Two blog entries today because I had two sessions today! Gotta keep up with the editing as we head into busy times…

I first met this Woodbury family when Mom and Miss A stopped by my booth at Woodbury Days. I hadn’t even finished setting up and was a bit disheveled so I was flattered that they ending up contacting me anyway. I headed out to their home today to create some images for their Christmas cards. (Yes people, it’s Christmas card time, really! I know, I know…it’s hard to believe when it’s still topping 80 degrees out and I’m right along with you in the “oh my gosh, can you believe Target already has their Christmas display out?!!” but the fall goes quickly so start thinkin’!) Annnyway, we checked out her room for a bit, read some books, blew some bubbles and looked for frogs in the yard (Miss A confirms that yes, I do in fact have a frog on my head. I may need to discuss with my hair dresser) and then went to a nearby lake to check out the water.

Check out those blue, blue eyes!

I have to admit, when Miss A asked me to pick her up, I threatened to take her home with me. I’m not sure the cats would have liked that much, though.

Or her parents, either.

Photographing this Edina senior was easy from the start because not only is she super cute, I didn’t have to ask her if there was a frog on my head to get her to look at the camera or say “fart” in order to make her smile. Plus she’s super into canoeing and does crazy things like go on 30 and 50 day canoe excursions so that gave us plenty to talk about while shot. She’s going to the Arctic Circle next summer! Crazy, I tell you. But she was very laid back and definitely fun to shoot and it’s always neat to find someone who is passionate about what they do.

She made the trek from Edina to St. Paul and we headed to Phalen Park so we could do some water and naturey type shots. Because of the nice weather, I think most of St. Paul was also at Phalen Park but we managed to snag a few not-so-populated areas

Good luck in your senior year, Zoe!

I had a fun opportunity to try something new this week. I received a last minute offer of a photo pass to First Avenue to photograph the They Might Be Giants concert. I don’t have much interest in concert photography and very little experience (well, none would probably be more accurate, with the exception of various outdoor, afternoon concerts) but I’m a (admittedly rather lax) TMBG fan so I thought it might be fun to give it a try.

Let me tell you…concert photography? It’s hard. It was hot and crowded and very dark and the stage lighting was constantly changing and as the opening band played its fifth and sixth songs that sounded exactly like 1-4 and the girl next to me continued to dig her elbow into my side, I wondered what on earth I’d been thinking when I’d decided to go. But when TMBG finally got on stage, I was so glad I’d gone.

When I say I’m something of a lax fan, I mean it’s been quite awhile since I’ve listened to or followed the band. Their album Flood was actually the first cd I ever bought, back when I received a discman for Christmas (woowoo!) and my uncle took me to a used cd store on the Ohio State campus and I got to pick out something to listen to in said fancy new contraption. And I loved that album but that’s about the last time I listened to them so I only knew about five of the songs. Thankfully, it didn’t really matter. They had a great and energetic stage presence, the crowd was completely into it and their stuff was good and funny and entertaining. My photo pass allowed me to spend the first three songs right up at the stage and the remainder sitting in the stairwell which was blissfully free of other people. I left the show somewhat deafened and a bit tired but definitely glad I went.

(Incidentally, TMBG has several children’s cds out now as well – they played a few songs from them which were equally entertaining to the adults – so if you’re looking for new music for the kiddos and you’re over Raffi, you might check them out.)