For the Love Photography Blog: October 2010

Friday, October 22, 2010

Winter Gear Up

I love that scene in When Harry Met Sally when they are walking through Central Park and the leaves are all golden and red around them. Lately it's been like a scene right out of that movie. The weather has turned cool, crisp, and the leaves are changing like, well, fall!

As pretty as fall can be, it also is ushering in winter and it was becoming abundantly clear that I was not at all ready for this. Everyone I've met here asks me two questions when we first meet: "Where are you moving from?" and "Have you ever lived in a place with a real winter?" This is usually followed by a chuckle and "Oh, you're going to HATE winter. Be sure to buy the right coat and boots."

Telling this to a girl from a beach town in southern California is like telling an Eskimo to bring a bathing suit to the beach. I had no clue what the "right" boots and coat were. I sort of looked around and was taken by a winter white parka with a tan faux fur hood trim (my ideas of what people wore in the snow were limited to ski trips and Norman Rockwell paintings of people ice skating). That's when my husband realized he was going to have to intervene.

With his help (and my mother-in-law, bless her) I chose a below the knee down coat from Patagonia. In black. Yes, I feel like I really live in Chicago now that I can walk around this winter looking like a sleeping bag. In LA, where form matters more than function, I wouldn't be caught dead in that coat. But it is incredibly warm and I'm willing to be practical when it comes to staying warm.

For good measure, I also bought a pair of rain boots. In this department, I decided to veer slightly from the totally practical and buy a pair of Hunter boots. Although these are very good rain boots, I probably paid a little more for the name and the fuzzy inserts because they are sort of iconic and stylish too. As I purchased them, Scott could tell I had visions of traipsing around the English countryside like Kate Moss or the Queen of England.

Very kindly, he let me buy them anyway and ever since I've been thinking how well it might go with a Burberry scarf...

Ready as I'll ever be for the winter,

Thursday, October 7, 2010

Caitlin and Josh: Chicago Family Photography session

I had so much fun hanging out with Caitlin and Josh and their two adorable children a couple weekends ago at the Lincoln Park Zoo. We braved the first real week of fall weather we've had in Chicago, which I've found veers from very brisk to super sunny. By the way, people here CRACK UP when I tell them that this weather in early October (low 60s during the day, 40s at night) is like winter in Southern California.

It definitely was on the cooler side during the session but the sun kept popping out, making metering a challenge when I'm also trying to keep up with two very active kids. Parents, I don't know how you do it! Josh and Caitlin made it look easy and their fun, laid-back style is reflected in this casual and playful session.

And yes, they are all ridiculously good-looking!

Enjoy!