Dana Stevens

Asheville Herb Festival

Today my housemate and I went out to the Asheville Herb Festival. It was beautiful! So many colors and smells! There were so many people selling lovely plants that I didn't know where to start! Luckily we knew our friend Shannon Haun would be at the festival with her shop House of Herbs. It was great to see her and she was having an amazing time.
 
We wondered around the open air area of the Market checking out wares from so many different vendors that I lost count. Flowers, trees, seedlings, herbs, fresh veggies and fruit. These people are serious about their plants and you can tell. Even though its a little early, many people where selling strawberries and they smelled heavenly in the warm afternoon sun.

 We made our way up the hill to the main part of the WNC Farmers Market and took a look at the things that are there 7 days a week.  This part of the farmers market is a long, closed-in building, with most any type of local good you can think of in it!

There are so many things that I will be coming back for! This is just one half of the inside of the Farmers Market.  I could have spent hours wondering this place! We stopped to check out the local ASHE cheese vendor, yum! I got to try cheese curd and Jalapeno Cheddar!

Then we passed through a stall with all types of jams, jellies, pickled goods, and butters! The sun was shining in and it all looked so lovely! 

 I was pretty tuckered out after the three hours we spent there, time flies when you're having fun! We stopped by one last time to see Shannon and then headed home to enjoy some of the goodies we picked up today!

Fuchsia Flower

April showers bring photos on sunny days!!

This past weekend I had a Fantasy shoot at my house. I just really wanted to let spring in and fill some new photos with lots of color and smiles! Here's a taste of what we got:

Charlotte Murphy - Model/Costume/Hair

Charlotte lives locally in West Asheville and is a hair stylist at a local salon downtown. She created most of the costumes that you will see in this shoot! Thank you so much for your help, Charlotte!!

 Liz Hughes - Model

Liz also brought out a wedding dress that she picked up for $5 at the Goodwill Thrift Store and we had lots of fun with that:

Liz in her wedding dress

It was a long day but totally worth it! The shoot lasted about 5 hours throughout the day! If you want to see more from this session, you can check out my Flickr account, and there are MANY more images there.

A Military Family

It was great working with this family. I love seeing happy faces on a portrait day, and it's something that can be very stressful for a kid if it is not handled well. We showed up a little early to give the little guy some time to check out the rig and lighting. He was totally fascinated! I found out later the little man LOVES fabric! Curtains, sheets, blankets, you name it, with Mom being a seamstress it all makes sense!

Visiting Virginia

Warming Waters

A Pond Resident

 The pond out back this morning was very awake and active! There were a few toads hanging out around the water hyacinth where they have laid eggs.

A closer look (large on black)

It was nice having my zoom lens to get a closer look.

Spring!

SPRING

Vintage Finish applied in Photoshop

The View is Different Up Here

North Carolina Sunset

I recently moved to the mountains of Western North Carolina from the swamplands of Eastern Virginia. The change of experiencing a new landscape is amazing!

Everywhere I look there is a new plant or tree to learn about, and I haven't even spent my first spring here yet. I arrived here in fall and watched the woods on the surrounding mountainsides gradually shift from a vibrant green to a deep rust, fiery red and vibrant yellows. Something as simple as watching the leaves shift somehow has a new feeling to it in this place.  I have enjoyed watching many Septembers turn into a carpet of autumnal colors, but some how the mountains make it all feel more pronounced and meaningful.

Fall Tree's near Maggie Valley, NC

I had inquired with both locals and our friends that have migrated to this neck of the woods about the winters here. I was assured that anything more than a couple inches of snow is not common around here, but we received over 14" of cold, sticky snow right around Christmas. That was a fun first mountain winter experience, as we were snowed in with no power for 48 hours! I really do love the peace and quiet of having no electricity, but eventually my tech-driven side wants my computer to work!

Winter 2009 Candler NC

I can't wait till spring comes and I can go camping and explore the Blue Ridge parkway! Exploring the dark under the trees, finding waterfalls with friends and sleeping under the stars sounds wonderful.

It's also been great to see the strength of the local organic scene! There are impressive collections of local goods: Veggies, Mushrooms, Honey, and all sorts of yummy things!! 

Late Spring 2009 Candler, NC

• Appalachian Sustainable Agriculture Project: Guide to local farm markets and Appalachian-grown and produced products, support and resources for farmers

• French Broad Co-op: The local, wonderful food co-op in downtown Asheville
• List of Farm Markets from Explore Asheville       

I love healthy food that looks and taste good!!

I have been helping my friend over at Pixies Pocket with some new product photos. Her honeys are so yummy, and I love shooting all the warm colors in the dead of winter. She has Chai Honey, Vanilla Bean Chamomile Honey, Sister Health Honey , and Bunny Hunny just to name a few.  Mrs. Pixie wanted each photo to reflect how different each finished herb infused honey is even tho they came from the same bees!! All of Pixies Pocket's honeys are made from Haw Creek Honey, an Asheville favorite!!

Pensive

Model: Julia Zay

Photographer: Sarah Thomas

(Strobist info - Two strobes - one to left of camera set to light the white vinyl backdrop - the second through a soft box to the right to light the subject)

(body paint info -applied with airbrush - Mehron Liquid Paint Black - thinned with Mixing Liquid )