creative philadelphia documentary wedding photographers » Nicole

Sarah + Tom – Ski Engagement Shoot – Nicole Polk

Nicole — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 14:25:34 +0000

Every time I meet with a couple and we talk about the engagement session, I always throw out little ideas I have – bowling, rides, snowboarding, etc.. for their session. I got so excited when Sarah told me that she and Tom wanted to do their engagement session on skis! Funny enough, we actually had too much snow for their originally scheduled date of the shoot. The roads were an absolute mess and didn’t think we could make it to the Poconos and back. Luckily, these big winter storms left us with plenty of snow to play with later in the month. We were able to get a beautiful day and some yummy post shoot waffles at the waffle hut on the mountain. Nothing is yummier than fresh waffles out in the cool winter air. First up, Sarah and Tom on skis. Tomorrow – Sarah and Tom in the parking lot. Yeah, that’s right, the parking lot. It’s good stuff, I promise

Mazzy – Santa Barbara Portraits – Nicole Polk

Nicole — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 14:24:14 +0000

While on my way home from photographing an engagement session in Santa Barbara, I was delayed at the Santa Barbara airport. With nothing to do, I decided to hang out right in front of the airport. It’s this tiny little building with some grass and a couple trees out front. So, I plopped myself under a tree and just reveled in the sunshine pouring through the branches. While daydreaming, I discovered this beautiful little creature, Mazzy climbing above my head! We hit it off immediately, both lovers of trees and after talking to Mazzy’s mom, had a little impromptu photo session! Hope you enjoy these Mazzy and Leslie! I’ll be back in LA and Santa Barbara for 2 weddings the 1st week of August for anyone who would like any kind of portrait session – engagement, family, kid, newborn, etc… Please let me know if you are interested in a shoot.

After Mazzy and co left for their flight, I made some other friends…Cinderella style!

winter engagement photography teaser- Nicole Polk

Nicole — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 13:59:29 +0000

Ok, I still have other things to blog before this shoot, but I got so excited to shoot out in all this snow I wanted to share a quick image I was working on to help get rid of my winter blahs. Shoots like this will help me get through till spring! Next week I have an e session with a couple on skis! No need to wait till things are blooming for an e session with snow like this

the evolution of me – Nicole Polk

Nicole — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 22:17:33 +0000

So, today (January 25th) is my 30th birthday and it has me reflecting on the life I’ve lived so far and the life I want to live from here on out. This self reflection is not spurred solely on the idea of entering my thirties, it’s been an ongoing project of mine for some time, but this feels like an appropriate time to post a little bit about it. I’m finding as I turn 30 that I’m more interested in learning than ever before – about myself, life, love, art, and all sorts of other stuff. This has become so important to me both in terms of my personal and business life. I’d like to share one project that I have done in conjunction with a continuing class of sorts stemming from Jesh de Rox’s Life (as an Artform) workshops. I’ve had the wonderful opportunity to continue learning and growing in this community of people who have beautiful hearts. They have provided a safe haven for us all to learn from each other and grow more with each passing week. This assignment in particular has struck a chord with me because it challenged me to really look at how I’d like my life to be on the whole and how I’d like others to see me. In short, we had to write the blurb on the back of a book that would be our biography. Here is what I came up with:

It’s impossible to sum up a life in a few hundreds pages. Aptly named, “An Intimate Portrait” is just a glimpse at the life of Nicole. An explorer of light and love, perfectly imperfect, a collector of moments – these are just a few phrases to describe Nicole. She brought passion to a great many interests in her life – art, music, snowboarding, friends and family. Photography was a great vehicle to express the beauty she saw in the world. Beauty in people, relationships, new life, nature, and simple pleasures in life have been captured both with her camera lens and pastels. She was fascinated by light and color, not only in the world, but also in her subjects. Most interested in capturing emotion and innate beauty, she lives on in the artwork created for her clients that has been passed down generation to generation. Though she achieved success with her artwork, it is her journey of self discovery and exploration of life through her artwork that was most important to her. She learned to “unlearn” to experiment and imagine, pushing herself outside her comfort zone and overcome fears to truly embrace all experiences in life. She failed at things in her life with grace and humility and learned from those experiences to grow further. She learned that life is hard and complicated, but sublime in both its pain and joy. A favorite quote of Nicole’s by Anais Nin wonderfully describes this turning point in her journey. “And the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom.” She believed the infinite and the invisible held the most important lessons in life. She believed life’s magic was in genuine experiences, physical and emotional experiences in life. It was her life’s greatest success not in touching the lives of many in some small way, but greatly impacting the lives of those she loved.

So, there is just a little tiny taste of my journey so far. My birthday wish is to throw myself fully into all I experience this year, play more, not to let fear guide my actions, and continue to learn all I can so that I may someday be able to pass on that knowledge in some form or other. And since no post is fun without pictures, I’d like to share my self portrait that I took at the last life (as an artform) workshop I hosted this past fall. I did another self portrait during last years workshop as well.

Christian (+ Otto) – Philadelphia portrait photographer – Nicole Polk

Nicole — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 13:40:19 +0000

I got to photograph this little guy and his beautiful companion this fall right in his beautiful backyard. Christian is a rough and tough boy through and through, more content to play with sticks than toys, we had a ball traipsing around the wooded yard. I can’t wait to photograph him again when he rides Otto like a horse! I had such a hard time picking favorites for the blog, so here is a rather large smattering of images of the shoot!

Brett + Lisa – Philadelphia Engagement Photography – Nicole Polk

Nicole — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 14:36:16 +0000

I’ve known Brett since I was about 6 years old. We grew up across the street from each other, neighbors as long as I can remember. We never knew each other well, he was ahead of me in school, but always said hello and chatted outside at our cars for a few minutes here and there. It’s a funny thing to really get to know someone when you have technically known them for over 20 years. It was fascinating getting to know Brett through his relationship with Lisa. They are sweet and tender, yet they have no qualms about telling each other how it is. I see so much laughter, humor, and honesty in their relationship. I’m so happy to get to know both Lisa and Brett through their engagement and their upcoming wedding in April. So, here are some highlights from our 2 part shoot!

Brittany + Toph – Philadelphia Wedding Photography – Nicole Polk

Nicole — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 14:07:35 +0000

I have lots of wedding stuff to post, so I’ll start it out with Brittany + Toph! You may remember these two from their fun engagement session we did on the rides here. Always a pleasure to work with, I also shot Brittany’s boudoir session this summer. I can’t even begin to tell you how this party rocked on every level imaginable. The band was rockin’ and Brittany’s brother sang a few songs too! Even after a long day, the party was still going strong at the end of the night, they even extended the reception for another hour because no one was ready to go home! Thank you guys for a great day!

Venue: Whitemarsh Valley Country Club
Florist: Valley Green Florist
Dress: Ulla Maija
Shoes: Manolo Blahnik
Band: Vincent James Band Videographer: Well Spun Weddings

Logan – Philadelphia Newborn Photography – Nicole Polk

Nicole — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 04:23:33 +0000

Introducing…Logan Cole…my nephew! Zach’s sister, Corinne, had this little guy a wee bit early, but he is nice and strong and healthy! Logan definitely likes to be bundled up, very appropriate for a winter baby shoot! I had a lot of fun with some new props. It was so nice to spend some time getting to know Logan a bit and visiting with his parents, I hope to do it again soon. Miss you guys already!

Brooke + Travis – Bucks County Engagement Photographer – Nicole Polk

Nicole — Sun, 13 Dec 2009 00:32:21 +0000

Here is the long lost e session from Brooke and Travis from this past season. I’m still behind on blogging, but at least I’ll have some goodies to share throughout my slower shooting season, including their wedding highlights! These 2 were certainly no sticks in the mud for their shoot, but I did stick them in some mud. You can’t tell from the images, but we had so much rain, one of the fields was quite muddy and they were game for anything. Thanks for trusting me and not being afraid of some muddy feet. Maybe I should start telling my couples to bring along some galoshes!

My Neighbors, take 3 or 4! Philadelphia Children’s Photographer – Nicole Polk

Nicole — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 03:18:59 +0000

I’ve been taking images of my neighbors’ children for what seems like forever already! It’s so fun to look back at their old shoots and see how much they have grown and changed in just a few short years. You can see here they have always kept me on my toes and this shoot was no exception. I love how Lucas, Owen, and Erica are so fiercely individual in their own personalities and it shows in their group images as well. Until next time!