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Photo Booth Fun at GR Unveiled!

admin — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 11:24:46 +0000

Last Thursday, I had the honor of shooting GR Unveiled – the coolest bridal show I’ve ever seen. I plan to post more on that later this week but, as I walked around shooting, I found one of my new favorite things – a photo booth! Woohoo! As you’ll see below, I went in on three separate occasions and I probably would have gone back for more but John, the creator of Snap Happy Photo Booth Company, probably would have cut me off.

Just wanted to share a little of the fun that went into the night! On the left and right sides, I’m here with the fine ladies of Pixel & Hank and in the middle, I’m with Melissa of Telltale Photography. Lots of laughs…and look how flexible Daisy is!

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Michelle – Hartland, Michigan Wedding Shower

admin — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 11:30:10 +0000

Michelle is exuberant. She is totally sweet. And she has an AMAZING ability to know just the right thing to say at any given moment, something I’m totally jealous about because the words always seem to come to me about six minutes too late to actually be pertinent. I was so excited to meet Michelle on the day of her wedding shower because I’ve been hearing about her for years! Her sister, Lisa, is a great friend of mine and I’ve always heard about Michelle who lives in Idaho with all of the potatoes and how great and fun and energetic she is. And, wow, she really is all of those things. Her shower was perfect and the room seemed to be filled with lots of women she loved – and there’s nothing better than getting to capture the sincere emotions that come with that sort of happiness.

Michelle, it was a huge honor to be there and to finally meet you. I hope you’ve arrived safely back to Idaho with all of your fun new Crock Pots and kitchenware! You are going to make one absolutely beautiful bride!

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Suzy & Vince – Harrison Township Wedding

admin — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 00:41:22 +0000

Earlier this month, I had the pleasure of shooting once again with Aruna of Aruna B. Photography at Suzy and Vince’s Harrison Township wedding. They were both wonderfully relaxed and totally hip and it was so great to work with them and witness their day.

To add to the relaxed feeling of their day, they chose to see each other before their wedding ceremony at the White House Wedding Chapel in Warren and we were able to capture some great emotional moments between them as they anticipated saying, “I do!” Their wedding day was a perfect fall day – beautiful colors and the rain stopped just for them (I swear I have good luck!). AND – their MSU Spartans even won against the University of Michigan so there was plenty to celebrate! Here is just a small bit of their awesome day…

We stopped at a local park in Sterling Heights for about forty-five solid minutes of photo fun, a total dream for a wedding photographer! Look at the amazing detail on Suzy’s glowing dress as she walks into the park:

Both Suzy and Vince knew how to be fierce. Without even trying.

I just love the closeness in this image. Aren’t they cool?

Cool and hip. I love seeing different colored shoes under those beautiful white gowns!

This is way high on my list of favorites from their day. I love the pure emotion and the huge smiles on both of their faces. Yay!

Here’s Suzy waiting for the ceremony to start. Everywhere she went, the room just glowed around her. It was gorgeous.

After the ceremony at the White House Wedding Chapel in Warren, we headed outside for some shots of the newlyweds. The light was just getting beautiful…

And then the good times began at Mac&Ray’s Banquet Center in Harrison Township. They had such a fun reception with so much dancing and even the MSU fight song to rally the crowd. Here’s an image from their first dance. Everything they did, they did with flare I tell you!

Thanks Aruna for bringing me along, it was a pleasure to be there!

Creamed Tuna Fish & Peas On Toast

admin — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 22:42:26 +0000

I am so excited to share this news – however unrelated to photography it may be. My friend, Phil Stead, has just announced that his debut picture book, “Creamed Tuna Fish and Peas on Toast”, (ROARING BROOK PRESS, September 2009) is currently available online for pre-order! This book has been a long time in the making and I am so thrilled for him that the time is finally here for people to finally start enjoying it.

I had the chance last winter to see the book in person as well as some of Phil’s original artwork and it is absolutely amazing. At the risk of totally botching this description, I will just say that he uses a collage method for the artwork that is totally unique. He recently did an interview that does a great job (way better than I could do!) of describing his process and the book itself (as well as his next one) – you can check it out here. You can also preview some of the pages from the book on Phil’s website.

The book will be sprucing up local bookshelves near you on September 29 but can be ordered through IndieBound (or Amazon, but why not support a local store by using IndieBound?).

I’ll leave you with a quick description of the book, taken from Phil’s site and an image of the cover:

“Creamed Tuna Fish and Peas on Toast” is a retelling of a strange but true Stead-family story. In the mid-1950′s, in a fit of epic rage, my Grandpa Jack buried his least favorite meal (creamed tuna fish and peas on toast) in the yard outside the house. He punctuated the moment by carving a headstone for the vile dish: Here Lies Creamed Tuna Fish and Peas on Toast – Rest in Peace. All of the characters in this book are my real family members. Wild Man Jack and Mama Jane are my grandparents. Susie, Danny, Nancy, and Margie are my aunts and uncle. Bobby, the youngest, is my dad.

Congratulations, Phil!

be a fool!

admin — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 11:40:32 +0000

Last weekend, as I was driving out of Ann Arbor from a shoot, I stumbled upon fun oozing off of the streets! Main Street was barricaded off and all I could see were colorful faces and happy people dancing. I wandered around and soon found out that this was the annual FestiFools Parade, “Ann Arbor’s annual street festival of huge puppets and random acts of April foolishness”. It was definitely neat to see so many people out on a rainy Sunday just to celebrate art and silliness! People of all ages were gathered and everyone was in a great mood – well, except for the poor little child who started wailing when one of the puppets tried to shake her hand! Here are a few of my favorite characters:

I got a huge kick out of the “Please do not feed exhibit” sign!

And my absolute favorite was the talking hamburger with bright yellow French fries for hands. His mouth was running the whole time. May you find the time for some foolishness this month…

happy april

admin — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 01:00:55 +0000

I can’t believe it’s already April! And I can’t believe that, here in Michigan, the forecast is calling for snow this weekend. Again.

I think all of us here are tired of it – so tired that my friend, Chris, recently asked me for photos of “warmth” to put on his walls. So I started digging through my files and found this picture that I thought was pretty fitting. It’s from a trip to Maine last summer and I just love all of the warmth radiating during the last few moments of daylight. Ahh, Maine…the way life should be! Now I just need to find a way to bottle this stuff up!

shootsac contest!

admin — Sat, 14 Mar 2009 16:31:55 +0000

Any minute now, the winner of Jessica Claire’s latest SHOOTSAC contest will be announced – and I’m sitting here on the edge of my seat. You see, a SHOOTSAC is very high on my wish list. It’s a bag that comfortably carries your lenses and allows you to have everything you need with you while you shoot – and not have a traditional (clunky) photo bag dragging you down. And they’re even cute!

So, when I read about her contest the other night, first I laughed out loud at the silliness. During a five minute minute video, you had to locate and name the 13 different SHOOTSAC covers. Some were limited editions and others were new styles – but they all flashed by my eyes at the speed of light as I watched the video over and over again. It was like “Where’s Waldo?” on fast forward! I spent a silly amount of time in front of my computer as I wrote and drew and scribbled on plain white index cards everything and anything that resembled a SHOOTSAC on my screen. I scoured the internet to find the names of the bag covers I didn’t know and I finally came up with the lucky number 13 that was needed. Here’s hoping. I even had a dream that I would win – what am I, six years old?

Cross your fingers!

vieni mangiare

admin — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 02:04:35 +0000

Growing up, my family always went to my grandparents’ house for holiday meals. When we got there, my mom, my sister, and I would sit in the kitchen with my grandma while she cooked and pitch in whenever she would allow. Usually my dad, grandpa, and uncles would sit in the living room, watch sports on the television and, every now and again, ask how the meal was coming along. When all of the food was ready, my grandma always asked me to go let everyone know it was time to come and eat. This was an important role in my family not only because, as Italians, food was the centerpiece of our holidays, but because it involved yelling the phrase “vieni mangiare” as loud as possible to make sure my grandpa, who was hard of hearing and not very good with English, knew it was time to eat. I was always nervous to say it correctly (just like now I’m nervous that I’m not spelling it correctly!) but it usually produced great excitement so I kept at it!

Today I found myself yelling, “vieni mangiare”, to Eric when I finished cooking my grandma’s homemade pasta sauce and meatballs. A few times each year, I get ambitious enough to take on the task and I’m always brought back to the days of sitting in my grandma’s kitchen in anticipation of a great meal. The mostaccioli and sauce – sprinkled with just a bit of romano cheese – is definitely a comfort food and a great treat for me. This time I made enough for an army so we’ll be comforted all week long…