wedding. Last week Mike had the honor of being one of the two best men in Howard’s wedding. I photographed it, and my friend David Pearce traveled from Kent to help me. Thank you, David!
Howard and Ali, we are so happy for you! You couldn’t have had a more beautiful venue or a more a perfect day. Thanks for asking us to play such important parts in your wedding! It means a lot to us.
Edinburgh Castle, Scotland
December, 2009
The second half of my Edinburgh photos are my night shots. Anyone who has read my blog knows that I love twilight skies, so I was excited to walk around the city at night with my Canon 5DMkII and a 35mm f1.4 lens. The combination of a high ISO camera and a huge aperture enabled me to take these photos without a tripod, even in really dark locations. Mike was so kind to walk around in the cold with me while I had some fun.
Edinburgh, Scotland
December, 2009
Earlier this week, Mike and I spent a day in Edinburgh. Mike went to grad school there at the University of Edinburgh, and he wanted to show me around the city that he loved. It’s a labyrinth of narrow paths and hilly streets with spectacular medieval architecture. We spent our time walking around, enjoying the views, and sampling the pubs.
Here’s a random collection of photos from Edinburgh and the surrounding areas. I usually blog chronologically, but these pictures are in no particular order. Check back tomorrow for photos of Edinburgh in the nighttime!
Carol singing in the village green
Easton, Somerset, England
December, 2009< Merry Christmas from Mike's family's village in England! We're having a great Christmas here with his parents, brother, and sister-in-law. This afternoon we're enjoying our new toys, eating chocolate, and relaxing in the sunny, mild weather. I hope your Christmas is great, too.
I’m so grateful for you, my friends! Your friendship, support, and cheery comments brighten my life. I wish health and happiness for you and your loved ones today and always.
Tomorrow I’ll post photos from Edinburgh!
Easton, Somerset
December 18, 2009
Mike and I are in England right now, visiting his parents for Christmas. Today we had beautifully sunny weather, so I spent the afternoon walking around Easton, the village where Mike grew up. It’s a small town of only a couple hundred people, near the city of Wells in southwest England. I walked around today and took pictures of all the cool-looking old stuff in the village. Of course the people here are just as contemporary as everyone else, but I’m American and therefore I love English old stuff. After six years of visiting England together, Mike is learning to accept that about me. 
Mike and me
The Bishop’s Palace
Wells, Somerset, England
September 8, 2008
Hello from lovely Somerset! As many of you already know, my husband Mike is British, and he grew up in a Somerset village near the town of Wells. Today we took a nice walk through Wells, and I decided to bring my camera to photograph random things that I saw along the way.
Wells is a gorgeous medieval town that has been around since at least 700AD. The focal point of the city is the Wells Cathedral and its accompanying Bishop’s Palace. The Cathedral School has been in existence since 909 and is still filled with students today. I can’t even imagine going to a school that has been around for a millennium. Mike went to the Wells Blue School, which is much younger — it wasn’t founded until 1652. His hometown really puts American history in perspective! My high school in Virginia was one of the oldest in the county; it was about 40 years old at the time.
Wells retains its medieval charm, but now most of its old buildings are occupied by modern cafes and stylish shops. It’s a lovely place to wander around on a late summer day.
Richard and Lizzie
Stanton St. Bernard, Wiltshire
August 30, 2008
We went to a lovely English wedding on Saturday! Mike’s good friend Richard got married, and we flew to the UK to be there. Mike went to college at Reading University with Richard. They were lab partners at university, and after they graduated, the two of them drove around the USA together on an eight-week road trip. Richard has been a great friend to Mike through the years, and I liked him instantly when we met. He has come out to the States to visit us twice in the last few years, including a great trip to my uncle’s farm in Virginia (photos from that trip are here).
We met Lizzie for the first time at the wedding, and she is perfect for Richard! The wedding took place at her family’s gorgeous home in a village in Wiltshire. I couldn’t believe that the weather was warm and sunny — it was probably the best weather I’ve ever seen on any of my trips to England. I took some nice portraits of the two of them in the grounds around her family’s home, and then I put away my camera to be a guest for the night.
Congratulations, Lizzie and Richard! I hope your lovely sunshine travels with you to Barbados!
Weston-super-Mare
Somerset, England
December 28, 2006
Instead of digging our way out of yet another Colorado blizzard (yikes), Mike and I spent yesterday strolling along the beach on a lovely, sunny day here in England. Mike’s good friend, Howard, lives in Weston-super-Mare, a town on the waterfront, near Bristol. (“Super mare” in Latin means “on the sea.”) We went there yesterday to visit him, but first we took a sunset stroll on the beach.
Just by chance, it happened to be the only sunny and mild day we’ve had in a week, so it turned out to be a perfect day for a waterfront walk. I brought my trusty little point-and-shoot, and got some great pictures with it.
High Street
Wells, Somerset, England
December 23, 2006
We arrived yesterday in Mike’s hometown of Wells, Somerset. This beautiful town is where we got married last year, and it is particularly pretty at Christmastime.
This was the first year that I had seen this Christmas trees suspended over the High Street. Compare this photo to a similar one I took three Christmases ago.
Sunset over the Thames
December 22, 2006
2:53pm
I don’t know if I’ve ever seen a sunset at a time beginning with a 2. We had a lovely Italian lunch along the river yesterday, and then we stepped outside and saw this sight. At least the days are getting longer now!
Yesterday Mike and I met with Rebecca Portsmouth, a photographer friend of mine from the Digital Wedding Forum. She lives in London, and we arranged a lunch together while I’m in town. We had so much fun with Rebecca that we spent the rest of the day with her! She is friendly and fun, and we loved getting to know her. After lunch, the three of us walked across the river at sunset, and then wandered around the Covent Garden area. We got coffee at a great little indie coffee shop, and then toured the National Portrait Gallery to see the winners of the Photographic Portrait Prize.
