Tiffany & Tom Engagement

Right now the city of Detroit is gearing up big time for the arrival of SuperBowl XL. One of the things I hope that visitors will take some time to check out is the beautiful and historic Belle Isle, where Tiffany & Tom had their engagement pictures taken. I did a previous engagement session there, but decided to choose different backgrounds for a different feel. Since these pictures were taken in the winter, there really weren't any beautiful trees or green grass that we could take advantage of... that is, if you were outside of the Conservatory. Inside the Conservatory, everything was in full bloom and there were green plants everywhere. We had fun checking out all of the different plants while snapping away as if it were spring again. Even though it was cold outside, it was nice and cozy inside the Conservatory. To close the session, we headed to the water where I went for an urban distressed feeling by utilizing backgrounds with peeling paint and abandon docks.

I'm also excited to share a new method of previewing photos with you! I hope you enjoy the show!! Click on either image to view more from Tiffany & Tom's engagement session.

Baby Daniel

Daniel surprised his mom by arriving the day after school ended, which was a few weeks before his due date. Unbelievably, he was the ideal birth and mom was only in labor for all of about 5 minutes! Lucky woman!! Everyone was out of the hospital in time to celebrate Christmas together at home. While mom has been on maternity leave, I've been a long-term sub in her music classroom. Naturally, her students have been very curious to know about the baby, so I decided to stop by her house and take a few photographs to show the kids at school. Daniel was a dream- hardly any crying at all and he managed to stay awake most of the time that I was there! In order to keep Daniel calm, I felt it was important to use the available light in the room and avoid using flash, so as not to startle him. To make the most of the light in the house, we did have to do a little bit of furniture rearranging, which included moving the already decorated Christmas tree... (LOL!!)... but in the end I think we made the most of what we had to work with. I also think the family likes the place I put their Christmas tree more than where they had it! Teacher, photographer, interior decorator... what can I say, Jane of all trades. (I'm TOTALLY kidding!) ;-) If you're interested in seeing more pictures of a really cute baby and his wonderful family, click on the picture above.

Katie & Rick's Wedding

When we first met for our initial meeting, I remember thinking "I really hope they pick me!" Very often I find myself getting just as excited about a wedding as the bride does- sometimes I think I'm even a little more excited!! When Katie started telling me about all of her wedding ideas, I just knew it would be a fabulous affair. Katie also knew exactly what she wanted photographically, and wasn't afraid to communicate that to me, which helped me personalize her images even further. Knowing that she worked for a local flower market, I made sure that I took plenty of floral detail shots so that she could go back to work and show them off to her coworkers and future clients. Katie & Rick decided to see each other for the first time before the ceremony at Mill Race Village in Northville. This gave us plenty of time to have fun and get all of the posed pictures out of the way in a nice outdoor setting before the ceremony while everyone was still fresh so that there would be no delay in beginning the party after the ceremony! The ceremony and reception were held at the historic Lafayette Grande in downtown Pontiac. Since their wedding was so close to Halloween, Katie & Rick mentioned that they were excited about the potential of this old Masonic Temple being haunted! I didn't happen to catch any ghosts on film, but I did capture a lot of people having a great time. Congratulations Katie & Rick, you deserve many more years of happiness together!! Click on the image above to view a slideshow of sample photos from their wedding day.

January Desktop Images

Every month or so I change my desktop image to a recent photograph I've taken and I thought it would be fun to share these images in my blog so that you can download them for your desktop as well! Every month I'll try to post a new image that is suitable for displaying at desktop size and resolution. Click on an image to download a copy for your desktop.


The Western Caribbean was pretty cloudy for our trip. In fact, during our stop to Cozumel we couldn't get off the boat because it was too windy for the tenders to make it out to the ship and back safely. So we sailed away into the stormy clouds...


This is the sunset after our trip to Belize, and if you look closely you can see a cruise ship on the horizon.

Overall the cruise was very nice- the service at every turn was outstanding. Since it was our first cruise we tried to do as many of the on-board activities as possible. Because of this, I really didn't get much of a tan (not that my skin would tan anyway!) If your idea of a vacation is laying out in the sun and drinking frozen drinks and eating as much great food as you want, than a cruise is a great vacation for you. If you like to really explore foreign cities and get an authentic taste of a different culture, than a cruise is probably not the best option. We did get to go on a jungle walk and do some cave tubing in Belize, which was the highlight of the trip for me. I think if I go on another cruise, I'll spend more time at the pool and not worry about getting to do all of the on-board activities. :-)