Pittsburgh Wedding, Boudoir, Senior Photographer

Evan | Central Catholic Senior Session

This ’24 graduate’s session was unique because, not only did we take some of his pictures outside of his high school, but also because we hopped around to a few other areas in the city! One of these locations I haven’t photographed at before: the Color Park in the Southside.

The Color Park’s unique and vibrant artistry is a very dynamic backdrop, while Central Catholic High School is grounded by beautiful architecture. To finish off the session, we went to the West End Overlook to get the best views of the city skyline as the last few drops of the sun’s rays faded into the evening.

Here are just a few of my many favorites from his session!

<alt>Pittsburgh Central Catholic High School Senior Session</alt>

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Marissa | Senior Photo Session

I had the opportunity to photograph this lovely lady’s senior session on the beautiful grounds of Hartwood Acres! Marissa wanted a backdrop in a natural setting for this session, as opposed to an urban or metropolitan scene. This was a great choice; there is something about the lush green hues of the foliage that make her gorgeous blue eyes pop even more than they already do!

Marissa selected a range of outfits for her session; from casual to a bit more dressy. Her casual outfit was a white t-shirt coupled with jean shorts. Her dressier outfits were a sage green dress, and also a flowy white dress. Having a variety of styles for a senior’s wardrobe brings a lot of depth to the images.

It was hard to pick which images to post for this blog because she is such a natural in front of the camera, but here are some of my favorites!

<alt>Pittsburgh Pennsylvania high school senior photos at Hartwood Acres</alt>

Pittsburgh Pennsylvania high school senior photos at Hartwood Acres

Wilson | High School Senior Session

Senior sessions have become a large part of my portfolio, but since most of them occur during wedding season, my blog posts trend towards the weddings during that timeframe.

So, now I want to showcase some of the amazing class of 2024 seniors that I have had the opportunity to photograph!

Wilson wanted a mix of backdrops, ranging from the yellow bridges and city skyline, and also nature. So, we hopped over to the North Shore and photographed on the Riverfront Trail and also in Allegheny Commons.

Here are some of my favorites from his senior session…

<alt>Pittsburgh North Shore Senior Session</alt>

Our Trip to Croatia Part II: Two if By Land

I tried condensing our entire trip to Croatia into one blog post, but it ended up being entirely too long! If you haven’t read Our Trip to Croatia Part 1: Two if By Sea, then please hop over to that blog post to see pictures from our Croatian cruise!

Pre Cruise: A Few Days in Hvar

We bookended our week-long Croatian cruise with hotel stays. The first hotel, LaBranda Senses Resort, was on the island of Hvar. The trip getting from Pittsburgh to Hvar took around 28 hours; think trains, planes, and automobiles (and ferries!)

LaBranda Senses Resort is a lovely family retreat right on the water. While it was tempting to take a swim and just relax every day at this resort, much of our time was actually spent visiting the neighboring towns of Vrboska and Jelsa. Here we tasted local wines, dined by the sea, ate charcuterie, talked with the locals, and enjoyed the fresh catch of the day. What’s best, there is a paved walking path from LaBranda Senses Resort through Vrboska and all the way to Jelsa. Round trip was 6 miles. One of our days was spent running the path in between the cities, and stopping at each to soak in the scene. There was also reassurance that, if we ran out of steam, we could hop a small boat for $15 and have it take us back to our resort.

We also spent a full day on Hvar visiting wineries. Barry rented a scooter and zipped around to a few of the best on the island!

Here are a few of our favorite moments from our time on Hvar…

Cell snaps above and below; howdy, Croatia!

The turquoise water and rocky coastline around the resort.

Cell snap. One of the patios of our resort at night.

Cell snap. The jogging path from our resort through Vrboska and Jelsa. The fauna is so unique!

The town of Vrboska
Vrboska is a little town that is a mile’s journey away from LaBranda Senses Resort along the paved walking path. It is a quiet town, but ironically has a good night-life scene.

Our first day, we happened upon this tiny winery in Vrboska named Konoba Nikola Vrboska. The woman who greeted us didn’t speak a word of English, so she kindly found someone else who could guide us through their selections. This winery had some of our favorite wines from the entire trip! They also make a liquor that is like grappa, and it is delicious! We bought some bottles of wine and also the cherry and herbal liquors.

“Sandy Beach.” One of the few beaches on Hvar that is mostly sand and not rock, and it lies along the walking path in between Vrboska and Jelsa.

Jelsa
Jelsa is a larger town than Vrboska, and it is a three mile’s journey from LaBranda Senses Resort along the paved walking path. It is very family friendly, with playgrounds and parks amidst the town.

Eating the catch of the day in Jelsa, courtesy of the restaurant Me and Mrs. Jones

We also visited two wineries in Jelsa, Vina Tomić, and pictured above, Duboković Wines.

The three different soil types from the vineyards of Vina Tomić.

A map to show you the relation of our resort to Vrboska and Jelsa, noting the Sandy Beach in between.

A Winery with a View
We had to take a scooter to get to Lacman Family Winery; it was up on top of a mountain that overlooked the ocean.

The next few pictures are from Lacman Family Winery

We had a guided wine tour, complete with lemon/mint water to complement the fantastic selections of wine and local charcuterie.

Post Cruise: A Few Days in Split

Our cruise ended in Split, and rather than immediately making the long trip back to Pittsburgh, we decided to stay a few more days in Split and also take an excursion to Krka Falls. Here are a few images from that time!

A park outside of Diocletian Palace walls.

The fresh foods being sold at the market, right outside of the Diocletian’s Palace walls.

The statue of Marko Máruliĉ in Old Town.

An alleyway within Old Town. I love the juxtaposition of age-old architecture and “modern” fashion.

You could sit in the courtyard of the palace and restaurants would serve you drinks there.

Krka Waterfalls
These stunning waterfalls were a guided excursion day trip from Split. Our tour also included a wine tasting!

Upon arrival at Krka Falls, then walking through the park…

Old water mills located in the house above.

We hiked along a path that gave us stunning views of multiple waterfalls.

The picture above shows the big falls, Skradinski Buk, from an above vantage point. Looking at the people on the bridge, you can tell the scale of these waterfalls.

The above picture shows the same falls, Skradinski Buk falls, this time from eye level.

The promenade of the town Skradin (near Krka Falls), where we had lunch.

Above and below are pictures of our group’s wine tasting after visiting the falls. This was part of the excursion package.

This lady was hanging out under my feet as we tasted wine.

Last but not least, a few images of our charming hotel in Split, Splendida Palace. We had our own rooftop porch outside of our room.

A few cell selfies for the finale…

That about sums up our trip to Croatia! Thanks for reading, friends!

Our Trip to Croatia Part 1: Two if by Sea

It was about this time last year when I was searching and searching for our next adventure. I went through magazines, blog posts, social media, and books. Nothing was inspiring me enough to take the plunge and plan a trip.

Price was certainly a factor, and knowing where to look for travel deals is imperative! Travelzoo.com has been one of my go-to websites for our trips, and within a week, I found two different vacation deals to Croatia.

Knowing that Barry is part Croatian, this destination piqued my interest. The fact that I found two amazing deals to Croatia in one week, well, it seemed like fate! As quickly as I could blink, I secured both travel deals. Off we were to Croatia!

To say that Croatia is a lovely country is quite the understatement. The views of both land and sea are exquisite.

The sea is more beautiful than the best I’ve seen in the Caribbean. The bright turquoise water softly fades into a vibrant cobalt blue, with not a trace of seaweed. The water is clear and calm, and feels incredibly safe. You can see directly below you just about everywhere you swim.

The cities are impeccably clean and inviting, and boast beautiful history and architecture. Croatians are the most friendly people that we’ve encountered in any European country! And Croatian food and wine ranks up there with the best.

Today’s blog post focuses on our time during our 36-person cruise to seaside Croatian towns. Tomorrow’s blog post will focus on the fabulous “land” adventures that we experienced on the days leading up to and also after our cruise.

Our Croatian Cruise

This cruise holds such a special place in our hearts, and although every part of the vacation was phenomenal, the cruise was the highlight of our trip! Not only did we get to see the dynamic landscape and culture of this country, but we also had one-of-a-kind excursions, and also the privilege of swimming in the nooks and crannies of hidden coves along the turquoise sea!

Aside from absolutely loving our cruise experiences, I would be remiss if I didn’t mention how much we adored our cruise friends There were about 36 of us total; Barry and I were the only Americans. The majority of our cruise friends were from Australia, but there were others from Scotland and New Zealand, to name a few (shout out to all of our cruise friends if you are reading this! <3) In one week, we created many friendships from these folks, ones that we hope to have forever.

As an added bonus, during the cruise I learned a thing or two about Australian speak; they love to shorten their words, and also have some pretty funny (to me) phraseology:
Brekkie= Breakfast
Chippies= French fries
Baz= Barry
Hundreds and thousands= Rainbow sprinkles
Keen as mustard= Smitten
When I fall off the perch= When I keel over
Shove it up your clacker= (You can guess that one)

Lastly, the crew of our ship were absolutely fantastic! They were attentive, kind, and personable. I will post their pictures below. They went above and beyond to ensure that our experience was top-notch. If you want to take an amazing cruise around Croatia, book Zantium Travel. Our boat was named Suzana, and it was luxurious, clean and impeccable!

To begin with, here are a few images of our cruise ship, Suzana.

Cruise Day 1: Dubrovnik

Dubrovnik is known as “The Pearl of the Adriatic.” The Old Town is a UNESCO World Heritage protected sight. Many scenes from Game of Thrones were filmed in this city.

Look how clean and shiny the Old Town of Dubrovnik is!

Specific scenes where GOT was filmed in Dubrovnik…

The bars lining the steps of “The Walk of Shame” playfully named some of their drinks as such.

Cruise Day 2: Slano

Slano is a charming coastal town in the Dubrovnik Riviera.

Fun times with our new cruise friends on the way to an oyster farm.

A glimpse of a day in the life at an oyster farm in Slano, specifically in the town of Ston. Oyster farming has been a tradition here for over two thousand years! We had our fill of oysters and wine after being given a demonstration.

Cruise Day 3: Mljet

Mljet is an island that is densely forested and thick with flora and fauna and well known for its two lakes.

A Benedictine Monastery on the Isle of St. Mary in Mljet.

Two cell phone snaps! Biking around Mljet with two of our cruise friends after visiting the monastery.

Cruise Day 4: Korc֡ula

The island of Korc֡ula is the birthplace of Marco Polo. It lies just off of the Dalmatian coast and produces the delightful white wine, Grk, which is not exported due to limited production.

We had a delightful tour around the city, learning about the stories and legends of Marco Polo. This was one of his “mistresses” whom which we responded to with “Yes, Mistress!”

Barry and I walking via the tour through Korc֡ula. Cell snap from my cruise friend, Lisa (thanks, Lisa!)

Korc֡ula was part of the Venetian empire from 1420 until just before 1800. Above are Venetian symbols which can be found all over the Old Town. These are called the Lions of St. Mark.

The entryway to St. Mark’s Cathedral is framed by statues of Adam and Eve, and also lions. If you look closely at Adam and Eve on either side of the archway…well… they were sculpted purposefully to make it look as if they are peeing!

A main street in Korc֡ula , with eateries and sweeping views of the sea. So, of course, we had to enjoy some of the local wine.

The views as we drank wine by the sea in Korc֡ula…

Cruise Day 5: Vis

Vis is the furthest Croatian inhabited island from the coast. It was formerly a naval military base, which cut off tourism from the 1950s until 1989. This helped to preserve the authentic architecture of the town.

The island’s port lines one of the main streets of the town in Vis. But, it didn’t seem overly crowded despite the fact that a few much larger cruise lines were there at the same time as us.

We scooted up the mountain and then back down the mountain towards Vidović Winery. It was a quaint and lovely winery, and we also met the owners! They made some traditional bites for us to eat, too! See below!

The lovely owners of Vidović Winery How cute are they?!

Viska pogaca, a traditional Croatian appetizer consisting of dough that is like focaccia, filled with anchovies, onions and olive oil.

Homemade lavender shortbread cookies and the best fresh figs that I will ever eat in my life!

Goodbye, Vidović Winery! We had a lovely afternoon visiting!

A view on the way back from the winery, scooting down the mountain and back towards our cruise ship.

Here is the before and after of our dinner that evening, a scorpionfish. As you may have guessed, fresh fish is an abundant food in Croatia. When we asked for the chef’s recommendation of the daily catch, multiple times we were told to order the scorpionfish. So, we listened to the recommendations. After reading more about the scorpionfish, we learned that it is a deadly fish due to the venom in their spine. Fortunately, it was prepared perfectly, and we survived!

Cruise Day 6: The Blue Cave then onward to Stari Grad, on Hvar Island

Bright and early on Day 6, we departed our ship by a small boat to see the Blue Cave. Here is our cruise crew watching us leave.

The Blue Cave is a remarkable cave near Vis, and it is only accessible by boat via a tiny opening on one side of the cave. The bright blue color is in result of sunlight hitting the white sandy bottom of the cave and creating a vibrant, iridescent blue effect.

Stari Grad on Hvar Island

Stari Grad is one of the oldest towns in Europe. It has a bustling harbor, with many shops and restaurants. The agricultural landscape of the Stari Grad Plain was developed in the 4th Century BC by Greek inhabitants, with old stone walls still lining this plain. It is a UNESCO World Heritage protected site.