Courtney Fries Photography

Blogging from Miami

Hi guys :) Just making a quick post to let everyone know that I am in Miami tonight, tomorrow night and part of Sunday. I have my laptop with me so I'll be able to access email, but just know that I've got a wedding tomorrow, so I may be a bit slow in getting back to you if you shoot me something tonight or tomorrow. Chances are I'll be returning most of my emails Sunday evening. I also have my phone on me, so if you need me just leave a message and I'll get back to you. I had an awesome dinner tonight at a place called Stir Moon. It's a Thai restaurant that allows you to choose your stir fry meat and sauce and then you go and pick out the vegetables from a buffet and then they cook them for you. I had shrimp lo mein with peanut curry and it was SO darn good...I even took a picture with my iphone to show you guys :) So, if you're ever in Miami it's just off US-1 and is yummy! I will be sure to post some photo's after this weekend so stay tuned for more!!

~Courtney :)

2 in 2 weeks....

Well Miss Piper strikes again! First the pea incident and then this...This afternoon, as she's eating her cheese, rice, carrots and green bean's - I turn around to refill her rice and I see her toppling out of her chair and onto the floor. Along with her body goes her plate which crashes to the floor and breaks into a million pieces (note to self: use plastic) and slices her ring finger wide open to the bone. I ran over to her and scooped her up and she was immediately bleeding everywhere. I did the whole nurse thing and applied pressure, held her arm up higher than her heart, tried calming her down and then I pulled the napkin away and saw "it". Holy yikes! There was a good amount of flesh wide open and I knew that there would be nothing more that I could do, so we headed to the children's ER. They were so nice...I told them about Piper's CF and they said we could wait in the car and they would come out and tell us when it was her turn to see the doctor. This was great news...we didn't actually have to wait in the ER waiting room with dozens of other sick kids. Apparently today was a blowout day for them and they got 40 patients in a matter of 3 hours...lol...figures, the only day Piper decides to slice her finger open. Anyway, they swooshed her right in and made sure she wasn't hanging around anyone "potentially" sick and then it began! He opened her finger up and the screaming began...once he realized it couldn't be easily fixed, he opted for stitches instead (5 to be exact) and had to stick her with a needle about 8 times and the poor kid was screaming bloody murder and of course, I was completely watery-eyed...like any mom would be! They had to wrap her up in one of those little mummy things so she wouldn't kick and scream and that only seemed to make her cry more. She saw the string from the stitches sticking out of her hand and couldn't figure out what it was...all the time crying...so I whipped out my iphone and had her watching Thomas the Train in hopes of distracting her...it worked for a little bit, then she'd remember, then she'd watch a little bit more...eventually we got her all sewn up and now she has a giant splint on her hand that goes clear up her forearm that has to be cleaned twice per day for 1 week...that's right folks, a 3 year-old...no, wait...a RIGHT HANDED 3 year-old in a splint for 1 week unable to color (her all-time favorite past-time), unable to play with her leapster (runner-up to her favorite past-time) and having to learn to coordinate eating with her left-hand! This is going to be so much fun...hahaha!! She is just exhausted after today's ordeal...poor little sweetie...she had a rough "just being a kid" kinda day...it's kind of nice having to go to the hospital for something non-cystic fibrosis related for a change, even if it wasn't for something pleasant! Here is Piper in her super sweet splint...I'm off to give her tylenol before the numbness wears off her fingers!

   

Funny Guy :)

I was editing my engagement session from Saturday and ran across these images and laughed outloud! What a hilarious guy :)

 

 

Sneaky Peek: Baby "B"

Here is a little preview for Emily and Adam of their beautiful little Baby "B". It was so nice getting a chance to see you today...you are going to be amazing parents! Thank you for letting me photograph his adorable face (and feet)!!

 

Beau and Marcella ~ Engagement

There are several reasons why I love my job: flexibility, creativity, independence, spontaneity...but most of all I love it, because you can't help but smile amidst the presence of couples in love. Tonight I had the distinct pleasure of photographing Beau and Marcella in beautiful Micanopy. What an amazingly tiny, sleepy little town...I was truly awed by the backdrop. I just had a great feeling about tonight's shoot...when I stepped out of my car and saw two gorgeous people walking toward me with giant smiles on their faces, I knew it would only get better. This couple had such positive energy about them. You could literally feel their love for one another radiate off of them so intensly...it was contagious...I couldn't help but laugh and have an amazing time. It actually made me stop and think how darn lucky I am to have my husband...it was that kind of romantic...the kind that makes you realize that it is everywhere around us, you just have to look. They were so much fun...willing and able to try anything...fun, romantic, witty, fashionable...everything a photographer dreams of in a couple!! Thank you guys so much for an amazing evening...I can't wait to shoot your wedding in Miami next weekend!! Here are just a few from tonight's session! Enjoy :-)

Whew...

quick post before I relax with the hubby-meister, but I've got lots of good stuff coming after this weekend! I have 3 shoots...1 on Saturday and 2 on Sunday and then a wedding next weekend in Miami. 2008 is really starting to crank...I'm getting so excited!! I can't wait to meet my couples this weekend!

On that note...I got some groovy new gear to add to my arsenal! My new Nikon 105mm f/2.8 Micro VR arrived today...this lens is fantastic!! I took some test shots today and wowzer...I can't wait to use this thing! The depth of field is awesome!

I also am receiving my lensbaby 2.0 tomorrow (wooh-hoo)  and my Nikon 70-200 f/2.8 VR

I can't wait to share images after this weekends round of shoots!! So stay tuned for lots o' images after Sunday!!

If you know of someone who is getting married, be sure to pass along my info! My schedule is really starting to get booked for 2008...it seems my weekends are starting to fill up rather rapidly, so if you know your date let me know and I will be sure and see what I have available! I'm diggin' my destination weddings...so fun to go to new locations and have different backdrops! I am SO blessed to be in this industry...ever changing, fun and I get to meet the most amazing people...I love the other photographers that I have become friends with...they are all truly amazing, both artistically and socially! Not to mention, I have some of THE coolest clients around...I am one lucky lady!

Love you guys

xoxo~Courtney

A triple axle, somersault, backflip...

that's what I did when I got this email:

Courtney,

Piper’s culture showed 3+ normal flora and 1+ staph aureus. At this point I do not see any pseudomonas.

I was SO relieved when I read this!! I mean like REALLY relieved!! This is what we were praying so hard for...what I lost sleep over...what I thought of everytime I looked at Piper. God is SO SO SO good to us...he is truly all that is good in this world. He gives me so much hope...I feel so blessed to even be able to post this email.

Thank you EACH AND EVERY ONE OF YOU that sent prayers up for Piper and called and emailed your best wishes for us. God was listening...

The pseudomonas seems to have disappeared...now our job is to keep it away again as long as we can. Last time we kept it away for 3 years...let's see if we can go longer...much, much longer. I'd love to go SO long that the researchers are able to finish the pseudomonas vaccine that is still in trials. Wouldn't that be amazing?

I opened this email and started jumping up and down...lol...no one was around to yell it to, so I celebrated by myself with tears in my eyes and just kept staring at that line I posted above in red. Beautiful...just beautiful.

It feels so surreal...I love that doctors and nurses, no matter how experienced, can still be wrong medically. There are certain things they are unable to explain and that also gives me hope! Heck, who knows...maybe we can hope bigger and pray for a cure...the fire is still hot, it's never too late for a miracle, right? If you're still up for praying for Piper, pray for a cure for CF...it may just get through!

I'm going to hug my little girl, now!! God bless ALL of you!

~Courtney

What the HECK was she thinking?

okay, so you might be wondering what the picture below is all about. Let's just say it's a pea. It's a pea that became lodged in Piper's nasal cavity, because she's 3 and thinks that's apparently cool and a stellar idea. I put it on my lens cap to show the girth of this pea...it's a biggin'. Never in a million years when I gave her, her dinner tonight did I think she'd pull this one out of her hat. I heard her sniffling across the room and I immediately said "what's in your nose" and she replied "a bean". Jonny and I both freaked and grabbed a flash light and saw this giant thing wedged WAY up in there. Poor girl. She was SO good...cool as a cucumber and pretty darn still for a 3-year-old. Jonny must've been a surgeon in his former life, because he saved us about 5 hours in an emergency room tonight and Piper's doc's have told us to avoid the ER like the plague, because CF patients pick up all sorts of horrible things in hospitals, including TB...YIKES. Anyway, thank HEAVEN the Lord was watching out for all of us...what a scary thing, I am one of those freak out mom's, but I somehow manage to come off really calm. haha...kids! Pea+nose=cool?

Something about a little girl in a big floppy hat...

that just makes you say "awwwwwww". Adorable, isn't she? This is Olivia, Piper's best buddy and cousin :) Just grabbed a hat and trucked outside and had a little mini-session...she's always so good for the camera. As always, click to enlarge. I hope you all had a wonderfully relaxing weekend...and maybe even some of you have tomorrow off!!

~Courtney :)

   

 

Slowly converting to the dark side...

I started my conversion to the "Mac" world tonight with the purchase of an iphone. I'm super excited about the phone, but a little nervous about going Mac altogether...PC has been good to me over the years and I know it inside and out. I have become VERY well versed in the ways of the PC, but it seems the hoards are heading to the Mac side and with it, I must go. I plan on making the full switch in a month or two...for now the iphone will have to suffice. What a super cool phone...it's amazing! I think my trip to California had a large influence on my decision to switch. There's even a picture of me on Mike Colon and Kenny Kim's blog giving a GIANT thumbs down to everyone holding up an iphone lol...and here I am...what a hypocrit, huh? David Escalante made fun of my Palm Treo, you stinker, and ever since then I have been embarrased by it! haha...well, David...you win!  :-) Have a great weekend guys!

~Courtney

P.S. Mandy...you know you want to...hahaha