Faith & Brendan's Dark Fantasy Ethereal Fall Wedding at the Market at Grelen in Somerset, Virginia

January 16, 2024

The moment that Faith & Brendan contacted me about photographing their wedding, I knew we’d be a match made in heaven. “High fantasy dark garden party, spooky elven gathering, moody Lord of the Rings” - these are the words Faith used to describe her wedding. Omg, I was SO excited. The Market at Grelen is a beautiful garden shop and cafe in Somerset, Virginia. We made sure to scoot up to the top of the hillside on the property for sunset photos to really capture the magic of her dress, styling and color palette. Faith is an incredible tattoo artist and her artistry definitely showed through her attention to detail and styling for the wedding. Every tiny detail of the day was carefully chosen and thought through. Theirs was the last wedding of the season for us and it was such a beautiful way to end the wedding season. It makes me excited for all of the 2024 weddings! As usual, I used a blend of film and digital cameras, and of course I made sure to take a few polaroids. I could go on and on about this wedding, but instead, I’ll share my favorite photographs from the day. :)

Make sure to contact us soon if you’re planning a wedding for 2024 or 2025! If you’re looking for a wedding DJ as well, my husband Chris (of Melody Mouse Media) and I offer a discounted package if you book us both. Faith & Brendan booked us both and left us the sweetest review on Google.

“Planning a wedding is tough. There seems like an infinite number of options for every detail of it, and an intimidating amount of importance attached to every single decision you make. Let me help you make one of them: Hire Myles. As fast as you can.

Working with Myles Katherine was an absolute dream from start to finish - Her communication is phenomenal and professional, her pricing is incredibly reasonable for the fantastic level of service and artistic vision she provides, and her photos… well, they should speak for themselves, but they’re unbelievably beautiful. From the very first inquiry I submitted on her clean, well-designed website, Myles was responsive and informative. She quickly set up a Zoom meeting for us to chat about our ideas, and talking to her was instantly comfortable and easy. We felt confident in our choice to hire her right away, and everything from then on just kept reinforcing that decision.

On our wedding day, Myles (and her partner Chris, who we also hired - check out Melody Mouse Media for our great experience with him too!) arrived at our venue early, immediately started shooting, efficiently checked off every shot on our photo list (which she suggested most of!), and was unobtrusive but ever-present. She was easily our favorite vendor to work with by far, and made our lives that day so much easier. Myles was also up for an adventure, and zipped off to the top of a mountain with us on an ATV to get some golden hour photos! She brought more cameras than I have ever seen one person juggle at a time, and shot both digital and artistic film photos all day.

Afterwards, she delivered a huge amount of “Sneak Peek” photos with an incredibly fast turnaround time - seriously, we were floored to get so many photos so quickly after our event! Her creativity and eye for detail is impressive and inspiring. If you’re able to get on her client list for any job - wedding or otherwise - absolutely do it. We couldn’t be happier with her work!”

Can’t wait to hear from you!

<3 Myles Katherine

Fujifilm Instax Mini Review with Sample Photos | 3 Reasons Why the Instax Mini is Making a Comeback in my Camera Bag

June 18, 2023

This post contains affiliate links and I will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking through my links.

I recently made a post about the Lomography Lomo’Instant Wide. While I love that camera, it is SUPER bulky and difficult to travel with. Sadly, it usually ends up sitting on my shelf and missing out on my photo shoots. I have quite a collection of instant film cameras so it’s always a process deciding which ones to take with me when I travel or have a photo shoot. I mix and match most of the time, but lately I’ve found myself bringing my Fujifilm Instax Mini along for the ride. I have an older version of the camera (the Instax Mini 8, featured in the photo above), but the newest version, the Instax Mini 12, is way more user-friendly and is much more reliable than the one that I have. They are all somewhat similar though, whichever version you end up going with. The Instax Mini takes Instax Mini Film, which you can easily buy in bulk on Amazon. There are a ton of reasons why these little cameras are great, but here are my 3 favorite features of the Instax Mini:

THE FILM IS SUPER AFFORDABLE!

If you’ve ever tried shooting instant film, you’ll quickly learn it’s EXPENSIVE. The good news is, the Instax Mini film is the cheapest out of all of them. Especially if you buy in bulk on Amazon, the photographs can end up being as low as $0.75 each. With other instant film brands, they can cost as much as $3-4 per photograph (or even more depending on the format), which can get pricey REALLY quickly. Because of this, the Instax Mini is one of the most approachable instant film cameras, especially if you’re not a professional photographer and just want to capture everyday moments with your friends and family. But also, if you ARE a professional photographer, you aren’t going to break the bank shooting with the Instax Mini.
THE CAMERA IS FULLY AUTOMATIC & EASY TO USE!

Over the years, Fujifilm has perfected the Instax Mini. It now has a selfie mirror, automatic exposure and flash settings and an integrated app to scan your photos for uploading to social media. It really doesn’t get any easier than that. While I haven’t upgraded my super old Instax Mini 8 yet, I’ve used my sister’s Instax Mini 11 and it is leaps and bounds better than mine in terms of ease of use. The newer Instax Minis (version 11 and 12) have automatic exposure and flash control and prevent you from wasting film if you don’t have it on the right setting. Now, you can just turn the camera on, take a photo and voila! It’s perfectly exposed and adorable. At this point, I’ve gotten used to the wonky settings on my Instax Mini 8, but I do plan on upgrading soon. :)
IT’S SMALL, LIGHTWEIGHT & PERFECT FOR TRAVELING!

If you’ve been following my work, you know that I always bring at least a dozen cameras with me when I travel. The size and weight of a camera is a major factor in whether it will make the cut or not. The Instax Mini is one of the smallest cameras I have, so I can almost ALWAYS find a little spot for it in my bag. For a few years, my Instax Mini 8 was somewhat forgotten because I was focusing on using so many of my other cameras. But lately, I’ve been bringing it to nearly every shoot and loving the photos I’ve been creating with it. It’s making a comeback, that’s for sure!

I’ve included a ton of sample photos below. I hope this helps you decide whether the Instax Mini is right for you. It’s an amazing starter camera if you’re just getting into instant photography. And even for professional photographers, it offers an affordable way to give your clients something unique and tangible.

BUY THE FUJIFILM INSTAX MINI ON Amazon!

BUY INSTAX MINI FILM on Amazon!

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If you found this post helpful or if you’d like to see more of my work, I’d love it if you considered signing up for my Patreon! For as little as $1 a month, you’ll get early access to all of my YouTube videos, plus tons of photos that I don’t post anywhere else. Depending on which tier you choose, you could also receive seasonal prints and/or discounts! I always use all of the proceeds towards film & processing. Find out more here!

Thanks so much for stopping by! Feel free to leave any questions or comments below. :)

<3 Myles Katherine

Altar PDX SS20 Lookbook // PDX & RVA Fashion Photography

March 30, 2020

Life has been weird for everyone lately, but I’ve decided to turn over a new leaf this week. I’ve allowed my fears to stifle my creativity and I’m so done with that. We’re entering a new month this week which is the perfect time for new beginnings. Just because we are all stuck at home doesn’t mean we need to give up on our dreams. I had a lot of goals for this year and I’m not going to stop working towards them. I just need to find new ways to get to them. So yesterday I sat down and made a to-do list for the week. I decided to set my alarm for 8 am and I woke up, had my coffee, made biscuits and here I am back at work. And yes, I’m going to reward myself with an “At Home Happy Hour” at 6 pm.

Last month, I went to Portland for a few photo shoots and worked with so many talented ladies. When Altar PDX reached out to me, I was so stoked because it’s been a few years since we’ve done a shoot together. I’m not going to worry about when I’ll be able to visit Portland again, because this IS temporary. I’m going to fully enjoy the fact that I JUST went to Portland last month and created some incredible photos with some incredible people.

Here are all of my favorite images from my collab shoot with Altar PDX and Field Day Apparel last month. I included a handful of my fav film photos from the shoot as well. I hope these images help to brighten your day. Soon, we’ll be back to the normal fast pace of life and we’ll be wishing we had this time to spend with our families. I hope this time away from rushed lifestyles helps everyone to slow down and fully experience every moment. It’s definitely helping me and I will be taking this mindfulness with me to the other side.

Be sure to shop Altar & Field Day if you see anything you like! Small businesses REALLY need your help right now. And if you’d like to support my photography during this time, check out my Patreon. All of my new Patreon clients will be receiving a free print this month, and will gain access to see full blog posts like this one in the future. Anything helps!

Thank you for your support, it means the world!

<3 Myles Katherine