Merry Christmas from Washington D.C.

The National Christmas Tree in front of The White House (in background) in Washington, D.C. on Christmas Eve, 2009. Photo Garrett Hubard © 2009

To be married: Jeff & Katherine

On Christmas Eve, 2009. It happened. Jeff proposed. Katherine said yes. Garrett got really excited for them! End of story. OK, not really. Well, not at all. Their story has great beginnings. Let me back up a little and share why I'm so excited to celebrate their engagement.

The awesome couple shortly after Jeff proposed and Katherine
said yes on Christmas Eve, 2009. Photo courtesy of the betrothed.

Jeff is my closest friend in D.C. He was also one of my first friends in D.C. In May of 2007 I moved to D.C. and into the house in which he lived. We quickly became friends with a multitude of shared interests--not the least of which might be our like sense of humor. We shared a lot of good times including playing ultimate frisbee with friends, discussing a scripture from The Bible, watching bollywood films over butter chicken at the local kabob spot, runing on our three-mile loop around Shirlington, wondering if his well used rice-cooker would ever quit, praying at our small group Bible study, concerts at the 9:30 club, and semi-regular trips to the Dairy Queen at Bailey's Crossroads.

Jeff and I prepare our first ever turkey for other friends
who didn't have family in the area on Thanksgiving Day 2007.

In June 2008 I moved out to my town-home in Reston and I lost Jeff as a roommate. Thankfully a few months later he moved out to Reston and our antics and baboon-type behavior continued (see the fox video on my facebook page).

Come fall of 2008 Jeff signed up to go serve with some friends from our church on a medical missions trip to Kenya. Now you must know that I wouldn't trust Jeff with neosporin and a bandaid, but I do trust him wholeheartedly to love and serve the poor, the orphaned, and the widow in the name of Jesus. We both share this desire which is one of the other reasons why we are such good friends. So, guess who else went to serve on that trip in December 2008? You guessed it, Katherine--the Katherine.

I have really have enjoyed watching their friendship grow since he asked her out early in 2009. Many nights when Katherine was over I heard lots of laughter eminating from the room they were in--not to mention lots of amazing leftovers from the meals Kat would make for Jeff. As they continued to put the other before themselves I saw their love grow. In July my friend Heidi and I even made a little wager over when he would propose.

Sometime in late fall Jeff started talking about a ring. In early December Jeff went to Katherine's dad for his blessing. He said yes.

Here is a video of Jeff attempting to figure
out this whole ring box deal shortly before
proposing to his wife-to-be.

So December 24, 2009 Jeff proposed at Katherine's house. According to Jeff's master plan, his family & Katherine's dad mysteriously appeared on the scene and celebrated with them. Wish I could have been a fly on the wall in that room! I'm so excited for you Jeff and Katherine. The toast I gave you as we rang in the new year still stands and bears repeating that you may be encouraged by what God has and is doing in your lives.

The Lord bless and keep you.
The Lord make his face shine upon your and be gracious to you.
The Lord turn his face toward you and grant you peace.
I'm so excited with you Jeff and Katherine! All I got to say now is Heidi, pony-up! I'm looking forward to that delicious Bubble Tea!

If you have Jeff & Kat stories you want to add, please feel free to share them by adding a comment below.

Stories for Christmas

Every Christmas season seems to bring a rush of album & product orders. Hey, I would want to show off my wedding story to my friends and family too! And that's what I love about photography--no, that's what I love about photojournalism--it gives me this platform to share a story because the photo itself is a story, layered with a beginning, middle, and an end. Chalked full of emotion and details that immerses the person encountering the photograph in a narrative. Sometimes the photo is just the starting point of the story my clients want to share with their families. Other times, the photo says more than words alone could speak. I pray that my clients were able to celebrate their weddings on a whole new level because of these albums, these photographs, and their stories.

A tall stack of Nick & Lily's Companion Albums (a miniature version of their large album) completed just in time to be given as Christmas gifts for friends and family. Photo by Garrett Hubbard © 2009

Food fight in the white

My bird feeders have been quite busy with all the snow on the ground. This post is for my mom who loves the birds. This photo also made it on our record-breaking East Coast snowstorm photo gallery on USA TODAY. A male Red-Bellied Woodpecker and a Blue Jay try to claim the remaining suet cake (food) in the middle of a large snowstorm that dropped around 20-inches of snow in the Washington, D.C. area. Photo by Garrett Hubbard © 2009.

A decde remembered

Screen-shot from the video of me sharing about the
stories I've worked on that have impacted me the most.

As part of USA TODAY's decade in review all of us staff photojournalists were given the opportunity to share some of our work and thoughts on the biggest news stories of the decade. I also got to share a little bit more about myself and my purpose in storytelling. Click on the picture above or follow this link to view our decade in review.

Dispatch from Choma, Zambia

Three boys share a mango after school on Tuesday in Choma, Zambia © Garrett Hubbard 2009.

Would love to share more about the importance of school uniforms, and parent's difficult choices between food and their child's education. However, I've got to get to bed. Our first full day out in the community orphan trusts where we will be bringing the equivalent of a Thanksgiving feast for 200 people. I pray that celebrate the love and hope of we have in Christ with them tomorrow!