Random act of referral

So tonight I met with my two newest clients Nathan and Jennifer. I usually ask my clients where they heard about me, so I asked Jennifer. She said that she was visiting with some friends at a bar, showing off her new engagement ring, which was beautiful by the way. Jennifer told me that a guy sitting next to her overheard her sharing the good news and proceeded to give her my website address, saying that she needed to check me out for her wedding. I don't know who that guy was, but I'm guessing a past client.
Even more funny though was that Jennifer told Nathan about it and he said, "Dave Watkins? I went to college with him!" Nathan and I worked at the Advance Titan, the UW Oshkosh student newspaper, for a few years. What a strange confluence of "six degrees" and a random act of referral!
As I thought about it more began to realize just how cool the referral was though. Someone thought highly enough of my photography that they, out of the blue, recommended me to a total stranger. How wonderful is that? I feel so blessed that I have a talent that can make that kind of impact in someone's life.
I always say that the highest compliment I can receive is a recommendation to a friend, and that one means a lot to me. To whoever it was who passed my name along, thank you so much!

Natalie & Alex

The Dane County Farmers Market is such a colorful and fresh place to spend a couple hours on Saturday mornings. So I thought, what better place to use as a backdrop for Natalie and Alex's engagement portraits? It worked out great because Natalie has a thing for flowers and plants and she used to work at a green house. It was definitely different for me because I've never used crowds of people as a background before. And for that matter, I've never asked a couple to let me shoot photos of them tasting cheese either!
Natalie and Alex's wedding is coming up in early July and I can't wait for it. It's happening at The Paine Art Center in Oshkosh where they have some amazing gardens and flowers. Plus, Alex and Natalie are very cool to work with - very easy going and willing to try new things. It should be fun!

Aren't wisdom teeth great!

Poor Valerie had to have her wisdom teeth removed this morning - three of them. The fourth one she had removed "emergency" style a few weeks ago when she went in for a regular cleaning and told the dentist she had a bit of a toothache. It was one of those "I just went in for a simple cleaning ... " moments. At least for the three-tooth extraction she was fully sedated.
I don't think there's really any comfortable and easy way to have this procedure done - it's just one of those things in life that many of us have to go through. I remember I was in much the same condition after I had mine taken out back in high school - very groggy, swollen, in pain. She's got some pretty good meds to help with the pain though. I don't remember having such good drugs! She's doing very well though and hopefully she'll be up and mostly recovered before the weekend is out.
And before I get any comments about what a cruel husband I am for putting her photo up in this condition, Val fully sanctioned, and even suggested that I blog about this. I'm just sayin' you know ... for the record!
Have a happy and safe Memorial Day weekend!

Devil's Lake Hike

When the weather finally gets warm in the spring and the trees start to leaf out there's a great aroma in the air. Everytime I take a deep breath of it I get an urge to get outside and go camping or canoeing or hiking - anything outside in the woods! I've been itching to go camping really bad for a few weeks, and Val and I have a trip planned (hopefully with some friends) in a couple weeks. I really wanted to get out though, so we headed up to Devil's Lake State Park and spent Sunday afternoon hiking around. We only did a 2.5 mile loop, but the steep hill made up for the short distance. What an AWESOME view! It was a great day to go too because the cooler weather and the fact that it's before Memorial Day kept a lot of people away from an otherwise VERY busy park. Enjoy the photos - I even managed to get a shot of a deer that met us on the trail!

Justin & Nicole's Engagement Portraits

I met Justin and Nicole at the Memorial Union Saturday morning to shoot their engagement portraits. I love shooting at the union because it's such a colorful place - bright orange, green and yellow chairs, blue lake, green trees and grass. The terrace is usually filled with lots of colorful people too, but it was still pretty calm that morning. Justin and Nicole are a very cool couple - so laid back and relaxed. They're also HUGE badger fans, so they wanted to go to Camp Randall stadium too. They even wanted a photo with "Barry," which was a first for me, but that's what makes my job so much fun. I never know what's coming next. Thanks Justin and Nicole for a fun shoot!

Stretz Labinski Wedding

Last Saturday was my official start of the summer wedding season and I had the honor of spending the day photographing Christie and Jason's weddding. It was one of those perfect spring days that we long for all winter - sunny and 72 degrees, puffy white clouds and blue skies.
Jason and Christie and their whole wedding party were awesome to work with. I have to thank them for their cooperation while I dealt with some tricky lighting conditions and our different portrait locations. Having some time in the winter away from weddings is great because I get to recharge my creative batteries, but when it's over there's always a little rust in the gears that needs to get worked out.
My favorite photos are the ones of just Jason and Christie with the hill and trees in the background. I stole them away from the reception for a few minutes as the sun was setting - we had some great light and colors to work with.

Cheers!

My Newest Niece - Clara Mae

Clara Mae Lindley was born at home at 1:49 a.m. on Thursday, April 19th. She weighed 8 lbs. 13 oz. and was 20 inches long.
My sister is a doula so with her third child she decided to give birth at home, which is definitely a unique experience for a family. I admire her strength and enthusiasm as a mother and doula.
Clara was so great to photograph. She was so calm I couldn't believe it, but if her older brother and sister are any indication, she probably won't be quite so calm for future photo shoots! It was great for Valerie and I to meet our new niece and spend some time with her. Enjoy the photos - and let me know what you think of them. I could use a good critique!