We are Crystal and Ben and we are so glad that you're becoming acquainted with our blog and our work! We know you'll enjoy what you find and we'd really love to hear from you! Perhaps you will be the next fabulous face right here on the blog :)
We first met almost 10 years ago, during our first year at Appalachian State University (wow, how time does fly!). We started dating a couple of years later and have been pretty much inseparable ever since!
I, the voice of the blog, aka Crystal, studied photography and journalism at ASU, Savannah College of Art and Design, and The University of Sunderland, England. Ben studied photography and graphic design at ASU. Perfect match, no? We moved to Charlotte after college and started shooting weddings together shortly after. It's been love ever since! The next step in our lives take us to Portland Oregon where we hope to settle down after a whirlwind adventure and our own marriage in 2011.
We won Bride’s Choice Award in 2010 and 2011 from WeddingWire.com and also won People’s Choice of the Week Award in 2009 for Flare Competition.
I was also a finalist in both 2003 and 2004 for Photography Forum Magazine’s College Photography Contest and was published twice in their Best of College Photography Annual. I've also worked as staff photographer for The Pender Chronicle in Burgaw, and have had work exhibited at the Hayes MacMillan Art Gallery and ArtSpace in Boone, North Carolina, at Looking Glass Gallery at Appalachian State University, and at Wilkes Art Gallery in Wilkesboro, North Carolina.
This past Summer, 2011, we traveled the USA for 4 months shooting destination weddings and portraits while also looking for our dream city. We fell in love with Portland, and plan to be fully relocated there by the end of 2012. In the meantime, we're offering fantastic specials to any Oregon residents for both portraits and weddings in 2012! Spread the word and help us make our dream happen :)
If you would like to know more about us, just dig around on the blog or give us a shout using the contact form above and we can meet over coffee or wine!
Finally! After several years trying to plan a session with these two cuties, we finally made it happen! We thought it was going to happen last Summer during the road trip, but our route crossed their path just as Christina was heading off for Air Force training. See, Christina used to live in Charlotte and that’s where we first met. Her then fiance, now hubby, lived in Montana on account of the military… so after they were married, she moved too and eventually decided to join the forces as well. They love it, so it was only fitting that the session be around some of the planes on base.
At the last possible minute (seriously), due to the snowfall in Denver and that general area a couple weeks ago, Ben and I decided to travel to Portland from Chicago via North Dakota and Montana instead of through Nebraska and Wyoming. I emailed her the day before the session and told her we would possibly be going through Great Falls… but only if they wanted us to. Otherwise, we’d take a more Southern Route of equal distance, but via interstate and more populated The trek to Great Falls was actually quite terrifying and we weren’t sure we were even going to make it in time. We hit snow in the middle of NO WHERE Montana in the middle of the night. There wasn’t a shoulder on the highway and we’d drive for 15-30 minutes without seeing another set of headlights… much less anything but hills and cliffs and frozen lakes right under us. Finally after an hour and a half of panic inducing driving, we got back in the clear and eventually got to our destination at 1am… got to sleep by 3am… got to the base by 8am… and on the road again before 10am.
I recently met up with a group of photographers from Meetup.com at Jim Boardman‘s studio in Aloha, OR for some shooting for fun. Since it’s quite rainy in Portland, if we do decide that this is the city where we want to live, we’ll likely have to add studio services… so this was a great opportunity to get out and see a fun studio set-up! They had a couple of young models come out and pose for us so we could try out some different lighting sets and play around with our own equipment as well. Here are some of the favorites I got from the shoot…
This particular meetup group is organized by Ruthie Briggs… and here she is!
After a good long consistent spell of keeping the blog updated 5 times a week, I hope the recent lack of posts haven’t caused a loss of readers! I’ve been taking a personal break to do some thinking and reflecting and just general lazing around before wedding season hits full force again.
To start with, I had a milestone birthday this past Saturday. Yep, the big 30! A lot of people consider 25 to be a big milestone birthday, but it wasn’t a big deal for me, I actually liked being 25 and I liked 27 too. I think I like odd numbers best. And while 30 never really sounded like a big deal, and I assumed I’d embrace it with open arms, quite the opposite feelings started to emerge the closer it got. And it’s had me in quite a slump… so much so that I spent an entire afternoon in the self-help section of the bookstore reading about happiness and change and all such topics the day before the big day!
I think it has something to do with the fact we’ve been nomads for almost a year and haven’t really had a “normal” day to day routine in quite a while. Of course it’s been a great experience and great time and we’re so lucky to have had this chance to uproot and take off into the unknown. But at 30 years young you expect, and are expected, to have certain things figured out. Like where you want to live! And be settled there and on your way. I’m so ready for a house to call my own and a routine and some stability in a place we love. Now that we are in a new city 3,000 miles from the only state we’ve ever known, where we know absolutely no one, it’s like starting over. I guess it’s like being in college for the first time again… and finding your place among all the strangers who seem to already have it together. But, then again, we’re only here for a few months to start out with… returning to NC for the bulk of our weddings this Summer. So, the cycle is to continue for the foreseeable future and I guess I’m just gonna have to go with it!
Back to the main subject…I always imagined that on my 30th birthday I’d be surrounded by friends, but not only is that hard to do in a brand new city where you’ve yet to make any friends, but all of my closest friends have already made moves to new cities of their own all over the states… getting them all in one place is nearly impossible these days! Luckily I had Ben around to find ways to make the day special.
First I awoke to find a Cocoa Puff Donut in the kitchen (our roomate works nights at Voodoo Donuts and brings them home some mornings… after a week of no donuts, I finally found one waiting for me! Perfect!)
Then…we started with a vegan biscuit and gravy breakfast at a little place around the corner…
When we got home, a package from my mom had arrived, full of brownies!
Then I decided to get out there and start meeting people, so I joined up with a Meetup.com group, started by Ruthie Briggs Photography, at Jim Boardman’s studio in Aloha, OR for some free time shooting… images coming soon!
Then I headed home and got ready for a night on the town. First Ben surprised me with that chocolate cheesecake that is pictured in the top photo above… chocolate day! He also got us on the guest list for Portland Soul Revue at The Secret Society… it was a great way to ring in 30!
So that’s about it! I’ve told you the truth today, but from here on out until my next birthday, I’ve decided to be 28. And I’m feeling quite optimistic about this year and it bringing us closer to finding our perfect place
I’m writing this from the road… road trip part 2 if you will. Right this moment I’m in Chicago hanging out with my friend and hopefully soon-to-be associate photographer (more news on that in the coming months!). After a few days here visiting various friends, we’re heading back across the country to see if we really want to plant some roots in Portland. We’ll be out there exploring, relaxing, working, shooting some weddings and engagement sessions, and exploring some more! If you’re in Portland and want to schedule a session with us (family, kids, wedding related, pets, anything!) then give us a shout! Or sign up for our newsletter in the post below and maybe you’ll win a free session with us! Here’s our month in iPhone photos….
In case you missed it, we have been running a contest in which we are giving away our photography services to 2 lucky couples in Portland. Voting ended on our Crystal Genes Photography Facebook Page at 10pm last night and the winner was decided…
Congratulations….
With over 450 votes, these two won by a landslide and we can’t wait for their August wedding!
Also, in case you missed it… we’ve also decided to give away a 1 hour portrait session to one or two or three of the 1,000 people who “liked” our Facebook page this week. Did you like our page so that you could vote in the contest? Are you in the Portland area, or willing to come to Portland for the photo shoot? Then you’re eligible to enter this giveaway! Just sign up for our monthly newsletter below and you’ll be automatically entered! Over the course of the year, we’ll select random winners… with the first one being selected on February 10th!
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The trek to Great Falls was actually quite terrifying and we weren’t sure we were even going to make it in time. We hit snow in the middle of NO WHERE Montana in the middle of the night. There wasn’t a shoulder on the highway and we’d drive for 15-30 minutes without seeing another set of headlights… much less anything but hills and cliffs and frozen lakes right under us. Finally after an hour and a half of panic inducing driving, we got back in the clear and eventually got to our destination at 1am… got to sleep by 3am… got to the base by 8am… and on the road again before 10am.
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