Cousins Make the Best Friends!

You might remember this handsome guy from this past fall. I had a great (cold!) day photographing Matthew in the fall and was really excited when his mom called about taking some pictures of him and his two beautiful cousins, Alexandria and Grace. Though it was much warmer today, we still had the same color skies as the last session with Matthew! However, we did get some beautiful pictures and they were so much fun to hang out with. Mandee, I hope you love them and Aimee, it was so nice to meet you today! Thanks so much, guys!

Speaking on Civility

I got an honor a few weeks ago that not many will ever get in life... I was able to go listen to Elie Wiesel, Holocaust survivor, writer, scholar, and humanitarian. He was speaking in a lecture series at Vanderbilt University on civility. It truly meant as much to me to hear him as anyone else on this earth. To me, his face tells the story of a thousand lifetimes.

Disney's Got Nothin' on THIS Place!

My happiest place on earth is NOT Disney World, but rather Washington, D.C.. I love everything about the city... the fact that you can walk anywhere, the sunsets, the memorials to the giants of our past and the hope of our future, the homage that is paid to those who fight and serve our country, the beauty of Old Glory snapping in the wind, the masses of people who come to revel in our freedoms and blessings. I love to go to Washington with groups of people and alone... I love to walk through the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum so that generations of people to come will Never Forget... I love to see the cherry blossoms around the Jefferson Memorial in the afternoons... I love to move quietly through Arlington National Cemetery and remember those who paid the ultimate sacrifice...I love to see the city through the eyes of those who have never seen it... I love to stand where Martin Luther King, Jr., gave his famous speech and reflect on our far we have come... I love to visit that great symbol of our nation's leadership, the White House... I love to remember how blessed I am to live in a country where I am free to worship as I wish, to work a job I love, and to raise a family I adore.

All Dressed Up and Headed Out...

I was very excited to meet a group for my second Bradley prom session at the Country Club. We had a beautiful area to take some pictures, aside from dodging a few golf balls. :) These guys and gals looked stunning and I had a lot of fun with them. We took some fun shots, even though the fellows were done before we were actually DONE. (You did great, guys!) All of you looked fabulous and I hope your evening was everything you had hoped and more!!!

Sparkling Girls and Studly Guys...

My first prom session of the season took place this past Saturday. I couldn't have picked a better group to start with than Nikki, Jamie, and company. I took pictures of these guys last year (with others) and had a really good time with them. This year, though, just felt so relaxed and comfortable. We weren't very pressed for time and we really had a lot of fun taking the pictures. Guys, I hope your junior prom was wonderful and I look forward to next year! :)

Cap and Gown-Bound!

I was so excited when a good friend of mine at school asked me about doing her son's senior pictures. What made it even cooler is that this son has also been my student two different times, in my sophomore English II Honors class and his junior year in my Holocaust Literature class. One of my favorite parts about teaching is watching kids grow and mature and become the adults they will be in life. I have so enjoyed watching Timothy do exactly that. He has become a mature, responsible person who is so ready for the next phase of his life. I am so proud of his high school accomplishments and the college scholarship they have lead to, and I wish him the very best in his college career. Timothy, you are a handsome, smart, respectful young man and I am so happy to have not only gotten to be part of your education, but also to have gotten to take your senior pictures!!! Thanks, Becky! You have done well with your children. :)

Denied, Crucified, Entombed, RISEN, and COMING AGAIN!

Yes, this is my Kelsey sitting on Jesus's lap! She took her role very seriously!

"Tell the Story", the Easter production at South Cleveland Church of God, was a powerful presentation of Christ's last days on earth and his glorious resurrection. I am blessed to be part of such a church.

It's PROM Time!!!

Prom Season is HERE! (Well, for those of us who are coordinating an entire prom at a local high school, it has been here since last July, but for everyone else... it's HERE!!!) I am now booking prom sessions. Remember, these will fill up very quickly and I am limiting them more this year than I did last year.

If you book a prom session with me, what do you get? I'm glad you asked....

Your prom session will cost $25/couple (minimum of $50). I will meet you at a location of your choice (my farm, Fletcher Park, some private location you have access to, Coolidge Park, the Walnut Street Bridge, etc) and I will take approximately 1-1 1/2 hours of pictures. I will charge $25 more (on the total, not per couple) to drive to Chattanooga. I will shoot variations of groupings-- each couple, just the girls, just the boys, the entire group, and so on. We will do all kinds of pictures, fun, formal, and everything in between. For your $25, each couple will receive the photography and a CD of all images taken, as well as a copyright release for those images. Groups larger than five couples will also receive an 8x10 of the entire group for each couple.

Dates/Times Open Include:

April 10- Cleveland High School Prom
I am booking one session for this prom. Please respond quickly if you are interested.

April ?- Bradley High School Prom
I have room for three sessions on this date.

May 8- Walker Valley High School Prom
4:15- Booked

Call 284.3755 or email athenadavisphotography@yahoo.com to schedule!!!

Check out these gorgeous groups from last year!

Stay Tuned...

for a Special Spring Package Session/Deal! However, with the good news, unfortunately, comes some bad. I will not be booking any Easter sessions this year. This certainly does make me sad, especially after last year's sessions were just so, so stinking cute!!! I have come to realize that I cannot do it all and that the busiest parts of my real full-time job somehow always seem to fall during the heaviest photography times. So, in the interest of feeding my children and maintaining my sanity, I have nixed the Easter sessions this year. However, be ready... because I am coming up with something really brilliant and cute for the some Spring/early Summer session ideas! (And it will handily coincide with a LOOOOOONG break in my real full-time job!) :)

Liliia, the One Year Old Diva...

This precious little one year old came over on Thursday afternoon for her one year old pictures. Liliia's little personality is every bit as cute as her smile and her expressions. I just loved the hat, boa, and tutu that her sweet mommy brought for her to wear in some of the pictures. I had such a good time taking them, and I hope to see you guys again soon, Amanda! :)

It's Great to be a Cleveland Raider!!!

I neglected to post any of the CHS Basketball Cheerleaders, which I did before Christmas break. Since then, I have also photographed the CHS Swim Team, a state-award winning group! All I can say is, Love those Raiders!!!

Sweet Baby Bea

First session of Twenty-Ten (I really do like saying that!) was one that I have looked forward to for... nine months or so! :) Abby and her mom came over with sweet baby Bea for some newborn pictures. I went to high school with Abby, then we worked together in the summers in college for dear Kitty Miller, and now we have ended up working together again at CHS, Abby in art while I'm in English. I am very, very sorry to say that life is again taking us in different directions, as Abby and Bea will be moving to Texas tomorrow to join their husband and daddy, Sean, who is already out there working in a new job. However, Abby does seem to be someone who continually reenters my life, so I hope this is no exception and she will end up back at CHS, imparting a love for art to these crazy kids. :) Abby, Bea is such a blessing and I know that you and Sean are going to take such joy in watching her grow! I will miss you like crazy but hopefully there will be plenty of phone calls and trips (and prom planning!) ahead. Love you!!!

"If ...

...you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds' worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it"

Mr. Kipling, I guess mine is not the Earth. I have not only proven unable to fill the unforgiving minute with sixty seconds worth of distance run, I have not even been able to keep up with the bare minimum on my blog! I have enjoyed a nice break from the holiday rush for pictures, but there are several sessions I have not gotten posted on here yet. My spring resolution is to get back to the blog upkeep. :) Anyway, in case you were wondering, I'm still here! And still taking pictures! (But not owning the Earth, I suppose.)