Cam is another Springfield High School senior that I have watched grow up in front of my camera lens. I am beyond grateful that this “job” affords me the opportunity to watch so many of our young people grow up right in front of my eyes. It seems that one day they are the PreK child that can barely hold up a bat and the next they are a senior on a sports team leading their team through the season! I cannot wait to see the great things that come to Cam, he is an amazing leader!
This family is quickly becoming one of my favorites! Not only do they come dressed amazingly they encapsulate my fundamental belief about family photography ….. it should be FUN! As my own children have grown, I appreciate the formal school photos to reflect on how much they have grown, but I far prefer the silliness I have captured over the years. When Halloween costumes needed to only be sports apparel …. when we didn’t wear a dress unless in twirled just right … even that same grubby sweatshirt we wouldn’t leave the house without. That is where the memories live!
No worries, we’ll still get that holiday card photo …. but let’s have some fun & capture what your family really is about during this season of your life!
It seems that there was never a time that Hunter hasn’t been in front of my camera! An athlete from an early age I have watched him grow up season by season and I was thrilled to have the opportunity to capture him at this transitional time in life - and what a better place to capture him than at Brown Field, a place he has called home each fall!
While his time as a Cosmos football career winds down - we still have a lot of time left to watch him show us what he has during his upcoming wrestling & track seasons.
I’m not sure there is another more appropriate word for Jerica & Tyler’s wedding than “perfection”. The weather delivered an absolutely perfect fall day, the rust-colored bridesmaid dresses alongside the hunter green tuxes was a photographer’s dream and the decorations … well, I’m not sure that I have stopped dreaming about how amazing they were! And with all that perfection, they still achieved a low key, fun filled affair …. even playing a little practical joke on the groom before the big moment!
Meet Myra! Sometimes the best place for senior photos is your own back yard! Myra was a super sweet host, and we had great fun exploring the property & capturing her in different places before venturing off to the Center Road Meeting House which always provides an iconic backdrop for senior portraits! We also got to include some of her larger 4-legged friends - which always makes my heart sing too!
Senior year is such an amazing time but filled with all the emotions from both families and themselves. They teeter on the brink of adulthood with a sea of possibilities before them, yet they often still need the reassurance of family to help ground them.
Senior portraits at the beach are not for the faint of heart. It is always windy ….. always! And with wind, you know your hair is going to blow around and generally be a mess … but with that comes a freedom to let go and shine even while spitting hair out of your mouth! There’s also something magical about photographing a senior at the edge of the ocean. I always think of the line from I Hope You Dance by Lee Ann Womack …. I hope you still feel small when you stand beside the ocean …. As seniors finish up their high school education, they are standing there with an ocean of opportunities before them - some small, some big, but always so many. My hope for all of them is that they will always see the ocean of opportunities before them.
All of this is the reason that I hopped in my car and drove nearly 4 hours in one direction to capture Makayla earlier this month. She embraced the wind and smiled bravely at the edge of the ocean. She has already overcome many obstacles and is a shining star at her high school, her future looks exciting!
As an added bonus, I find the beach - no matter where or when - to be simply the most healing place on the planet …. with an Italian from an Amato’s in Maine a close second!
Cheyenne & Austin’s big day was not free from stress. The pieces of Tropical Storm Debby threatened to make their day challenging in the week leading up to their wedding, but thankfully the thick of it passed without much in the way of damage and they were granted a beautiful summer day with a bright blue sky & big puffy clouds.
After Cheyenne & Austin tied the knot, they celebrated with a lively backyard barbeque. The atmosphere was festive and laid back and let the little ones enjoy the swing set ….. and a blueberry bush …. and the adults enjoyed some great music, got their groove on while others played a game of cribbage and others kept up on the USA vs. France men’s basketball gold medal game! It was a great day filled with so much love & wishes of happiness.
I kicked off senior season 2025 with a face I am very familiar with - my niece - Hannah!
Hannah made the trip to Springfield & we hit up some of my favorite senior spots while she was here.
The yearbook deadline is generally near the end of October, now is the time to start thinking about your senior portraits!
Over the last year I had the pleasure of capturing a quartet of performances by Avant Vermont Dance called Seasons. This summer I was once again able to capture one of their performances, this time it was Thumbelina! They presented a sweet adaptation of Han Christian Andersen’s classic fairy tale on the grass at Riverside Middle School with eager faces - young & old taking it all in!
I had the pleasure of capturing Michelle & William’s wedding day at the picturesque Vilas Pond a few weeks ago. They were blessed with a gorgeous day with bright blue skies and perhaps one of the best days of summer we have seen so far!
They didn’t over look a single detail of the decor - ensuring that every idea and detail was executed brilliantly with love and care.
Music by: Bobby C’s DJ Service
Cake by: B. Bakes Deli & Cakes
Food by: Appleseed Catering
Flowers by: Meg Coombs & Donna Lund
I have had the honor of photographing both of these girls for many, many years - watching them grow up through my lens. I had the honor of capturing both of their senior portraits last fall & was thrilled to be able to carve out a bit of time this spring for a downtown cap & gown session. Both are off to do amazing things this fall & I cannot wait to see all that they accomplish!
Here’s Spencer! We met on a very chilly November day near the Cross Country trail at the North Springfield Dam for his senior session. With the extended senior portrait deadline for the yearbook, I’ve had the opportunity to extend into the cooler months and I was so rewarded! A soft snow and dried cornstalks made Spencer’s session unique …. and it was so fun (for me, in my winter coat) to capture him on the snow covered XC trail! No worries for him however …. with dreams of attending college in Florida in order to continue his passion for scuba diving, this snow will all soon be just a distant memory!
Sometimes a family just nails the outfit part of family portraits ….. and the Fraser family totally brought it! I’m obsessed with mom’s dress …. between the color, fit and texture …. then add the rest of the family’s sweet and coordinated attire ….. it all adds together to create a great example of how a family can all coordinate without having to be matching.
We had a lot of fun capturing these portraits and the kids were rockstars fighting through the chilliness in the air ….. I think the reward of a nice cup of hot chocolate post session might have helped a little!
You might recognize this sweet face from blogs of the past … it is always such a pleasure to photograph Rachel. She has an incredibly joyous and youthful energy and we have so much fun exploring together and capturing new memories!
Our final full day of vacation …. and a hard day filled with lots of “see you laters.”
The morning started off with just Emme since Uxue was at class. We returned to Nyhavn for a canal boat tour and then returned to Amalienborg Palace where we got to watch the changing of the guards again. Chase was too nervous to get a photo with the guards earlier in our vacation but this day he got brave and went for it …. although he’d only consent to this with a cell phone.
Afterward we then made our way to the train station where Uxue would be arrive, and Emily would be departing via bus back to Aarhus. We sat in Starbucks snacking away while watching a crew film a commercial for the station before we saw Emily off.
Afterwards, we traveled with Uxue to Helsingor… another ridiculously cute city center and ate at an “American” restaurant. It was delicious and really fun to see what “American” food looks like abroad. From there we worked our way to Kronborg Castle. This castle appears in the play Hamlet as Elsinore. We walked the perimeter and stopped to throw stones in the sea before returning a snack at the Street Food located nearby before heading back to the Copenhagen train station to say see you later to Uxue.
Thanks for following along … this was an amazing trip filled with so many new memories and so much fun. If you want to look through all my photos you can do so here: https://deniseephotography.zenfolio.com/p1015676472
Day nine had us visiting the oldest pastry shop in Denmark (Konditori La Glace) for a sweet treat and a little bit of shopping in the shopping district. I brought home several new holiday decorations, Chase got some Legos (after attempting to explain the kits he wanted would not fit in our luggage) and the girls did some damage at H&M.
We then left Copenhagen to visit Uxue’s town of Kalundborg. We also stopped at a cute little town on the way - whose name is currently totally escaping me.
We had a late lunch, or maybe it was an early dinner, before exploring the streets and seeing her college and dorm. We also made sure her cabinet were full of some treats and snacks before we said goodnight (she had class in the morning but would take the train back to spend a bit more time with us the next day) and we made our way back to Copenhagan.
There is a reason that when you see photos for Copenhagen most often, you’re going to see images of Nyhavn. It is simply that stunning in person. The mix of different colored buildings standing side by side along a canal filled with boats is simply gorgeous. Legend has it that the buildings were all painted different colors to aid the drunk sailors when they would return to port - instead of recalling which house, they needed to remember the color!
Our day eight adventures included some exploration of Nyhavn and Copenhagen. We visited Christianborg Palace (perhaps the most bougie bathrooms we’d encountered) which is now home to Denmark’s executive, legislative and judicial powers. We then stopped at Frederik’s Church which was stunning beyond words …. the domed ceiling features paintings of each of the twelve aspostles … I could have spent hours sitting there taking in all the beauty held in just that one space. Following the Church we hoped over to Amalienborg Palace just in time to watch the changing of the guard ceremony which Chase absolutely loved. We then continued our walk a little further and enjoyed The Little Mermaid statue before grabbing coffee & hot chocolate from a super cute street cart.
Once we returned to the car we made the journey over the Oresund Bridge to Sweden. And in true tourist fashion we had ABBA blasting as we hit the boarder! We had lunch (of course I had some meatballs) …. explored some of the Malmo city center before sharing a bag of Swedish Fish (which I brought from America) and then making our pilgrimage to the mothership - Ikea!
It was a full and fun day for sure and I can say I fell totally in love with the city of Copenhagen without a doubt!
You might recognize Lily from earlier this fall. She didn’t use this gorgeous green sweater and there were some regrets so we answered those with a mini session for the sweater! I’ve been photographing Lily for years now and was a little sad when her senior session was over so I was more than happy to meet her at the Eureka Schoolhouse for one more shoot!
Day seven saw us back in Aarhus for more touring about before we headed towards Copenhagen (with a quick drive through Odense). Let’s just say the wind was unbelievable which made the drive a little frightening at times - particularly as we crossed the Great Belt Bridge (or Storebaeltsbroen in Danish)!
In some areas of Aarhus the pedestrian lights are Vikings to honor their heritage …. and I dare that they are a cute and whimsical addition to the environment. Our exploration included a couple of Churches. In one, an older gentleman pointed us to a different door to view the chapel …. as we exited the main Church into an internal courtyard Rachel whispered “do the Voltari” mean anything to you? And I have to say, I wasn’t entirely sure she was wrong …. but thankfully, it was just a chapel and we came out alive on the other end!
Day six brought us on what may have been my favorite day of our entire trip …. and we saw some pretty incredible things and had some super amazing experiences. However, for day six Emily had talked about a friend recently visiting the northern most point of Denmark … where the Baltic & the North Seas meet. The seas do not mix because they have dynamically different salt make ups.
Emily talked about the friend getting to see seals up close and personal … as you can see this was a valid point. I’m not sure if watching the two seas collide (they had very different “choppiness” factors with one sea being considerably calmer than the other) or the lighting was my favorite piece of the experience. Skagan and the Grenen peninsula have attracted artists for years and years - particularly impressionist painters - and it was clear to me immediately why! The light was the kind that artists dream of!
The wind was super intense and the October temperatures were chilly but a visit in the summer time will likely forever tug at my visions. In addition to seeing two great seas collide there’s also many WWII bunkers that provided defense and protection within the dunes.
Following our exploration we returned back to the town of Skagan which is adorable within itself for lunch and a treat before our return trip to Aarhus. We did make a quick stop in Aalborg to explore a bit and then were treated to Rachel’s stellar driving skills when she saw a highway sign for the “Memphis Mansion” complete with a profile of Elvis. With her fandom in high excite mode she guided us to a replica of Graceland right there in Denmark. The mansion has an American Style diner located in it - so even though we had full bellies we enjoyed a snack and crazy milkshakes! (No big camera pictures here - it was dark & my heart was still soaring with the light from earlier in the day!)
