a few of my favorite things...

for me, the holiday season is the sweetest time of year! my heart is so very anxious for the upcoming week. i will be spending christmas with my entire family for the first time in a few years. it's so magical! i will be enjoying time off, reminiscing with my siblings and friends (i've known since i was 5), playing board games that make you delirious at late hours, catching up on missed time and enjoying a christmas movie marathon with all of my wonderful family. since finishing college, i have learned to appreciate these times greatly. my heart is at the point of aching for them. this season, though it has been crazy (at some points making me a bit nutty) has been thus far my favorite. i have so many things to be thankful for and i've been able to enjoy them more this year than i ever have in the past. my heart overflows!

so in honor of the holidays, i thought i'd list a few of my favorite things (great ideas for last minute shopping as well!)...



of course he tops my list! :)

adrian hitt photography gift certificate - perfect for friends and family that live in the area. you can purchase in any amount and they are good for the year. interested? email me at: adrian[at]adrianhitt[dot]com

earth dog - looking for the perfect stocking stuffer for your puppies? earth dog is a local business of FANTASTIC dog products that are good for the earth and good for your dog. a MUST! (they're super nice and big fans of benny as well. he has the sage collar and looks mighty handsome in it!)

the one the only magnificent me - currently my favorite children's book! great story and fantastic imagery. written by franklin's own, dan haseltine.

my holiday by mindy smith - this was an early christmas present that brian picked up for me. i love mindy smith and this is a beautiful work. it's not the carpenters christmas, but listening worthy nonetheless!

the travel book - a perfect coffee table book. very inspiring and is a consistent reminder of the need to travel this great place.

world peace please - LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this shirt. if i had a child, he or she would wear one.

all strung out designs - unique handmade jewelry. so lovely and local!

give a dog. save a life. - a very popular holiday gift is the furry one that barks under the tree. rescue one from our local shelter! benny is the greatest gift we have ever received and he continues to fill our everyday lives with more love. come on... just go take a look at who needs a home. you know you want to :)

give clean water. give life. - the greatest gift we can give is to care for others. a local organization, blood:water mission is a great vehicle to make this happen. did you know that $10 provides a lifetime of clean water for one person? 1 billion people in our world do not have access to clean water. thus, they die of curable diseases. help provide a natural resource this christmas and you could save one life or an entire village.

may your hearts overflow with peace and the greatest gift ... love! thanks for dropping by!

benny has been elfed!

happy holidays everyone! it's hard to believe that it's only a little over a week until christmas. wow, where did 2007 go?!

this week, i'm wrapping up everything for the year. it has been a FULL last couple of months and i've met so many wonderful people. we have some great things in store for 2008, so be sure to stay close. :) also our offices will be closed from december 21 - january 8 for the holiday season and i'll be attending a photo conference. i have a few posts left for the year, but i thought it'd be fun to start with this one. hope it makes you :)

benny's been elfed!

willie and rebecca's wedding

last sunday, i drove to lexington for rebecca and willie's wedding day. despite the cold, windy and rainy day we were able to find some great locations inside the radison...places we may have not ventured to had it been a nice day. they were such a fun couple to work with. rebecca has an energy about her that you are drawn to and willie actually does not like being photographed. seriously, not at all. i had a good time with him and he did pretty well here, wouldn't you say? :) during the entire day you could feel the love that they are both surrounded by ... so beautiful. thanks for choosing me! i hope you're enjoying the honeymoon!

sophie and worth

i met up with this brother and sister so that we could get a christmas photo as well as surprise their dad with portraits. i had such a fun time with them! i don't photograph older children as often as i would like, and they did a great job. they actually get along quite well, as you can see! i love the emotion in this image.

sims family

during the weekend i also met up this family. it was an overcast morning with moody clouds. we had a good time together and i enjoyed meeting the furry members of their family as well. here are a couple of favorites!

travel sessions- fort smith, ar

it's that time of year again! time to be with family, reflect on life's sweet moments and to travel. :) i'll be in fort smith for the holidays and will be taking a few sessions during my time there. i only have a few slots available as to insure time with friends and family. the commissioning fee starts at $150 and is due at the time of booking in order to reserve your spot. email me at adrian[at]adrianhitt[dot]com to get a place! it's a great time to schedule a session as families will be home, out of school and together. here are a few images from my last time in fort smith. enjoy!








also, like what you see and don't live in the nashville area? shoot me an email and see if i can come to your city in 2008! so far, the tour includes new york city, oklahoma city, and baton rouge.

hutchins family

whew! the weekend was more than full, but had a great start with this super cute family. they are the sweetest bunch. enjoy these!

great in front of the camera!

cute family, right? :)

just mom and dad


and just another reminder... orders needed before christmas will have a $20 rush fee. any orders placed after december 12 that are needed before christmas will have a $40 rush fee.

and isn't this season wonderful! more and more everywhere i go i continue to see more signs of christmas. i love it!

happy december

love,
benny

beth + stephen

after my first session in lexington, i met up with beth and stephen. they will also be married in downtown lexington in late spring. we ventured around the city and wound up at university of kentucky's campus. we found this great dirt hill with weeds growing all over it. it was absolute perfection as the sun was setting. here is my favorite from that! thanks for such a great time!



also, TODAY is the last day to place orders that will arrive by christmas. anything placed after today will incur a rush fee. so get those in! :)

rebecca + willie

on tuesday, i drove to lexington for a couple of engagement sessions. i met rebecca and willie upon my arrival. we ventured around downtown and found some great spots. we have been trying to plan this session for sometime and it was great to finally meet them! here is one of my favorites. i will see you on sunday!

sarah and michael's wedding

this past saturday was the wedding of sarah and michael. you may recognize them from the engagement session we did in october. it was a cold, rainy day but everyone remained in good spirits and we were still able to shoot outside. they were married at the owen chapel church of christ in brentwood with the reception following at the governor's club mansion. also, the deliciously good cake was done by ice this. thank you sarah and michael for letting be a part of your day! have a great time in the bahamas and we'll see you when you get back!

lexington

just a note to say that i'll be out of the office today. i'll be traveling to lexington, ky for a couple of sessions. i'll return emails on wednesday! for now, enjoy a few pieces of benny :)

addison - 5 months old

here are a few favorites from my time with little addison. her mom and i had such a good time and addison is such a sweet girl. enjoy these!

back from thanksgiving

i am back in the office from taking off on thursday and friday. we had a great couple of days! this time of year is my absolute favorite. i loved that when we were out early morning shopping on friday that i could smell christmas. (you know, it has that particular winter smell that you can only get a whiff of in cold temperatures?) because i haven't taken a day off since june, i pretty much didn't know what to do with myself! so, our tree went up and all of the decorations came out! it's so cozy. we also managed to finish 90% of our christmas shopping and they are all wrapped under our tree. i also snuck in a few christmas movie favorites. if you grew up in the 90's, then you know that home alone and home alone 2 are fantastic classics. :) i love just about everything that involves christmas, so thursday and friday were terrific days for me!

this was also our first year to not be with family. it made the both of us realize how much we miss our friends and families from home and that we cannot wait for christmas to get here so we can be with them!! i hope that all of you had a peaceful thanksgiving and that your hearts were full. thank you for being a part of my life and love of photography. your support means everything.

and here's a glimpse of what benny had for thanksgiving :)

woodrow the saint bernard

meet woodrow wilson. he is a seven-month old st. bernard puppy. i met up with him and his parents on friday at a local college campus. i had never photographed his breed before, but have always had an interest in st. bernard's since i watched the movie Beethoven as a kid. he was full of slobbers and completely adorable. he loves his mom much and isn't a fan of wearing christmas paraphernalia. enjoy his cute little face!



this was woodrow after doing some digging

the crafton's

meet kate crafton and her family. i met them in murfreesboro at a local park this week. i know kate because she is a photographer as well... and a great one at that! such a good eye! she is one of those people you love being around because of her energetic personality and i was so excited to finally meet her family. such great kiddos and an adorable english spaniel named darby. we ended the session by letting benny and darby play together. it was quite entertaining! it was a bit too dark for me to get any blog-worthy photos of them, but enjoy these of her family!

fails boys

this summer i met these twin brothers and i got to see them again on sunday. they greeted my by letting me know that they were still 4... they wanted to make sure i knew that their birthday hadn't happened since the last time we had seen each other :) we had a fun time together at the house and at a nearby creek. we even snuck their mom and dad in for a few.

lindsey family

on saturday afternoon i met up with the lindsey family. it was such a great time of day with the sun shining through the beautiful golden trees! they have 3 boys, 1 baby girl and 2 sweet puppies. it's a full house! but i had a lot of fun! the boys took me outside and showed me their zip line. (which is now something i think every child should have in their yard!) we played for a while and then i spent some time with their mom and baby sister. thanks for having me out. i hope you enjoy these!



showin' some brotherly love :)

sophie

this weekend was packed but so good! i got to meet so many sweet families and great kids. a favorite part of my job is meeting new people all of the time and entering into the world of childhood so often. on saturday i met up with sophie and her parents and we couldn't have had a more pleasant day! this beautiful girl is one loved child... her parents are so good with her and she has a mimi who is crazy about her. enjoy the sneak peek!

oystergirl unique handknits

a friend of mine has started a new business called oystergirl unique handknits. benny benefited from this because he received one of her first custom dog sweaters! it's knitted in his favorite colors and will be sure to keep him nice and cozy this winter :) here he is modeling it...




a nice creamy black and white


be sure to check out her etsy store by clicking here to find more cozy winter items.