Darin, Steph, and Talan

So my cousin Darin and his wife, Steph have the cutest son ever. Talan is soon to be 2 years old and is always the life of family gatherings. I'm not sure what we did for entertainment before he was born!

Easter!

I happened to get a new camera in time to use the fam as models to test it out! Such willing subjects.....

sis, Erica

Grandpa and Grandma M.

Mom

Dad


Grandma R.

Eden, Ella, & Axel

Over Easter weekend, we went home to Watertown for a few days and I was able to meet up with Eden and Ella and meet their new brother, Axel! SO CUTE! Their mom, Christy, is not only a great mom but she is also incredibly talented. She has a web design company and designed Lemon Lime Studios' very first website! Check out her website: www.bluedenimdesign.com. Enough writing, look at these cute kids:
Eden

So Ella and I get along well. This is her without a camera.

and this is Ella with a camera!


And the newest addition, Axel!




I can't pass up an opportunity to hold a baby (while apparently still talking photography). My mom snapped this...she's a natural!

WPPI!

I just returned from WPPI (Wedding and Portrait Photographers International) in Las Vegas and it was amazing! This was my first year in attendance and I was completely overwhelmed by the whole experience! I got to meet several photographers whom I admire and self-admittedly blog stalk, attend classes addressing any and every aspect of photography/business possible, drool over fancy camera equipment in the trade show, and basically submerse myself in photography-ish stuff for a whole week. Needless to say, I had a blast and am now I'm sitting amongst stacks of ideas, notes, and backlogged email attempting to catch up and figure out new ways to implement all the things I learned!





This quote was from Thomas Cook and Doug Kiley's presentation called "F-stop, Bus Stop, Photoshop, Ihop".


My $3 in the half penny machines yielded little profit.


This was basically the one touristy thing I did in Vegas. Believe me, this was a week's worth of excitement rolled into 60 seconds! It was like the Power Tower at Valleyfair on top of a REALLY tall building (the Stratosphere). My former friend, Chris, talked me into this. Just kidding, Chris!

Otise and John

I had never met any of Laura and Ray's family or friends before their wedding in the Dominican Republic but true to Laura and Ray's description, they were all incredibly kind and great at welcoming new people! This was exactly the case with Otise and John. Before I had officially met them, they willingly obliged to a pseudo photo shoot on the beach! I was hanging out at the beach (camera in hand, of course) and couldn't resist them. Turns out, they are getting married this fall in Chicago and I'm so excited to shoot their wedding as well!

This is my fav.












So Otise is a really good sport. She was trying not to get completely wet. As you can see, that didn't happen.

Trash the Dress!

So Laura is gorgeous, totally chill (I learned this word from her), AND willing to wear her wedding dress on the beach, in the sand, underwater...she's awesome. I have been dying to do something like this for a long time and it definitely fulfilled my high hopes! From what I've heard, the dress is not exactly trashed either...I mean c'mon, what harm is a little sand and salt water.... :)





So apparently wearing a wedding dress in the water attracts gawkers. I'm not sure which photo I like better.... :)

Now you see him...


Now you don't.

It doesn't get any better than this...

A massage. On a beach. I'll take it.