Holly & Sam Engagement

This engagement session almost didn't happen! When we planned to shoot Holly & Sam's engagement session, it was originally supposed to take place at a cider mill, with beautiful fall colors. However, a huge storm with chilling high winds rolled in that day and changed our plans. I was watching the doppler radar via internet all day long and determined that we should find a location that would allow us to utilize natural light, while still being covered from the elements. My choice: Belle Isle with its beautiful conservatory and covered porch around the casino building. I started getting tons of ideas about all of these great shots we could do that would incorporate raindrops, the conservatory settings, etc. However, plans had to change yet again when I arrived early to find that the conservatory was under renovation that day. Talk about bad luck!! Despite all of this, the show HAD to go on because I wasn't going to be back in Michigan for a while!!





Even under the covered porch of the building, it was incredibly windy on all but one side. Fortunately, all of that wind was pushing the storm out of the area, so the rain finally stopped, but it was still FREEEZING!! Holly & Sam were such troopers about braving the cold!! I made sure we took several "warm up" breaks by driving around in the car with the heat on. ;-)





Once the sun broke through a few clouds, the sky and lighting were AMAZING!!! It made weathering the storm, and sticking to our plans totally worth while.


(for some reason, cross processed images feel very "Detroit" to me)





The wind was an issue from time to time, but we found ways to make it work for us.





Normally I don't like really "dark" images, but I think I was inspired to create some after we had such a dark day.



When I was planning on rain, I had made some really cool plans to shoot through a rainy car window among some other awesome ideas (that I'll have to try with another couple), but with no rain drops on the windows, I quickly changed plans and created the shot below and the cool rear-view mirror shot inside the car where we were nice and warm! Despite all of the challenges leading up to our shoot... I would have to say that this was a total success!!



Technical notes for photographers: None of the images above were photoshopped other than sharpening for web and adding my logo. All of the post-processing work was done in Adobe Lightroom Beta. If you'd like to see the original straight from camera JPEG images, CLICK HERE to view the entire set of processed and unprocessed images on flickr. If you're a photographer and you haven't tried Lightroom yet, make sure you check it out while it's still free in Beta version.

Heidi & Tony Engagement

It always amazes me when a couple stays together after dating in high school and going separate ways afterward. There are so many things that can test a relationship in college, so it takes a very special relationship to endure through that. Heidi & Tony are just that couple and while oddly matched in height at six foot something and five foot nothing, they are a great compliment to each other's personalities. (As a side note: I have non-blurry versions of the picture above, but I loved their expression in this one the most - so genuine and happy.)





Heidi & Tony wanted pictures in their hometown of Shelbyville, IN. They knew someone who was gracious enough to let us use their beeeeeeeautiful property with all kinds of great things to use as backgrounds!! I think the property looked even nicer than the city park I saw on the way into town! They even had a rope for swinging into their own pond!




Tony played ball in high school, so Heidi wanted to make sure we incorporated one of Tony's favorite things into our engagement session! How sweet! I've never tried sports photography before, so I was all for it!! Of course, Heidi didn't have a second pair of shoes on hand, so she played in her heeled boots!! Even with that handicap, I think she still outscored Tony! Maybe he was distracted. ;-)





This was such a gorgeous and romantic setting!! I'm so glad Heidi got permission to shoot here!!





Thank you for a great shoot Heidi & Tony!!! I'm really looking forward to your wedding at the Winery!!

LOVE IT: Etsy

Etsy is the coolest online store for handmade gifts. It's a haven for starving artists and a really cool place for people who love to buy handmade things and support independent artists. It's like Google meets Flickr meets Ebay meets Art Fair. ;-)

What makes it ultra cool is that they have so many neat search features! For example, if you're planning to decorate a room in your house with reds and pinks, you can shop by color to find all things red and pink! If you want to do your bathroom in squids and octopuses, you can search by keyword. You can also look into other people's Treasures, which is like a collection of favorites or themes. You can be totally random and look at things from the Sampler, or you can even find a seller who's somewhere in your area with the Geolocator! Seriously, this is one fabulous site!!

If you can't decide what to give that special person who has everything, look for something completely fun and original on Etsy! I guarantee you'll be able to find a one-of-a-kind item!! CLICK HERE to shop Etsy! My fine art work isn't on there yet, but when I have time to sort though my pieces, I'll be sure to put them there!!

Here are a few things I found on Etsy that I wouldn't mind receiving for Christmas (HINT TO HUSBAND!)...