To Be Young and In Love

We had no trouble getting them to gaze at each other or get close.They wouldn't have kept smiling if they had known how long I would keep taking pictures of them . They were so photogenic and fun to work with.I can't wait until the wedding!!

This was taken right behind the studio by the canal.

Don't they glow ? These were some engagement pictures I took for one of my weddings this summer. They were so easy & fun to work with.

Beautiful Baby

After we took the baby out of the crate,Tom's dog jumped in. You'll probably see a lot of his puppies on this blog. They are at the studio a lot and are very photogenic.Almost every kid's session I do - I have to bribe them with a picture with the dogs-if they are good.Works like a charm.

This baby's mom is really into wine and has a wine "thing" going on in her kitchen.So we thought it would be cool to take these pictures of the baby and frame them for the kitchen. Sounds weird but it totally worked. Don't you just want to snuggle him?

I wanted to share a couple of pictures that I did with my photography friends, Tom,Erin & Dawn.We sometimes work together on projects and these are a few from one of those sessions.

Matteson's Finest

I had the pleasure of being the "official" photographer for an award ceremony for the Matteson Police Department last weekend. What a great group of people. My favorite part of the ceremony was listening to Chief Burnson tell the story behind the award.It made me realize how different our "typical" work days were and I was humbled to know what actually goes on. I was impressed with what a tight-knit group they were.Laughing and teasing each other but all in good fun. It almost made me want to be a part of their team. (I said almost...I don't know if I could wear the same color everyday.)

Christmas 2008

They couldn't stop laughing when we were doing these.They were making me laugh.

Christmas 2008

More Christmas 2008

Isn't she beautiful? It's funny how some kids are naturals in front of the camera.

Christmas Memories 2008!

We did some different Christmas pictures at the studio this year. I couldn't believe how well "S" & "M" did.They were pros!

New Year , New Blog!

Happy 2009! I have finally jumped on the blogging band wagon. I am excited to have a place to share some of my photo shoots.I get to meet such interesting people and share in some of the coolest experiences.That brings me to my first post.

I was invited to capture the love shared by the" W " family during their Wigilia.This is the Polish Christmas Eve dinner and is very formal. They use their best china & silverware - not a paper plate to be seen.They start cooking days in advance. The most beautiful part of this night was when they broke apart their Oplatek(like a communion wafer but larger) and shared prayers and well wishes with EVERY single person there.It was very moving and I felt a bit intrusive with my camera but I loved the pictures!After dinner, the men all get their personalized aprons on and clean up. That's right ladies-they do the dishes.The women sat down,drank coffee and visited with each other. (I think I like this tradition!) The men seemed to have so much fun while they did the dishes.I heard a lot of laughing & teasing going on.After everything was cleaned up, they joined the women by the Christmas tree and sang Christmas carols. I took a few family pictures and called it a night. For the rest of the night and even into the next day-I kept thinking about the warmth and love that they shared with each other.It wasn't about the presents or who came the farthest.It was truly caring about each other and that is the real Christmas spirit.Thanks so much to the "W" family for sharing this special tradition and reminding me what Christmas is really about.