"The Alley" Senior Session...

I had such a great time with Britt and her mom! One of my most enjoyable shoots ever! We stayed in one little alley and rocked out a ton of shots. Britt was a great sport and was willing to try almost every idea that I threw her way. Thanks so much ladies!

Twins Boys and a Great Grampa's Junkyard

 

 I have been waiting so long to take the twins to their great-grampa's junkyard for a portrait session. I was just giddy with excitement the day of the shoot. There is so much color, texture, so many great props, and great lighting that I was on sensory overload (in a good way)! The shot above is one of my favorites--love the color and patina on that old car. Next year when they are walking and talking we will go out again and venture further into the photographer's paradise! Can't wait!

Camouflage & Popping Pink! Need I say more?

The Event: McGill & Edwards Wedding
The Date: August Thirteenth, Two Thousand Eleven
The Venue: Pine River Recreation Club

Jake & Sara had a wonderful wedding day, despite mother nature and her sassy self. A change of venue had to be made early in the day that took the wedding from a beautiful green field with soft, rolling hills and a rustic barn wood "archway" to the indoor location of the reception hall. With the help of family and friends the hall was transformed into a sweet wedding venue. I met up with the guys at the recreation club early in the afternoon and we had a great time taking "the guy" pics. Soon, it was time for the bride and her entourage to arrive in a sleek, white limo. The ceremony was quickly underway and was executed almost without a hitch (Sara couldn't get her bottle of sand open, and the minister remedied the situation with his pocket knife). We were looking forward to some beautiful outdoor photo ops after the ceremony, but again mother nature "rained" on our parade and all pictures were taken inside. The weather did clear up later and I took Sara and Jake outdoors for a little fun and we captured some gorgeous portraits. Thank you Jake & Sara McGill!

A Boy's 4th Birthday Party!

We had a great time on Drew's 4th birthday. Cat in the Hat, Big Boy and lots of friends and family made the day a roaring success for one four-year-old little boy. His big gift was a trampoline from Mom and Dad which we surprised him with first thing on his birthday morning. He said the night before he wanted a really big present, bigger than his room! His cake turned out better than I anticipated which was nice surprise...we appreciate everyone who was involved and all of the birthday wishes on Facebook. We had his party in the garage this year and Mike spent a lot of time cleaning the garage and painting the floor, which believe me was something that has needed attention since we moved in over eight years ago! Happy Birthday Drew! We love you!

A Pretty Dress + Ballerina + Angel = One Sweet Little Girl!

I had a great time in the studio with little Miss A yesterday! We played dress up with my awesome tutu and headband from Anything Crafty by Leslie and the Angel Wings & Halo set. We made great use of my new and improved strobe studio and my natural light studio. I have been experimenting with the natural light side of things this summer and am really loving the results. I decided a change was in order and cleared out my studio, then brought things back together with the end result being a natural light area and a strobe area. Both are actually new to me because I have always used continuous lights with the indoor studio and only use natural light outdoors. I will let the pictures speak for themselves...check out this sweet little baby girl!

A Momma and her Babies...

After leaving GG's the other day, Drew and I happened upon a sweet momma deer and her two adorable fawns. I pulled up to the corner, looked for cars and instead spotted this trio standing in the grass. I backed up (yes, I made sure there was no one behind me) and parked at the side of the road. I hopped out of the truck, opened the back door and rummaged for my camera. Drew and I were headed to the lake so my truck was piled high and I literally had to crawl over things to find my camera bag and haul out my camera. I had a fixed lens on, not a zoom, but decided it wasn't worth the hassle to change at that point. I walked towards them and they seemed interested in me and not particularly scared or nervous. I snapped a few pictures and slowly walked toward them--then decided I needed my zoom if I really wanted to get a good close-up. I was thinking there was no way they were going to wait around for me to change lenses and come back for another shot...but, guess what, they did! I felt very honored that they chose me to take their family portrait that day. Thanks Deer Family!

mel·on·chol·y

 

 "melon·choly"

(mel·an·chol·y      noun   /ˈmelənˌkälē/)

A deep, contemplative manner of looking at life...