A quick sneak peek for Miss Madeline’s parents as I promised them one by today!

Doesn’t she have gorgeous eyes?

I met this little lady’s father via Flickr as he’s also a photographer. I’ve found that it’s equal parts flattering and nervewracking to have another photographer ask you to photograph their family. But I met them yesterday morning and we had a good time trekking around Stillwater.

First to a few parks…

And then for some “lunch.” (I’m not sure I can think of a better way to celebrate the official first day of summer.)

And then for some fountain watching…

I don’t know about little M but this M needed a nap after all that! Thanks for sharing your family with me, Dave.

Tags: stillwater

A quick peek from a maternity session I did last weekend. Linda came over with her cute family so we could do some photos.

I think this one is my favorite.

Then we went out into the backyard to get down to business. Bubbles, flower picking, caterpillars and RUNNING!

Tags: maternity, mom, pregnant, studio

I’m so glad to finally be able to share these! It’s been a few weeks since they were taken and there were so many that I wanted to work on that I just haven’t had time to finish them all until now. But get ready for an image-intensive post.

These images are from a bridal/fashion shoot that we did at The Guthrie and Mill City Museum in Minneapolis. Both of them are amazing locations but the Guthrie especially is full of color and incredible architecture and all kinds of fun areas.

The next three images were taken in a room that’s called the Amber Box. You can see an outside view of the room in this image from Wikipedia. The light and view and colors are all really neat and portions of the floor are see-through as well.

(changed the color on this one, obviously)

Taken outside the Guthrie.

These were taken in a sort of covered alleyway between the Guthrie and the Mill City Museum. It was so sunny that day that the sun was pouring through spaces in the ceiling and creating awesome light.

And these were taken in the stairwell at the Mill City Museum…

I think that’s it for now! I have another batch of images from the Guthrie and the Sculpture Garden that should be coming soon. Such fun locations for shoots. If you live in the Twin Cities area and want to do some bridal portraits, engagement portraits, senior photos or whatever in those areas, just let me know!

Tags: bridal, portraits, urban

I can’t believe it’s June already! I also can’t believe we’ve gotten this far with such consistently cool weather. I’m not complaining though, I prefer cool to hot and as long as it isn’t raining all the time and we can get outside for some photos, I’m happy. And speaking of photos, my June calendar is jam packed with upcoming sessions so, with the exception of newborn sessions (done within the first two weeks of birth), mid-July is my earliest availability. Drop me a line if you’d like to set something up!

On Saturday, I shot a wedding with my friend Sarah of Sarah McGee Photography. Both the ceremony and the reception were held at the Crystal Lake Golf Club in Lakeville.

The weather report wasn’t especially favorable but the rain held off and we were able to do portraits and the ceremony outside. It was almost too sunny!

They whole wedding party was a pretty fun and goofy bunch and I have to say, the toasts were among the best I’ve heard - hilarious and touching at the same time, even for someone who had no history with the bride and groom.

That all being said, guess who my favorite two of the wedding party were?

Tags: wedding

Certain persons who shall remain nameless have been giving me a hard time about lack of updates. It really hasn’t been that long! But it’s true, I’ve been a bit remiss and a lot busy. The good news is that I took a load of packages to the post office today so you just might find some photos in your mailbox soon. That being said, something “fun and fresh” was requested so here we go.

This is Mikey and his sons Adam and Landon. We met Mikey while we were in Virginia, he works at The Homestead. The morning after we met him, he brought his kiddos in on his day off so that we could photograph them before our flight. I have a sneaking suspicion that the photo above more accurately reflects their daily life than any of the other photos I took.

But seriously, how cute are these two?

I think Landon might be the smiliest baby I have ever seen. He didn’t stop smiling once during the entire session. Just smiles and giggles and those two little teeth.

Okay, maybe I got one photo of him not smiling but still plenty cute.

Adam’s plans didn’t really involve too much photography, but rather a lot of running around and a little bit of talking about Spiderman. Coaxing him to follow me as we walked through the hotel lobby, I said to him, “C’mon, goofy!” Adam says to me, and to pretty much everyone within a three mile radius, “I’M NOT GOOFY, I’M ADAM!!”

And here’s the thing about out of town sessions…

You can give those kids sticky sticky sweets to eat while wearing their best clothes because hey, you’re about to leave town and never come back!

But come on, can you blame us?

And now I’m back to editing but I’ll try to be better about posting.

Tags: babies, kids

During our week at The Homestead, we got a chance to meet Philip Myers.

He’s a professional entertainer who performed several times during our stay. He’s performed with many big names, including Elton John, Ray Charles, Willie Nelson, Garth Brooks, etc., as well as done the commercial jingles for Oreos, Nabisco, Coors Beers and others. He also does theater, playing Jesus in Jesus Christ Superstar and various other roles. It’s not every day you can say you got to photograph Jesus.

He was looking for some new headshots for his website so we made plans to meet up. He was a total trooper and met us early in the morning before his flight, after performing late into the night the evening before.

We didn’t have tons of time but managed to shoot a few locations around the hotel property. He may be coming to Minnesota this summer so maybe we’ll get some more time with him. It was definitely fun, he’s really an awesome guy.

Tags: headshots

[A quick note first: I moved the blog to the same domain as the Glimpses of Soul Photography main site so it now resides at http://glimpsesofsoul.com/blog. The old url will still forward and the rss feed should still work. ]

Until yesterday, it had been almost two years since I’d attended a wedding as a guest and not as a photographer. Walking out of the house with just one bag, my only responsibility up until then having been to dress myself, felt pretty nice. But I have to admit, once I got there, it was pretty difficult to not be taking lots of photos and to not have the freedom to move to a better vantage point. I couldn’t capture anything of the ceremony from my seat but I did pull the camera out after they left the church (the ceremony was held at the Ft. Snelling Memorial Chapel).

The two flower girls were just adorable.

But maybe not so into pictures. This little one was wandering around with a bouquet of dandelions in one fist and a handful of pinecones in the other. Walking up and down the aisle had maxed out her public performance reserves though so she didn’t want to show me her treasures.

The reception was held in the M Street Cafe in the downstairs of the Saint Paul Hotel. I hadn’t been there before but it was very nice. Sort of a 40’s feel to it with white glove service and everything.

Not wanting to be the annoying Uncle Bob figure who shows up with all his gear and gets in the way of the professionals, I only brought a 50mm lens and no flash so I was a bit limited but I still managed to grab some shots that I like. (I love this first one.)

If you’re in the Twin Cities area, I hope you’re outside enjoying the weather today! I hit the back porch for awhile to get my requisite dose of Vitamin D but sadly, the computer screen is impossible to see in the sun so I am back inside working for the afternoon

Tags: wedding

What a week! I spent seven lovely days at The Homestead with my crazy friend Jeannette, photographing a corporate event (and everything else we could find). The Homestead was originally built in 1766 and is now a National Historic Landmark in addition to a fabulous hotel with loads of things to do. It was sad to not wake up to a breakfast spread consisting of every fruit and breakfast food imaginable this morning but it’s good to be home anyway. Few words and lots of photos for today because I’ve got so so many photos to process still!

Tags: travel

Maybe we WILL have a spring?

I’m heading to the east coast early tomorrow morning and will be back next Tuesday. I should have sporadic internet access while I’m gone but responses might be a bit slower than usual. Have a good week!

On Sunday, I photographed the March of Dimes’ March for Babies. Early weather predictions had me a bit nervous as they were calling for rain and storms on Sunday. Then it got colder and colder and snowed on Saturday. Thanks to the craziness that is living in Minnesota, the windchill was below 30 when I was getting ready Sunday morning. But thankfully there was no precipitation of any kind and even a bit of sun here and there.

The St. Paul walk was held at Phalen Park which was quite beautiful despite the colder temps. I arrived at 9 as the volunteers were setting up the registration tables and the sponsors were preparing and the mini-donut truck was smelling oh-so-delicious. (Sadly, I had not brought any cash!) The walkers started arriving around 10, kids and strollers and dogs in tow.

The purpose of the March for Babies is to raise money to fund research to help prevent premature births, birth defects and infant mortality. Many of the families there had heartwarming stories about their NICU graduates and others had heartwrenching stories of little ones that they had lost. This is the daughter of this year’s ambassador family who was born weighing little more than a pound and is now doing quite well.

And a mother who led us in the National Anthem whose daughter had a similar story.

The walk route was around Lake Phalen, 3.1 miles. Most people welcomed the opportunity to warm up. I felt slightly annoyed at the weight of my camera bag until I saw many mothers toting (lugging is probably even a fair word) toddlers in their arms around the lake.

After the walk was more mini-donuts and hot dogs and the hokey pokey and St. Paul Saints mascot Mudonna and lots of playground time. And for me, lots and lots and lots of photos to look through!