Marcus and I spent yesterday up in Kingston at the Whitestone Inn wedding show. We met some great vendors, saw some old friends, and chatted with the couples. It's always nice to revisit Whitestone which was the site of my own wedding in 2004. They have excellent food and beautiful grounds, and I highly recommend visiting if you're planning a wedding or just a romantic weekend away.

I did leave Marcus on his own with the booth just long enough to check out the bridal show over in the chapel and snap a few photos of the girls in the courtyard. It was great to see two of my former brides, Sarah and Allison, there modeling their dresses.

This may seem really obvious to my computer savvy readers, but I just want to remind everyone that you should never open email attachments or even click on links in emails unless you are 100% positive that they are safe and have been sent by someone you know.

For instance, someone could easily send out emails that look like they are from me or someone you know even though they are not. If you ever receive an unexpected email and are unsure then you can always email or call the sender to check. For links, you can open a browser window and go to the site yourself rather than following a link that may actually be installing a virus on your computer. It can be really tempting to just trust an email when you recognize the sender or if the email says, for instance, that someone you know has sent you an ecard, but it's better to possibly miss out on a real card than to end up a victim.

Just in case you didn't happen to notice... there was a total lunar eclipse tonight. We went out for a few minutes around 11pm to see the shadow as it started moving off of the Moon. 

It's a little too cold to stay out for long tonight, but it is kind of cool to see so I dug out an old composite photo that I took a few years ago.

The first shot was taken during totality while the Moon was completely covered by the Earth's shadow. Because the Earth is blocking most of the sunlight, shorter wavelengths of light are scattered. Only the longer orange and red wavelengths can bend around and still reach the Moon which is why you get an orange color cast.

Once the shadow has moved off some, the Moon is much brighter and looks a lot like most other nights. However, the normal phases of the moon are not caused by the Earth's shadow, and that is your random fact for the day.

If you missed out on seeing the eclipse then you'll have to wait a while. While it is possible to have up to 3 total lunar eclipses in one year, we won't have another one until December 2010.

Last week I met up with Diana and Zach in downtown Knoxville. Diana is about to record a music demo and needed some current promotional photos. I think we got some really great shots, but it's hard not to take beautiful photos when working with such a terrific subject.

It's FREEZING outside today (perfect weather to snuggle with your Valentine)! I'm glad that it was warmer last week when I went to Chattanooga for Jessica and Chris's engagement session. We shot around the Bluff View Arts District before heading over to UTC campus to check out their ceremony venue, Patten Chapel. It's a lovely little church with wood, tile, and stained glass. I'm really looking forward to shooting there, and it won't be long before I'm posting photos. Their wedding is just a month away!

Chris met Jessica while here in the US working at her church. He's from Australia so the two of them know a bit about long distance relationships. It's so obvious that she is thrilled to finally have him here to stay. You can just see it in the way she looks at him with so much love and happiness.