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Jake Arnold – Olympic Hopeful – Decathlon, originally uploaded by Stevo28andgrowing.

Had to post one of my favorite photos from my week in Los Angeles. It was such an awesome shoot and we had a great time watching all of these amazing Athletes do their thing. Thank goodness the Director didn’t mind me running around with my camera like a 6 year old in a Toys R Us.

This is Jake Arnold. He’s a Decathlete that’s getting ready for the trials in Eugene, OR next week. Jake saved us a day of shooting when the female athlete we’d booked for the shoot bailed on us, due to hurt feet. I guess I can’t blame her, since she’s just training for this little event called THE OLYMPICS, but nonetheless Jake got a phone call the day before the shoot, said yes, and then was at the stadium the next day, ready to jump his arse off.

Good luck Jake! We’ll all be watching.

I got to hang out with Adler last night while Kristine went out for a girls night to see Sex & the City.  We had a really good time, watching Cars (his favorite movie/obsession) and playing trains.  It was some good bonding time, but once we got into the bath Adler didn’t want to sit down.  For some reason he’s going through this phase where he just doesn’t like to sit in the water.  After a few tries and talking him into sitting down and counting “1….2….3″ I had to give Adler a spanking.  I’m not a fan of this, because it’s just hard to do to your kid, but we’re starting to go through this defiant stage where Adler likes to test the waters and see how far he can take Kristine and I.  So…we’re having to learn to discipline Adler, and most importantly we want to discipline out of love.  I want Adler to grow up knowing how to make a “good decision” and not end up on “Super Nanny” because we’ve let him grow up a tyrant.  He’s so sweet and I think that’s what makes discipline so hard for parents to really follow through on.

Wow…so summer has barely even started (if officially at all???), but I’m already tired from all the action. Since April it’s been a non-stop adventure for The Huntons:
-Kristine to bachelorette weekend in Austin
-Stephen to Nasvhille
-Stephen to Dallas for benefit concert
-Kristine to YL Camp
-Stephen plays dodge ball and destroys back…laid up for a week
-The Huntons head to H-town Tejas for Deanna and Jason’s wedding
-Adler has tubes put in his ears
-Stephen has a show @ Smith’s Olde Bar with his bro and Misty
-The Huntons meet up with Mom & Dad Hunton in Hilton Head for vacation time
-Stephen has portrait session, commitment ceremony shoot & wedding shoot within 7 days
-Stephen and Kristine have 6th anniversary
-Stephen goes to L.A. for 8 days of TV shooting
-day after Stephen gets back from L.A. – engagement shoot

There are a bunch of other happenings within this time frame, such as Adler getting a tricycle, community group hanging out for Memorial Day with homemade ice cream…etc. The gist of the story is that it has been loaded with events. Lots of fun has been had for sure, but boy am I glad that this weekend does not include a trip anywhere. This Friday, Kristine and I will having a date night so that we can just catch up, laugh and hang out. I know she’s proud of me because I called the babysitter and set it up

So…if you’re married and super busy and feel like you don’t have the time or money to go on a date night…just do it. That’s the Hunton challenge for the summer. To simply make time for each other, whether we have the time or not because it’s so easy to prioritize everything else in front of a date night. The reality is…staying connected with Kristine is so important because that’s what makes the rest of the busy-ness seem less daunting.

Thinking through some lyrics for a new-ish song.  Started writing it around the time of the tornadoes in Atlanta. Basically it’s about God showing himself within things like weather and the scenes around us.  I find myself missing out on moments with Him because I get caught up in the crazy Atlanta commute, when he’s there the whole time showing Himself within the trees that line the road or the sun that hits my face after the first turn out of my driveway as if to say, “good morning Stephen”.

It’s been a crazy weekend and a lonely start to the week. Kristine and Adler are hanging out with our friends The Wells in the mountains somewhere, so I’m missing my fam today and looking forward to Wednesday when they get back.

Overall, the last couple of weeks have been the typical Hunton craziness, but there has been a lot of fun along the way. I’m looking forward to the Fall, when we’ll rest again.

Saturday was our 6th anniversary! We had a really fun date night, which included tasty southern food at JCT Kitchen and dessert at “The Chocolate Bar” in Decatur. The most fun of the night may have been getting to go to Barnes & Noble and walk around at an un-frantic pace and look at books. It’s amazing how different that store visit would have been if Adler was with us. It was such a great night out with Kristine. We need more date nights like that, so it’s my new family initiative to make sure that we get out more than we currently are. I love you K!

Also over the last couple of weeks I’ve had some photography work to tend to. First was a shoot with The Browns. Their daughter Dylan hit the big ONE, so we met in Piedmont Park and took some fun pics! Even with my broken toe (it’s a long story) I think I got a couple good ones.

Next was Clifton and Jack’s commitment ceremony. A first for me, but their friends and family were so fun and warm spirited. It was an honor to capture their event although my feet were killing me after standing and running around on the Trolley Barn’s fancy floors all night.

Finally, yesterday I shot Robin and Ren’s wedding. Robin is our friend Misty’s Mom and they had a blast of a wedding. It was a beautiful event and both families had no trouble having a good time at the reception. Graycen was in top form as the beautiful flower girl.

In the middle of all of this, my real day job has been crazy and I played a show at Smith’s Olde Bar with my bro Patrick. So, after all this you’d probably think that I’d catch up on sleep with Kristine and Adler gone….but you’d be wrong because someone forgot to tell me that the shooting of photography is the fast part, it’s the editing of around 2200 pics that will eat you alive. Here’s to a late night of photos!

Just a couple from the last few days that I like so far:

I have this habit of spontaneously writing new songs in single sittings…only they usually involve the verses, maybe an idea of a chorus and no other structure.  The frustration hits when I suddenly can’t create a bridge, intro, outro or whatever.   It’s like I’ll sit down for an hour of creative write water rapids that flow uncontrolled until I suddenly hit the pool of tranquility and can no longer finish the song.  This also seems to happen in inconvenient times, such as the day before a gig, or the week after a gig and I’m like “well, that song would have been fun to play at that show…now I’m not playing in front of people any time soon blah blah blah”.

From time to time, brides ask for recommendations on caterers, locations, bands, and more. Not to mention that sometimes, I may already be booked and a bride is looking for a photographer with a similar style that I recommend. Below are a few suggestions that I hope will be super helpful in your quest for a perfect wedding day.

Atlanta Photographers I Love:
Nam Nguyen
Matt & Katie Altmix

Caterers!!!
Carole Parks Catering
Dennis Dean Catering
Bold American // Fifth Group Restaurants

Bands!!!
Boom Kinetic – 80’s Cover Music at its finest

Locations for the Big Day
The Foundry @ Puritan Mill

So, I’m totally not a mass email guy, but I just hit send on an email to around 140 people!  Yikes…sorry if you got it and hate me now, but hopefully it will cause you to check out MY SITE and then tell all your friends about it.