We’re married!

On May 19th, Paul & I finally said our ‘I do’s’ in Franklin, TN on his parent’s farm. I mean, we didn’t get married out in the pasture or anything, but our wonderful friends drove a while to get there. His mother and her friend had been planning it since we announced our engagement on Valentine’s day. Paul asked me to marry him in Europe! The wedding was one of the most beautiful things I’d ever witnessed. When I saw my bouquet, I cried like a little bitch and his mother hugged me and told me that she loved me, which made me cry even more. His brother, John even performed the ceremony rites, which was awesome! When it came time for me to say my part, I started crying again. Getting married was kind of a big deal for the both of us. We were both recently divorced when we met. He randomly messaged me on the internet and asked if I would like to come over and eat dinner. He cooked an amazing dinner for me and we sat on opposite ends of the couch staring awkwardly at each other while listening to Chris Garneau. I was instantly attracted to him from the day that we met, and he has turned out to be the funniest guy I’ve ever been with. Paul is amazing! He works so hard to give me everything that I want, he takes me anywhere I want to go, and he tells me that he loves me every day. Not to mention he’s friggin’ handsome as hell.

Anyway, the ceremony happened at 2pm. My grandfather walked me down the aisle. Unfortunately my parents could not attend, but my mother is coming in August to be with us when Eden is born. Here are a few photos that our friend Joe Melanson shot of the wedding. We had a photographer, but haven’t gotten the photos back yet. I made the fascinator and veil that I’m wearing in the photos, too.

These next photos were shot with special edition NIGO film from The Impossible Project, which they sent to us as a wedding gift. Thanks so much, Impossible. You have my heart! Unfortunately, most of the photos were shot by family members who were confused when I started to yell that they needed to shield the images from the sun after they came out of the camera, so a lot of them are washed out, but I still love them anyway.

I felt beautiful, but the dress was hot. It was a Galina sweetheart taffeta dress from David’s Bridal.. it was one of the only ones I could find that had an empire waist that wouldn’t crush Eden. She’s so big inside of me now. I think I really wanted it because it had pockets and I could carry my phone in one pocket and put the polaroids in the other. Here’s a photo of the wedding band that Paul placed halfway on my finger. I have to wear them on a necklace because pregnancy has caused my fingers to swell pretty badly. I can’t wait to actually get to wear them both, because they are BEAUTIFUL!

These last photos were shot with my Spectra System on Image Softtone film, which is and will always be my favorite. I’m sad that Impossible is almost out of it.

The woman in pink on the left is Paul’s mother, Mary. She is absolutely gorgeous and I couldn’t thank her enough for putting this all together. I’m so glad to be a part of their family now, and I always have so much fun when I’m out with her. I can pretty much tell her anything, and it’s okay.

Wesley & Angela, who were wed while we were in Europe. I’m so glad that they could make it even though we didn’t get to go to their wedding.

Brandt & Aurora, two of the coolest people I’ve ever met. I’m so lucky to have them as friends. They need to move to Nashville, already!

Charlsie & Patrick, who are also expecting their first baby around the same time that Paul & I are. I’m so excited to have her live so close to us and I’m even more excited that our babies will get to grow up together. They are recently engaged and I’m so happy for them!

This cake is making me hungry, so I’m going to go eat something. I’ll post more photos later on when we get them.

-Ashley Fly (!!! what an awesome last name !!!)

Eden’s 21 Week Ultrasound!

18 minutes of our awesome baby doing awesome things

PUSH! it real good – I say goodbye to PX70 PUSH! film for good

I tried it once. I didn’t like it.
I tried it again. I couldn’t get it right.
I tried it one last time. I’m over it.

PX70 PUSH! was the first color film put out for SX70 cameras from The Impossible Project. I was ecstatic, but couldn’t really get too excited about it. I mean, it was the first flush – and practice makes perfect. Since then, they have come out with some pretty spectacular color films, which I tested and I’ll blog about soon. PUSH! film was so difficult for me. I just couldn’t get it right for some reason. One or two out of every eight pictures might turn out. It’s super light/temperature sensitive, so you had to be so much more careful with it than the newer film. Regardless of it being a pain in my ass, I got a few pretty incredible shots with it. I remember posting some a long time ago. I just had the privilege of shooting a few more packs, just for old time’s sake, and I said goodbye to PUSH film forever. Here are the six shots out of 24 that turned out. Not bad, huh?

This was shot in Bremerhaven at the Hotel Atlantic. They pretty much stocked our fridge full of wine and mineral vasser. I had none. Well. I had a little.

A portrait of myself and one of our dogs, Clementine. She’ll be a year old next month!

Paul holding a crow’s skull. He found this at Land Between the Lakes for me last fall. What a guy!

euros, which I spent on pizza, pretzels, Coca-Cola, and Haribo gummies

I’ve shot these guys numerous times. They’re reliable and always make for a good photo. The first time I shot them was with my very first SX70, this time, it’s with my new Sonar.

A portrait of my fiance, Paul. Two of our other friends are laying at his feet in the woods. This is my favorite out of all of them.

Well. That’s about it for now. Life is good, and Eden meets the world in a little less than 5 months!

We’re having a baby!

On November 28th, we announced to the world that we were with child. I know I’m kind of late blogging this, but I’ve been sort of busy. Kind of. Not really. I’m about 19 weeks now! So, halfway through the magic that is pregnancy.

This is a photo of the third ultrasound we had done. It was a viability ultrasound, because the first one didn’t go so well. I was having severe pains and I went in at 5 weeks because I was paranoid. My OB said that the gestational sac looked rough and that we would more than likely experience a miscarriage. I was so distraught that I cried the entire week until we went back for the second one. When we had that one, they found a little yolk sac and a fetal pole. There was a heartbeat!

We started writing down names for both girls and boys, and narrowed it down to two:
Oliver Lighthall Fly & Eden Ysabel Fly

A few more months passed and we took a trip to Germany. (Paul was there on business) and when we returned, on February 18th, we drove to Clarksville to have a 3D/4D ultrasound done to find out the gender. I was 16 weeks and 5 days. The baby measured 17 weeks, so it was almost spot on! We found out that we were having a girl!

We both cried, and Paul squeezed my hand. I was so thrilled. We both were really hoping for a girl. I felt all along that’s what it was. So here she is. Eden Ysabel, at just shy of 17 weeks:

I know she looks a little scary right now, but I think she’s beautiful. Just yesterday I saw her kick through my tummy for the first time ever! And today I saw it once. I’m at the point now to where I will just stare at my stomach, waiting for it to happen, and as soon as I look away – *kick*
I’ve been feeling her kick for about 3 weeks now, and each day it gets a little stronger. She gets the hiccups quite frequently. Paul likes to put his head next to her when we’re in bed and talk to her. Every time he does, I start to tear up because it’s just so sweet.

17 weeks

I’ve gained 16 pounds so far. I’m doing very well as far as the weight gain goes, considering that I haven’t been eating as healthy as I wanted to. Some people shun me on what I eat, but most people just tell me to be happy and eat, and if I’m full, then the baby is full, and we are both happy.

OH! and..

Valentine’s Day was a very special day for us.

I’ll post more about that next time.

You can wear dead things around your neck!

Well, as you all know, I like to not only photograph dead things I find in the woods, or on the side of the road – but I like to put them in a bag and bury them in a hole where beetles can eat their flesh and leave me with skeletons to bleach later. I live next door to a cop and sometimes I think that he thinks I’m sick. Well, I am. Kind of. Anyway, I’ve been working on some pretty awesome jewelry lately to post on my etsy site – and just finished everything yesterday. I’m really kind of trying to get my foot in the door with the whole ‘Selling jewelry online’.. At first everyone was like, “oh holy crap, I want to buy your jewelry!” then it just kind of went away and no one bought anything.. But this was before I even started selling dead things in my store. I’m hoping this blog post might get the word out there. Tell your friends!

These are mole bones in a jar, and they are also necklaces. They can be purchased here: http://www.etsy.com/listing/89689544/mole-in-a-jar-necklace

Large pharyngeal arch necklace. I found these while beachcombing. It has taken me years to collect enough of these to want to sell. They were very special to me, and Native Americans used to trade them for goods and services. It can be purchased here: http://www.etsy.com/listing/89693499/pharyngeal-arch-bone-necklace

I also have a smaller one available here: http://www.etsy.com/listing/89694640/pharyngeal-arch-bone-necklace

This is a vole jaw picked out of a real owl pellet! You can find it here: http://www.etsy.com/listing/89694192/vole-jaw-in-a-jar-necklace

And last but not least is the turtle scapula bone necklace: http://www.etsy.com/listing/89691994/softshell-turtle-scapula-necklace

I have a lot of other necklaces available for sale as well that don’t involve anything dead, you can take a look at my entire shop by clicking HERE.

Until next time!
-ash

Abandoned Six Flags, New Orleans

In 2005, hurricane Katrina pretty much completely demolished the Gulf Coast. The day they evacuated was the last day anyone would ride any rides at Six Flags, NOLA.

It took a few minutes to actually find the place on a GPS. Paul just said “Six Flags, New Orleans” into his phone, and it literally showed up as ‘(Closed)’. We had two other people with us at the time (Nicholas and Dawn), so for some reason I felt safer. We had to park the car in some bushes and walk about a quarter of a mile up the median to get there. As we were walking, a guy rolled his window down and yelled at us – “DON’T GET CAUGHT!”

After I heard that, shit got real. My heart started pounding and I started to walk faster. There was a bus stop right outside of the entrance, and I had a backpack full of cameras. We all sat down inside on one of the benches and waited until there were no cars coming from both sides. As soon as I saw an opportunity, I ran as fast as I could through the broken fence and into the parking lot towards brush where I couldn’t be seen, and when that happened, I knew it was time to get down to business. I felt like a kid in a candy store. This was _amazing_.

Everything was broken, almost every wall tagged, and you could hear the wind whistling through the rollercoasters. At one point I was so overwhelmed that I wanted to cry, but then I stepped on some glass and it went through my shoe. Most of the images I shot were digital. I also had a Holga 120N, a Pentax K1000, and a Polaroid Sun 660 (you can find those polaroids in another blog HERE).

Gotham City

I didn’t get very far up. I used to be fearless as a child but for some odd reason I’m scared of heights now. Regardless, it was beautiful.

This is Nick, a wonderful friend who let us crash at his place while we were in NOLA. He has a dragonfly on his face because he is a gangster.

The Jester

There’s a lot of ground we didn’t cover. I couldn’t really step where there was a lot of glass (which was everywhere.) I could probably go again, but next time bring a video camera. I’d love to make a tour of the place.

You can view the rest of the set on flickr HERE. See ya.

-ash

Vacationing with PX 680

Last month, Paul and I went on vacation. We started off with a trip to Gulf Shores and ended up in New Orleans. I finally got to visit a place I’d been dreaming of for years and years (the abandoned Six Flags NOLA).. which I’ll blog about a little bit later. I brought a few packs of PX 680, the new color shade film from The Impossible Project. These were shot with a Sun 660 Autofocus. I had a great time, and I hope you enjoy the shots:

Ferris Wheel
Six Flags has been abandoned since hurricane Katrina in 2005. It is by far the spookiest urban exploration I’ve ever been on, and also the most exciting.

Serval Encounter in Gulf Shores. I got to play with these kittens for a bit, and it was AWESOME.

Dream Canoe

King of the Electric Fence

Paul at Souvenir City

Swan

All of the ornamental seats had been stolen on this ride, as well as every animal on the carousel, which is why I didn’t get a good photo of it.

Octopus – Gulf Shores, AL

We made it just in time to eat at Mellow Mushroom and watch the sunset, which was GORGEOUS.

Sandpipers are by far the most adorable sea bird I’ve ever seen.

That’s it! The rest of the photos I took were digital or Holga, which I haven’t developed yet. But be on the lookout for my next post, which will contain all of the digital photos of the abandoned theme park.

-ash