Tuesday Thoughts v14.5
Wednesday again. Tuesdays escape me now too!
Daylight savings time really messed with my brain. Sunset happening at 5:30pm all of a sudden really threw me for a loop. Personally I would rather enjoy a longer day than an earlier morning, I’m sure it says something about my personality, priorities, and preferences.
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ELECTION DAY. Wow, pretty monumental day. I have to admit I went to the polls very undecided and filled in the president choice last. It probably says something when you vote for a county coroner (they’re elected?!) before choosing the persons you would want to run your country. I didn’t agree with a good handful of major issues from the Democratic party and honestly, couldn’t take the Republicans seriously. I know there are more than 2 choices on the ballot but let’s be real… TV has everyone’s brains baked to think there are just 2 choices. I really enjoyed all the parodies of the GOP candidates and have got to share this favorite campaign poster:
King of the Hill? You betcha.
President-elect Obama clearly cleaned up the votes, and I think we could hear the celebration in Chicago Tuesday night. Pretty wild to imagine it started just down the road from us Indiana folks.
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Adrian’s 9 months, crawling even faster, working on some words, and showing lots of personality. Ornery personality! Adorable too, of course, as he gets into everything within reach.
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This Saturday’s the big day for Nicole & Scott, wrapping up an amazing year of wedding celebrations with our awesome couples. We’ve been immensely blessed to work for and work with such fun clients. The album design wheels are spinning and we’re cooking up a batch of beautiful books!
Also it’s been pretty crazy busy - the good kind - around here. Note the “Tuesday” post on Friday…
Happy Halloween
Something new - fashion?
Today I joined creative forces with cohorts from the Creative Underground to photograph a selection of River’s Mark Trading Co.’s handmade Turkish bead necklaces and bracelets. It was nothing near the frenzy of America’s Next Top Model but it was our model’s fashion debut. (She did great!) I had to share a sneak preview from today’s shoot while the full gallery is prepared.
Here’s a quick blurb about the jewelry from RMTC from their website:
While founded in Indiana (USA), River’s Mark Trading Company, LLC represents an international partnership of people desiring to promote peace, social justice, and reconciliation. This is done through the development of relationships and creation of income generating opportunities for those in financial need. RMTC was founded in 2008 to work along side local artisans and cottage industry entrepreneurs in ancient Anadolu (modern-day Turkey) seeking to obtain a better life through the production and sale of traditional, hand-made crafts. Many of these artisans are women and stay-at-home mothers in families that are struggling to make ends meet due to difficult economic conditions. In working with these individuals, as well as working towards providing opportunities for others, financial and social needs can be met.
Coming soon - shots of the Bridal Collection! Enjoy!
Congrats Ragan and Scott!
This last week and weekend was a whirlwind of fun with great couples!
Saturday we celebrated with Ragan and Scott to wrap up an awesome October. Sara started off with the girls at Ancilla Domini Chapel on the campus of Ancilla College outside Plymouth, Indiana.
Sara’s photo of Scott’s ring
Scott getting ready - the guys were having a laugh warming up to roast him! Gotta have good laughs!
Ragan and her father ready to enter the chapel
Scott when he first saw his bride
Ragan enters Ancilla Chapel
I loved the architecture and ambiance - such an amazing chapel to photograph such a great couple!
Newlyweds outside catching the best of the last October weekend.
(Technical note, I loved this shot with the 85mm lens wide open at f/1.8 - see how the grass and trees fall out of focus? Superb bokeh!)
Sara’s version of it - the newlywed fall portrait
(50mm wide open at f/1.8 also has a painterly look to the background)
Newlyweds outside the Chapel
Just married! Off to the celebration!
Congrats again, Ragan and Scott!
Click any of the photos or CLICK HERE to see their instant album slideshow from Saturday’s celebration. Enjoy!
Tuesday Thoughts v13 Wednesday
One seriously amazing and busy weekend out of state and BAM, I’m way past out of sync. I’m working on getting back to calls and emails as well as being awake during daylight hours let alone updating the blog!
On the way home from our shoots in Grand Rapids Sara and I came across Christmas music on the radio. Seriously… it was October 19th, not even Halloween yet. Our GPS was out, too, so maybe we passed through some kind of time-warp-wormhole and were suddenly on the LOST island in a different space and time. Weird as it was the songs were the perfect medley to wake us up on the drive home. I’m listening to Over the Rhine’s Snow Angels
Fall is amazing. Golden light all afternoon has me feeling like the CSI Miami filter is stuck over Indiana. (Seriously, watch the show and see what I mean. There’s always golden yellow sun at a low, dramatic angle.) It got cold fast on tonight’s shoot but that didn’t stop the fun throwing leaves around on the Notre Dame campus. (More from Jill & Brad’s engagement to come!)
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Over the weekend or sometime this week Adrian cut more 4 teeth. I couldn’t believe it when I saw he now has 4 bottom and 4 top teeth. Everyone tells new parents that kids grow fast, and suddenly seeing our son’s new teeth proved it to me again!
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Loads of awesome shoots in the last week as well as plenty to come in the next week.
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I have a pretty good memory with dates, birthdays, anniversaries and special days. Today’s a momentus day among our friends. Two of my friends since high school and earlier both got married this day 3 years ago. Congrats Katie & Nathan, Leslie and Brad! We were able to see Leslie and Brad’s wedding before heading out to photograph Maria & Greg’s wedding. Congrats all you 3-year couples! Last year Sara and I joined Renee and Chris for a fantastic fall wedding in Michigan - congrats on the fist year, Newlyweds!
Sunday was the 6-year anniversary since Sara and I started dating. Seems like you’ve always been in my life; I love you Sara! I wrote her this simple acrostic poem years back, it could stand to be shared again.
Something unexpected came to me
Amidst these autumn days yet spent.
Romance found its way so free
Again to Dance. My heart’s content.
Sweetest Weekend - Nicole and Scott
Our weekend of awesome couples in Grand Rapids, Michigan concluded with a perfect afternoon Engagement Session with Nicole and Scott at Scott’s family’s restaurant - Noto’s Old World Italian.
If our incredible wedding Saturday wasn’t enough to make me want to visit Grand Rapids again, spending an afternoon with the Noto family and seeing their breathtaking restaurant made both Sara and I consider relocating north. 
I’m convinced we were spoiled to have perfect weather, two amazing couples and such fantastic celebrations to photograph.
The restaurant is rich with family history, and is an exceptionally special place for Nicole and Scott. It was an amazing honor to photograph these November newlyweds in the very spot where their engagement and wedding story began after Scott’s proposal during dinner in the wine cellar.
Thanks again to Nicole and Scott and the Noto family for the laughs, conversation and hospitality during our photo session. We look forward to celebrating with you soon in November!
Nicole & Scott’s summer engagement session at Saint Mary’s Campus can be seen here and the Wine Cellar session will be added later this week.
Sweetest Weekend - Jaclyn and Tim
Saturday was Sweetest Day, and it was the kickoff of our Sweetest Weekend of celebrations.
It was by far sweetest day for a wedding celebration for Jaclyn and Tim! We started at the salon, went to the church, put the guys aboard ship, the Newlyweds were married, walked on to old stones, were off to the Lake, wobbled out into the water, then out to the Woods, danced up a storm, played out in traffic, hopped in a pedicab, over the bridge and back to the Bob. Recollecting the day’s story was like jumping into a sidewalk chalk drawing with Mary Poppins! If nothing else it showed how there’s always a great photo around each corner when you let loose and go with spontaneous creativity.
It’s easier to see the smiles and the wedding day story than read what I can manage to recount, so feel free to click on the photo or CLICK HERE to see the Instant Album Slideshow from the reception.
Thanks again, Jaclyn ad Tim, for inviting us to share this incredible day (and weekend!) with you two, your terrific friends and welcoming families!
Congrats Stacie and Bryan!
Saturday we had an absolute blast with newlyweds Stacie and Bryan and their families. We started off at the Hair Connection salon where both Stacie and her mom Brenda do some excellent cut, color and styling!
I love the colors and textures found in salons.
Stacie’s classy veil - photo by Sara
Stacie and Bryan at the altar at Saint Stanislaus. A beautiful day for lots of natural light streaming in the windows, second in brightness only to the beaming couple.
Husband and Wife!
Keeping with her 1940s Movie theme we shot around down by the Morris Performing Arts center and what would we find… a nice poster for the Marriage Counselor.
The party people!
Loads of fun at the Woodward downtown kicked off with the couple’s first dance.
One of the centerpieces designed by Stacie’s mom Brenda.
Click on any of the photos or CLICK HERE to see the Instant Album Slideshow from the reception and to get a reminder when the full gallery is ready. Enjoy!
Tuesday Thoughts v.12
Tuesday is the new Monday, and this week’s Monday was a holiday no less. (did it feel like one?)
My folks’ old PC croaked, and for as much as I want them to just buy an old Apple iBook laptop or Mac Mini to do their web surfing and occasional book keeping… I have been trying to revive the old PC with a new hard drive. Drives work but BIOS is acting finicky and I’m too tired to ponder it much longer. At least there’s wifi, BBQ, ice cream and cable, the 30 seconds of it I watched while Adrian took a swig of formula and was ready to crawl again.
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October is the new June, but with cooler temperatures and more colorful trees. Not joking, this month is crazy fun for photography. Last weekend was a whirlwind of events. This coming weekend is another round of fantastic couples, creativity and fun ahead! We’ll repeat the weekend fun plan a few more times before our wedding schedule wraps up in November. So far so good working from the home office with our new addition to the family crawling and climbing into everything he can reach. A little chaotic at times but it’s been working pretty well.
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In a much needed departure from our louder rock shows at the Underground Cafe, we’re welcoming the To Write Love on Her Arms / Purpose for the Pain Tour on November 1st. Great friends of mine - the Jess Strantz Band - will be playing as well as Between the Trees and Dan Evans. Renee Yohe will share her story as well - lots more on the TWLOHA site http://www.twloha.com/
The Underground Cafe is also putting on an all-day concert and Battle of the Bands competition, the 5th installment of the 12 hour awesomeness called Rockfest 5 - November 27th. Loads more about this and TWLOHA at www.Underground-Cafe.com
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We’re working on selecting images for a gallery show. How does one sort through thousands of images to find those that best represent and display his or her vision? Last year alone snapped 50,000 wedding photos, a bit trigger happy I’ll admit, and this year has probably seen a number nearing that so far. I’m eager to find our most creative prints to display. We’ll send out invitations and announcements when all is ready - click here to fill out our contact form if you’d like to be added to the list!
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It’s time for some rest. Hope your Tuesday was terrific.
Tuesday Thoughts v11
First Tuesday of October! It’s soup week, staying warm and toasty with tasty food.Can’t wait to make a pot of chili, a homemade chicken pot pie, pies and… can you tell I’m blogging hungry?
Been too busy to watch much baseball but got to read Cubs fans’ disappointment via status updates on FaceBook and Myspace. Maybe next year, decade or century. Good thing I was busy and didn’t see the games after all.
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Last night after meeting an awesome couple for coffee and wedding planning Sara and I took advantage of some time to ourselves and grabbed some steak dinner at Logan’s. Adrian was chilling with Grandma & Grandpa Bu and the smoky BBQ smell the in the air was all the convincing we needed to have a spontaneous date dinner. So nice to spend a fun evening with my Sara.
When we went to pick up Adrian my folks had figs to try. Not like Fig newton snack bars, ripe figs. Squishy, weird, sweet, and crunchy seeds. Friends of my dad’s grow the figs here in town and gave him a handful to take home. Adrian loved eating the sweet treat when he managed to take a break from crawling everywhere.
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It’s Wednesday, not Tuesday now. Sara had a morning appointment so Baby’s chilling with Milo and Otis and I’m trying to get some office work done before he notices I’m playing hide and seek. Sounds like he already noticed. Short update. Hooray for the 11th.
