The Ransom Gallery

Ariel & Andrew | Mini Session

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When I posted on Facebook that I would be giving away mini photo sessions for the holiday season, Andrew was the first person to contact me!

He told me that he wanted to surprise his fiancé with a small photo shoot with images of them celebrating their new engagement. They hadn't announced their news to the world yet, and I was super excited that I would get to help them do this.

The day was unusually warm, and the sky was blue as the sun peaked over the Virginia mountains. We had a blast galavanting through the countryside stopping to capture every bit of love these two showed my camera. In between kisses there was joking and laughter, and it was obvious to me that Andrew, a long time friend, had found his one true love.

These two are certainly happy, and totally meant to be. I can't wait to see what their future has in store for them. I wish you both nothing but the best, and hope you have a lifetime of genuine love! Thanks for letting me capture a little tidbit of your first few days as a newly engaged couple -- you're perfect!

New Look!

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So it's been a little while since I have posted... I really need to get better about this! The Ransom Gallery has been going through a lot of changes, and I'm finally prepared to show you all one of the exciting new things I have been waiting to share with you!

First and foremost, we relocated! I have always lived in the mountains, in the middle of nowhere. Tall hills, open fields, and wildlife are what I have been around my whole life, so I knew when I relocated, I needed to be in an area similar to that. I couldn't imagine living somewhere, where nature is not abundant.

I recently moved to the amazing city of Asheville, NC. The quality of life here is one I haven't seen before, and I am so excited for the adventures I am going embark on, in this awesome town. The Ransom Gallery is taking this upcoming winter season to update the blog, website, and facebook page, as well as launch an online store to purchase prints, calendars, canvas' and more! I will still be accepting bookings for indoor maternity and newborn shoots during this time and will hit the spring season hard by accepting bookings for all photoshoot types in this awesome new area. I am still traveling to other states to offer photography services, so please keep that in mind. Just because I have moved, I will always still provide my services to those in other areas. :)

In addition to the launching of an online store, updates, and relocation.. The Ransom Gallery has also gotten a new logo! It took a little time to decide how I could truly make the logo my own, but after much thinking, and lots of, " no this color, and maybe this here," I could not be happier with the results !

I worked with an awesome team member at Piedmont Press in Warrenton, Va. Stephanie Messick, a photographer in the area herself, was so fun to work with! We were able to come up with an amazing design and I am so happy I can finally share it with you all! The Ransom Gallery now has one logo, that comes in 4 different styles. Me being the creative, artsy person I am, I could not choose just one design. I knew I wanted my logo to be very personal and really capture a sense of me.

One thing I have always loved are birds and owls. My nana always had owl figurines in her house. Owls she had made, owls she found; there were owls everywhere. Seeing how my nana was basically my childhood best friend, the love for the big eyed creatures was surly passed on to me, and now I collect owl everything. If you know me personally, you know when you come to my house, you will spot at least five owls or bird related items in a matter of minutes. I love birds because of their sense of freedom. They are truly free spirits and that's what I consider myself; a free spirit, ready to take take flight with anything I do. I knew I needed an owl as part of my logo.

I am obsessed with nature, and love the look of dead tree branches. The Ransom Gallery has t-shirts with tree's on them and I knew I wanted to keep that aspect in my logo as well. In addition the colors green and purple are my favorite, so it was a given they would be tied in the logo too.

The font for the logo was something that I knew had to stand out. I wanted a really unique and original font. I wanted something that people's eyes wanted to read. After playing around with a bunch of fonts, I decided; what better font than my own handwriting. Next, I knew I wanted the owl to be facing the viewer, but instead of feathers on his belly, I wanted it to be a pop of color. Instead of choosing solid colors, I took photos of parts of paintings I have done, and incorporated them into the logo as the colors on the owls stomach.

Owl. My own handwriting. My favorite colors. My paintings. Nature. Picture perfect.. the logo was finally finished. I have been waiting a little while to share this, and I am so excited for you to see the final product! Enjoy.

My little owlet baby ..

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It all started in 2006 when Jade and I met at her boyfriend's [now husband] house. We hit it off pretty quickly and soon realized we had a lot [ ok .. a WHOLE lot] in common. Jade and I only got to see each other every once in a while, but our friendship quickly grew and we stayed in contact through occasional visits and phone calls.

Not too long after we became friends Jade and Dustin got serious and we all knew a ring was not far away. When they got married and welcomed their first baby into the world I knew Jade was going to be an amazing mother and wife. I remember the day Jade found out she was pregnant. I rushed over a few days after the news so we could die her hair one last time and get things in order!

On 7.7.07 Dylan was born. He was born early but was healthy and ready to be home. I remember seeing Dylan for the first time. He was a week old and more than adorable. I remember thinking he looked so much like his dad, Dustin but now at almost five I think he resembles Jade. Dylan is one of the smartest kids I have ever met. Not only does he do an amazing job in school, but he is very eloquent, artistic, and can drive a 4-wheeler and truck [yes.. I'm dead serious] by himself better than most adults.

When I moved to a town 30 minutes from Jade I was so excited! We finally got to hang out more than ever and I loved having a friend near me in a new town. After living in the area for a year I lost my job. I was worried that I would have to move back to my hometown and I just wasn't ready to go. I was having so much fun where I was and had met some great people. I needed a job and I needed one fast. After much thought and research I decided that I needed to make my passion for art a reality. I had a lot of handmade gifts and paintings and found a local antique mall that had space for rent. After figuring out my final numbers I knew that a small dream Jade and I discussed years ago needed to happen. In the summer of 2010 we opened up our custom design store; Strawberry Leaf Design. We sold painted wine glasses, beer mugs, paintings, jewelry, candle votives, tote bags, gift baskets and more! Our little store was so much fun and we had a blast sitting and crafting during the days. After five months, as badly as I wanted to stay, I knew I needed to move back to northern virginia. Money was tight and we all know the term starving artist.. so in the fall I set up the road home.

The September before I moved home Jade and I took an amazing adventure together with my boyfriend, Adam. We drove head on into Hurricane Earl and embarked on a trip that I will never forget [read my post hurricane earl to hear more! located to the right of this page]. When we returned from the OBX I started packing my bags and boxes.

When I moved back to my hometown and lengthened the distance between Jade and I words cannot describe how sad we both were. Jade and I hung out every day. We were each other's rock in hard times and she was the first person to know about my love for my Adam. We have been through thick and thin and I can truly say she is one of my best friends, my twin.

When I got the phone call nine months ago that Jade was pregnant with her second child; I was more than ecstatic. As I sit writing this entry Jade is having contractions, three minutes apart, and baby girl Taylor is on her way. Its such a surreal moment for me. I have never been pregnant but watching/hearing Jade so closely through pictures, emails, phone calls and visits these past nine months have made me feel like I'm pregnant too haha. It was amazing to feel Taylor flip inside Jade's belly and even crazier to talk to her and have her move toward my voice. I have never thought of pregnancy to be so beautiful [no offense ladies haha] until seeing Jade pregnant with Taylor. I watched Dylan grow in her belly as well.. but this time it was just different. Hey .. what can I say .. maybe its a girl thing .. :)

I knew as soon as I got the news of Jade's pregnancy I had to do her maternity photos. I had so many ideas rolling in my head I needed two days to shoot her and the family. I threw Jade a surprise baby shower and she was more than happy! Lisa, Jade's mom, provided an amazing amount of scrumptious food and the shower location. I sent out invites and planned with Jade's husband to come into town with out her knowing to throw the shower and do her maternity shots in the same weekend. Lisa and I had discussed a theme for the shower and we both knew how much Jade [and I] love owls. Everything at the shower was baby owl print and Jade made out like a bandit getting all sorts of owl printed blankets, stools, clothing and more! We had a blast and I am so excited to share my photos of Jade's maternity session on my blog. In just a few hours Taylor will finally be here and I cannot wait to see her next weekend, at one week old, same age as when I saw Dylan, in all her perfectness.

My little owlet baby finally arrived at 3:13 AM today. 7lbs. 2 oz. and beautiful. Her newborn session will blow this maternity session out of the water and I can't wait to hold her. Look out Jade, you're gonna have a fire cracker on your hands for sure! I love you both so much. Congrats!

From Margarita's to Baby..

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I never wanted a roommate in college. I always enjoyed living alone. I had a roommate my freshman year of college but after that rented an apartment in town off campus. After my senior year I only needed to attend one more semester to finish up my last minor. It made no sense for me to pay for another years rent, so I decided to move back onto campus for that one semester.

I was placed in a room in the new dorm on campus with a freshman named Whitney. She was very quiet and very clean and organized like me. She seemed cool and didn't act as your typical freshman did so I thought we were the perfect match! Whitney and I got closer and got along very well. We would go out sometimes during the week to our favorite mexican restaurant and have margaritas. It became our little ritual.

Whitney was dating a lifelong friend named Chad. I knew they were perfect for each other and she was head over heels in love with him. Chad was deployed at the time fighting for our country in the marine corps and Whitney stood by his side throughout the whole thing. I couldn't understand at the time, but now having gone through that myself, I now know how hard it is and how if you truly love someone you can get through it.

Chad came home safe and Whitney was the happiest I have ever seen her. It wasn't too many months after that, that they were engaged. :)

After years of marriage they are [finally] getting ready to welcome their first child to the world. I couldn't of been happier when she told me she was pregnant and I was honored when she asked me to take her maternity shots.

Whitney your a doll and I had so much fun doing this shoot with you. I wish you, Chad, Bella and baby girl all the best. Mama Katie is so proud of you .

A little out of order ...

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... so this post is WAY out of order... but I wanted to go ahead and share it on the blog!

I had a behind the scenes video made at my most recent group shoot. It was a retro themed shoot that I put a lot of time into making just right! :) I couldn't have been happier with the way everything turned out.. and here is a video to show the magic we made!

I had Scott Sayasthesina shoot this for me. He made my dream come true and gave me the best first behind the scenes vid a gal could ask for! Stay tuned.. the story of the shoot with images is to come...