Smith Gallery - Photography by Emily Smith

2010-03-07T21:20:00.002-05:00

We are so INCREDIBLY excited about our new JOURNAL page!!

----CLICK HERE TO VISIT THE NEW PAGE----

This marks the beginning of a new era for us!

For those of you faithful readers who've been around for a while.... you know we change our branding often.

We're hoping this will stick around for a while - give it's diversity and sophistication.

(both qualities we value in the studio)

Our old Journal can still be found and viewed here,

But please re-mark your bookmarks to this new address,

http://www.smithgalleryjournal.com

as we will be using it as our journal site - or in other words,

the site where you can see all of our recent happenings, from now on!

Thanks and much LOVE to you all!

2010-03-06T23:37:00.000-05:00

2010-03-06T23:23:00.002-05:00

These two are absolutely adorable together!!

And I CANNOT WAIT for Little Mr. G to arrive!

Jamie & Amanda -

you guys are wonderful!

Thanks for the great time...

and for being so darn cute together!

I wish you nothing but the best

as you start this journey of parenthood - very very soon!

2010-03-06T15:54:00.003-05:00

Meet our gorgeous couple...

You know you have an amazing couple when....

I had such a great time with Amanda and Jake!

They are incredibly cute together -

which you can see in an instant from these images!

These two were truly troopers...

we traipsed through a lot of snow -

but it was totally and completely worth it!

Amanda & Jake...

you guys are wonderful!

I wish you the best of luck as you

plan your wedding this next year!

2010-02-23T15:40:00.003-05:00

Bedford High School Theatre Arts presents

“Urinetown, The Musical” Urinetown?!

“They’re kidding, right?”

“Why would I want to go to a show with a title like that?”

The answer is simple: because it’s really, really funny.

Starting with an absurd, exaggerated premise –

that all the toilets in a city are controlled by one greedy corporation –

the show makes us laugh while it explores real social issues.

“Urinetown: The Musical” has wit, intelligence –

and it also has an enjoyable surplus of vaudeville gags,

physical comedy and low-brow humor.

The authors also make fun of musical theatre itself.

The show pokes fun at Broadway classics such as West Side Story,

Fiddler on the Roof and Evita.

Just as the poor citizens of Urinetown

find themselves in need,

we heard of a need in our own community.

The Cherry Street Mission of Toledo

is a non profit organization that helps the poor and homeless

without the help of government funds.

They provide food and shelter for anyone in need,

7 days per week, 365 days per year.

When Sue Smith, director of “Urinetown” heard

of the Mission’s need to replace the toilets in their facility,

she immediately thought of the high schools’ show.

“What a great way to raise awareness and help those in need.” S

mith states that there will be a collection box at the show to

place donations to help raise funds for the Cherry Street Mission.

“If everyone simply dropped in their loose change or a dollar or

two, the needs of the Cherry Street Mission could be met”.

The show will be presented at Bedford High School Auditorium

Thursday February 25 at 7:30PM,

Friday and Saturday February 26 and 27 at 8:00PM

and Sunday February 28 at 2:00.

Tickets are $12

or $6 for students with a student ID

and can be reserved

in advance by calling: 734-850-6131.

**and if you need a personal recommendation...

I've sat through it twice now -- the cast is terrific...

I both laugh and tear up.

My baby sister is one of the leading ladies -

her duet is reason enough to come!

It's an all around great production... don't miss out!

Toledo's Wedding Photographer; Toledo's Children's Photographer; Modern Photographer

2010-02-23T14:35:00.002-05:00

I just wanted to cuddle this little on right up...

He's so so cute.

Miss Amber - Little Mr. L is absolutely beautiful.

Thanks so much for being flexible with your time --

Enjoy your sneak peak -

the rest will be up soon!

**On a side note- faithful readers...

thanks to all of you who have been checking in with me...

I am SLOWLY (ever so slowly) getting myself

back on track from all my travels.

I am blessed to have so many wonderful clients.

Thanks for who you are.

2010-02-18T13:29:00.005-05:00

We arrived safely back in the states last night….

After a very,very, very long trip.

I am exhausted both physically and emotionally

But resting at home today where I can hold my hubby

and my little one a little closer,

Appreciate my comfortable bed…

and the ability to turn on the faucet and drink the water.

It’s the little things today….

Leaving Haiti was a very emotional process for me.

I’ve not yet been able to explain the connection

my soul feels to both the people and the place…

I only know my heart feels more at peace

when I’m there than in any other place in the world.

For those of you who have been following our trip,

I did want to post just a few more images…

I could not decide which of the next two images to post...

There's something so moving and so beautiful about this woman.

Hospital Administrator

rice distributing at the hospital...

Beautiful little one at the hospital.

She was ready to be released to go home...

The day before I spent time with her family as she lay with hooked to an IV.

She was dehydrated and had a had an un-controlable fever.

She and her family had survived the earthquake.

A beautiful little one at the hospital... she was there to visit her sick father...

I got to hold several of these cute little newbies... sigh...

Two beautiful nurses from the Hospital

To those of you who wish to view our entire trip –

I will be uploading them to a gallery found HERE.

You can click on the link and ‘pre-register’ to view the gallery.

I will be selling prints from the gallery --

all profits will go to benefit Haiti relief... more on that later.

(so once it releases it will send you an email.)

**it will be a few days as I finish up editing

and get turned around here at home.**

Much much love and thanks to those who supported this trip –

in prayer, emotionally, physically, and financially.

What an amazing community I have in my life.

Much love to you all.

2010-02-18T10:23:00.003-05:00

I’ve struggled with how to with how to describe our time in Port Au Prince.

Our trip into town was short-lived… Enough time to attend

church, pick up and drop off some supplies,

and get back on the road again to be home in Dessalines before dark.

Really, only enough time to take in the destruction,

not feel terribly overwhelmed, and experience one of

the most moving and hope-filled church services of my life.

(and loud………man, can the Haitians sing!)

First of all, I’m happy to say the city'

seems like it’s returning to ‘normal.’

Or as normal as a city can be after being hit with

one of the worst disasters of our time.

To report on what we saw for those who are curious…

I noticed no hard/bad smells in the air.

(as were reported the weeks following the earthquake)

The concrete dust has also seemed to have settled.

Camp sites are visible on most corners and open lots.

These sites are filled with tents – commercial and makeshift –

and many (many, many) people.

Most Haitians are still sleeping outdoors –

afraid to re-enter their home even if it is still standing.

Food and water are both scarce and expensive.

Open selling on the streets has returned.

The surreal part, to me, is that while I imagined

the entire city to be sort of in rubble….

Or even ‘pancaked’ – it’s really not that way.

There are parts of the city that were mostly destroyed.
But up Delma (a main avenue in Port Au Price)

and much of the other areas the destruction seems quite random.

We’d pass a HUGE building down

and then the next 7 or 8 buildings might have some cracks

or might even from the exterior look fine.

It was really sort of strange.

And not at all what I expected.

I will say this, the damage is unsettling.

My stomach turned to knots thinking of those

lost to the concrete and rubble….

And also to those still surviving the shock

and managing the pain.

My heart cries out for them.

At risk of over-sharing images which might be more pain filled and dark,

I’ve decided to limit this post to a glance of the city.

The news is full of images more detailed and more gruesome.

I want to instead focus on the hope-filled spirit of the Haitian people

A spirit which reminds me God is always near –

Even when it seems the light is dimmest.

My heart grieves for Haiti.

On a personal note...

I stood in rubble of a house completely in pieces.

The rubble coming up around my ankles...

A Haitian boy who was standing near told me a child had died in the home.

Right about that time I spotted a small teddy bear on the ground.

I had a really good cry.

Having a small child myself - my heart felt broken...

I think I left a few pieces of it in the rubble.

A sobering fact I'm okay with -- I don't ever want to forget how I felt....

moved. broken. hope.

In the words of John Hays Jr.,

and in the spirit of who and what I believe God to be,

“let us mourn with those who mourn.

Perhaps we together shall be comforted.

And together build again.”

2010-02-15T12:19:00.007-05:00

We'll call this Wordless Monday...

I wish I had time to add captions...

I'll try to go back and do that later after I get settled

so you know what you're looking at.

But for now, I wanted to at least share some images

from the last two days....

You will see a few images of the earthquake damage -

but I'm going to save the rest for another day

when my brain feels alive and working.

**I finally have some time to go back and label these....**

This might be a favorite from the entire trip... LOVE this.

A man in the market who caught my eye

while driving into Port Au Prince... a pretty typical scene

a cute kiddo at the nurse's housing compound...

Beautiful banana trees tended by one of the guys

who works at the citadel (mission compound)

*his garden is AMAZING.

Water in the school yard...

*This might just be the crown jewel of this whole set...

This woman is a female witch doctor... the name is escaping me --

think of her as a voo doo medicine woman.

I was incredibly surprised she let me take her portrait...

Her face has so much history written in it.

I told her she was beautiful and I felt her eyes soften.

I believe it... she was beautiful.

waiting for rice.... during distribution

such a beauty.

Met these young gentleman at the church -

we enjoyed practicing our creole, and they their english....

Handsome eh?

earthquake damage

Dr. Jerry and a patient of his... who has been completely cured of cancer

thanks to his treatments...

An amazing girl and I was privileged to spend time hearing her story

and sharing mine with her...

those from Crossroads...

LOVE the kiddos.

market

earthquake

Haitian brooms amaze me.

LOVE this shot.

Toledo's Wedding Photographer; Toledo's Children's Photographer; Modern Photographer, Haiti

2010-02-12T23:37:00.006-05:00

Because of being tired and needing some sleep...

This post will be very short on words and heavy on imagery.

(which some of you may not mind!)

**warning - this post will take a while to load there are so many images**

To start... we traveled Thursday morning

from Cap Haitien to Dessalines...

A few shots from out the car window for you ...

Driving through the mountains was just absolutely amazing.

The mountains are so incredibly green.

I heard another teammate describe the views as 'billion dollar'

I can only say I agree...

I know these only give you a glimpse, but picture this -

and then imagine almost 4hours of this...

absolutely breathtaking.

On a side note - we rented a 'tap tap' (cab of sorts)

to help transport bags of rice from Cap Hatien to Dessalines.

Eric & Dave got to ride in the back

which was quite an adventure for them.

Almost to Dessalines... Love the bridge.

We arrived in Dessalines safely

and began some unpacking and preparing.

Today was mostly spent at the hospital.

I helped at the intake station for Dr. Dave (our eye doctor)

I had a wonderful translator - Fritznell -

who spent most of the day

laughing at my pathetic creole attempts,

trying to teach me more creole...

and telling me about his dreams to one day come to America...

(Fritznell and I are pictured here -

Thanks Dr. Dave for taking the pic.)

Tomorrow I will be spending most of the day doing what I love best --

I have been told I'll have a chance to

be in the rice fields, see a food distribution line,

be back at the hospital - and photograph all around Dessalines.

(this is a once in a lifetime opportunity and I feel privileged

it's mine to use to give back...)

Here are a few of the other pictures

I've taken since arriving in Dessalines.

Many more to come.

I have such a soft spot for the children.

Amy - an occupational therapist... doing what she does best.

It was amazing to see her at work today.

She was truly glowing.

The lizard living in our bathroom...

he eats the mosquitoes... but I have to be honest - he gives me the creeps.

On an end note...

please continue to pray for the earthquake survivors

and their families.

It's unbelievable the impact.

Even in Dessalines - it is being felt in more ways than one.

The population has grown by estimates of 100-150%.

The price of food has nearly doubled.

Many households have doubled or tripled the amount of mouths to feed.

It's a very emotionally troubling time for those who have lost family -

but it's also very apparent that a country which already

had very little resource, hope and resilience

is struggling to continue on.

We pray for Haiti.

2010-02-11T06:42:00.004-05:00

Today is a beautiful day.

It's already beautiful - even at 6:45am as I write this...

I've been up for about an hour now... just sitting and enjoying the sunrise.

I haven't done that since.... well.... I'm not sure I can remember.

(those of you that know me well know I'm NOT a morning person) :)

I just know today is going to be a beautiful day --

today I return to Dessalines.

(but I'm getting ahead of myself, let me get you up to speed...)

Most of our team's day was spent on a bus from the Dominican into Haiti.

The bus ride although long as comfortable - and we had air.

(the bus was like an american styled tour bus)

about half our luggage... waiting for the bus....

We traveled through the Dominican and I marveled at all the 'green' -

it's truly a beautiful country.

And though the country is poor - esp. those that live in the countryside...

the people seem (in few hour drive through the country)

to be better off than those in Haiti.

Something my picture progression from out the bus window

sort of shows progressively.

**again, these were taken out of the bus window so be gentle**

Still in the Dominican

Crossing the River into Haiti... my heart starting beating so fast...

I felt like part of my soul had returned home.

a bus stop

a rice field

Driving through Cap Haiten (2nd largest city in Haiti)

We arrived in Cap Haitien about 5pm - and stayed at what I would call

and absolutely BEAUTIUL hotel. (we are TOTALLY suffering) :)

Although the misquotes are horrendous.

(much worse than I remember)

We spent the evening de-briefing with a team

who is leaving the country today.

The team had spent the last three weeks in Dessalines.

It was nice to get an update and some heads ups.

After a good night's rest, I am where I started this post...

up early... ready for whatever this day might throw my way.

Pray for us as we travel this morning to Dessalines.

(it's about a 3.5 hour van drive)

We start work as soon as we arrive.

I'm thankful friends to have you to share this journey with.

It's good for my heart to share... and I suspect good for yours as well.

I'll update when I can.

much love,

emily

PS- I've now added a few pics to yesterday's post

if you want to see where we stayed in the Dominican...

Haiti; Toledo Photographer; Modern; Personal

2010-02-09T22:52:00.006-05:00

This morning began much much earlier than most for me....

3:00am to be exact.

Our team arrived at Detroit airport a little after 4:30am -

just in time to be ticketed, processed, bags to be checked,

(and we had a LOT of them thanks to many of you!!!)

to get through security (ulgh), and get on the plane.

On a side note, when booking the tickets I complained to myself

at the early morning flight time... but little did I know,

today a snow storm would hit the Toledo/Detroit area

and cancel many of the outgoing flights.

I think ours was one of the last to leave.

God Intervening? I can't say I'm sure - but I am thankful.

Our layover in Miami was looooonnnnng,

but after much time sitting at the airport and on the plane to Santiago -

we finally arrived in the Dominican...

Customs was not terrible - although we had trouble getting

the largest of the sterilizers through. With a little genius from Doctor Dave

though we were okay to bring it in.

We arrived at 'Sharing the Vision' tonight -

A ministry located in the Dominican...

When it gets light tomorrow,

before we leave for the bus that will take us into Haiti,

I will try to take a few pictures of the amazing house we're staying in.

(which I hope to post sometime soon)

After arriving tonight we sat on the upstairs porch....

the breeze is gentle - the temperature comfortable - and the company kind.

You can find out more about the ministry by clicking HERE.

There are two pilots staying here tonight.

They are donating their time and planes to help with the relief efforts...

They make up to four runs a day

from Port Au Price to wherever else is needed.

One of the Pilots today helped fly four orphans from Port to Cap Hatien

(a city in the Northern part of the country)

The orphans will be adopted by Americans.

I apologize for the long windedness...

I know there's much much more - but I'm tired from the long day...

I do want to leave you with this...

I find myself breathing tonight....

The adventure is about to start.

I can feel it.

Something in my soul tonight is stirring

and I can't wait for all that's in store.

much love all....

emily

the house where we stayed...

The view our the front gate of where we stayed.

A view from the side of the back porch... The building is a church/school.

I could hear kids in class before we left.

the house dog - Tomi (pronounced T-OH-mi)

Toledo's Wedding Photographer; Toledo's Children's Photographer; Modern Photographer, Haiti

2010-02-06T10:20:00.004-05:00

I have now repacked my suitcase three times now...

trying to each time create less space for clothes

and more space for medical supplies.

I do apologize for the lack of posts...

I've been preoccupied with both getting ready for the trip

and trying to spend as much time as possible

with my little one and my hubby.

In case you feel out of the loop -

this photographer is headed with a medical missions team

to Haiti this coming week.

I feel privileged... nervous... excited about going...

and about a million other emotions at once and spread out over the day.

To give you the complete update:

I will be traveling to Haiti with 6 others -

leaving this coming Tuesday VERY early.

We will be flying into the Dominican Republic

and traveling by bus into Haiti with A LOT of medical supplies.

(Enough in fact to restock two major hospitals)

Which on a side-note...

I CANNOT believe how many supplies have come in!

Thanks to any of you readers who donated...

I will be in Haiti for about 8days....

And while there, I will be updating this blog as much as I can.

(I would look for updates beginning about Thursday (2.11.2010))

or on my twitter -- (our user name is smithgallery)

You can find it HERE

A few things our team could use prayer for...

safety.

that all the little things get worked out.

for what we'll see and experience.

that God would use us to our fullest.

for the people of Haiti as they are picking up the pieces of of their lives.

Friends, I'm always thankful to share the journey with you...

much love,

Toledo Wedding Photography, Wedding Photographer, Modern

2010-01-25T00:00:00.005-05:00

Finally!!!

Part IV of our Fall Bridal Session!!

I am so incredibly excited about this session...

With the holidays it's taken me a while to get to editing them -

but I could not be happier with the results!

Ladies... you are all so unbelievably beautiful --

thank you again for an amazing day...

and for trusting my vision.

Much Much Love.

If you want to see Parts I, II & II

of our sessions click below:

PART I

PART II

PART III

Maternity Portraits - Toledo, Ohio

2010-01-19T21:24:00.011-05:00

maternity portraits; toledo ohio; photographer; wedding photography; wedding photographer toledo, modern wedding photography

Usually these sessions are kept under tight wraps -

but with a beautiful mama who approved these being up

I'm jumping at the chance.

I can't wait to meet little one in just another week or so!

H. - I'm so glad you came in...

You are BEEAAAUUUTTTIIIFULL,

& I LOVED getting the chance to photograph

your ever so cute self!

Enjoy your preview!

Just a reminder:

We will be donating 100%

of all photo print order proceeds to

several charitable organizations

[including red cross + mercy corps + Help Haiti Heal]

for the rest of the month.