Wedding Bells

Today, my family and I attended another wedding of another cousin of mine. I had not seen this particular cousin or much of her family for a long time, so it was good to attend and reconnect a bit.

The wedding was held in Hillsboro, which is a sort-of suburb of Portland. It is a couple hours' worth of driving, but definitely not as overwhelming as the California trip from earlier this summer. The wedding was held mostly outside, at the home of the aunt and uncle of my cousin, the bride. The setting was absolutely beautiful! The house is on a hillside in a rural part of town, and the view is incredible. Of course, being an outdoor wedding, things didn't go as smoothly as could be (lots of wind and lots of bugs), but that's the sacrifice you make for having the event in the sunshine.

It was a very low-key wedding. Drinks in a cooler, a dance floor in the barn, a small cake, and a short ceremony. I think I like weddings like that. The point is for the wedding guests to be comfortable and enjoy themselves.

My original plan was to enjoy the wedding as a guest and leave my camera at home. My mother, though, convinced me to bring it anyway. I ended up taking nearly 100 pictures. There is no "just a few" with me! When you put a camera in my hands, I can't help but use it and use it often. Of course, not all of the pictures are good, so the total I keep will be somewhat smaller.

(I really need to get a new SD card soon! I might go for one of the 4GB models.)

My new camera bag must be a magic bag, because wedding guests whom I did not know at all were coming up to me and asking me about photography. Other people have cameras, but for some reason I come off as more professional. Maybe it's my camera, or perhaps it's my dedication to getting the right shot. Whatever the reason, something about me said "come and talk to me about photography!" I'm normally shy, so it was a bit uncomfortable, but at the same time very flattering.

You know, I just might be able to turn photography into a career. I just need to practice and, someday, buy some better equipment. Look out, world!