What I've Been Up To...

Things have been quite busy and I apologize the blog has been so neglected lately.  Friday just graduated from Puppy School and we've been enjoying a lovely Indian Summer.  Still, that's no excuse, so here are a couple other updates on what's going on with us and the studio!

- I'm obsessed with Pinterest!  Those of you that know me probably have seen the stacks of magazines and clippings I keep around as inspiration for shoots or things I love.  Pinterest allows me to keep this up, minus the clutter, plus share/stalk others' boards for inspiration as well.  If you'd like to follow each other, please leave your link in the Comments section. 

- One of the things I'm looking at on Pinterest and Etsy are inspirations for fall photo shoots and newborn shoots.  There must be something in the water; tons of ladies I know are pregnant or just gave birth, so I am super excited about some newborn and baby shoots coming up!  How adorable is this Aspen Leaf Mobile?  I love the idea of incorporated leaves or acorns into a photo shoot!

- When we moved to Chicago, we were dismayed to find the lack of fresh, organic produce especially in the winter months.  (True story: Scott once paid $6 for a tomato at Whole Foods - lesson learned, check the prices before you buy and don't go to Whole Foods in the dead of winter when the produce is terrible everywhere else.  He claims he was mesmerized by all the gorgeous looking produce and I'm inclined to believe him).  This summer, we decided to make use of our balcony and grow a mini-garden.  Not wanting to get too ambitious we planted several tomato plants and a variety of herbs.  The herbs have been doing fabulously.  The tomatoes, however are another story.  This summer was very late to warm up, so this is our bumper crop (minus two cherry tomatoes that Friday ate):





I think there's enough for exactly two celebratory bruschetta, what do you think?

- I bought the 100mm Macro lens and I simply adore it!  It's an amazing portrait lens but beyond that playing with that 1:1 macro capability is astounding.  I walk around and take pictures of ordinary things that are simply beautiful through this amazing lens.  Here are some I took just yesterday:












You can get even closer...


And closer still!



That's all for now!

The Details

Sometimes, like in life, the details are the most beautiful part.  These are from a lovely sunny day at the Santa Paula Airport.


Enjoy the little things!

Parke County Bridges

For our anniversary, we decided to go on a drive to nearby Parke County, Indiana.  (I know, we sound so old, right?)  We've been so busy with work that we wanted to do something low-key that we could also bring Friday along.  Slightly less famous than Madison County, Iowa (at least to those not from the Midwest), Parke County actually has a larger number of old covered bridges. 

It was the perfect time of year to drive around there.  The leaves were in full color and it was still quite warm.  It was a challenge to capture just how beautiful the scenery and these historic bridges were.



Happy fall!

The City Series (Part 2)

Enjoy!

City Series (Part 1)

While I love producing portraits that are classic and beautiful, sometimes I want to experiment with the more artistic side of photography.  When looking at some fashion spreads or the work of David LaChapelle, I'm inspired and fascinated by the creative process and how artists can push boundaries.  Recently, I started walking around the streets of my new city and marveling at how much more urban and old looking everything from the fixtures to the buildings look. 

I snapped photos of some of the grittier aspects - the exposed brick, telephone poles, and urban skylines juxtaposed with the more beautiful side of the city such as the trees of the parks, Victorian architecture, and blue skies.  Then, in Photoshop, I experimented with textures and color.  The result is the first of my City Series and is far different than my normal blog posts, but I think that is kind of fun. 

What do you think?


Enjoy!