busy busy bee

It's been a busy couple of weeks....I've been shooting, and editing, and shooting and editing, and traveling and shooting some more....and it's not over yet.
Here's a bit of what I've shot in the last couple weeks:









































And then Jason and I went to the Great American Beer Festival in Denver. As many of you know, besides photography, one of my other great passions is good beer. mmmmm

I've got a busy couple days of editing ahead, and then I'm off on another adventure. Details to follow. :)

Up at Lake Luca

Way up north on the edge of the wilderness in Minnesota, lives some of my favorite people on earth. I started visiting the small town of Bigfork, MN when I was about 8, as my aunt moved there and opened a dental practice. I fell in love with the land, the lakes and the lefse (if you don't know what that is---message me, I'll give you a recipe).

About 16 years ago when my aunts told me they were thinking about adopting, I was NOT HAPPY. I'll be honest, I was totally selfish. I didn't want to share my aunts. THEY WERE MINE. But against my advice, they traveled to China anyway.....and thank god they did. I now have 3 amazing cousins that I couldn't imagine not being a part of my family. Both Nikki and Kate were in my wedding 9 years ago, and a big deciding factor to go to college in Minnesota was to be close to my aunts and cousins.



Fast forward to now, where the oldest of my three cousins, Nikki, is a SENIOR IN HIGHSCHOOL (someone buy me a cane, because I feel super old). When Nikki asked me to come up and shoot her senior photos, of course I said yes. She's grown into a smart and beautiful young lady, whom I'm so proud to be related to.

Here's to my aunts not taking the advice of a selfish 14 year old. Congratulations Nikki, I love you!

GOAL!!!!

I love wedding days when my the end of the night my face hurts from smiling just as much as the bride's does. Saturday was another one of those days. Kristina and Brent met at a hockey camp years back and were instantly drawn to each other, not just because of their shared love of the game...but their shared love of their families and life, and living each moment to the fullest.

This was a HUGE wedding party......but EVERY. SINGLE. ONE. of them was a blast to be around, and helped bring happiness, excitement, love and joy to the images.


Thanks Kristina and Brent, and your entire wedding party, friends and family....it was an absolute pleasure to be part of your wedding day!

August in the Park

It was a beautiful late summer day in Lowertown St. Paul last Saturday. Mears Park was the perfect location for Leah and Dave's wedding....a place very much like their relationship, sweet yet surprising, an oasis in the midst of a bustling city.

Their wedding was a BLAST, and the reception was ridiculous amounts of fun! Wabasha Caves is a former speakeasy in the bluffs and caves along the river in St. Paul. It was so unique and fun!

Congrats Leah and Dave, and thank you for choosing me for your special day!

On the road again

You know you travel a lot when one of the first questions people ask you upon seeing you is, "so, where are you off to next?" It's going to be a really busy couple months for me in the travel department, and luckily most of it revolves around photography. :)

After shooting tomorrow's wedding, I'll be hitting the road again and going down to Chicago for a few days to attend the GraphiStudio American Convention at the Museum of Contemporary Art. It should be a very informative and educational event. In all honesty though, it doesn't take much convincing for me to go to Chicago. It's my hometown, so I go back often to see friends and family, not to mention shoot quite a few weddings and attend conferences.

I'll be out with my brother and friends the night before the convention and the evening of once it's done--so if you see me out and about, HOLLA!

over and over again......

I've said it many times, but it's really true; I fall in-love all over again every weekend. Nearly every weekend, two people who love each other so much that they've chosen to spend the rest of their lives together, have chosen me to share in their joy and narrate their story through images. I fall in love with their story, their sweetness, their silliness and their sass. I love my couples.
Meet Cassandra (or "C" as she prefers to be called)and Andy. In C's words, "we're meat and potatoes, t-shirt and jeans type...weathered/worn look...off the beaten path." In my words, they are the salt of the earth, with a bit of spice to boot. They're the kind of couple you'd gladly sit at the bar with, or around a campfire until the sun came up.
C and Andy met at a softball game and wanted to make sure to capture that in some photos, as well as their sweet and simple love of life and each other.

They also had no problem when I asked them to climb into a fountain and start having some fun! (although, Andy certainly had second thoughts when he realized how cold the water was!)



Congrats on your engagement C and Andy, I can't wait to share your special day with you in October!

rockabilly revisit

She was born in the wrong era. She's a retro goddess and a rockabilly girl. After a great pin-up shoot last fall, I couldn't wait to shoot Tiffany again. She's got a wicked sense of humor and a killer look.

We're still on the look out for some old wooden bleachers, so if you have the 411 on them in the Midwest, let me know. :)

We found a couple great barns out in the countryside along the Blue Earth River too. After our little trespassing session, I found out the name of the land owner from the kind folks at the Dam Store just down the road. (and if you're ever in south central Minnesota, I implore you---go get some pie there--it's A.MAZ.ING. )