Barbara and I are in the mountains of North Carolina for a wedding. Her friend Elizabeth is getting married today and I'll be taking photos. It's a very low-key event so we're relaxing and hiking around a little.

The place where we're staying is a mountain lodge named Snowbird Mountain Lodge. You can see their website by clicking here.

We'll be back home tomorrow. On the way, I'm going to stop to scout the reception location for Bethani's wedding. She's getting married a week from today and I need to look for cool locations for photos to be taken after the wedding.

Here is a photo that I took near the lodge. This spot is called Sunrise Point...

I belong to an online professional association of wedding photographers... Digital Wedding Forum (DWF for short).

During the latest convention (in Las Vegas) they held a desert photo shoot of a bride and groom. It was a rare chance for a crowd to watch John Michael Cooper (famous, cool wedding photographer) work.

JMC brought a shovel to the photo shoot. After he was finished with it, he sold it to another photographer for $5. That photographer checked it through as baggage for the flight home to Philidelphia. Someone got the idea of sending the shovel around the world to be photographed by talented photographers. A crazy, fun idea was born.

I am on the list to receive The Traveling Shovel at some point in the future. It's going to be fun and I have a true "Nashville" idea for how to photograph it.

To learn more about The Traveling Shovel, see its Blog by clicking right here.

Last weekend's terrible weather postponed my bridal shoot with Bethani. She will be getting married (to Travis) on May 5th so we really needed to get her bridal portrait session rescheduled quickly.

Fortunately, the weather cooperated and we were able to go play in downtown Nashville.

Our late-afternoon session was held at several locations at and around Legislative Plaza.

Bethani is so easy to work with. I'm looking forward to the wedding in two weeks. I will have some good pictures to post here afterwards.

My thanks to Deborah, Bethani's Mom, for coming along today to help with hair and makeup. She also did double-duty holding a light stand for me at times.

Local photographer "bummed out", says nervous bystander.

Nashville (AP) - A local photographer was "really bummed out" on Sunday when the weather refused to cooperate with his plans to shoot a bridal portrait session. "He was awful (sic) upset", said Billy Joe Bobby Allison, the umbiquitous, grizzeled, nearly toothless witness who shows up in every media report of a natural disaster in the middle Tennessee region. The photographer, Cliff Batson of Franklin, TN was unable to be reached for comment.

I went to the doctor Friday and he said that I could start walking a little. He still wants me to keep my knee elevated when I'm not using it - but that's just not very practical. So, I'm limping around and enjoying every minute of it!

I went out to the Ellington Agricultural Center yesterday to scout out locations for an upcoming bridal shoot. It was a nice little hike for me. One of the scouting pictures I took is shown below.

As it turns out, my beautiful bride (Bethani) wants to shoot something more contemporary(less traditional) so I'll be taking her to downtown Nashville this weekend to shoot. I can't wait! With her permission, I'll post a picture or two here by next Monday.

Okay, I never really thought it would be "fun" but I didn't realize that I'd be laying flat on my back with my leg elevated and an ice pack on my knee for 5 days after surgery.

Sure, I got ice cream. Of course I got ice cream. Otherwise, I would have just decided to limp around the rest of my life, dragging my right leg like Igor in Young Frankenstein. Ice cream is de rigeur for those undergoing anything unpleasant such as a surgical procedure or returning home from a Caribbean vacation.

But I'd trade ice cream to be able to simply walk over and scoop out the cat's box. Or take the trash to the curb. Or any of the other unpleasant tasks that used to be a breeze when I wasn't having to lay here with ice on my elevated knee. Of course, performing those unpleasant chores would generate the need - no the RIGHT - for more ice cream... so it's not like I would really be giving up ice cream to be able to do any of those things again.

I expect to be able to be up and around again within a day or two. Maybe I'll take Barbara to Maggie Moo's to celebrate.