Consignment Sale Sneak Peak
May 28, 2009I got to sneak peak the Just Between Friends Consignment Sale in Woodbury tonight. Lots of stuff! A quick preview of items there…
Archive for the ‘Misc Photography’ Category
Roller Derby Wedding!
May 14, 2009So remember back in March when I spent a night at the roller derby and thought it was the coolest thing ever? Yeah, that experience got topped. Because last weekend, not only did I attend the championship of the North Star Roller Girls, I got to witness and help photograph a derby wedding. Say what?
Below is the lovely wedding couple whose post-wedding names are Cookie and Fadam Strange. They got married at the half-time of the Championship bout at the Minneapolis Convention Center. Prior to that, we met at St. Anthony Main to do some portraits because really, could they be more fun looking? Both hairstyles are courtesy of Cookie.
The first look…
Photo booth fun at Nye’s Polonaise.
What else would a derby wedding cake look like? Hand-crafted by roller girl Becky HomeWrecky. (If you need your own awesome cake, you can contact Becky HomeWrecky (Karna Hudoba) at karnaann(at)msn.com.)
All the roller girls served as bridesmaids at the wedding. And you’ve never seen a finer looking bunch, let me tell you.
The ceremony was performed by Kili St. Cyr and that stunningly dressed ring-bearer on the left is announcer Grizzly Madden. You might wonder how Mom would feel about a roller derby wedding. Take a closer peek at Mom’s outfit…that bit of red poking out is her Violent Femme’s uniform.
First dance to Foreigner’s I Want To Know What Love Is…
You might not think a derby wedding would be all that sentimental but there were some teary eyes as the couple danced the bridesmaids sang and waved their arms. In reality, as crazy and different as it was, it was really everything a wedding should be – fun, meaningful and full of friends. I was honored to witness it.
And then back to business!
You can also see the whole wedding party portrait, taken by Preflash Gordon.
Jennifer Chaney: This is the craziest wedding I've EVER seen! Awesome job, Mandy. Makes me wish I had been there!
stalker: i *love* your photos! thanks so much for being there to help out! can't wait to see more of you next year...
Rachel: Mk, These are outrageous! Awesome captures. You rock.
Vanessa Lam: These are so COOL!!!! You did an amazing job Mandy. This has got to be the most original wedding I've ever seen. Love it!!!
cassie: Great colors! Looks like a very fun day!!!
Kellie: These are really great...
Candy: SWEET! love. them. all.
Orange Ruffy: Mk, thank you so much, these are great pictures. you made this Momma really happy. Cookie couldn't be happier with how the whole day turned out and now she has these great photos to remember it. I can't wait till her kids want to get married and I get to pull these out!!!!
Maria Hays: So super cool. I bet it was such a blast shooting this, and your pictures rock!
Megan: These are so cool and unique, I LOVE them!
Laurie K.: Wow, I have never seen anything like this. I love all the vibrant colors!
gwendolyn waite: coolest. wedding. ever. you rocked the photos.
Buglady: I want to get married again so you can photograph it !!!!
Deirdre: I have to know what you are shooting with and how you shot this because..... they are all BRILLIANT! You are such an amazing photographer!
Preflash Gordon: I just *knew* from the word go you would do brilliantly on this day, and looking at these shots MK I'm absolutely bouncing up and down. One after another after another of this is absolutely AWESOME. Wedding and derby shots both! You really have made a HUGE contribution to the day and I hope (like Stalker says) you'll be around the North Star Roller Girls for a good long time to come. :-)
mickeydismantle: Thanks for coming back for more! Beautiful pictures. The b&w in front of the ticket booths is my favorite.
Libby Doe: WOW! Beautiful pictures. I can only imagine that this couple would have a life filled with happiness. Imagine how cool it would be to be a child in a house hold that enjoys life so much! Congrats to the happy couple, and to the derby mother in law that just adopted a pretty cool looking son for her beautiful daughter! THanks for sharing these pictures, Derby luv- Libby Doe Fox Cityz Foxz Appleton, WI
Emily: That looks like such a fun wedding! I hope you didn't have to put yourself in harm's way to catch any of those action shots!
Colette: This has got to be one of the coolest weddings I've seen. I love how the couple did the wedding 'their' way and didn't succumb to what society wants/says. You did a great job of showing how they obviously feel about each other :)
Betsy: This looks like such an original & honest idea for a wedding - and you captured it just beautifully! I especially love the ticket booth photos. Awesome, Mandy!!
misty: Looks like tons of fun! Great job!
juliek: This looks like quite an adventure. Great expressive faces. I enjoyed the pix Your Auntie Julie
kendi: cool!
Lindsay: Oh my gosh MK.....how fantastic are these?!? How much fun! I normally hate shooting weddings but this would have been an absolute blast!!! Fab job!
Cara: You rock! And so does this bride and groom. Love how you captured *their* day and how special & unique it was. You're so dang talented!
Lexx: Those are my two best friends!! :) Uggh, they are so cute together. You did a great job on their wedding! Thanks!
sally oakley: wow, i love it!!!! great pictures! makes ME wish i'd been there, too.
Erica: These pictures are awesome! My husband is a ref and I play roller derby. We got married in Vegas(because I was pregnant, and insurance and legal reasons) but when we have the "real" ceremony I want to do something like this... too bad I have this ugly post-baby body now!
SheNaNigans: This is the coolest thing ever! Thanks so much for catching that and sharing with us!
Signs of Spring
May 5, 2009
.K: Daaaang, this is NICE!
Sara Montour: HAWT bokeh!!
LK: Ahhhhh, spring!
gwendolyn waite: beautiful!!!
Heather: It's purty!! And I love the new blog layout!!
Sara Moon: Love the new blog! Love this picture ;-) I'm about to pm you!
Maria Hays: Soo pretty, I love it! Did you use a macro? I'm debating getting one.
North Star Roller Girls
March 10, 2009My friend Paul (St. Paul Paul if you know him via Flickr, Preflash Gordon as he’s known in the derby world) has been photographing the North Star Roller Girls for some time now. He mentioned joining him once quite awhile back so when I found out there was a bout this past Saturday, I invited myself to come along.
Prior to attending, everything I knew about roller derby came from watching a season of Roller Girls on A&E, so I wasn’t quite sure what to expect. This bout was held in the basement of the Minneapolis Convention Center (derby in the Convention Center? Really? Yes, really.) This is flat-track derby so the rink just consists of a roped off track off the floor, with another track around the outside for the refs. You can purchase rink-side tickets and never was there a truer meaning of rink-side. You sit right on the floor at the edge of the track, complete with warnings about who may slide into you and where your drinks may go (straight into your lap if you are the gentleman sitting next to me). But man can you see action from there.
The four teams (Delta Delta Di, The Kilmore Girls, The Banger Sisters and the Violent Femmes) are made up of all types of girls. Big, little, some whom you likely wouldn’t dare cross in broad daylight and some who look like they’d spend their Saturday nights at home baking cookies. No cookie baking here, though. It’s a rough and tumble sport – plenty of knocking, banging, pushing and connecting solidly with a hard, concrete floor. It pained me every time one fell but they always popped right back up.
Overall, it was a great experience. The crowd was diverse and excited, the girls, although hardcore, were extremely appreciative to the attendants, it was all quite exciting to watch and I think I’ve almost figured out what the heck is going on. I’m sad that it was the semi-finals and there are no more local games this season but I’ll definitely be back next season!
Nick Dawson: Looks like a lot of fun MK! Did you have to use a flash (and were they allowed)?. Love the reflections on the floor... I also love how much fun this looks. Wonder if there are leagues in Virginia...
mk: I did use a flash, yes. Paul warned me that it was nearly impossible (and also gross looking) without one. I believe they don't have any rules yet about photography - there were several photographers without media passes, in addition to the ones who had them. My program says the Dominion Derby Girls are in Norfolk, Va. That's the only listing for VA but those are just members of the Flat Track Derby Association so there may be others.
LK: GREAT photos!! And impressive uniforms!
dawny darko: I'm one of Pauls "derby wives” A status traditionally reserved for skater/refs, but who could resist Preflash Gorden? Thanks for the awesome shots! I particularly like IMG 8813. This shows my real life boss (in blue Miss Hannigan) practically sitting on my Captain (in green Granny Panties). Lots of action in that shot. I’m pretty sure it was Rhea Lentless (the Jammer in green in IMG 8819) who ended up taking out the drink of your neighbor. Miss Hannigan tells me it’s a hit from her that landed Rhea there. I hope you come back again and share more of your images and have more fun. You are in luck, there is one more game this season. The Final Championship bout on Saturday May 9th. This one will be upstairs and we’ll have plenty floor seating, bleachers and of course, track side (or suicide row)! Thanks again! Dawny Darko #286 Kilmore Girls, NSRG
tin lizzy: Hi M! Some fantastic shots you have from the bout - I do hope you come back again and snap some more! So glad you enjoyed the bout! And the good news is that the championship is May 9th - so you still have an opp to get to another one before the season ends! Thanks for giving us a write-up in your blog too! <3 tin lizzy :)
alan: hey there is one more bout this season on may 9th it is for the championship. It is the DElta Delta Di( in pink) vs the banger sisters ( in blue) and the kilmorfe girls( in green camo) vs the violent femmes in red) these are some incredible shot you took and I hope you can attend the last bout of the season. Thank you Bounty the quicker licker upper delta delta di asst bench coach
Mickey Dismantle: I'm so glad you had a good time! I do have a minor correction: we have one more home bout this season. The Championship will be on Saturday, May 9th at 7:30 pm (doors at 6:30 pm) at the Mpls Convention Center. I hope to see you there and meet you officially. Thanks again for the review and the terrific pictures.
Freddy Kruelgirl: DUDE! IMG 8799 is easily one of my favorite pictures taken of me this season. For someone who has never photographed derby before you got some SWEET shots! xoxo Freddy
Steely Danielle, referee: WONDERFUL photos! My favorite is 8812. That's Becky Homewrecky getting checked by Stalker Channing. The look on Becky's face as she's going down is priceless! Thanks for coming to see our ladies...they are such wonderful athletes and human beings. Steely Danielle
Fotodog: Just a point of clarification. The league does have a photography policy. While we do allow people to do flash photography they are limited to where they can shoot from. We do have a dedicated Media team who manage photo passes and work with visiting/guest photographers to educate them on doing it safely as not to put themselves or the skaters at risk. On camera strobes are permitted, any off camera strobes or multiple light setups are reserved for the media team and approved media passes. While we love to have new people show up and shoot we also need to protect the rights of the skaters and the league. Profiting from images taken at the event, unless authorized by the league is strictly prohibited. (protecting the brand of the league) Each league has different photo policies and they can change at at a drop of a hat. Some leagues don't allow SLR/dSLR cameras, some don't allow flash photography. We are fortunate that NSRG has a pretty liberal photo policy as will for a long time as long as it is not abused and the safety of the skaters and fans is not put at risk. Thanks again for the blog and photos. Look forward to seeing you at future events! ~fotodog
mk: I stand corrected! I've marked off May 9th on my calendar and plan to attend. Thanks to all you rollerpeople for the comments!
phantoms in the fairy ring that summer moonbeams see
March 4, 2009
Sometimes there are happy accidents. Sometimes you do things on purpose that might look like accidents. This was a case of the latter. I saw this model standing in front of the window, her dress nicely outlined by that light and this was the vision that I wanted to capture. I knew right when I took it that it was my favorite image of the day.
(And this is my 100th blog post here. Woo!)
.K: This is dreamy... like you.
Maria Hays: Such a cool image, love it!
juliek: You are truly an artist. I like it!! Auntie Julie
Holiday Reportage
December 28, 2008
This is what I got for Christmas. What about you?
No, really. I’m teething. The wisdom teeth that the dentist told me about when I was in high school and which I did nothing about are coming in. It’s really fun in a totally painful way! Babies everywhere have my sympathy. My family hooked it up with Santa who kindly left me some Orajel in my stocking on Christmas morning. Life should be better now.
Thankfully, the UPS sleigh also dropped off this puppy which is slightly more exciting than gum-numbing gel. So far, it’s only been put to use for creating fine art images such as the one below but I’ll be putting it to good use starting tomorrow morning.
Hope you all had happy holidays!
Kellie: I hear that Punch Pizza with dotkay really helps hurty gums.
Laurie: You must have been a good girl this year. Congrats on the new equipment! I feel for you and your teething situation...my lower right wisdom tooth has been making its appearance the past few weeks and I am about ready to pull it out myself. You'd think at 39 I would be too old for cutting teeth!!