My Memorial Day Adventure

After a "triple scoop week end" (rehearsal dinner on Friday, weddings on Saturday and Sunday) I was ready to sleep in and do pretty much nothing on Monday when I got a phone call from my old friend "Greenpeace" (so nick-named by me for his dedication to the environment) asking what I was doing on Monday. Not much, I said. Then he came up with an idea that no true blue Wisconsin girl can resist; "Wanna drive to some po-dunk town we have never been to, find a local tavern, drink PBR and hang with the locals, and have really greasy bar food for lunch?"

If I said no, I might as well move to Illinois. So I went.

Road tripping on a gorgeous Wisconsin Day, blasting tunes in the car, PBR and wings and brats at the bar in Belgium, Wisconsin....priceless.

The best days are not always planned.

Miss K

I don't think I have ever met a toddler who was as fearless and busy as Miss K. I know it sounds sexist, but I have two boys that did things that set my teeth on edge, but they are boys and I figured that whole "Balls to the wall" mentality was a boy thing. She made me so nervous I just had to keep the camera glued to my face with both hands so I didn't grab her as she tried to wrap her arms around a mean Canadian Goose, go into the pond at the park, and as she ran full tilt on concrete in fancy girl shoes that she obviously was not used to running in. I think she fell 231 times during the session and each time she simply got back up and continued on. Her daddy is a firefighter, and maybe that's where she gets her spunk from. She is totally awesome.

Engagement Session!

We were going to do engagement photos at Taco Bell, but we settled for the Art Museum instead. I love the way Zach makes Crystalyn laugh. He's got a seriously funny wit about him and he plays a mean "Mary had a little lamb" on a park bench.

My new ride

So I had to break down and get a new car. I wasn't exactly pleased about this not being a car person; but the time had come to put my rockin' purple mini van out to pasture. So I did a bit of research and went to a few car dealers. What a nightmare that is for someone like me. My only requirements for a car are plenty of cup holders and a place to put my dogs. The nice saleslady at the Honda dealership didn't really even have to try to sell me on this car, she had me at "It's available in Tangerine". TANGERINE? Are you kidding me?! I can have a Tangerine car?!! SOLD.

And as always happens in times like these, my stove broke the same week. When the repair man came to fix it he told me that it was going to be about $300 to fix it, and did I really want to put that much money into a stove that was 11 years old and that I could probably replace for $500. I thought about it briefly, then imagined this scenario:

I am in the appliance store looking at the boring $500 stoves. The sales person comes up and shows me the boring stoves, THEN shows me a stove I can get for ONLY $200 more and it has hot pink knobs on it. The next thing I know I've spent $700 to have a stove with hot pink knobs. I am a merchandisers dream.

For the record, I got the stove fixed. I am feeling very very grown up about that decision..


Here is my new ride. You may call her Miss Tangerine, or Tangie for short.


Here are my dogs, Tab and Dory who are less than pleased to be vanquished to the back seat. Too bad so sad, puppies. Momma is tired of dog hair on the passenger seat. Dory is on the left, and she is some crazy mixture of Sheltie, Australian Cattle Dog and just plain psycho. Tab is on the right (yes, she is named after the diet soda, and yes, they still make Tab) is Brittney Spaniel/Springer Spaniel mix. Her sole purpose in life is to rid the world of squirrels and rabbits.

And I am pleased that the hula pig seems right at home.

Meet Proxy!

Is she not the sweetest girl you have ever seen? Oh and her owners were pretty nice too...can't really remember their names...I think they are getting married in October or something...Proxy is so cool she even has her own dogblog, and I'm such a dork that I read it.

I'm kidding! This was the first time I got to meet Erin and Andy, and we had a great time taking little Proxy around the city for their engagement session. I think I am going to require everyone to bring a puppy to their engagement session. A great advertising photographer named Larry Robbins once quipped "include a dog in the shot whenever you can."

The price of beauty

A real conversation with my soon to be 15 year old son Caleb

C: Mom, how do people get those streaky things in their hair? Like the blond streaky things?
M: You mean like this (shows him my highlights that I endure every 6 weeks in the hairdressers chair for 3.5 hours)
C: Yeah, those!
M: They're called highlights, and you'd have to have parts of your hair bleached. I could do it for you.
C: You could? Awesome.
M: I'll even buy the kit, but you have to let me take pictures for my blog.
C: Whatever, okay. But not on your Facebook page.
M: Deal.

YUMMY

Tonight I went to a NAWP meeting...that's National Association for Wedding Professionals. Scott Thompson, who is a really awesome guy and owns Sweet Sounds of Music DJ service and All About Honeymoons is the brainchild of starting a chapter here in Milwaukee. It's basically a bunch of people in the wedding industry or related fields meeting up to network, talk smack and drink beer. Okay, I was the only one who had a beer, I gotta work on those guys... Anyway, one of the members brought SNACKS! I love people who bring snacks, especially when the snack is cake. After we ate the cake I wanted to get out my blue and red nap mat and lay down, but that could have been the beer/cake combination, I am not sure.

This cake was provide by Sweet Perfections in Waukesha and let me tell you, it was outstanding. And I am not just saying that because it was free and they let me take two slices home to my kids. Also, Ken and Peggy are truly lovely people who really go the extra mile for their clients. I have always been a big proponent of hiring small business owners because for the most part, most are fiercely dedicated to their clients, to service and quality. There is no Wal-Mart mentality with people who open up a shop and invest their life's savings into something they believe in. Plus, Peggy gave me the chocolate shavings off the top of the cake. I kind of think we are BFF now and I might get a candygram in the mail.

This my very artistic rendering of their Signature Cheez Torte cake taken with my Signature iPhonez. I should really get like a real camera to take pictures of things like these, but when I am off duty, I am off duty, what can I say?

I'd describe the cake as "OMG, really DAMN good" but here's the official version
"Smooth creamy vanilla baked cheesecake sandwiched between rich chocolate cake and red raspberry preserves, then sealed with out "from scratch" buttercream"

Can I get a HELL YEAH?

Effin' A

This should go under the don't take cell phone pictures when you driving and mad category....check out the price of gas. It's officially over $4.00 a gallon in the cow state...$4.19 to be exact. This. Is. Insanity.

Happiness

My good friend Audra from my favorite city in the world; Vancouver BC sent me a bunch of these candy bars called Coffee Crisp. I cannot even tell you how much I love this candy bar, and it seemed like they were only available in Canada. But today I found one while grocery shopping at one of those chi-chi you-know-you-are-paying-too-much-for-that-tomato-type grocery stores in Tosa and I nearly had a coronary in the check out line.

This is the wrapper. I ate the candy bar on the way home, even while thinking that I shouldn't eat it before I blogged about it. But then I rationalized that you can't taste it anyway.

ISPWP

I've been accepted to The International Society of Professional Wedding Photographers. WOOT!

Joining these organizations is a great way to keep up to date with what is going on in the industry, and it also has photo contests, and I find new blogs to stalk :) So if you know someone who is getting married outside our area and is looking for a photographer, it's a great resource to refer them to

International Society of Professional Wedding Photographers

I big puffy heart......

Here's some new things I just found that I totally love and can't figure out how I did not know about them.

Etsy: As god as my witness, I shall never go to the mall again. I love buying gifts, but only when they are meaningful to the person. Even as a kid I found the Christmas gift list from relatives offensive. Really, what is the point? I buy you something for $50 on your list, you buy me something for $50 off my list and that's a gift?? I've always loved finding things for people that just screamed "them". You know, like when my friend Charo (no, not that Charo) was in Hawaii and she saw a Bobble headed Pig with a Hula Skirt for the dashboard it was obviously meant to be mine. And so I'm always on the prowl for gifts for people for birthdays, groundhogs day, special occasions but sometimes you just don't find "it". Enter Etsy...homemade gifts and artisan objects from people around the world. The search options are great and I could get lost in that store for hours. Check it out, and remember that I like gifts :)


Google Reader: I'm probably the last person on earth to figure this out, but this roxes my soxes. Here I can bookmark all the blogs I read (uh, and stalk) and when they are update they are in one tidy place. So if you don't have it, get it. And add me to your reader so you can see when I update! Most of mine are other photographers blogs, but I also love Dooce. It's the best mommy blog ever.

What do you big puffy heart love? Got a great blog for me to add to my collection? Leave me some blog love in the comments section!

Miss L and her daddy

There's really not many things cuter than a dad and his little girl. And to answer your question dad; yeah she really is awesome. It's not just you being biased, what a fun kid!

Wow.....

That's what I said when I opened this album. Just...wow. I tried taking better pictures than these craptastic ones, but then I thought it's better if they are craptastic so you come in and see this in person in the studio. Hey, I never claimed to be a product photographer :) This is a new album company I saw while in Vegas for the convention in March and though I am generally not a big fan of "trendy" albums I loved the look of these. I tend to choose albums that I see as "Timeless" so that in 20 years your album won't scream "2008" like the gaudy white with gold gilding with the cameo cut out from my day. These designs are lovely and have some accents to the pages and some very clever designing that has flip pages and cut outs throughout. This was also new for me, not doing the design. This company does all the design and layout with very little client input, so if you are a control freak you won't want to consider this album, as I literally send them the files and they send back a completed album. But color me impressed, they know what they are doing!

So if you are thinking of an album and want something no one else has, give me a call and come on in and see this beauty!

And if you want to see some interactive demos of the album, here's a nifty link

WOW

Let's talk about "Moments"

I think I hate the term "moments' almost as much as I hate "your special day". But sometimes you just can't argue with semantics, and in the end, what I hope for my clients is that their wedding pictures capture moments for them that at the end of the day tell a story. So "moments" it is.

A few times a year, I have this conversation with a well-meaning videographer

Video dude: "Hey, regarding the processional, I'd like to be at this spot in the aisle is that okay for you to get your shot?"

(processional meaning the bridesmaids and sometimes both the bridesmaids and groomsmen processing up the aisle together before the bride)

Me: "Oh, do whatever you need to, I don't shoot the processional until the bride goes up the aisle."

Video dude: *blink. blink* "You don't shoot the processional?"

Me: "That's right. I stay with the bride in the back"

Video dude: "Uh..so, you don't shoot the bridesmaids coming up the aisle?"

Me; "Nope. I shoot the bride. And the groom as he sees her coming up the aisle. So as long as you have moved out of the aisle by the time the bride processes, it's all good for me"

This is generally met with wonder...either that I am a genius, or an incompetent hack. I'd like to think I am a bit more of the former, with a bit of "crazy hack" thrown in to make things interesting. You know, that whole "freaky arteest" thing I like to cultivate while living in the wilds of suburban Wauwatosa with my two kids, two dogs and two cats.

So...say it's your wedding day. Which of these images would you rather have?

(with my humble heartfelt oh god I hope these clients from 2004 don't still read my blog apologies if these are your bridal party shots)

This moment?

Or this moment?

This moment?


Or this moment?

This moment?

Or this moment....

You're getting my point, to be sure :) And here is the thing, if I can sucessfully get BOTH of these shots, without disrupting the wedding, I certainly will. But when forced to choose, I will ALWAYS go for the moment. Always. It is what I believe my clients hire me for.

Want a picture of your couples together? Sure, no problem. How about we do it during the formals, where I can control the back ground and their faces (Coming up the aisle is not the time for me to hiss to them "RELAX and SMILE!)"

And if I have an assistant, I put them on this gig of the processional/recessional shots as super special BONUS shots that I will never allow you to put in your album :) You're welcome.

Kara and Eric's Engagement Session

We took these pictures in the awesome Olbrich Botanical Gardens in Madison. Kara and Eric are like wicked fun and I am looking forward to their wedding in June!