The Shrine

Last weekend (4th of July), a few friends of our family came out to Wisconsin from Minnesota.  We decided it'd be fun to do some things none of us have done (at least in La Crosse) before.  We toured the Our Lady of Guadalupe Shrine, which was absolutely gorgeous!  The photo above of the painted ceiling was in the cathedral and the other shots were from the nature that surrounds the paths leading to all the different areas of the gounds.  It did rain a bit while we were touring, but they have a bunch of umbrellas for patrons to borrow, which, thankfully, protected my camera!  We even ate breakfast there before the unguided tour. 

The next day, we took my dad's ocean kayak out to Lake Neshonoc.  It actually worked out great!  We had a blast!  I even took a turn on the rope swing over one part of the lake (I know, daring)!  All in all, great food, great company, and great weekend!

The Snakes

These two little guys were in my parent's backyard one day while we were visiting and were in danger of getting chopped up by the lawn mower!  My sister and I, being the softies we are (even for the scaly creatures) scooped them up in a container (using a very long stick) and kept them until the grass was short.  It actually worked out great because I was able to get a whole series of shots from them.

There are no snakes in Hawaii so it was quite exciting to see a pair, loose in the wild, right in our yard in Onalaska, Wisconsin!  And they were quite the characters!  I caught a few great shots of them sticking out their purple, forked, little tongues at us and a great one of just their scales.  I even got a few as they slithered away to freedom!  It was all quite exciting!

The Cass Street Bridge

This bridge is such an icon here in La Crosse; I was so happy when the weather cooperated enough for me to get this shot!  I actually shot this from a beach on the Minnesota side of the river.  This is such a different "beach" than I'm used to, but it was fun to visit!  Now that it's so hot around here, I might have to venture a swim in the river!

We did swim in a lake up here the other day and it was so much fun!  I realized I hadn't actually been swimming in two years, since leaving Hawaii!  But my sister and I will be visiting Hawaii again this August, so I'll be soaking up some ocean while I'm there!

We're coming up on the end of the Photo Composition - Beginner class that I've been teaching over at Western Technical College.  We have one session left, next Wednesday, and then it's over until the Fall semester...  I'll have to take advantage of the break and get all the powerpoints prepared for the upcoming courses I'll be teaching:  Photo Composition - Beginner, Intermediate, and Advanced, as well as Infant Photography!  If you're interested in signing up for one of these courses visit http://www.westerntc.edu/lifelonglearning/!

The Fireworks

Happy 4th of July!!!  (early!)

The Lotus Flower

Happy Summer to all the EIP Photoblog readers!  This is a Lotus flower that I photographed a few summers ago but had forgotten about until I was searching through some old files on my hard drive.  It was so gorgeous, I figured I just had to share it!  We've been having great weather here in Wisconsin (other than the week of thunderstorms, lightning, and rain)!  It's cool enough to hang out outside and to relax inside!  Beautiful!  So get out there and enjoy it (before the Fall returns)!

The Graduation Party | Minnesota Event Photographer

I was asked by a family friend, and fellow photographer, a few weekends ago, to photograph her son's high school graduation party.  She attended my own high school graduation party and produced some very meaningful shots (many of which I have framed and on display to this day)!  So, of course, I agreed!  Above are a few of the shots I got that weekend.  The fellow photographer, A, and mom of the graduate, is the woman in the blue suit with blonde hair!  The large image is of the family, posing in front of the award winning bed frame that the graduate designed and made himself!  Obviously, creativity runs in their family!  Thanks N family for allowing me to be a part of such a special time!

The Daisy

I celebrated my "Quarter of a Century" birthday on Monday (June 21st) and had a casual, wonderful time!  I rang in the first day of my 25th year in a summer course at UW-L (where I am almost finished with my Bachelor's Degree - yes, I took a little break from school, I should have been done a while ago!).  That was the boring part!  But then I went to lunch with my family, got flowers from my boyfriend (who stills lives back home in Hawaii, for now), and relaxed the rest of the day away! 

The shot above is one of the daisies that came with the flowers I received!  I acutally took a similar photo first on my cell phone and I loved how the cell phone cast a warm tone over the image when in black and white.  So I decided it'd be best to replicate it with my DSLR, which is what I posted here.  (Daisies are my favorite flowers - Gerbera Daisies to be specific - so I absolutely love this shot!  I thinking about getting a canvas print for my new apartment later!)

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

The Photo Course(s)

Hey all!

I wanted to invite everyone to register for the class I'll be teaching at Western Technical College during the summer.  It's entitled Photo Composition - Beginner and it's going to be super fun!  You'll be able to learn all the basics about taking a good photo with the camera you own!  This upcoming Fall semester, I'll be teaching the Photo Composition - Beginner, Intermediate, and Advanced courses as well as Infant Photography!  So if you want to brush up your photography skills or even enhance your already awesome ones, just register with WTC!  I hope to see you there!

The Moon

Here's a cool shot I got one night of the moon, as seen from Ewa Beach, Hawaii, around 9 pm.  It was actually taken through a telescope (my dad's)!  I just thought it was SO awesome to be able to see all the little craters!  So imagine this when you look up at the moon from now on!