Doesn't get any better

A moonlit night, sky full of stars, crackling fire, the sounds of owls
and wolves in the distance. It really doesn't get much better than
this ... at least for me!

Sharpening the saw

It's been a hectic few weeks with all the weddings Val and I have been
photographing. I love doing it, but it's very nice to have this
weekend off. We cruised up north to camp for the weekend in the
Northern Highland State Forest. The colors up here are AMAZING! I'm
really looking forward to some quiet walks and great photo
opportunities. It's a great chance to refresh, recharge, and, as my
friend Kieth put it, sharpen the saw.

As a side note - I thought I was getting away from it all, but up here
I still have a good cell signal! How crazy is that? It just goes to
show that "getting away from it all" is probably more of a state of
mind than a place on the map.
Cheers!

Monopoly at the bar

To entertain ourselves at the hotel bar tonight, Val and I found a
nearby target and bought Electonic Banking Monopoly. We're sitting in
the bar playing, eating and watching the Emmy's. Well, I'm actually
watching the football game on the other TV.

Another WHCC photo

Road trip!

Today Val and I visited WHCC, White House Costom Colour, the company
that handles all the photo printing for my clients. They have a brand
new facility in Minneapolis, so they held an open house today, which
was a perfect excuse for a road trip!
What an awesome facility WHCC has- totally state of the art! I love
their products ad I'm proud to be able to offer them to my clients.

Rachel & Al

I often say that the highest compliment I can receive is a client’s recommendation to a friend or family member. It’s great for me because so much of my new business comes from word of mouth advertising, but it’s also cool because often times I get to see past clients at weddings. At Rachel and Al’s wedding I not only got to see a past couple but I got to work with the Van Zeeland family again. It made for such a nice day for Val and I because everyone was so easy going and fun to work with.

I was able to do some beautiful photos of Rachel at the church before the ceremony using a hallway that normally probably looked pretty boring and drab. But most of the lights were off except for one and I used that to light her. I just goes to show how great light can turn almost any environment in an interesting photo.

We used the Van Zeeland’s backyard area for some more creative portraits too. They have this fabulous space where a small creek runs through their property, and I managed to get Al and Rachel (in high heels and a wedding dress of course!) out onto some rocks in the middle of the creek. The stream running through the woods created a tunnel that I could frame them in, and the harsh sunlight was softened by the trees and leaves. What an awesome backdrop!

Megan and Kyle's Engagement Portraits

I love doing engagement portraits with my clients. It’s nice to work and spend some time with my clients a little before their stressful wedding day, plus it’s an opportunity to take some creative chances that I might not be able to take during a wedding.
I met Kyle and Megan at Olin Park last week for their engagement portraits. We had plenty of sunshine, a beautiful lake Monona and the Madison skyline to work with. They are seriously the most giggly couple I have worked with in a long time, which was cool because they were all smiles and had no problem just being with one another while I moved around and shot from different angles. Their wedding in June should be great!