Overbay Photography Blog » PERSONAL

CONGRATULATIONS!–Heather’s UT graduation

Kristen — Mon, 14 May 2012 00:47:30 +0000

I want to wish a big CONGRATULATIONS to my little sister, Heather Arms, for completing her undergraduate career at the University of Tennessee in only 3 short years!! We are very excited to have her here in Knoxville for 2 more years while she gets her Masters in Speech Pathology from UT. GO VOLS!!!

Extreme Makeover Home Edition: Knoxville, TN

Kristen — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 23:03:31 +0000

I had the pleasure of working for Extreme Makeover Home Edition last week while they were in town filming a special episode that will air over the Thanksgiving holiday in 2012. The deserving family for this build was Daniel and Mandy Watson, who co-founded The Restoration House of East Tennessee. The Restoration House is an organization that supports low-income single mothers through transitional housing, mentoring, financial counseling, and educational opportunities. I met a close friend of the Watson’s while helping with the Thanksgiving send-off parade for the family. This friend shared the Watson’s story and the heart they have for these women. She said that Daniel and Mandy were inspired to start this organization based on their own histories as children of single mothers.

Extreme Makeover has always been one of my favorite shows. I just love the message it has of giving back to those in need. I actually had the opportunity to help with a EMHE build in Raleigh, NC while I was in college but there is nothing like having that big orange bus roll into TN to help someone in our very own community! There are no volunteers like the TENNESSEE VOLUNTEERS!! These photos were taken for personal use only with no affiliation to EMHE.

Happy 5 Year Anniversary to Stephanie & Mitch!

Kristen — Sat, 07 Jan 2012 01:35:37 +0000

Congratulations to my twin sister (and Overbay Photography assistant) on her 5 year wedding anniversary to her husband Mitch! The years have flown by and we wish you many more happy years to come. Can’t wait to see what 2012 has in store for you all!

Photo by Cable Photography.

2011 HELP-PORTRAIT

Kristen — Sat, 31 Dec 2011 20:20:38 +0000

This will be our third year participating in the HELP-PORTRAIT movement which enables us to “give back” to someone in our community. Here is a link to their site explaining the concept: http://help-portrait.com. Here is the basic idea:
FIND SOMEONE IN NEED > TAKE THEIR PORTRAIT> PRINT THEIR PORTRAIT > AND DELIVER THEM

This year I had the opportunity to meet and photograph a family who has been in and out of the hospital several times this year with their daughter who has Cystic Fibrosis. Cystic fibrosis is an inherited chronic disease that affects the lungs and digestive system of about 30,000 children and adults in the United States (70,000 worldwide). In the 1950s, few children with cystic fibrosis lived to attend elementary school. Today, advances in research and medical treatments have further enhanced and extended life for children and adults with CF. Many people with the disease can now expect to live into their 30s, 40s and beyond. (http://www.cff.org/AboutCF/)

I have come to learn about this disease through my neighbors, who also have a daughter with CF. They were the ones who introduced me to the family I photographed. I was fortunate enough to get involved with the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation a bit over this past year through the Martinis & Movies Gala and the Great Strides Walk. If you are interested in learning more about the disease or finding ways to “give back” yourself through the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation of Knoxville click here.

I am really glad that I get to do this each year around the holidays. If you know of someone who would benefit from this service in 2012 please let us know! HAPPY NEW YEAR!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!–OUT OF OFFICE

Kristen — Sat, 17 Dec 2011 19:06:36 +0000

I will be out of the office from Sunday, December 18th–Tuesday, December 27th. My husband and I will be enjoying a mini vacation in New York City (my first trip at Christmas-time!) and then doing some more traveling and spending time with family for the holidays.
I hope you and your family have a very MERRY CHRISTMAS and a HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Oh, and in case you missed how my husband surprised me with our trip this year click the link below:

If there was one place that perfectly captures the magic of Christmas…where would that one place be?

PINTEREST – wedding inspiration for brides to be

Stephanie — Tue, 13 Sep 2011 23:37:03 +0000

Here is a special blog post for all the brides-to-be out there. For some of you this will be a very exciting (and possibly addicting) new tool and some of you might have already heard of this but have never given it a shot. We have recently gotten into this new trend in story-boarding by using Pinterest! We insist that you check it out! Pinterest is a virtual pinboard that lets you organize and share all kinds of things you find on the web. People use pinboards to decorate their homes, organize their favorite recipes, and yes even to plan their wedding! You can see all your ideas for your dream wedding in a collection of images all in one place – your very own wedding pinterest board! Then family and friends can leave comments about the dresses, flowers, and other details that you find. You can browse pinboards created by other people to discover new things and get inspiration from those who share your interests and style. To get started you must first request an invite. Then start pinning!

The mission of pinterest is to connect everyone in the world through the “things” they find interesting. There are millions of new pins added every week, enjoy!

Nana & Grandaddy–Myrtle Beach, SC

Kristen — Thu, 11 Aug 2011 20:33:33 +0000

I just returned from a mini-vacation with my husband visiting my grandparents down in Myrtle Beach, SC. This place holds SO MANY fond memories from my childhood. Ever since I was a little girl I have spent almost every summer vacationing at my grandparents summer house in Ocean Lakes Family Campground. Stephanie and I even celebrated our very first birthday smashing our cake in our high chairs on the porch at their beach house. It was fun reminiscing and talking about all of the things we used to do when we visited. Traditions like going to Myrtle Waves, the Pavilion, the “mushroom pool” at Ocean Lakes, the arcade, Omega pancakes, “grandaddy’s” putt-putt, riding the golf cart down to the beach, going to get Mint Chocolate Chip ice cream from the ice-cream stand in the evenings (and then feeling so conflicted when Stephanie would go next door to the camp store and pick out a frozen snickers or ice cream sandwich from the freezer—which to choose?!!). Nana and Grandaddy sold their house about 2 summers ago, but it was great getting to visit them at the beach again. Lucky for us, they now rent the house directly across the street from theirs a week out of every summer month. I have been needing to update some frames at my house for a while now so I took Nana and Grandaddy down to the beach to snap a picture but came home with so much more! Now, these are memories I will treasure for a lifetime.

OUT OF OFFICE: Turks and Caicos

Kristen — Mon, 20 Jun 2011 03:11:10 +0000

I will be out of the office this week, 6/20-6/27, traveling with my husband to the islands of Turks and Caicos. I appreciate your patience as you may be waiting on photos or continued email correspondence from me. I will be wrapping up several lifestyle sessions and weddings upon my return. This week, I plan to completely unplug and spend time with my husband relaxing on the beach. I hope to share some photos from our trip with you soon! Until then, here is a photo of the view from the Veranda, where we will be staying at T & C.

Claypeppers!

Stephanie — Sat, 27 Nov 2010 21:28:03 +0000

One of our former brides, Margaret Kauchak Culpepper, has started her own business making adorable clay magnets, ornaments, and sculptures that capture the adoring gaze and personality of your best friend. They are called “Claypeppers.” All Claypeppers are one of a kind and custom made for each order. Find her storefront on etsy.com (http://www.etsy.com/people/Claypeppers) or find their fan page on facebook.

I sent Margaret a photo of each of our dachshunds – Sadie, Macie, and Heather’s new little one, Abbie! They are all very different dogs with different personalities and we desperately wanted custom made ornaments. When we received them in the mail we squeeled because they were just PERFECT! See for yourself!

If you are interested in placing your own order – email the pictures of your pet(s) ( the more the better!) and any questions to CLAYPEPPERS@GMAIL.COM

London Photo Session by Emily Quinton

Stephanie — Sun, 26 Sep 2010 08:09:39 +0000

Mitch and I have wanted to take a trip to Europe ever since we got married and promised each other we would go at least once before we started a family. We decided to visit Paris, France and London, England this past July. We loved both places and have already started making a list of where else we want to visit one day. Since opportunities like these do not come around often, we decided to document our London trip by finding a local photographer that suited our style to do a quick session with us. We haven’t had professional photos taken as a couple since our wedding in 2007. I stumbled upon Emily Quinton’s website and blog and knew she was the right one for us. The day we picked for our shoot happened to be rainy – shocker! But we stuck it out and went for it anyways. I can’t thank Emily enough for being willing to have the session since we knew it was a once in a lifetime opportunity as we were flying back to the states the next day. When meeting up with Emily, she told us we would know it was her because she would be the one pregnant lady carrying her gear and camera down near the Westminster Bridge. Emily was a joy to work with. We exchanged some stories from both being in the photography business and it is funny how we have both experienced a lot of the same things. Here are some of the photos from the session…we have already framed several in our house. Thanks Emily!