Carmen and Drew Get Married

Recently, I had the pleasure of photographing Carmen and Drew’s beautiful day at Virginia Tech.  It was intimate and simple,  but full of love and laughter.  Here are a few of my favorite shots from the day.

Rhinos and Llamas and Mares… Oh My!

This past weekend, we visited a fantastic  little place called Lazy 5 Ranch near KC’s parents house in North Carolina.  It is similar to Safari Park in Natural Bridge, VA for all of you who live in our area of the state.  Basically, it is 125ish acres of natural habitats for animals from all over the world; you can drive through in your own car or take a horse drawn wagon ride, guided by Donnie, the resident ranch expert complete with Wranglers, fu manchu, cowboy hat, and Willie Nelson tribute ponytail.   Throughout the ride, we stopped to feed and pet the animals (some animals were a bit too rowdy or scary to stop for, but most were approachable).  It was a dream come true for Tate.  He adores animals and got over any fears of having them eat out of his hand in about 0.5 seconds.  He was very disappointed that he could not get out of the wagon and roam around in the wild, but he was captivated enough by what he could do, so he was a happy boy!  His favorite part was feeding the giraffes; he fed them out of his bucket and also hand-fed them leaves.  Their long tongues really made him laugh!  Max even got to feed the giraffes, with a little help from Nana.  Given the season, many babies had just been born over the past few months (some as young as one week old), and that was such a spectacular sight.  In fact, it was all so awesome that we happily endured the scorching 98 degree temperature and raging sun   Here are some photos of our time and some of the beautiful animals we saw.

It was a very special afternoon, with a thoroughly thrilled little boy.  And thankfully, we won’t be featured on the next episode of When Animals Attack.

True Joy

Every once in a while, there are moments when I am doing seemingly nothing with my family and I am suddenly hit with the thought of what a blessed life I have.  Happiness and love rush through me and fill my entire body.  I sometimes have to remind myself to exhale and begin breathing again.  As I was folding clothes in Max’s room recently, I looked up at my boys giggling and playing and had one of these experiences.  I was also sad at the thought that this special time in their lives will be gone so quickly.  Not satisfied with merely watching, I stopped my chores and joined them, taking in every ounce of beauty and joy.  And of course, I snapped a few pictures to always remember that day, the fun we had, and the feelings I experienced in Max’s room on a Sunday afternoon in June.  Here are two of my favorites.

The Titans Graduate

I recently photographed Hidden Valley High School’s graduation and it was such a wonderful experience!  A family hired me to take pictures of their little girl as she experienced her first big day in a series of big days to come in her adult life.  It was an exciting moment for me in a number of ways as I got to pursue my passion for photography, as well as watch some of my old students walk across the stage.  Just last year, I was working closely with some of these young adults as they chose their senior year classes, dealt with some difficult teenage experiences, and planned for a bright future.  They are some of the most amazing kids I have ever known and I can’t wait to see what goodness they bring into the world.  Here is a selection of my photos from the day. 

Beautiful Boys

On Mother’s Day, I did a shoot with three wonderful, very photogenic brothers (ages 18, 13 and 5).  They were a blast and we had a gorgeous day taking pictures down at a creek near their home.  The lush greenery, the peeking sunlight, the flowing waterfalls and rippling waters… it doesn’t get any lovelier than this.  The shoot was a combination of senior portraits and family portraits and was just perfect.  Thank you to mom, Tracy, for her permission to share some these with you!

I Heart NY

My love affair with New York began with my love affair with film.  As I grew up, I was drawn to this amazing city that I saw unfold before me in the movies.  The people, the sounds, the colors, the hustle, the bustle, the shops, the drama, the lights, the food, the  life… they all took my breath away as I watched with wide eyes and an open heart.  I deeply wanted to be there, even before I knew where “there” was.  But even if I got there, I thought that it could never feel like it did in the movies… no place could be that magical.  Or if it really was as exciting as it seemed, it would never feel that way to me… I was just too ordinary.  New York was the Homecoming King and I was the freshman who still had braces and a sad middle school haircut… I could only love him from afar.  So I watched as NY went through relationship after relationship on camera, with people who I came to love because of their closeness to the beautifully unattainable.  Harry, Sally, Josh Baskin, Holly Golightly, Annie Hall, Kathleen Kelly, Madison the Mermaid… all of their stories kept me captivated.

Then I grew up.  I became my own woman, developed a personal style, and realized my potential.  I started to see that it didn’t matter if he was the Homecoming King.  I had a lot to offer and he would be lucky to have me.  I began to know in my heart that one day, we’d be together.  Then, in college, my love for NY in film was complemented by a little show called Sex and the City.  As a grown woman, I believe I would not be able to so naively love this show, but at the time, I saw past the taboo and into a colorful world.  My close friends and I identified with the humor and the personalities of these fabulous women.  They set the trends for our fashion and the pace for our lives.  The show was about strong women, the men in their lives, their clothes, and their friendships… but to me, the main character was New York.  Its heartbeat was at the center of everything that went on in the City. 

After years of building up to this moment, I finally went to the City during the summer of 2002.  I stayed with a friend who was living there at the time.  I spent a week searching, discovering, watching, and living.  So often, realities fall short of the fantasies in our imagination, but this was not one of those occasions.  NY was every bit as thrilling as I thought it would be… and then some.  I went home with a pile of books on how to relocate to NY and a fresh set of dreams.

Well, this story doesn’t end with an ice skating rink in Central Park and a matching pair of cashmere gloves.  I never made it to New York.  God had a different plan for me, that included marrying my darling husband, continuing my education, having two beautiful boys, and settling in Roanoke, VA… a city miles from NY in so many ways.  But New York and I have developed our own special relationship.  We keep in touch through film and visit now and again when life makes way for it.  There will never be another New York for me, but I am content with loving him at a distance.  It makes our time together so much more wonderful and never taken for granted.

This past weekend, for my 28th birthday, my lovely husband surprised me with a trip to NY.  We had never been there together, and he wanted us to share in the wonder of this place thathe knew meant so much to me.  We saw Wicked, which was far better than I could have imagined and went completely beyond all of the hype surrounding it.  I really can’t put words to how marvelous it was… other than to say that 2 hours and 45 minutes was just not long enough.  We saw the progress being made on the WTC site, explored the historic St. Paul’s Chapel, took a carriage ride in Central Park, and marveled at all of the beautiful things we couldn’t buy on 5th Avenue.  We ate at some wonderful restaurants… Carmine’s, The Blue Fin, Papillon, Gray’s Papaya, Balthazar.  Some were old friends of mine and others were new.  That’s one of my favorite things about NY… there are always new things to discover and new places to rekindle the flame.  I fall in love with the City more and more with each visit.  Here are a few of my other favorite things about NY… the fact that Donald Trump and a Rastafarian pushing a shopping cart can be found on the same block (yes, we saw them both); the trees in Central park that have faces and personalities that seem to match their many years – it looks like they might wake up and talk to you at any moment; the subway performers who could go toe to toe with any musician on the charts, and the subway performers who can’t hit a single note on key but who sing with the passion of Celine Dion and the energy of Tina Turner; the shops – from the thrillingly overwhelming Bergdorf to the quiet little boutique that you could miss if not looking at the precise moment that you pass its doorway in SoHo; and the action – the people who move with the intensity of someone on the way to the most important moment of their life, the massive Broadway productions that are all going on within feet of each other on the same glorious evening, and the constant moving lights and loud sounds that give the City life. 

I Heart NY.

Welcome!

Welcome to the photoblog of Beau Jour Photography, a location portrait and event photography business in Roanoke, VA.  My name is Kristin Gilbert, and I am the photographer behind Beau Jour.  This will be a place where you can view some of my recent work, as well as a place where you can come for a surprise addition to your day.   One day it might be a milk-through-the-nose laugh, the next it could be a gut checking nugget of Christian inspiration, or it might just be a honest observation that causes a little bit of an “OH NO SHE DIDN’T!”  Whatever it is, I can promise that it will be real.  This photoblog is my box of chocolates…. you know the rest.