The Vines

Sometimes there's this feeling in La Crosse that these vines are swallowing up the town, tendril by tendril!  There are a ton of houses that these vines cover (which I'm hoping to do a series on soon) and other buildings in town.  I thought the contrast of green against red was too gorgeous to pass by without grabbing a quick shot.  I'm thinking I might like to do a large print of this for my wall, but first, I have to find the space!  For now, it'll grace the pages of my blog!

The Sun's Faces

Sometimes some of the best images come from these abstract, high contrast situations.  I absolutely love finding these situations!  I'm working on putting together a course called Black & White Technique all about learning how to "see" in black and white and how to post-process specifically for black and white.  I almost wish there were some sort of contact lenses out there that would allow a person to only see in black and white (and shades of gray).  I think that'd be awesome to try for a day (although, I absolutely freak out just putting eye drops in my eye, so I probably couldn't enjoy them anyways)!  For now, we photographers just have to settle with teaching our minds to view the world in monochromatic colors!

Sneak Peek - A Family | Onalaska Wisconsin Family Portrait Photographer

I had the opportunity to photograph the A family again and what a blast it was!  The little guy was bursting with energy and his older brother did a great job keeping him entertained!  Mom and Dad even came prepared with snacks and toys!  We meant to keep the shoot to an hour, but ended up taking the full two hours.  I think it was totally worth it because we got some great shots!  (This one was towards the end and it's quite possibly one - of many- of my favorites!)  We even caught a great break from the gloomy weather Wisconsin has been getting.  Not only did it NOT rain once during the session; the clouds even parted enough to see a little blue sky peeking through!  Although, the park we were in was completely flooded on the opposite side of our location!  Thank you A family for the fun session!

I also brought along a new assisstant (Nikki T.) today and she was a great help during the session!  She was moving things out of my frame that I wasn't even noticing, keeping everyone's attention, and even entertaining the little guy with some bubbles she found from a earlier wedding in the park!  She's a newbie to the professional photography scene and it's been great having another photographer helping me out!  Thanks Nikki!

The Candy

Mmmmm...  I actually ate all these props!  They were delicious too!  And that's about all I have to say!  =)  (And, Happy Oktoberfest!)

The Berries

Here's another diptych I arranged.  I love the look of these berries on the tree as the Fall weather rolls in.  I added a bit of a soft, bright light and a slight discoloring technique that I think lends itself nicely to the feel of this fresh image.  We'll see what other images I can combine for diptychs later.  I'm working on shooting specifically for this type of arrangement so I'll have a creative idea already prepared before the post-shoot work begins!

The Diptych

Here's a diptych I've been working on for some time.  I've decided to give myself a little project (as if finishing my degree and teaching some courses at the local community college and keeping busy with EIP photo shoots isn't giving me enough work)!  I'm going to begin a few small series of diptychs (two photographs put side by side).  As I go, if I end up with some cool ones, I'll make sure to post them.  For now, this is my first. 

Also, if you haven't already noticed, I've changed my logo once more.  I actually have an idea for a small modification I'll be making to this new one.  Once that's done, I'll be settled.  That'll be my logo for a while and I'll go ahead and get a new batch of business cards with that one on it!

Sneak Peek - Baby E | La Crosse Wisconsin Baby Portrait Photographer

Baby E turned the big O-N-E this month!  HAPPY BIRTHDAY!  And did she ever have a happy one; she really, really enjoyed this cupcake!  It was so much fun watching her try to figure out was it was - until she got that first taste of frosting, then the cupcake didn't stand a chance!  She had it on her face, her hands, her clothes, her legs, and even in between her toes!  But her hair made it out free of frosting!  All in all, I think I enjoyed photographing her during this just as much as she enjoyed herself!  We'll be putting together a book of her first year in portraits and it's guaranteed to be a great one just because of her vivacious personality!  I can't wait for all the other babies I'm working with to hit this milestone; it's just too much fun!

Here's a little tip:  Click on the photo to see it larger!

The Falling Leaves

In honor of Fall's chilly arrival, I have posted an image that reminds me of what Fall brings and all the amazing changes that occur during this season!  I can't wait to see the leaves begin changing colors and breathe in the cool, crisp air.  It's a bit colder this year than last year, at least to me, and I'm hoping this isn't a signal of an early winter!  The last few months of this year are going to fly by for me as I finish the last four courses needed for my Bachelor's degree!  I'm super excited about this semester because I was able to finish all my other courses this summer, leaving this semester filled with photography courses!  I'll be busy shooting, so keep an eye out for some of my latest work!

The Seaweed

I found these pieces of seaweed while walking along the shoreline in Hawaii.  I thought they were quite the interesting specimens so I brought them back to the cabin for an impromptu photo shoot!  I just love the colors of the first one, the texture of the second one, and the shape of the third one.  I wish I'd had more time to spend photographing all the small details, but you know how it is on vacation, always keeping busy!  All in all, I think these three make a great mini-series and, hopefully, I'll have the chance to expand on it later!

The Sunrise

Right after we got back from Hawaii we went to Duluth, MN to spend the weekend with our extended family!  I was gorgeous, but the cold that I caught in Hawaii only got worse and I ended up staying in bed for most of the weekend.  One great thing that came from all that bed rest was that the morning we were set to leave, I had slept so much the previous day, I was up around 5 am!  (If you know me, I'm definitely not someone who's ever up that early!)  I was eating some cereal that morning when this immensely bright light started peeking through blinds.  Of course, once I saw how beautiful this sunrise was, I traded my breakfast for my camera and got to shooting!  If nothing else, I left Duluth with this amazing shot and couldn't be more happy!

The Hawaiian Sunset

We were fortunate enough to be able to stay about half our vacation at these wonderful beach cabins operated by the military.  This was our view (literally, right from the porch) one evening.  We were getting ready for a BBQ and some of our guests were arriving but I just had to sneak away for a few minutes to get this shot.  The sun had just set and the moon was already partly raised.  There was a light breeze, the waves were gently crashing on the shore, and the sky was filling with magnificent colors.  We kept so busy during our vacation that I barely had a chance to take out my camera, but I was sure glad I did that evening!  This was taken at Nimitz Beach, which is in Ewa Beach on the island of Oahu, Hawaii.

The Beach Panorama

Hello Everyone!  I'm finally back to my blog!  I'm finally back home too!  We went from Hawaii straight to Duluth, MN just a day later, but I'm happy to report that I'm back in my apartment and back to my own bed!  Although, I did get a horrible cold a few days before leaving Hawaii and it is absolutely kicking my butt.  Hopefully all this Sudafed will take care of the problem soon because school starts on the 7th and I want to be in perfect working condition!

Here's a panoramic shot I took at Ka'ena Point on the Northwest side of Oahu.  It was absolutely gorgeous while we were there and we had a blast!  I'll be getting some more photos up soon, especially a beautiful sunset from Hawaii and a lovely sunrise from Duluth!  For now, I'm off to bed to sleep off this cold!