Holy Land
May 29, 2009 | Filed Under Artist's Gallery | Leave a Comment
There are five churches on the way here, but this is where I go when I need to unearth sacred…
Beautiful Baby | Grand Rapids Children’s Photography
May 28, 2009 | Filed Under Children's Portraiture | Leave a Comment
This little one is just two weeks old and gorgeous as can be! We went to her house, a cool old church that is being renovated, to capture her at home. Her nursery is decorated in a vintage style and I couldn’t resist the lines on this chair. I also loved the sunlight streaming in through this huge window. This little one is on our Infant Ages and Stages Package and I can’t wait to take some more of her as she gets older. If you’re interested in having your child put on the Ages and Stages Package just contact us!
Backyard Beauties
May 28, 2009 | Filed Under Artist's Gallery | Leave a Comment
The butterfly counts not months but moments, and has time enough. ~Rabindranath Tagore
I can’t help but think of my grandmother when I see these gorgeous butterflies in the yard. My Grandma and Papa lived “Up North” and surrounded themselves with birdfeeders and wildflowers. The butterflies visited everytime we were visiting! Grandma passed away two weeks ago and since then I have been graced by the presence of butterflies almost everytime I go outside. Yes, it’s summer. And sure, it could just be coincidence. But I don’t usually see butterflies on a daily basis. Regardless, it brings memories of Grandma to my mind and a smile to my face.
A Simpler Time | Dearborn Event Photography
May 27, 2009 | Filed Under Artist's Gallery | Leave a Comment
I ventured out to Greenfield Village and The Henry Ford Museum (Dearborn, MI) with my daughter’s class on their third grade field trip. What a truly amazing place to visit. Charlie and I have shot weddings here recently, and I remember visiting the Village when I was younger, but this is the first time I have had the chance to really investigate it as an adult. If you live close enough to Michigan you must take the time to stop here yourself. And, if you’re looking for one of the most unique wedding venues you’ll want to check out the Martha-Mary Chapel. The Eagle Tavern at Greenfield Village holds candlelight wedding receptions and has the best catering we’ve ever experienced at a wedding! (Checkout this wedding we photographed there.)
A beautiful piece of machinery on display at the Henry Ford Museum!
Out in the Village. It may have been a simpler time but this did look like very hard work!
One of my favorite places to visit in the Village is Thomas Edison’s Menlo Park Laboratory. Maybe it’s all the science talks Charlie has had with me? Whatever draws me there the glow of the light on these antique bottles had me mesmerized on this visit! (Que my brother’s voice making fun of me: “Shiny!”)
There are over two-thousand of Thomas Edison’s collection bottles on display in the lab all with hand written labels. The guide at the laboratory told me a horrible story about OSHA stepping in a few years back and making them dispose of the contents of hundreds of these bottles. Ugh, just makes me sick.
I’ve made simpler versions of these tin punch lanterns back when I was in the Girl Scouts but none as pretty as these! I really wanted to purchase one but at eighty dollars in the souvenir shop this picture will have to suffice!
We had the pleasure of driving around in this 1924 Model-T airport taxi. What a ride! No wipers or windows (other than the windshield) on this baby kept the cars price down. We can’t even go without cup-holders today!
This covered bridge can be rented out for small weddings, showers, or parties. I’ve always wanted to have a party here, just waiting for the right occasion I guess!
I think the girls favorite stop was at this penny candy store. They were able to purchase all the yummy old-fashioned candies they could afford! My favorites were the rock candy, button candy, and taffy…mmmmm!
A ride on the train provides you with some great views of the village houses and stores.
We couldn’t leave without getting a picture of the horses for the girls scrapbooks. They really wanted to go for a ride but with so much to see and do we just didn’t have the time. We’ll have to visit again!
Lunch at Topolo | Chicago Photography
May 26, 2009 | Filed Under Artist's Gallery | Leave a Comment
While we were photographing an event in Chicago last week Tracy surprised me with a fabulous lunch at Topolo. I’m always in the mood for really tasty food and we knew that Topolo was one of Chicago’s finest culinary HOT SPOTS!!! Topolo is owned by world-famous chef Rick Bayless and is reported to be one of Barak’s favorite places to eat in Chicago; it’s now one of mine as well! My pork tacos were outstanding and were only bested by my mango mojito. I took a couple pics of our drinks and appetizers, but had to put the camera away…the food required my full attention!
Tracy and I shared some Taquitos for an appetizer. We were supposed to split them 3-3, but I think she snuck 4 and left me with 2.
Give a Soldier a Hug! | Thanks to all our service members and their families.
May 25, 2009 | Filed Under Business | Leave a Comment
Thanks to all our current and former service members who serve our country both domestically and abroad and especially to those that have made the ultimate sacrifice. I just love this photo from a former maternity session we did of an army wife; it’s a poignant reminder on a day like today of the sacrifice these families make on a daily basis. Please keep all our service members and their families in your thoughts and prayers today and give them a hug if you have the opportunity.
Beckoning Lovely | Chicago Event Photography
May 21, 2009 | Filed Under Business | 6 Comments
We had the pleasure of photographing Amy Rosenthal’s 60 Minutes of Lovely event in Chicago this weekend. Amy is a well known author and creator of many things! She is in the process of creating a beautiful project, The Beckoning of Lovely, with the collaboration of many strangers. She has had hundreds of people submit art, music, photos, etc. that they consider lovely. The final project will be made into a book and possibly a movie.
This Lovely event took place at the Julius Meinl Warehouse in Chicago. Yup, the same Julius Meinl as the coffee shop, but the warehouse is a newly and wonderfully restored gathering space. It’s available for rentals if you know anyone in the Chicago area in need of a large event-room close to down town.
The Beckoning of Lovely gathering included wonderful performances by local Chicago musicians including the very talented fourteen-year-old Ned Mower. Ned played a moving song for us on his guitar that he wrote just two weeks previously. If you get a chance to check him out in person I guarantee it will be time well spent! He will be playing with the Paul Green School of Rock Music at the Beat Kitchen on May 30th.
Nick Gage played a spirited song for us before running off to work. How lucky to have had the chance to share this space with him.
This made me fall in love with bass! I love that this tiny woman plays this HUGE instrument. Together with her friend they played and sang a silly song about Chicago hot dogs. Part of their song included audience participation: tickling your neighbor! And is there anything more lovely than that heart under the strings on the bass?
And Tony Rogers sang several hilarious songs that probably required some editing for the younger audience members. One of them was about a prom date!
We spent sixty minutes together in this warehouse (the same amount of time spent at the original Beckoning of Lovely event). Amy took the time to share some of the Beckoning of Lovely project submissions with us.
This necklace was made by her friend. She shared the cutout with Lisa one of the “Supremely Cool Judges” of the Lovely project.
A very tiny note submitted for the project was shared with the help of a magnifying glass!
Another fantastic submission was this “Lovely” perfume scent with samples for all in attendance.
Amy read from a fate-journal. She left the journal on a table for anyone to write in. Later the journal will be left in a random spot for somebody else to find, write in it, and pass it on. Pretty cool, huh?!
Umbrellas hold a significant spot in the Beckoning of Lovely project and seem to have become the signature mark of Amy Rosenthal’s work. I’ve developed quite a liking for umbrellas because of all this.
Amy’s daughter passed around kisses and sunflower seeds to the audience. How sweet!
The part of the event that I found most moving was when Amy asked everyone to turn ON their cell phones and text somebody “I love you”. Wouldn’t it be sweet to do this daily to a random friend on your contact list?
My Kind of Town!!! | Grand Rapids, Photographers…..in Chicago
May 20, 2009 | Filed Under Artist's Gallery, Business | Leave a Comment
Prior to the Beckoning of Lovely event we were photographing that evening, Tracy and I had plenty of time during the day to wander the streets of Chicago and enjoy the sights. As photographers based in the Grand Rapids area, Chicago is only few short hours away, and is a quick escape to the BIG CITY when needed! We had a wonderful time strolling along the river walk, people watching and enjoying the great weather.
On our way to lunch, Tracy and I stumbled upon this bridge that crossed the river. I thought it would be a great place to take a few pictures. Tracy did a great job with this composition; I love how all the architectural features draw attention to the subject (in this case me!).
I sat Tracy down for a mini-portrait session in front of these beautiful tulips that were blooming next to Michigan Ave. We only had a couple seconds before other people discovered the same spot.
One of the highlights was visiting the Bean in Millenium Park. For those who haven’t visited before, it is a giant mirrored bean that has been covered in stainless steel and highly polished to reflect everything standing in front of it. It really made for some interesting pictures of Tracy and I in front of the Chicago skyline.
I actually fired this shot off accidentally (that’s me in the middle left) after changing the settings on my camera. I thought it actually turned out pretty good though…sometimes you just get lucky!!!
That’s us looking up from underneath the bean!!!
It wasn’t until I got home that I noticed the majestic eagle seagull flying up in the sky above the bean. Pretty cool!
Group Therapy | Grand Rapids Wedding Photographers
May 11, 2009 | Filed Under Artist's Gallery, Portraiture, Uncategorized | Leave a Comment
Tracy and I headed out Saturday night for some much needed group therapy!….No, its not what you’re thinking; we were there to see and photograph the band Group Therapy perform at C’s Grille at Centennial Country Club in Grand Rapids. Centennial is one of the great country clubs in West Michigan and an excellent wedding venue in the Grand Rapids / West Michigan area. Check them out when your looking to book your reception site!!!
But back to the reason for my post…As a Grand Rapids wedding photographer I know I’ve written about this before, but one of the best choices you can make for your wedding is to hire a live band, especially if the band is as professional and talented as Group Therapy! They absolutely rocked the house!!! I’d strongly recommend checking them out at one of their local gigs and consider hiring them for a social event or as wedding entertainment…you won’t be disappointed!!
Here are some images we made while we were there:
Dust Cover Photo for Ruth Barshaw, Local Children’s Author | Lansing, Michigan
May 10, 2009 | Filed Under Portraiture | Leave a Comment
I wanted to share a little bit of my excitement! I just had the privilege of photographing the very talented artist and author Ruth Barshaw for her upcoming book. The photograph will appear on the books dust-cover once it enters print production this year (I’ll post the photo then). For anyone not familiar, Ruth is an amazing author and illustrator of children’s books and is based here in the Lansing, Michigan area. Check out her blog here. One of her books, “Ellie McDoodle, Have Pen, Will Travel” was recently nominated for a 2010 Beverly Cleary Children’s Choice Award (my fingers are crossed for you Ruth!!!).
