Sam’s a very creative guy, so his method of proposing was a little out of the ordinary. That evening, he sent Krissy on a scavenger hunt around Knoxville (the pair are also known for hosting awesome scavenger hunt parties in the summer). At each checkpoint, she received a little gift and a card. The first card had “WILL” written on it. The second card at checkpoint number two had “YOU” on it. The third card has “MARRY” on the front. And the fourth card, which Sam held as he stood in front of a giant Christmas tree on the Market Square stage, said “ME.” And inside were two checkboxes with “Yes” and “No” — with “Yes” checked off.

And of course she said “Yes!”

Steph and I are really honored to have been part of the proposal excitement. It was truly a joyous occasion and a wonderful holiday experience! Congratulations to Sam and Krissy! We’re looking forward to the wedding!

Wedding Photography | The Proposal | Krissy and Sam – Images by Lia Ballentine

Below are just a few of my favorite images from the lifestyle session. Click here to view the entire gallery.

Below are just a few of the photos from our session together. Be warned… their smiles are infectious.

When my friend TJ (Taquiya) asked me about a portrait session, I was so excited! TJ is an amazing person — she’s beautiful, smart, funny, and one of the coolest people I know. I knew we would have a great time with an “anytime” photo session. And we did!

It was a dark and cloudy Saturday. It had been raining all week, but we somehow managed to find a few dry hours in the day for our photo shoot. Lucky us!

We started the session in Market Square, meeting up in our favorite little alley between the Miller’s Building and the Tomato Head (yum!). It’s our favorite spot because of an episode of The Heartland Series that points out the “trompe l’oeil” painted on the back of the Miller’s Building. “That’s what ya call a trompe l’oeil. It’s means ‘to fool the eye’ in French.” (It’s a lot funnier when you actually watch the episode.)

From the trompe l’oeil, we headed around the Square to downtown Knoxville’s wall of graffiti art and assorted flyers. TJ struck some serious poses in front of the chaotic background. Vogue! Following our short Market Square excursion, we headed towards Krutch Park and crossed over to the other side of downtown Knoxville near the post office and the John Duncan Federal Office Building. (No crazy security guards yelled at me this time.)

We walked down to St. John’s Cathedral on Cumberland Avenue to take advantage of the church’s amazing masonry and red doors as a backdrop. The doors are the brightest red — and they are, perhaps, my favorite doors in all of downtown Knoxville.

We took several photos against the stone walls and on the steps in front of the church doors. We even found some cool steps with curling iron rails leading from a loft building close to the church. There are so many awesome nooks and crannies in downtown that are just perfect for any portrait session.

After wandering through the area, we headed back for a quick wardrobe change. Then it was off to the Old City!

We noticed that the clouds seemed to be growing thicker, and the sky was becoming rather dark. We took that as a warning that our outdoor shoot was going to be ending soon — so we zipped through the Old City on a mission for colorful scenes and antique stores.

Antique stores are the best. I thought it would be nice to try for something a little like an Anthropologie catalog. (I drool over Anthropologie catalogs.)

We invaded the Crown and Goose for a few minutes, taking over the huge red leather couches facing the street. (Red was the color of the day.) And after joking around with some of the waitstaff, we crossed the street to grab some photos in front of Big Don The Costumier’s shop. The fenced up door gave us a nice grungy photo op.

TJ and I also loved the huge circle window at Old City Java and had to stop there for a few minutes. (Old City Java has one of the coolest windows in downtown Knoxville.)

Then suddenly, it started to rain! Thank goodness TJ brought her umbrella.

As we started to run back down the street towards the parking garage near Market Square, we found the best antique store for photographs. It was full of bright green leather furniture, a bright green lamp shade, and all kinds of fun kitschy decor. Bingo!

TJ and I had such an awesome portrait session. It was a blast running through downtown with her and discovering new places for photographs. She was a great model, and I hope we can to do this again soon. And maybe it won’t rain next time!

An Evening With Gilles Marini – Images by Lia Ballentine

Interested in purchasing prints? Contact me for more information. A portion of the proceeds will go to Relay for Life.

In front of Remedy Coffee on Jackson Avenue -- ready to start walking!

The Worldwide Photo Walk on July 18 was awesome! It was a beautiful day in downtown Knoxville, and it was so amazing to make new friends with great photographers in the area.

We had a wonderful turnout. And in fact, because there were two walks in Knoxville, there must have been a hundred photographers running around the Old City and Market Square. A photog flashmob!

Thanks to Remedy Coffee for being the starting point for the walk. Remedy is the best coffee shop in the area! They even gave out free drink coupons to all of the photo walkers. Thanks to Barley’s Taproom and Pizzeria for setting up a pizza buffet for the hungry walkers. And thanks to Express Photo for giving the photogs a special discount on gallery wraps!

Now that the walk is over, there are images all over the place. To see pictures from the Worldwide Photo Walk, you can go to the main event site — or you can check out the Worldwide Photo Walk group on Flickr. Photos from the Downtown Knoxville Photo Walk can be found at the following sites:

• KNOX PHOTO
• Worldwide Photo Walk 2009 – Downtown Knoxville (on Flickr… just created today!)

Also, you can check out the individual photographer’s sites to see photos. Check out the KNOX PHOTO group or KNOX PHOTO Facebook Fan Page to find some of the photographers. I’ve posted my photos on Flickr.

I’m really excited about doing this again next year! Can’t wait.

(And in the meantime, KNOX PHOTO is going to host some mini-walks just to keep the momentum going. Yippee!)

My Reflection

(And yes, the whole time I was singing “I’m On A Boat” to myself.)

What is a photo walk? Jeff Revell knows… According to Revell, master photographer and photowalker, a photo walk is:

…the act of walking around with your camera and photographing your surroundings. Recently the term has become synonymous with a group of photographers, walking in predetermined locations and then sharing their imagery. Alone or with a group, the purpose is still the same and that is to go out and shoot.

Simple. And so much fun.

Last year, Scott Kelby (of Adobe fame) initiated the first ever Worldwide Photo Walk event. He did this as part of the new Lightroom 2 release, and the event was successful — with thousands of photographers participating from around the globe.

Today, Kelby announced that the second annual Photo Walk would take place on July 18. At this moment, there are already 192 walks registered. And Downtown Knoxville is one of the places that will be holding a Photo Walk event! YESH again!

Because I received approval to lead the event just this afternoon, I’m still working on the details. But be assured, this is going to be a fun walk and social event for photogs in Knoxvegas. There will be surprises and prizes and more.

To learn more about the event, or to sign up (participation is limited to 50 photogs), click here. I’ll be posting updates on the official Downtown Knoxville Photo Walk page in the weeks leading up to the event.

You don’t have to be a pro photographer to participate. As long as you enjoy exploring and have some way to capture images (pinhole cameras accepted, too!), you’re welcome to come along. Oh, and it doesn’t cost anything to join the photo walk. Just bring some enthusiasm and curiosity.

The walk will be followed by lunch at one of the hot restaurants in Market Square (to be decided). So bring your appetite as well.

They did kick the ball to me (by accident), and although I was going to return it them by bending it like Beckham, I didn’t want to show off too much on the field. LOL. The truth is they got skillz, and I didn’t want  to embarrass myself. (Reminds me of a time in Judo class when I got flipped and knocked down by a 10-year-old…)