Joe is one of Ryan’s younger brothers and the talented lead photographer and owner of Snap Photography in Washington D.C. He has also helped me out BIG TIME each time I was on maternity leave shooting in my stead. Ryan and Joe are quite a presence at 6’6” and 6’5”…you can’t miss them!

As an early wedding gift, Ryan and I decided to give them an engagement shoot at a location of their choice. Seeing as DC is their current home and holds many sentimental spots around town, it was only fitting we came to their turf.

It was a BLUSTERY cold New Years Eve but we all toughed it out on the outdoor shoot and then defrosted once we moved into the AMAZING National Building Museum for some more refined shots.

Joe and Jo, we are beyond thrilled at the union that God has brought together. We love you both and enjoyed our stay with you (without the kiddos…bonus!). Your wedding in March will be a true celebration. Blessings.

We started our shoot where everything started for them….a kiss in an alleyway behind Joanna’s old row house.

Joanna is crazy photogenic! Those amazing green eyes and eyelashes, perfect teeth….a photographer’s dream.

Joe liked it so he put a ring on it…..oh oh oh, oh oh oh ohoh…..

This picture has nothing to do with their shoot except that it is hilarious. Ryan and Joe’s oldest brother Dan was also visiting over the holidays and he was filming our photo shoot but in this picture he looks like someone creepy behind me.

This is one of Joe’s favorite pictures of Joanna.

This is one of Joanna’s favorite pictures of Joe…..he is actually leaning over to give her a kiss and Ryan tactfully took the opportunity to shoot a “flattering” angle.

These two have a slew of jumping photos over their period of dating. I love the one all the way to the right. Joe totally faked Joanna out…solo flight.

My favorite jumping shot of the day, nice ups.

We moved down the street to a local coffee house they frequent, Big Bear. The coffee shop was already closed but they were really cool to open it up and let us come in and shoot for a few minutes.

Joanna’s beautiful aquamarine engagement ring, so unique, just like her.

So we walked in the front door of the National Building Museum and my jaw hit the floor. Ummmmm….not too shabby, not too shabby at all. This place is gorgeous! Joe and Joanna kicked it up a notch on there outfits and we transitioned into some more sassy shots.

Superhero pose….Joanna getting her dance jam on.

They busted out a some old school “Kid-n-Play” dance moves for us.

Had to end with another jump shot!

Wow, what an awesome job everyone did casting votes. We were so pleased with your enthusiasm and your feedback. Obviously, two girls went way above and beyond recruiting family and friends to vote! Let’s hope they don’t ever meet in a dark alley because they had some serious determination.

So without further ado we added up the comments, emails and even comments on the actual pictures on Flickr. With an overwhelming 102 votes First Place Bestie goes to……

Rachel and Danny (#19) standing in the water at the Mill at Fine Creek in Powhatan, Virginia.

Second Place Bestie, with a not too shabby showing of 75 votes, Brad and Lyndsey (#51) sharing a laugh in a tunnel.

Because we are in the holiday spirit we decided we would also pick a 3rd place winner to receive an 8 X 10. I am a total sucker for this photo, I think it is one of the sweetest ones ever captured. You obviously agreed as your votes made Marcus dancing with his grandmother (#43) your Third Place Bestie.

Congratulations everyone, when we get back to Lynchburg we will get in touch with you to finalize the details.

We would be remiss not to have a few honorable mentions. They fought the good fight and ran a good race a deserve a few more moments in the spotlight.

Morgan and Tom (#1) exchanging a romantic moment on the Chesapeake Bay rocky shore.

Danny and Rachel (#2) sharing a laugh while watching a video slideshow of childhood pictures.

Brad and Lyndsey (#14) a barn, an embrace, a smokin hot red high heel, need we say more?

Kelly and Josh (#35) sharing an intimate moment on the railroad tracks.

Jason and Amy (#45) taking a quick break and laugh before heading to their reception.

So many great memories from 2008 we wait eagerly for all God has in store for us in ‘09. Thank you again for an awesome year with Kellan!

Thank you all for constantly challenging Ryan and I to go the distance in our shooting and for trusting us with some of the crazy ideas we come up with. Thank you for your transparency with the lens and for letting us be privy to some of your more intimate moments. It is an honor to serve you with this medium.

Please vote for your favorite photo and tell us why it grabs you. The subject of the winning photo will receive a complimentary 16 X 20 enlargement. Second place will receive a 11 X 14 enlargement mailed as a Christmas/New Years gift. Go, go, go……

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1. Have mom make some chocolate covered pretzels

2. Choose the most “chocolatey” side. Chloe finds using your front teeth to scrape the chocolate off sideways is most effective! (shirt is optional while eating chocolate covered pretzels)

3. Stay deeply focused, be persistent, do not let any chocolate escape.

4. Avoid the dry pretzel end, stay the course, you are almost there.

5. Victory smile. Notice the mound of pretzel still in her mouth and the watery eye from choking on a fragment of pretzel that rudely jumped to the back of her throat!

On a separate note. If you are a parent then you know at the most unexpected times you look at your child and you see glimpses of them much older. This is one of those moments she no longer looked two.

Even the rain and long limo commutes getting everyone to location could not damper the spirit of the day. I actually rode with the bridesmaids who instantly made me an honorary girlfriend for the day. We “had to” wait at the gorgeous Craddock Terry Hotel for the bride to arrive so we took full advantage of the lobby. One of the bridesmaids (thanks Agatha) even ordered some champagne for the girls, to keep the festivities going, while waiting for the impending nuptials! So very fun.

The wedding was held at downtown Lynchburg’s Holy Cross Catholic Church and the reception was hosted by Oakwood Country Club. After the rain some glorious clouds rolled in and even a few peeks of sunshine. It was a beautiful wedding of two wonderful, thoughtful people. Thank you for choosing us Melissa and Aaron, we could not be happier with how the pictures turned out and hope you enjoy your moment to shine on the blog!

The boys taking it easy by watching a game and relaxing at the Craddock Terry Hotel.

One of the groomsmen gifts

The girls working it for me

The boys weren’t too shabby either

Perfect fall boutonniere

Sisters, very very tall sisters. It is no wonder I had to have them sit down.

Catching a laugh with dad. Melissa has a great laugh and she laughs a lot which is terrific!

Melissa kept sneaking peeks back at her girls, it was cute.

All the Janoske siblings

This was a VERY windy day. I actually love the leave blowing into the frame on the upper right….

Let’s play “I Spy”. I spy my husband and me doing nothing in the background…..

We went up to their suite to catch some more intimate moments and eat some yummy Irish car bomb cupcakes Melissa made..SCORE!

My favorite shot.

Melissa and Aaron have a nickname for each other which is “Lamb” and “Chicken”. Their rings were inscribed with this as well as it was our dinner choices of the evening!

This, my friends, is a song we are all familiar with, “Living on a Prayer”. I believe we were half way there on this shot……WHOOOOOOOAAAAAAA living on a prayer.

I am sure this is brother/sister sign language for “You are the best!”

After the reception Melissa and Aaron grabbed a bit to eat at the notorious Texas Inn, or “T-Room” if you are a local. They gobbled down a “cheesy western” to round out the night!

What an awesome fall wedding. You did a great job planning and executing your perfect wedding day Melissa. We had a ball that night, your family and bridal party were so good to us! Thank you.

I am very pleased to post about one of the sweetest brides I think we have ever met. If I could fold Laura up and put her in my pocket I would. She has the cutest little voice (think Kristen Chenoweth) and is just so stinking cute! She is the kind of person that you find yourself smiling perpetually around. We could not be happier to shoot Marcus and Laura’s beautiful wedding. She has impeccable taste! Her reception flowers were some of the most gorgeous I have ever seen…go Rod Meek!!! The wedding was at the beautiful First Presbyterian Church and her elegant reception was hosted at the Academy of Fine Art.

Laura and Marcus you can have coffee at our house anytime. From our very first consultation with you we have enjoyed your humor, ease and enthusiasm about our work. We hope only the best for you both in your future together as husband and wife.

The beautiful bride.

Her mom is so elegant!

Matron of honor

It is so great to see familiar faces at weddings. Kristen used to work with Ryan during his coffee shop days.

Laura’s grandmother’s broach.

An oldie but goodie pose. It seriously never gets old.

Marcus’s grandmother was ADORABLE! She came in to see Laura just before she got married. In her lovely southern drawl she grabbed Laura’s hand and said, “You’re going to love being a Borel!” It was so cute and sweet.

This bridesmaid was great at keeping the flower girls entertained so they wouldn’t meltdown waiting for their debut.

A throwback to a scene from Reservoir Dogs.

One of my favorites of the night…great body language.

The pears were such a great touch, so fresh and unique.

This was the last shot of the night. The father of the bride called Ryan over and said, “Hey Ryan, I have a shot for you, how about the father of the bride after the wedding is all over!” Great sense of humor and all too true!

First we want to give a huge fist pump, thumbs up and thank you to one of my photography crushes (platonic of course!) Mr. Fred Egan. I am a big fan of his work. There are so many great workshops and seminars available in the U.S. but it is really hard for us to both travel with the kids so we brought a workshop to our computer by having a private consult with Fred a couple nights ago.

Totally worth every penny. We were so encouraged and challenged by his advice for our business and family. We are constantly striving to push our work forward and to think way outside of the Lynchburg box on our shooting style and processing. We hope you continue to see better and better work from us. Thanks Fred, we really look forward to dinner with you in February. Thanks also for your link love today….Blessings.

If this is your first time on our blog, please hang in there until January when the Kellan blog gets a big fatty facelift! 100% redesign including the logo. Oh man it is going to be so good and so US!!!! No more boring blue, simple WP template…nope, nada, zilch…..we are coming out the gates hard with some funky fresh design. Stay tuned, it will be worth it!

Thank you all for your emails regarding our loss over Thanksgiving…your kindness is most deeply appreciated. God is helping ease the pain of this loss each day and we are so thankful for his assurance and peace.

Thanksgiving brought a whole SLEW of people to our house…18 in all! Lots of kids, babies, food and chaos. Here are just a few shots.

Here is my nephew hamming it up.

Bennett clearly stoked about the next impending holiday. Babies and puppies…helpless victims to our dressing them like idiots. I love this kid.

My dad and Noah.

Do you hear that? That is the sound of jingle bells. Finally after two years of waiting to not have a baby or move around Christmas…I was able to open up my Christmas decorations and get in the holiday spirit! Here is some holiday lovin at our house.

The tree…..the tree

Santa is going to have a hard time squeezing down our closed fireplace.

One more for the road. Whoever said baby boy’s look like old men are right on!

Bennett…Santa’s coming!

How was your Thanksgiving?

This is my favorite holiday of the year! None of the pressure of Christmas, but all the great food and family. It is a great time to reflect on all the blessings we have and in particular for the family and friends we have the privilege of sharing life with.

This week brought about a great tragedy in our family. We shockingly found out Monday that we were pregnant with our third child. Shocking for two reasons: one, we were not remotely planning on another child at this point and two, because I had been having some serious bleeding for several days. On Wednesday afternoon we received a call from the doctor after more blood work that our sweet baby went to be with Jesus. It is one of those mileposts in our lives that we will always look back on as a moment where we had to draw close together and to the Lord for His peace and comfort through such a grievous time.

Of course this is very very personal to me as a mother of two I know the deep connection you have when you carry a miracle inside of you. To feel it all slip away is a very helpless feeling. The only true comfort I have is that our baby is in heaven with our Creator, perfectly formed, perfectly whole and healthy, and waiting to meet us someday.

As sad as Thanksgiving was for us, it was not hard to still have a thankful heart. I have two sweet, beautiful babies that call me “mama”, an amazing, smart, and hilarious husband to call me “wife”, and an awesome family to call me “daughter” and “sister”. Our cup runeth over with friends, we are blessed.

This holiday may have been hard for you too! Maybe you experienced loss, heartache, loneliness or the absence of someone dear to you. Although our human side has a hard time reconciling those emotions and hurts, there is still so much to be thankful for. I had the honor of serving as a missionary in Kazakhstan for 6 months of my life. I lived in a place where many of your felt needs are a luxury. How can I not be thankful when I live in the most abundant nation in the world. Cultivating a heart of thankfulness for our basic needs often plants a seed of thankfulness for other areas of our lives.

So before heading back to work on Monday give thanks, make a phone call to a family member, write a note to someone you miss, write a list of things you are thankful for. Don’t let the opportunity pass you by to sit peacefully in the knowledge that you are loved and God made a special place for you in this world. Be a blessing to others so that you may be blessed in return.

We are thankful for YOU and your support of us over the years.

Marc approached us about shooting new promotional material for his CD “Worship Hymn” and his website. This session included some individual shots as well as tackling the task of shooting family shots. Marc’s three kids range in age from 7 months to 5 years old. One of Ryan’s famous lines, “It’s like herding cats!” That about sums up shooting three energetic boys! They were lots of fun and provided some great comic relief.

We headed downtown to the beautiful and eclectic Craddock Terry Hotel to take over a suite for some fun shots. Seriously, if you ever come to Lynchburg you HAVE to stay at the Craddock Terry and dine at their two amazing restaurants, Shoemakers and Waterstone. You will thank me ten times over for the recommendations!

Miracles do happen, you can get five people to look at a camera at least once, well almost once!

most of the time it went a little like this….

Marc’s wife Alaina is a saint! She is so patient and laid back….not to mention has the best skin and smile. Tell me your secret Alaina!

Some solo shots in the suite

These shoes have absolutely zero to do with the photo shoot, but I loved them and therefore they deserved to be documented and shared with every woman that looks at this blog.

Time to head outside.

Every childs rite of passage….first lost tooth!

Showing their “studliness” by making muscles for me.

Mama should have told you:

A- Don’t break the law and graffiti on public property
B-Choose literacy and learn to spell choices

A hymnal shot to play off the CD name, “Worship Hymn”.

Marc’s new t-shirt he designed and will be selling on tour.

Marc we had so much fun and are grateful to be able to call you friend now. You guys are awesome and we pray God’s continued blessing on your ministry.

We met up with Beth and her beautiful family on a cool fall evening to capture them being…well…the Baxter’s!

Many people ask us about our family sessions. This is a perfect example of how Ryan and I like to “un”structure our shoots. We love for you to play as a family in whatever setting helps your kids feel at ease. Football at the park was a great fit for the Baxter’s to get their game faces on and have some fun.

Here are some of our favorite shots of the day.

There were these cool lime green pods all over the ground.

Even nature gave us the thumbs up!

Don’t let his calm demeanor fool you.

This was mainly the face he was determined to interject into all the photos.

can you feel the love?

Givin some ‘tude.

GAME TIME!!! Bring it!

We then headed down the road to Magnolia Foods for what else…..coffee!

and some sweets.

This sign could not be more appropriate!

Later Baxter Family….you guys rock!