Brooke & Travis: Family Session

Brooke and Travis have what I like to call "personality plus". They are a heckuva lot of fun, and know how to live life to the fullest. Plus they're totally in love with each other and their cute little pup George. What's not to like? :)

Last weekend we met up with them for a day of photo fun in beautiful Port Washington, Wis., a picturesque small town right on Lake Michigan. In the morning we did a family session and in the afternoon we did a bridal/trash the dress (which will be featured in an upcoming post). Even in the unexpected morning chill, they were total naturals in front of the camera, which made my job super easy.

Afterwards we went out for breakfast at a local joint and chowed down on corned beef hash, among many other breakfast delicacies. And later, we introduced them to the wonder that is Kopp's frozen custard. Noms.

For this session I rented the 35 mm f/1.8 and the 85 mm f/1.4 lenses. And let me tell ya - even though I'm still in love with my 50 mm, I found myself using the two shiny new lenses more often than not.

Gah! Look at those eyes!! And check out George's stylin' sweater!

Look: George has "Yoda" ears! :)

Awwww. :)

Stay tuned for a post on their bridal/trash the dress session!

New *Borrowed* Toy: 35mm 1.4/f lens

One of my many photography goals is to try out some new lenses to test their capabilities and to see if I could work them into my repertoire. Since I'm too frugal to actually buy new lenses at this point (especially since the ones I'm looking at are $1,500+ each!) I rent them for a far more reasonable rate from my friendly neighborhood camera shop.

One of the many lenses on my list to try out was the 35 mm 1.4/f lens. I got a bit frustrated at a past wedding when my 50mm 1.4/f didn't do the job in confined spaces, so out of desperation I used my kit lens - which still provided some great pictures, but I would have preferred using a prime lens. 

All in all, I enjoyed testing out this beauty of a lens, which allowed a larger field of view as well as the ability to get up close and personal with my cats. Very versatile and just so darn cute. And the bokeh is to die for! :)

...drat. Now I want one....

And now some test shots with this beaut:

Brian and I blundered into Taste of Lincoln Avenue, which really wasn't as tasty as I was hoping. At least I found some cool looking signs at one of the craft tents.

I made cupcakes for my dad's birthday. He's 61 years young.

The cupcake cups were supposed to be turquoise and polka-dotted. Turns out that red velvet cake batter bleeds through them like permanent marker on a white sheet of paper. 

Lesson learned.

And for once in his furry life, Sokka was a pretty willing modeling subject! 

Awwwwww you can see the freckles on his nose. 

:)

Chris & Nina

Brian met Chris at his school's graduate student orientation last August and quickly bonded over their shared love of computer and video games. A couple of  months later I met Chris and his wife, Nina, and we all hit it off. So, when I learned they didn’t have any recent cute photos of themselves, I knew that needed to change that pronto.

Last weekend we braved the sunny, hot outdoors to capture their enduring love. And let me tell ya: these two were troopers. For reals.

The shoot was definitely challenging, but forced me to deal rather quickly with rapidly changing (and tricky!) light situations, mostly due to that bright, shining ball in the sky. All in all, despite the horrible lighting, I was pleasantly surprised by the quality of photos we came away with – looks like my practice has been paying off!

Gah! Nina, you're so gorgeous! 

One of the best parts of being friends with these two is that their house is filled with love - both from the human and pet variety! While I was waiting for those two lovebirds to get ready, I snapped a couple of photos of their furry friends.

Knock-Knock-Knockin' on Heaven's Door

It finally happened: we took our first actual vacation in two years.

When deciding on a destination, we wanted to make sure it would be both relaxing and fun, especially since our last vacation was at Disney World (which was a helluva lot of a fun, but not terribly relaxing!). Since we're once again living in close proximity to Wisconsin, we decided to return to Door County (aka: The Cape Cod of the Midwest) for the first time in about five years.

In case you're curious, here's a quick summary of what we did:

• White water rafting along the Peshtigo River in Athelstane, Wis. There were a lot of rocks, and I got stuck in about half of them. Brian managed to fall out of his raft on some Class 3 rapids.
• Went to a wine tasting, and got a little tipsy. Bought too many fridge magnets and bottles of wine.
• Swam around the pool.
• Read a novel.
• Napped.
• Ate some really tart cherries. And cherry-flavored foodstuffs.
• Watched the sunset over the bay.
• Went para-sailing after we weren't able to go "regular" sailing because the winds weren't cooperating.
• Climbed up and down 90-some-odd terrifying steps in Cana Island Lighthouse.
• Poked around the kitschy shops in Sister Bay, Egg Harbor and Fish Creek.

Luckily for me Door County is very photogenic, so it wasn't too difficult to capture its natural beauty.

Brian enjoying the Sunset over the bay. :)

On our last night up north, we went to a fish boil in Fish Creek.  A fish boil is a Door County tradition where whitefish, potatoes and onions are piled into a large pot over a roaring fire and "boiled over" to remove the fish oil collected on top. Our "boiler master" did an awesome job of explaining the process, and of course making the flames erupt under the pot.

And yes, it was delicious. Even Brian, who is not a fan of eating fish, enjoyed the meal.

These guys worked FAST! My quick shutter speed barely kept up!

It was a wonderful trip, and I'll remember it fondly. And now I'll leave you with a quintessential summer photo.

My Kind of Chinatown

One of my favorite parts of living in Chicago is the diversity and mesh of cultures within the city limits. From the curries of Devon Ave. to the flaming saganaki of Greektown, there's always a new experience right around the corner.

Darn it - now I'm craving saganaki... *drool*

I've been dragging Brian all over the ding dang place ever since we moved here last summer, determined to show him the real Chicago; it's not just full of glittery tourist attractions like Navy Pier (overrated) and The Magnificent Mile (overcrowded), but a place alive with rich cultures and cuisines.

Which is why I dragged his cute butt all the way down to Chinatown.

Chicago's Chinatown may not be as large as NYC or San Francisco's, but it more than makes up for it in its charm.

And the dim sum ain't so bad either. :)




That is some old cake!




Of course I spotted polka dots! :)


I heart Chinese curios.

Makin' Dough.

As a child, I was obsessed with creating cookies and other baked goods. The passion continues to this day - I've actually somewhat seriously entertained the idea of becoming a full-time baker, but when I discovered I needed to be up at 2 or 3 in the morning in order to do so I quickly retreated to my puny little mixer and spatula in my compact apartment kitchen, condemning that plan to the realm of fantasy.

So, when I got the opportunity to photograph behind the scenes at a bakery up in De Pere, Wis. a couple of weeks ago (at a reasonable hour, of course!), I jumped at it. The employees were absolutely wonderful about having a foodie/slightly-clumsy photographer in their inner sanctum as they were pouring, sifting and mixing up a frenzy.

Enjoy, and try not to drool too much. :)

P.S. - Yes, all of the baked goods pictured below taste as good as they look!