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Kate Altmix

Sep 01
0

yosemite, 6 years in the making

By | Personal | 13 Comments

in the fall of 2005, i receieved a postcard from yosemite national park signed ‘love, matt.’ we’d been dating for about 8 months and matt was celebrating his graduation on a roadtrip out west with his dad. i was in athens giggling over the, ‘love, matt’ signoff on the postcard while he was hiking and capturing some of the most beautiful images i’ve ever seen. neither of us were photographers at the time but our shared love of beauty and light and space were starting to lead us in that direction. when he returned he showed me the images, explaining how grand everything was and how, one day, he’d take me there.

fast forward 6 years. it’s our four year wedding anniversary and we’ve carved time from our busy fall to really celebrate our anniversary and our life together. yosemite was the natural choice for relaxation, exploration and rejuvenation- exactly the combination we were looking for. we booked a little cabin in the park and spent our sunlight hours hiking to majestic waterfalls, quiet mountain lakes and points with views that quickly put life in perspective. in the evenings we cooked decadent late night dinners and lounged around our little cabin with books and a splash of scotch. can you believe we actually came home? we almost didn’t. ;)

here are just a few of the images matt captured. i’ll do a followup post in a bit with a few of my images when i finish sorting them. i just love how he sees the world:

this is why it’s taking me a while to get through the images- we’ve been scanning in film for days! can’t wait to share a few though…later…

in case you didn’t know this about me, I LOVE SNOW! i was so excited to climb up just to touch it and crunch it with my toes.

this little peninsula was our lunch spot our first full day in the park. we had thick, delicious sandwiches with cured meats and cheese and olive oil and olives and black pepper. heaven in the middle of a long hike. and then we stretched out to rest…and got terribly sunburned.

there was plenty of snow around the lake- our elevation was about 9300 ft! the lake was icy cold, my hands ached just from rinsing them off before lunch. but those of you that know matt know he wasn’t going to pass up an opportunity to jump in. crazy man. this next image is quite possibly my favorite image ever ever, even though matt is probably in considerable pain or completely numb. still awesome:

…and this was my spot:

shimmery dust:

let me tell you about this next set of images. i stubbed my toe something fierce and while i tried to pull myself together and start walking again and not lash out at the world, matt decided to take pictures. and then insisted we post them. so yea…here i am in pain! ;)

moving on! ;) half dome, i was too scared to hike it. we got permits and everything. and then, i started youtubing. if you’re at all interested in making the hike do not search youtube for ‘half dome descent.’

instead we hiked up to vernal and then nevada falls, simply beautiful and plenty steep!

you can barely make out the little people at the top of nevada falls in this next image…that’s where we went!

bone-in ribeye, folks:

matt also insisted on posting these early morning pics, wohoo! ;) if you haven’t read the hunger games, stop everything, start NOW! we loved them!

this next image makes my stomach churn just looking at it. we had heard of this unmarked overlook and decided to go look for it. well, found it! but, for someone who has a problem with ‘edges’ this was pretty tough for me. i love hiking and views and exploring…but edges? yikes! still, what a beautiful spot:

one evening we decided to go for a sunset hike up to sentinel dome from glacier point. it’s a little used trail- there’s a shorter, more direct one but it didn’t start from our location so off we went, just us, racing up the mountain as the sun fell lower and lower. just as we reached the top the sun touched the horizon. it was stunning. i’ve never seen anything like it. we enjoyed the lingering daylight and then ran all the way back to our car- banging sticks together since i read that that intimidates bears. i cannot even imagine how ridiculous we looked but we didn’t pass a single person on the trail and we got back to the car, panting, but thankful that the most dangerous thing we ran across was a family of deer and some tricky rocks. a great night!

and the last day we were there we saw these sweet big trees:

soon to follow, yosemite: film edition!

Aug 30
0

randi & michael are married!

By | Weddings | One Comment

i’ve been so excited to tell you all about randi & michael for a while now- we met them on a chilly winter day for some hearty, delicious pasta at one of our favorite little places in atlanta. a good start to anything, i think! we quickly learned that randi & michael love food just as much as we do- randi is actually a chef! and next we found out that they are actually into photography as well! aaaand so we love them. that is just how these two are. they are so interesting and interested and they’ve traveled all around the world experiencing so many places and adventures. but they are just so relaxed and down to earth about it all. we walked away from dinner having learned so much about so many different things but really feeling like we just had two new friends! their ever-present smiles are truly an overflow of how much they love life, one another and everyone around them- it’s such a joy to know people like randi & michael.

randi actually got ready at michael’s parent’s home- in his childhood room! i love everything about that.

meanwhile, their guests began to assemble at the ceremony site, enjoying a cold drink as they mingled in the warm afternoon sun:

a close friend of randi & michael performed their ceremony which was so sweet and personal…and pretty quick too! before we knew it they were whisked away for a few quiet moments together:

i really do love this next image. after the ceremony emotions tend to surge- feelings of pure joy mix with relief and excitement and just the magnitude of it all- beautiful:

after a quick look around their dinner setup, randi & michael were introduced and began their first dance as a new family!


randi & michael, we feel so blessed to have been part of your wedding day. you two are just beautiful together and we are glad to know you. we wish you guys the very best and we cannot even wait to see your images from your romantic parisian/italian honeymoon!

Aug 15
0

mary katherine & nick are married!

By | Weddings | One Comment

OH, these two. they’re just more perfect together than you can imagine. sometimes, you see a couple and immediately feel that they…just…FIT. mary katherine & nick are this way. it’s hard for even close family and friends to articulate how deep their bond goes, how well they complement one another and just how happy everyone is to see them begin their own family. their comfort level together is tremendous and they really do move as if, one. they are so aware of one another, but it’s not conscious, it’s seen in small movements and following their eyes, they just understand one another so intimately. but even through this connection, there is a shared love of their families and friends. their wedding day was full of sweet vignettes- little conversations ending in laughs or hugs or eye squinting smiles- such a beautiful picture of their life together. it was such an honor to capture it all.

i love this quick moment of mary katherine with her mom. they are SO close and nick has such a great relationship with his mother-in-law. it really does speak volumes for how well he treats her precious daughter! ;)

mary katherine & nick were married at the wimbish house, a beautiful and intimate space in midtown, atlanta. the mansion, now event space, provides an atmosphere of hanging out in the home of the bride and groom- so perfect for mary katherine & nick’s easy going personalities:

these next images are just moments after the recessional. i love how beautifully and peacefully they soak up their union:

mary katherine & nick share a love of literature and their wedding decor certainly reflected that! she chose some of the novels i cherish most as her table markers. i really do love her for that! they also used old champagne and wine bottles to help set the scene- perfect, since they met across a restaurant’s bar!

towards the end of the night their guests gathered on the front porch of the wimbish house and enjoyed cigars and after dinner cocktails. these are some of our favorite images:

as the sun set, guests trickeld back inside for some dancing and socializing before calling it a night. what a beautiful, smoothly orchestrated wedding day. courtesy of the wonderful, nicole halverson fantz.


mary katherine & nick, you guys are awesome together! we wish you the very best and we are confident that you guys have such an amazing future ahead of you! thank you both so much for allowing us into your lives to capture your moments together. :)