Happy Anniversary! Yep, that’s me and my hubby you see below. 4 years ago (ok, so I am a few weeks early) I married my love, Jeremy. This past week was a celebration in and of  itself… we received our wedding album! I know what your thinking, “Really, you just recently ordered your wedding album!”, and your right to be shocked and appalled (LOL). The saying about the cobbler’s kids holds true for photographers as well. I have been so preoccupied with my clients, and making sure other people have beautiful art work and albums that I let my own memories sit in a box.

When Jeremy and I repainted our living room (which is also my showroom) I made a vow to myself, and to him, that we would display our own wedding images (finally). I was very excited about our new wall decor (one of my Canvas Wrap Collections), but had one last thing nagging at me. I had to narrow down the 200 images I had selected, so far for our wedding album.

We had so many images that we loved, and thought helped tell the story of our amazing day. Finally narrowing the images down to 150 I resigned to the fact that we would have one hell of an album. Large as it may be, we just didn’t want to eliminate another single image, and why should we. This will be an heirloom, passed down from generation to generation telling our love story, union and celebration.

I just love, love, love the cover we selected, Secret Garden with Komodo Dragon as the spine accent. I have even done a few boudoir albums with the same options, beautiful! With a digital design we could easily fit all of the images we wanted without the album being too heavy and cumbersome. I absolutely LOVE it. So much so that I just had to share.

                Canvas Wrap Collection

For those of you that do not know, I have an obsession for all things peacock. My wedding theme was peacock. My Mardi Gras costume is a Peacock. I can’t get enough of those rich, vibrant colors, and elegant tail feathers.

I started a Pinterest board that allows me to eliminate the paper trail for my obsession, and house all of my peacock inspired attractions. Here’s a glimpse.

Look at that peacock doorknob… LOVE IT! What about the cutest cupcake ever? I don’t think I could eat it… it’s a work of art.

Have a lovely Valentine’s Day!

I hope it is filled with surprises.

]]> http://brandigroomsphotography.com/blog/happy-valentines-day/feed/ 0 http://brandigroomsphotography.com/blog/lunar-eclipse/ http://brandigroomsphotography.com/blog/lunar-eclipse/#comments Sat, 01 Jan 2011 16:13:08 +0000 Brandi Grooms Johnson http://brandigroomsphotography.com/blog/?p=1106 NOTE: the images in this feed have been downsized or removed for copyright reasons. To see them in their unmodified state, please view the original post by clicking here.

Lunar Eclipse December 21, 2010

For our 2 year anniversary Jeremy and I decided to get away from it all…  no work, no computers, no cell service… just serenity. Thanks to a suggestion from my friend Tina and her husband Tom we headed to this quiet, mountain top park, Rickett’s Glen in Pennsylvania. It was exactly what I had hoped… beautiful, peaceful, quite (there were only 2 other campers in the park), earthy and fall-like.

Mental note: the best time to go camping is in the fall when everyone else has gone home. We had the whole place to ourselves.

Hmmm, chili!.. the perfect meal on a cold October evening. I love Amy’s vegetarian chili, spicy of course.

Jeremy started off as MacGruber trying to rig the tarp over the picnic table for when the rain came. Finally, he got his Macgyver groove and everything was tied and staked properly. Thank goodness, because it stormed the next evening. We ended up having a yahtzee tournament under the tarp. I won : )… crushed him!

The trail around the lake. We took the canoe out, and did a little fishing. No bites.

This is Chippy. Our friendly neighbor that had a thing for our trail mix and our Cliff bars. Sneaky little guy.

The hikes were beautiful. We did a 7.2 mile trail that took us to 22 waterfalls.

I was laughing while going through the photos, because I felt like all I had pictures of were chipmunks and waterfalls.

It was a great way to celebrate 2 years of marriage.

I am thankful for all that I have…

my wonderful husband,

my great friends,

my adorable kitties,

an awesome job with fabulous clients,

and a family that I love so much!

Thank you all!

P.S. Thanks Louise and Alix for doing such a wonderful job on our wedding photos… I can’t stop looking at them, obviously : )

Yes, it was a happy birthday.

Thank you to all of you that sent me wonderful birthday wishes.

I was so pooped from all of the day’s excitement that I still have not scratched all of my bday scratch offs.

What a great day! I woke up to a new iPod(Nano)… before this I had the original 1st generation iPod. I know, so out dated. I couldn’t believe how light the Nano was! Evreytime I tried to run with my old iPod it pulled my pants down. With my Nano in hand and a GC for new music I was ready to start my day off. My hubby even cooked me an egg-white omelette. Ok, that’s nothing new… he does all of the cooking. Damn, I have it good!

Every year Jeremy and I go crabbing for my birthday.  It has nothing to do with with the fact that I am a crab, but I always wonder if that helps with the catching. Although this year we went a day early it was just as fun and relaxing. We caught 35 keepers in under 2 hrs this year.

After spending the day relaxing on the beach (what a perfect day for it) we went home to pick the crab we caught the day before. I remember this being fun in the past, but for some reason yesterday it seemed a bit tedious. It definitely made going out to dinner worth it : )

One of our usual places, Teak, was absolutely delicious as expected. I can’t seem to steer away from the crispy rock shrimp appetizer, and the sesame crusted tuna entree. The tuna is the best I’ve had… EVER! Since I am from New Orleans, and have eaten only fish as my meat for 15 years I consider myself a bit of a seafood connoisseur… or snob. My husband, has dubbed me a ” vegaquarian”, meaning I am a vegetarian that eats dairy and fish.

Well, this vegaquarian is looking forward to the awesome crab cakes her husband makes every year! Look at all of that crab meat we picked.

]]> http://brandigroomsphotography.com/blog/happy-birthday/feed/ 0 http://brandigroomsphotography.com/blog/edible-goodness/ http://brandigroomsphotography.com/blog/edible-goodness/#comments Thu, 15 Jul 2010 20:56:30 +0000 Brandi Grooms Johnson http://brandigroomsphotography.com/blog/?p=862 NOTE: the images in this feed have been downsized or removed for copyright reasons. To see them in their unmodified state, please view the original post by clicking here.

Another wonderful thank you.

After I finished up with a session, I checked my voicemail and was pleasantly surprised when I heard I had a delivery from Edible Arrangements. I wracked my brain of all of the possible senders. A bit perplexed yet excited I drove home and waited for the delivery.

Beautiful, healthy, and delicious! What a great way to say thank you. I truly think I have some of the greatest clients in the world.

Even the cats couldn’t resist the incredible smell. Cricket was more curious than Peanut. I think If I hadn’t shooed her away I would have been missing those grapes.

My husband claimed all of the pineapple, , but I think that was because I had already eaten the yogurt covered strawberries.

It’s good to be spontaneous… you never know what you might come to discover.

Happy 4th of July!

Every 3rd of July our friend Bob has a killer party with an awesome view of the Red Bank Kaboom fireworks show. It was 3 years ago, yesterday that my husband proposed to me there in the middle of the fireworks. Unfortunately he couldn’t be there with me this year, but I took a few shots so that he wouldn’t be left out.

Every year the fireworks get better and better.

I hope everyone had a fun and safe Independence Day.

Jeremy and I were so excited to hear that Louise Conover, one of our awesome wedding photographers (and a great friend of mine) had her images from our wedding published!

Check out the beautiful Intimate Weddings blog. Christina has done such a wonderful job at creating an invaluable resource for brides looking for inspiration for their intimate wedding.

Come out and see me at Jamian’s

this Thursday, April 1st., 2010 from 6 – 9

]]> http://brandigroomsphotography.com/blog/jamians-opening-reception/feed/ 0 http://brandigroomsphotography.com/blog/the-gallery-13/ http://brandigroomsphotography.com/blog/the-gallery-13/#comments Fri, 12 Feb 2010 12:00:59 +0000 Brandi Grooms Johnson http://brandigroomsphotography.com/blog/?p=584 NOTE: the images in this feed have been downsized or removed for copyright reasons. To see them in their unmodified state, please view the original post by clicking here.

Recently a fellow photographer and friend, John Vigg! contacted me about joining forces & opening a gallery showcasing fine art photography. The idea of being a part of something new, collaborative, and challenging all at the same time intrigued, inspired & frightened me!

I decided I was all in!

Our grand opening is Saturday, March 6th from 6 – 10 pm.

Please join  us, John Vigg! Mike Damon, Alix Passage, & Brandi Grooms Johnson, at 658 Cookman Ave., Suite 13  Asbury Park, NJ 07712

732.439.8765

Meet artist Melissa Heid, of The Turquoise Pony! Are you thinking, “Where have I heard that name before”?

Well, you might remember Melissa from Dina & Gary’s wedding… you know, the carnival wedding! Melissa was the creative forces behind Dina’s candy bouquet and jewelry.

Melissa’s creations are absolutely fabulous!

Check out this crafty mama’s works of art on Etsy, Blacktanktops.

]]> http://brandigroomsphotography.com/blog/therapeuticphotography/feed/ 0 http://brandigroomsphotography.com/blog/a-for-asbury-amy/ http://brandigroomsphotography.com/blog/a-for-asbury-amy/#comments Wed, 14 Oct 2009 02:08:28 +0000 Brandi Grooms Johnson http://brandigroomsphotography.com/blog/?p=289 NOTE: the images in this feed have been downsized or removed for copyright reasons. To see them in their unmodified state, please view the original post by clicking here.

Another fun shoot! Amy Diamond of Adia Photography and I hit up Asbury a few weeks ago. We have been planning this shoot for months, but due to our non-existent summer and our very busy schedules it’s been tough. Finally we were able to coordinate schedules, and set up a play date!

Can you believe the blue skies we had that day? We so lucked out considering the past few weeks of weather,

I love Amy… she’s one of the funniest people I know. Especially when she’s in front of the camera. Amy and I are polar opposites when it comes to being on the flip side of the lens. She hides and I ham it up!

Take a peek at Amy’s post from our shoot.

I clicked with Amy as soon as we had the moment to get to know one another. We are both quirky, overly analytical, animated, and love what we do! Plus, she is one of the most genuine people I know!

This was a great scout for me. I was prepping for one of the most unique weddings I’ve shot to date. Stay tuned for Dina & Gary’s carnival wedding blog post.

NOTE: the images in this feed have been downsized or removed for copyright reasons. To see them in their unmodified state, please view the original post by clicking here.

The weeks have flown by these past few months. I have been insanely busy…. and I’m not complaining about it! One of my most recent shoots was a pin-up shoot at Primal Stare Studios. I was so excited to finally get in a few fun shoots this season. Thank you ladies for such a wonderful job. If you are wondering where the beautiful feathered garb came from, it’s from the Victoria Velvet Collection. Absolutely stunning work! As for the rest… my lovely models supplied the rest of their wardrobe. I will keep you posted with some great pin-up clothing sites.

]]> http://brandigroomsphotography.com/blog/pin-up-madness/feed/ 0 http://brandigroomsphotography.com/blog/say-hello-to-my-little-friend/ http://brandigroomsphotography.com/blog/say-hello-to-my-little-friend/#comments Thu, 01 Oct 2009 01:47:44 +0000 Brandi Grooms Johnson http://brandigroomsphotography.com/blog/?p=274 NOTE: the images in this feed have been downsized or removed for copyright reasons. To see them in their unmodified state, please view the original post by clicking here.

Say hello to Pablo James, aka P.J. My not so little friend is Kier’s pride and joy! A few months ago I posted about Kier and Rodolfo, and their expected bundle of joy. P.J. has grown so quickly in the last month, and I can not wait to document his future changes. Here are a few shots of P.J. only 6 hours old!

BIG YAWN!

OH, SO SWEET!

I love his little cupie lips!

P.J. , you have no idea what is in store with Aunt

around. Your every moment is going to be documented!

]]> http://brandigroomsphotography.com/blog/say-hello-to-my-little-friend/feed/ 0 http://brandigroomsphotography.com/blog/noir/ http://brandigroomsphotography.com/blog/noir/#comments Fri, 24 Jul 2009 18:28:46 +0000 Brandi Grooms Johnson http://brandigroomsphotography.com/blog/?p=201 NOTE: the images in this feed have been downsized or removed for copyright reasons. To see them in their unmodified state, please view the original post by clicking here.

“Noir” was the theme of the Primal Stare Studios shootout session this June. I am excited to finally have a location to shoot studio sessions in. For all of you ladies out there that don’t feel your home is suitable for a session, and a hotel is a bit out of your range, we have an alternative! I recently found Primal Stare Studios.

Here are a few shots from my test shoot I did there!

]]> http://brandigroomsphotography.com/blog/noir/feed/ 0 http://brandigroomsphotography.com/blog/flip-flop-exchange/ http://brandigroomsphotography.com/blog/flip-flop-exchange/#comments Sun, 21 Jun 2009 17:21:24 +0000 Brandi Grooms Johnson http://brandigroomsphotography.com/blog/?p=190 NOTE: the images in this feed have been downsized or removed for copyright reasons. To see them in their unmodified state, please view the original post by clicking here.

Today I was on a shoot, working hard, when my my thong broke! My flip flop thong… dirty minds.

No sweat, I like to work barefoot anyway. The weird thing is that it happened just in time. Well, sort of… I just sent my 6 letters out to friends to spread the word about the flip flop exchange that I participated in. I could potentially get 36 pairs of flip flops! Now I know, I know… it’s a chain letter. BUT IT INVOLVES FLIP FLOPS! I couldn’t resist. Who could turn down the chance of getting 36 pairs of flip flops, for the price of one pair. Not me!

Unfortunately, I didn’t get any today, and I had to go buy a new pair before my second session. Aren’t they cute? Yeah, yeah, they are not too far in appearance from my last pair.

Hey, that’s what I am banking on the flip flop exchange for. I will keep everybody updated on all of the fun, and awesome flip flops I get. Stay tuned!