When is the best time to have surprise visits from life-long friends...? Hmmm, ANYTIME! Darlene became a faithful follower of my blog some time ago, so when she traveled to Florida from Atlanta, Ga to visit family and friends, it was the perfect opportunity to capture the crew so she could have her own post!

We grew up in the same local neighborhood, eventually created tons of chaos in high school, and now stay in touch from different states as we build our families strong. Darlene is married to Jason, a faithful soldier in the US Army, and they have three beautiful boys Noah, Lawrence, and Nicholas who were an absolute blast to hang out with and capture.

Darlene: It was wonderful hanging out for the day and catching up while we had time. Thanks for always keeping it real and providing tons of laughter. You have a beautiful family - I am super proud of you and look forward to good times ahead. Lots of love ~

From their energetic engagement session to their memorable wedding day, and now to the birth of their soon to be son, we have documented the series of major life moments for these two each step of the way. Kelly and Marcelo are expecting sometime in August and approached me for a simple yet creative maternity session. Clearly I agreed with one stipulation, I get to shoot it my way, my style, with no boundaries on creative license..."you got it Mike, let's make it happen". Our shooting time was filled with laughter, swarms of killer mosquitos, green pastures, lots of yummy light and the beautiful ocean blue as Kelly pushed through the day with us like a true champion. I've never been a die hard fan of the whole maternity session concept but after seeing our work together my opinions may have turned for the better as I love the results out of the camera. Congratulation you two! We are absolutely certain that you will provide the ideal loving home for your beautiful child and look forward capturing your smiles as a family. We love you guys...

Nothing like a little child tossing in the pool as we celebrated the 4th....yaaahooooo!

Okay, okay....so I've had my hands full with tons happening on both business and personal levels beyond what I ever expected - but along with the waves of "happen-stance" comes the trill of riding those waves and the great news of progress that creates history!! I'm looking forward to sharing the latest accomplishments of Mike Meyer Photography, future goals, hot releases, personal updates and well... just good ol' blog material to keep life interesting. For now, here are a couple images from an amazing engagement session of the past with Erika and Dustin that illustrate how the unexpected can from time to time just hit us out of nowhere - can anyone relate?